Sicario

“You’re asking me to tell you how a watch works, for now just focus on the time” People sometimes give me a strange look when I say Sicario is probably my favorite Denis Villeneuve film (I haven’t seen Incendies) in a category of nothing but fine crafted bangers. This somehow feels both clean and technical in the way it looks, feels and sounds but at the same time is lined with tension and some grisly displays on top of moral ambiguity. The tag line The border is just another line to cross sums up everything it needs to say plus you have someone like Sir Rodger Deakins doing the only thing he knows how to do which is frame everything in the most astonishing way possible. Favorite scene is “Night Vision” with the two squads preparing for the tunnel while quietly keeping Kate (Emily Blunt) and Reggie (Daniel Kaluuya) at a distance before everyone sinks into the draining sunset with pumping violin strings become more rapid. That’s not even touching the border scene and dinner table scene which both have continued to stand out compared to anything released after it. Absolutely electric every time after numerous rewatches there really isn’t any fat needing to be trimmed, less than two hours goes in a blink. Dark yet purposeful from the jump acknowledging the good old boys club operating in a suspect manner with the goal of taking down real criminals who’ve gone unchecked. This of course comes at the cost of agents like Kate being forced to fight for themselves while completely blind to most of the missions she’s being used as a pawn for. Emily Blunt is so believable in this hardened but vulnerable task force agent role with really everyone standing out. The group of Blunt, Brolin, del Toro and Kaluuya is such a unique blend that works flawlessly with every single person understanding the tone completely. Denis Villeneuve Ranked