Seven Pounds

Have you ever looked at yourself really hard in the mirror and wondered "How heavy are my organs?". I have. In fact my organs weigh..


Seven Pounds.

In this hard hitting drama, director Gabrielle Muccino, formerly of the Pursuit of Happyness, pairs once again with Hollywood heavyweight Will Smith to whip another tale of loss and redemption at us in movieland. With an ensemble cast, a strong script, and support from the major studios, Muccino attempts to hit us with strike number two of his one-two combo of heavy dramas. How does he fare? Lets find out.

Will Smith stars as Ben Thomas, an IRS Agent with a secret. Tormented daily by the weight of his actions in his previous life, Thomas sets out on a mission of redemption. By finding seven honest to god good people, Thomas commits his life to changing these peoples' lives whether they know it or not. Along the way he meets and enters into a deep relationship with Emily, played by the stunning Rosario Dawson. As the relationship between Ben and Emily strengthens, Ben continues his quest of helping these complete strangers in their times of need. Supported by a monsterous supporting cast of Woody Harrelson, Barry Pepper, and Michael Ealy, who act as the people Thomas aims to help, we follow as Smith leads us on a journey for Ben to overcome the devilish secret in his past.

I've read all over the internet that Seven Pounds was a poor film, and I'm going to respectfully disagree. For my money, Seven Pounds was one hell of a film. While I will go ahead and say that it wasn't anything stunning or ground breaking, I cannot find it in me to see this as a bad movie. Right from the beginning, the film touts it's greatest assett, the strength of the actors involved. There isn't a single scene in this movie that is poorly done, so kudos to all involved. I myself am a fan of Mr. Will Smith and I was glad to see him turn in another wonderful perfomance as a man hell bent on helping others. Redemption is a common theme in movies and Seven Pounds delivers a strong tale of that. I was also pleased with the performances of the entire supporting cast, especially Rosario Dawson as Emily, an artist by trade with a heart ailment that prevents her from working in her field. I wish Hollywood would give her more of a chance to be the heavyweight in the leading actiress role she can be.

Seven Pounds however, isn't without flaw. There's nothing glaring at you as a problem, at least not to me, but there are a few issues to be addressed. At times, the sense of drama and mood in the story is a little much. I know the story is meant to be played very seriously, but very rarely does that mood change. Some may think that's a good thing, but it can be a little daunting to feel consumed by drama for two hours. Also, as much as I appreciate the story and watching Smith travel his dark road of redemption, parts of the story are a little unfocused. I get that the relationship between Emily and Ben is one of the main themes of the movie, but its presented in a way that makes it feel like its a distraction from the rest of the plot. Some parts feel under developed because so much time is diverted to the time Ben spends on Emily.

Overall, Seven Pounds seems like a pretty strong film to me. I didn't find it to be lacking anything, but rather, its execution was off. Some mood changes and a more focused would have accompanied the strong performances and relatable characters much better and we would have had a much better film to talk about today.


Grade: B

"Everybody Dies!"

If you've ever met me, you probably know that I have a special love for horror movies. As most avid movie watchers will tell you, horror movies tend to range from absolutely shit to really good. Very rarely does a horror film expand into greatness, that seems to be a realm reserved for dramas with a message, at least thats what many would have you believe. Personally, I've seen a lot of horror films that I would rank right next to films like Yojimbo and The Godfather, movies generally considered to be uncompromisingly great. The film I'm set to review in this blog however, is not one of those movies.



