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THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (12A)

THE year is 1879 and the scars of the American Civil War are yet to heal. The God-fearing folk of Rose Creek seek solace in church, but the spiritual peace is shattered by the arrival of greedy industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard) and his goons, who intend to drive families out of their homes.

“Twenty dollars for each parcel of land,” Bogue tells the enraged congregation, shooting dead several dissenters, including faithful husband Matthew Cullen (Matt Bomer).

Grieving widow Emma Cullen (Haley Bennett) and her friend Teddy (Luke Grimes) enlist the services of bounty hunter Sam Chisolm (Denzel Washington, above) to kill Bogue.

“You don’t need a bounty hunter, you need an army,” scoffs Chisolm, who has crossed paths with the industrialist before.

Moved by Emma’s tearful plight, the gunslinger corrals six men of dubious character to wage war in Rose Creek: compulsive gambler Josh Farraday (Chris Pratt), sharp shooter Goodnight Robicheaux (Ethan Hawke), assassin Billy Rocks (Byung-hun Lee), tracker Jack Horne (Vincent D’Onofrio), Mexican outlaw Vasquez (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) and Comanche warrior Red Harvest (Martin Sensmeier).

The Magnificent Seven rests comfortably on the shoulders of Washington and his co-stars. Tom Hughes and Emma Greenwell

DARE TO BE WILD (PG)

FROM a young age, Mary Reynolds (Emma Greenwell) is inspired by her father to cherish the natural world and her Celtic roots.

She sketches magical gardens in a notebook and when the time comes to spread her wings, Mary secures a job working with Charlotte Heavey (Christine Marzano), garden designer to the rich and fabulous.

Charlotte exploits her protegée’s talent and shamelessly steals design elements passing them off as her own genius. When the position falls through, Mary nurtures a dream to create a garden at the coveted Chelsea Flower Show.

She gains an invitation to compete with her revolutionary design and enlists the help of handsome botanist Christy Collard (Tom Hughes) and his father Mike (Brendan Somers) to source native plants and materials, and transport them safely across the Irish Sea.

They have just 80 days to secure £250,000 of sponsorship and a further three weeks to turn a plot of flat earth into Mary’s ambitious vision.

Dare To Be Wild looks magnificent, but our interest wilts well before the flower show judges bestow their coveted gold medals.