Drug War Epic 'Sicario' Is Gripping and Intense Filmmaking

Since making the translation to English-language films, director Denis Villeneuve dropped one of the most viscerally gripping crime films of the past few years with Prisoners and one of the most thought-provoking thrillers starring a Hollywood actor with Enemy. And with his latest, Sicario, Villeneuve brings his excellent grasp of cerebral tension to a very timely drama about the Mexican Drug War. Reuniting with the incomparable Roger Deakins as his cinematographer, Villeneuve tries to dig deep into a struggle that has defined a region for decades now.

Sicario manages a very rare thing in Hollywood in that it happens to be a movie completely of its time. The conflict being portrayed is still very much happening and is still taking lives on both sides of the border. Even though most Americans aren't truly aware of the day-to-day skirmishes, the cartels and the agencies of both governments are still fighting for control.

Our window as an audience into this frankly terrifying new world is Special Agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt), newly assigned to a Department of Defense task force to take down some high-level cartel members. But the more she works towards making things right the more she begins to realize that she may be in over her head and nothing is as black and white as she thought.

But if Kate is our protagonist and supposed to be the audience's viewpoint into this unfamiliar world, she is interestingly kept at arm's length from most of the film's action. She is always shown to be at a distance or just out of earshot when her superiors are discussing operations or explaining tactics. Therefore she's kept in the dark and so are we as viewers. It’s more than a little intimidating for both audience and character because if we are kept in the dark, that means we have no idea of the potential danger that lies ahead.

This is the film's way of carefully doling out information piece by piece, and the more that Kate tries to pry into what’s really happening, the more horrified she is to learn of the implications of it all. Josh Brolin plays up his bravado as the DoD man Matt Graver who reluctantly yet unabashedly reveals to Kate and the audience that their view of morality is simply nonexistent in this underworld. And that gray morality comes into full view with Benicio del Toro’s Alejandro Gillick, in a role that has to be a frontrunner for this year’s Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Del Toro is mysteriously aloof for the first hour in the middle of so much mayhem but as the action escalates his portrayal of menace and determination was an absolute revelation.

Boasting setpiece after intense setpiece, the realizations come very slowly and the tension builds to a fever pitch with another wallop of an ending from Villeneuve. It will have you gripping your seat from start to fantastic finish.

But the most important thing is the film doesn't offer any easy answers because there simply aren't any. Morality is a mess of grays; "good guys" and "bad guys" simply don't exist in this universe. Families are torn apart every day by this drug war, and Sicario acknowledges that we are near helpless to stop it as innocent bystanders, as the gut-punch ending makes very clear.

Boosted by a tight script from Taylor Sheridan, a searingly intense score from composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, some absolutely beautiful shots from Roger Deakins(the shot where the assault team disappears under the Mexican horizon as if they are descending into hell is one of the year’s best) and some truly Oscar-worthy performances especially from Benicio del Toro, Sicario is yet another overwhelming experience from Denis Villeneuve and one of the year’s must-see films.

'Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation' Continues Series' Incredible Resurgence

If there’s one thing that Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol proved, it was that it’s never too late to inject some life into your Hollywood franchise even with three installments already on the books. While the adventures of IMF agent Ethan Hunt had always been loads of fun, it was Brad Bird’s absolute joyride that was the first to make the jump from good to great. And if there’s one thing that Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation could be faulted for is that it does feel quite similar to its wildly successful predecessor.

The thing always most striking to me about the Mission: Impossible franchise was its ability to have remarkably different visual and narrative styles but still retain enough similarities to make the series feel coherent. Each new Mission was an experiment in how a new director could infuse their unique visual style with Tom Cruise’s love of practical stunts and decadent spy setpieces (a concept explored in this wonderful video essay by Sean Witzke) And while writer/director Christopher McQuarrie may not continue this sort of radical visual experimentation, Rogue Nation still offers plenty of fun allusions to film history and plenty of incredible action sequences that are among the high points of the entire series.

