Damon covers the gamut to give ‘Martian’ an emotional center

The Martian ****

“I’m going to science the shit out of this thing,” says Matt Damon as Astronaut-botanist Mark Watney in Ridley Scott’s new Sci-fi action-drama “The Martian.” More drama than action, the book-turned-movie follows the mostly solo exploits of Damon’s character as an accidentally left-behind astro-brain after Mars’ atmosphere throws a hissy-fit and forces an emergency evac by the rest of his crew, who thinks Watney is dead. As the lone survivor on the inhospitable planet, Watney must figure out how to survive what might be a four-year wait for a rescue mission in a habitat designed for 31 days. Apparently it takes a long time to build a spaceship capable of interplanetary travel and get it to Mars from the Earth. In space, nothing goes right and Watney, with a little help from NASA, must continually reevaluate his chances for survival. Director Ridley Scott (“Alien,” “Blade Runner,” “Prometheus”) knows his Sci-fi and creates the right mood and pacing in what is essentially “Castaway” meets “Interstellar.” The supporting cast, most notably Jessica Chastain as the crew commander, Kristen Wiig as a NASA spokeswoman, and Jeff Daniels as the head of NASA, offer strong performances, but the money is on Damon who covers the gamut: despair, depression, elation, fortitude, tenacity and enough believable tears to give this film an emotional center.

Sicario ****

In two blockbusters releasing in the same 10-day period, Josh Brolin, also starring in “Everest,” co-stars in “Sicario” as Matt Graver, a mysterious law-enforcement military/CIA-ish badass, whose vague job description is to shake up Mexican drug cartels. The story revolves around Kate Mercer (Emily Blunt), a DEA agent who has seen the violence from Tijuana spill over into Arizona, which is her jurisdiction . She’s moody, conflicted and mostly ready to be enlisted as a special-ops agent with her partner, Reggie Wayne (Daniel Kaluuya). Neither fully realize that they’ve only been told part of the story. The real star of “Sicario, which translates to “hitman,” is Academy Award-winning Benicio del Toro as Alejandro Gillick, the baddest of all badasses, who may be playing both sides against the middle. This is a dark, violent, gritty, bloody and disturbing fictionalization of an all too real scenario that plays out day after day in Mexico and border towns throughout the Southwest U.S., among the poor and exploited of Mexico, and of the brutal drug lords who make it happen.

This story was originally published October 10, 2015 at 7:11 AM with the headline "Damon covers the gamut to give ‘Martian’ an emotional center."