Film/Documentary Reviews (Blu-ray 4K, Blu-ray 1080p, Blu-ray 3D, ...)

[NorthSky]

INTRO

This is an open thread to everyone. Any review, any comment, any format (IMAX 3D, 70mm Theater, DVD, VHS, Laser Disc, HD DVD, Blu-ray 2K, 4K, 2D, 3D, any theatrical visits to your local theaters, Cineplex, IMAX, ...), anything onscreen that moves counts. It's a free zone, where all romances, dramas, comedies, wars, westerns, science-fictions based on true stories, documentaries, foreign films, ...everything in the movie/documentary world industry from Hollywood to Marrakech is not excluded.
_____

More than 48 hours ago, in the darkness of night I watched this on 4K Blu-ray:

It's part two (sequel) of the original 'Sicario'.
Right from the bat I don't like violence, I don't like violent people of any kind...drugs, sex, corruption, kidnapping, money, ramson, war, power, exploitation, deception, lies, spies, hackers, bullies, guns and roses, ...all that toxic pizza.

But, I do like films, music, documentaries, from all type and variety.
With this out of the way, time for action.

The original 'Sicario' film directed by the Canadian Frenchman Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049) I liked it very much. The tension was terrific, the music score was magnificent, the acting by Benicio and Emily convincing, the full construction was very entertaining. Brief, an excellent film.
This is not that film, this is 'Day of the Soldado', from a different director and from the same writer, Taylor Sheridan.

It's a restricted movie (rated R); not for kids and not for sensitive women, and men too.
It's not for violent people either, it's for intelligent people, peaceful people. ...If you get my drift.

How do you get rid of drug lords and drug cartels?
One way is to intercept the drugs they ship by planes, by boats, by tunnels, by cars, by trucks, by trains, by foot, across the walls, the borders, ...and burn it all.
Another way is to fire all the corrupted cops and politicians who benefit financially from the proceeds of drugs selling and intoxication. Then you build special swat teams, undercover, who are honest, not a single rat, and send them where the bad guys are to kill them all.
Another way, the one used in Day of the Soldado, is to start a war between drug cartels so that they can kill each other. In the film the good guys, under government's leaders approval, kidnap a 16-year old daughter from a druglord and stage it as if it was from a rival drug cartel.

It has more violence than in the first one. But it is not a better film, to the contrary; it sets the tone for some kind of soap opera series on Netflix, or HBO, or Cinema Choice, or YouTube channel.

I like the beginning and I like the end. Everything between is not in the same vein.

Overall: 55 (film itself, acting, story, brain entertainment value)

Technical merits (4K Blu):
• Audio (Atoms elevation, musical score) -> 77
• Visuals (night, daytime, 4K) -> 81

Last word: Proceed @ your own paste, that's the only rule.
Compared to the original it's not in the same league.
The newcomers, young actress and young actor are the new gel in Sicario 2.

 

[amirm]

I still have not watched the original sicario so I better do that before getting into this one.

 

[NorthSky]

Amir, if you wouldn't be busy measuring DACs and enjoying life in your garden, travelling, do the food shopping for your wife, cooking, having romantic candlelight diners and baths with your wife I would say yes, check out Sicario the original.

It's not easy for the members here, the audio scientists, to find extra time to watch movies on 4K Blu-ray @ night. Most are into music first. Me too, I listened to jazz and classical music for a solid four hours today, I chopped wood, I stacked wood, I walked with the dogs, I picked winter apples, I prepared for the colder nights.

Tomorrow I have a busy schedule with the family and pets.
It's been busy so the time is not enough to watch TV, I don't have cable.
I only watch movies and docs and Netflix occasionally.

I put air in the four tires, I bought two dozen farm eggs, I had a beer with a friend, ...when the night comes and darkness falls, if I'm not too tired I might watch a film.
I enjoy films because I put myself behind the eyes of the cameraman and the brain of the director and the shoes of the actors and behind the console of the sound mixer and with the baton of the music composer. I try to not miss a beat and to have the overall vision.

