Sicario [Blu-ray/DVD] [2 Discs] [2015]

To start, this is one of the best movies of 2015. It's beautifully shot, brutally realistic, and the acting from everyone involved is top-notch. British actress Emily Blunt gives easily the best dramatic performance I've ever seen from her, playing an American FBI agent. Her American accent is dead-on flawless and she brings a ton of grit and spunk to her character, and deserved any award nominations she received for this role. Josh Brolin is also terrific and entertaining as a brash government task-force official, giving this very serious and gritty film a slight touch of much-needed cocky humor. And of course, Benicio Del Toro is 'Sicario'', the hitman out to avenge his murdered wife and daughter in a both brutal yet nuanced terrific performance. If it weren't for Leo Di Caprio's (certainly amazing!) turn as Mr Glass in the mindblowing Revenant, Del Toro should have gotten at least some sort of wider recognition (although I read he was deservedly nominated for a BAFTA award for the role). Without giving away too much, the film is part action, part thriller and part espionage. I've now watched it at least 5 times, both on standard 1080p bluray and already twice now in this seriously jaw-dropping 4k UHD bluray presentation. It's one of those films that gets richer with each repeat viewing, and this outstanding early-generation 4k disc only makes it all the richer. The standard 1080p bluray was already a technical treat, with sharp video, excellent blacks, and a reference-grade 7.1 Dolby Atmos/TrueHD audio track. This new 4k version with HDR definitely surpasses the 1080 in virtually all respects (although to be fair, 'regular' bluray still remains amazing, and the difference in raw 'clarity' is more of an incremental upgrade compared to 1080 vs 480). The first impression is the feeling you are looking through a brand new window. This is some of the cleanest, most pristine video my 4k tv has ever displayed to date (Samsung 55JS8500-with HDR, 2015). The detail in facial closeups, clothing and surface textures is off the charts. My Sammy JS8500 TV is considered an entry-level HDR model, but the benefits of HDR are immediate and perhaps even more striking than the resolution itself. Blacks and shadows are considerably deeper and more detailed, and bright material jumps out of the screen. Fire burns with realistic intensity and brightness. Colors, even in Sicario's somewhat beige-leaning cinematography, are rich and intense, yet very natural if you set your color 38-45. Flesh tones are impressive, and outdoor scenes in Juarez are striking, with bold yellows (once the hardest color for video to get right), blues and reds. An old turquoise car in one combat scene really jumps off the screen. As for the 7.1 sound, this is demo-worthy material... Gunshots ricochet all over, explosions and the ominous musical score shake the floor. Helicopters seamlessly pan from the far back surrounds to the sides then the front with uncanny realism (and that's without currently having the Dolby Atmos height channels.) All told, l think the whole 4k experience overall is a home run, and it only makes a standout film like Sicario all the more engaging. After a recent night out at a nearby dine-in AMC to see The Conjuring 2 (very good sequel, by the way), I can say that 4k bluray with HDR matches and in many respects outclasses the image quality of the so-called 'real thing'. The brightness and blacks are superior, and the image detail is way sharper compared to the softer look of a large projected image. Everything about Sicario, from the acting, cinematography and the intense action, to the stunning 4k video and 7.1 audio presentation, should make adding this must-have early UHD release a high priority for anyone who loves great films and is highly recommended.

This was one of my favorite movies of 2015 and here’s another look, this time on Blu ray. It’s always fun to go back to watch great movies. You can rely less on plot focus and just look at the technical aspects of the film. And you might even answer a question or two that had you a bit befuddled the first time around. Here, it became clearer as to what Alejandro’s past entailed and specifically why the U. S. was supporting his clandestine operation. One of the things that stood out was the wonderful photography of Roger Deakins. Using New Mexico for most of the shooting, vast open spaces were certainly consistent with the look south of the border. There is a great shot of the shadow of a miles high airplane flying across a barren mesa. Even more impressive were the night shots, some reportedly in total darkness. Using infrared and night goggles, the scenes are fluid and foreboding. Another unforgettable element of the film is the first rate soundtrack composed by Johann Johannsson. In one scene, several helicopters approach the border, flying low. We hear the blades rotating and first quietly, then getting louder, culminating in an ominous crescendo of acoustic basses, cellos, horns and drums that set the tone of the film. The Blu ray package includes a DVD and a digital download. It comes with a 1080p video resolution shot with a 2.40:1 aspect ratio. The transfer looks great. The movie was shot using digital cameras and they work well with the sometimes dusty, brown countryside. This is not a film that produces eye popping colors although some of the dirty street scenes of Juarez (actually Mexico City) still provide an assortment of blues, yellows and reds. Various close ups provide excellent skin tones. You can clearly see the red rash around Kate’s neck after a close encounter of the male kind. The audio is top notch with a Dolby Atmos track that defaults to Dolby TrueHD 7.1. The film includes the aforementioned helicopters panning across the room but there are high speed SUVs marching through narrow streets and plenty of the pop, pop, pop of gunfire. Johannsson’s score becomes part of the movie itself, raising the tension and it thunders throughout the room and keeps the sub(s) plenty busy. Subtitles are available in English SDH and Spanish. A great movie and a great transfer. Here are the extras: * Stepping Into Darkness: * The Visual Design of Sicario • Blunt, Brolin, and Benicio: Portraying the Characters of Sicario • A Pulse From The Desert: The Score of Sicario • Battle Zone: Inside The World of Sicario

