Cindy Prascik's Review of The Revenant

Dearest Blog: After suffering through The Hateful Eight on New Year's Day, a short-and-cheery flick would have been welcome this week. 

Alas, Oscar nominations drop Thursday, so instead I found myself at Marquee Cinemas for another marathon of misery, The Revenant. Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers. Survival and revenge are a long and painful road for a man who has lost everything. 

Dear reader(s): When I tell you The Revenant is miserable, I mean that happy is not in its dictionary. I do not mean I didn't like it; on the contrary, I absolutely loved it. 

Most news about The Revenant focuses on the physical difficulties of making the picture, no doubt to convince the Academy that Leonardo DiCaprio deserves that elusive Best Actor trophy. DiCaprio's Oscar desperation is so palpable the movie might as well have been called, "Please Let Me Win This Time." 

Luckily, his performance is mostly brilliant, dipping only the occasional toe into unintentional comedy with his overacting. (To clarify, Leo's deserved an Oscar since Gilbert Grape, but he definitely sells it a little too hard at times.) Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, and Will Poulter are equally fantastic, with far less histrionics. 

The story is fascinating, beautifully told, but full of deception and brutality. A lovely score underlines the film, taking a quiet backseat but for its powerful climax. The Revenant's real stars, however, are its stunning locations and the expertise with which they're filmed. Magnificent snowy mountains, icy rivers, and majestic forests are presented in such striking big-screen glory it takes your breath away. 

I'd ordinarily complain about a runtime so far in excess of two hours, but I happily could have watched two more hours of this beauty. The Revenant runs 156 minutes and is rated R for "strong frontier combat and violence, including gory images, a sexual assault, language, and brief nudity." The Revenant doesn't have many flaws, but, if we're being honest, I'd have forgiven it just about anything for its visual splendor alone. 

Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Revenant gets eight and a half. 

(Small bonus for having an actual Weasley!) Until next time... 

MOVIE REVIEW: THE REVENANT

In 1820s America, frontiersman and fur trapper Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) joins a pelt-gathering expedition along with his teenage son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck). When attacks by Arikara Indians claim the lives of many of the men in the party, Glass leads a small group on a new path back to a U.S. fort. While attempting to hunt game on the journey, Glass is mauled by a grizzly bear and horribly wounded. Assumed he'll be dead soon, Glass is left under the care of roughneck John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), and the young and inexperienced Jim Bridger (Will Poulter) as Hawk watches on in horror. Fitzgerald betrays Glass and leaves him for dead, alone and unarmed. Glass nurses himself back to health and charts a course of revenge. Alejandro González Iñárritu directed this pulse-pounding epic. ~ Daniel Gelb, Rovi

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Lukas Haas

Rated R for strong frontier combat and violence including gory images, a sexual assault, language 

and brief nudity

Runtime: 2 hr. 36 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Suspense/Thriller

Review:

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s follow up to last years Oscar winning Birdman is beautiful film which shows you a lot more than it ever tells you.  Iñárritu leans on symbolism and some quasi spiritual visions more than outright exposition throughout, leaving us with a soulful, if grittier, Jack London style story.  The bear attach scene and the opening attach sequence, which looks like it’s shot in a single take, will leave the biggest impression but at its base it’s a straightforward revenge tale with very little else going on.  Its bear bones approach might turn off some since it only gives us passing details of DiCaprio’s character but never goes into much detail about it.  DiCaprio’s performance is mostly based off grunts and screams intermixed with passing bits of dialogue.  He’s impressively committed to the roles especially through the adverse conditions he went through while filming the movie.  While, DiCaprio is excellent, I left the film more impressed by Tom Hardy’s performance.  Hardy is a given a slightly meatier role, so much so that sometimes he feels like the main character more so than DicCaprio’s.  It’s an interesting juxtaposition to watch, each succeeds, along with the film.  The Revenant falls just short of reaching the level of Birdman but still an impressive bit of film making none the less.

B

MOVIE REVIEW: BIRDMAN

A fading actor (Michael Keaton) best known for his portrayal of a popular superhero attempts to mount a comeback by appearing in a Broadway play. As opening night approaches, his attempts to become more altruistic, rebuild his career, and reconnect with friends and family prove more difficult than expected. Lindsay Duncan.

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Cast: Michael Keaton, Lindsay Duncan, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Emma Stone

Release Date: Oct 17, 2014

Rated: R for brief Violence, Some Sexual Content and Language Throughout

Runtime: 1 hr. 59 min.

Genres: Comedy, Drama

Review:

Birdman is a dizzying powerhouse of a film that’s showcases it’s cast and director on multiple levels.  Alejandro González Iñárritu has crafted a fascinating dissection of fame and celebrity culture through the guise of a mental breakdown.  Michael Keaton’s soul baring performance is simply amazing.  It’s an unglamorous performance which shows every inch of age on Keaton’s face while showcasing his impressive talent.  Aided by excellent supporting turns by Edward Norton and Emma Stone, Birdman maintains an impressive energy throughout as it builds to its crescendo.  There’s nary a moment when the film drags and it’s at it’s best when Norton and Keaton share the screen together since you can tell they are both having a blast while putting on some impressive performances.  If there’s a small drawback it’s the film does reek of self importance even smugness at some points.  That being said, Birdman is the type of prestige film that should hold up well upon repeat viewing thanks to some wonderfully crafted filmmaking and acting.

A

Cindy Prascik's Review of Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

 
Dearest Blog, this weekend my cinema unexpectedly offered awards season hopeful Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance). I owe them a debt of gratitude for eschewing the usual smalltown "If it's not Transformers, why bother?" mentality and not making me fit in *all* the nominated films in the two weeks leading up to the Oscars!

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

The washed-up star of a big Hollywood superhero franchise tries to kickstart his career on Broadway.
Well, dear reader(s), Birdman is the kind of movie that many people may dislike despite it's being well done, and there probably won't be much middle ground: people will love it or they'll hate it. Me, I really, really loved it.

Michael Keaton turns in an extraordinary performance in the lead, simultaneously heartbreaking and hilarious and sympathetic and distant and serious and insane. Early goings yet for me to say "All the awards, please!" but this is the kind of work that, even if he ends up not being my guy when the time comes, I won't complain about anything he wins. The supporting cast is similarly terrific, especially Edward Norton and the lovely Emma Stone.

I'll go on record as saying this is the first time I've seen Zach Galafianakis in anything where I didn't want to kill him; he is very good and almost unbelievably not annoying! At a glance, the story sounds like a buzzkill, as "has-been actor" tales rarely end well, but the telling is so entertaining that it doesn't feel that way. Certainly there's a bit of melancholy about the past, but there's also a hopeful note that comes with the having courage to take a chance. There has been much online debate about the movie's ending, and I won't spoil it here, but I will say it's a real conversation starter and--in my opinion--a perfect finish to a film that poses more questions than it answers.

Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) clocks in at 119 minutes, and is rated R for "language throughout, some sexual content, and brief violence."

Birdman is, across the board, one of the best movies I've seen this year, smartly written, beautifully acted, and truly entertaining from start to finish.

Of a possible nine Weasleys, Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) gets eight.

Until next time...