to be in the service of others, with men I respect, like you all, I shouldn't have to ask for more than that

Am I back into movie-freak mode? Maybe so.

The Magnificent Seven (2016) - "Director Antoine Fuqua brings his modern vision to a classic story in The Magnificent Seven. With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue, the desperate townspeople employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and hired guns. As they prepare the town for the violent showdown that they know is coming, these seven mercenaries find themselves fighting for more than money."
source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: I wanted to watch something that isn't too serious
IMDB: 6.8/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 64% Audience: 71%
my IMDB: 8/10

notable quote: "What a merry band, we are. Me a Grey, Chisolm a Blue, Billy a mysterious man of the Orient, a drunk Irishman, a Texican, a female and her gentlemen caller. This is not going to end well."

MPAA rating: PG-13

directed by: Antoine Fuqua

my notes: I LOVE Vincent D'Onofrio, and particularly love his character in this film. Hilarious, sweet, and strong. This is the rare remake that's better than the original.

also reviewed here
overall:  recommended

War (2007) - "After his partner Tom Lone and family are killed apparently by the infamous and elusive assassin Rogue, FBI agent John Crawford becomes obsessed with revenge as his world unravels into a vortex of guilt and betrayal. Rogue eventually resurfaces to settle a score of his own, setting off a bloody crime war between Asian mob rivals Chang of the Triad's and Yakuza boss Shiro. When Jack and Rogue finally come face to face, the ultimate truth of their pasts will be revealed."

source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: I wanted a buddy movie
IMDB: 6.2/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 13% Audience: 51%
my IMDB: 7/10

MPAA rating: R

directed by: Philip G. Atwell

my notes: in the spirit of Face/Off and Con Air, this is a film about appearances. It is also a whole lot of action and violence and some tricky plotting. It doesn't have great reviews but I still come back to it again and again.
overall:  recommended

Marathon Man (1976) - "Thomas 'Babe' Levy, whose brother Henry James 'Doc' Levy is an oil business executive, is a Ph.D. candidate in History at Columbia University. He is also training as a marathon runner. Babe is paying homage to his deceased father, H.B. Levy, in pursuing the same studies as he, the father who committed suicide while being under investigation in the Communist witch hunts. Babe's work does not sit well with Doc who wants Babe to move on with his life. While at Columbia, Babe meets and begins to date Elsa Opel, a foreign exchange student also in History. While out for a walk in Central Park late one night, Babe and Elsa are mugged, the unusual aspect of it being that their attackers were men in suits. Babe will learn that the mugging was not a random attack after someone close to Babe is found murdered, the deceased whom was not whom he purported to be. From here, Babe is thrown into an international conspiracy concerning Nazi war criminal Christian Szell in hiding, and a large cache of diamonds. In the process, Babe learns that Szell's associates are after him believing that he was passed sensitive information by the deceased before his death. Not knowing anything about what's going on, Babe has to decide whom he can and cannot trust while he works to find out what's going on. In Babe discovering what's happening around him, his issue with Szell becomes personal."
source: streamed on DISH
I watched it because: it was one of those rare movies that neither of us has ever seen
IMDB: 7.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 81% Audience: 81%
my IMDB: 7/10

AFI: 100 Years ... 100 Thrills (2001) #50

    100 Years ... 100 Heroes and Villains (2003) Dr. Szell #34

notable quote: "'What's the catch?'

    'The catch is it's dangerous. Please do it.'

    'That ain't the catch. It's the fun.'"

MPAA rating: R

directed by: John Schlesinger

my notes: this is a very. complicated. movie. Don't bother watching if you're distracted! It takes a while to gather the disparate threads of the story. Laurence Olivier was nominated, and for good reason, but the star of the show is Roy Scheider. He perfectly combines urbane, vicious, sexy, funny, and surprisingly athletic. Dustin Hoffman is a good lead but his full-on-screaming response to nearly any stimulus is tedious in the second hour.
Academy Award nominee: Best Supporting Actor—Olivier
overall:  recommended

Mortdecai (2015) - "Lord Charlie Mortdecai, a dubiously-reputed but expert art wheeler and dealer counting on his devoted manservant Jock to save his bacon with swindled or criminal clients, is near bankruptcy due to US taxes, so prepares his aristocratic wife Johanna to selling off some heirlooms from their grand residence. That gets her even less in the mood to put up with his freshly grown 'ancestral' mustache, all to more to flirt with rival admirer Alistair Martland, an MI5 agent counting on Charlie as art expert, hence looking away from his shady deals. This time he must verify the rare Goya painting stolen from the murdered restorer Georgina and follow the fencing trail, promised a 10% insurance fee. It leads him to his reputable competitor Sir Graham, Russian oligarch Romanov's goons abducting Mortdecai perilously to Moscow, the best smuggler to the US, and obscenely rich, dirty client Krampf's Californian playpen, and Johanna to a dying duke's grand estate."
source: streamed on DISH
I watched it because: neither of us had even heard of it - and it was mutually agreeable
IMDB: 5.5/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 11% Audience: 30%
my IMDB: 8/10

notable quote: "'Have you heard the expression, "open your balls"?'

    'No, sir.'

    'It made me feel dirty.'"

MPAA rating: R

directed by: David Koepp

my notes: laugh-out-loud funny. It's not brilliant or perfectly cast (good grief, Gwyneth, that accent) but some of the acting is terrific. Scenery and costumes are great, Paul Bettany is completely hilarious, and the story (sort of) makes sense. Definitely didn't earn all the crap reviews.
overall:  recommended

[the title quotation is from The Magnificent Seven]