AP FILE PHOTO Macau Daily Times | Edition 2650 | 23 Sep 2016 OhNo, BritanniaBritannia! Not everybody is singing the same tune in post- Brexit UK; talk of whether to revive royal yacht Britannia is on the table, while Paul and Ringo, British national symbols of even larger magnitude, are coming back together with doc on beatlemania X3 Movies: The Magnificent Seven Books: Home by Harlan Coben Music: Braver Than We Are by Meat Loaf Wine: The Buyer’s Caveat Food & beverage: Negative online reviews are double-edge sword for businesses X2 PÁTIO DA ILUSÃO illusion DRIVE IN Lindsey Bahr, AP Film Writer HE AGNIFICENT EVEN ‘T M S ’ AP PHOTO RIDES AGAIN, WITH MORE GUNS eciding to remake “The to save a terrorized town, even return to her small farming Magnificent Seven” with if he does up the shoot-em-up town of Rose Creek to save Da fresh batch of movie stars is action (and body count). Ber- them from the terror of gree- certainly no sin. John Sturges’ nstein’s score is given a few dy industrialist Bartholomew 1960 tome, itself a remake nods throughout the film, but Bogue, played with delicious, of Akira Kurosawa’s classic saved in full for the final cre- over-the-top menace by Peter “Seven Samurai,” is a fun dits. Thus, it’s left to the actors Sarsgaard. confection of star power and to carry us through the over Bogue is running a mining charismatic bravado, sure, two-hour running time. operation nearby and wants but held in such high esteem You could do worse than put- their land, too. He’ll either pay probably more because of El- ting it all in the capable hands the residents of Rose Creek an mer Bernstein’s iconic score of Denzel Washington, with unfairly low price for it or for- than anything else. Plus, who some help from Chris Pratt. ce them to leave (already a less doesn’t enjoy a ragtag group Washington, as the steely- compelling idea than taking of outlaws banding together to eyed bounty hunter Sam Chi- the food they’ve grown, but defeat a powerful bully? solm, is the de facto leader, this “farming town” does very But director Antoine Fuqua the Yul Brynner of the group. little farming anyway). Fuqua doesn’t exactly elevate that His out-of-use heart starts takes no time easing into the now well-trod premise in this beating again when the re- story, starting out with an all- dutiful and solid rehashing of cently widowed Emma Cullen out massacre in the town. Haley Bennett (left), and Chris Pratt appear in a scene from "The Magnificent Seven." the seven gunmen who attempt (Haley Bennett) begs him to For about an hour, things are fairly fun as Chisolm re- tfully diverse little group, tingly illogical final show- cruits the other six. Pratt’s but unfortunately the script, down with a Marvel-sized Josh Faraday is the first up credited to “True Detective” body count that nonetheless AP PHOTO — a bemused gambler with creator Nic Pizzolatto and provides some exhilarating enemies to spare and a fon- “The Equalizer” scribe Ri- moments for Washington, dness for whiskey who sig- chard Wenk, doesn’t spend Pratt and a few others. The ns up for the mission to try much time getting to know pieces are there but never to win back his horse. They these men. What is there quite come together. By the find a legendary Civil War isn’t nearly clever, funny or time Bernstein’s score plays vet Goodnight Robicheaux insightful enough to make and the credits start rolling, (Ethan Hawke) and his bla- up for that. It felt like no it’s a little too late to do de-wielding buddy Billy Ro- one ever quite agreed on anything besides make you cks (Byung-hun Lee) — who what the tone should be. even more nostalgic for what gets to put his own spin on Fun? Nihilistic? Folksy? came before. the memorable gun vs. knife Irreverent? Sincere? It’s all duel. over the place and it’s not “The Magnificent Seven,” a There’s the bearlike, shell- good. The actors do their Sony Pictures release, is rated shocked tracker Jack Horne best, but when even Pratt PG-13 by the Motion Picture (Vincent D’Onofrio), the struggles to sell a joke, you Association of America for “ex- Mexican gunslinger Vas- know you’re in trouble. tended and intense sequences of quez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) All dialogue, however, gets Western violence, and for histori- and an exiled Native Ame- drowned out eventually as cal smoking, some language and rican, Red Harvest (Martin the movie gives way to the suggestive material.” Running Denzel Washington Sensmeier). It’s a deligh- extremely long and frustra- time: 