Stefano Sollima’s “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” is the highly anticipated sequel to the successful 2015 thriller “Sicario”. It promises the heart-racing action, drama, and artistic special effects of its predecessor but it adds emotional weight by bringing in a young girl (Isabela Moner) for Alejandro to protect. The cast is as promising as ever and the scenarios well-drawn. Sicario had handled the intense violence of its setting well, and Sicario 2 doesn’t seem lacking in that department either. What is left to be seen is if the sequel will try to recreate the popularity of the first or delve deeper into its own storytelling. With an almost completely new creative team and a story that didn’t exactly demand any further continuation, Soldado hinges on the excitement built around the excellence of Taylor Sheridan’s script. Last bets in, Soldado promises to be a fun trip even if it isn’t a worthy successor to Sicario.
This weekend, we are promised an all-you-can-laugh buffet with Jeff Tomsic’s “Tag”. The story is about exactly that, a game of tag taken to a bit of an extreme by a group of friends. They will risk it all to keep the tradition going, even when it coincides with the wedding day of one of them (Jeremy Renner). Pure comedy has always been a hit or miss with me and I usually refrain from keeping high expectations from them. Tag seems to be a similar bet. The concept seems refreshing, the entire squad coming together to keep the silliness going despite the seriousness of their age and the event. But the jokes might turn out to be repetitive, loud or lack any creativity in their delivery. Either way, an afternoon passed in fun adventure and easy laughs doesn’t sound too bad.
Charles Stone III’s “Uncle Drew” is a slice right out of the beloved genre of sports comedy. The premise is nothing new- a team of underdogs coming together to win the day. The movie however brings together a talented cast with a fun narrative twist that is sure to entertain its audience. The team this time recruits saviours as old as 70 but who seem young at heart. It will be interesting to see how the cast comprising of actual NBA players is able to tickle both fans and non-fans alike. On the outset, it guarantees that we are in for a fun ride and I doubt the final outcome will be far from audience expectations.
Director and screenwriter Wes Anderson brings to the screen his second stop motion animation “Isle of Dogs”, the story of a young boy in search of his dog. The larger premise is victory in the face of big bad evil men. But it doesn’t seem to serve either premise in the typical antics of the genre bound adventure. There is no doubt that the story will have more to offer than I expect at the moment, set in a future where dogs are not treated much better than garbage. Is there a layered outlook that the movie is trying to provide? It remains to be seen. Are we in for a roller coaster ride of full of wit, emotions and cinematic images? I’m certain we are.
