Sicario's Hell in Harmony

Chris here. Available this week on DVD/Blu-ray is Denis Villeneuve's Sicario, a controlled descent into the cartel battles being waged between the Mexican and American borders. Like the ongoing war on drugs, Villeneuve's film presents a complex landscape of violence wherein rulebooks have been forsaken - and on both sides. It's a masterful piece of filmmaking (recently nominated by the PGA, ADG, and WGA), and Villeneuve has assembled an intimidating group of craftspeople working harmoniously to create a living hell.

Front and center is Emily Blunt's idealistic and by-the-book agent Kate Macer, straining composure and grasping for opportunity while in over her head. Blunt is ferociously present and flummoxed, giving as much subtlety and nuance as she has in her broader roles like The Devil Wears Prada. She's so believably rattled that you're reaching for fistfuls of cigarettes along with her. It's a performance that deserves to be right in the thick of the Best Actress conversation, even in such a deep field as this. While many have claimed her to be far too passive, her lack of control is just another element of Villeneuve's all-pervasive synthesis.

more after the jump...

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Mission: Impossible - trying to catch up with all the new movies

We've opted to do the home viewing news bi-weekly so as not to clog the feed up with lists of product. Some weeks are awfully spare. But here's what's new or newish on DVD/BluRay and streaming if your TV is big.

New DVD or BluRay
• Ant-Man -In which Paul Rudd steals a magic suit and Becomes a Better Man. (Tim's review)
• Downhill Racer -The 1969 Robert Redford / Gene Hackman skiing drama gets the Criterion treatement
• Fantastic Four -If only it were streaming because everyone deserves the opportunity to see how terrible this is ...without paying for it. My only "F" of the year and that is not a cute play on the title. (Tim's slightly more generous review)
• He Named Me Malala -Currently seeking a Best Documentary Oscar nomination.
• Maze Runner The Scorch Trials -Please don't tell me that there are a ton of books and they're going to split the last one into two movies
• Minions -Despicable Me sure created a monster. Well, millions of tiny yellow pop culture devouring monsters. (Tim on the phenomenon)
• Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation -one of the year's most enjoyable surprises. Although we shouldn't have been surprised since Ghost Protocol was also topnotch. (Tim's Review)
• Speedy - Harold Lloyd's last silent comedy gets the Criterion treatment
• Ted 2 -Mark Wahlberg makes a sequel to his magic teddy bear blockbuster and curiously, despite slobbering all over the first one, no one cared

TV Seasons
• Hannibal (S3 Final) in which Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen draw bloody hearts around each other's names in their notebooks
• Extant (S2 Final) Can someone please stop the casting of Halle Berry in genre fare. Genre acting is not remotely within her acting skill set. Ladies and gentlemen, I present as evidence: X-Men franchise, Catwoman, and S1 of Extant. I rest my case.
• Transparent (S2 on Amazon Prime Streaming) In which we return to the emotional chaos of the Pfefferman children and their trans father Maura (birth name Mort) played by Emmy-winning Jeffrey Tambor. Have you watched S2 yet? I'm trying to slowly savor it after loving every second of Season 1.

The endearing emotionally slippery family of Transparent

New Streaming on Netflix
• Phoenix - One of the biggest German hits in recent years. Weird that they didn't submit it for Oscars last year instead of Beloved Sisters. Read Jose's Nina Hoss interview
• The Ridiculous Six -- the first film in Netflix's mega multi-picture deal with Adam Sandler
• Tangerine - the best comedy of 2015, regardless of what the Globes or Critics Choice claim. Watch it with friends and donuts over Christmas. You'll be so on trend. (Nathaniel's Review)
• Xenia - Greece's LGBT Oscar submission about two brothers searching for their birth father

BluRay/DVD: Get high with Kristen & Jesse

Since we haven't done one of these in awhile here is what is new or newish on DVD and BluRay as you try to catch up for your personal year-in-review mania.

• American Ultra - Kristen Stewart and Jesse Eisenberg headline this pot-smoking action comedy. Which begs the question...

• Amy - Glenn recently wondered aloud about the ethics of posthumous privacy invasions but that hasn't stopped audience and critics from rallying around this one.
• Cooties -It only took this horror comedy two years since its Sundance premiere to show up for home entertainment.
• Goodnight Mommy -Jose interviewed the directors of this Austrian horror film, one of the most unusual Oscar submissions for 2015. It's done well at the arthouse, breaking the increasingly difficult 1 million mark
• Grace of Monaco - what a long and tortured ride this biopic starring Nicole Kidman has had, huh? We've been covering it for 3 years! A year and a half since its Cannes debut and one cable premiere later and only now is it on DVD?
• The Man From U.N.C.L.E. -This franchise hopeful adaptation of the spy TV series was a pleasant summer surprise featuring Guy Ritchie's best work in ages, heaps of style, and a disgustingly beautiful cast.
• Meru - An Oscar seeking documentary abou t
• Mississippi Grind - Ryan Reynolds & Ben Mendlesohn are pool sharks

