Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario was a hard sell in my house. My parents automatically dismissed it as a “racist movie” with stereotypes of Mexico. They thought the same of Soderbergh’s Traffic and I didn’t really insist on them watching the movie.

Instead, I ended up in a half empty late function, the way I prefer them. With little to no public, the possibility of some bellend’s phone going off (or doomscrolling) is minimal.

I think there’s three things in common between Sicario and Traffic: cartels, awesome music, and Benicio del Toro being iconic. I still like Traffic best, but Sicario is a movie and the lesser sequel, day of the soldado, still delivers a good romp.

Jóhann Jóhannsson was such a great composer. I knew of him thanks to FatCat Records sending a promo for The Miners’ Hymn, a heartbreaking documentary about Coal miners in Durham. “An injury to one is is the concern to all” indeed. I covered that one a few ages ago.

The beast is a brutal piece. Foreboding, increasing in madness and unparalleled in its ferocity. The seething rage that fuels revenge. The whole arc of Alejandro’s character, put into minimalist notes.

-Sam J. Valdés López