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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Magnificent Seven (1960) in Movies

Apr 4, 2019

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

1960 | Action, Adventure, Western

8.2

(36 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Classic western only misses out on a 10 because it's not quite as good as the Kurosawa version. Mexican peasants in improbably clean clothes (the Mexican government insisted) hire a septet of gunmen to defend them from marauding bandits; Bernstein's famous theme gets played a lot. I mean, A LOT.

Enduringly and deservedly popular, both as a piece of entertainment and a source of discussions down the pub (Horst Bucholz and Brad Dexter are the names everyone struggles to remember). Loses some of the subtlety and depth of characterisation from the original Japanese version, but also scores by building up the character of the bandit leader (Wallach). Possibly not the greatest western ever, but still iconic and immensely influential. One for the ages.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Rampage (2018) in Movies

Jan 20, 2019 (Updated Jan 20, 2019)

Rampage (2018)

2018 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

7.4

(115 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Riotously silly computer game adaptation, as magic DNA jollop falls out of the sky and turns animals into giant, aggressive monsters; one of them happens to be genial Dwayne Johnson's pet gorilla, so there's bound to be trouble.

One of those films where everyone is in on the joke - doesn't bear much resemblance to the original game, but works pretty well as a piece of nonsense anyway. Johnson is a reassuring presence in the middle of it all, and the film does a surprisingly good job of catching some of the essence of the classic Japanese monster movies which obviously inspired it. Probably not going to win any of the major Oscars but still good fun while it's in front of you.

Kudos

Awix (3310 KP) rated Dark Waters (2019) in Movies

Mar 6, 2020

Not another remake of the Japanese movie about haunted plumbing, but a based-on-fact drama about a lawyer's long and gruelling battle to expose the truth about the contamination of the environment by synthetic long-chain fluorocarbons (the non-stick part of non-stick saucepans to you and me).

A very worthy and impassioned film about a serious and important topic, led well by Mark Ruffalo, with good support from a strong cast. On the other hand, it does come across as just a little bit dour, and the nature of the story doesn't necessarily lend itself to a conventional narrative structure. The kind of film that I'm glad gets made, but I still find it admirable more than genuinely likeable or enjoyable.

Kudos

Paul Tyrrell (139 KP) rated The Grudge (2004) in Movies

Apr 19, 2020

The Grudge (2004)

2004 | Drama, Horror, Mystery

6.5

(24 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

Jumps and plays on your childish fears (0 more)

Don't let your imagination run away with you (0 more)

Sleeping with the lights on at 30

Watched this again for the first time in years yesterday. Didn't seem half as scary when watching it with other people so didn't have to sleep with the light on this time (true story).
Sarah Michelle Gellar plays it well and some of the jumps and scares are brilliantly done. Raimi was going through a little horror spell with this and Drag me to Hell which also was pretty good, but did have a slightly more comedic tone than The Grudge.
Good supporting cast and well worth a watch, as its o e of the few American/Japanese updates that hasn't ruined the original story