Seven [VHS]

Love this movie and note to the seller that the tape played flawlessly and will enjoy the movie for many years.

A wonderful performance by the great chameleon Kevin Spacey. The movie is dark and chilly and leaves you feeling that way long after it's over.

Despite being an unnerving, gruesome, and at times, twisted film, Se7en directed by David Fincher takes an accurate look at today's society.Granted, everything has been amplified, but by the end of the movie, you can clearly see a message being put forth to the viewer, and that is, the world that we live in is dark, disturbing, and full of sin.Se7en, which was made in 1995, takes place in a crime-ridden district, where a fresh-face detective by the name of Mills (Brad Pitt) has just arrived and been paired with Detective Somerset (Morgan Freeman), who is on the verge of retirement.Although wise-mouthed and impatient, Mills' outlook on things is quite bright, while Somerset's is pessimistic, which quickly leads to a clash in styles.Right off the bat, the duo is assigned to check out a murder where an obese man has apparently been forced to eat himself to death.At first, it seems to be just an unusual murder, but Somerset soon sees a pattern being formed, following the murder of a high-powered lawyer, whose blood was used to write "Greed" on the floor of his office.Somerset catches on that these two murders were based after two of the seven deadly sins, with the obese man's sin being gluttony, and the lawyer's, of course being greed.Murders based on other deadly sins such as sloth and lust soon follow, with each one not being for the faint of heart, even though in each case, the victim is already dead when we finally see them.Somerset concludes that the serial killer is using these murders to preach his sermon, and a small game of cat and mouse between the detectives and the killer ensues.The mood of Se7en is projected nicely through its look; it's dark and gloomy, even indoors, colors with even a hint of brightness in them are used sparingly, and it's usually raining outside.One dynamic that most people are sure to notice is the film's intelligent and unique dialogue, which can be credited to the film's writer, Andrew Kevin Walker, who didn't "dumb down" any of the film's dialogue.The key characters in Se7en were well cast, with Pitt doing a fine job as the well-meaning but at times naïve detective, and Freeman excelling in his role as the "seen it all" detective.Gwyneth Paltrow plays Tracy, Mills' wife and is effective in the role, despite being seen infrequently throughout the film.One of the more unique aspects of Se7en is that the killer makes his first appearance near the end, and provides a thought provoking little speech explaining his motive behind the murders.This is really a strong element, when you take a look at so many other movies that feature a murderer who is killing for no apparent reason (or whose reason for killing is quite lackluster).To some, the ending may seem unsatisfying, but in my eyes, it just sent home the film's message via a cruel twist.Overall, Se7en will have you on the edge of your seat for two hours, but unlike other films that do that; this one will provoke your mind, leaving you full of thoughts at its conclusion.

We plummet the depths of depravity here. Arrogance never got such a cinematic comeuppance (not to mention gluttony, pride, greed and the rest of the seven deadly sins), nor was innocence ever made such an alien as in this masterpiece of monstrous intent. Morgan Freeman stars as William Somerset, a wise and modest big city homicide detective ready to retire who finds himself partnered with David Mills, an arrogant young detective effortlessly depicted by Brad Pitt. As they try to find the killer there develops between them a nice chemistry that helps to make this an engrossing movie. Kevin Spacey arrives after a bit as "John Doe," a 20th century version of a medieval scribe obsessed with sin morphed into a monster from hell. He sees himself as the personal judge, executioner and torturer extraordinaire of a vengeful god gone amuck.Momma, lock the doors and bar the windows. Don't let this video into your home. You'll watch it, every last minute, and your kids will watch it, several times, their eyes between their fingers, and the end result will be a cynicism about humanity so deep that it'll take the blood of the lamb to wash it clean.Well, that, or the realization that this is just Hollywood up to its old tricks. After all it's only a movie-or is there something more to this extraordinary commercialization of evil? One of the penetrating things about Seven is the implication that, through the Christian concept of sin and by our very nature, we ourselves create the serial killer and give him a justification to turn upon us and do his wretched deeds. The ending slyly suggests the triumph of evil; and indeed this cagey movie would be depressing beyond redemption were it not for the three things: One, the modest wisdom projected by Morgan Freeman; two, the essential innocence of Brad Pitt's character; and three, the fact that the horrible deeds are the work of only one man. Whether he is just an insane "nut-bag" as Pitt's character exclaims, or part of our nature as the film implies, is an interesting question.Serial killer film makers of the future will try to top this one, but I doubt if it will happen any time soon. This is already a classic. Incidentally, I do wonder about these guys (Walker and Fincher) who lie awake nights dreaming up this stuff. I hope they're only doing it for the money. By the way, perfect font for the credits.