You know a movie can’t miss with these two! Benicio Del Toro, as mysterious operative Alejandro Gillick, and Josh Brolin, as federal agent Matt Graver, are back for another go around with the Mexican drug cartels. The first ‘Sicario’ movie concentrated on the cartels, their influence over the U.S. drug trade and the gritty anti-drug task force’s missions. This newest entry deals with those too, but the main focus is the exploitation of illegal immigrants who try to cross the border to seek a better life. It also touches on how children are drawn into and affected by gang activity. The movie starts with a horrific scene of three Muslim extremists who blow up a super market, including a mom who unsuccessfully tries to protect her daughter. I am not fond of movies that harm kids; although I understand that the point is to depict the horror terrorism inflicts. Still, it was not easy to watch this scene and I found myself closing my eyes. The main plot driver is the U.S. government officials’, including the Secretary of Defense (Matthew Modine), belief that the terrorists must have entered our country from Mexico; and that starting a war between the cartels will help stop this from happening, as well as getting the cartels taking each other out. Graver’s character is given carte blanche to do what ever he sees as necessary. He recruits Gillick with the promise that he will be able to have his revenge on the head of the cartel who actually ordered the murder of his family (In the first movie. he got revenge on the man directly responsible for the murders). To start the cartel war, the daughter of this cartel head is kidnapped. Things do not go according to plan, of course, and when the government learns that the terrorists were actually homegrown, they decide to abort the mission. The civilian official controlling the mission (Catherine Keener) decides that the girl and Gillick know too much, and must be eliminated along with anyone else involved. She coldly tells Graver, sorry, but they are to become collateral damage. As you probably suspect, Gillick is not so easy to get rid of. How that all plays out is complex, violent and bloody; but: no spoilers! The move is bloody and violent throughout, this is not a movie for the squeamish! I do feel that it gives an honest and heartbreaking look at how terribly these poor immigrants are taken advange of and abused. Elijah Rodriguez gives an intriguing performance as an innocent school boy who is lured by the easy money to be made as a coyote and whose fate is unknown (but suspected) by the end of the movie. Beneath all the harsh action, this film asks us to take a hard look at the immigration problem while offering no solutions. Of course, that’s not the movie’s goal,, and there aren’t any easy answers anyway. I do like the way that both main characters are shown to ultimitely have a heart, and the end definitely screams sequel! Even though this is not my kind of movie, I found myself drawn in by Del Toro’s character. I would probably watch the next inevitable installment.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
You may not have heard of this movie, but when the academy award season hits, I think you will find some nominations going to this little gem. Frances McDormand gives a first rate performance in this dark drama, with hints of comedy, which is quirky in a Coen Brothers way. In fact, I actually laughed out loud during this movie more than I have during some of the so-called comedies I’ve seen lately. McDormand plays Mildred Hayes, a hard edged, uncompromising woman who is still reeling from the brutal unsolved murder of her teen aged daughter. The easy going, somewhat bucolic, police department seems to her to have forgotten all about her daughter, which causes her to do some drastic things, which build and lead to unintended consequences. Mildred pays for three billboards that she hopes will motivate the local cops to take notice and do something to solve the crime. These billboards spark various acts of violence and even civil disobedience that end in a lesson in what happens when people let rage and anger dictate their actions. Woody Harrelson is fine as the sheriff, but the surprise gem in this movie is Sam Rockwell, as a seemingly dimwitted, rather crass police officer who lives with his mother, lets anger get the better of him; but who finds redemption in the end. I would not be surprised if he gets an Oscar nod for his performance. If you want to get away from super hero movies and big budget special effects, I highly recommend seeing this movie.
Wonder
Anyone who has been following my movie ramblings knows that I usually read the book that a movie is based on. “Wonder” was no exception, so I knew exactly what to expect from the plot of this movie. AND I STILL CRIED!! This is a very thoughtful and gentle movie told with compassion and empathy. For those of you who aren’t familiar, this is the story of Auggie Pullman, born with terrible facial deformities that have necessitated over 20 operations. Auggie, doesn’t like to go out without his astronaut helmet on to cover his face, which has caused small children to cry and adults to turn away. Luckily his mother, played with moving compassion by Julia Roberts, has been able to home school him. However, it is time for Auggie to find his way in the world and his parents decide he is ready to try a small private school where he will enter fifth grade as a middle schooler. As you can imagine, many children are not kind to Auggie, but this movie ends up being a Valentine to all who have every been victimized by a bully. Auggie is played with tremendous pathos and humor by Jacob Tremblay who manages to seem very human even under tons of prosthetics and make up. Owen Wilson is just right as his supportive dad and Izabela Vidovic is great as the neglected sister who never gives up on her little brother. I give the film makers kudos for making this movie feel real and not making it too overly sappy. The simple message of this story, “Be Kind” will resonant with many long after the credits have stopped rolling.
mother!
I am not one to give you spoilers, so don’t read this review if you do not want a little hint as to what this movie is about. That said, I can guarantee that you will be totally confused without this hint. I went to this movie without knowing that the whole thing was an allegory. Knowing this upfront would have helped me get at least a little grasp of what was going on. I thought from the trailers that I would be seeing a kind of updated Rosemary’s Baby. I think the trailers were misleading. Ready? Here it is, your hint….the movie is an allegory for Mother Earth and the first book of The Bible. Each character, outside of Mother herself, represents a character in the Bible. I could readily discern Mother Earth, God, Jesus, Adam, Eve, Cain and Able. There are probably a lot more, but those are the ones I figured out. Even knowing this, “Mother” is bewildering. The cinematography is great, but that just isn’t enough. Jennifer Lawrence is very subdued as a newlywed who is married to a writer. They live in a gigantic, creepy house in the middle of nowhere. Ed Harris and Michelle Pfieffer are spooky as a couple who appear out of nowhere and are inexplicably invited by Jennifer’s husband, Javier Bardem, to stay with them. Things only get weirder, as more and more odd things happen, and crowds of people arrive in increasingly complex scenarios . By the end of the movie, it seems as if the whole of humanity is living, loving and fighting in that house. Will you like this movie? I really don’t think many people will like it. It is a brutal roller coaster of perplexing allegories and people doing things that just don’t make any sense. I am not giving it a rotten apple only because the performances are excellent, and I love Ed Harris and Javier Bardem. But I think you will be happy to have missed this one.
Wind River
“Wind River” opens with an intense moment: a young girl running barefoot in the bleak Wyoming snow. During the course of this engaging movie, we find out who she is, where she is, and why she is running. This is a great crime drama, along the lines of “Hell or High Water”. Taylor Sheridan wrote both movies and has tried his hand at directing this one. What a great job at that! This is a character driven drama with gut wrenching performances by Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen, Gil Birmingham, Graham Greene and Jon Bernthal. Something horrific has happened on the Wind River Reservation and rookie FBI agent Olsen teams with game tracker Renner who is haunted by a past tragedy. There are no annoying subplots or even periods or comic relief, just a well-told story. If you liked “Hell or High Water” you are going to enjoy this one too. Don’t look for a sweet happy ending, as this movie will show us, on the reservation there are no happy endings, only a kind of redemption. This is a little Indie movie though, so if you want to see it on a big screen (and you really should) HURRY!
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