Rogue Nation finds the invincible Ethan Hunt on the trail of a vague network of underground terrorists known as “The Syndicate,” a group using the same amount of stealth and skill as the IMF but instead using it to spread chaos. At its head is the mysterious Solomon Lane, played with hissing menace by Sean Harris in the best villainous role of the series since Philip Seymour Hoffman’s terrifying turn in the third Mission. So to combat that threat, Hunt has to reunite the old team once again, including the hysterical Simon Pegg as Benji (finally given plenty to do in Rogue Nation, his third outing), as well as Ving Rhames’ Luther and Jeremy Renner’s Brandt.

As fun as it is to see the old faces again, the real star here is the new arrival of Rebecca Ferguson, who plays the illusive Ilsa Faust, a seemingly rogue MI6 agent practiced at the art of deception. In a refreshing change of pace from many modern roles for women in action blockbusters, Faust is given free reign to be interesting, layered and, above all, kickass. Sexy but never defined by her sexuality, the movie takes the time to let her develop nuance and make a memorable addition to Ethan Hunt’s accomplices he’s acquired over the years. (And, as an aside, having her named Ilsa and placing the action in Casablanca is a reference too lovely not to grin at.)   

Just as important as the team in a Mission: Impossible movie is the increasingly madcap action sequences Ethan Hunt has to put himself through, and thankfully Rogue Nation doesn’t disappoint. From the get-go Cruise is hanging off the side of a giant cargo plane 5,000 feet in the air, and it’s clear that neither he nor McQuarrie are interested at all in scaling back the excitement or invention that makes the action of this series just so much fun. And while a heist sequence has always been par for the course in this series, it hardly gets more nail-biting than the way Rogue Nation places it underwater and gives the ticking clock even more urgency.

Cruise gives every ounce of his physicality into the role of Hunt once again and has to be considered the West’s only answer to the union of stunt and star that is Jackie Chan. Cruise is still taking hits and taking them hard in a way that makes the abundance of martial arts in this movie feel more physical and realistic. He’s still rolling off motorcycles, flipping cars and taking very ill-advised jumps because he is Ethan Hunt, and he’s the only man who can do what he does. Thematically, it’s so rewarding because he is at his most interesting when he’s at his lowest point, and the more Cruise ages the more interesting it is to see him get up again after each fall.

But if the film had to be boiled down into a single sublime sequence it would have to be the night at the opera that introduces Hunt to the true threat of the Syndicate as well as Faust’s involvement in it. In a very overt and masterful homage to Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much, Hunt has to foil an assassination attempt on the Austrian chancellor while scaling the backstage catwalks amid the crescendos of the Vienna opera. Shot by the incomparable Robert Elswit and with some really tight editing from Eddie Hamilton, it’s the wonderfully orchestrated high point in a movie full of amazing setpieces.

While Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel in a series that has benefitted greatly from big risks, it does take some of the best elements from the previous entries and distill them into a supremely entertaining whole. By combining the twisty espionage of De Palma’s first, the kinetic action of John Woo’s second, the sadistic villain in Abrams’ third, and the themes of Ethan Hunt’s aging first explored by Brad Bird in Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation delivers another wholly satisfying entry into a franchise that continues to intrigue and excite with every turn. Just try not to smile the entire time.

'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.' Is Sleek Spy Fun

Set during the chic, sleek Sixties at the height of the Cold War, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. marks the first return of indie-British-turned-Hollywood director Guy Ritchie since his big budget adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes franchise. Based on the 1960s television series of the same name, U.N.C.L.E. follows American secret agent Napoleon Solo (Man of Steel’s Henry Cavill) and his Russian counterpart Ilya Kuryakin (The Social Network’s Armie Hammer) as they have to put aside their countries’ differences to protect the lovely Gabby Teller (Ex Machina’s Alicia Vikander) and try to find her missing father who may be hiding nuclear secrets key to both sides of the Cold War.
 
            Combining three of the hottest tickets in Hollywood at the moment in its three lead roles, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is a whizz-fizz of a spy thriller, disappearing in a puff of smoke almost as soon as it enters your brain. It’s a rush of beautiful people in beautiful locations with plenty of charm to spare, even if there isn’t an entirely substantive reason for the whole shebang. And while all three leads acquit themselves quite admirably, trading quips and barbs with ease, the film really shines when its focus turns on the rapport of Cavill and Hammer, with Cavill being U.N.C.L.E.’s true standout. The brilliantly cheeky homoerotcism of the whole affair is a nice little play on the buddy cop formula, and I have to admit, the film does get a lot more fun when you imagine Cavill and Hammer are in fact in love with each other.

