The Revenant Review

What does Leonardo DiCaprio have to do to win an Oscar? In The Revenant, there have been rumours that his character gets raped by a grizzly bear. That should probably do it. Leo plays Hugh Glass, an 1820s frontiersman who is on a hunting expedition in the wilderness along with his mixed race son, when his team are attacked by Native Americans. Glass is then savaged (but not raped) by  a bear, leaving him with horrendous injuries. Although two men (Tom Hardy’s Fitzgerald and Will Poulter’s Bridger) are left with Glass and his son to watch over him and give him a proper burial when the time comes, Fitzgerald betrays Glass and leaves him for dead and with a bitter taste for revenge. Glass must survive alone in the wilderness and find the men responsible for killing his son.

The Revenant is a story of rebirth and revenge, a howl for tolerance and a poetic, tragic look back at an America that has all but disappeared. It might seem like a deceptively simple story; man is mauled, must survive his injuries and being left to die, and man seeks revenge against those who wronged him, but there’s much more beneath the surface. It’s hero is a man who has embraced America and it’s native inhabitants, whereas Tom Hardy’s Fitzgerald is a ruthless, self-serving bastard whose intolerance and hatred seethes inside him. They aren’t particularly complex characters, but their eventual showdown becomes much more than a bloody brutal fight between two men.

The scale of the suffering of the characters (and the cast and crew) is all up on screen. The camera lens is constantly fogged up by the actors’ breath, reminding just how damn cold it is. The beards are pure icicles and the shivers rack through the actors’ bodies. By getting his team out into the untouched parts of Canada and Argentina’s harshest backwoods, Inarritu has pushed them to the limit and The Revenant’s ode to suffering feels more real than it could ever have felt if any of this had been faked. If Oscars were given out for effort, Inarritu and his crew and actors should be applauded for getting away from the green screens and California sunshine and making their movie in one of the most inhospitable environments imaginable.

Nature is the real star of The Revenant. It dwarves the characters. It’s the most vicious antagonist, but also the helper that aids Leo’s Glass most in his escape from other men. He uses waterfalls, cliffs and dead horses to survive. The landscapes are impossible to fake and The Revenant gets its real power from being filmed out in the incredible wilderness. One scene sees Leo crawl to the edge of a cliff. The sight of a massive river cutting through the earth far below the cliff is nothing short of breathtaking. DOP Emmanuel Lubezki savours it all, making this look like the bloodiest, but most beautiful Malick movie you’ve ever seen.

Filmmaking should be hard. But The Revenant takes the challenges of bringing a story to the screen to a new level. The struggle to make this film is reflected in every frame. It’s a brutal film, born out of brutal conditions. Don’t just give Leo his Oscar at last; everyone involved deserves an award for their commitment.

Watch the Trailer:

The Oscar Nominees 2016

The Hateful Eight Review  
Mad Max Fury Road  Review

The Martian Review
Room Review

Ex Machina Review
Inside Out Review

2015 Oscar Predictions and Oscar Odds on the William Hill Podcast

I was invited back to give my predictions on what might be the big winners at the Oscars in 2015 on the William Hill Oscars Specials Podcast. I was invited on by Lee Phelps from William Hill last year and returned to give my opinions again this year. You can listen to the podcast below:

listen to ‘The Oscars Podcast: Friday February 20th’ on audioBoom

I've got too much riding on the Oscars now so I'm really hoping some of my predictions come true. My biggest bets are for Inarritu to win Best Director for Birdman and Boyhood to win Best Picture. I've also bet on a bunch of the favourites but I'm clearly not going to win much on them. If you want to have a gamble on the Oscars at William Hill, head here. There is loads of categories. 

Selma Review

Starting as civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. is being awarded the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, and ending with a small victory on the way to attempting to secure African American equality, Selma examines only a very short period in the life of a legend. King’s non-violent activism has already been established before the film begins and his assassination at the age of 39 is merely a footnote. Selma, as its title suggests, is the story of just one of many struggles in King’s life. When it becomes clear that African Americans are not being allowed to vote in many Southern states (despite this being against the law), King and his colleagues head to Selma, Alabama, a place where ‘whites only’ signs are still visible, and organises a march from Selma to Montgomery to ensure every black person is allowed to vote without being refused or intimidated. 

Hounded by J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI, hindered by President Johnson, and attacked by outraged white people and Southern law enforcement, King must overcome divisions within his own movement, and outright racism from many locals in order to succeed. 

