Tag Archives: movie reviews

Pratt, Denzel shoot it out in ‘Magnificent Seven’ trailer

I’ve always loved westerns. There aren’t nearly enough of them made these days in a world of superhero movies, and sequels and remakes —

Speaking of remakes, the trailer for the “Magnificent Seven” remake has hit today and it looks pretty damn good.

Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt headline Sony's remake of "The Magnificent Seven". (Columbia Pictures)
Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt headline Sony’s remake of “The Magnificent Seven”. (Columbia Pictures)

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, the film stars Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Haley Bennett, Vincent D’Onofrio, Ethan Hawke, Matt Bomer, Byung-hun Lee, and Peter Sarsgaard.

It’s a remake of the 1960 classic starring  Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, and Charles Bronson — which itself is a remake of the Akira Kurosawa’s epic “Seven Samurai” (1954).

Release date: September 23, 2016

Official synopsis: With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Sarsgaard), the desperate townspeople employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns – Sam Chisolm (Washington), Josh Farraday (Pratt), Goodnight Robicheaux (Hawke), Jack Horne (D’Onofrio), Billy Rocks (Hun Lee), Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), and Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier).

As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money.

Magnificent Seven teaser trailer — Property of Sony Pictures

‘Blended’: You’ve seen this Adam Sandler movie before

This is a day I never thought would come and it makes me sad. But I think I’ve outgrown Adam Sandler. Yes, I know, there is probably some rule that says I “have to” hate Adam Sandler movies as a movie critic. But I’ve always liked his movies. At least I used to.blended

Does this mean I’ve grown up. Or does this mean Sandler just hasn’t. Yeah, he usually plays some sort of “family man” in his movies now, but it just seems like he’s clinging unnecessarily to his immaturity. My main problem with “Blended” is that it just seems like he took a highlight reel of jokes from better movies and wrote them into this script.

Full Blended movie review at Examiner.com

Release date: May 23, 2014

Directed by: Frank Coraci

Written by: Ivan Menchell and Clare Sera

Starring: Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and Terry Crews

Running time: 117 mins.

Rating: PG-13 for crude and sexual content and language

 

‘X-Men’, Adam Sandler…and Toothless? on KC LIVE Critic Chat

This was a huge moment for me. Not only do I feel like a real critic for publicly ripping an Adam Sandler movie, but I got to share some air time with a huge star — no, not Michelle Davidson — but Toothless from “How to Train Your Dragon” movie fame. KCL2

Check out my latest appearance on Kansas City Live!, where I review “X-Men Days of Future Past”, “Blended”, and “Chef”. Be sure to stick around for the whole video not only to see Toothless on the KCL set, but also to see me wearing a way-too-small viking helmet.

Kansas City Live! Critic Chat: