It's been 56 years since the original The Magnificent Seven first hit the big screen. The story is about a collection of lawmen and renegades who band together to save a small town from a powerful, well-organized group of outlaws. In the earlier version, Eli Wallach led the outlaws and Yul Brynner organized the small town defenders. In the 2016 version, Peter Sarsgaard (Bogue) and Denzel Washington (Chisolm) play the leaders of the bad guys and good guys respectively. The film opens with Bogue's band riding into town demanding that the farmers sell him their land for almost nothing. They have two weeks to decide. Anyone saying no, would have their land taken, anyway. Anyone speaking out against the offer was shot on the spot. When Chisolm, a federal marshal, arrives later with a warrant to arrest a local guy, Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) approaches the marshal for help. Her husband was cold-bloodedly murdered for speaking out against the land grab. Chisolm decides to put together his own group to prepare for Bogue's return.

While The Magnificent Seven might have captivated viewers over five decades ago, this type of predictable and moderately entertaining film doesn't measure up by today's standards. Just the idea of people riding around on horses wearing the same clothes every day, shooting and killing multiple people in a single moment then going on as if they just swatted a few flies is just so implausible, nothing in this genre can be taken seriously.

The film does boast an All-Star or one might even say a magnificent cast. Academy Award winner Denzel Washington stars; however, as his roster of films goes, this is not one his more challenging roles. The most notable performance is by Peter Sarsgaard whose sinister, depraved heart character is the deepest role in the film. And Sarsgaard plays it with a villainous authenticity. Additionally, veteran actors Ethan Hawke and Vincent D'Onofrio round out the cast.

As to cast diversity, this film gets a "B+" and goes great lengths to be inclusive. The "Seven" consists of an Asian-American, Mexican-American and of course led by an African-American. Antoine Fuqua who directed the film is black. He, Washington and Hawke teamed together in Training Day, which resulted in Washington winning an Oscar for Best Actor.

The Magnificent Seven gets a Rent It rating. There's not enough here to justify the time and expense of going the theater.

It's rated PG-13 for extended and intense sequences of Western violence and for historical smoking, some language, and suggestive material. And at two hours and 12 minutes, it's a long movie.

Storks deliver babies...or at least they used to. In this story, these birds are out of the baby business and now, deliver packages for a global internet giant, Cornerstore.com. Junior, the company's top delivery stork, is about to be promoted when he accidentally activates the previously out of commission, Baby Making Machine, producing an adorable and wholly unauthorized baby girl. Desperate to deliver this bundle of trouble before the boss gets wise, Junior and his friend Tulip, the only human on Stork Mountain, race to make their first-ever baby drop - in a challenging journey that could make more than one family whole and restore the stork's true mission in the world.

Storks never takes off and gets a Dead on Arrival rating. It deals with too many plotlines. None of which are especially interesting. And even in an animated feature, the characters need to have some level of depth, they don't here. I understand that this type of film is for kids. Halfway through the movie, my 12-year-old daughter whispered to me, "This is awful!"

Additionally, this theater with a lot of children was very quiet which is not usually the case when they are enjoying the movie. In a good animated film, children's laughter dominates the facility.

Character voices are by: Andy Samberg, Kelsey Grammer, Jennifer Anniston, Keegan Michael Key, and Jordan Peele.

Animated films generally do very well at the box office. Thus far in 2016, of the 10 Top Grossing Films, five are animated features. However, animation is not enough; the story has to have entertainment value. And, entertainment wise, Storks never gets off the ground, so it's Dead on Arrival.

Storks is rated PG for mild action and some thematic elements and is 89 minutes in length.

Edward Joseph Snowden was a computer whiz who wanted to put his talents to work for the United States Government. He proved to be an elite programmer whose skills caught the attention of the CIA and National Security Administration. But he soon realized that our government was not just spying on foreign enemies, but allies, and even hundreds of millions of Americans by going through their emails, text messages, and telephone calls. Snowden hoped that some of these activities would be curtailed based upon the campaign rhetoric of newly elected president, Barack Obama. But Snowden saw that the new president did not cutback, but instead, expanded these areas of surveillance. Further, he watched those who complained internally about these government excesses have their careers destroyed and in some cases were arrested.

Snowden makes the life-changing decision to leave his post in Hawaii, travel to Hong Kong and release confidential tapes of the U.S.'s eavesdropping activities to the press.

Snowden is one of the best films of the year. It's thrilling, informative, and exceptionally well written by Kieran Fitzpatrick and Oliver Stone who also directed the film. It's a rich production following not just the evolution of Snowden's views and concerns but how it affects him and his relationship with his girlfriend. The storyline also takes viewers into the governments' security at all cost mindset; even if it means overkill in data gathering and overriding the constitution.

