Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020) review

 

While the late August Wilson was responsible for several highly regarded plays, his most notable piece of work was The Pittsburgh Cycle, a series of ten plays that, while not directly connected to each other in a ‘franchise’ sort of way, explored the lifestyles of African Americans throughout the 20^th century. Each play was set in a different decade ranging from the 1900s to the 1990s and all but one of them were set in Wilson’s hometown, the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. And in 2016, the first theatrically-released film adaptation of these plays was made based on 1985’s Fences. The film starred Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, who reprised the same lead roles that they portrayed in the play’s 2010 Broadway revival, and was also notably directed by the former. And upon its release, it was a solid hit with critics and earned Davis an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. This would prove to be the first of Washington’s efforts to adapt Wilson’s work thanks to a deal made with HBO (which was then moved to Netflix) to produce adaptations of other Pittsburgh Cycle plays. Thus, we now have an adaptation of 1982’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which presents a dramatized tale about the titular legendary blues singer, Ma Rainey. But while this one also stars Viola Davis, Washington’s only a producer this time around whereas directing duties go to George C. Wolfe who, like Wilson, is also a highly regarded veteran of theater. And under his strong direction, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is another top-notch adaptation of a classic August Wilson play.

On a hot summer day in Chicago in 1927, blues singer Ma Rainey (Viola Davis) and her band partake in a recording session organized by her manager Irvin (Jeremy Shamos) and Mel Sturdyvant (Jonny Coyne), the owner of their studio space. However, Ma isn’t too keen on the recording process and would much rather stick to her touring performances down South. Thus, what should’ve been a relatively easy day ends up getting increasingly complicated by Ma’s frequent creative clashes with Irvin and Sturdyvant, from her preference over which version of her hit song ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ that they’re recording to her request to have her nephew Sylvester (Dusan Brown) perform with the group despite his stuttering problem. And if that wasn’t enough, some major tensions begin to develop amongst her band members. Down in their practice room, pianist Toledo (Glynn Turman) and guitarist and trombone player Cutler (Colman Domingo) find themselves butting heads with Ma’s trumpeter, Levee Green (Chadwick Boseman), who aspires to have a band of his own thanks to a deal with Sturdyvant to produce his own songs. And as the day drags on, all the drama that forms around those in Sturdyvant’s studio only proceeds to get worse and worse to the point where it all ends in tragedy. 

The one thing that surprised me the most about Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was how drastically shorter it was when compared to Fences. Whereas Fences boasted a hefty 139-minute runtime, Ma Rainey’s is only an hour and a half long. Now admittedly, I’m not too familiar with August Wilson’s work so I don’t know how accurate this is to the play itself, but at the same time, I’m sure that it makes perfect sense in this instance since this is one of those ‘bottle episode’ type stories that takes place over the course of a single day in a single location. And with that in mind, I’d say that this helps make Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom just as sharply written of a play as Fences was even if it wasn’t a Pulitzer Prize winner like the latter. As strong as Fences was in conveying its themes such as the struggle to achieve the American Dream and to properly provide for one’s family, it did suffer a bit from the fact that, because of its ‘stage-y’ nature, you could often feel the brunt of its long runtime. Ma Rainey’s, by comparison, does have the same ‘stage-y’ feel to its proceedings but is arguably a lot more focused on portraying the struggles that African Americans faced in the years before the Civil Rights Movement. Whether it’s one of the band members telling a tragic tale of race-related violence or simply the whole premise of Black performers being exploited by their White managers, this film serves as a grim reminder of this country’s dark past… and, unfortunately, certain incidents from our current times.

Just like Fences, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is a premier actor’s showcase headlined by the phenomenal lead duo of Viola Davis as the titular Ma Rainey and Chadwick Boseman as her ambitious trumpet player Levee. Davis, in her second leading role in a Denzel Washington produced adaptation of an August Wilson play, shines as always as the strong-willed Ma, although it is worth noting that, because of how this story is structured, she isn’t really the main character here even though said story bears her name. Instead, that distinction goes to Chadwick Boseman as Levee since much of the run-time is based around the conversations that he has with Toledo, Cutler, and double bass player Slow Drag (Michael Potts). Thus, the most talked-about aspect of this film has easily been Boseman’s performance, especially since it ends up being the last performance of his career in the wake of his tragic death last August due to colon cancer. Despite this, however, Boseman once again proves that he was truly one of the best actors of his time with a phenomenal performance where, despite playing an incredibly cocky braggart who frequently acts like he’s better than any of his peers, still manages to be rather sympathetic at times because of his tragic backstory. And while much attention has been placed on Davis and Boseman’s performances, their co-stars are just as great as well, especially Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, and Michael Potts as Ma’s other band members.

