THE REVENANT: The Film Babble Blog Review

THE REVENANT
(Dir. Alejandro Gonz?lez I??rritu, 2015)

There are a couple of things that people are talking about pertaining to Alejandro Gonz?lez I??rritu?s sixth film, the follow-up to his brilliant, Academy Award-winning BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE), releasing today in the Triangle.

First, the notion that Leonardo DiCaprio will likely win a Best Actor Academy Award for his powerfully pained performance as the pelt hunting, Indian killing, bear fighting, death defying 19th-century American frontiersman Hugh Glass.

Second, there?s the bear itself ? an incredibly convincing CGI creation of a ginormous grizzly that attacks, mauls, and severely injures DiCaprio?s Glass. The scary scene in which this happens has some folks even crying ?rape!,? but while it does look like the character is getting violated, it?s a female bear who?s protecting her cubs.

A friend joked, ?I bet the bear will win the Oscar!?

But beyond the bullet points of the Leo buzz and the bear lies an epic, uncompromising tale of survival that has just earned a prominent slot on my soon to be posted top 10 films of 2015.

DiCaprio dominates as the title character (the title, THE REVENANT, means a person who has returned as if from the dead), but on the sidelines we?ve got a gruff, angry Tom Hardy as Glass's biggest adversary besides the bear (he's the guy who decides to leave Glass? ailing ass behind after all), Domhnall Gleeson (EX MACHINA, BROOKLYN, STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS - yep, he's been getting around lately) as the hunting party leader, Captain Andrew Henry; Will Poulter as the young mountain man Jim Bridger, and, even younger, Forrest Goodluck as Glass? half-Native American son, Hawk.

That last bit, about Glass?s son, is fictional as the real life fur trapper/explorer didn?t have a son or the wife that we see getting killed in his tortured flashbacks throughout the film, but when a film is this riveting and driven, I?m not complaining about such embellishments.

Set in treacherous, snowy Montana and South Dakota in the early 1820s, this adaptation of Michael Punke?s ?The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge? follows the infamous hunting expedition led by Gleeson?s Captain Henry into the uncharted post-Louisiana Purchase territory.

In the film?s stunningly shot opening sequence, the hunters and trappers get ambushed by a tribe of Arikara Indians, and the survivors along with what they could save of their pelts, escape on a boat down river. Glass voices that, to avoid further attacks, they should ditch the boat and continue on foot ? a plan that Fitzgerald doesn?t favor.

This is where the bear comes in. While deep in the woods away from the others, Glass comes across the mother grizzly and her cubs and gets the mother of all maulings.

Afterwards, the crew carries him on a makeshift stretcher, but Fitzgerald, as always voicing displeasure, wants to kill or abandon him so they can complete the damn mission and get the hell home. In a struggle over Glass, Fitzgerald kills Hawk.

So Glass finds himself literally left for dead, but despite the dangerous odds he crawls, climbs, and swims through hundreds of miles of wilderness to exact revenge on Fitzgerald. 

While it doesn?t have the single take illusion that BIRDMAN beautifully built up (and that Emmanuel Lubezki won an Oscar for), THE REVENANT does traffic in sweeping unbroken tracking shots with the same mastery. Returning cinematographer Lubezki?s camera glides through the scenery intoxicatingly, beginning many scenes at ground level and ending them trailing off into the campfire smoke in the sky.

This gets us immersed in the open spaces, making us feel like we?re right there with DiCaprio in his suffering, wounded state. The man definitely deserves to get the gold for his no holds barred commitment to the character. The guy?s patented boyish charm is nowhere to be found here; what we?ve got here in his portrayal of Glass is a weathered 41-year old who?s been through hell and back and looks it.

Hardy, who along with Gleeson has been working a lot this last year, may get a nomination for this as well. Between this and his work in MAD MAX: FURY ROAD and LEGEND, it feels like Academy voters will surely take notice.

THE REVENANT may be more grueling than a good time for some moviegoers, but I found it to be more rewarding than punishing. It?s a towering testament to the emotional and physical strength that one finds in themselves when bracing the overwhelming wild of the American west.

