The Revenant

Revenant; (noun)
               a person who has returned, especially supposedly from the dead.

If I was a little more literate, and had known the definition whilst watching the trailer, I may have been slightly more intrigued to watch this film. As it was, I wasn't, and was dragged along by a friend. In fact the trailer inspired nothing within me and I was in fact slightly more disturbed that Leonardo needed professional help to sort out that clear breathing problem he was having. (Watch the trailer if you want to understand the joke, or don't if you enjoy being slightly confused.)

The film begins in some unknown wilderness where a group of hunters sourcing animal pelts, are on edge about being out in the open, and as it turns out they are right to be. Less than five minutes into the film and we are exposed to a gruesome scene where Native Americans begin killing without mercy or explanation, with the Americans only barley managing to hold their own. The violent scene is equalled in it's beauty by the long shot that allows us to watch it all unfold.

Only a quarter of the men manage to escape with their lives and must now take a treacherous route to an outpost where they can regroup, without being caught by the Native Americans who are on their own mission to find the chiefs missing daughter Powaqa.

The Americans are being led by Henry Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) a man shrouded in mystery. Able to speak the language of the Natives, and with a son who has their colouring, John Fitzgerald questions him at every turn. With only his own well-being on his mind, when Glass' life if put in Fitzgerald's hands by a crewel twist of fate, it doesn't take him long to turn the situation to his favour.

Where to start with this unnecessarily long film?

I guess I have to comment first on a theme that really annoyed me, and that was the unnecessarily long "artsy" shots of the moon, the sunrise, frozen plants and mostly forest trees. I was unsure what reaction they were trying pull from the audience, as these shots lasted anywhere between six and twelve seconds and seemed neither plot driven or emotional. And the same in a way can be said for the sub-plots. It seemed that they existed for the sole purpose of giving validation to the finale, as opposed to existing as a separate entity that happened to cross paths with the main arch. This made the film feel disjointed, when we strayed away from Henry's journey, it felt as if someone had changed the channel without asking,

What was nice is that there is no sense of anything but the present, it felt like the barren wasteland was the entire world it helped you feel part of the film, trapped with the characters under the bell jar. However the illusion of living in the present with an absence of time can only stay intact if the existence of the fact is never acknowledged, once it is, you find yourself involuntarily thinking back through the entire film in order to have a mental timeline. A distracting thought that can leave you missing a number of scenic shots of trees.

The cultural elements added another dimension to the film. Henry Glass speaking soothingly in the language of the Native Americans to his son, and in his dream sequences felt melodic. In fact I have to admit that Leonardo DiCaprio's acting in this film was phenomenal. It was only in retrospect as the credits began to roll, that I was overcome with only a fraction of the mental exhaustion he must have felt playing Henry Glass. Hat's off to your sir.

It took me a long time to realise that I really did enjoy this film. When it comes to the Award Season Elite, I analyse and over think to make sure it was I who decided that I liked the film, and not my subconscious being conditioned to think it will be amazing because of its nominations.
After all, did you know that although The Revenant had a nationwide release of January 8th 2016, it was released in selected cinemas in the USA on December 25th 2015 in order to make itself eligible for the 88th Academy Awards?

Sometime you have to ask yourself, if it's for the audience or if it's for the nomination.

Stay safe this award season.

In The Heart of the Sea

Contrary to the ignorance of popular belief I discovered on telling people I had watched this film, and having them turn up their nose at me for having sat through a motion picture of Moby Dick (despite none of them having actually read Moby Dick). In the Heart of the Sea is not Moby Dick. The film is based on the true story of the event that inspired Moby Dick. There's a whale of a difference.

The premise of the story can more or less be summed up in one sentence; A ship full of whale hunters fall prey to their hunted, and must find their way back to civilisation with their sanity, and their morals intact.

I don't want to delve any further into the storyline or risk ruining the small threads of characteristics, circumstances and fate of the crew of the Essex, but I will say that overall it was very solid film. Considering the pacing and the situations that needed to be covered, the running time was perfect, I didn't feel as if there was anything left to be told, and I had no feeling of disappointment. I could argue, with these points in mind, that the film was average at best, but I feel the word solid, defines it better.

I liked that the tale was told from the point of view of a mere observer, a survivor of the ordeal whose bad luck it was to set sail on the maiden voyage of the Essex. It made the focal characters; Owen Chase (Chris Hemsworth) and George Pollard Jr. (Benjamin Walker) stand as omnipresent metaphors of right and wrong. The narrator watching as they each found different ways to deal with the hand fate had dealt, like clashing titans causing claps of thunder to the quivering humans below.

When I found out that this film had themes of cannibalism I was expecting a Lord of the Flies type of situation, men in loin cloths, dirty and sweaty and driven mad after months of running amok on a barren island with only one means left of survival. Instead I found beauty in the expected grotesque, as I felt for the characters, their situation, and their ability to do what needed to be done. It plagued a question within myself; what would I do in order to survive? What would I sacrifice for those around me, and could I have the will to go on when all hands pointed to defeat.