Murder Party is an independent feature by Jeremy Saulnier. Its one of those movies that you see in the horror section of a DVD store and just shake your head at. But like many of its kind, Murder Party holds a lot more value than it lets on. I discovered this movie one night at work. It was a Thursday night at Hollywood Video and the staff was cleaning and getting ready for close when I stumbled into the stock room. I took a gander at the movies that were set to come out the following week; employees of most rental stores are allowed to rent the movies before their release dates, and as my eyes searched over the titles, a blood red box caught my eye. "Murder Party" it said, writting on the spine of the DVD in a free font most anyone can download on the internet (though the same can be said for many fonts used these days). As you can imagine, I was intrigued. Pulling out the case I'm greeted with amazing imagery; a man dressed as a knight (made out of cardboard) dual wielding chainsaws. Now, my chainsaw fetish in movies dates back to the Evil Dead series, so anyone with my same love for them should instantly find the movie enticing. Something about B-Grade movies with chainsaws is just really awesome; so of course I rented it. I must say, sometimes you just get lucky and you find a movie that just seems like it was made for you, Murder Party was one of those movies for me.

And now for a review...

As stated before, Murder Party is a film by Jeremy Saulnier, but it is credited to an entire group of filmmakers known as the Lab of Madness. As someone entering into the film without any prior knowledge of the group's work, expectations were set at a low level, as they should be for any B-Horror film. The film opens up calmly with shots of a low key neighborhood enjoying the wonderful time that is Halloween, especially in a neighborhood that embraces that type of spirit. We find ourselves following a small black envelope as it blows down the sidewalk in the wind. Soon enough, fate intervenes, the envelope is stopped by a foot stomping on it's form and pow, we meet our hero.

The movie focuses on a middle aged man who generally, represents the average Joe-Loser of America. He's traveling down the street, a bag of rented videos in his hand, when he stops the small black envelope on the sidewalk. Opening the letter he finds an invitation, an invitation to a "Murder Party" to which he uncharacteristically decides to attend upon receiving said invite. He heads to his mediocre home and prepares a costume, a comical knight outfit made from cardboard, and sets on his way to the party that would create the worst night of his life.

The "Murder Party" itself is merely a ruse, used by a group of starving "artists" gathered in the heart of a broken down warehouse for the night. Unknown to our soon to arrive hero, these "artists" are preparing to take the very person who receives the invitation, and kill them all in the name of art. These characters, all decked out in fully detailed Halloween costumes that actually represent their characters in a way (including a sweet Baseball Furies costume) tend to represent variations of the oh-so cliche'd pretentious artist types that people encounter. This is especially true for those of us with any involvement in the art & design world. These people do exist, and they really suck at life.

Its hard to really describe Murder Part in full, as much of the movie is driven on dialogue alone. Post the initial interactions of our protagonist and the group of not-so bright antagonists, the movie mixes spurts of action with a nice tone of black humor and a direct parody of artists to drive the entertainment. As for the physical action itself, bar an escape atttempt towards the middle of the movie by Chris, our hero, all of the action is reserved until the end, when all of the shit hits the fan. I won't ruin any of what happens in the movie during these parts, but Chris throwing a pile of trash at his captors and then running was priceless and really represented the dry humor the movie presents.

As for the movie itself, outside of a plot that makes me smile at even the mention of its title, was well above B standards. The first thing you might notice about the film is that its looks really nice. The cameras used on the film are obviously of higher quality than normal low budget releases and it shows, the movie has none of the shitty camera feel that many of its peers suffer from. A lot of the time, that alone can drive away a potential audience, a good camera just seems to make shit better.

It should be noted that bar maybe one or two of the performers, all of the characters in the movies are portrayed by members of the Lab of Madness team and themselves, creators of the film. Much of the cast aided the film by producing, writing, and creating special effects. In such, the acting in the film is better than expected. This however, is aided by the fact that the movie really requires no serious chops, bar a breakdown from Bill towards the end, and features very little in the way of characterization. This is forgiven however, based on the fact that horror movies don't require deep characters to be fucking awesome.

In the end of it all, Murder Party (more so than most movies) really comes down to taste. If you're looking for a movie to add to your collection next to Citizen Kane and Gone With the Wind, look elsewhere. But if you like movies where you can just tell how much the creators loved it, movies with a dry tone, movies with dark humor, and really awesome B-Grade horror general, Murder Party is waiting for you to attend. I guess I'll see you there..

But remember.. Everybody Dies!

Grade: B