Tag Archives: Benicio Del Toro

Movie review: ‘Sicario: Day of the Soldado’ gripping, all-too-real crime thriller

Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro are back with a vengeance in “Sicario: Day of the Soldado,” a compelling crime drama with heavy-duty, real-life overtones relating to the problems the government faces with cartels on U.S.-Mexico border. The follow-up to director Denis Villeneuve’s acclaimed 2015 original, “Day of the Soldado” doesn’t so much feel like a sequel than it does a continuation of an expansive story line, where the focus on drug trafficking shifts to human trafficking and the threat of terrorists infiltrating the U.S. with the help of the cartels.

With Emily Blunt’s idealistic FBI agent from the first “Sicario” no longer a part of the equation, “Day of the Soldado” keys in on CIA heavy Matt Graver (Brolin), who is saddled with the daunting task of trying to derail a major cartel’s human trafficking operation and new practice of smuggling in ISIS terrorists into the U.S.


Hear Tim’s review of “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” with Tom Barnard on “The KQ Morning Show.” Segment begins 10 minutes in.

But since the mission is off the books and no use of military is involved for political reasons, Graver convinces U.S.  Secretary of Defense James Riley (Matthew Modine) that the best way to take on the cartels is to start a war between them, which is done by kidnapping cartel kingpin Carlos Reyes’ young teen daughter (Isabella Moner) — and setting it up to look like another cartel is responsible. To help execute the mission, Graver brings back his mysterious Mexican operative Alejandro (Del Toro), whose stake in the game remains very personal since Reyes’ is the man responsible for killing his family.

Even though the film maintains the foreboding tone of he original “Sicario,” “Day of the Soldado” isn’t perfect, and it particularly gets muddled as director Stefano Sollima tries to juggle the main narrative with a sub-narrative about a teen boy (Elijah Rodriguez) getting in over his head as he joins a human trafficking operation. Fortunately, the film comes together when the story lines intersect, leading to brutal conclusion that leaves as many questions as there are answers.

While Brolin and Del Toro are terrific as usual, the real MVP of “Day of the Soldado” is screenwriter Taylor Sheridan, who wrote the script for the first “Sicario,” as well as “Hell or High Water” and “Wind River” (which he also directed). He has an incredible handle of bringing dark and violent tales of realism to light, and miraculously makes his stories engaging even though they can be depressing as hell. And while “Day of the Soldado” is coming out at an odd time as a summer movie release, hopefully the film will gain enough momentum for Sheridan’s screenplay to gain some recognition come fall. It’s far too important a story to ignore.

Lammometer: 7.5 (out of 10)

Tim Lammers reviews movies weekly for The KQ92 Morning Show,” “KARE 11 News at 11” (NBC), WCCO Radio, WJON-AM, KLZZ-FM, “The Tom Barnard Podcast” and “The BS Show” with Bob Sansevere.

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Movie reviews: ‘The Intern,’ ‘Sicario’

Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway in 'The Intern' (photo -- Warner Bros.)

By Tim Lammers

“The Intern” (PG-13) 3 stars (out of four)

“The Intern” is one of those rare movies that, no matter how predictable it is, a talented filmmaker like Nancy Myers at the helm and stars like Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway have you walking away with a big smile on your face. Even with the trailer it’s pretty evident exactly how “The Intern” is going to unfold, but it’s expertly executed.

De Niro stars as Ben, a 70-year-old retired widower, who, while he keeps himself busy, bores easily of retirement. Hoping to make himself useful somewhere, Ben becomes a senior intern at a highly-successful Internet clothing e-tailer, the brainchild of a smart but hyper Jules (Hathaway). Assigned to Jules, Ben soon discovers that the business magnate really has no time for him, until his clear knack for business and his affability around her colleagues makes her realize that his experience in work and life could help her get out of the rut of the company’s growing pains.

A smart comedy that artfully plays to both millennials and adult moviegoers, “The Intern’s” strongest suit comes with not only De Niro and Hathaway’s performances, but wonderful supporting turns by the likes of Adam Devine (“Pitch Perfect” and its sequel), Rene Russo (as an office masseuse who catches Ben’s fancy), Andrew Rannels (as Jules’ business confidant). Linda Lavin turns up, too, and is playfully hilarious as a fellow senior of Ben’s who tries her not-so-subtle best to lure Ben on a date.

De Niro is as brilliant as usual in “The Intern,” demonstrating once again that there’s no genre he can’t play in. A mild-mannered, chivalrous gentleman, De Niro is so effective as Ben that even his subtle facial expressions speak 1,000 words. Hathaway, meanwhile, is completely charming as the exasperated Jules, who’s desperately trying to balance the demands of work life and her suffering personal life as a wife to stay-at-home dad (Anders Holm) and mother to a young daughter (JoJo Kushner).

The biggest struggle Jules faces in “The Intern” is the investors’ insistence to hire a CEO to take her place because she has too much on her plate, at least until its revealed that a personal crisis leaves her facing the biggest dilemma of her life. Ben, of course, tries to guide her through this dilemma, but the outcome – which will have a lot of moviegoers asking, “What would I do?” – may leave a whole lot of people disappointed. It’s the sort of unpopular creative decision Meyers (who also wrote the film) makes that holds “The Intern” – a good film – back from being a great film.

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“Sicario” (R) 3 stars (out of four)

“Prisoners” director Denis Villeneuve tackles another bleak landscape — but with uneven results — with “Sicario,” a take on an American drug enforcement unit’s attempt to dismantle a deadly drug Cartel in Mexico. Unlike “Prisoners,” which left open a tiny bit of mystery, Villeneuve leaves the audience pondering a solution for what seems to be a hopeless situation. Part of the frustration on the moviegoer’s behalf stems from the fact that there’s no real resolve to the Central American drug import problem in real life.

British actress Emily Blunt plays a FBI agent who reluctantly reports to an operation run by a shady CIA agent (Josh Brolin) and ambiguous Department of Defense advisor (Benicio Del Toro). A by-the-book agent, Blunt’s character, Kate, immediately becomes troubled by how Matt (Brolin) and Alejandro (Del Toro) are willing to get their hands dirty to bring the cartel leader down.

With a running time of about two hours, “Sicario” (which mean “hitman” in Mexico) somehow feels slow despite a fascinating premise. It’s not exactly predictable, either. Perhaps it’s just that, in the end, they just haven’t gained any ground from a narrative standpoint. It’s too depressingly close to real life.