Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Sicario & The Martian

 

 

 

 

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to the pictures for a promising pair, Sicario and The Martian.

 

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

 

First on my agenda: Sicario.

 

A tactical specialist for the FBI is recruited for a multi-agency operation targeting a drug kingpin.

 

Dear Reader(s), I was a HUGE fan of the TV series The Bridge, so when I started seeing trailers for Sicario, I thought, "The Bridge on the big screen, with a li'l Josh Brolin stirred in for good measure? SIGN ME UP!" The movie does have its twists, but it definitely includes all the "law vs. cartel" aspects you'd expect, too.

 

To wit: It will surprise exactly no one that a film about running down a cartel boss is not for the faint-hearted. Sicario is brutal, and it does not flinch in its presentation of violence and gore, though torture is mercifully more implied than explicitly shown. It's all about ugliness, with the occasional surprisingly pretty moment. In a world of dirt and shacks, suddenly there's a silhouette framed against a stunning sunset, a frame of breathtaking beauty. Emily Blunt is fantastic in the lead, a competent, confident woman who lands in a situation she doesn't fully understand and can't control. For the second time in as many weeks, Josh Brolin turns up as a vaguely obnoxious guy that you'll kinda like anyway, and Benicio Del Toro all-but steals the show. The proceedings are accompanied by a menacing, magnificent score (composed by Johann Johannsson) that perfectly enhances the movie's tense tone. There are many moving pieces in Sicario, but, at almost an even two hours, it never feels muddled, slow, or long.

 

Sicario clocks in at 121 minutes, and is rated R for "strong violence, grisly images, and language."

I anticipated greatness from Sicario, and I'm pleased to report it exceeded my expectations. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Sicario gets eight.

 

Next up: Ridley Scott's The Martian.

 

A space mishap leaves a presumed-dead astronaut alive and alone on Mars.

 

Box office reports indicate that, if you went to the movies this weekend, you probably saw The Martian. And you loved it, didn't you? Seems everyone did. Well, almost everyone...

 

First, the positives: The Martian is a great story, and very well acted. A strong supporting cast is uniformly solid, but it's essentially up to Matt Damon to ensure you aren't rooting against astronaut Mark Watney's rescue. Damon does a fine job; he's believably smart, funny, and likable, yet also beautifully plays those moments of despair bound to beset a person in his situation. It's worth noting that, for all the movie's meant to be taken seriously, it does not hesitate to get a shirtless Matt Damon onscreen as early and as often as possible. There's a shortage of Sebastian Stan (would you even believe I wrote this if I didn't say it?), but it's nice to see Stan, an excellent actor in his own right, in something worth watching. I'm a long-standing Stan Fan, but outside Marvel projects, I'm pretty sure he hasn't done a decent movie or show since the short-lived NBC series Kings. The Martian's effects are big and sweeping, not in the same universe (see what I did there?) as the visual magnificence of Interstellar, but certainly worth seeing on the big screen. It's played for laughs, but there's also a proper disco-stompin' soundtrack that'll leave you humming ABBA's Waterloo for the next week or so.

 

The negatives? Despite all that, The Martian is pretty boring for pretty frequent and pretty significant stretches. You've no reason to care whether anyone outside of Watney lives or dies. The off-Mars sequences at NASA are actually far more interesting and entertaining than the movie's galactic bread and butter. If we're being honest, I looked at the clock a LOT and was fidgetingly anxious to wrap it up before the movie's halfway point.

 

The Martian runs an excessive 141 minutes, and is rated PG13 for "some strong language, injury images, and brief nudity."

 

It's a good movie, maybe even a great movie, but on the heels of Sicario, 

 

The Martian just didn't feel all that special. 

 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, 

 

The Martian gets six and a half.

 

Until next time...

