Seven

Rating:
Summary: Its a flipper
Review: I wouldnt bother know matter how good a film is this DVD is a flipper. Nothing more annoying than having to turn a DVD half way through a film just because a film producer is to tight to pay for dual layer disks.

Rating:
Summary: One of the all-time top 100
Review: My all-time top 100 changes in minor ways as time goes on, but there are certain films that will never leave it, and Seven is one of them.

* * *

I was told that the movie lost a lot in transition to the small screen. If this is the case, I'm considering renting the film reels and arranging a private screening for myself at Cinemark, because this is simply one of the most powerful films I have ever seen. Yes, we have the same formula as we had in The Bone Collector and a hundred thousand other films-- two cops get thrown together on a case neither really wants, and they don't like one another much. But that's where the formula stops. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman can't stand one another. Brad Pitt's wife, expertly played by the annoying Gwyneth Paltrow, attempts to smooth the path between them. And all the while a killer is baiting the two of them with murders, tortures, and various other brutalities based on the seven deadly sins.

I didn't care that it was cut with commercials every fifteen minutes like clockwork. I didn't care that many of the more gruesome scenes (which were described to me in detail where they would have been) were left out. I didn't care that the overdubs were, in many places, silly. From moment one, this was simply the most absorbing move I've seen this year, and probably in the last five years or more. I was completely captivated by Brad Pitt's obsession with the case, Morgan Freeman's desire but inability to walk away when the day of his retirement came, the stark camerawork (especially when the killer reveals himself-- an exceptionally powerful scene in an exceptionally powerful movie), the excruciating details of the plotting, many of which had an insanely sick humor to them. I found myself laughing at this movie a whole lot more than I expected to, another strong point in its favor.

This goes right up there with Closetland on the All-Time Top Ten. A thoroughly fantastic, funny, scary, visually stunning film.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Horror Movie of the '90's
Review: This movie is so incredibly disturbing because it is actually about something: the sense of sin that the modern world tries to deny and repress. Brad Pitt represents the principle that so many nowadays believe in: the proper application of force against other people is all you need to succeed. Morgan Freeman knows better--it's the enemy inside you, the enraged being that wants to smash the heads of his enemies, that's what really needs watching. John Doe is this death wish incarnate--he hates the world and wants to obliterate it and himself. Rarely have I seen a movie that so stylishly presents a contemporary mood (just check out those opening credits; you would think Trent Reznor had something to do with them.)

Rating:
Summary: This isn't going to have a happy ending.
Review: This isn't going to have a happy ending.

Tough thriller with an incredible climax. Exceptionally written, and well-acted thriller but not for the timid. 7 is very unsettling and dark at times. The Plot: Police drama about two cops (Freeman and Pitt), one new and one about to retire, after a serial killer using the seven deadly sins as his MO.

Favorite line: Detective David Mills (Pitt): I've been trying to figure something in my head, and maybe you can help me out, yeah? When a person is insane, as you clearly are, do you know that you're insane? Maybe you're just sitting around, reading "Guns ammo ...Wow! It is amazing how crazy I really am!"? Yeah. Do you guys do that?

The DVD: Outstanding image quality. Shadowy and intentionally dark; images are sharp and detailed. The Dolby® Digital soundtrack delivers excellent sound.

Rating:
Summary: The sign of Satan
Review: This film is the attempt to show the deep-running debate within the police about the profiling technique of the FBI. The old black detective goes along that line and tries to understand the religious and cultural motivations of the killer and finds them in Chaucer, Dante, Milton, and the killer's references to the Seven Deadly Sins. The young white detective follows his instinct and feeling in front of facts and crime-scene elements. That helps him find the essential clue that will bring the film to its end. But, not understanding the motivation of the killer, he will neglect some simple security measures concerning his wife, and will not understand how the killer is trapping him little by little in the seventh deadly sin, wrath. So he will fall in the trap. This film is entirely symbolical, every detail having a deeper meaning if it is read in the line of the religious and cultural references. The killer is a preacher who is trying to preach to the world the necessary crusade to be undertaken urgently if the world is to be saved. We have here a motivation that associates religion, the desire to punish, the ambition to be God, and the most reactionary ideology that considers that freedom in our world produces sin and decay. The man is a fundamentalist who tries to go back to the Middle Ages, when religion was fundamentalistic. He forgets one thing : the books he quotes had a double meaning. They reflected this fundamentalistic religion of the time, and they spoke with the authors' tongues in their cheeks, becoming hence a subtle denunciation of that fundamentalism and a call for a liberation of man's pirit and soul from this total alienation to a belief that is nothing but a superstition. We must also understand that, in the world, there are people who do think like that, and in some countries which have such a fundamentalistic approach of religion they commit all the crimes that go along with it, and of course all the limitations of freedom and private life. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, Universities of Paris IX and II.

