SICARIO (2015)

Genre: Action/Drama
Running Length: 2:01
Cast: Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, Benicio Del Toro, Daniel Kaluuya, Jon Bernthal, Victor Garber
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Screenplay: Taylor Sheridan

SICARIO is an intense take on the drug cartel. It is gripping and tension-filled. The violence is shockingly realistic but not gratuitous. (In Spanish, "sicario" means "hitman")

This movie tells a story of an idealistic by-the-book FBI agent (Blunt) who is recruited by a shady government operative led by an equally shadowy character (Brolin). Their ambitious mission is to take down a drug lord in Mexico. Blunt's character is brought into the plan for reasons she's unclear of. The audience is kept in the dark too as the plot slowly unveils its grand plan leading to a violent and brutal conclusion.

From a technical standpoint, I'm always intrigued with movies which are able to drum up an atmosphere of dread from get go. In this case, it's because of the perfect synergy of Villeneuve's impeccable direction, tight editing, superb cinematography and the bass-heavy score. There is an action sequence 1/3 into the movie which was so intense the guy sitting next to me in the cinema hall pulled his legs towards his chest.

In terms of performance, as good as Blunt is, the show belongs to Del Toro. He crushes it as a middle-aged merciless gunman. He steals every scene he's in. The rest of the supporting cast is equally solid. 

Although it has the thrills of an action flick, the heart of this film is actually a drama which takes place in a world of grey, where our protagonist is faced with difficult decisions which would compromise her moral values. I was hoping it would focus more on the latter like what Villeneuve's did in his last film Prisoners, but somehow the end results didn't give me a satisfying emotional punch in the gut. Nevertheless, Sicario stands apart as one of the best action drama movies I've seen.

Rating: 8.5/10

INTO THE WOODS (2015)

Genre: Musical 

Running Length: 2:05

Cast: Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp, James Corden, Lilla Crawford, Mackenzie Mauzy, Daniel Huttlestone

Director: Rob Marshall

Screenplay: James Lapine, based on the musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine 

"Was that me? Yes it was. Was that him? No it wasn't. Just a trick of the woods!" sings The Baker's wife from INTO THE WOODS. 

The "woods", however, is not devious. In fact, it's neither good nor bad - it is directly influenced by those that are in it. The "woods" can also represent a reflection of sorts for those in it - it brings either the best or the worst out of a person. The movie starts out as a straight forward fairy tale movie but along the way, the smart screenplay reveals the brokenness of its characters and the "grey" world they are living in. Although positioned as a Disney musical featuring a mash up of popular fairy tale characters (from the tales of The Brothers Grimm's), the premise is actually pretty dark as it's filled with adult themes such as; sexual innuendos, infidelity and death. This stuff is not for kids. Probably there lies the problem of the movie. The adult elements are noticeably muted. A large portion of the movie is spent establishing the characters and the choices they make, while the more challenging and interesting content which deals with the consequences are rushed through. Also, the production value of this film feels cheap as most of the scenes look stage bound (yes, it's based on a Broadway musical but...). I just wonder if it would have been a more satisfying experience if it was made into a TV mini series instead, thus giving its characters more space to develop. The songs are somewhat forgettable except for one number, "Agony" sung by Chris Pine (in smug handsome scumbag mode). 

Rating: 6.5/10

EDGE OF TOMORROW (2014)

Genre: Science Fiction/Action
Running Length: 1:53
Cast: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton
Director: Doug Liman
 
Here's the good news for Tom Cruise haters. In his new film, EDGE OF TOMORROW, he dies! In fact, Cruise's character dies dozens of times over and over, often in creative and comical ways. The movie unfolds in a straight fashion manner where in the near future, an invading alien race threatens to wipe out humanity (just like any other sci-fi film). Cruise's character is a military PR spokesman who has never set foot on the battlefield suddenly found himself stationed in the frontline for a battle which looked like the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan. And here's where the plot gets smarter and sharper than one would expect. Minutes into the battle, he dies. But a funny thing happens. He wakes up to discover that he’s back at the beginning of the previous day. No matter what he does, his death returns him to that same point, forcing him to "live.die.repeat" the same period of time again and again. This is "Groundhog Day" with heavy firepower. Another good change from a typical Cruise's flick is that he doesn't dominate it but shares equal screen time with Emily Blunt's "full metal b****" character who gets all the best one-liners. If there's anything disappointing about the film, I would say it's the weak resolution because everything leading to it was smart but I felt the film makers could have been more bold with the ending. Nevertheless it's an entertaining movie as the plot keeps moving forward (albeit in circles).

Rating: 7/10