A pound of flesh - seven times over!

Advantages: great film
Disadvantages: none

...I had read some mixed reviews about Seven Pounds, but being a big fan of Will Smith, I thought that I would get the DVD anyway and form my own opinion. I am very glad that I did because both me and my husband thoroughly enjoyed the film although it was not obvious that we were going to at first. It's a bit difficult at first to work out what is going on. The time sequence jumps about a lot with lots of flashbacks so it's a bit tricky to work out what is now and what was then. It's a bit like having to fit lots of pieces of a jigsaw together - quite daunting at first but very satisfying when it is complete. Because of this it is not easy to summarise the plot without giving too much away. We know that right from the start that Smith's character, Ben Thomas, is a very troubled man as his first action is to dial 911 and to report his own...

kingfisher111 29.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Seven Pounds (DVD)

Seven Pounds Review

Advantages: It'll Tug Your Deepest Heart Strings!
Disadvantages: It'll Tug Your Deepest Heart Strings!

...I?ll start by saying that I can?t remember another time that I felt quite so emotionally manipulated as I was when watching Seven Pounds (by a film, anyway). My friends tend to complain quite frequently at the overabundance of action movies in my DVD collection, and, in truth, I?m the last person they ever thought would cry at a ?love story?. But Seven Pounds is a real love story. Not a ?real love story? like The Notebook claimed to be (that was just vomit-inducing), but a journey concerning one man?s sacrifice and redemption. It?s definitely not a feel-good movie, in the sense that it leaves you feeling complacent, surrounded by a fantasy of sunshine and rainbows; rather, it?s filled with genuine passion and so expertly paced that it digs deep into even the most neglected of hearts to find some sentimentality. Will Smith plays ?Ben...

andycarrington 17.05.2009 (18.05.2009) · Read review
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Review of Seven Pounds (DVD)

Seven Pounds - The Prince is still Fresh

Advantages: Moving, heart-felt, top-class performances all round
Disadvantages: Too emotional and dark for some

...the huge blockbuster Independence Day. Smith generally brings a huge "likeability factor" to any role he plays, and this is never more so evident than in his 2009 drama "Seven Pounds". His character is affable and charismatic, despite the huge sadness and unimaginable burden of guilt he carries with him, and this prevents the film becoming as dark and depressing as it could have been. He portrays the conflicting emotions the complex Ben Thomas experiences convincingly in this stretching role and it's easy to see the improvement he has made as an actor and to empathize with the character he creates. It is very much a Will Smith film, in fact he appears in virtually every frame of every scene. This does not diminish the appeal of the movie in anyway however, because he brings the character to life with style and subtlety. The movie begins...

stevek181 24.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of Seven Pounds (DVD)

Dogg Pound Flava For Tha Nine-Fever

Advantages: Strong throughout
Disadvantages: Underrated

..."Dogg Food" came as the debut album, from Tha Dogg Pound in 1995. The Dogg Pound Gangstas (DPG) are a West Coast rap duo, consisting of members Kurupt, and Snoop Dogg's cousin, Daz. The pair had been hyped by performing alongside Snoop, Dr. Dre and other West Coast Gansta Rap acts, and had lent their production to tracks by some of these artists too. This album would be considered one of the main albums invovlved within the East Coast-West Coast beef of the mid-nineties as the duo directly call out New York rappers with their rhymes. 1. "Intro" 2. "Dogg Pound Gangstaz" After the intro, DPG give another track to show who they are and what they are all about. In comparison to the rest of the tracks, I thought that it wasn't really as strong as them. I think that this is down to the beats in it as Daz goes for beats which sound...

XICripZ 07.11.2008 · Read review
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Review of Dogg Food [PA] - Tha Dogg Pound

SEVEN POUNDS WITH WILL SMITH. A TEARFUL MOVING STORY!

Advantages: A TRUELY MOVING AND EMOTIONAL FILM THAT MUST BE SEEM.
Disadvantages: IT IS A SLOW MOVING FILM.