132 minutes. BOOK IT tTUNES It's a surprising word to use about a 'HOME' BY HARLAN COBEN IS MEAT LOAF, STEINMAN REUNITE Meat Loaf record, but "Braver Than We Are" feels underpowered. The 68-year-old is no longer the unrestrai- SUSPENSEFUL & TWIstY TALE ON 'BRAVER THAN WE ARE' ned screamer of yore. His voice is gra- velly and subdued, at times overwhel- med by Paul Crook's grandiose pro- find Patrick and Rhys, two boys kid- duction. napped 10 years earlier when they were The songs were written over a 50-year AP PHOTO 6 years old. He sees a boy he thinks is period, and include several originally Patrick, assuming the age-progression intended for "Bat Out of Hell." software is accurate, but the teen runs Opener "Who Needs the Young" is just off before he can talk to him. And if odd: shoo-wop backing vocals behind it is Patrick, where is Rhys? Win calls a cabaret-style lament about the depre- the one man he knows he can trust to dations of age, written when Steinman help him: Myron Bolitar. was 19. Myron and Win uncover a vast ne- "Going All the Way" is closer to the twork run by a ruthless man who pro- classic Steinman-Loaf template: a mises them both boys for a hefty price. flamboyant, 11-minute epic duet that It's worth it to them, since two families builds to a rousing crescendo. It featu- they care about have been living with res Meat Loaf's longtime collaborators painful memories and no answers for a Ellen Foley and Karla DeVito, in fine decade. The ensuing rescue doesn't go form. as planned, and once the parents learn Stacey Michelle brings vocal flair to the gospel-tinged duet "Speaking in about what Myron and Win have been Meat Loaf, "Braver Than We Are" (429 Records) "Home" (Dutton), by Harlan Coben doing the true mystery begins. Who Tongues," while "Loving You is a Dir- was responsible for the kidnapping? ty Job" — a song once recorded by ans of Harlan Coben will be thril- Where have the boys been for the past he cover of "Braver Than We Are" with Meat Loaf's runaway-train vocals Bonnie Tyler — is a hook-laden ode to led to learn that he brings back his 10 years? bears two names, those of rock to give the world "Bat Out of Hell," a passionate, combative love. Ficonic series character Myron Bolitar Coben knows how to play with rea- Tbelter Meat Loaf and songwriter Jim 1970s rock classic and one of the ulti- Other tracks feel disappointingly gene- to tackle a mystery over 10 years old ders' expectations, and he's crafted Steinman. mate guilty-pleasure albums. ric or half-baked. Meat Loaf fans may in "Home." another suspenseful and twisty tale. It's a rare writer who gets his name Their likably bombastic new album want this album, may even need it — Bolitar's best friend, Win, receives a Fans and newcomers alike will feel as front and center, but Steinman is uni- should please devotees of operatic, it's less likely they'll love it. But two out cryptic email that sends him to London if good friends have come home. que. His blend of hard-rock hooks, over-the-top rock, though it may not of three ain't bad. where he's led to believe that he will Jeff Ayers, AP high emotion and camp silliness fused make new converts. Jill Lawless, AP 23.09.2016 fri NEWS OF THE WORLD Jill Lawless, AP, London Proposal to revive royal yacht draws fans, foes in Britain with its teak deck and brass fittings, traveled more than 1 million miles AP PHOTO (1.6 million kilometers) as trans- port for royal visits and vacations, a reception venue for dignitaries and the honeymoon vessel for royal couples including Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Her final voyage was to collect the last British governor from Hong Kong when the former British co- lony returned to China in 1997. The government of then-Prime Mi- nister Tony Blair decided the cost of replacing Britannia was too high. The royal family, whose popularity was then at a low after a series of scandals, acquiesced — though the queen wiped away tears at the de- commissioning ceremony. Berry has secured a House of Com- 1997 file photo showing the Royal Yacht Britannia passing the new Hong Kong Convention Center mons debate on the yacht on Oct. he U.K. may be sailing into of hope for our country,” Berry said than a yacht, but we need all the 11, though his plan is unlikely to yesterday [Macau time]. reach and profile that we can get.” become a reality without govern- an uncertain future outside the European Union, but if Berry says the vessel could help Others, however, said bringing ment support.