Posts tagged Sicario
MOVIE REVIEW: Suburbicon

Suburbicon lazily delivers a caper that lacks cleverness, smarts, and anything edgy other than the spurts of hemoglobin that stain a few starched shirts.  Even if it is pitch black by design, the final ingredient of fake sentimentality glazed over the proceedings is ineffective to add any varnish to the acidic angle of white-collar crime.  Nonsensical twist follows nonsensical twist for an aimless purpose.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Wind River

Through every snowflake and gunshot, Taylor Sheridan cuts to the marrow and keeps Wind River firmly on track with its layered stages of discovery.  Tighter than Hell or High Water and more humane than Sicario, this film creates a tone of toughness balanced adroitly by human realities occurring in a dangerous place with a different set of rules.  The end result is a highly engrossing mystery with the edge we have come to appreciate and admire from Sheridan.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Get Out

To come right to the point, “Get Out” is an 104-minute living embodiment of a slow-burning WTF moment that just keeps growing with every new detail.  And it’s glorious for being that very thing.  More psychological thriller than the spattered horror it’s being billed to be, Jordan Peele’s directorial debut is subversively edgy and devilishly clever.

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COLUMN: New Year's Resolutions for the Movie Industry in 2017

Plenty of regular everyday people make New Year's Resolutions, but I think bigger entities, namely movie makers and movie moguls, need to make them too.  Annually, including this sixth edition, this is my absolute favorite editorial to write every year.  I have fun taking the movie industry to task for things they need to change.  I'm sarcastic, but I'm not the guy to take it to the false internet courage level of some Twitter troll.  This will be as forward as I get all year.  

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MOVIE REVIEW: Arrival

To reveal more of the emotional and scientific obstacle course would take away from the engrossing experience to be had by “Arrival.”  This is the anti-”Independence Day,” so don’t expect a populist romp.  Instead, open your mind to a stimulating and provocative mindbender that may require more than one viewing to grasp and appreciate.  The trippy events unfolding out of the screenplay tangle the puppeteer’s strings and play with narrative and filmmaking forces few are daring enough, and smart enough, to wield.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Hell or High Water

If I was trying to create a snazzy pull quote to add to the "Hell or High Water" lobby poster (one that is already filled with oversold promises), it would be "redneck edge."  Fashioned as a genre-advancing Modern Western from the same screenwriter that knocked us out with "Sicario" last year, director David Mackenzie's new film is inspired in ambition but lax in execution.  Its edge is the inability to decide whether to bark or bite.

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OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2016: The music and sound categories

Through several editorial features, here is my analysis to formulate my official Academy Award predictions.  In this first post, we look at the musical and sound categories that include original score, original song, sound editing, and sound mixing.  Stick with me and I will win you your Oscar pool!

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COLUMN: Five snubs and five surprises from the 88th Academy Award nominations

As with any year, there are hot topics being debated immediately stemming from snubs and surprises.  Here are my reaction and takeaways, consisting of five snubs and five surprises, coming out of this morning's nominations announcements.

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2016, Column, Editorial, SPECIALDon Shanahan2016, 2015 films, Oscar surprises, Oscar snubs, Oscar nominations, Oscar contenders, Oscar hopefuls, Oscar bait, Oscar Predictions, Oscar winners, Oscars, 88th Oscars, 88th Academy Awards, Academy Awards, Academy Award winner, 2016 Academy Awards, Academy Award, Academy Award nominations, Academy Award nominee, Academy Award nominees, film commentary, movie commentary, Awards Tracker, Awards Talk, Awards Predictions, Best Motion Picture of the Year, Best Picture, The race for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, Best Directing, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Minority performers, Michael B. Jordan, Creed, Mark Rylance, Sylvester Stallone, Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, The Revenant, The Big Short, Jacob Tremblay, Room, Benecio del Toro, Sicario, Paul Dano, Love and Mercy, Michael Shannon, 99 Homes, Michael Keaton, Spotlight, Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation, Inside Out, Anomalisa, Boy and the World, When Marnie Was There, The Good Dinosaur, The Peanuts Movie, Minions, Wiz Khalifa, Charlie Puth, Furious 7, See You Again, Lady Gaga, Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight, Best Original Song, Best Original Score, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Titanic, Mad Max: Fury Road, Lenny Abrahamson, Todd Haynes, Carol, Ridley Scott, The Martian, Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl, Ex Machina, Straight Outta Compton, Bridge of Spies, Star Wars: The Force AwakensComment
COLUMN: Predicting the major 88th Academy Award nominations

The 88th Academy Award nominations will be announced tomorrow morning, January 14, 2016, hot off of the weekend's 73rd Golden Globe awards.  I've been following the full awards season over on my Awards Tracker page.  Using that data as the tea leaves and a truckload of hunches, I'm going to attempt to closely predict the Oscar nominations for the "Big 8" categories for the third year in a row.