Thanks to the one-two punch of Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, it’s clear that Denzel Washington’s role of being the key creative force behind the process of adapting August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle to the big screen means that this material couldn’t be in better hands. While Fences wasn’t exactly my ‘favorite’ film from 2016, it was still very much a well-made adaptation that was fully bolstered by strong lead performances and the undisputed brilliance of August Wilson’s writing. And sure enough, this also applies to Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which is arguably even better by comparison. Obviously, a lot of what I say here will ultimately come down to personal preference, but I feel that Ma Rainey’s manages to get its thematic points across better, namely because it’s a lot shorter. At just 94 minutes long, it never overstays its welcome, and while it may carry the same ‘stage-y’ quality that was heavily apparent in Fences, that doesn’t stop it from being a solidly engaging and wholly relevant story. And, of course, the biggest selling point of this film is the amazing pair of lead performances from Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman. It’s safe to say that the two of them will be attracting a lot of attention during awards season, and in Boseman’s case, it would be an incredibly fitting way to honor a bonafide cinematic icon in the wake of him being taken away from us way too soon.

Rating: 4.5/5

Remember the Titans (2000) review (700th Post!)

 

Back in February, I posted a review of Miracle, the 2004 film adaptation of the legendary moment in Olympics history where the U.S. Men’s Hockey Team upset the Soviet Union Men’s Hockey Team at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. I was even able to get it out on February 22^nd, the exact date that marked the 40^th anniversary of the iconic ‘Miracle on Ice’, which I felt was a more timely date for its publication rather than the film’s 15^th anniversary back in 2019 which, granted, would’ve also been in February. However, Miracle is not the only Disney-produced sports film that’s based on a true story that I was planning on reviewing this year. For you see, this year marks the 20^th anniversary of a film that is quite easily one of my favorite films of all-time. It’s a film that is very much in the running for holding the distinction of being the one film that I’ve watched the most in my life, which also makes it one of my top candidates when it comes to the most quotable films ever made. However, another big reason why it has left such a considerable impact on those who’ve watched it is because of its powerful messages of unity during divided times, which I feel makes it a very timeless film… and let’s be real, folks, 2020 has thoroughly reinforced that stance. A few months ago, the U.S. was rocked by multiple instances of police brutality against folks such as George Floyd and Breonna Taylor that, unfortunately, were only the most recent cases of police brutality towards members of the Black community. Because of this, the ongoing political/social movement that is Black Lives Matter has expanded significantly to combat this major facet of America’s long-standing problem with racism. But while today’s post isn’t going to be any kind of significant commentary on this situation (since I will fully admit that I’m in no way an expert on the matter), it will instead be a celebration of a film that I strongly believe is essential viewing during these difficult times. And so, without further ado, let’s delve into the masterpiece that is Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ 2000 production, Remember the Titans.

It is 1971, and in the city of Alexandria, Virginia, the local high schools are consolidated into a single institution, T.C. Williams, to help desegregate Alexandria’s black and white communities. Naturally, this causes plenty of racial divide across the area and it only proceeds to get worse when, as part of this new initiative, Herman Boone (Denzel Washington) is hired to be the school’s new head football coach, replacing longtime playcaller Bill Yoast (Will Patton). But while Yoast initially plans to move on with his life and take a job somewhere else, he soon realizes that he’ll have to stick around when all the white players who have played under him threaten to quit the team rather than play for a black coach. Thus, Yoast agrees to be Boone’s defensive coordinator as Boone begins his efforts to coach a team made up of black and white players. Obviously, things start off on a rough note due to the clear racial tensions between them all, especially between Yoast’s defensive captain, linebacker Gerry Bertier (Ryan Hurst), and all-star defensive end Julius Campbell (Wood Harris), one of Boone’s key recruits. And if that wasn’t enough, Boone eventually learns that because the school board is highly doubtful that this little social experiment of theirs is going to work at all, they will not hesitate to fire him at the first sign of trouble (or, in other words, just a single loss). Thus, through both devastating hardships and uplifting moments of prosperity, the Titans slowly but surely begin to band together as they embark on a legendary season that will truly unite their divided city.

