Director: David Fincher

Writer: Andrew Kevin Walker (Screenplay)

Starring: Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, John Cassini

Plot: Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.

Tagline –  Earnest Hemingway once wrote, “The world is a fine place and worth fighting for.” I believe the second part.

Runtime: 2 Hours 7 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: One of the Best Dark Crime Thrillers

Story: Seven starts as Detective Mills (Pitt) a cocky young detective joins seasoned veteran Detective Somerset (Freeman) who is on the verge of retirement to teach Mills the ropes in the new city. While the two don’t hit it off because of the clash of backgrounds Somerset doesn’t want anything to do with the latest murder but when Mills take over the case upon the second body, Somerset agrees to assist Mills in the cracking the case.

When the case turns into a hunt for a serial killer who is picking his victims to represent the seven deadly sins, the pair know there are going to have more victims but must race to stop this killer before the victim count gets too high.

Thoughts on Seven

Characters – Somerset is the veteran detective one week from retirement, who must take short tempered detective under his wing for the final week. Somerset has an old school style along with a gentle tone though the crimes. Mills is the short-tempered detective that moves into the new city and must learn the way of the police there, he is happy to break a few laws to get the correct answer when investigating a crime which goes against everything Somerset stands for. Tracy is the wife of Mills, who is also new to the town, she hasn’t found a job and is finding herself lonely with Mills on the job. John Doe is the man behind the crimes, he is calculated in his every move who is almost mocking the detectives with his actions.

Performances – Morgan Freeman is excellent choice in the leading role because he sums up calm and gentle nature needed for the role, Brad Pitt steps up to the darker movie with ease because he gets to keep his cocky swagger for the role. Gwyneth Paltrow is good but doesn’t get the screen time we could have gotten from her character. Kevin Spacey is the secret star of this film because when he enters the story you are left to sit on the edge of your seat waiting to see what he does or says next.

Story – The story is a serial killer building up the number of bodies while two unlikely detectives must put aside their differences to stop the killer. The dark tone going on through the story shows how the killer’s motives are perfectly placed out and it is the detectives are the ones that need to think quickly to stop the next step. If you like a crime story that involves solving the case this will give you one of the best, but the lack of suspects might put people off in places.

Crime/Mystery/Thriller – The murders are graphic in how we see the effects of what has been done to the victim, the mystery comes from leaving us to wonder why the victims have been selected and we are left on the edge of our seats from the start to the finish of the film.

Settings – The city is never made clear which shows how the crimes could happen in any town, city, country if the believer is willing to follow through with his beliefs.

Scene of the Movie – Visiting the suspect.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Hard to find one.

Chances of Sequel: No

Post Credits Scene: No

Box Office: $100 Million (USA)

Budget: $33 Million

Final Thoughts – This is easily one of the greatest thrillers of all time, it is edge of your seat material from start until the end even on repeat viewings you will find yourself gripped.

Overall: Must watch crime thriller.

Rating

Director: Jay Silverman

Writer: Jennifer Goldson (Screenplay)

Starring: Santino Fontana, Dania Ramirez, Makenzie Moss, Maria Conchita Alonso, Jen Lilley, Kristen Dalton, Ian Reed Kesler

Plot: An unlikely heir to a Mexican fast-food franchise goes ‘cuisine’ hunting for the next culinary big thing, and finds himself in a small, dusty New Mexican town where foodies come from all over to salivate over the culinary treats of a local, authentic, and feisty female chef.

Runtime: 1 Hour 36 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Dishes up a Delightful Story

Story: Off the Menu starts as the man child Joel Flanagan (Fontana) the heir to Mexican fast-food chain Tortilla Hunt must take responsibility for his life, by going into the field to search for new flavours for the chain. Joel finds himself stranded in a small New Mexican town with their own star chef Javiera Torres (Ramirez) whose dishes bring people from all over the state to try her speciality. As the two clash at first, they both start to learn more about life, business and food as the true meaning of Javiera’s art form is revealed.

Thoughts on Off the Menu

Characters – Joel is a man child, set to inherit his fortune from his family business, not taking responsibility for his action and reluctantly taking the journey to New Mexico in search of new flavours. He can easily push people the wrong way, which leaves him needing to build the bridges he can burn so quickly. Javiera Torres is a singer mother and feisty chef that runs her own café, it gets rave reviews because of her ability to bring out the best in her culinary skills which brings people from all over to try her speciality. She enjoys the art of cooking which has seen her hurt in love too often, this café keeps her happy and her love for food alive. The rest of the characters include the family and friends of Javiera and the business associates of Joel’s.

Performances – Santino Fontana is an actor I am unfamiliar with, he comes into the leading role and manages to make you feel the way you are about his character from the opening hatred for him to the support you will show him by the end of the film. Dania Ramirez has appeared in plenty of films in supporting roles, to see her step up into the leading role is great and just like Santino she works great, the two work wonderfully together on screen. The rest of the cast work well through the film too.

Story – The story follows in the footsteps of Chef and Burnt, using love of food to tell and story, this time a love story. We have the idea a member of a mega rich fast-food chain is sent to try and steal ideas from small independent food source have made their unique touch to bring to the masses, but a new respect and a moment to grow up gives our character a chance to do the right thing. This story brings us everything we need for this to unfold as we know without offering any fresh touches, but this isn’t a bad thing it hits all the markers needed to make this an enjoyable story to see.

Comedy/Romance – The comedy comes mostly from Joel’s reaction towards people, it comes off more light-hearted over full blown comedy too, the romance is what you have come to expect, it works and is believable throughout.

Settings – The film uses the settings show the two different worlds Joel and Javiera come from and what is a real home to these two people.

Scene of the Movie – Drunk cooking challenge.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Businesses acting like the way they do.

Final Thoughts – This is a delightful rom com that brings the love of food into the mix, we have great performances, a simple idea that works so well and the cooking ideas will leave you wanting dinner, (so bring out a cooking book to go with the film).

Overall: Enjoyable from start to finish.

Rating

2017 Award

Worst Actor

January is here and that means award season and for the whole of January I will be looking at a range of best and worst subjects,

Winner

Theo James – Underworld: Blood Wars

Reason – This performance continues to show how he has little talent in a leading roles and needs to stop being dull, emotionless leading actors.