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:

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The Revenant Teaser Trailer Reveals Leo Still Not Winning That Oscar

Goddamit I just know that The Revenant isn't going to get Leonardo DiCaprio his long overdue Oscar. Doesn't matter how bloody epic the film looks, somebody in some plain old, possibly very boring biopic is going to come along and snatch it away from him.

To be fair, judging from this teaser, Leo's going to be doing a lot of screaming his lungs out and running and fighting for his life, but this doesn't even look like it's his film.

Firstly he's joined by Tom Hardy, Will Poulter and Domnhall Gleeson so this could be just as much their time to shine as it is little old Leo's.

More importantly, from the look of this footage, this is another chance to see what director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki can come up with together after the wonderfully shot Birdman. You just know we're going to be immersed right in the middle of those stunningly harsh landscapes, as well as the bloodshed and chaos of all that fighting. If anyone is getting Oscars, it will be one of those two.

Even if it doesn't bag Leo Best Actor (and I pray that I'm wrong by the way), it's my most anticipated film of 2016, as I wrote here for The Daily Heckle. I think it looks absolutely brilliant, even if Leo does miss out AGAIN on taking home a golden baldie.

The Maze Runner Review

Tired of the girls in YA adaptations having all the fun; why not try The Maze Runner? Though Katniss may still wear the crown for the most kickass protagonist in recent memory, it’s a testament to how far science fiction has come that The Maze Runner feels currently refreshing for having a cast of mostly male teens fighting and fending for themselves in a dangerous future world.

Teen Thomas awakes to find himself being lifted into the Glade, a beautiful green open space surround by the giant grey stone walls of an impassable maze. With no memory of who he is or how he got into the lift, he is immediately encircled by the group of wild boys who populate the Glade. There is friendly leader Alby, big brute Gally, scrawny second in command Newt and a younger fat kid named Chuck to name a few. The ‘Gladers’ have made a peaceful and stable community for themselves under the leadership of Alby but Thomas’ entrance stirs things up between the boys, particularly as Thomas begins to break the rules and heads into the maze without permission.

The Maze Runner is full of terminology invented for its mysterious dystopian set up. The Lord of the Flies like tribe of boys are divided into groups with only the ‘runners’ being allowed to into the maze to try and map it and find a way out. In the maze, they meet partly mechanical arachnid creatures known as The ‘Grievers’ who send the boys mad if they are unlucky enough to be stung. Until Thomas arrives, no one has survived a night in the maze as the doors close each night, giving runners only a limited time to spend exploring the maze each day. 

It’s a set up that wears its influences on its sleeves. There is plenty of Lord of the Flies, a little splash of The Beach, and a central premise highly reminiscent of The Cube. Not only that, but this film version of James Dashner’s book looks like it owes a debt to more than a few video games in its occasionally computer generated Doom-style aesthetic. However despite its derivativeness, The Maze Runner feels fresh enough (particularly no doubt to its younger target audience) to maintain attention. Wes Balls’ direction and the screenplay and score zip along so that the film moves at such a stunning pace, that even at nearly two hours, it never allows time for ennui to set in, or for audiences to pick at the exposition heavy plot.

The mystery at the heart of this maze may not add up to much but The Maze Runner has action aplenty. It is amazing how exciting the good old fashioned sight of running can still be, even if occasionally the characters are clearly surrounded by digital effects. The performances are solid with Will Poulter particularly showing his range when compared to his performance in recent comedy We’re the Millers and Dylan O’Brien making a decent hero, even if the character of Thomas isn’t that interesting. 

The Maze Runner sprints along, finding a way through its myriad of influences to become something breezily entertaining, if not totally satisfying by the time it reaches its end.

Here's a picture of me with The Maze Runner star Will Poulter

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The Maze Runner Poster and Trailer

The next YA adaptation is on its way with Will Poulter starring in The Maze Runner. Check out the new trailer below. It looks promisingly much more like Hunger Games than Twilight. The Maze Runner is about a group of boys who are trapped in a place called 'The Glade' with no memory of their past lives before they were brought in. They are surrounded by a maze that could lead them to escape but it is filled with slug like spiked monsters that can kill them. Dystopia, danger and the constant threat of death; it sounds like the kind of story I would have loved when I was a teen.