Now the first thing to note about this film is that, just like any film that’s based on a true story, it does admittedly take a few liberties with what really happened in Alexandria in 1971, like how the car crash that left Gerry Bertier paralyzed occurred after the State Championship rather than before it. Ultimately, though, the biggest difference between this film and the real-life events that inspired it is that, based on what I’ve read, the former intensified the racial tension that was going on in Alexandria when, in reality, a lot of it had cooled down by the time that the Titans embarked on their legendary season. And yet, regardless of whether some of the biggest moments in this film truly happened or not, that doesn’t take anything away from the emotional heft of this story and its universal themes such as love, brotherhood, and accepting people based on character rather than the color of their skin. Whether it’s a major subplot such as Yoast exposing a crooked referee conspiracy by the school board to sabotage their season or specific sequences such as members of the team being denied service at a restaurant for being black, this film is full of big emotional moments and it hits them all wonderfully. However, this film is also much more than just a drama as all its intense emotional moments are matched excellently with a lot of great humorous moments that stem from the banter between its characters, which is key to the whole ‘one of the most quotable films ever made’ aspect that I mentioned earlier. The film also sports a terrific soundtrack, and I’m not just referring to its selection of classic songs such as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Spirit in the Sky”. There’s also Trevor Rabin’s phenomenal score that’s primarily represented by the track “Titans Spirit”, an epic 7-minute piece that runs the full gamut of moods from slow and serene to pulse-poundingly triumphant.

Another key aspect of this film’s success is its excellent ensemble cast, headlined, of course, by the one and only Denzel Washington as coach Herman Boone. Right out the gate, Boone is immediately established as being one hell of a strict coach who isn’t afraid to put his team through an incredibly tough training regimen to turn them into a winning team. But thanks to Washington’s natural charisma as a leading man, we’re still able to empathize with Boone given all the pressure that he’s under to set a good example for not only his family, but also his peers, his players, and the people of Alexandria. Washington is then naturally complemented by Will Patton as Coach Bill Yoast, who serves as a perfect foil to Boone as the Titans’ more calm and collected coach by comparison but one who’s still able to dish out some tough love when necessary. As for the rest of the cast, one of the most unique aspects of this film (when looking back at it nowadays) is how much of the cast is made up of actors and actresses who would go on to become major stars in their own right, such as Hayden Panettiere as Yoast’s football-loving daughter Sheryl. As for the Titans themselves, you have guys like Donald Faison, Ethan Suplee, and Ryan Gosling… and that’s just to name a few. And while I don’t want this review to turn into some kind of comparison piece, if there’s one big advantage that this film has over Miracle, it’s that it’s a lot more balanced when it comes to focusing on certain members of the team. While Wood Harris and Ryan Hurst clearly get the most attention out of all the team’s players given the rivalry between Julius Campbell and Gerry Bertier that evolves into a genuinely heartwarming brotherhood, the film makes a great effort to highlight as many players as possible. As such, we get a whole bunch of memorable characters such as lovable lineman Louie Lastik, who hopes to become the first in his family to go to college, California transfer Ronnie ‘Sunshine’ Bass, who rises up to become the team’s star quarterback, and sympathetic fast-talker Petey Jones, whose boastful nature often sees him getting directly chewed out by Coach Boone.