 

MOVIE REVIEW: SICARIO

An idealistic FBI agent (Emily Blunt) is assigned to work a dangerous stretch of the US-Mexico border by her superior officer (Josh Brolin). She's exposed to the brutality of the Mexican drug cartel, and becomes partners with a defector from the cartel (Benicio Del Toro) who possesses keen knowledge about the organization. As she gets deeper into the ruthlessness and corruption surrounding the FBI sting to find the organizations leaders, her moral and professional boundaries are pushed to their breaking point. Denis Villeneuve directs this pulse-pounding crime drama, which competed for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Daniel Gelb, Rovi

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Cast: Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Jon Bernthal, Daniel Kaluuya

Release Date: Sep 18, 2015

Runtime: 2 hr. 1 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama

Review:

Sicario is the type of action thriller that leans towards the adult audience more so than the blockbusters.  It’s a moody mix of suspense peppered with action and compelling characters.  Denis Villeneuve’s is beautifully shot film that never shies away from the ugly side of violence and vengeance.  Still it’s not nearly as bleak as his previous film Prisoners which seemed intent on showing the closing darkness.  That’s not to say that this film is a bright and uplifting sing along, far from it.  Its characters are various shades of gray.   Emily Blunt’s performance here shores up her transformation from rom-com to ruthless but with a touch of subtle vulnerability.  The supporting cast is headline by Josh Brolin who is having a good time playing a CIA spook that is out for his own interest but Benicio Del Toro is the star of the show.  Del Toro is a fascinating mix of cool and dangerous throughout.  His character doesn’t say much but the performance lets you know there’s plenty going on behind those eyes.  It’s an intriguing drug war drama throughout Villeneuve’s most accessible film yet.

A

MOVIE REVIEW: THE MARTIAN

During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible, rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney’s safe return. Based on a best-selling novel, and helmed by master director Ridley Scott, THE MARTIAN features a star studded cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Donald Glover.

Director: Ridley Scott    

Cast: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña.

Release Date: Oct 02, 2015

Rated PG-13 for Injury Images, Brief Nudity and Some Strong Language    

Runtime: 2 hr. 22 min.    

Genres: Action/Adventure    

Review:

Ridley Scott’s The Martian is a welcome return to form for the acclaimed director.  The film is a visually stunning and thoroughly engaging story of survival.  It’s an impressive achievement since it the type of film that focuses on a single character.  The story can be described as a mixture of Castaway and Gravity sans manufactured sentimentality.  The man at the center of the film is Matt Damon’s Mark Watney.  Damon’s performance is impressive because it steers clear of the typical tropes we’ve seen previously, keeping the performance rational and fresh.  Damon dominates the first half of the film and it’s to the film’s benefit.  The story starts to falter just a bit when it loses focus on Damon and starts throwing a myriad of supporting characters some of which are more distracting than interesting…..Kristin Wiig & Donald Glover immediately come to mind.  I would have preferred more characterization on Watney’s crew which gets the short end of the stick.  Minor quibbles aside; The Martian is a thoroughly enjoyable survival story which earns the most of its 2 hours plus run time.

A-

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Everest & Hotel Transylvania 2

Dearest Blog, today it was off to the pictures for strange bedfellows Everest and Hotel Transylvania 2.

 Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers or (I assume) actual events.

First on my agenda: Everest. Several groups of climbers take on the world's highest mountain. Okay, dear reader(s), admit it: From the very first trailer, you were trying to pick out who among Everest's cast of critical darlings would be first to bite the dust, and who might make it out alive.

It's a teen-slasher flick, except, instead of a masked maniac, the big bad is Mother Nature. I read a piece earlier this week that suggested the movie would keep people from wanting to climb Mount Everest, but I'ma be straight: it didn't take a movie to convince me life-threatening hobbies are a bad idea; rather, once you've seen Everest, you'll be lucky if you aren't scared to walk to your car if it's parked on a grade in a little snow.

Everest has a lot going for it, not least its stellar cast. Josh Brolin and Jake Gyllenhall are always big draws for me, but there are no missteps among this group. John Hawkes is terrific as always, as are Kiera Knightly and a woefully underused Robin Wright. The breathtaking scenery is worth the price of admission all on its own...just stunning.