Equal to the quality of this film's writing and direction, are the stellar performances of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Snowden, Shailene Woodley who plays his girlfriend Lindsey Mills, and supporting cast members Rhys Ifans and Nicholas Cage.

As to cast diversity, Snowden gets a "B". Films based upon true stories get more leeway on cast diversity because actors chosen tend to be the same race as the real people. One of the small but important roles is that of Patrick Haynes a computer genius, and a black man, played by Keith Stanfield. Haynes who speaks seven languages is described by a colleague as the smartest man in the agency. And this character shows that brilliant, nerdy computer techs come in all colors.

Snowden is entertaining, thought providing, and gets a See It! rating.

It's Rated R for language and sexuality and nudity and is 138 minutes in length.

Rocky (Jane Levy), Alex (Dylan Minnette) and Money (Daniel Zovatto) are three Detroit thieves who use Alex's father position at a home security firm to locate their usual targets. Money learns about a blind veteran, played by Stephan Lang, who won a major cash settlement following the death of his only child. They usually hit residences when the owners are away. But they figure a large take with only a blind man at home is worth the change in strategy. However, it's a gross understatement to say this trio got much more than they bargained for when they decided to take on who they believed to be a helpless victim.

I am not a fan of horror films, but Don't Breathe may be the best one I have ever seen. The script is the star. It's an intriguing story which continues to surprise and entertain, taking viewers on a terrifying adventure with unexpected turn and after turn. And this is not the usual horror film with incredibly stupid moves by this group; they do everything they can to escape this nightmare. On the other hand, this film is plagued by unrealistic, Hollywood superhuman character fetes.

The cast diversity rating is D-. This film is set in Detroit. While the cast is very small, the only people of color in this movie are in background scenes.

Don't Breathe is the scary film genre at its best! It's a See It! It's rated "R" for terror, violence, distributing content and language. It perfectly timed at 88 minutes.

Low-budget, but an ultimately effective film. See It!

It could be called Michelle and Barack's first date. Because that's what this movie is all about. Set in Chicago in the summer of 1989, Michelle Robinson (Tika Sumpter), a second year associate at a major law firm, agrees to spend the afternoon with the Harvard Law School intern she supervises, Barack Obama (Parker Sawyers). She's apprehensive about the propriety of going out with someone she manages and refuses to call the outing, a date.

Southside With You squeezes in more verbiage and conflict than this young couple probably engaged in on their first date. This smorgasbord of issues includes whether it is a cop out to make big bucks at an elite law firm rather than to give back to the community; whether Michelle should even be out with her employee; parent-child relationships; Barack's history of dating white women – among others.

One of the primary requirements of a film based on real people, especially very well-known real people, is that the actors selected to play those people are effective. Parker Sawyers does capture the image and persona of the first black president of the United States. In fact, he is much better as Barack than Tika Sumpter is as Michelle. Summers at 6'3" is a bit taller than Obama but has the same lean frame. While the script has Michelle teasing Barack about his protruding ears, Summers does not have prominent ears. Tika at 5'7" uses thick sole shoes to put herself closer to Michele's 5'11" height. And there is very little in Sumpter's presence, voice, or appearance that resembles the First Lady.

At 84 minutes, Southside With You, is short and the first scenes in which both characters prepare for the date were definitely overdone. Michele's parents repeatedly chide her over every detail about Barack and their planned outing. As if she has never been on a date in her life. On Barack's end, his grandmother from Hawaii calls to coach him on dos and don'ts for the evening.

It's hard to give Southside With You, a diversity rating. This movie is based on a true story in which by-in-large everyone is black. However, there was a scene in which much to Michelle's horror, she and Barack run into (a white) partner and his wife while they were out for the evening. A fair rating would be a "C".

In conclusion, Southside With You is a thought-provoking and ultimately entertaining film and gets a See It rating!

It was 1959 when the epic story of Ben-Hur starring Charlton Heston was released. While mostly remembered for its classic, spellbinding chariot race, there is so much more to the story. Judah Ben-Hur and his adopted brother Messala enjoy a deep affection for each other until they become young men. Ben-Hur born into status and privilege sees the excesses of the Roman Empire as a necessary component of maintaining peace. Messala views the Empire as the route to the status that Ben-Hur was born into, joins and quickly rises through the ranks of the Roman army. Esther, Ben-Hur's childhood friend and later his wife, resists the Romans and advocates for the infidels who suffer the most at the hand of the Romans. This sympathy and conflict of views lead to the dissension between Messala and Ben-Hur, and the imprisonment and loss of social standing for the Hur household members. And also ultimately results in the great chariot race between Messala and Ben-Hur. These activities occur against the backdrop of the rise of Jesus of Nazareth.

Ben-Hur methodically lays out the characters' relationships, their behavioral motives before culminating in the climatic competition. It's a See It!

