Holy heck! We’ve made it to ONE HUNDRED episodes! Can you believe it!? To celebrate, we’re talking about one of our favourite action thrillers of the past 10 years with a cast that is crazy stacked, a crew that goes nuts, a writer that has become one of the most sought-after in the business, and a director who sneakily might be in the running for most consistent filmography of all time. That’s right, we’re talking about Denis Villeneuve and Taylor Sheridan’s 2015 film “Sicario”. With amazing performances from Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Daniel Kaluuya, and Jon Bernthal, “Sicario” is tight, well-written, perfectly acted, thrilling, explosive, visually striking, and impeccably shot. It’s a masterclass from a group of filmmakers and actors moving in unison, with each aspect of the film working together to create something so memorable that PALMREADER’s grandfather made them watch all the special features because he didn’t know an action movie could “be this good.”
In this episode, we break down Villeneuve and Sheridan’s careers, unpack the plot of the film, share some of our favourite shots (shout out Roger Deakins), praise the performances of the main cast, gush about the soundtrack and the writing, and discuss the perfect storm of Villeneuve and Sheridan coming together at the right time to go stupid hard while making this movie. We look at the themes behind and ideas explored in the film and how it all comes together to work so well. We also try to answer the question, “Does Denis Villeneuve have the best pound-for-pound filmography of any modern director?” The answer is… he might? There’s a strong argument to be made. This film is filled with insanely beautifully framed and shot sequences that contrast the moments of explosive violence and high tension in a way that really works for both of us. Plus, as mentioned, the performances are top-notch. Blunt, Del Toro, and Brolin all turn in career-high performances and use the extremely well-written script to boost their shine. Speaking of, we also dive deep into some of the greatest scenes and badass lines of the film, have a conversation about some of the responses to the film, grumble about the sequel and how it kinda stinks, praise the pacing and cinematography, revisit the Oscars from that year, talk about other dope Canadian directors, and more.
We really love this movie and we love all of you for tuning in. This is the end of our imagined “second season” and we are stoked to close it out with a banger. Thanks again for rocking with us for one hundred episodes and we can’t wait to celebrate the next hundred. We close it out with some gratitude, shoutouts, and some talk about the future. Otis’ EP of b-sides and extra songs, “CAVERNOUS: MISSING TRANSMISSIONS” is out now on all streaming platforms. PALMREADER also dropped a new rap song called “Dance With The Devil (High Strangeness)”. Go listen to both of those. Hell yeah.
We’ll be back next week!
LISTEN TO “CAVERNOUS: MISSING TRANSMISSIONS” HERE:
https://open.spotify.com/album/10f1EPfaBBpb6obFGRzLtY?si=cpnGYnv3Sj6L5mJn57Camw
LISTEN TO “DANCE WITH THE DEVIL (HIGH STRANGENESS)” HERE:
https://on.soundcloud.com/V6g2Y
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