Seven

A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.

Able to inspire wonder and awe in all who gazed upon them, The Seven Wonders of Ancient Rome - the Pantheon, the Aqueducts of Rome, the Via Appia, the Baths of Caracalla, Trajan's Markets, Circus Maximus and the Colosseum - were the works of great men who translated fantastic visions into the epitome of human achievement. These visionaries included ambitious Emperors like Hadrian and engineers with revolutionary ideas such as Apollodorus. By the second century AD, Rome had become the 'caput mundi' - the head of the world.

The visual complement to his 1994 book of the same name, Deepak Chopra's The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success provides adherents with the same kind of inspiration and advice that have made the New Delhi-born doctor and writer's work so popular. Whether it will sway those who consider Chopra more charlatan than guru, however, is another matter. To be sure, there's much to be said for the virtues of cultivating one's consciousness, which Chopra describes as "a faculty more powerful and reliable than the five senses." In fact, much is said about it here, often by some familiar faces, including singer Olivia Newton-John (who also provided much of the music for the DVD), actor-director Bill Duke, musician Dave Stewart of the band Eurythmics, and professional golfer Tina Mickelson. Their testimonials, while varying in specifics, all have the same essential theme: only after they'd reached their lowest ebb (breast cancer for Newton-John, a car accident for Stewart, drug problems for Duke) were they able to "tap into the power of their inner beings" and realize their full potential. That's where the Seven Spiritual Laws come in. Some contain considerable wisdom; the fourth (called "The Law of Least Effort") recommends acceptance and responsibility as alternatives to blaming others, while the sixth ("The Law of Detachment") suggests that relinquishing one's obsession with a particular goal will make it more likely to happen. Others are frustratingly vague; learning to "efficiently, effortlessly co-create with the universe" or to be "grounded in the wisdom of uncertainty" is all well and good, but in the absence of practical steps it comes off as vapid New Age speak. Overall, the DVD is well-produced, mixing interviews with the principals (Chopra included) with some lovely cinematography and several sequences that combine live action (mostly featuring Newton-John) with imaginative, computer-generated landscapes and interiors.

A poor village under attack by bandits recruits seven unemployed samurai to help them defend themselves.

A desperate village hires seven samurai to protect it from marauders in this crown jewel of Japanese cinema. No other film so seamlessly weaves philosophy and entertainment, delicate human emotions and relentless action. Featuring Japan's legendary star, the great Toshiro Mifune, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai is an inspired epic a triumph of art, and an unforgettable three-hour ride.

A clairvoyant woman, inspired by a vision, smashes open a section of wall in her husband's home and finds a skeleton behind it. Along with her psychiatrist, she seeks to find the truth about who the person was and who put her there. Soon enough, she starts to realize the possibility that she may share the victim's fate…

The Magnificent Seven is a 1960 American western film directed by John Sturges about a group of hired gunmen protecting a Mexican village from bandits. It stars Yul Brynner, Eli Wallach, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Robert Vaughn.