One issue with this movie is the dialogue seems a bit too 21st century. For example, when one character responds to another by saying: "Well, that's life!" Or the comment: "Everyone act normal!" And the statement: "Those are the people you run with." Are these really the phrases people used in biblical days?

But this film does come into its own. Notwithstanding some of the questionable dialogue, the performances of Jack Huston as Ben-Hur, Toby Kebbell as Messala, and Nazanin Boniadi as Esther all give authenticity to this epic story. The cast is greatly enhanced by the majestic Morgan Freeman as Sheik Ilderim, Ben-Hur's mentor, and supporter. The Sheik's role is greatly expanded from the previous adaptions of this story.

Also, Ben-Hur is bolstered by the powerful scenes both on land and at sea captured by the outstanding cinematography.

Ultimately, the movie ends with the thrilling, climactic chariot races with takes 32 days in Rome to film. It's time well spent!

Ben-Hur gets a "B" for cast diversity. Morgan Freeman's central role, accompanied by a heavy presence of black characters in background scenes supports that rating.

Ben-Hur will have to bring in the crowds to recover its $100 million production costs. It's 124 minutes in length and rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and disturbing imagery.

People may say I can't sing, but no one can ever say I didn't sing", declared Florence Foster Jenkins. Born Nascina Florence Foster, in 1868, the daughter of a wealthy attorney, she later dropped Nascina and added her first husband's surname, Jenkins. The film, Florence Foster Jenkins, based upon a true story, stars Meryl Streep as a woman who despite having very little vocal talent was nevertheless convinced of her own exceptional singing abilities. Those who thought otherwise were either low class or poor judges of vocal excellence. Her piano accompanist Cosmo McMoon (Simon Helberg) did his best to hide her many voice imperfections. She used her wealth to gain access to New York City society and through that access was able to develop a small but loyal following. St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant) was her second husband; although they never consummated their relationship due to Jenkins' health issues. Bayfield was his wife's most loyal supporter and also her manager, despite his unexpressed realization that Jenkins had little singing talent.

Florence Foster Jenkins was a movie in which I literally went from how did this movie ever get made, to what a great film! The plot, a wealthy eccentric lady believes she can sing when actually she cannot, is not an interesting concept. However, this script is skillfully written by Nicholas Martin and perfectly cast with Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, and Simon Helberg and they take an unexceptional premise and turn it into an exceptional movie. Florence Foster Jenkins is a See It!

The story takes a while to develop. But ultimately viewers are drawn in by the depth and appeal of Foster. A woman of warmth, compassion, and a unique charm. But ultimately this is a story of the power of positive thinking – aided a bit by wealth; and how if you believe in yourself, you find as least some others will too.

As to our cast diversity rating, Florence Foster Jenkins gets an A-. Considering the setting is upper-class 1940s New York City, the film has a black couple in the social set of St. Clair Bayfield. During that time period, New York City was about 7% black and that was reflected in this film with black people commonly featured in street and other public shots. And also black G.I.s were prevalent in soldier scenes.

Florence Foster Jenkins is rated PG for brief suggestive material. Running time is 110 minutes, and it gets our highest rating, See It!

It's all about justice. Texas justice. Brothers Toby (Chris Pine) and Tanner (Ben Foster) after years of separation, reunite to get back the money their deceased mother paid in a reverse mortgage agreement. If the bank is not repaid, it will take the family farm. So Toby and Tanner set out to rob the branches of the bank in question, get enough to then repay the bank (using the stolen money) and free the farm of debt for Toby's children who were bequeathed the property. The plan seems completely justifiable in the cowboys' minds. The problem is that on the verge of retiring Texas Ranger, Marcus (Jeff Bridges) and his partner Alberto (Gil Birmingham) see the robberies as breaking the law.

Hell or High Water is not a bad movie. It's just no reason to see it. It's mildly entertaining but so is a lot of what's on TV or on the internet. It very much resembles a 1950s Western – except for the language and more graphic violence.

But in the 50s, this type of film worked because there was so much less entertainment competition. Now watching your favorite videos on YouTube alone would be a better use of your time.

The story is not especially thrilling, switching back and forth between Toby and Chris reminiscing about their childhood or strategizing over the next bank heist.

You find Marcus and Alberto debating how to best catch the brothers and Marcus taking shots at Alberto's half Comanche/half Mexican ethnicity.

The film drags through much of time. Small town Texas isn't that interesting, at least as portrayed in this movie.

Hell or High Water gets a D for cast diversity. Texas is a place where more than half the population is black and Hispanic. Other than Gil Birmingham who is in real life a Comanche, there are few people of color in this film.

So come Hell or High Water, pass on this film. It gets a Dead on Arrival rating. Not because it's a bad movie, it's not worth seeing or renting.

Hell or High Water is rated R for strong violence, language, and brief sexuality. And is 102 minutes in length.