Now, before we conclude today’s review, I just wanted to delve into a quick personal story that will hopefully provide some more insight as to why this film is one of my all-time favorites. Even after all this time, I still remember going to see this film in theaters back when it first came out in 2000, and while I don’t necessarily remember the following detail, my folks have frequently told me that we went to go see it with the Woonsocket High School Football team. My dad was the team’s Head Coach at the time, and while he would eventually step down from the position to transition into education, he would still be heavily involved with the football team every year, especially once he became Woonsocket’s athletic director. Cut to 2009, and the team is now coached by one of my Dad’s best friends, who sadly suffered a personal tragedy that year when his older brother passed away in September. Not long after the team’s next game (which resulted in a loss), my dad decided to hold a film screening at the high school for them, and as you probably guessed, the film in question… was Remember the Titans. And to be perfectly blunt, I do believe that it gave the team the morale boost that it sorely needed. Not only would they end up winning the Rhode Island International League’s Division II-A Super Bowl that year, but in a run that quite arguably mirrored the perfect season that the Titans managed to pull off, they didn’t lose a single game after that previously mentioned loss. They even managed to achieve a bunch of big shutouts; several in a row, even. Thus, while I’m not saying that I believe that it was the key factor behind the team’s successful season, I can safely say that I’ve very much witnessed how this film can truly inspire those who watch it on a firsthand basis.

Like I said before, though, I know that this is far from being the most accurate ‘based on a true story’ sports film when compared to the real-life events that inspired it. It is, after all, a sentiment that has been shared with several members of the 1971 T.C. Williams Titans football team. In the film’s defense, however, this is just something that’s to be expected from any film that’s based on a true story. I can even imagine some folks arguing that, since this is a Disney production, it’s a heavily sanitized take on a story about the horrors of racism. And yet, even though I will openly admit that I wouldn’t necessarily consider this to be the absolute best film that has ever tackled the subject of racism, that doesn’t mean that it’s any ‘lesser’ by comparison for being a blockbuster that’s intentionally trying to appeal to as wide of an audience as possible. At the end of the day, this film is just as successful at being a heartwarming tale of solidarity in times of hardship as it is a wholly entertaining sports flick with a great soundtrack and an endless array of quotable lines. Plus, to be perfectly frank, folks, watching this in 2020 in the wake of all the crap we’ve endured this year (especially when it comes to the many incidents that have reinforced this country’s continuing issues with systemic racism) can be quite an experience. In other words, certain race-related moments in this film that were already tough to watch back when it first came out are arguably even harder to watch today because they can remind us that, even after all this time… we’ve still got a long way to go when it comes to combatting racism. And so, with all that in mind, I will simply reinforce the statement that I made at the beginning of this review where I strongly believe that Remember the Titans is a film that is the very definition of ‘essential viewing’. I know that I may be rather biased about this given how many times I’ve seen this film, but for all its imperfections, none of that even remotely prevents it from being not only one of the best sports films ever made… but also one of my favorite films of all-time.

Rating: 5/5!

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Post-Christmas Short Review Triple Feature: 2016 Edition

Hey, folks, it’s time for the first Rhode Island Movie Corner post of 2017. Right now, I’m currently working on my annual ‘Top 12 Films of the Year’ posts detailing my favorite films from 2016. That four-part series will be published sometime in the next few days but until then, it’s time for something that I usually do during this time; a quick post detailing some of the recent films that I’ve seen during the final stretch of the year. Every year after Christmas, I go on a double feature run with my good friend Matthew Goudreau, a writer for The Young Folks and The Nerd Stash. We’ve been doing it since 2012 and every year, we always end up seeing two of that year’s biggest award contenders. The first year we did it, it was Les Miserables and Django Unchained. In 2013, it was The Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle. In 2014, it was Into the Woods and The Imitation Game. And last year, it was The Hateful Eight and The Big Short. So, when it comes to doing reviews of these films, I always do a ‘short review double feature’ post instead of doing full reviews for both, mainly due to me not really having the time to do so because of the ‘Top 12 of the Year’ lists. But, it should be noted that in the case of our 2015 ‘double feature run’, it didn’t occur until New Year’s Day 2016 due to our busy schedules. Thus, I ended up seeing three films in two days. The third film was the annual film that I see on New Year’s Eve with my family (in this case, that film was Joy). Thus, that ‘double feature’ post ended up being a ‘triple feature’ post. And this year, it’s the same situation. I saw one film with my family on New Year’s Eve and then I did my ‘Double Feature’ run with Matt the following day; January 1^st, 2017. Another one of my pals, Alex Corey (who just started his own film review blog at alexcoreyfilm.blogspot.com and is also my co-host on our podcast Sabers, Phasers, and Lasers, Oh My!), even joined us this time around. Thus, it’s time for the second annual post-Christmas ‘Short Review Triple Feature’ post, in which I discuss the last three films that I’ve seen in theaters.