I first saw a teaser trailer for this film sometime in the late months of 2014, since then there has been more or less nothing to build up the momentum of its release date. Sure In the Heart of the Sea would ultimately and predictably be dwarfed by the release of Star Wars; The Force Awakens, but it felt like they didn't even try to compete, which is why Ii think it still hasn't made back it's budget in the Box Office. For all the people that went to see Star Wars, there were just as many that didn't care, and that is the market they should have tapped into. Perhaps then there would be less pompous people sharing their unwanted opinion of how they would not be watching Moby Dick.

2016 In Film

Welcome to what I will hope be a more interesting year in film than 2015.

Looking back I can legitimately only pick out three films that were worth seeing on the big screen; Big Hero 6, Antman, and Straight Outta Compton. There were other films that were a good watch, but those were the top three for 2015 for me.

The first few films I review for 2016 will probably have come out in December last year, but I review as I watch and unfortunately don't always have the time to see films as soon as they come out.

Right let's get started. Below you will find a Key which will guide you through my overall thought of the film. I have categorised them into the month of its UK release and have added a line of summary where needed.

Key

Meh - "There's nothing else on" or Seems okay but you won't actually get round to seeing it.
Yolo - Decent enough plot, for spontaneous cinema trips.
Buzz - Its coming is well known and eagerly anticipated.
Wam- Worth A Mention
Yes - Films I am personally looking forward to.

January
The Hateful Eight - Buzz/Yes Tarantino's 9th film about a Bounty Hunter and his captive who seek refuge during a snow storm. Blood and guts guaranteed.
The 5th Wave - Buzz Based on a novel of the same name. Aliens and the Apocalypse.

February
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Yes/Yolo Based on a novel of the same name, stars Lily James and Matt Smith.
Deadpool - Buzz. Best described as an R rated Antman, part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
How To Be Single - Meh. Predictably about four single women

March
Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice Buzz
London Has Fallen - Meh
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 - Buzz/Yolo

April
Gods of Egypt - Wam Premise sounds good, but not a lot to go on.
The Jungle Book - Buzz/Yes The trailer is simple and effective; can't wait
Mothers Day - Yolo/Yes Who doesn't love an ensemble cast of A - C list actors?
Captain America: Civil War - Buzz. I am personally not into the Captain America franchise I know it's pretty popular.
Alice Through the Looking Glass - Wam. Probably won't see it unless the trailer Wow's me. The first film was below average.

May
Xmen: Apocalypse - Buzz. Should be the last in the trilogy
Now You See Me 2 - Meh/Yolo The first film was okay, and I guess did well enough to get a sequel.
Warcraft - Buzz/Yolo. The teaser trailer intrigued me.
Central Intelligence - Yolo/Wam Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Kevin Hart, light hearted comedy.

June
Finding Dory - Buzz/Wam Personally indifferent I know a lot of people can't wait.
Independence Day: Resurgence - Yolo on the sole basis that is a sequel to a great film.

July
The BFG - Wam a live action version of Roal Dahl's book of the same name. Good trailer.
The Legend of Tarzan - Wam. Live action. The trailer didn't really do it for me, jury is still out on whether I will watch it.
Ghostbusters - Buzz/Wam/Yolo an all female recast of the original, should be funny.
La La Land - Yolo/Wam Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in a musical comedy drama
Star Trek: Into the Beyond - Buzz
The Space Between Us - Meh A better marketed version of Upside Down starring Britt Robertson

August
Suicide Squad - Buzz/Yes DC Comic trying to catch up. Stars Jared Leto, Will Smith and Cara Delevingne.

September
Patient Zero - Meh, usual disease infecting human race film staring Matt Smith
Bridget Jones Baby - Buzz, The third film in the series with all the family faces back once more.
The Magnificent Seven - Wam Western Film. All Star Cast from Denzel Washington to Matt Bomer
Storks - Yolo Animated film about Storks that are no longer supposed to deliver babies.

October
The Girl on the Train - Buzz Based on the popular book I have yet to read. Stars Emily Blunt
Underworld: Next Generation - Wam To anyone that still follows the series; Kate is back

November
Doctor Strange - Buzz. Another film for the MCU, staring Benedict Cumberbatch
A Meyers Christmas - Wam/Yolo Festive film about a Dysfunctional Family, staring Gabrielle Union.
Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them - Buzz The Wizarding World is back.
The Great Wall - Wam American-Chinese, about the mysteries involving The Great Wall.
Moana - Buzz. Animated adventure from Disney a girl sets sail to find a fabled island.

December
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Buzz. If it ain't broke...
Assasin's Creed - Buzz/Yolo Based on the video game starring Michael Fassbender
Jamanji - Wam. Remake current cited as "Unnecessary and kind of insulting"
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Wam based on a novel of the same name about orphaned kids on a mysterious island. Directed by Tim Burton


*This list is based on titles currently revealed at the time of writing, and on UK release dates*