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.
When Keller Dover's daughter and her friend go missing, he takes matters into his own hands as the police pursue multiple leads and the pressure mounts. But just how far will this desperate father go to protect his family?
A young programmer is selected to participate in a ground-breaking experiment in synthetic intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a breath-taking humanoid A.I.
Director:
Alex Garland
Stars:
Alicia Vikander,
Domhnall Gleeson,
Oscar Isaac
A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.
During the Cold War, an American lawyer is recruited to defend an arrested Soviet spy in court, and then help the CIA facilitate an exchange of the spy for the Soviet captured American U2 spy plane pilot, Francis Gary Powers.
When Louis Bloom, a driven man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.
An astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team assume him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
Ethan and team take on their most impossible mission yet, eradicating the Syndicate - an International rogue organization as highly skilled as they are, committed to destroying the IMF.
Director:
Christopher McQuarrie
Stars:
Tom Cruise,
Rebecca Ferguson,
Jeremy Renner
A woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in postapocalyptic Australia in search for her home-land with the help of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshipper, and a drifter named Max.
When drug violence worsens on the USA Mexico border, the FBI sends an idealistic agent, Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) on a mission to eradicate a drug cartel responsible for a bomb that had killed members of her team. Written by
Gusde
In the opening scene where Kate is sweeping the rooms of the cartel-owned house she is narrowly missed by a shotgun blast. In return she fires several shots, one of which hits the man in the left cheek. In the close-up shot moments later, the man's face does not contain any bullet wounds. See more »
Quotes
[last lines]
Alejandro:
You should move to a small town, somewhere the rule of law still exists. You will not survive here. You are not a wolf, and this is a land of wolves now.
See more »
The badlands of the US - Mexico border and the viciousness of the drug trade running across it sets the background and the tone for this movie. It's grim. Human life is very cheap and the movie doesn't flinch from showing consequences. There are definitely some scenes that are not for the faint hearted, but there is nothing gratuitous here. If anything - despite the subject matter - the film goes out of its way to avoid Hollywood heroics.
Emily Blunt does an amazing job portraying Kate Macy, a career policewoman heading a SWAT team. Her accent slips slightly a couple of times, but otherwise she's utterly believable as born and raised in the deep south of the US. Kate is a fundamentally decent, honorable human being, trying to the right thing in a world where the rule book doesn't seem to work any more. She's smart, tough, and experienced - but right from the start of the movie, it's clear that she's in over her head.
The tension never lets up. An attack could come at any moment, from any direction. Anything could be a trap. All of it, no matter how extreme something is, plays as real. The director manages scenes expertly to avoid any clean and easy action movie clichés, and it pays off enormously as the movie goes on.
It's also a highly intelligent movie, made for an intelligent audience. It doesn't lay things out on a plate. Instead you have to pay attention and you have to think, just as Kate has to - because her first mistake could be her last.
Staging, costuming, sets, cinematography, and lighting are all perfect. Some airborne shots in particular stand out as both daring and stunningly original, clearly showing just how harsh the landscape is, while managing to propel the story forward - without showing anyone, no less. This part of the movie is in the "As good as it gets" category. The only part that I didn't like (and the reason that this doesn't get a 10 from me) was the music. It's used deliberately to heighten tension during some scenes which would otherwise break the feel of the movie, and generally it's done well, but some scenes are spoiled with a There Will Be Blood styled screech. It's really not needed, especially since Sicario's own score manages to build or maintain tension quite successfully in other parts of the movie while remaining low-key.
To my mind, this is much more of a drama than it is a thriller. It's certainly not an action movie. The acting from the support cast is exactly what it needs to be - good in general, and great when a minor character is the focal point - but look closely at how much Benicio del Toro manages to do with no dialogue and not even all that much movement. Simply amazing.
This is a great movie to see if you want to be challenged.
132 of 174 people found this review helpful.
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The badlands of the US - Mexico border and the viciousness of the drug trade running across it sets the background and the tone for this movie. It's grim. Human life is very cheap and the movie doesn't flinch from showing consequences. There are definitely some scenes that are not for the faint hearted, but there is nothing gratuitous here. If anything - despite the subject matter - the film goes out of its way to avoid Hollywood heroics.
Emily Blunt does an amazing job portraying Kate Macy, a career policewoman heading a SWAT team. Her accent slips slightly a couple of times, but otherwise she's utterly believable as born and raised in the deep south of the US. Kate is a fundamentally decent, honorable human being, trying to the right thing in a world where the rule book doesn't seem to work any more. She's smart, tough, and experienced - but right from the start of the movie, it's clear that she's in over her head.
The tension never lets up. An attack could come at any moment, from any direction. Anything could be a trap. All of it, no matter how extreme something is, plays as real. The director manages scenes expertly to avoid any clean and easy action movie clichés, and it pays off enormously as the movie goes on.
It's also a highly intelligent movie, made for an intelligent audience. It doesn't lay things out on a plate. Instead you have to pay attention and you have to think, just as Kate has to - because her first mistake could be her last.
Staging, costuming, sets, cinematography, and lighting are all perfect. Some airborne shots in particular stand out as both daring and stunningly original, clearly showing just how harsh the landscape is, while managing to propel the story forward - without showing anyone, no less. This part of the movie is in the "As good as it gets" category. The only part that I didn't like (and the reason that this doesn't get a 10 from me) was the music. It's used deliberately to heighten tension during some scenes which would otherwise break the feel of the movie, and generally it's done well, but some scenes are spoiled with a There Will Be Blood styled screech. It's really not needed, especially since Sicario's own score manages to build or maintain tension quite successfully in other parts of the movie while remaining low-key.
To my mind, this is much more of a drama than it is a thriller. It's certainly not an action movie. The acting from the support cast is exactly what it needs to be - good in general, and great when a minor character is the focal point - but look closely at how much Benicio del Toro manages to do with no dialogue and not even all that much movement. Simply amazing.
This is a great movie to see if you want to be challenged.