Visual and sound effects are also top notch. (When sound effects are so good a person who doesn't do sound effects for a living notices, those are some good sound effects!) Both make you feel as though you're right on the mountain with our crew of climbers.

The film does a great job of maintaining tension throughout; in fact, there was not a peep out of anyone in my theatre for the entire two hours; the crowd was mesmerized.

Having said all that, Everest does have a couple weak points, too. Some sequences are drawn out for effect, but a trim here or there wouldn't have hurt. During the most harrowing climbing scenes, everyone is so bundled up it's impossible to tell who's who, unless you had the presence of mind early on to make mental notes of whose jacket was what color.

Necessary for realism, certainly, but not so much fun for the guy with the popcorn trying to keep score. Overall, though, those are petty quibbles with a mostly solid flick. Everest clocks in at 121 minutes and is rated PG13 for "intense peril and disturbing images."

Everest is a good movie sure to convince you mountain climbing is the world's most insane hobby.

I'm glad I learned macrame in the eighth grade!

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Everest gets seven.

Next up, Hotel Transylvania 2. Having grown up, married, and had a baby, Dracula's daughter Mavis considers moving out of Hotel Transylvania to raise her child among "normal" people.

I gotta admit, after the stressful Everest, I was never so grateful for the idiocy of Adam Sandler. Despite my general aversion to Mr. Sandler, I truly enjoyed the first Hotel Transylvania, and hoped for more of the same from the sequel. As with most Sandler vehicles, HT2's voice cast is a who's who of Saturday Night Live alums. It won't do anything for my cinephile cred to admit I laughed my butt off at BOTH Grownups movies, but, well, there it is. No movie was ever worse for a bit of Steve Buscemi, either, and Mel Brooks is a terrific addition to the cast.

Transylvania boasts beautiful art and animation, but the 3D is essentially useless. If it's a bit slow towards the end, the movie mostly moves at a good clip, and I laughed out loud more than a few times.

There are some cute moments to which the older among us are sure to relate, and plenty of gross-outs for the kids. Finally, the not-so-subtle "can't we all get along" message is more than welcome in our contentious times, even if it's buried in a kids' cartoon. Hotel Transylvania 2 runs 89 minutes and is rated PG for "some scary images, action, and rude humor."

It won't come close to any Best Animated Feature awards, but, for my money, Hotel Transylvania 2 is good fun for all ages.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Hotel Transylvania gets six.

Until next time...

Cindy Prascik's Reviews of Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials & Black Mass

Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to the pictures for a double-feature that, if we're being honest, was only ever about Johnny Depp. On the docket: the second installment in the Maze Runner series, The Scorch Trials, and the Depp vehicle Black Mass.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

First up: The Scorch Trials.

Having escaped the maze, Thomas and company face new threats on several fronts.

I hated the first Maze Runner so much that I was actively rooting for the maze to just go ahead and crush everyone. It was mostly the promise of Aiden Gillen, and the fact there was nothing else to round out a double-bill, that convinced me to drop seven bucks on Scorch Trials. This one's not a great movie, either, but I'm pleased to report I very much preferred it to its predecessor; at times it strangely even reminded me of one of my 80s favorites, the Lost Boys, by way of Wayward Pines.

Some welcome new faces turn up--in addition to Gillen, Barry Pepper also features--and the returning kids have settled into an easy flow that works in the movie's favor. Thomas Brodie-Sangster is always a delight, and, according to some Internet quiz, Dylan O'Brien is my celebrity boyfriend, so...well...I guess it's good to know who that guy is, then. (Celebrity boyfriend? I could be his MOTHER!!) There were a couple dramatic "impact" shots that were probably a bit hokey, but that I especially loved. Tension is well-maintained, though sadly offset by cheap haunted house jump-scares at times.

Scorch Trials is too long by a good 20-25 minutes, and many too-dark scenes with annoyingly jiggly camera work are such a jumble it's hard to even tell who's who, yet I can't pretend I was bored or I didn't enjoy the movie; on the contrary, I must grudgingly admit to liking it.

