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Blackmail, Murder & Mayhem

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Seven - New Line Platinum Series

Seven - New Line Platinum Series

List Price: $26.99
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Head In The Box" Movie!
Review: Every once in a while a film comes along that is so well written, acted and directed that it transcends it's genre.
This is the case with David Fincher's "Seven," a superb film that transcends the fact that it's merely about two cops tracking a serial killer. The performances by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman are flawless, not to mention a superb cameo (by an actor who'll remain nameless for the benefit of those of you who still haven't seen it) as the psychotic "John Doe".
Working with an intelligent script by Andrew Kevin Walker (who also punched up some of the dialouge for "Fight Club", Director David Fincher gives us an intelligent thriller that remains relentless and uncompromising.
The DVD package is sensational...the two discs include commentary by Pitt, Fincher and Freeman, exteneded and deleted scenes, a segement that details the creation of John Doe's creepy notebooks and a host of storyboards and publicity material. Example:the commentary reveals the studio wanted to make the film with a less distrubing, more hackneyed ending, but Fincher, Pitt and Freeman would only do the "head in the box" version. Note...hats off to Brad Pitt for creating the line in which he mis-pronouces the Marquis De Sade as "The Marquis De Shar-Day"!
"Seven" is the "Citizen Kane" of serial killer movies.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Chillingly Entertaining
Review: One of the best and most frightening movies of the past 10 years, "Se7en" contains on the edge of your seat terror, great acting by the police duo of Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt, and disturbing realism. David Fincher, who later directed "Fight Club", is on top of his game here, crafting a horribly disturbing script about a serial killer who matches his murders with one of the seven deadly sins. Freeman and Pitt watch as the murders become more brutal and brutal, as the corpses pile up and each deadly sin is fulfilled. And in the nail-biting last 30 minutes, the clever plot twist brings out the cold-blooded killer (played by Kevin Spacey in a small role).

This movie is made better by the chilly and dark environment that Fincher chooses to use for the city. The dark and rainy city streets make each murder seem worse and magnifies the frustration of Pitt and Freeman, who seem helpless in their pursuit of a killer that they cannot capture. The DVD is packed with extras, from actor-director commentaries to deleted scenes to alternative endings. You can see just how much work went into making this movie, from the crafting of "John Doe's notebooks" to set designs. The extras included in this edition of the movie make it A SOLID BUY, on top of the digitally remastered widescreen version of the film on the first DVD.

This is arguably Fincher's masterpiece, although with many movies ahead of him it is hard to say what he'll do next. Freeman has never been better, playing the grizzled cop vet teaching Pitt the ways of the street. An underestimated thriller upon its release, "Seven" will eventually take its place with "Silence of the Lambs" as the best horror-thrillers of its time.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Could easily have received, Se7en points hehehe
Review: Because this is a landmark thriller. I remember sitting through it in a moviehouse in 1995 and it still hasn`t overstayed its welcome. The story, characters and its visual splendour arrests you immediatly and should be in every moviecollection in every household, `round the world.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "Se7en" Review
Review: I don't give 5 stars easy, but this one was a 5 star movie. It was a honest to god masterpiece. This is probably one of my favorite movies of all time. This was the best thoughtout movie of all time! I recommend this to anyone! (Obviously not young children, but you get the drift.) The twist at the ending will have you stunned!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Something's missing....
Review: As a film overall, Seven has all the key elements -- great acting (Freeman,Spacey and Pitt are all excellent), super photography, a creepy and compelling plot, and just enough gory visuals to keep it interesting. But it does have its flaws. First off, Tracy is a little strange from the git-go. "Nough said without giving away anything. Second, while I totally understood the ending (yes, every aspect of it), it just wasn't fulfilling. Not in any way. The viewer feels cheated, not completed. This is a major problem with Seven and what holds it back from being a Silence-type classic. There's such a thing as being too artistic.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: se7en
Review: this was an incredibe movie from beginning to end. i give it 5 stars because unlike many movies this one actually has a plot other than a murderer just going around hacking people up. it has an all star cast of morgan freeman, brad pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, and kevin spacey. this movie was creepier than "The Silence of The Lambs," and just as if not more disturbing, although who could beat buffalo bill, i reccomend this movie for any psych thriller lover, or anyone who will enjoy a good movie.


ps I AM A CELTIC

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Modern Classic
Review: Se7en is by far one of the most inventive, well-written, and cerebral films in recent history. The film, blending a well put together combination of dark visual style, intense plot development, and polished acting, remains tight and focused throughout, from beginning to end, never straying outwards into unimportant issues, or resorting to typical Hollywood clichés. Se7en is uniquely on its own for suspense dramas as it both fuels the need of the audience to be drawn in and entertained by the events unfolding, and remain uncompromising and shocking, thus satisfying the initial vision of the director, David Fincher.

