Tag Archives: Chris Pratt

Review: The Magnificent Seven (2016)

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The 1960 classic, The Magnificent Seven, has never been a film inconsideration for the title of “Greatest Western of All Time”. It isn’t as iconic and influential as Shane nor as intense or symbolic as High Noon. It lacks the epic expansiveness of The Searchers as well as the gritty, violent realism of The Wild Bunch. It failed to reinvent the genre or subvert expectations like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or Unforgiven. Yet in spite of all that, I’ve long counted The Magnificent Seven among my favorite Western films, possibly my very favorite movie genre. The remake of Kurosawa’s masterpiece Seven Samurai combined a talented cast, solid direction from John Sturges, and one of the most memorable film scores of all time to create a fun, exciting adventure with a surprising amount of depth. The new remake of the 1960 remake, therefore, has a lot to live up to, and when it adheres to its predecessor’s formula it largely succeeds, even in spite of a few missteps along the way.

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Analysis: Jurassic World, a Movie that Hates Itself

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It might be an understatement to say that I didn’t enjoy Jurassic World.  I found it alternately boring and infuriating, a wasted opportunity.  Despite that, it’s the one movie that I’ve thought the most about in the past few weeks.  Partly it’s been hard to ignore, given its monumental box office run, but there’s something more to it than that.  As much as I disliked it, I can’t shake the feeling that there might actually be more to the movie than I gave it credit for.  I don’t mean to imply that Jurassic World is secretly great, because it’s not, but watching it I had the sneaking suspicion that writer/director Colin Trevorrow might have had a not-so-hidden message he embedded in the film through certain characters, scenes, and especially its climax.  You see, I’ve never encountered a film that seems to hate itself more thanJurassic World.

(Caution: Spoilers Ahead!)

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Trailer Tuesday: Jurassic World

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Jurassic World Logo

Welcome to “Trailer Tuesday” where I talk about trailers for upcoming movies, since I’ve always found them to be endlessly fascinating.

I’ve been sitting on the Jurassic World trailer for a couple months now.  (I actually do this a lot, prepping screencaps of trailers without actually posting them, something I intend to change in 2015.)  In some ways I’m intrigued by it, but in others I’m very wary.  I’ve previously referred to Jurassic Park as the Star Wars of my generation, and to me it’s a cinematic masterpiece, one of the most awe-inspiring films I’ve ever seen.  I love The Lost World, but was pretty disappointed in Jurassic Park III, which was hurt by Spielberg’s lack of involvement.  I didn’t really need another Jurassic Park film, but I was intrigued by the way the script leak for Jurassic World was handled last year.  So when the trailer arrived in November, it stirred up a mix of emotions.  Take a look below and read on for my thoughts:

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