Movie Review: Sicario (2015)

Plot: An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted by a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the border area between the U.S. and Mexico.

Rating: 8.5/10

Sicario is a tensely packed thriller that does not let its’ audience relax for the duration of the two hours. It is harsh on the eyes and does not shy away from violence, but I didn’t find it gratuitous and that works fine for me in a film. I don’t appreciate senseless violence that serves only to shock and not to further the story. Sicario’s gritty crime scenes will undoubtedly stay with you but it is more because of what it indicates of the world than the violence itself.

I was under the impression and still am that the entire cast delivered a stellar performance. The most outstanding is without a doubt Benicio Del Toro. He was incessantly praised for his work as Alejandro and after seeing him at it I am not in the least surprised. Alejandro’s motives aren’t clear and he’s not your average black or white character. Is he a good guy? Is he a bad guy? It is obvious that you shouldn’t mess with him and that he is dangerous and well versed in drug trafficking. Up until the very end you still don’t know whether you can trust him. Hell, I’m still not even sure whether he is GOOD or BAD. I really liked that he was so short with Kate in the beginning and eventually thawed towards her, yet never deviating from his overall mission.

It would be easy to overlook Josh Brolin, who played his character with cockiness that was wildly appealing. It would also be quite unfair because there were times where I really wanted more of him on screen because he was every bit as shady as Alejandro, only more good natured about it. It is also impossible to trust him one hundred percent. He and Alejandro are clearly thick as thieves and they share trust, but are they who they say they are?

Then there was Kate who is brought to the screen by Emily Blunt. I am always onboard with watching a drama that has Blunt in, she is exceptionally good in dramas and action films. I know some people thought she was a bit hyper emotional. Was she emotional? Yes. Was she also a young, optimistic FBI agent that got pulled in deep very quickly? Also yes. I won’t say that I wish the character had had the balls to fight back at her enemies, but I did enjoy her.

There are a lot of other actors I enjoyed – Victor Garber, Jon Bernthal, and Daniel Kaluuya had their time on screen here and I loved them for it. I am such a major fan of Victor Garber. You can’t watch Alias and not be, he is one of the very best in there. I really haven’t seen Bernthal in anything actually, although I have heard of him and for the few moments he was here I was highly appreciative. Daniel Jaluuya was Kate’s partner, and he had perhaps even a more optimistic opinion of the law enforcement world. They had a sweet relationship full of friendship and support and genuine care.

I have to say one of this film’s greatest accomplishments is that it kept my attention. For the two hours I was engrossed and didn’t want to stop watching once. I can’t tell you how rare that is, as I am fully convinced I have some adult ADHD because I get bored and distracted quite easily. That, combined with how boring movies can get these days, makes it just short of a miracle that I was engaged the entire time. The last half an hour had me holding my breath. It was tense and up until the very end I really couldn’t predict who would walk out alive.

If I had taken the time to watch Sicario in 2015, it probably would have ended up really high on my 2015 TOP TEN films. I was immensely pleased to hear that director Denis Vileneuve is planning to to make this a franchise by directing Soldado, in which, Soldado in which Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro reprise their roles. I’m raising my hand here in the “Who can’t wait” department, and I will be first in line to buy a ticket. I will also commit to watching Prisoners – I’ve been hounded by people to watch this film for ages now, but now that I know how good director Vileneuve is I will definitely give it a try.

February 13, 2017February 3, 2017 by Natasha Categories: 2015, Movies, movies, Review, Reviews, UncategorizedTags: Benico Del Toro, Daniel Kaluuya, Denis Vileneuve, Emily Blunt, Jeffrey Donovan, Jon Bernthal, Josh Brolin, Movies, Reviews, Sicario, Victor Garber 11 Comments

Watched, Read, Loved: January 2017

I’m not going to bless you with that whole “how quick did this month go” crap, because let’s face it; January 2017 took its sweet time being done. At this stage I’m so deliberately avoiding bitching about politics on here, but please note that I do a whole lot of bitching in private about that man who is committing genocide.

I had my birthday on the 25^th. I am now officially on the wrong side of 25. I’m 27, so I’ve already been on the wrong side for a whole year, but I was ignoring that at 26. Apart from suddenly stressing about retirement plans and the meaning of my entire existence, I’m not too stressed. I have decided that 27 good things WILL happen to me this year, so I will keep you in the loop.

Here is what I got up to this month, which is an impressive amount! #GoMe

Movies watched:

10 Things I hate about you:

Confession time: if I had to go live on an island indefinitely with only ten movies to watch, I’d very likely pack 10 Things I Hate About You in.  I love everything about this film – how 90’s everything is: Julia Stiles’ hair, the clothes everyone wore, the music and the cars. I die every time Heath Ledger gifts us with that smile; it is equal parts pain and pleasure. The quick bantering and the ridiculous teenage humor make me laugh every single time. I actually wrote a post about how much I love this film, so I won’t turn it into a whole review here, but I’m sure you are getting the point here that I love this film.