Selma is not a traditional biopic, in that most of King’s life is left out of the film. Don’t expect to learn much about why King developed his strict code of non-violent protest or what achievements led him to winning the Nobel Peace Prize. Selma focuses in on one moment in his life and is all the better for it. There are hints and mentions of what came before and what will come after, but this is the story of Selma and the people who put their lives at risk to gain the right to vote. Most notably, Selma enacts the night of the death of one activist on the streets of Selma in tragically true detail, where Jimmie Lee Jackson was unarmed and shot by police.

The timing of Selma, and its snub in the Academy Awards  acting categories, couldn’t be more pertinent. This is a film that many might want to ignore. The police brutality, the fear of African Americans (particularly from those in power and law enforcement) and the desire to protest their own treatment all feels ripped from recent headlines. For all King’s sacrifices, victories and righteousness, America still has a lot of work to do in terms of race relations and Selma shines a light on this by looking into its recent past.

The decision to concentrate on this pivotal moment is smart; with King’s life having too much to fit into a single film. It touches on the troubled relationship with his wife and Malcolm X briefly pops up for a single scene, but mostly it deals with King, his colleagues and the ordinary people of Selma. The fantastic Brits in the cast - David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tom Wilkinson and Tim Roth - stand out in this none more American tale but as with so many true life stories, it is the moments where we see real footage that really hit the hardest.

Despite King's speeches having to be rewritten for the film due to rights issues, Oyelowo captures the essence of the man beautifully. With so much left of King’s life to cover, we can only hope that director Ava DuVernay, writer Paul Webb and star David Oyelowo are given another opportunity to shine a spotlight on this great leader in the future.

 Watch the trailer:

Reviews for other Best Picture Nominees 2015:

American Sniper

Birdman

The Imitation Game

The Theory of Everything

Whiplash

2014 Oscar Best Picture Nominees Rated and Reviewed

With award season coming to a predictable but fun end, I thought it a good time to round up my reviews of the Best Picture nominees in 2014. It seems Ellen did a great job of hosting and though I didn't watch the ceremony, there has been so much coverage of pizza eating, record breaking selfies and J-Law falling over some more, that I don't think I need to watch them. Check out the coverage at Cinematic Corner for more on the ceremony itself and some brilliant gifs.

As usual, I did some gambling and put £20 down over the whole awards season. After the Globes, I was down by a pound(ish), then after the BAFTAs I'd broken even again and then with the Oscars being as predictable as they were, I finally came out £4 up. William Hill invited me on to talk Oscar odds on their weekly podcast which you can hear here if you interested in my predictions.

I'm glad to see American Hustle didn't win much, sad to see McQueen not get Best Director but very pleased 12 Years a Slave got Best Picture and Lupita Nyong'o got Best Supporting Actress. Films I still need to see from Oscar season are Blue Jasmine, Frozen and 20 Feet From Stardom. I actually managed to review all but one of the Best Picture nominees this year which must be a first. I saw Gravity later than everybody else so by that time, I think every word possible had been written about it. I was also left a bit disappointed by it after all the reviews I had read. Technically brilliant and pretty damn gripping but I just felt the characters were a bit cliched and kept it from being a five star movie in my opinion.

Chris from Movies and songs 365 asked how I would rank the Best Picture nominees so here goes. By the way this is incredibly difficult and liable to change in time. I don't envy all those who have to vote for the Oscar winners. Click the titles for my full reviews of each:

9. American Hustle 
'Overall it's a clever con, funny at times and crammed with wonderful performances. It might not have the zip and the pizazz of a Goodfellas or a Boogie Nights, but what it does have is Batman, Lois Lane, Rocket Racoon, Mystique and Hawkeye all in one film and all playing characters that are far more interesting than their comic book counterparts.'

8. Nebraska
'With a melancholy score from Mark Orton, stark cinematography from Phedon Papamichael and some heartbreaking performances, Nebraska is a winner; even if Woody isn’t.'

7. Gravity
Technically astonishing but a bit lacking in the character department.

6. Dallas Buyers Club 'See it for two staggering transformations and a touching true tale that desrves to be told. While Woodroof is the flawed star of the film, Leto's equally damaged Rayon threatens to steal it away from him. It may not tell the full story, choosing to focus on one frequently unpleasant man instead of many other heroes in the fight against AIDS, but Dallas Buyers Club avoids cliche to become powerful, credible and profoundly affecting.'

