The Revenant - 10 stars out of 10

The Revenant - 10 stars out of 10

"What will it take for Leonardo DiCaprio to win an Oscar?"  This is a question that we have been asking for decades and we finally have our answer.  "The Revenant" is an all-around stunning film, but nothing is more stunning than DiCaprio's performance at the center of this survival story.  He blurs the line between acting and actual suffering.  Eating a raw bison liver?  Moving in and out of frozen rivers?  Leo did it all for this role.  15-20 crew members quit or were fired because they couldn't handle the extreme conditions of this film, but Leo braved the elements on-screen.  The anguish and pain on his face show the actual physical and mental sacrifices that DiCaprio endured to recreate the historic suffering of Hugh Glass.  Even if the Academy feels like Michael Fassbender has earned an Oscar over the years, there is no way that DiCaprio will lose this one.  While we all expected a stunning performance from Leo, I don't think that anybody expected Tom Hardy to be so sinister.  The story’s conflict is man vs. nature but the driving force of the film (Glass's desire to survive) is fueled by the effectiveness of Hardy's heartless performance.  He has the most dialogue of any character in the film and his rustic accent continually enhances the setting.  It may seem like this film is all about the acting but there is so much more.  “The Revenant” also received Oscar nominations for Cinematography, Editing, Direction, Visual Effects, Production Design, Costume Design, Make-Up and the sound categories.  While there are other films that are more deserving of winning categories like Visual Effects, Costume Design, and Make-Up, I’m glad that the crew’s impressive creation of the bear attack, Native American costuming, and realistic lacerations all over DiCaprio’s body are acknowledged through these nominations.  I’m typically not a fan of westerns but this film breaks the mold.  The story is continually moving and Emmanuel Lubezki's panoramic shots of the desolate snow-covered land and the vivid Native American attacks transport us into the American wilderness.  The extended stylized shots of nature give us the feeling of a western but enhance the story instead of interrupting it.  His visual depiction of the landscape is breathtaking and he has a shot at a historic three-peat for Best Cinematography.  There are some other great candidates but if he doesn’t win, the voting was probably heavily influenced by his wins the past two years.  My favorite scene of the entire film was in the church ruins where the score aligns with the imagery of Glass and his son to create a strong emotional moment.  Even with the ever-present natural beauty of this film whose every frame was shot in completely natural light, it is as brutally violent as advertised.  If you cannot handle seeing fingers get chopped off or detailed lacerations across the back, you will find yourself looking away more than looking at the screen.  It would be difficult to make this film historically accurate because so much of Glass’s journey is undocumented and you should approach it knowing that there are creative liberties taken with his story (especially some added characters and the ending); however, this film is intended to pay tribute to the impossible redemption of a man whose will was greater than his circumstances and in that way, the film succeeds.   “The Revenant” is not for everybody but, if you can stomach the violence, blood, and suffering, you will be rewarded with Leonardo DiCaprio’s most dedicated performance and some of the most beautiful landscape shots of this generation.

[Pictured: There comes a point where Leo barely even looks like Leo anymore]

Room (2015) - 10 stars out of 10

Room (2015) - 10 stars out of 10

“Room” is one of the most vivid movies that you will ever see.  The concept is fascinating: A woman is inexplicably trapped in a room with her five-year-old son.  That’s all.  As the story unfolds, we learn details of how long they have been there and where their food comes from; however, the mystery continues to be preserved as we are left to fill in the rest with our imaginations.  There are so many things that I would love to say but I want everybody to be just as surprised and on the edge of your seat as I was.  In fact, this film contains ten of the most intense minutes that you will ever see in any movie.  I swear, there came a point where I had to remind myself to breath.  The story is an endless series of emotional highs and lows that create a deep connection between the characters and the audience.  These emotional moments are enhance by a powerful musical score by Stephen Rennicks.  Its absence reinforces the hopelessness and isolation of being trapped in the room, but then the score soars when it needs to enhance the joyous and devastating moments.  I find that the most poetic piece of the film stems from one of the darkest psychological implications:  The mental well-being of this young boy is completely dependent upon his mother but, when everything turns, he suddenly needs to become her strength in a time of need.  Again, I’m doing my best to avoid any spoilers so you will just have to see it for yourself.  The acting is astounding.  Brie Larson will take home an Oscar for the endless number of emotions that she vividly portrays throughout the film.  Her character is simply known as “Ma,” a constant reminder that she has been stripped of her identity and her entire world is her son.  She doesn’t need a cape to turn her character into a hero.  Jacob Tremblay was equally amazing.  It is rare that I believe that a child performance deserved an Oscar nomination but his acting is highly refined and brings out a lot of our emotions.  He holds his own against Larson’s Oscar-nominated performance and isn’t merely along for the ride.  The realism of this story is further enhanced by its supporting cast.  Joan Allen has been out of vogue for awhile but she delivers her best performance in years.  It took a lot to steal the spotlight from Larson and Tremblay, but she definitely had her moment.  Also, the very presence of William H. Macy adds a brief but necessary complication to this story.  There comes a point where you start dreading that the ending will spoil the entire story.  Dreading that, no matter what the ending, it won't live up to the rest of the film.  But Emma Donoghue creates the perfect conclusion that allows this story to come full circle.  One of the best pieces of advice that I can give is that you should NOT watch the trailer!  Just take my word for it and blindly walk into this film.  “Room” will keep you intrigued, emotional, and on the edge of your seat from start until finish.  More importantly, you will walk away from the film a changed person.