My favorite film of 2015 is Canadian Denis Villeneuve's electrifying and morally-ambiguous portrait of the war against drugs on the border between the US and Mexico, "Sicario", a telling of the rite-of-passage of an idealistic and inexperienced FBI agent, superbly played by Emily Blunt, recruited to join a covert government team to bring down one of Mexico's most dangerous drug barons. She's accompanied by the team's leader, expertly played by Josh Brolin, a tough practical guy who believes the end justifies the means, and has no qualms about ignoring any laws that stand in his way. Also with them is a Mexican assassin played by Benicio Del Toro who has his own agenda. ("Sicario" derives from the Latin word, "Sicarius", meaning 'dagger man'; also 'hit man' in Spanish.) Villeneuve's past work comprises some of the finest films made the last few years (e.g., "Incendies", "Prisoners", and "Enemy") and "Sicario" is a tour-de-force of brilliant technique used to develop character as well as to encourage viewers into questioning their own moral choices in following proper laws or circumventing them for expediency. One critic called this film 'a punch to the gut' and it most certainly achieves that while never losing its grip on the audience, its action heightened by Roger Deakins' evocative cinematography utilizing the finest aerial tracking shots I have ever seen, along with crackerjack editing, and a pulse-pounding electronic music score by Icelandic composer, Jóhann Jóhannsson. Described by its director as "a dark poem," it is a tough, virtually perfect thriller that will stimulate your brain while gluing you to your seat.

My favorite film of 2015 is Canadian Denis Villeneuve's electrifying and morally-ambiguous portrait of the war against drugs on the border between the US and Mexico, "Sicario", a telling of the rite-of-passage of an idealistic and inexperienced FBI agent, superbly played by Emily Blunt, recruited to join a covert government team to bring down one of Mexico's most dangerous drug barons. She's accompanied by the team's leader, expertly played by Josh Brolin, a tough practical guy who believes the end justifies the means, and has no qualms about ignoring any laws that stand in his way. Also with them is a Mexican assassin played by Benicio Del Toro who has his own agenda. ("Sicario" derives from the Latin word, "Sicarius", meaning 'dagger man'; also 'hit man' in Spanish.) Villeneuve's past work comprises some of the finest films made the last few years (e.g., "Incendies", "Prisoners", and "Enemy") and "Sicario" is a tour-de-force of brilliant technique used to develop character as well as to encourage viewers into questioning their own moral choices in following proper laws or circumventing them for expediency. One critic called this film 'a punch to the gut' and it most certainly achieves that while never losing its grip on the audience, its action heightened by Roger Deakins' evocative cinematography utilizing the finest aerial tracking shots I have ever seen, along with crackerjack editing, and a pulse-pounding electronic music score by Icelandic composer, Jóhann Jóhannsson. Described by its director as "a dark poem," it is a tough, virtually perfect thriller that will stimulate your brain while gluing you to your seat.

