Sicario

Finally got around to another Denis Villeneuve movie.

Sicario has been on my mind to review for the past few months and I can safely say it didn't disappoint. Following a FBI agent who gets roped into some less than savory or legal operations to deal a severe blow to a mexican drug cartel, I do genuinely have to appreciate how little the movie bullshits about with this premise. Nary a minute is wasted with this 2 hour film and really does show the slightly desensitized and grim meathook realities of governmental operations and the one step above warzone towns of Mexico. This ain't a movie about the righteous and proud U.S. coming to clean house and make the world a safer place, it's some shady ass shit that everyone knows happens even if we don't like talking about it. Emily Blunt is a decent lead and it's very easy to be on her side mainly cause she has to deal with sum' bullllshiet non-friggin'-stop in this movie, I mean my girl needs a several months long vacation at the end of this no doubt. Josh Brolin as the head honcho of the crackdown mission plays this part super well, he's definitely on the rogue spectrum where he's kind of a dick and does some unscrupulous things and yet somehow is slightly humorous and likable, which is impressive on a writting scale and acting scale. Benicio Del Toro is kind of the wild card in the deck, we don't know who he really works for or indeed what his ulterior motives are until the tail end but the man has a presence to him and really does effortlessly play this stoic murdering tool who has his own past demons to struggle with. Also shoutout to my guy Daniel Kaluuya, unfortunately more on the sidelines but I'm always happy to see him! One thing I did notice very early on is the music score is very No Country For Old Men, where more often than not you have no soundtrack of any kind and you're just absorbed in the quiet and yet still anxious riddled ambience of these desert plains and mexican town streets, a very effective choice in my estimation. Huge props as more people often should give to cinematographer Roger Deakins who despite the fact that this is a crime drama film still gives a giant sense of scale with these painting-esque shots of the sky and horizon, it was gorgeous stuff to see and definitely was a special treat to have here. Although it does have action to it here and there it leans more towards even then drama and nervous dread I would dare say than heart pumping exuberance at violence. Plus boy howdy is there a jaw dropping moment near the tail end to prove my point. You just can't sugarcoat this stuff, it's bloody, brutal, and often quicker than a flying bullet. It's a sobering film without a shadow of a doubt but that's why I like it so much and can strongly recommend it. 3.5 stars from me, 8/10, and we'll check out the sequel next time.

Nope

Well done sir, three home runs in my book.




I'll admit, the trailer got me alone with a shot of a flying saucer. Cause I knew immediately that this was gonna be a new take on aliens and breathe some new life into a very much bygone genre. And new barely covers how they handled the subject matter. So the movie follows two siblings who own a horse ranch in California when for no real reason, various bits of metal fall from the sky, power shuts completely off, and something is clearly spooking the horses leading our great leading stars to attempt to sort out the problem and get the impossible shot. I almost don't wanna say a thing. Needless to say Daniel Kaluuya is awesome, I can see some people say he has no expression or is just kinda zoned out when all this wild ass stuff is happening but I can forgive it. I mean if I saw a UFO I would literally lose my fudge, and walking home in the middle of the night with the wind picking up was um....fun. I guess you would get a bit desensitized and able to think more logically if you kept seeing a flying saucer but it doesn't take away from the performance. Keke Palmer won me over with one brief scene in the trailer, she is a joy to watch and I adore her. She just has that energy, that spirit, it's quite hard to not like her truthfully. Brandon Perea is a good source of comic relief and buys into this whole spaceship business easily, and I was a bit stunned cause he works at Fry's Electronics and I thought that was nothing more than another relic in my memory. Cause it takes place in modern day but truthfully the trailer sold it to me as early to mid 2000s, but man I miss that store. Moving on. Steven Yeun I feel is the wild card in this cast, he does belong but his whole backstory is so out there but I think that's why I like it. The film is shot super well with obvious emphasis on the sky, day or night, and it's paced just right for a roughly 2 hour film. Now, no spoilers of course however I must admit if you want to see new sci-fi, recognizable elements of sci-fi done with a new twist, I think you will enjoy it. I was very happy how it all progressed and the flying saucer was actually made pretty scary and unsettling again. Expertly done sound design by the by. A great time to be had, inventive, creepy, but engaging and interesting. I give it 4 stars, 8.5/10! Next week, I'm somewhat looking forward to and yet debating on whether I should do it at all. Until then, watch the skies always. Keep looking. Keep watching the skies.

Get Out

F***ing white people, I swear to God.