To kick things off, we have the film that I saw on New Year’s Eve. It was the last 2016 release that I saw in the year 2016.

SING

Sing is the latest film from Illumination Entertainment and their second of 2016 after their smash summer hit The Secret Life of Pets. It centers on a group of ‘misfit’ animals who enter a singing competition held by a koala named Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey), the owner of an old theater who hopes that it’ll give him the profit he needs to save his property. What follows is a charming animated film full of performances of new and classic songs, including ‘Don’t You Worry ‘bout a Thing’ by Stevie Wonder and ‘I’m Still Standing’ by Elton John. After all, this film is called Sing and the best part about it is the musical performances, all of which are performed very well by a solid voice cast that includes the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Seth MacFarlane, and Taron Egerton. For the most part, this does make up for the fact that the story is a straight-forward affair. This ‘save the theater’ storyline is quite predictable in both plot-points and in terms of its characterizations (e.g. an overworked mother, the son of a gang leader who looks to get out of the family business, a shy teenager looking to overcome stage fright, etc.). Still, despite this, I will give the film credit as there were some emotional moments that were quite effective, mainly in regards to Buster and his connection to the theater. Plus, most of, though not all, of the main characters are likable. In short, Sing is by no means a particularly groundbreaking entry in the animated film genre. Still, despite its standard plot, it does deliver when it comes to the one thing that it’s named for; singing performances. That at least makes it an enjoyable family flick.

Rating: 3.5/5

And now, onto the double-feature run that I did with Matt and Alex.

FENCES

Fences is the third directorial effort from A-list superstar Denzel Washington, following 2002’s Antwone Fisher and 2007’s The Great Debaters. The film is based off the award-winning (Pulitzer Prize-winning, to be specific) play of the same name by playwright August Wilson and is part of his series of Pittsburgh-based plays known as The Pittsburgh Cycle that encompasses all decades of the 20^th century. This one, set in the 50’s, shares a few similarities with another famous play, Death of a Salesman, in that it centers on an aging family man who struggles to provide for his family. Washington stars in the lead role of Troy Maxson, former Negro league baseball player turned garbage man, while Viola Davis stars as his long-suffering wife Rose. Both Washington and Davis starred in the 2010 Broadway production of the play and here they give terrific, emotionally-charged, and all-around Oscar-worthy performances in what is very much an actors’ showcase. And these strong performances do, for the most part, make up for some of the film’s flaws. Now, don’t get me wrong, the film is very well-directed by Denzel. But, at the same time, admittedly there are times where you do feel the length of the film’s hefty 139-minute runtime. Also, sometimes it does have a ‘stage’-like quality to it, namely because it all takes place within one primary location, the Maxson household, for most of the film. But, like I said before, it’s a solid emotional drama telling the tale of a dying American Dream. It may be hard to sit through (in fact, a lot of it is quite uncomfortable to watch) but it is worth it for the strong direction by Denzel Washington and the excellent performances from him and Viola Davis. And while I can’t go as far as to call this a ‘front-runner’ for Best Picture, it’s still a well-made film regardless.

Rating: 4/5

LA LA LAND

Finally, we have director Damien Chazelle’s highly anticipated follow-up to his critically acclaimed 2014 effort, Whiplash. La La Land, an original musical, is an affectionate love letter to old Hollywood and stars Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as an aspiring actress and jazz musician, respectively, who meet and fall in love all while they both aspire to achieve their dreams in the City of Angels. What follows is an excellent and charming love story set against the great backdrop of Hollywood. Yes, folks, all the positive reviews that this film has gotten are accurate; this truly is one of the best films of the year. For one thing, it’s a technical marvel, thanks primarily to the constant use of long takes. The musical numbers are great from top to bottom and Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are both excellent in their respective roles. This is the third film in which they’ve starred as a couple after 2011’s Crazy, Stupid, Love and 2013’s Gangster Squad and all three films showcase the strong chemistry between them. And finally, there’s the ending. Without giving anything away, it’s easily one of the best parts of the film. Simply put, it gives you a happy ending but then does something new with the idea that quite frankly ends up making the whole film. And because of all this, to reference the comments that were made by an older couple sitting behind me once it ended, I do believe that this film will become a classic down the road. It’s a charming original story that results in one of the best musical films to date while also showcasing the talents of everyone involved, particularly its director.