The Scorch Trials runs 131 minutes and is rated PG13 for "extended sequences of violence and action, some thematic elements, substance abuse, and language."

It's no Hunger Games, but Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Scorch Trials gets five.

Rounding out yesterday's double-header was the mobster drama Black Mass.

A violent criminal from South Boston uses his informant status to further his own agenda.

Black Mass is being touted as Johnny Depp's return to "serious" acting. For the record, let it be noted that this reviewer does not value dramatic performances over comedic ones; as a longtime Depp fan, my problem with his recent choices has been not the type of project, but the quality...and I'm one of the few who even admits to enjoying Mortdecai! Black Mass represents a fantastic turn by Johnny in a pretty solid movie, and, for Depp Devotees, it's been awhile since we've had one of those.

Black Mass is a slow burner, and I can almost understand why some folks have been impressed with the performances but underwhelmed by the whole. For myself, though, I loved it. If the movie's not in a hurry to get anywhere, it never wanders aimlessly or wastes time either. It runs a little over two hours and could probably have been trimmed a bit, but doesn't seem like it *needed* to come in shorter. The film is violent, of course, though not unnecessarily gory, and the writing is sharp and smart. The cast is uniformly excellent, but, as is ever the case, nobody compares to Johnny Depp, and I do mean nobody.

While Gary Oldman has long been my favorite actor, it's Depp who's been perched atop my Acting Holy Trinity for three decades now, for my money, the greatest actor in all the world. Depp tends to details like no other, perfect accents and mannerisms, with innumerable small touches that might overtly go unnoticed, but that add layer upon layer to every single performance. A scene early in the movie that focuses on Bulger's facial expressions, reacting to a companion's terrible table manners, is a perfect example; I happily could have watched two hours of just that, and it was only the beginning.
Black Mass clocks in at 122 minutes and is rated R for "brutal violence, language throughout, some sexual references, and brief drug use."

It's not quite perfect, but Black Mass represents a definite win for Johnny Depp, an award-worthy lead in a genuinely good movie.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Black Mass gets seven and a half.

Until next time...







































No caption necessary!

MOVIE REVIEW: BLACK MASS

The true story of one of America's most violent and infamous gangsters, Whitey Bulger. Johnny Depp stars as Bulger, who was the brother of a state senator and was eventually convinced to wear a wire for the FBI to bring down the Italian mafia in Boston after they invaded his territory. Scott Cooper directs, with Mark Mallouk penning the screenplay based on Dick Lehr and Gerald O'Neill's 2001 best-seller Black Mass: The True Story of An Unholy Alliance Between The FBI and The Irish Mob. ~ Daniel Gelb, Rovi

Director: Scott Cooper

Cast: Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons, Joel Edgerton

Release Date: Sep 18, 2015

Rated: R for brutal Violence, Language Throughout, Some Sexual References and Brief Drug Use

Runtime: 2 hr. 2 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama

Review:

Black Mass is an engaging gangster film that’s gripping enough to keep your attention for most of its 2 hour run time.  Its greatest assets are it’s actors with Johnny Depp delivering some of his best work in years.  Depp is fully committed to the role, losing himself into it easily.  It’s a fascinating character study and Depp’s performance gives the audience a strong sense of what the real man was like, to a chilling degree.  Depp will be getting a lot of positive returns for his work but Joel Edgerton is just as good playing the FBI agent who partners with Bulger.  Edgerton is an incredibly talented actor who easy to overlook because he eases into his characters so well.  His turn here is fantastic giving you a strong sense of why the character’s broken logic made sense to him ultimately leading him to his downfall.  Benedict Cumberbatch is a strong supporting character even if it takes a moment for your mind to wrap around his Boston accent which is great but sounds strange coming out of his mouth.  Sadly, he’s under used and his character is underdeveloped.  Scott Cooper does solid work throughout, keeping a steady pace but he can’t quite overcome the film’s biggest drawback which is something totally out of his control.  In the end, it’s a well worn story that doesn’t deliver any surprises.  It’s a strong film all around but it’s been done countless times.

B