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2015, 2016, Column, Editorial, SPECIALDon ShanahanBest Picture, The race for Best Picture, Oscar Predictions, Oscar nominations, Oscar contenders, Oscar hopefuls, Oscar bait, 88th Academy Awards, 88th Oscars, Oscars, 2016, 2015, Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actor, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Adapted Screenplay, Big 8, Oscar snubs, Oscar surprises, Spotlight, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, The Big Short, Carol, Room, Brooklyn, The Martian, Bridge of Spies, Creed, Inside Out, Son of Saul, Straight Outta Compton, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, George Miller, Tom McCarthy, Todd Haynes, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Ridley Scott, Adam McKay, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Ryan Coogler, Leonardo DiCaprio, Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs, Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl, Matt Damon, Bryan Cranston, Trumbo, Johnny Depp, Black Mass, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Keaton, Brie Larson, Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years, Jennifer Lawrence, Joy, Charlize Theron, Sarah Silverman, I Smile Back, Helen Mirren, Emily Blunt, Sicario, Sylvester Stallone, Mark Rylance, Michael Shannon, 99 Homes, Paul Dano, Love and Mercy, Jacob Tremblay, Benecio del Toro, Mark Ruffalo, Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation, Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina, Alex Garland, Rooney Mara, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria, Rachel McAdams, Josh Singer, Pete Docter, Meg LaFauvre, Josh Cooley, Oren Movermann, Michael Alan Lerner, Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel and Ethan Coen, Joel CoenComment
COLUMN: Who should win/will win the 2016 Golden Globes?

More and more each year, the Golden Globes have become more an a popularity contest than a true precursor to the Academy Awards.  What you're watching on TV is a party thrown by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and hosted by Ricky Gervais in an effort to be loved and share some love.  To its credit, the awards show still garners legitimate attention and ratings.  The winners do get a pretty positive rub and the marketers gain a few more "Winner of..." graphics to put in the newspapers next to their films.

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2015, 2016, Editorial, Column, SPECIALDon ShanahanBest Original Score, Carter Burwell, Carol, Daniel Pemberton, Steve Jobs, Alexandre Desplat, The Danish Girl, Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Alva Noto, The Revenant, John Williams, Johann Johannsson, Creed, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Fifty Shades of Grey, Furious 7, Elle Goulding, Wiz Khalifa, Brian Wilson, Love and Mercy, Writing's on the Wall, Sam Smith, Spectre, Simple Song #3, Sumi Jo, Youth, Mustang, Son of Saul, The Brand New Testament, The Club, The Fencer, Timbuktu, The Assassin, Best Foreign Language Film, Amour, The Artist, Best Animated Feature, Inside Out, Shaun the Sheep, Shaun the Sheep Movie, The Good Dinosaur, The Peanuts Movie, Anomalisa, Charlie Kaufman, Disney/Pixar, Emma Donoghue, Room, Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer, Spotlight, Aaron Sorkin, Adam McKay, Charlie Randolph, The Big Short, Quentin Tarantino, Brooklyn, Michael Shannon, 99 Homes, Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation, Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies, Sylvester Stallone, Paul Dano, Mark Ruffalo, Benecio del Toro, Sicario, Jacob Tremblay, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Helen Mirren, Trumbo, Jane Fonda, Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina, Kristen Stewart, Clouds of Sils Maria, Lily Tomlin, Grandma, Jennifer Lawrence, Joy, Melissa McCarthy, Spy, Maggie Smith, The Lady in the VAn, The Lady in the Van, Amy Schumer, Trainwreck, Teyonah Parris, Chi-Raq, Al Pacino, Danny Collins, Infinitely Polar Bear, Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Matt Damon, The Martian, Kevin Hart, Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Brie Larson, Charlize Theron, Carey Mulligan, Suffragette, Far from the Madding Crowd, Will Smith, Concussion, Michael Fassbender, Eddie Redmayne, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bryan Cranston, Michael Keaton, Michael B. Jordan, Tom Hanks, The Wolf of Wall Street, Todd Hayne, George Miller, Ridley Scott, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globes, 73rd Golden Globes, Golden Globe nominees, Golden Globe winners, who will win/should win, Awards Predictions, Awards Tracker, Awards Talk, 88th Academy Awards, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment
COLUMN: The 10 Best Films of 2015

I prefer to be strict enough with my mind and my heart to rank the best and not just give some alphabetical list.  This was a difficult list to settle on for an order.  After 84 films this year, I think I've seen all I need to see to give out a complete and legitimate "10 Best" list.  Here are my picks and, in the spirit of this site, each of the "10 Best" are paired with their best life lesson.  Enjoy!

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MOVIE REVIEW: Sicario

"Sicario" is a raw labyrinth of grit and surprises.  This film is a python of suspense.  Just when you think the film can't squeeze you any tighter, it chokes you even more.  It resets the bar as the best and finest film on drug warfare that Hollywood has ever attempted.  "Sicario" is steely, seedy, scary, and jarring in its underlying social and political commentary to bore that out.  It's the kind of film that will make you never want to visit Mexico or live in Arizona or Texas.  

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