Free Republic

A Catholic Church-owned mountain that towers nearly a mile high near El Paso, Texas - its giant statue of Jesus Christ for decades drawing faithful to the summit - has been turned by Mexican cartels into a human smuggling stronghold where migrants are robbed, beaten and raped while chasing entry into the US. Mount Cristo Rey sits largely on American soil - located just inside the border at Sunland Park, New Mexico, where that state, Texas and Mexico all meet along a now-perilous boundary. The mountain is now totally controlled by Mexican cartels who use it to sneak illegal immigrants...

A cartel leader and hitman fond of videotaping torture sessions and decapitating his enemies has gone missing from a federal prison in Florida, where he was serving a 49-year sentence. As of November, Edgar Valdez-Villareal, a Mexican-American cartel leader, had been mysteriously removed from the federal Bureau of Prisons web site. He is now listed as “not in BOP custody” even though his release date is not until July 27, 2056. Valdez-Villareal, 49, is known by his underworld moniker “La Barbie,” and headed up the the Los Negros, an enforcement group of the Beltran Leyva cartel — one of Mexico’s...

In Roman ruled Judea, Jewish zealots used daggers hidden in cloaks to kill their oppressors and were thus dubbed in Latin…”Sicarious”…or dagger men. Though most of the killing in Denis Villeneuve’s latest master class in vexatious suspense is done with machine guns, there’s a climax building scene where cinematographer god Roger Deakins photographs the character Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) descending into the purple-hued darkness of a drug tunnel as he unsheathes a dagger that will make your skin scrawl. Alejandro is man of mysterious motives and origins who with the aid of another “DOD consultant” – an eager and smiley...

Good action movie. Good plot that is coherent and makes sense. The cinematography makes Arizona and Mexico devoid of anything green. I mean trees, shrubs and grass etc. Adding to a haunting feeling. All the vegetation I saw was brown. The Juarez scenes make Juarez look like a pit of hell/ I liked the lack of over acting. I am not a fan of Benecio Del Torro but he does very well here. Josh Brolin does well. Emily Blunt is OK. Ten other actresses could have done just as well. The supporting actors were credible. The assault using night vision...