With three months left to go in 2015, we have a new contender for the best movie of the year, and the name of that movie is Sicario. This movie is a fantastic ride that will keep you thoroughly engrossed and guessing throughout. Like many great movies over the last couple of years, the less you know about the movie going in, the more you will like this movie. For me, this has been the case recently with films like Ex-Machina, The Drop, The Gift, and Chef. All of these were surprises, and each is a movie that I plan on watching again in the future.
The same can be said about Sicario. Once you know how the movie ends, you’ll want to watch it again to try to see it through a new set of lenses. It’s intense. It’s filled with drama. It will leave you with your mouth hanging ajar. That is, if you let it. This is a movie that requires your attention. If you doze off for even a couple of minutes, you might miss something important. If you miss something important, you might feel lost. If you feel lost, you might get frustrated. But if you are willing to work as hard as the movie does, you’ll be rewarded with one of the most exciting, well-crafted, and original movies that you are likely to find this year (or any year, for that matter).
I know I am in a significant minority when I review this movie, and I know many will wonder what I’m talking about. Everest just wasn’t a very good movie. I realize that many have never seen a mountain climbing movie or, worse, have only the likes of Vertical Limit to compare it to. But before I get too far into my review of Everest, let me mention a few mountain climbing movies that I would watch a dozen times again before forcing myself to watch Everest. The most notable one to me is a recent one that most people have never heard of. Depending on who you ask, it’s the 2008 (or 2010) German release 
I am the first to admit that I am not as big a fan of Joel and Ethan Coen-directed movies as most people are. While I did enjoy Fargo (1996) and A Single Man (2009), I wouldn’t say I liked Miller’s Crossing (1990) and Barton Fink (1991). While No Country for Old Men was pretty good, it wasn’t even close to the best movie of 2007. Then there are the other Coen-directed movies I would prefer to see. These include Burn After Reading (2008), The Ladykillers (2007), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), or O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000). I appreciate a good Western. Once True Grit earned a Best Picture Academy Award nomination, it became a no-brainer to see the movie, despite my reservations about the Coens.