Rating: 5/5!

The Magnificent Seven (2016) review

In 1954, Akira Kurosawa, one of the most famous directors in the history of cinema, directed an historical epic titled Seven Samurai. The film centered on a group of Ronin (samurai without masters) who are hired by the residents of a farming village in order to protect them from a group of bandits that are terrorizing the town. The film is often regarded by many critics as one of the greatest and most influential films ever made, so much so that in 2010, Empire magazine put it at #1 in their list of the “Top 100 Best Films of World Cinema”. It also had a huge influence on numerous films in the years after its initial release, including Pixar’s A Bug’s Life and even Star Wars. And in 1960, it ended up getting an Americanized remake titled The Magnificent Seven, which re-imagined it as a western and featured an all-star cast that included the likes of Steve McQueen, Yul Brynner, and Charles Bronson. It is this version of the story that gets a remake this year courtesy of Antoine Fuqua, director of Training Day and The Equalizer. I named those two films in particular because both starred Denzel Washington, who won an Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in the former. Sure enough, Washington leads an, as expected, all-star ensemble cast in Fuqua’s new re-imagining of this classic story. Now to some, it may seem like an impossible task to try and live up to the high standards of both the original Magnificent Seven (even though that film is itself a remake) and Seven Samurai. And while this new film ultimately may not necessarily live up to those exact standards, it’s still a very enjoyable old-school Western on its own merits, especially thanks to solid direction and a well-rounded cast.

Set a little over a decade after the end of the Civil War, the film begins as the residents of the small mining town of Rose Creek find themselves under attack from a corrupt industrialist named Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), who states that he and his army will return in three weeks to take everything that the residents have. Knowing that the town has no real way of dealing with Bogue and his men, recently widowed Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett), whose husband Matthew (Matt Bomer) had been killed by Bogue during the attack, and her friend Teddy Q (Luke Grimes) head out to find someone who could possibly help them. Eventually they do end up finding their man in warrant officer/bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington). Once he agrees to help the two of them, Chisolm then proceeds to recruit a group of gunslingers to help him combat Bogue and his forces. These 6 other men include gambler Josh Faraday (Chris Pratt), sharpshooter Goodnight Robicheux (Ethan Hawke), Robicheux’s partner/knife-wielding assassin Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee), tracker Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), Mexican outlaw Vazquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Comanche warrior Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier). Recognizing that the seven of them are very much outmatched against Bogue and his army, the group begins to train the townspeople of Rose Creek so that they can all stand a chance against the massive army that is about to come their way.

If you’ve seen either Seven Samurai and/or the original Magnificent Seven, you’ll no doubt notice some major similarities between these three films in terms of plot. As a result, the film admittedly can be a bit predictable at times. But even with this in mind, the film still is a very solid and entertaining entry in the Western genre. Fuqua’s direction is solid and as one can probably expect from a Western, it’s certainly well-shot (e.g. landscape shots). And while the plot (a bad guy tries to take over a town and a bunch of rogue gunslingers join forces in order to stop him) is fairly simplistic, at the end of the day the simplicity of the story might actually be for the best. This isn’t a ‘revisionist’ Western that tries to craft a new spin on the typical Western tropes. It’s just paying homage to the classic Westerns of old, including the 1960 classic that shares its name. At its core, the most important part of the film is in its title, the Magnificent Seven, and overall it does do its job in regards to focusing in on this gang. I also really like how the story sees the group working with and training the people of Rose Creek so that they too can deal with Bogue and his men. Granted, the titular Seven are still the main focus of the film but it’s still a pretty cool spin on the typical Western story. And as for the action sequences, they’re definitely a major highlight, especially the two big shootouts in the film, one of which of course being the final battle between the Seven/people of Rose Creek and Bogue’s men. Sure these are basically the two biggest action sequences in a film that’s fairly long (two hours and 13 minutes to be exact) and definitely has its fair share of ‘slow burn’ moments that are commonly seen in Western films. But even with that said, they are set up pretty well and are fittingly lengthy battles.