[Pictured: Two of the greatest performances that you will ever see]

45 Years - 5 stars out of 10

45 Years - 5 stars out of 10

"45 Years" is a slow-moving drama that paints a picture of marriage after 45 years.  The film is notable for Charlotte Rampling's Oscar-nominated performance that comes off as realistic and subtle.  It is a perfect manifestation of the film's themes of forgiveness and letting go of conflict, though I was hoping for an iconic freak-out.  Tom Courtenay offers an equally subtle yet effective performance. I could have done without the senior citizen sex scene, but I suppose that it was important to the plot.  But... I really could have done without the senior citizen sex scene.  The story is a bit dull, though this is definitely meant to be a slice of realism instead of a melodrama.  The film is highly rated by the critics but it just moved too slow for my taste.  Even with a short 90-minute runtime, it seemed to drag on forever.  I can generally appreciate slow-moving stories as long as something big happens but the effect was lost on me.  I wouldn’t recommend this on unless the style is your thing.  "45 Years" is a character-focused story that delivers one good twist but spends the remainder of the movie trying to figure out if anything should actually happen.

[Pictured: This is a typical scene from the uneventful "45 Years"]

The Good Dinosaur - 7 stars out of 10

The Good Dinosaur - 7 stars out of 10

Disney should probably just steer clear of movies about dinosaurs.  Their last attempt was 2000's average-at-best "Dinosaur" which followed an abandoned dinosaur on an epic journey through a vivid live-action setting.  Similarly, "The Good Dinosaur" takes us on the coming-of-age journey of a dinosaur who doesn't quite know his place in the world but learns to survive in order to get back to his family.  The story is awfully similar to “The Lion King” and I found the film to be underwhelming in comparison to the rest of Disney/Pixar's output.  The timing of this film's release does it a disservice as it didn't have a prayer of living up to the creativity and popularity of "Inside Out."  We usually get one Pixar movie a year and they released this one just five months after arguably their best film to date.  I didn’t care for the placement of dinosaurs into human classifications (farmers, cowboys, etc.).  I understand what the writers were trying to do but I felt like it just made it feel more cartoony.  It just doesn't feel like a Pixar movie.  The animation certainly does, but it's missing the heart of "Toy Story" and "Monsters Inc." (though I still cried).  Aside from my issues with the story, “The Good Dinosaur” offers some of the most realistic computer animated backdrops and elements of nature that I have ever seen.  It is hard to believe that these are not live action shots of water and foliage, but we run into the issue that they are TOO realistic for the cartoonish dinosaurs.  To clarify, the animation of the dinosaurs is amazing.  They have lifelike movements and their skin even has a lifelike texture.  But the dinosaurs don’t look like real dinosaurs so they don’t fit in with the stunning backdrops of each scene.  I did love the style and animation of Spot.  I felt like he perfectly fit into the settings and he was the perfect cute counterpart to the main dinosaur.  This really isn’t a bad film, but it had the potential to be amazing and just fell short.  Actually, I would like to retract what I said earlier about Disney straying away from films about dinosaurs.  They haven’t quite found a way to mix Disney magic with this setting and these unique characters, but the third time’s a charm!  “The Good Dinosaur” may not live up to other films on Pixar’s resume but it offers a heartfelt story and delivers the story through amazing animation.

 [Pictured: The disparity between the realistic backdrops and cartoony characters is a distraction from start to finish]