I'm whiter than sour cream and I can tell you right now, I just don't trust those guys! Partial jokes aside, holy shit Get Out was great! I mean this was like the most revered and celebrated horror film in recent memory for me so with a reputation like that I did attempt to keep my expectations limited and I got a damn fine film. I'm very very tempted to just go all the way out there, spoilers and all, because it's a hard movie to really voice your opinions on without speaking on everything. So the basic plot goes as follows, a young couple Chris and Rose are heading to her parent's place for the weekend to finally meet the parents and break the ice they are an interracial couple. Already things are off, and it at first seems just a bit of awkward and uncomfortable conversations but boooooy does it go south quick. Just go see the movie. The cinematography is wonderful, it has it's artsy moments, the cast is spectacular in every sense, it's honest to God a movie that I had no idea horror could go to. Cause usally horror can be split in two categories, it has a 1,000 subgenres but you can fit every one of them in either the supernatural category with monsters, atmosphere, and fantastical ideas or you have it in a visceral, gory, realistic category. Get Out is in both and yet neither of those camps, it's original and yet screamed Lovecraft at me. Not so much the cosmic horror side of it but the more down to earth stories, dark and twisted yes but more about the evil men do to one another, and it really does play out like something you would see in the Arkham Sanitarium in his works. Daniel Kaluuya is magnificent, he gives such a strong performance and no doubt took a lot of his personal experiences into this role especially when he's meeting the extended family. I mean Jesus God, you want to talk about racially charged questions, what in the shitting hell man. Granted it's more subtle period, than The Wicker Man remake but that's all I'll say about that. Allison Williams did such fine work here and just a side note, if you know anybody who does not mix milk and cereal and eats it seperately put a bullet in their heads, they are a psychopath. Best character though, my guy Rod. Ah, Rel Howery you were my shining star in this, I cherish you and I have never identified more with a horror character. And any movie that brings up a Stanley Kubrick film is clearly a masterpiece, and appeases my inner cinema snob fully. I could ramble on about this movie all day in terms of cast, plot, just how weird and f***ed up it is and how it affects you better than any drama could, the very clear metaphors with race and prejudice that I will leave for more intelligent minds to talk about, big thumbs up from me. Great film, 4 stars, 9/10! Thank you gods above and below for giving me a great horror film this week. I was honestly torn between this and Don't Breathe but I chose very wisely this day, and it's time for Dune tomorrow. I will confess I've made it only 1/4 of the way through the book because of work and life so it looks like I will be walking into both versions of Dune relatively blind. And yes I said both.

Queen And Slim

I'm really depressed now.

I greatly enjoyed and was even a bit moved by this movie, but it truly breaks my heart that the world of the movie is no different than reality. The story spans over the course of six days as one time date couple Ernest and Angela are on the run after killing a police officer in self defense, as we follow their progress from Ohio to Florida as they meet sympathizers to their situation, law enforcement seeking to arrest them, and people who don't even know who they are. Again very much like Parasite, it just shows people both good and bad. We see white people who stand with them, and black people who stand against them and what they stand for, and vice versa with no true antagonist of the story. It's not a person but a major problem of society itself, the film on multiple occasions brings up fictionalized yet all too real situations of violence and cultural standards. It makes one disgusted to be designated human sometimes. And the film really doesn't shy away from the grim meathook realities of the events as Ernest and Angela travel, slowly becoming folk heroes in the eyes of many and having to come to terms with their situation. Daniel Kaluuya has supreme amounts of charm and is impossible not to like and really he only gets better as the film goes on, he's a nice man who believes in God, doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, very empathetic and even a pacifist. But he was the one who pulled the trigger and we see him try to deal with that, he has every intention to turn himself in because even he can't believe what happened though it was a survival situation. Now I'm not saying all cops are horrible, they are people who wish to perform a public service to protect and serve, but this guy....oooh boy, he was an uppity little prick. Did he deserve death? I have no authority or place to say, not now not ever, but he could have been nicer. That's pretty much my stance on things, I don't care who you are, where you come from, what your language is, any of that, if you're a nice and reasonable person then you're my new buddy. And if you're a jerk, f*** off. Jodie Turner-Smith is very much a polar opposite in character as Angela, very honest and rough, doesn't have much love for cops, easily aggravated, and very much the pessimist of the duo but also the realist. Which makes sense for her character because she's an attorney, she has seen stuff in that position and makes logical sense that she is very closed off and a bit hostile. The writer said that it was very much akin to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X when it came to personality and beliefs of our main duo, which isn't hard to figure out but nevertheless a strong element. The story is great, but the cinematography is absurd. I mean this film looks gooooood, oh my sweet sainted grandmother it is beautiful at times, and the director only worked on music videos and television episodes so she knows damn well how to make a shot interesting and memorable with beautiful atmospheric shots and creative camera work. The only thing that tops that is the score, now the actual song selection is really good, you know I'm a sucker for jazz and more slow soulful kind of music, but the actual score is how can I say this? Uh, perfect. I can't get over how amazing this score is, like get this on my phone, I will buy a CD, kind of quality. Ohh, it's sublime! I pretty much from the first time I saw the trailer, was interested to see this and yeah it took me more than half a year, but I was soooo not disappointed and feel it was very much worth the wait. A very poignant movie that unfortunately has as much importance now as it did decades before the movie even came out. Slim & Queen along with Black Klansman would be a fantastic double feature to have, and so help me if I form an Empire, the times will be a-changing with the future looking truly bright. 4 stars, 8/10! Thank goodness this wasn't the last review of the week I would have been severely depressed, so next time hopefully we can end on a high note.