...Seven pounds staring Will Smith. Let me first start by saying that I have never watched a film that has moved me in such away before where I felt so emotional throughout watching the whole film. Will Smith plays Ben who has a mission to change seven peoples lives but to change there lives drastically. Ben impersonates an IRS inspector so he can meet and consider if they are worthy of the gifts he wants to give. The sacrifices that Ben makes on this journey through this film you will find hard to believe, but you can understand why. I do not want to spoil this film for you by telling you anymore of the story but I can say that Will Smith makes a brilliant and believable performance, that makes you feel for him, you feel his heartache, compassion and love. The story slowly comes together till you find out why he needs to help these...

mason72 09.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Seven Pounds (DVD)

Seven Pounds - A tearful journey, to say the least!

Advantages: Not a dull moment
Disadvantages: A lot of tearful ones!

...Seven pounds, on the surface looks like your average story of a survivor of a horrific accident or a reformed convict feels guilty and tries to help people. Not that the identikit version doesn't sometimes produce gems, but compared to this film - they wither in comparison. This film involves Ben - an IRS inspector who is on a mission to drastically change the lives of seven people for the better. Pretty straightforward you would think but this film contains many twists and turns that you will never see coming. I won't spoil it for you by telling, all I'm going to say is that when it says "For Your Consideration" at the bottom of the screen - you need to pay close attention. Will Smith, as ever, manages to fully transform into his character and makes a highly believable and heart-rending perfomance as the main character. In fact...

fionaburton17 19.04.2009 · Read review
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Review of Seven Pounds (DVD)

SEVEN POUNDS OF UNREALITIES!

Advantages: Memorable acting by Rosario and Woody
Disadvantages: Poor acting by Smith, tepid script, poorly put constructed scenes

......

Annallon 18.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Seven Pounds (DVD)

Seven Pounds

Advantages: Stars Will Smith great storyline emotional
Disadvantages: know what going to happen

......

AI77 15.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Seven Pounds (DVD)

With the best will in the world ...

Advantages: Smiths a true movie star
Disadvantages: Once you twig the twist its game over..

...Seven Pounds is where cinema is right now. First of all it cost seven pounds to see the movie in the multiplex and then it's an exercise in cynical box ticking to get each segment of the community through that door. Where as the tiresome and less than inspirational Pursuit of Happyness (also directed by Gabriele Muccino) was geared more towards a black audience this is clearly trying to target the Latino base, building Wills profile there some, all the white characters feeble and the black ones peripheral, leaving Will to chew the place up, a skilful marketing movie machine that has quite rightfully put Smith on top of the world in Hollywood, Tom Cruise having to concede that spot after Valkyrie. There's no way back after the eye-patch Tom! Incidentally Toms little adopted son Conner appears in the movie as a smaller version of Smiths...

thedevilinme 18.08.2009 (24.08.2009) · Read review
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Review of Seven Pounds (DVD)

Will Smith To The Rescue!

Advantages: Dramatic, brilliantly acted, wonderful characters, great atmosphere.
Disadvantages: The story should have started at the beginning.

...Director: Gabriele Muccino Writer: Grant Nieporte Genre: Drama Country: USA Certification: 12+ Language: English DVD Release: 25th May, 2009 [UK] MAIN CAST: Will Smith [Ben Thomas] Rosario Dawson [Emily Posa] Woody Harrelson [Ezra Turner] Michael Ealy [Ben's Brother] Barry Pepper [Dan] Ben Thomas is haunted by visions of a tragic accident... an incident in his past... and it is these visions that have shaped his life and created within him a need to help people. 'Seven Pounds' is one of those movies that possess such a flimsy storyline, that it's extremely easy to insert spoilers without intending to do so. Needless to say that the writer and director both relied on the 'snippet' format [movie shot in numerous short scenes that are piled one atop the other in no immediately obvious order] which tends...

GoFigure 23.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Seven Pounds (DVD)