Review: ‘Sicario’ Tackles Big Themes and Bigger Questions

Big-screen thrillers centered on the war on drugs are nothing new. It stands to reason, considering how ripe with inherent drama and international stakes that world is even before any Hollywood screenwriter puts pen to paper (or hand to keyboard, as the case may be). Steven Soderbergh’s 2000 Oscar winner Traffic still stands as perhaps one of the best-known cinematic interpretations of that complex and multi-faceted struggle. Still, even in a subgenre that has been mined time and again, filmmaker Denis Villeneuve — and Traffic star Benicio del Toro — bring a fresh vision to roaring life with Sicario.

Continue reading Review: ‘Sicario’ Tackles Big Themes and Bigger Questions

Review: ‘The Martian’ Destined to Become a Classic

As far as science fiction cinema is concerned, few filmmakers can compare to Ridley Scott. While the director has seldom delved into the genre over the course of his decades-long career, his filmography still holds two bonafide masterpieces in Alien and Blade Runner (the less said about Prometheus, the better). In The Martian, Scott returns to the genre once more, but this time, the focus is on space-set drama rather than acid-dripping xenomorphs and replicants.
Continue reading Review: ‘The Martian’ Destined to Become a Classic