Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Magnificent. It is an epic three hour artistic feast. It is a visually stunning movie, surely to win the long overdue master Roger Deakins an Oscar. The colors! The futuristic production design that borrows from and yet somehow also modernizes the original. The epicness of each frame is enough to take your breath away. If you can't tell, I loved the look of the movie.

But of course, the strength and beauty of Blade Runner (perhaps of science fiction generally) is its ability to ask the tough questions. What does it mean to be human? In my opinion, this movie is a very natural sequel to the original. It builds off the established themes and pushes the boundary to the next logical steps. The character, less obviously but very effectively, advances this question of humanity. She is a computer program, pure software. She obeys orders. She is made to order. But does her capacity to love make her human? Does the capacity to love make a replicant more human? Does the ability to reproduce make you human? Is there a more abstract idea of a soul that makes us human? It asks the tough philosophical questions.

Denis Villeneuve has proven himself a phenomenal director of science fiction following Arrival. And in the same style, he has a way with reveals that shocks the audience. I won't give that bit away, but the reveal allows the viewer to discover another theme, and that is insignificance. We may find ourselves very important, but is it possible that our stories are insignificant in the arc of history? It's this willingness to tackle grandiose ideas that makes this sweeping movie a pure epic.

Unbroken (2014)

Louis Zamperini had quite an incredible life. There are three phases in the movie that represent very different parts of his life. And it doesn't even get into his PTSD after returning home. The first phase plays out like a typical sports movie. It follows a young boy who goes into sport as a means to keep himself out of trouble and he runs all the way to the Olympics. The second phase is a lot like All Is Lost with talking. And the third phase is pure war from inside a POW camp. I think the movie tried to squeeze in a little too much. I feel like I would've gotten the same story without the track story line.

Miyavi plays the Japanese corporal in charge of the POW camp. He is devilishly cruel and has a look that inspires fear. There is a scene in which he implores Zamperini  to "Look at me!" and I couldn't help but think of Captain Phillips. The aerial fighting scene in the beginning is well done and it provides a good introduction to the war half of the story. 

Sicario (2015)

This is a vivid portrayal of America's War on Drugs.  It is dark, disturbing, and, dare I say, hopeless.  When the FBI boss asks "Do you get the sense we're winning?" you understand the toll this War has taken on the country and its people.  This movie gives the kind of thrill that only the barren desert of the American southwest can give you.  The empty scenery isn't flashy.  It is a wasteland that inspires fear.  The masterful Roger Deakins frames some incredibly stunning shots. It kind of reminded me of Prisoners, another film worked on by Deakins.  It featured a different kind of darkness but some similar shots.

There are some excellent performances as well.  I think Benicio del Toro is exquisitely creepy and sufficiently mysterious.  In most scenes, he lurks in the background calm and cool.  But when it is his time to shine, he shows his full depth.  Emily Blunt, too, is great. I appreciate that the role of the FBI agent was cast as a woman, not conforming to the gender stereotype of men with guns.