Rating:
Summary: A Smart, Engaging Thriller.
Review: Are you sick and tired of having to watch thrillers with no idea whatsoever is happening? You have found the perfect movie. Seven is a smart thriller with a cool plot, a mysterious killer and an excellent director. The film knows exactly what its doing and exactly where it is going. The acting is superb, especially from Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman - the two detectives on the case of a death-wish killer.

I guarantee Seven will not bore you, it is entertaining, enthralling and exciting. Don't miss out!

Rating:
Summary: Meet John Doe
Review: There is a key scene a Se7en that shows exactly why this is one of the best thrillers ever made as opposed to your run of the mill serial killer movies. The Swat team are all dressed up for the bust, they move swiftly, rifles in hand towards the suspect's apartment complete with the complementary "thriller music" on the soundtrack. But then all of a sudden, the world weary detective Somerset(Morgan Freeman) looks at his overeager younger partner and says of the swat team "They love this." Becuase Se7en, arguably the greatest film in its genre, is not a film in need of cliches.

I am aware of how bizzare this sounds given the subject matter of the film, but Se7en is a beautiful looking film. Like the horrifying images in Dante's Divine Comedy which features heavely in the plot, Se7en's gruesomeness is startling, gripping and poetic. Director Fincher and his cinematographer create their unnamed city from hell with bleached colors, darks blacks and browns, deep shadows and dark wood furniture. Infact every frame of this film could be frozen and submitted to an art gallery. One particular shot of the killer holding a gun to Mill's head in the rain with his face out of focus is breathtaking.

Atmosphere is vital for this film's effect, but its undeniable success is because of its superior script, acting and direction. Morgan Freeman's performance as the world weary and very lonely Somerset is a masterclass of acting, his performance subtle and brilliant. Somerset is a man so depressed with the ugliness of his city that he admits to his partner about their case "We're picking up the pieces, collecting diamonds on a deserted island." A man so disturbed by his surroundings, that he leaves a highly annoying thermometer clock loudly ticking in his grim apartment. As irritating as that clock is, it is at least constant.

Se7en is also the first (and probably the last) film to break Hitchcock's famous rule, he said "There is no horror in the boom, only the anticipation". While it would be a crime to describe the film's ending, lets just say that there is indeed "horror" in it. It is a blow to the gut.

There have been countless pretenders, one star garbage the throw serial killers into the mix to add thrills to their pathetic narratives (The Bone Collector stand up), but Seven creates an entire new world, where it rains all the time and chronic apathy is only treatable by death. What the killer says of his work is also applicable to Fincher's masterpiece, this film will be "remembered, studied and followed". Becuase Se7en is not merely a film, it is A STATE OF MIND.

Rating:
Summary: A chilling story of evil
Review: Seven is one of those disturbing films that left me at times wishing it was less, yet also wishing for more.

The "Mores"

The acting is very good throughout the film. The actors kept these characters firmly based in reality; I could believe that I would find these people in the NYPD or any police department. In fact, if the characters were allowed to go "over the top", the story would have suffered a great deal. Specifically, I liked Morgan Freeman's take on Detective William Somerset (the cynical "old hand"); his interpretation left the impression that William had seen it all and had had enough. Nothing seemed to faze Somerset. Brad Pitt's take on Detective David Mills (the ambitious and opportunistic "new guy") was spot on. I liked the charm and affection shown between his character and Gwyneth Paltrow's Tracy Mills. Kevin Spacey was great as John Doe; his take of the character, with the clinical self-detachment, kept his scenes from going over the top.

The "Lesses"

The film is very intense and is not meant for children. In fact, if you are disturbed by stories that delve into evil and the effects that evil has on ordinary people, then avoid this film. At times the film dwelled on the images of the victims; the effect was almost of a forensic photographer filming the scene for evidence. There isn't a log of special visual or audial effects, music is at a minimum; the general feel of the film is very spare.

General Comments

My copy of the tape was very good; the sound was clear, the visual was crisp and the color balance was good.

Rating:
Summary: Better than "Silence of the Lambs"
Review: It seems that everytime a new serial killer movie is released, they always compare it to "Silence of the Lambs". Well it is my belief that all serial killer flicks should have to go through another type of test, they should all be compared to "Seven". "Seven" has got to be the best written, most suspenseful, and most chilling serial killer, no make that movie, of all time. Everytime you think you can predict what will happen, BAM, you get hit with another twist. And they over do the suspense. They don't make the villain some shocking unbelievable character, it's the kind of person that would be a Real killer. So if your looking for a real scary movie, than I strongly reccomend getting "Seven".

Rating:
Summary: Help
Review: I am a minor and want to know if you people think it would be ok to see it. If you write a review please mention it. Thanks