While the set pieces feel relatively smaller in scale compared to most summer blockbuster fare, the fun lies more in how Ritchie infuses them with his trademark sense of black humor and just enjoying the rapport that is built between Cavill and Hammer.  Whether it’s the tables turning on the Nazi torture scientist or the delightful boat sequence where Cavill decides to have some lunch, the small scale is overcome by the unique execution.
 
As an adaptation of a Sixties spy television series, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. succeeds in translating that kind of tone and charm into big screen laughs and thrills, even if it never reaches the dizzying heights that made a series like Mission: Impossible certified box-office gold. That being said, it's easy to tell that in less playful hands this material could’ve scraped the bottom of the Bond barrel, but luckily coasts by on the merit of snappy one-liners and a sexy cast instead.

'Jurassic World' is Rousing Summer Fun

With the original becoming one of the most successful and influential blockbusters of all time, the Jurassic Park franchise seemed as extinct as the dinosaurs it brought back to life after a string of truly disappointing sequels that were all horrific attempts to recapture the Spielberg-ian magic that sparked the original.

So with all of the remakes and sequels abounding these days, the idea of another "soft reboot" of the dinosaur park adventure could certainly seem like little more than a cynical cash grab, designed to be yet another blockbuster that keeps pushing the envelope in terms of mayhem. However, Jurassic World proves both that there's still some magic left in the dinosaurs we saw 22 years ago and that these creatures can still inspire awe and excitement in the hearts of all moviegoers.

Jurassic World transports us back to a completely revamped Isla Sorna, this time a functioning and beautiful theme park with all of the shows and attractions that John Hammond imagined all those years ago. It’s the culmination of the promise of the original film and it’s breathtaking to see the park many of us could only dream about, even if we already know that something has to go wrong in order for this new movie to exist.

Knowing that its audience is aware of the incoming disaster, Jurassic World becomes a meta-commentary on the movie itself by posing the idea that people will get bored by the dinosaurs unless they become bigger, badder, and scarier. Not only does this new “Indominus Rex” exist to draw in more ticket-buyers at the theme park, but it also puts the butts in seats for the movie itself.

Subscribe to TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/sxaw6h Subscribe to COMING SOON: http://bit.ly/H2vZUn Like us on FACEBOOK: http://goo.gl/dHs73 Follow us on TWITTER: http://bit.ly/1ghOWmt Jurassic World Official Movie Clip #1 - Alive (2015) - Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard Movie HD Twenty-two years after the events of Jurassic Park, Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, as originally envisioned by John Hammond.

The movie revolves around Owen (Chris Pratt), an ex-Navy guy brought in to study dinosaur behavior and train Velociraptors; Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard), an uptight corporate b-word (probably the film’s most offensive character in terms of portrayals of gender); and her two nephews Zach and Gray, who have been shipped off to the theme park while their parents sort out their divorce. None of them are remotely deep characters, but it’s never really important, simply because they are vehicles to make us care about what’s happening, and I would argue the same is true for the original Jurassic Park. As long as the audience cares just enough about them, the movie doesn’t lose their attention.

So while the cast of human characters at the center of the movie feels a little thinly sketched, and many of the expository dialogue scenes at the beginning inspire more eye-rolls than anything else, it all feels in service of telling a really entertaining blockbuster story. Even if they feel flat they’re inherently likable, and as much as some scenes evoked chuckles, Jurassic World plays everything out with such earnestness it always comes off as harmless and even charming.

The silly scenes at the beginning—specifically Owen’s first exchange with Claire at his “bungalow” and his first scene discussing the weaponization of Velociraptors with Vincent D’Onofrio’s Hoskins—are balanced out by things like the thrilling chase in the gyrosphere, which rivals the T-Rex jeep scene in the original in terms of the sheer terror it inspires. Any nitpicks you could have with the film’s logic are steamrolled by spectacle, so it feels ultimately pointless to debate about its sexism or use of product placement (neither of which bothered me too much but are valid points).

