The Magnificent Seven

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade: D

Review: Bland, forgettable, and boring western, comes nowhere near it's predecessors.

The characters in this film are lacking in personality. At the end of the movie I don't feel like I know them at all. I have no idea what their personalities are. A great cast is completely wasted playing these characters. The story feels very rushed and I never got a feeling or danger or excitement. The action scenes are  well made, but since we don't know the characters they quickly become boring. Seven Samurai was three and a half hours and I was never bored watching that movie, but I got bored watching this two hour and twelve minute film with basically the same story. 

On the plus side the musical score is downright fantastic, and should have accompanied a better movie.

Skip this film and watch Seven Samurai (that movie is a masterpiece) instead.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Sully

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland



















Michael's Movie Grade:B+

Review: Well done movie is made even better by a fantastic performance from Tom Hanks.

Tom Hanks' performance in this film is incredible. He becomes the character of Sully. While we know the actor so well, we do not see the actor but the character instead. This is something kind of rare in films staring such big name stars. He isn't the only good performance here as everyone in the film is quite good, but there is something special about him in this film. On top of this the story is quite good, and Clint Eastwood's direction is very good. The opening scene and much of the trial at the end are particularly well done.

However on the downside as good as the story is, it can feel a little stretched out. The main problem with this fault is that we see the landing two times. It would have been much more effective to only see it once, as this takes away from how dramatic the second time we see it is, and it feels a little forced in the first time. Also other than Sully I feel we didn't get to know the other characters well enough. Despite this it still is a good story, and it is often very well told.

Overall an excellent film.

-Michael J. Ruhland

Tri

Review Written By Michael J. Ruhland












Michael's Movie Grade:A

Review: The feature film debut of director Jai Jamison, is a fantastic uplifting movie.

This film has an undeniable great sense of charm. The characters are very engaging. Both the writing and acting for these characters are fantastic, and they really come to life on the screen. The story is a simple and very well told uplifting story with a great message. The photography is great here and gives a great look at the nature that surrounds much of the Triathlon. The pacing is perfect, it is slow enough for you to fully get into the characters and story, but fast enough for it not to ever be boring. However the best thing I can say about this movie is even though the story is essentially complete, I still wanted to see more of these characters lives after the film was over.

Though you may not have heard of this movie, you really should see it. This is a fantastic movie that definitely deserves more attention than it is getting. I have to check out what this director does in the future, I have a feeling more great stuff is in store.

-Michael J. Ruhland