Logging

Film: Wicked

Watched last weekend and forgot to log it...suppose it had that much of an impression on me. Story not bad, emotions not bad. If China could make such a film, I'd be worried. But still not my cup of tea.

Film: Sicario 

Rewatch...although this film seems right up my alley, I never loved it. In fact, I contend the sequel is better (contrarian coming out). But upon rewatch, I'm not totally wrong. Something is off about the film. The main issue is the lack of an underlying morality, or the moral universe in which the film operates. It's so deeply pessimistic about human nature, the vibe asserts that "American" values are only slightly superior to the cartels because we manage to be moderately less evil. Bleak! No universal, humanistic concerns. In fact, Emily Blunt's moral objections to the actions of Brolin and Del Toro seem to amount to "not following the rules." As if FBI procedures are the thing that makes us non-savages. 

In Public Enemies, Michael Mann shows numerous characters disgusted by the FBI guy torturing a woman for information. In Sicario, we are all meant to understand and root for Del Toro the torturer because he gets results. 

But this isn't the biggest problem with the movie. The biggest problem is how the film represents itself as gritty reality, but is in fact completely absurd. A former lawyer becomes a Sicario for the Columbian cartel to get revenge for his family while secretly also working with the CIA? We're sending over Delta Force and the CIA to Juarez to kill cartel dudes because of bad press in Arizona? Huh? If you've seen any of the Tom Clancy or Michael Mann films, I don't see how this film feels plausible to you. It bears closer resemblance to John Wick than Jack Ryan.