5. Her
'Falling in love may be, as one character says, a form of socially acceptable insanity but it’s ultimately impossible not to love every bit of Her.'

4. The Wolf of Wall Street
'The Wolf of Wall Street is Scorsese's best since Goodfellas. BUT it is also a disgrace. It makes you forget just what a complete shit Belfort really is. It is not angry enough. Belfort gets off easily. He turns on everyone around him, gets away with a tiny prison sentence in a white collar prison and is still not paying nearly enough back to his victims. To have Belfort appear in the film is just another slap in the face for the forgotten victims of the story. Scorsese has made a fun film about a man who deserves nothing but disdain. There is little caution in this 'cautionary' tale. We need to stop paying to listen to Belfort but with a film like this, Scorsese makes that very difficult.'


3. Captain Phillips
'The young actors give life and breath to the tragically young men that tangled with the far superior American forces. Captain Phillips is an underdog story of epic proportions where the underdogs never stand a chance.'

2. Philomena
'Philomena is a brilliantly written script with an unforgettable character who has an incredible story to be told. While it takes potshots at journalism and the church, it is ultimately an inspiring story of forgiveness. Dench and Coogan make a hilarious double act with Coogan unexpectedly playing the straight man but it is the tragedy of Philomena's treatment at the hands of the nuns that will linger longest in the memory.'

1. 12 Years A Slave
'12 Years A Slave brings a terrible historical truth to life. It may only be the story of one man but it feels definitive; every frame is a painting that transports you to another time. Through it's cinematography, production and costume design, but most of all the performances of a completely committed cast, 12 Years A Slave depicts the ugliness of slavery with unforgettable imagery.'

What were your favourites of this awards season?

More awards coverage at I Love That Film:

Screen Actors Guild Award Winners 2014

Who will win at the Screen Actors Guild Awards 2014?

Critics' Choice Winners 2014 
Oscar nominations 2014 
Who will win at the Critics' Choice Awards 2014? 
Golden Globes winners and losers 
BAFTA 2014 Nominations

Her Review

It’s not that weird to suggest a guy could fall in love with Scarlett Johansson just from hearing her sultry voice alone. Even if Scar-Jo is only the voice of operating system Samantha in Her, she is still sexy as hell; funny, inquisitive and doting all at once. Spike Jonze’s latest film as writer/director envisions a not too distant future where people could realistically fall in love with their artificially intelligent operating systems without worrying about the social stigma of appearing to talk to themselves in public.

Joaquin Phoenix plays unlucky in love Theodore who has lost the love of his life (Rooney Mara) and is now going through a tricky divorce. Working as a greeting card writer, he conjures and delivers beautifully written bits of prose to lovers who can’t be bothered writing the words for themselves. In Jonze’s future, real relationships have become as meaningless as these false communications written by countless writers like Theodore in call centre like offices. People roam the streets with ear pieces stuck in their brains for making contact with people who are not actually there with them. Everyone is mad; everybody is talking to the voices in their heads. When Theodore gets his new artificially intelligent operating system Samantha, his relationship seems little different to anyone else’s in this strange but familiar new world.

Theodore tries dating, phone sex and confiding in friends but no one understands him like Samantha. With access to his emails, contacts and the ability to learn, laugh and share every moment with him, Samantha and Theodore appear to be every bit as in love as anyone else. She may be there simply to serve him but she grows with him, explores and evolves with him and appears to fall in love with him. It is hard not to fall in love with selfless Samantha. She shows signs of developing clear feelings; fantasising, getting excited and developing an infectious personality. She is bubbly and fun and as she is learning about the world, she shares her joy with the jaded Theodore.

Phoenix is completely believable as Theodore; a love sick puppy who just wants to feel what he felt with his wife before their divorce. Johansson manages to make a character completely convincing despite no on screen presence. Jonze explores the relationship, the repercussions and the possibilities of the idea through a brilliantly clever script filled with wit, warmth and whimsy. From the idea of OS surrogates to the realisation of future video games, Jonze’s future is perfectly detailed and credible. With Amy Adams as an unhappy in her relationship neighbour and Olivia Wilde as a terrifying date, it is no wonder that Theodore thinks sticking to dating his operating system will bring happiness.

Falling in love may be, as one character says, a form of socially acceptable insanity but it’s ultimately impossible not to love every bit of Her.