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Peter G. (247 KP) rated The Magnificent Seven (2016) in Movies

Oct 30, 2019

The Magnificent Seven (2016)

2016 | Action, Drama, Western

7.4

(33 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Having seen most of the original and seminal Seven Samurai I can attest that the remakes are very good movies and carry the essence of the original very well without surpassing it.
It maintains the feel of the original western well and allows just about enough of an introduction to each character to become invested, although for others it's all left to the imagination.
If you have seen the original then you already know where the story is going and move on to guessing who survives at the finale.
All in all a good movie from the consistent Antoine Fuqua and an enjoyable watch, although I feel as though this remake didn't have to be remade at all, but Hollywood seems to insist on it these days with its unwillingness to indulge and invest in originality.

Kudos

Barry Newman (204 KP) rated Near Dark (1987) in Movies

Feb 1, 2020

Near Dark (1987)

1987 | Horror, Mystery, Western

7.6

(16 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

A relatively simple tale of a recently turned vampire and his initiation into a sadistic group of other vampires (we assume that’s what they are as the V word isn’t said once in the film) is an atmospheric and compelling watch that stylistically is more like a western than anything else. Kathryn Bigelow’s use of a fair chunk of future husband James Cameron’s ‘Aliens’ cast is largely successful (apart from some quite hammy overacting from Bill Paxton) and they make for thoroughly nasty adversaries (that bar scene being particularly brutal). I also liked the haunting Tangerine Dream score which adds nicely to the atmosphere but didn’t really buy the fact that vampirism could seemingly be so easily cured by a simple blood transfusion. That was a minor quibble though and overall I thought the film worked well.