Review: The Revenant (2015) (The Unexpected Virtue Of Endurance?)

“I know you want this to be over…”

‘The Revenant’ was a film I was looking forward to ever since seeing the trailer sometime last year. Not only did it evoke a Cormac McCarthy-esque atmosphere, but the director is Alejandro G. Iñárritu, who directed the rather brilliant ‘Birdman.’ That film alone made me excited for Iñárritu’s future projects (and made me curious about his previous films!). ‘The Revenant,’ however, is a gruelling, endurance test of a film. The cast and crew may have been through hell to make this film, but I’m not sure if their commendable effort was worth it.

Review: Birdman (2014) (Keaton Returns!)

“How did we end up here?”

I highly anticipated ‘Birdman,’ but failed to catch it at the cinema. So I had to wait until it was released on home video. The extra months of anticipation could have built up the movie to an unimaginable degree in my mind. But after watching it, I can confirm that it fully deserved the Oscar for Best Picture. What I witnessed was not only a masterclass in editing, filming and directing, but a timely and imposing meditation on the great themes of our times (and other times). What is the measure of a man? What defines success? Is show business worth it? And, to paraphrase the title of Raymond Carver’s short story, what do we talk about when we talk about love?