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...
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.
The passengers, bounty hunter John Ruth and his fugitive Daisy Domergue,
race towards the town of Red Rock
where Ruth, known in these parts as “The Hangman,” will bring Domergue to
justice. Along the road, they encounter two strangers: Major Marquis Warren, a
black former union soldier turned infamous bounty hunter, and Chris Mannix, a
southern renegade who claims to be the town’s new Sheriff. Losing their lead on
the blizzard, Ruth, Domergue, Warren and Mannix seek refuge at Minnie's
Haberdashery, a stagecoach stopover on a mountain pass. When they arrive at
Minnie’s, they are greeted not by the proprietor but by four unfamiliar faces.
Bob, who’s taking care of Minnie’s while she’s visiting her mother, is holed up
with Oswaldo Mobray, the hangman of Red Rock, cow-puncher Joe Gage, and
Confederate General Sanford Smithers . As the storm overtakes the mountainside
stopover, our eight travelers come to learn they may not make it to Red Rock
after all…
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason
Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demián Bichir.
Release Date: Dec
25, 2015
Rated R for Strong Bloody Violence, Some Graphic Nudity,
Language and Violent Sexual Content.
Runtime: 2 hr. 47 min.
Genres: Action/Adventure, Suspense/Thriller
Review:
The Hateful Eight will probably end up being one of
Quentin Tarantino’s most divisive films of his careers.Personally I found plenty to love here as he
pulls from Sergio Leone with a healthy dose of Agatha Christie but it’s a slow
burn sort of film.It’s easy to see why
many people could be turned off.The
film plays out like a cinematic stage play with a heavy focus on dialogue and
characters.As always Tarantino brings
out the best in his actors, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Walton Goggins benefit the
most here, even while they’re playing some fairly despicable characters.Each character is a fascinating twisted sort
that populates most of Tarantino’s films but with an old west slant.Watching him sets them up in a twist version
of Twelve Angry Men with a healthier dose of blood and carnage especially in
the final act.The final act does sort
take a different tone as things get more extreme and violent which might turn
off some people but it’s just Tarantinobeing Tarantino, grindhouse will always be in his blood.
Dearest Blog: I suppose it wouldn't be the New Year if I didn't weigh in--alongside, you know, everyone else in the world--with my thoughts on the best and worst of the year just ended. So, without further ado: my top ten pictures of 2015, along with a few also-rans, and, of course, the bottom of the barrel!
10. "Desperate times. Desperate measures."Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
The year's best thrill ride, with an action sequence for the ages, Rogue Nation is about the most fun you could expect to have at the movies.
9. "I know you're probably feeling a lot of emotion right now, but please refrain from using the term 'thunderc**t!'"Spy
Melissa McCarthy may be locked into a certain kind of character, but when a movie's this laugh-out-loud hilarious from start to finish, it's hard to argue with the formula. Throw in the year's funniest turn from Jason Statham, and Spy is easily 2015's best comedy.
8. "Sports were, in a way, a kind of warfare."Red Army
At a time when it's difficult to imagine the NHL without its Ovechkins and its Malkins, this documentary presents a compelling look at the Cold War glory days of the Soviet hockey machine, and the first Russian players to break into the National Hockey League.
7. "Grizzly? Not particularly. Mind you, I haven't seen him in the mornings!"Paddington
England's favorite bear tries to find himself a home in this joyful romp, a delight for all ages.
6. "Chewie, we're home."Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Advertising often makes bloated claims, but Star Wars: The Force Awakens truly is the movie event of a generation. This superb sequel met or exceeded nearly everyone's expectations, and has effectively redefined the word "blockbuster."
5. "This man is obviously crazy."The Walk
An achievement in both technical wizardry and great storytelling, the Walk is, at its heart, a love letter to the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. A terrific narrative and a charming leading performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt make this one of the year's best.
4. "Speak a little truth, and people lose their minds."Straight Outta Compton
Straight Outta Compton is a well written, brilliantly acted biopic of rap pioneers NWA that will leave you feeling like you can take on the world, one of my very favorite cinema experiences of 2015.
3. "Musicians play their instruments. I play the orchestra."Steve Jobs
A brilliant but incomplete portrait of the legendary founder of Apple, Steve Jobs features whiplash-inducing exchanges, penned by Aaron Sorkin and smartly delivered by Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, and an exemplary supporting cast. It is the very definition of "must see."
2. "I've been fighting my whole life. It's not a choice for me."Creed
Full of heart and peppered with hold-your-breath fight sequences, Creed is the sequel Rocky has always deserved. Michael B. Jordan admirably carries the leading mantle, and Sylvester Stallone delivers one of the year's best performances in a role that he could just as easily mail in by now. You'll want to see this one more than once, I guarantee it.
1. "So hail Satan, and have a lovely afternoon, madam."Kingsman: The Secret Service
Kingsman: The Secret Service is a perfect movie. It's action packed, smart, and funny, with a great cast, a handful of fantastic twists, and what just might be the greatest single scene ever to grace the big screen. Released all the way back in February, in the ten months that followed, it never faced a serious challenge for my top spot.
Side notes:
I have yet to gain access to Macbeth and Spotlight, two films that undoubtedly would be on this list (probably very near the top) had I seen them.
Runners-Up:
The Peanuts Movie. My sentimental favorite of the year.
Spectre. Bond gave MI5 a good run for its money for that number-ten spot. I'd have liked a second go at both for a fresher perspective, but that didn't happen.
And, yes...Pixels. Go on and roll your eyes, I see you! Pixels' worst crime was having Adam Sandler at the helm, so many decided it was terrible even before seeing it, but its effects were stunning and its pop-culture nods fun and funny. Critics be damned, if you're within ten years of my age either way, I promise you'll get a kick out of it.
And, drumroll, please!
My least favorites/biggest disappointments of 2015:
Jupiter Ascending. Hot off an Oscar win and probably on his way to another, Eddie Redmayne turned in one of the most perplexingly awful performances of the year, in a picture that features a chase scene so long and boring I fell asleep three times and woke up while it was still going. An unmitigated disaster.
Chappie. Two of my favorite people who make movies--Neil Blomkamp and Sharlto Copley--somehow managed to make the most irritating film of the year.
Pan. A cluster of epic proportions, and a shameful waste of the multi-talented Hugh Jackman.
Finally, ever shall it rank among my greatest regrets of 2015 that two of my very favorite actors--Johnny Depp and Jake Gyllenhaal--both turned in extraordinary performances in a year when the leading actor categories are just too stacked to offer them proper accolades.
Kudos to Johnny and Jake for two of the year's most mesmerizing turns.
Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to have a look at this blog over the past 12 months, and especially to my blog partner, Daniel, for all his hard work in getting our Very Important Writings out there. Remember, kids: everyone's entitled to our opinions!