Denis Villeneuve burst onto the scene in 2013 with his chilling American directorial debut “Prisoners”, and later cemented himself as a director-to-watch with last year’s “Enemy”. Both films are excellent, and treat the audience as the smart moviegoers they are, letting them freely infer and fill in the blanks when it comes to things that aren’t fully spelled out. So it should come as no surprise that his latest effort “Sicario” succeeds in much the same way. This time he’s teaming up with the likes of Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio Del Toro, who prove to be a fascinating trio in this slow-building thriller. The film follows Kate Macer (Blunt), an FBI agent eager to make a difference after several members of her team are killed while searching a home containing evidence linked to a prominent Mexican drug cartel. She volunteers to help search for the men responsible as part of a special task force led by supposed Defense Department contractor Matt Graver and his mysterious partner Alejandro Gillick (Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro). But things begin to get messy and many of Kate’s preconceptions are shattered quickly. We trail her on this spellbinding journey of moral ambiguity and blatant violence, and her perspective is what makes the majority of it so surprising. The thing that struck me immediately about the picture was the astonishing cinematography, which was beautifully done by the legendary Roger Deakins (most known for his work on films like “Fargo” and “No Country for Old Men”). When paired with the superb acting from each and every cast member, you get a knockout of a movie. Emily Blunt is the true stand out here, and seeing her lead the film after so many great supporting roles is extremely satisfying. This is undoubtedly one of my favorite films of the year so far, and continues to grow on me the more I think about it.

Fresh off the success of Prisoners, and after making the extremely underrated indie flick Enemy, Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve makes his return to big-budget Hollywood with Sicario, a quiet and tense thriller that plays at one plot, while quietly whispering the true story to the audience for almost 3/4 of the film. Sicario is a term that has a long history to it, but for this particular outing the meaning is that of a "Hitman" or "Assassin". The film is centered around Emily Blunt's character, a steadfast FBI agent that is recruited into the larger world of the CIA, and ever further a sect that involves "Spooks" or "Ghosts" - highly skilled individuals that are tasked with executing objectives quietly and un-noticed, the group lead by Josh Brolin, and aided by a mysterious man played by Benecio Del Toro. The plot puts these main players up against the Mexican drug cartel and the leaders that order the acts of violence to maintain the balance of corruption. The film as a whole is an ebb and flow of tense situation and character revelations, equaling an experience that provides plenty of tense moment, but are bogged down by long stretches of exposition that really don't matter at the end of it all. Recommended for those enjoy cat-n-mouse type crime-thrillers, maybe films like Katheryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty or The Hurt Locker, to a very-lesser extent Oliver Stone's Savages. But ultimately, Denis Villeneuve is an auteur filmmaker with his own power and vision, slowly growing as a director that can undertake bigger films and Sicario is another great example of an artist evolving.

There is something exceptionally startling about director Denis Villeneuve's approach to his rather subtle character examinations. Neither Prisoners or Enemy did anything to necessarily expand our minds to the way we work as humans, but they called often dismissed thoughts and qualities to the surface. With his latest, Sicario, the director is once again examining the human condition under the most stringent of circumstances and once again he puts our nerves through the ringer. Having more than enjoyed both of Villeneuve's previous studio efforts (I've yet to see Incendies, but clearly need to) and anticipating his latest if not based on his previous work, but for the trio of stellar actors he recruited to execute this feature I walked away from Sicario with a stunned respect for how what was being said was in fact stated. Brutal beyond measure, unflinching to a fault and featuring an extremely serious tone balanced by a slight comedic performance from Josh Brolin, Vileneuve has crafted a film that is not wholly concerned with plot as much as it is the examination of the complexities of these people who are trapped in a world convoluted beyond their comprehension that only continues to go around in circles. Sicario is by no means a masterpiece of the genre as it does tend to lose some of it's steam in it's middle section, but it more than makes up for it with a chilling conclusion and a tension throughout that is something akin to unshakable.

I have waited ever so patiently to see this movie. When I saw the trailer earlier this year, I did research on the movie which led me to discover that director Denis Villeneuve (who also directed 2013's Prisoners and Enemy) also directed Sicario. Not surprisingly, his movie Sicario is not only suspenseful and thrilling, but it delivers some outstanding performances. From the moment Sicario starts we see Emily Blunt's character Kate Macer graces the screen with a fearless but alert mindset. Josh Brolin's character Matt Graver is one you never are sure whether or not if you should trust. And while both Emily Blunt and Josh Brolin are terrific in their respectable roles, one has to truly appreciate the dark and serious portrayal of Alejandro by actor Benicio Del Toro. His character is both towering and intimidating by all means, and I would not be at all surprised to see his name pop up come awards season. Even better, the story of Sicario is easy to follow. Mind you, Sicario is not one of those non-stop action films, but because it mixes suspense, action, and plots the scenarios with the Mexican Cartel/FBI in a believable way. I can not help but to applaud Denis Villeneuve for the crafting this timely and well shot thriller that is Sicario. Make no mistake, if you are looking for a thrilling time at the movies, then look no further than Sicario. Great cast, believable story, and brilliantly directed. My Consensus: GO SEE Sicario