There are two more books in the series already so Fox will undoubtedly be hoping for a big hit. It is coming hot on the heels of Hunger Games, Twilight and Divergent so The Maze Runner will have to be good to compete in that kind of market place.

The new trailer and poster are below:

Sunshine on Leith Premiere

Thanks to Tastic Film I got the opportunity to attend the premiere of Sunshine on Leith a while ago. We were in the press pit with all the other media vultures begging for scraps of information from all the glitzy stars in attendance. As well as director Dexter Fletcher and stars Jane Horrocks and Kevin Guthrie, we got to interview David Tennant and Jonathan Ross and I even got to meet Will Poulter, the breakout star of We're the Millers and upcoming young adult adaptation The Maze Runner. 

I've been keeping a close eye on Poulter ever since seeing him in Son of Rambow, laughing my ass off at his South African accent in School of Comedy and watching him grow (and grow and grow and grow) into a very talented dramatic actor in Wild Bill and then hold his own with Jennifer Aniston in comedy We're the Millers. Here's a lovely picture of me getting totally over excited about meeting him: 

I didn't get the chance to interview Mr Poulter but seeing Jonathan Ross and David Tennant floating around and shooting the breeze felt like too big an opportunity to miss. They were also joined by Arabella Weir (from The Fast Show) and the trio made for a very amusing interview discussing amongst other things what Ross' wife Jane Goldman is working on, Doctor Who's 50th anniversary and we even got round to mentioning the film Sunshine on Leith! 

It was a super star studded event held at BAFTA and I also saw the likes of Richard Curtis and Dermot O'Leary in attendance. I was hugely tempted to run around and take photos of all of them but I'm pretty sure I'd have got kicked out of there quick as you can click your fingers. The Proclaimers whose music is used throughout the film were also there but I didn't get the chance to interview them.

Back of David Tennant's head, Jonathan Ross, Dexter Fletcher, and Arabella Weir

Still it was very exciting to be in the presence of all those celebrities and here is my review of Sunshine on Leith. Unfortunately all the interviews are not yet up at Tastic Film but I'm sure they one day will be.

We're the Millers Review

There is a fine line between characters that are funny and characters that are just plain selfish, obnoxious or stupid. We're the Millers treads the fine line deftly with some scummy characters that never stray far from sweet and endearing despite what they are up to. Identity Thief is an example of a recent film that had a character that was just too damn hard to warm to and therefore even the hilarious Melissa McCarthy couldn't make her funny.

We're the Millers has a rag tag group of misfits come together to pretend to be a normal nuclear family in order to smuggle a tonne of dope over the Mexican-American border. There is selfish small time weed dealer David (Jason Sudeikis), stripper Rose (Jennifer Aniston), homeless runaway teen Casey (Emma Roberts) and sweet and innocent virgin Kenny (Will Poulter). David assembles his makeshift 'family' to help him shift the pot over the border as he thinks a happy family in an RV will not arouse as much suspicion in the eyes of border patrol as if he tried to do it himself. But these four make for less than a simple happy family and crossing the border is the least of their problems when they realise a pissed off drug lord is on their tail.

We're the Millers is a riotous road trip that might be lacking in surprises but makes up for this with some laugh out loud moments that are rude, occasionally raunchy and frequently uncomfortable. It is a measure of the kind of comedy in this film that the funniest moment in the film plays on what could be perceived as incestuous snogging between a boy and his Mum and his sister. If that doesn't sound like you're kind of humour then best to avoid We're the Millers.

Both the script and performances keep things zippy and appealing even if the characters should occasionally be appalling. Jason Sudeikis is eminently likeable despite the selfish character, Aniston is still a gifted comedienne (and looks stunning in her underwear!), Roberts reveals layers beneath the hard exterior of Casey and Will Poulter while only getting a fairly one note character proves that he has comic timing, can do an American accent and is destined to be a very big star one day soon.

We're the Millers may not break boundaries in its border crossing but it is a road trip fueled by excellent comedic performances and a few side splitting scenes; a comedy about a family that is definitely not suitable for the whole family.

Watch the trailer:

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