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The Revenant (Cinema Review)

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revenant-slieStarring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter
Directed By: Alejandro González Inarritu
Running Time: 156 Minutes
UK Certificate: 15
UK Release Date: 15th January 2016

Our Score

Awards season is yet again upon us, bringing with it the usual ‘tick these boxes in order to get an award’ type films. Not that I think this is a bad thing, as I have previously written that this is the time of year where audiences are treated to some of the best films studios have to offer, and I stand by that.

The Revenant tells the story of Hugh Glass (DiCaprio), a fur huntsman and frontiersman in the 1820’s who is left for dead by his party after a vicious bear attack. His half Native American son is murdered in front of his eyes by fellow hunter John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) and Glass’s lust for revenge drives his survival against the odds and elements. [Read more…]

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The Revenant Leads The Oscar Nominations

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revenant-slieAs always, a few days after the Golden Globes, the Oscar nominations have been announced, so that we can spend the next few weeks wondering who will win, before it’s announced on February 28th. As many expected, The Revenant got the most nods, with 12, followed by Mad Max: Fury Road with 10 – the duo also became only the fourth and fifth film ever to get nominations in all seven technical categories.

However, it was more a story of who wasn’t nominated, with that list including every black actor being shut out, Ridley Scott and Steven Spielberg missing out in the director category (despite Scott picking up a Golden Globe at the weekend), Steve Jobs’ Aaron Sorkin and The Hateful Eight’s Quentin Tarantino failing to be acknowledge in the screenplay categories (again, Sorkin won a Globe), and Carol in the Best Picture category, despite the fact it had gone into the Awards Season as the favourite. Many are also wondering how Straight Outta Compton missed out on a Best Picture nomination – indeed there will hopefully be a bit of soul-searching considering there so much good work from black actors and filmmakers this year, but there’s been so little recognition of that at the Oscars.

The Revenant is definitely now the movie to beat though, with many believing it is now a shoo-in for the top prize. And while Leonardo DiCaprio infamously has a history of not winning Oscars, many believe this is his year, helped by a weaker than normal field (the others are Bryan Cranston for Trumbo, Matt Damon for The Martian,Michael Fassbender for Steve Jobs and Eddie Redmayne for The Danish Girl).

There are also some suggesting that while it’s unlikely to win Best Picture, it’s Mad Max that could end up with the most wins overall, as it’s likely to do extremely well in the technical categories. It would be impressive if it did, especially considering it’s the fourth movie in a series that started way back in 1979. But then, it’s a year of big gaps, as Sylvester Stallone has nabbed the record for the longest time between nominations for playing the same character, with 39 between Rock and Creed (beating Paul Newman for the 25 years between The Hustler and The Color Of Money).

Take a look at the full list of nominees below. [Read more…]

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The Revenant Tops The Golden Globe Awards

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revenant-slieWhen the Hollywood Foreign Press Association hired Ricky Gervais to host the Golden Globes after a three-year gap, you’ve got to think they were hoping for a bit of controversy. After all, all of his previous experiences has commenters asking whether he’d gotten too close to the knuckle.

This year the joke that raised many people’s ire almost inevitably involved Caitlyn Jenner, which Gervais delivered barely five seconds into the ceremony. He said, “I’m gonna be nice tonight – I’ve changed. Not as much as Bruce Jenner, obviously. Now Caitlyn Jenner, of course. What a year she’s had. She became a role model for trans people everywhere, showing great bravery in breaking down barriers and destroying stereotypes. She didn’t do a lot for women drivers. But, you can’t have everything; not at the same time.”

Oddly while many have decided it was transphobic, it’s not really, other than potentially the mention of her former name, as it fully accepts her as a woman. Easier to argue would be that it’s mysogynistic, as the real target of stereotyping is women drivers, or that making a joke about the fact Jenner was involved in an accident where someone died could be viewed as tasteless. However, just because it’s at Caitlyn’s expense doesn’t automatically make it transphobic, despite what some people would like to believe.

With the actual awards, The Revenant was the big winner, picking up Best Director, Best Actor – Drama for Leonardo DiCaprio and Best Picture – Drama. Some have suggested this now perfectly tees the movie up to repeat that at the Oscars.

The Martian also did well, with Matt Damon picking up Best Actor – Musical or Comedy and Best Picture – Music or Comedy. That’s despite many wondering how the movie got classed as either a comedy or a musical, other than in terms of the studio knowing they were more likely to win if they entered it in those categories than in the Drama ones.

Jennifer Lawrence picked up her third Golden Globe for Joy in the Best Actress – Musical or Comedy, while Brie Larson for her first for Room in the Best Actress – Drama category. The latter suprised many, who though Cate Blanchett was going to win for Carol. Jobs also picked up a couple of awards, with Kate Winslet taking Best Supporting Actress and Aaron Sorking picking up Best Screenplay.

You can take a look at the full list of winners below. [Read more…]