The Big Short Revenant

I've wrapped the feature film that took up all of my January, and I finally have time to see movies and write about them again.

I saw The Big Short last night and The Revenant the week before and noticed a few interesting similarities between the two, so I've decided to combine my reviews. I'll also likely mention Mad Max: Fury Road and Star Wars: The Force Awakens quite a bit in this post as all four of these movies are competing for a lot if the same categories at the Oscars this year.

The Revenant

What a gorgeous film. The camera work in the opening battle and subsequent battles/fight scenes is mind-blowing. The steadicam follows a character; he gets shot with an arrow and dies; a new character runs past the action and we pick him up, moving with his frantic escape attempt, and an arrow hits him and he dies; and the camera keeps moving, showing us more and more action in a single, amazing take.

And there are so many 360 degree shots that almost brag about the filmmakers' use of all-natural light.

And the landscapes! It's no wonder Revenant is up for Best Production Design. Though, much like Mad Max, the "production design" is mostly just good use of beautiful locations.

Story-wise, I think Revenant is actually rather plain. It's a simple revenge story mixed with some woodland survival, all of which we've seen before. Now, the film's technical prowess more than makes up for it's straight-forward story and character arcs. The directing and camera work keep you on the edge of you seat. While the long-story is predictable, individual moments are full of suspense, and I actually gasped at one surprise that involved a horse (if you've seen it, you'll know).

Speaking of characters, I thought Tom Hardy gave a stellar performance, even though I couldn't quite understand all of his dialogue. His squirrel monologue was quite entertaining and engaging, and such a good character study moment.

Leo, however. I like Leo. I think he deserves an Oscar. But not for this film. Here's why: Does he give a great performance? Yes, absolutely. Can you tell how much passion and dedication he poured into the role? Yes. And I give him kudos for each. However, I don't think he gave a performance that demanded his talents. That is to say, I think just about any solid actor could have been put into that role, given a good performance, and the movie wouldn't have been any worse. To me, there was nothing particularly special about Leo's performance that made that rather cliché, under-written character come to life.

I haven't seen a lot of the other Oscar nominated performances this year, so I can't say if any of them deserve it more than Leo does; but I want Leo to win his statue for a truly spectacular role, and I don't think it's this one.

Now, on to...

The Big Short

Who'd have thought the director of my favorite Will Farrell movie (yes, Talladega Nights) would be nominated for an Academy Award? Let's give Adam McKay some major kudos, because The Big Short is one of the most unique movies I've seen in a long time. It has a voice that is all its own, and damn do I respect that.

Good performances all around. And the writing! They way it boils down the Wall Street lingo and process to be understood by financial idiots (like me) is absolutely brilliant. Engaging from beginning to end.

Now, here's where I start to talk about a lot of movies. Big Short, Mad Max, Revenant, and Star Wars are all up for Best editing this year. And I have no idea who deserves it. Probably Mad Max, and I say that for three reasons. 1) Mad Max's editing is about as perfect as editing can be. They maintain continuity and screen space during insane action sequences, and you the viewer always know what's happening. 2) I had some nitpicky problems with The Revenant and The Big Short's editing. Both movies spend a little too much time on their transitions. Yes, Revenant, you can have too many pretty shots of clouds and too much pretentious dead wife dream sequence. 3) And, while Force Awakens does have very solid editing, it's doesn't stand out nearly like the other three films I've mentioned. Now, you could say that that's its virtue: good editing is editing you never notice, so maybe this category really is anyone's game.

I'll have more Oscar talk in my next post, my 2015 year in review.

Long story short...

Go see The Revenant, because it's very pretty.

Go see The Big Short, so you can understand how evil and stupid big business is. Rise up, Comrades!