By Susan Granger
Along the lawless border between the United States and Mexico, drug cartels rule, and “Sicario” means hitman. That’s where French-Canadian director Denis Villenueve focuses in this grim, grisly thriller.
After idealistic FBI field agent, Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) and her SWAT-team partner, Reggie (Daniel Kaluuya), discover a stash of rotting corpses stashed behind a drywall in an Arizona subdivision, she’s recruited by a shadowy government task force, headed by scruffy, sandal-clad Matt Graver (Josh Brolin).
The covert black-ops squad is led by a burly, vengeful Colombian “consultant,” Alejandro (Benicio del Toro), who cryptically tells Kate as she dons her Kevlar vest: “Nothing will make sense to your American ears, and you will doubt everything we do.”
First on the agenda is an unorthodox trip over the Rio Grande and through the dry, cactus-filled Chihuahua Desert to Juarez to retrieve a prisoner to make him squeal on the Sonora cartel, leading to the capture of businessman Manuel Diaz (Bernardo Saracino) in order to flush out the kingpin, Fausto Alarcon (Julio Cesar Cedillo).
Meanwhile, there’s a Spanish-captioned sub-plot involving a young Mexican policeman (Maximiliano Hernandez), his dutiful wife and his soccer-loving son.
Like Jessica Chastain in “Zero Dark Thirty,” unflappable Emily Blunt, as by-the-book Kate, is trying to make sense of the real purpose of their mission. As a result, she doesn’t know whom to trust. And beneath the moral chaos lies the question: does the end justify the means?
Working from a timely script by Texas-native Taylor Sheridan, Denis Villenueve evokes memories of Steven Soderbergh’s Oscar-winning “Traffic” (2000), utilizing the same subject matter in a far more sinister context, superbly photographed by Roger Deakins, expertly edited by Joe Walker and subtly scored by Johan Johannsson.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Sicario” is a savage 7 – delivering enough sheer brutality and suspense to maintain two hours of dread-filled anxiety.
“Pawn Sacrifice” revolves around Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire), the eccentric chess prodigy from Brooklyn who dominated the headlines during the Cold War.
During the summer of 1972, everyone seemed to be riveted on a championship match between this young American and Soviet world champion Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber) in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Utilizing that framing device, Fischer’s story unfolds. After losing the first game, belligerent, temperamental Fischer, ever-suspicious of KGB. surveillance, refuses to show up for the second, complaining about whirring camera noise and the close proximity of the audience.
In addition, he demands more money and relocating the match to a private ping-pong room. At his side are his support team: Paul Marshall (Michael Stuhlberg), an endlessly patient, patriotic lawyer/manager, and the Rev.. Bill Lombardy (Peter Sarsgaard), a grandmaster coach/priest, who compassionately describes chess as “a rabbit hole,” taking players very close to the edge.
Scripted as part bio-pic/part docudrama, it’s astutely directed by Edward Zwick (“Defiance,” “Blood Diamond”), who digitally substitutes Maguire for the real Fischer in a 1971 TV interview with Dick Cavett.
Flashbacks show Fischer’s budding genius emerging at age six, much to the surprise of his sister (Lily Rabe) and Russian/Jewish, Left-wing activist mother (Robin Weigert), a suspected Communist.
Problem is: looking overtly crazy, Toby Maguire bugs his eyes to telegraph his volatile, paranoid rage, including his rampant anti-Semitism. As a result, Schreiber’s intimidating Boris Spassky emerges as the far more intriguing character.
And much of the controversy of Fischer’s later years has been left out. Living in seclusion, his U.S. passport revoked, Fischer called the 9/11 attacks “wonderful news.” In 2008, he died in Reykjavik of kidney failure at age 64. HBO’s “Bobby Fischer Against the World” (2011) is far better.
On the Granger Gauge, “Pawn Sacrifice” is a serious, strategic 6 – check and mate.
When “Hotel Transylvania,” (2012) with Adam Sandler as amiable Count Dracula, the proprietor of a monsters-only resort, became a hit, a sequel, “Hotel Transylvania 2,” was inevitable.
Drac is now a grandfather, courtesy of his daughter, Mavis (pop star Selena Gomez), and her human husband, Jonathan (Andy Samberg). Overprotective Mavis is understandably concerned about childproofing the creaky, old hotel, leaving Drac with the challenges of technology.
Most disturbing of all: Drac’s cherubic, red-headed grandson, Dennis (Asher Blinkoff), appears to be more human than vampire. And if his fangs don’t descend by the time he’s five, it will be too late. So, once again, “vampa” (a.k.a. vampire grandpa) Drac must seek help from his friends.
Fearful of raising Dennis with monsters, Mavis covertly checks out her husband Johnny’s California hometown, while visiting his parents (Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally).
Meanwhile, Drac and his pals take little Dennis on a “monster-in-training” trek through newly gentrified Transylvania. But when Drac throws Dennis from a tall tower to force his transformation into a bat, it’s filmed by campers and uploaded onto the Internet, alerting Mavis and Johnny.
At Dennis’ fifth birthday celebration, his great-grandfather, human-hating Vlad (Mel Brooks) appears with his bat-servant Bela (Rob Riggie). And Vlad’s furious that Drac has welcomed humans into the monsters-only lodging.
Checking in are Frankenstein (Kevin James) & his wife (Fran Drescher), Werewolf Wayne (Steve Buscemi) and his wife (Molly Shannon), Murray the Mummy (Keegan-Michael Key), the Invisible Man (David Spade), Blobby the Blob (Jonny Solomon), Phantom of the Opera (Jon Lovitz), and the Fly (Chris Parnell).
Formulaically scripted by Robert Smigel and Adam Sandler, it’s predictably directed by Genny Tartakovsky—with an emphasis on silly, slapstick comedy and zany sight gags.
On the Granger Gauge, “Hotel Transylvania 2” is a spooky 6 – a family Halloween treat.
( Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
