Sicario

Sicario apparently means "dagger-man" (according to the movie and wikipedia - it comes from the latin, but then shares a history with Hebrew and Spanish words meaning substantially the same thing - dagger man or assassin); which makes this a serious movie and not to be confused with the tequila brand with the raunchy (but greatly appreciated) ad campaign.

Although, I would not have had a problem with a little of this in the film, it's probably a good thing that it was not connected... just sayin'.

By now, you know that I love spy movies, action movies, and thought-provoking movies, but when you successfully combine all of those together with great casting and strong writing... IMTHATDUDE that heads to theatres no where near me to catch the film the first weekend when they are in limited release.  (Thank, God it was playing at a theater that doesn't have bed bugs. That, would have been a problem.)  While most people I spoke to on my way to the theatre had no idea what movie I was referring to when I mentioned it, they all became interested when they found out that Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and the great Benicio Del Toro were starring in the film.

VITALS

Denis Villenueve (Maelstrom. Prisoners) - Director
Taylor Sheridan (a feature writing noob) - Writer

Emily Blunt (Edge of Tomorrow, Into the Woods) - Agent Kate Macer
Benicio Del Toro (Usual Suspects, Escobar: Paradise Lost) - Alejandro
Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men, Oldboy) - Matt
Maxamiliano Hernandez (The Namesake, Thor) - Silvio
Daniel Kaluuya (Kick Ass 2, Johnny English Reborn) - Reggie
Victor Garber (Argo, Self/less) - Jennings
Jeffrey Donovan (Hitch, J. Edgar) - Steve Forsing

Other noteworthy performances include:  Raul Trujillo (from Apocalypto and Riddick), John Bernthal - my ninja, Shane from The Walking Dead.  RIP Shane, but hell of a way to exit a show!

IF YOU MUST KNOW

Kate Macer (Blunt) and her partner, Reggie (Kaluuya) are vigilantly fighting the good fight against kidnapping associated with the never-ending drug war and the brutal violence proliferated by the drug cartels and visited upon the cities along the U.S. - Mexico border.  After a particularly gruesome discovery and deadly incident, Macer is recruited to "volunteer" for a chance to strike at the heart of the cartels responsible for the mass murder and increasing bloodshed in her Arizona jurisdiction.  She enlists and works with the oddball Matt (Brolin) - is he FBI, Homeland Security, DEA, CIA...?  What matters most is that this team along with the ultra-mysterious Alejandro (Del Toro) are poised to disrupt the flow of drug traffic into the U.S. and deliver a major blow to the asinine war on drugs waged by a country who basically finances a controlling interest in all "illegal" drug operations.

Why is this movie dope (no weak pun intended), one might ask - in a word Benicio Del Toro is one of the very few big named actors who can successfully accomplish going from playing Fenster (in the Usual Suspects) to the Collector (in Guardians of the Galaxy) to Pablo Escobar (in Escobar) and then to Alejandro in Sicario and you don't think about how it is all the same guy while you're watching it.  He's the anti-Will Smith.  He's a legit actor with chops that make you respect and see the character rather than the actor and that says a lot to persnickety folk like me. Blunt's American accent was nearly flawless; Kaluuya's was very good too (call him the anti-Cheadle; see Oceans 11-13).  Then, there's the writing!  To say it was taut would deprive you of sufficient description.  Taylor Sheridan works seamlessly with the director, Denis Villenueve to make a film that doesn't waste a moment on useless or throwaway dialogue.  What could be spoken is said instead with furtive looks, shooting angles, and pregnant pauses.

Sicario is one of the best movies I've seen in the last few years.  It ain't perfect, but it is very, very good.  Great kid friendly film - aside from the mutilated bodies, domestic abuse, and language. When it hits theaters in wide release, you should go see it.

IMTHATDUDE gives Sicario: 5

RATING SYSTEM:

5 = You should be about halfway to the theatre by now… Well… GET!
4 = Definitely worth the bread. Niiice.
3 = I won’t cuss anybody out and demand my paper back.
2 = Somewhere SOUTH of under-whelmed./I know it has a pulse, but…
1 = Not a good look. They played me AND I played myself.