How to lose a guy in ten days: Kate Hudson used to be my ultimate girl crush as a teenager – she’s so pretty and preppy and blonde. I’m now at a point where I want actresses to be more than pretty, preppy and blonde, but I still find her a good romantic comedy lead. She wouldn’t hold up in more serious roles, but these? I’ll cast her any day. It also contains the delicious Matthew M.

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962): I finally managed to finish up my Blindspots for 2016. To round the year of with To Kill A Mockingbird was a great idea – what an incredible film.

Passengers (2017): These films with the strange release dates make it impossible to put them in the correct year. I watched in this year, hence this year will be referenced. I actually really liked it and think that the Oscar nod for set design is well deserved. I know it didn’t go down well with everybody, but I actually quite enjoyed it despite the numerous flaws.

Fool’s Gold (2008): This falls in the time frame where Matthew McConaughey became the romantic comedy guy, something which still grates on a lot of people today. I do think that Fool’s Gold lacks certain important things like a proper plot, but I didn’t hate it at all.

Scream 4: I finished up my run on the Scream franchise this month. I am so sad! Because while I can definitely watch it again, I won’t ever be able to watch it for the first time again. I’m only posting this for Halloween, because I’d love to actually do a Halloween month this year, but please know that I did love this so much!

Sicario (2015): Don’t you just love when a film is good enough to inspire you to read up on what you are watching? Shortly after the film ended I read up all about Juarez, Mexico, and the increasingly dodgy sounding CIA. Sicario is a great film that stays with you after you watched it and I will definitely be revisiting Denis Vileneuve’s film in the near future.

The Princess Diaries:A Royal Engagement (2004): I remember this as a decent movie, which it was NOT. I adore the first Princess Diaries, but the sequel suffers from the sequelitis and it is rampant with bad acting, bad pacing and general badness. The years have been kind to Chris Pine – he is so much more attractive right now than he was in 2004.

Love, Rosie (2014): I’m still trying to formulate some thoughts on Love, Rosie. Did I like it? Moderately so. I know for a fact that it contains some of the most awkward of scenes ever invented, and I was horrified and cringed so much. It gets a little drawn out and the story is never really strong. I do think that Sam Claflin is simply beautiful and that if just smiled all the time the world would be a better place.

Vrou Soek Boer (2014): I got my fix of Afrikaans films with Vrou Soek Boer in January. It translates to “A woman is looking for a farmer” but it was a much cuter film than that translation suggested. I enjoyed it very much!

Sisters (2016): This is surely the biggest waste of cash of 2016 for me. I bought this on DVD, sure I would at least like it okay. Nope. I hated it. What a stupid, unfunny film.

The Accountant (2016): To embrace my mood of needing to watch people beat up things I picked up the Accountant. Ben Affleck’s hit of 2016, where he is an autistic superhero, fulfilled that need on some level but I was also left feeling vaguely unsatisfied with the ending.

Series:

The X-Files Season 1: I am having so much fun with the X-files. There is nothing better when you discover a series and along with the discovery is the fact that there are so many seasons with a lot of episodes per season. SCORE! It took me a few episodes to get used to the layout of the show as well as the whole 1992 vibe the first season has going for it. It is pretty good and smart, as well as some funny conspiracy moments going on.

Alias Season 3: Alias has been great to me. I still need to finish Seasons four and five. I had some issues with the third season such as Sydney being a complete psycho, but overall still really great.

True Blood Season 1: I’ve been in the mood torewatch this for a while now. After watching a few episodes that need was cured because True Blood has some grating characters in that I somehow softened in my memory. I might still finish it, but right now there are other better shows that deserve attention.

Books:

The Collaborator (Margaret Leroy): Few books have stayed with me like this book has. I’ve had the worst book hangover since then and such troubles finding another book to seek my teeth into.

The Road to the Sea (Ciara Hegarthy): I’m going to go rampant on this book when I finally review it. Overly descriptive and insanely boring, this is one of the least favorite novels I’ve picked up in a while.

The Power of Six (Pittacus Lore): I’m almost done with Book Two in the Lorien Legacies. Although I am still enjoying, the first read and progressed a whole lot better.

What have you been up to?

February 7, 2017February 7, 2017 by Natasha Categories: 2017, Movies, reading, Review, Series, UncategorizedTags: 10 Things I hate about you, 2017, Alias, Amy Poehler, Anna Kendrick, Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck, Benico Del Toro, Bok Van Blerk, Chris Pine, Chris Pratt, Ciara Hegarthy, Emily Blunt, Fool's Gold, How to Lose A Guy In Ten Days, January, Jennifer Lawrence, JK Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Josh Brolin, Kate Hudson, Lika Berning, Lily Collins, Love, Love Rosie, Margaret Leroy, Matthew McConaughey, monthly rundowns, Nico Panagio, Passengers, Pittacus Lore, Sam Claflin, Sicario, Sisters, The Accountant, The Collaborator, The Power of Six, The Princess Diaries, The Road to The Sea, The X-files, Tina Fey, To Kill a Mockingbird, True Blood 11 Comments