Arrival

It's nigh impossible to write about Denis Villeneuve's Arrival without giving away any crucial details about the film's premise. Yes, it's a fascinating film to watch (everyone has sung their praises many times over the last few weeks) but is it as faultless as others claim it is? Not really.

In stark contrast to some of Villeneuve's previous films like Prisoners and Enemy, Arrival has perhaps the first time since who knows when that a well-written female character is in a film by him. (And yes, this includes Sicario.) But even then there's flaws within the execution.

That's not to say Amy Adams wasn't right for the part. She's very good, no denying that. But perhaps an actress who's done their fair share of meatier roles probably would've been a better choice. (Speaking of which, Adams needs to find parts that have more meat to them.)

But what of Arrival itself? Indeed it has borrowed elements from Close Encounters of the Third Kind but overall its story seems to think it's smarter than it actually is. What at first seems to appear clever is actually half-executed in its attempts. And the more one thinks it over, the more convoluted its ideas become.

Arrival may seem initially to be the very thing needed in these trying times but in reality it's nothing more than your usual sci-fi yarn: focusing solely on what's happening on American soil, using a flimsy allegory to reference current events, and overall having an eyeroll-worthy conclusion. In all honesty, Villeneuve should probably start thinking about a different strategy for future films.

My Rating: ***1/2

Sicario

Over the last thirty years or so, Canadian filmmakers have made themselves known in Hollywood. David Cronenberg, Guy Maddin, Sarah Polley...these are just a few names that hail from there. There have been other directors making names for themselves in recent years (Xavier Dolan, Jean-Marc Vallee), and the list keeps growing.

Another name on that list is Denis Villeneuve. Recently he has garnered acclaim for films like Prisoners and Enemy. So how does his latest film Sicario fare (and compare)? Well, like his last two films, Villeneuve paints a portrait of humanity's dark side and this one is decidedly way more violent.

There's something amusing in that the director of Sicario and its two best stars hail from outside the United States. Emily Blunt has certainly made a name for herself in the last few years and with her work in Sicario, it won't be much longer until she's more in demand. Benicio del Toro, already a well-established name (he has an Oscar, after all), spends many of the scenes he's in not drawing attention to himself...at first. Then all eyes are on him. (Could Oscar nomination #3 be around the corner?)

And from a visual standpoint, Sicario is pretty stunning as well. In a way reminiscent of Michael Slovis' work on Breaking Bad, Roger Deakins captures the mood of the film with the use of shadows and vivid colors. (How Deakins still hasn't won an Oscar is anyone's guess.) The bright colors provide a sort of dissonance  to the overall tone of the film. (Not that it's a bad thing.)

Sicario is a very well done and intense film, thanks primarily to the work from Blunt, del Toro, Villeneuve and Deakins. That said, however, Sicario isn't 100% solid. It lingers too much on corruption in the system during a majority of scenes. Apart from that, it's proof that Villeneuve will be working for a long time.

My Rating: ****1/2

Enemy

Prisoners, the last film by Denis Villeneuve, was certainly bleak and dark in its own right. (It is a film revolving around child abductions after all.) But Enemy, the newest work from Villeneuve, is both of those things as well as creepy as hell.

Starring in Enemy is Jake Gyllenhaal, who worked with Villeneuve on Prisoners. Here, Gyllenhaal does the occasionally difficult part in any actor's career: a dual role. In the wrong hands, it would be a disaster. In Gyllenhaal's, it's one hell of a performance.

The two roles Gyllenhaal takes on couldn't be any more different from each other. The first role is Adam Bell, a meek college professor. Much like Gyllenhaal's work in Zodiac, Adam slowly becomes obsessed with something happening within his life. It's really a transfixing performance.

The other role is Anthony Claire, a small-time actor. Much like Gyllenhaal's work in Nightcrawler, Anthony seems like a normal person. That is, until his true colors come to light. Again, it's a really transfixing performance.

Enemy is good though not without its problems. For starters, Gyllenhaal's the only actor to get well-rounded characters. It would've been nice to see what Melanie Laurent and Sarah Gadon could have done with their roles had they'd been more developed. But alas, this is what we have.

My Rating: ****

Prisoners

There is no worse feeling than losing a child. It doesn't matter whether death took them or a kidnapper, the loss of your own flesh and blood is devastating.

Just imagine the heartache the Dovers (Hugh Jackman, Maria Bello) and the Birches (Terrence Howard, Viola Davis) feel throughout Denis Villeneuve's Prisoners. Both couples lost their daughters to the hands of a kidnapper, and they're frantic to find where they are. One of them is willing to break the law.

A film of this nature relies on the right actors to make the film. Villeneuve wisely chose the ideal actors for his film. (Other actors in the film include Jake Gyllenhaal, an unrecognizable Melissa Leo and Paul Dano.) They're all great, but the best work came from Jackman. Seeing the hope slowly drain out of him is heartbreaking. (And he gets to levels of intensity that Sean Penn didn't even reach in Mystic River.)

Oh, and that cinematography by Roger Deakins is gorgeous. (Seriously, he doesn't have an Oscar yet because...?) His work here is rather reminiscent of how Harris Savides shot Zodiac, all of the dark, mysterious shadows shown prominently throughout. (Honestly, can he get an Oscar soon or something?)

Prisoners is a very well-acted drama though it does meander a bit. Several scenes are hard to watch (if you've seen it, you'll know which ones) and I wasn't that fond of the ending. Still, it has a few clever twists here and there, so that alone (well, and the performances too) warrants praise out of me.

My Rating: ****1/2