• Mistress America - The latest divisive comedy from Noah Baumbach & Greta Gerwig. I didn't like it much but Jason loved it. As stated, divisive.
• Outlander S1 - Somehow I fell off this series after that super hot super costumed Wedding episode. Should I tune back in?
• Ricki & The Flash -in which Meryl Streep does some of her best and most relaxed work in ages as an aging unsuccessful rocker ... naturally there was little audience reaction and no Oscar buzz as a result! They like to see her sweat for it. Anyway... I liked it. How about you?
• Shaun the Sheep - It shall remain a mystery why this hilarious & sweet Aardman animation effort didn't get US families into theaters to see it (it earned three times as much abroad) considering the absolute garbage parents will take their kids to. The new question is will it be Oscar nominated given the strangely low number of qualifying films in that category this year?
• Stanford Prison Experiment -This ensemble indie (filled with a ton of promising young male actors) about the infamous titular study didn't really catch on but years from now people might look back on it as a "look how many stars are in this!" petri dish.

DVD: Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Missing Pimp

New on DVD & BluRay this week are three films which awards season completists will need to see...

• Mr Holmes in which 76 year-old spry Sir Ian McKellen is aged up to play the world's most famous detective at 93 years of age as he mind begins to deteriorate. Mr Holmes was a leggy arthouse hit this summer but can that be converted into an awards run for Sir Ian? We shall see...
• Tangerine, one of the year's best films, follows Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) & Alexandra (Mya Taylor), best friends & hookers, as they search for Sin-Dee's boyfriend/pimp (James Ransone) who cheated on her "with real fish!" during her latest prison stint. It's the most unexpected and awesome Christmas comedy ever. It's already snagged multiple Gotham nominations but pray for Golden Globe, BFCA, Spirit nominations and top ten lists because this Sean Baker gem deserves them.
• Trainwreck, or The Coronation of Amy Schumer as 2015's It Girl. Expect Golden Globe Comedy nominations

Also out this week

• Star Wars Episodes I-VI Steel Book Collection
  The amount of times they've convinced people to buy the Star Wars films in different versions / formats is like Swindling Achievement of the Century right?
• Pay the Ghost in which Nicolas Cage collects another paycheck. He collects loads of them but they surely have less zeroes on them by now.
• Self/Less in which Ben Kingsley steals Ryan Reynolds body (I mean... who wouldn't?)
• We'll Never Have Paris a romantic comedy with Melanie Lynskey, Simon Helberg, Maggie Grace, and Zachary Quinto
• Two Men in Town a restoration of the 1973 French ex-con drama with Jean  Gabin, beautiful Alain Delon, and young Gerard Depardieu

DVD/Bluray: Little Voices & Lion Roars

It's time to talk about this week's big DVD/BluRay releases and a few from last week since we neglected to mention them. The big one is of course Pixar's hit Inside Out which you were surely reminded of this Halloween weekend -- popular group costume! It's likely to end 2015, once Star Wars 7 & Hunger Games 4 arrive, as the fifth most ginormous hit. It's also looking like a good bet for a Best Picture nomination with the box office being so rough for more traditional Oscar types.

Tim and I both highlighted Inside Out in our halfway year in reviews (Tim's / Mine) because it's delightful, and moving, and a true return to form. Are you eager to revisit it?

It's all about the little voices in your head. But only five of them? I've got at least nine. Which begs the question... 

INSIDE OUT says we have five little voices in our heads: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust. How many you got?

Sounds about right.

I've got way more than that. But the other ones aren't appropriate for a family movie

I don't understand the breakdown. My voices reject labels!

I don't hear voices. Am sane!

Poll Maker

Other New Releases

• Best of Enemies - documentary (Amir's Review)
• Digging For Fire -from the prolific Joe Swanberg
• End of the Tour - Won very strong reviews but little public interest
• Max - did you know heroic military dogs can get PTSD?
• Pixels - Adam Sandler vs video games (Tim's Review)
• Seymour an Introduction - documentary (Glenn's Review)
• She's Funny That Way - a comedy via Peter Bogdanovich
• Southpaw - Jake Gyllenhaal vs his demons + abs/guns
• Vacation - the sequel meant to reignite the franchise

Curio Pick: The most compelling of the non Pixar new releases is surely the big cat epic Roar (1981), the infamous cult movie starring mom & daughter Tippi Hedren & Melanie Griffith, both of whom were injured (along with many other cast & crew) on set. What is it with Tippi Hedren and violent animals? See also: The Birds.