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kyle-schlett
Reviews
Sicario (2015)
What is Shown and What is Not Shown
Inexperienced screenwriters show up to seminars, workshops, and message boards asking about the merits of their concept, little understanding that simple concepts can make for great movies and interesting concepts can make terrible ones. With patient writing, authentic performances, and photography that understands the art of hiding and showing, a concept as simple as "Tactical police specialist joins special unit where she must confront a morally and legally problematic war on drugs" can become compelling cinema. Such is the case with Sicario. On the surface it looks simple-so simple, in fact, that a thoughtful moviegoer might have held off seeing it for far too long. If you have for some reason held off seeing it, do so now. Yes, it is simple. But Villeneuve so carefully assembles and orders every component that you will find your heart racing and your gut wrenching, and that kind of emotional response is exactly why we watch movies like Sicario.
Tetris (2023)
Does this pass for good writing?
A couple of good performances, but largely bound by mediocre writing that veered between hackneyed movie clichés and scenes that forced characters into rooms so they could have a conversation that needed to advance the plot but bore no real relation to reality as we know it. Examples include empty seats at child's recital, villains who somehow get children to high places for thinly veiled threats, car-chase-sprint-for-plane combos, predictable directorial "switcheroos" that reveal you weren't watching what you thought you were watching, and climactic scenes where co-villains turn on each other and confess truths that are narratively convenient but defy normal human behavior.
If this is what passes for decent writing-and judging by most professional reviews, it largely is-I'm starting to feel as out of place as a five-piece Tetris piece.