We're all different about the time we have to do the things we like to do, including watching films. And no two films are alike. Like here; the original Sicario is well made, penetrating, impacting, atmospheric, tough, music score well in sync, good acting, captivating, brief well executed by a first rate cinema crew. Its sequel is simply not in the same caliber.

It's not a film for everyone, but a still well executed film...the original I'm referring to.
More films are coming up; animations, comedies, science fiction, romantic love stories, thrillers, dramas, westerns, foreigns, documentaires too.
This is only the beginning, life is taking a turn for the better.
Family first, music second, walks in nature third, whale watching fourth, and movie watching last. Between it all...driving safe around the scenic drives, laughing with the kids and elders, talking world news with friends, and preparing dinners. ...Go to bed, sleep well, wake up well, put a classical album on, ...enjoy life and everything beautiful in it. Live and repeat, each day never the same. Time is always different, grey hairs start to appear, change of the seasons, kids having kids, fathers and mothers becoming grandfathers and grandmothers, ...we setup comfy, secured, well planned for the future of who's coming next after us.

 

[NorthSky]

Some people, many, would never rewatch the same movie twice.
Did you notice what I just wrote?

Anyway not me, I revisited 'Sicario: Day of the Soldado' last night, even with a below 65 score...55. In my book anything below 65 is unworthy. @ school I was always 95 and above. Lol

You know what, the replay value is better because you feel closer to the director's vision.
You discover more, because when you make a film it doesn't happen in one shoot.
Some scenes can take several takes.

Yes, the first viewing is the one that counts the most. There is no question.
The first impression is the one we remember the deepest.
It's like the first time we fell in love with our first girlfriend @ school; Roxane when I was fifteen. French Canadian girl, beautiful. Our first love we never forget, even after fifty years of marriage.

The first movie I ever saw I don't remember, I was just too young, below five.
Something on TV, in black and white.

When I was @ college we learned how to be art critics. We went to art galleries and museums and wrote our comments on paintings and sculptures, works of arts.
I still do today, with the same razor edge openness. It has to be truly ugly, like a square rock, grey, boring, anti-decor friendly, for me to score it below zero. In almost everything you can find some value above zero. If I don't it's because I became like a robot, an emotionless machine.

This thread is not about art, it's about movies, documentaries, moving pictures, music scores, actor's chops, montages, decor sets, locales, cinematography, directing, writing, lighting, stories, compositions, languages with words and pictures, silent movies too...from the Charlie Chaplin era.

When we review audio gear, recorded music, films, paintings, cars, ... we put all our heart and passion into it, or we don't. Anything man-made, including children, I put all my heart and passionate life into it.

After revisiting 'Sicario: Day of the Soldado', I was closer to the film director, Stefano Sollima, and with an augmented appreciation. It's easy to know why, because I became more familiar with the ground.
Isabela Moner, Benicio, Josh; they also became closer. I could observe more attentively their art, and I saw what the director saw. I knew it, it is not something you can miss when you know it. It's like listening to a classical piece of music with a tenor voice in a play and be transported to another dimension, to magic space in time.

With music there are no reference pictures, only the musicians playing.
With films we have a reference point, in each and every single frame.
@ 24 frames per second it became second nature the ground we are familiar walking on.

The music score in this film fits the premises.

 

[RayDunzl]

I'm OK waiting for films to hit the cable tube...

Recently watched (first time) and rewatched Oblivion.

Here's the making of, part 1, part 2, and part 3.

I didn't care for the flying scenes fighting the robot drones, but, I thought the rest of it was really well done.

 

[NorthSky]

'Oblivion', there are many cool scenes in that flick. And the soundtrack is cool too.

Tom is an audiophile, an analog audiophile. He is involved with the music composers and sound mixers in his films.
He's also a bass addict, I think.

 

[NorthSky]

I'm in the middle of 'Making a Murderer' Season Deux (2). ...On Netflix.
Katlheen T. Zellner she's my type of smart woman. She is good, a smooth operator.