As for the titular Seven themselves, admittedly they don’t get that much to work with in terms of character development. Granted, the film gets away pretty fine without having to really develop any of them but their character traits, motivations, and backstories are still very simplistic. Perhaps the one member of the cast that gets the most in terms of character development is Ethan Hawke, as it’s established that despite his talents as a sharpshooter, Robicheux is haunted by everything that happened during the Civil War, which ends up affecting him during gunfights. But even with the slim characterizations in mind, the main cast of leads certainly do a terrific job. Clearly they had a lot of fun making this film and it definitely shows through their excellent camaraderie with each other. It’s also quite a diverse cast of characters. Denzel Washington is his usual badass self in the lead role of Chisolm while Chris Pratt displays his ‘Star Lord’ esque swagger in the role of Faraday. Ethan Hawke, as noted earlier, arguably gets the most pathos out of the group as Robicheux while Byung-hun Lee is great as the badass silent assassin Billy Rocks. As for Vincent D’Onofrio’s character, tracker Jack Horne, when it comes to the action let’s just say that his turn as Wilson Fisk in Daredevil is a primary indication of just what kind of a warrior his character is. Last but not least there’s general newcomers Martin Sensmeier as Red Harvest, a pretty badass Comanche marksman, and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Vazquez, who admittedly is the least-focused on member of the Seven but is still a key part of the team when it matters. And really that’s the key thing to take note of when it comes this group of seven badass gunslingers as every member is essential to their overall success as a unit.

Now I’ll admit that going into this film, I haven’t seen either Seven Samurai or the original Magnificent Seven. As a result, I can’t really compare this new adaptation of the story to those two films (and even then I wouldn’t really do so anyway if I had seen them). But with that said, I can definitely tell that this new film probably won’t be as well-remembered in the long run as its two predecessors. It is a fairly simplistic Western execution-wise, which is evident by both the occasionally predictable plot and the slim character development. Still, on its own merit, it’s definitely a very entertaining crowd-pleaser. Fuqua’s direction is solid and the film’s action sequences, particularly its two big shootouts which are built up quite excellently, are fantastic. And of course, the cast is fantastic as well; heck they’re the biggest selling point of the whole film. Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Byung-hun Lee, Vincent D’Onofrio, Martin Sensmeier, and Manuel Garcia-Rulfo clearly had a blast working together and it shows because they have excellent camaraderie with each other and the film makes doubly sure that this diverse cast of characters are a well-rounded team. In short, this new Magnificent Seven isn’t really going to re-invent the wheel when it comes to the Western genre but at the same time it’s not trying to do that either. It’s just trying to pay homage to the Western films of old, which of course include the films that it’s directly inspired by, and ultimately it does succeed in that regard.

Rating: 3.5/5

2 Guns (2013) SHORT REVIEW

As Summer begins to come to a close, most of the year’s biggest blockbusters (Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, Man of Steel, etc…) have already come out. So what’s left in terms of summer movies? Well, one of these films is ‘2 Guns’ which, on the surface, looks like your basic ‘buddy cop’ action comedy and in a way, that’s pretty much the case with this movie. The premise is that these two men team up in order to rob a bank where the local mob has all of their money stored. However, what neither man knows is that the other is an undercover agent. One is a DEA agent (Denzel Washington) who is ordered to steal the money for the DEA so that they can take down the mob. The other man is an NCIS agent (Mark Wahlberg) who is ordered to steal the money for the Navy so that they can fund covert operations. When the two men discover each other’s true identity, they are forced to team up when they are put on the run from those who want the money for themselves.

 

On the surface, this is definitely a straight-forward ‘buddy cop’ action comedy but even with that in mind, the movie is very entertaining and that’s mainly thanks to the two leads. Washington and Wahlberg work off each other very well and the two have good camaraderie. The rest of the cast is good too, including Bill Paxton in a fun villainous turn as a black ops operative. The only thing holding this movie back is its screenplay. There are a lot of twists and turns in this movie, and because of that, the film gets a little convoluted at times. Still, despite this problem, the film is an entertaining popcorn flick thanks to Washington and Wahlberg’s chemistry.

Rating: 4/5