When it comes to lengthy, brutal Westerns set in icy terrain this season, maybe this is the one that should?ve been shot in 70mm.

More later...

Film Babble Blog?s Top 10 Movies of 2014 (Plus Their Key Lines)

Since the Oscar nominations were announced a week ago, and I?m pretty caught up on all the major, and not so major, movies of 2014, it?s time to list my 10 favorite films of last year (plus some spillover). This time instead of providing a blurb for each entry, I?m going to only highlight a key line, or at least what I think is one of the most memorable, for each movie. Also, unlike in previous year?s lists, I?m listing them from 10 down to 1. Click on the film's titles to read my original reviews:

10. CALVARY (Dir. John Michael McDonagh)

Father James Lavelle (Brendan Gleeson): ?The commandment ?Thou shalt not kill? does not have an asterisk beside it, referring you to the bottom of the page where you find a list of instances where it's okay to kill people.?

9. ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE
(Dir. Jim Jarmusch)

Adam (Tom Hiddleston): ?You drank Ian.?

8. THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

(Dir. Wes Anderson)



M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes): ?The most dreadful and unattractive person only needs to be loved and they will open up like a flower.?
Also: ?I sleep with all my friends.?

7. THE LEGO MOVIE

(Dirs. Phil Lord & Christopher Miller)

Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman): ?The only thing anyone needs to be special is to believe that you can be - I know that sounds like a cat poster, but it?s true.?

6. INHERENT VICE (Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)



Dr. Rudy Blatnoyd, D.D.S. (Martin Short): ?It?s not groovy to be insane.?

5. SELMA (Dir. Ava DuVernay)



Martin Luther King (David Oyellowo): ?That means protest! That means march! That means disturb the peace! That means jail! That means risk! That is hard!?

4. WHIPLASH (Dir. Damien Chazelle)



Fletcher (J.K. Simmons): ?My dear god, are you one of those single tear people??

3. LIFE ITSELF (Dir. Steve James)



Roger Ebert: ?Look at a movie that a lot of people love and you?ll find something profound no matter how silly the film may seem.?

2. BIRDMAN (Dir. Alejandro Gonz?lez I??rritu)

Riggan Thomson as his inner Birdman (Michael Keaton): ?People, they love blood. They love action. Not this artsy fartsy, philosophical bullshit?

1. BOYHOOD (Dir. Richard Linklater)

?Never leave your mother?s womb, unless you wanna see how hard a broken heart can swoon.? - Tweedy (from the end credits song ?Summer Noon?)

And now, in no particular order, a bunch of 2014 spillover, with a few of their key lines too:

EDGE OF TOMORROW (Dir. Doug Liman) ?Okay, first of all, terrific presentation. Just Terrific.?

FRANK (Dir. Lenny Abrahamson)

NIGHTCRAWLER (Dir. Dan Gilroy)  ?Do you know what fear stands for? False Evidence Appearing Real.?

WILD (Dir. Jean-Marc Vall?e)

THE RAID 2 (Dir. Gareth Evans)

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (Dir. James Gunn): ?It's got a real shining-blue suitcase, Ark of the Covenant, Maltese Falcon sort of vibe.?

FORCE MAJEURE (Dir. Ruben ?stlund)

A MOST VIOLENT YEAR (Dir. J.C. Chandor)

GONE GIRL (Dir. David Fincher) ?We're so cute. I wanna punch us in the face.?

UNDER THE SKIN (Dir. Jonathan Glazer)

JOHN WICK (Dir. David Leitch & Chad Stahelski): ?Oh.?

All in all, not a bad year for film.

More later...

Film Babble Blog?s Top 10 Movies of 2014 (Plus Their Key Lines)

Since the Oscar nominations were announced a week ago, and I?m pretty caught up on all the major, and not so major, movies of 2014, it?s time to list my 10 favorite films of last year (plus some spillover). This time instead of providing a blurb for each entry, I?m going to only highlight a key line, or at least what I think is one of the most memorable, for each movie. Also, unlike in previous year?s lists, I?m listing them from 10 down to 1. Click on the film's titles to read my original reviews:

10. CALVARY (Dir. John Michael McDonagh)

Father James Lavelle (Brendan Gleeson): ?The commandment ?Thou shalt not kill? does not have an asterisk beside it, referring you to the bottom of the page where you find a list of instances where it's okay to kill people.?

9. ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE
(Dir. Jim Jarmusch)

Adam (Tom Hiddleston): ?You drank Ian.?

8. THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

(Dir. Wes Anderson)



M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes): ?The most dreadful and unattractive person only needs to be loved and they will open up like a flower.?
Also: ?I sleep with all my friends.?

7. THE LEGO MOVIE

(Dirs. Phil Lord & Christopher Miller)

Vitruvius (Morgan Freeman): ?The only thing anyone needs to be special is to believe that you can be - I know that sounds like a cat poster, but it?s true.?

6. INHERENT VICE (Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)



Dr. Rudy Blatnoyd, D.D.S. (Martin Short): ?It?s not groovy to be insane.?

5. SELMA (Dir. Ava DuVernay)



Martin Luther King (David Oyellowo): ?That means protest! That means march! That means disturb the peace! That means jail! That means risk! That is hard!?

4. WHIPLASH (Dir. Damien Chazelle)



Fletcher (J.K. Simmons): ?My dear god, are you one of those single tear people??

3. LIFE ITSELF (Dir. Steve James)



Roger Ebert: ?Look at a movie that a lot of people love and you?ll find something profound no matter how silly the film may seem.?

2. BIRDMAN (Dir. Alejandro Gonz?lez I??rritu)

Riggan Thomson as his inner Birdman (Michael Keaton): ?People, they love blood. They love action. Not this artsy fartsy, philosophical bullshit?

1. BOYHOOD (Dir. Richard Linklater)

?Never leave your mother?s womb, unless you wanna see how hard a broken heart can swoon.? - Tweedy (from the end credits song ?Summer Noon?)

And now, in no particular order, a bunch of 2014 spillover, with a few of their key lines too:

EDGE OF TOMORROW (Dir. Doug Liman) ?Okay, first of all, terrific presentation. Just Terrific.?

FRANK (Dir. Lenny Abrahamson)

NIGHTCRAWLER (Dir. Dan Gilroy)  ?Do you know what fear stands for? False Evidence Appearing Real.?

WILD (Dir. Jean-Marc Vall?e)

THE RAID 2 (Dir. Gareth Evans)

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (Dir. James Gunn): ?It's got a real shining-blue suitcase, Ark of the Covenant, Maltese Falcon sort of vibe.?

FORCE MAJEURE (Dir. Ruben ?stlund)

A MOST VIOLENT YEAR (Dir. J.C. Chandor)

GONE GIRL (Dir. David Fincher) ?We're so cute. I wanna punch us in the face.?

UNDER THE SKIN (Dir. Jonathan Glazer)

JOHN WICK (Dir. David Leitch & Chad Stahelski): ?Oh.?

All in all, not a bad year for film.

More later...

Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

***DISCLAIMER*** The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion (or other commenters), that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching! The film doesn't go into detail but I'm assuming that Birdman's powers involved waking you up early on a weekend with his nonstop chirping and pooping on freshly washed cars.

Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) ? 5 out of 5

Birdman is one of those films that I am having a hard time trying to come up with an opening paragraph for the review. I sat staring at this blank document for a bit and tried to figure out the best way to start this off. Do I talk about how I really wanted to see it when it got released into limited theaters and how I just didn?t have the money to hit the theater? I could do that?or I could just talk about how I spaced on an opening paragraph and just waste time until I get to the synopsis like I do every time I can?t come up with an opening paragraph. And now that I?ve officially wasted enough time?

There was a dark period of time where Michael Keaton wasn't in any movies...
Let's never return to that awful era.

Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) is a washed up actor who once held the Box Office in the palm of his hand when he was in the comic book adaptation of the popular superhero Birdman. Now he finds himself on Broadway trying to adapt Raymond Carver?s short story What We Talk About When We Talk About Love. Aside from the usual troubles in getting a show off the ground, Riggan has to deal with his former drug-addicted daughter Sam (Emma Stone) and a newcomer to the show who proves to be unruly to work with (Edward Norton). Meanwhile, Riggan battles his own psyche which takes the form of the hero Birdman who is trying to persuade him to cast off the theater performance and make a triumphant return to the Silver Screen.

Emma Stone can do no wrong in my book.

The closest we'll probably ever see to getting a live-action
Hawkman movie.

Birdman tells a wickedly enthralling story with some intriguing characters and it does so in a captivating way. Writer and director Alejandro Gonz?lez I??rritu presents the film as if it was one continuous shot that never stops flowing in and around the action. If you know what you are looking for, you can easily see the cuts and edits mixed in at certain moments but, aside from that, the effect is flawless and really made me feel like a "fly on the wall" with the events occurring. I?ve seen this formula done on other films and, each time, it felt like it was a needless gimmick meant to mask a story that was going nowhere or was something that has already been told numerous times before. However, in the case of Birdman, the story is strong enough and interesting enough that this addition feels like a compliment that is working in concert with the story rather than something that is just around to try and cover up any weakness.

Here's the first of two stills that has a character in his underpants...
I include this because there's a couple of scenes of dudes in tight-fitting underwear.
This film was clearly in the pocket of the Anti-Boxers and Anti-Boxer Briefs
Foundation.

Additionally, Birdman has some truly amazing performances from everyone on the cast. Everyone from Keaton to Stone to Norton to Zach Galifianakis and Naomi Watts are giving off passionate and intriguing performances. These performances make the already interesting characters even more captivating and just acts as another compliment that blends perfectly well with the presentation and story. It all comes together to make a film that is beautiful, dramatic, interesting and unique.

"Here's Johnny...or something."

The only thing I didn?t really care for (and, as you can see, it didn?t really have any impact on my score) was some heavy-handed, internet-complaining like commentary. Too often the film lacks subtlety and I??rritu comes off like a ranting spoiled child with this commentary. For example, it?s clear that I??rritu really hates the comic book superhero genre and the character of Birdman goes on a rant that, basically, states that those who like these films are uncultured, pimpled, gamer geeks who are too stupid to appreciate artistic endeavors. This same snobbish, nose-in-the-air, "I?m better than you because I say I am" attitude is seen with his not-so-subtle attack on critics. Riggan goes on a long rant and attacks a critic (who, in fairness, was a pretty terrible person and is how critics SHOULDN?T be) and the diatribe is so long and drawn out (and the critic isn't even in shot during this so it's clear who the "foam at the mouth" bit of vitriol is aimed at) that this isn't just a character attacking another character for story purposes but, rather, the writer/director getting his undies in a twist because he can't handle criticism. 

And speaking of undies...here's another still of a guy in his underpants.
The director sure liked his tightie undies in this film.

These commentaries are, by themselves, fine but when you have them both in the film, I??rritu comes off like a gigantic hypocrite in his writing. I??rritu is not quiet about how he hates comic book films and having him go from one scene where he attacks critics and proceeds to shit all over comic book films and their audiences in a long critique makes him just look like an asshole and the kind of dude who thinks he?s better than you and probably starts all of his sentences with "Well, actually?" He hates critics (an especially nasty one) and then gives a nasty critique of comic book films?  He basically just pull the typical internet comment of people complaining about people complaining about stuff...and then here I am complaining about his complaining about complaining. Maybe it?s because I?m an unapologetic big fan of comics and superheroes and really love the Marvel and DC films out there but I found this element of the film to be less of the commentary of a devoted artist yearning to create and speak to his audience and more like the whiny complaints of a child who thinks that because he doesn?t like something, you must hate it too (he should probably start writing for Cracked.com.  That's pretty much all they do there now).  While it doesn't feel completely out of place in the story, it didn't stop from coming off as a little petty.

I wish the nagging voice in my head manifested as a winged superhero.

These complaints aside, I still found Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) to be an amazing film that was put together with some awesome care. The performances are incredible and the film is so fantastically put together that the replay value on it is big and the entertainment value and creativity of it is priceless.