MOVIE REVIEW: FIRST MAN

On the heels of their six-time Academy Award®-winning smash, La La Land, Oscar®-winning director Damien Chazelle and star Ryan Gosling reteam for Universal Pictures’ First Man, the riveting story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the years 1961-1969. A visceral, first-person account, based on the book by James R. Hansen, the movie will explore the sacrifices and the cost—on Armstrong and on the nation—of one of the most dangerous missions in history. 

Director: Damien Chazelle

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Ciarán Hinds, Christopher Abbott, Patrick Fugit, Lukas Haas

Release Date: October 12, 2018

Genres: Biography , Drama , History

Rated PG-13 for some thematic content involving peril, and brief strong language

Runtime: 2h 21 min

Review:

First Man is an incredible achievement on multiple levels.  Damien Chazelle’s film is a technical achievement as it puts you in the ships and modules on a visceral and claustrophobic level.  All of the flight sequences are just trilling but that shouldn’t come as a surprise considering Chazelle’s talent.  The quieter moments, there are plenty, are just as engaging thanks to a pair of wonderful performances from Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy.  Gosling’s turn is understated but you can sense the simmering emotions behind his eyes.  Neil Armstrong is always guarded but driven by past pain as portrayed by Gosling.  Claire Foy is just as strong throughout; so much so that you wished the film spent a bit more time with her but the film is focused on Neil.  It’s an introspective yet epic tale about the man who achieved such a landmark moment in human history.  The flag controversy is thoroughly overblown as the film couldn’t display American achievement anymore than it already does.  First Man is an engaging character study that tries to get us into this pioneer’s headspace and does it with class.

A-

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