In fact, things that seemed so ridiculous in the trailer, such as Owen driving a motorcycle alongside four Velociraptors, are actually quite exciting and never over-the-top. So while the climactic dino fight at the end may feel like fan service for the most part, that doesn’t stop it from being sheer prehistoric bliss.

Jurassic World is populist filmmaking in the thrilling vein of the original. All of the character moments feel earned, and the dinosaur action scenes are thrilling without ever becoming Michael Bay-style overkill. Living up to the expectations of a movie as beloved asJurassic Park is never easy, but Colin Trevorrow and his team did quite an admirable job. It’s easily the best of the Jurassic sequels because it does something we weren’t sure was possible: make the dinos magical again.

Jurassic World - Official Trailer (HD) The Park is Open - June 12 http://www.jurassicworldmovie.com/ Steven Spielberg returns to executive produce the long-awaited next installment of his groundbreaking Jurassic Park series, Jurassic World. Colin Trevorrow directs the epic action-adventure based on the novel "Jurassic Park" by Michael Crichton.

'Mad Max: Fury Road' is Maniacal Inferno

I'd say it's a great sign you've enjoyed the climax of a movie if your gut reaction is to scream at the screen with your heart pounding a thousand times per second.

And I'd also say it's a huge testament to the power of cinema that the image of Mad Max swinging on a pole thirty feet in the air as a tanker explodes behind him will be forever seared in my brain and will never cease to bring a smile to my face.

In fact there are countless unforgettably powerful frames like that one and it's absolutely incredible to feel like we are now truly seeing the Mad Max that George Miller wanted to make. It's a movie where you can feel so much heart and passion behind the camera that every frame feels just full of unbridled filmmaking glee.

From the first frame it's clear that this is a new breed of Mad Max film. While retaining that wonderful post-apocalypse fantasy Miller built over 30 years ago, the 70 year old must have starting huffing nitroglycerin because Fury Road has an electric pace unlike anything ever seen in the series before.

Miller continues his gasoline-doused fairy tale by centering on Max Rockatansky's capture by the cultists that worship the brutish and menacing Immortan Joe, played by the Toecutter himself (Hugh Keays-Byrne) in incredible form. Immortan Joe treats objects like women, man and Miller gives us a little taste of girl power as Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiousa and her band of kickass women decide to take the power back and blow some shit up along with Max's help.

It develops into a rollicking chase film that takes no prisoners, full of fire and bloodshed and setpiece after brilliant setpiece, concluding with a climactic showdown that even kinda puts The Road Warrior's ending to shame (it hurt to type that). Seriously the finale of this movie is something to be cherished as a once in a lifetime experience that I doubt you'll ever forget. It brought tears to my eyes and I couldn't even believe it was real.

And while bringing the original director back can be a bit tricky and could've been a move more motivated by nostalgia, Fury Road proves without a doubt that it's Miller's taste for fire and blood that makes the Mad Max films really zing. He must have been cooking up crazy idea after crazy idea over these 30 years and Fury Road is an imagination unleashed. From every car morphed into a hulking beast, every misshapen and disgusting denizen of the Wasteland and every deftly orchestrated explosion it's clear that George Miller thought modern audiences needed to see his new vision of Mad Max. And oh how right he was.

I could totally have seen a younger director taking the reins on this project but still being weighed down by the pressure to "pay homage" and this would have been yet another reboot that fizzled and died. Instead George Miller made off with about 150 million of Warner Brothers' money and came back with a dizzying passion project bathed in sound and fury.

While the originals will always have their low-budget charm and incredible stuntwork that stands the test of time, Fury Road embraces the innovations of digital technology to create a Mad Max adventure unlike anything we could have imagined. It’s a beautifully colored and expertly choreographed testament to the idea that practical stunts and digital effects should be used side by side in order to tell the most rollicking story possible.

Miller's fantasy becomes transcendental, defying us to pry ourselves away and come down to earth. It's an action movie for the ages: one that will be studied as a paragon of the genre, just like its 30 year old predecessors.

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