Concussion (2015) - 8 stars out of 10

Concussion (2015) - 8 stars out of 10

"Concussion" is Will Smith's finest performance.  Ever.  His accent is flawless and every line that he delivers resonates with conviction and emotion.  This film may not have been good enough to earn any Oscar nominations on its own, but it is robbery that Will Smith was not nominated for his performance.  You can’t even tell that he is acting.  He completely embodies this character and you'll never believe that this is the same guy from "Fresh Prince" and "Men in Black."  Aside from being a disappointing nomination snub to Will Smith, “Concussion” is a truthful telling of the events surrounding the NFL and CTE.  They didn't have to add any extra drama to this true story to make it interesting as it paints the NFL in a pretty ugly light, particularly commissioner Roger Goodell.  If you are not familiar with Iron Mike Webster's death, this story will shock you (as it shocked me) and make you question whether football should even be legal.  I am a big fan of football but most fans agree that restrictions need to be put in place to prevent permanent physical damage to these players.  The acting is pretty average outside of Smith and Alec Baldwin, but the true focus of this film is awareness of CTE and the uphill battle fought by forensic pathologist Bennet Omalu.  There isn’t a ton of action but I appreciate that Peter Landesman’s script sticks to the facts without adding in a bunch of fictional farfetched/overdramatic events.  The rumor is that the film was watered down to avoid creating a battle with the NFL and that could account for the lack of a "punch" that we were all expecting.  It may have even cost the film some Oscar nominations.  “Concussion” did not live up to the expectation set by its controversial content but it has to been seen for Will Smith’s best performance since “The Pursuit of Happyness.”

[Pictured: The best moment of the film.  "Tell the truth.  TELL THE TRUTH."]

Joy (2015) - 7 stars out of 10

Joy (2015) - 7 stars out of 10

For a movie called "Joy," this film certainly is a downer.  When you see a film with the names David O. Russell, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, and Robert DeNiro attached to it, you automatically think "Silver Linings Playbook."  This film is not "Silver Linings Playbook."  The style feels awkward, the comedy is lacking, and we're all waiting for a quirky but cute love story that doesn’t happen.  Jennifer Lawrence shines with an inspirational and emotional underdog performance but the rest of the cast just trudges along without adding much.  I think that is more of a script issue that under-uses the talented cast instead of an acting issue.  Melissa Rivers' portrayal of her mother is clever and cool.  I keep mentioning how much if a downer this film is and the irony of the title isn't lost on me; however, even your run of the mill everything-goes-wrong,-even-the-good-things,-but-she's-going-to-win-in-the-end story has a few happy moments.  Aside from two wisecracks by DeNiro, there isn't even much to laugh about in this film.  The sole reason to see this film is for Lawrence’s stunning (and likely Oscar-nominated) performance.  In spite of her impressive acting, I was disappointed that her accent seemed to drift in and out sporadically throughout in the film.  To the point that I didn't even realize that she was supposed to have an accent until the film was halfway over.  I am also disappointed with the number of factual inaccuracies in this film.  The director of the film even referred to it as "half-fiction."  Joy Mangano's onscreen alter ego is stripped of her real life college degree, her mother’s actual personality, and even one of her children!  Plus one of the main antagonists of the film, her half-sister, is entirely fictional.  It's fine to make a film inspired by a real person, but at least call it like it is.  “Joy” is an interesting film that is worth seeing to learn about Joy Mangano’s success but its execution and lack of accuracy prevent it from reaching its full potential.

[Pictured: Lawrence manages to be amazing in every role that she takes.]

Amy (2015) - 8 stars out of 10

Amy (2015) - 8 stars out of 10

“Amy” explores the life and career of Amy Winehouse with a focus on her drug and alcohol addictions.   The narrative is interspersed with long musical sequences of the songs that were relevant during specific life events.  It is almost as if the film explores Amy's life through the lens of her music, one song at a time.  It isn't as compelling as a documentary like "Man on Wire" (which reads like a thriller), but if you love the music of Amy Winehouse, you will love this film.  Her voice was 100% unique and this was a tragic loss for the music industry.  They could have played "Rehab" about 5 more times and that would've been fine by me (not sarcastic).  When you watch this, you must be prepared for strong language.  Winehouse was never known to be a gentle speaker and there are plenty of f-words to drive the point home.  Then again, what do you expect from the story that is mostly drugs, alcohol, and eventually death?  One of the saddest moments of the film occurs when Amy has just won the Grammy for Record of the Year (along with 4 other Grammys) and she shares with a friend that the moment is boring without drugs.  It is tough to watch the gifted musician’s career slowly collapse from drug and alcohol abuse, but I find the shots of the paparazzi harassing her to be even more disturbing.  These are the sort of things that cause a celebrity to lose any sense of normalcy and get pushed over the edge.  I pray that this documentary and Winehouse's story can be a wake-up call to some about the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse.  It has its high points, like her acoustic audition at Island Records in 2003 and the recording of “Body and Soul” with Tony Bennett, who was one of her idols.  But if you watch this film, be prepared for the majority of its two-hour runtime to be a sad fight against addiction.  “Amy” will likely win the Oscar for Best Documentary but that won’t make it any easier to watch.  The loss of Amy Winehouse was tragic, unnecessary, and way too early.

[Pictured: Winehouse's glamorous looks did not always line up with her chaotic lifestyle]