The story surrounds the hunt for a serial killer, who, inspired by Dante Alighieri's seven deadly sins from "The Divine Comedy", sets out to, "preach" about man's impurity, and does so by targeting victims, then torturing them by pitting their own underlining sins against them. Se7en seemingly starts out as a typical cat and mouse detective story, however, it quickly develops into of a sort of modern-myth, with good and evil taking centre stage. The story is original on all counts, and thrilling on all levels. The most important aspect of Se7en, however, is that it keeps the audience numerous steps behind its story, as oppose to other thrillers, which become predictable and bland by the end. By keeping the audience in the dark, the film remains fresh and original as it progresses. Se7en even dramatically turns the tide at one point, just as the audience is finally getting comfortable and asserted into the gloomy atmosphere, thus creating as much as fear and uncertainty in the audience as it is with the characters involved. By the film's conclusion, the audience is as much apart of the film as the characters themselves, and arrive at Se7en's surprise ending without a single clue of it, prior to it occurring. Se7en's poetic ending(which will not be given away) says a lot for the people behind the movie, showing they are not afraid of going against the grain. A rarity with films so nowadays.

Directed brilliantly by David Fincher, and skillfully written by Andrew Kevin Walker, Se7en is well crafted and ingeniously clever, making it one of the greatest films of the 90's. While Se7en may not have garnered critical acclaim as such films as Silence of the Lambs, Se7en is, undoubtedly, as influential as any film to date.



Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Cutting Edge Ending
Review: Pitt,Freeman,Spacey, and Paltrow...not to mention the rest of this ensemble cast of actors and actresses. People, this is the most effed up ending to a story ever written. This movie isn't exactly your "cliche" murder mystery ending. The movie grabs you right from the beginning with that darky, gloomy backround and rainy weather. I was anticipated to see each deadly sin unraveled throughout the story. Each sin was maginficently presented in a specific fashion. Take for instance..Lust. That was so crazy when Pitt and Freeman went to this underground nightclub/nude bar and loud techno music was blaring in the backround when they saw the dead prostitute and a delirious guy screaming. The ending was brilliant. Nobody can ever write a better ending to a story. The ending pulled me in and never pulled me out. The movie did something to my head psychologically speaking that I can't ignore. Pitt unwinded in a frenzy which unfortunately I haven't seen him do in any other films. In conclusion this isn't a popcorn movie with your girlfriend, nor this isn't a movie you watch with Dad and Mom on a Tuesday night. This movie is geared for a stormy/rainy/cloudy day and you're in for a thriller.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The ceremony of innocence is drowned
Review: A chilling exploration of the individual hells we create for ourselves and each other. The director's hand is masterful as he slowly reveals the precise logic behind a serial killer's choice of victims. This is so subtly done that you are seduced into subconscious agreement with these choices - the victims are guilty "as charged" - or perceived. Until the two penultimate victims are chosen...

Script, casting, production values and music are all perfect for this gut-punch of a movie. Freeman in particular is wrenching in his portrayal of an honest, intelligent Everyman failing to contain the agony and dread and horror of living in an urban inferno - but ultimately shouldering the burden yet again and soldiering on, failure or no.

A flawless exposé of what lies at the heart of our modern disease; the eighth, deadliest sin: lack of compassion.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not your usual horror flick...
Review: While many people see this movie as a 'Silence of the Lambs' style psychological horror movie (and being overly grotesque abd graphical for some) - the horror is just a minor aspect of the movie. In a way, it is just a metaphore for our lives today.

The movir centers on the relationship between supposedly opposite detectives - David Mills (Brad Pitt) is still young enough (and inexperienced enough in big city crime)to believe the system works, and that most criminals can be caught if the cops & detectives involved will work hard enough. Detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman), on the other hand, had more than his share of unsolved, grotesque cases to be weary of the system. His definition of a 'closed case' is when there is nothing more to be done - whether the perpertrator has been caught, or in many of the cases - until there is no way of finding him or her. He's also experienced enough to know that hard work is often not enough, and that the wheels of justiced can work better if they're greased with some bribes somewhere along the way. Unlike Det. Mills, who fights the despair he sees around him by tryingto do his best, Det. Somerset just decide to give up - with so much crime going on around him, what can he do to stop it?

The movie assaults our sense of 'right and wrong'. Just like Det. Mills, we'd like to think everything can be resolved with logic - but are all logical decisions right decisions? The scene between Tracy & Somerset in the diner tries to tell us the opposite.

As the movie progresses, the relationship between the two detectives is getting better - not only are they becoming friends, but also manage to find a way to work well together, and to feed off each other's strength & talents. But this doesn't lead to a happy ending - even though the crime is solved. As the relationship gets better, the murders are becoming stranger, exposing us to seedier & seedier sides of life in the big city.

Looking at the way the movie is shot, NYC is always rainy, wet, neglected. This depressing atmosphere affects the lives of everyone living in it. Even the supposedly 'perfect' relationship between David & Tracy (the highschool sweethearts we'd all like to be) had somehow gone wrong - starting with the 'vibrating apartment', and going through a stage where Tracy doesn't share the secret of herpregnancy & her doubts about it with David.

The ending, on the other hand, occurs in a big, sunny field - the exact opposite of the wet city the characters had just left. But while the city was 'their turf', where they were in control, John Doe is in control of the situation in the field. Once again, our ideals of good & bad (crowded, wet city vs. the big, sunny countryside) are somehow used against us.


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