The Revenant (8/10): A visual spectacle

"As long as you can still grab a breath, you fight. You breathe... keep breathing."

It's only been a year since Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu delivered the award winning Birdman and somehow he managed to deliver another visual masterpiece in record time. To follow up such a groundbreaking film like Birdman, with an epic adventure film like The Revenant is mesmerizing. But Gonzalez doesn't deserve all the credit, his films have stood out because of Emmanuel Lubezki's groundbreaking cinematography. The best thing about The Revenant is without a doubt its visual style. And the same could be said about Lubezki's previous efforts: Gravity and Birdman. In three years Lubezki has delivered some of the most beautiful looking films of our decade (and I'm not even including The Tree of Life which he worked on in 2011). This man is pure genius and will without a doubt win his third Oscar in a row. I hope the two continue to work together and deliver more visually inspiring films. 

Leonardo DiCaprio deserves all the accolades he's received for his physically demanding performance here. From the very first scene we see him face one obstacle after another as the opening sequence takes place while he is being attacked by a group of indians during a fur trading expedition. It's not much later when the much commented bear mauling scene takes place, but that is only the beginning of his struggles. DiCaprio gives it his all and even though this isn't the best performance of his career, it will finally be the one that gives him the Oscar. Tom Hardy also delivers a fantastic supporting performance as John Fitzgerald, the man who wants to leave him behind. The film ends up feeling like one long chase in a similar way as Mad Max Fury Road, although at a much slower pace. A survival/revenge film like this has never looked so beautiful. The film is a bit too long and it eventually begins to wear down, but it's a constant feast to the eyes despite the exhaustion. 

Birdman (9/10): The technical ambition pays off for Iñarritu and Lubezki.

“You're doing this because you're scared to death, like the rest of us, that you don't matter. And you know what? You're right. You don't. It's not important. You're not important. Get used to it.”

No matter how people feel about this film, there is no denying that Birdman is a technical marvel. Emmanuel Lubezki is one of the best cinematographers in Hollywood and he should continue working and experimenting with his fellow Mexican directors. Birdman is visually astonishing and one of the most unforgettable moviegoing experiences of the year. He blew us away last year when he took us to space in Gravity, and now he astonishes audiences once again by giving us the illusion that the film is taking place entirely in one single shot. From the opening shot, Lubezki is letting us know that we are going to get our heads spun and so he circles around a table with four actors discussing their roles in the play they are about to act in. Birdman is unlike any other film I’ve seen in that sense, where you feel like you are watching actors in a live theater. The audience becomes the camera which follows around these egocentric and troubled actors as they interact with one another. The film has stuck with me and it is one of those rare movies I’d like to experience once again in the theaters. I can’t think of another film that manages to portray the passage of time so well without having to cut from one scene to the next the way Birdman does. 

Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu is better known for his realistic and depressive films focusing on separate characters whose lives intertwine someway or another (Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel). This was quite a fantastic change of tone from his previous and more depressing films. He has crafted one of the best films of the year with groundbreaking editing effects that magically make us believe the film is all a continuous shot. He also uses dark and satirical humor to critique egocentric Hollywood actors, critics, artists, and even audiences who eat up anything they are served as long as there are loud explosions and non-stop action scenes. Iñarritu takes a shot at just about everyone.

Alexander Dinelaris's script was wickedly smart and satirical with some great and memorable dialogues that complement the technical achievements of the film very well. Birdman has a lot to say about our human nature and our desperation to become relevant and important. It is a complete film that deserves all the recognition and awards it has been receiving.

The performances in Birdman also stand out above most films released this year. Michael Keaton is fantastic as Riggan Thomson, a once popular actor who starred in a superhero franchise but hasn’t been able to do anything relevant since. He is known for the character of Birdman, but he wants to prove he is a real artist and not just a washed up celebrity. That is why he is risking everything in a play he is directing, writing, producing, and starring in. His good friend, Jake (Zach Galifianakis) is co-producing the play with him. Lesley (Naomi Watts), Laura (Andrea Riseborough), and Mike (Edward Norton) are the actors he hires for the play, while his daughter Sam (Emma Stone) is working for him as his personal assistant as she tries to recover from her former drug addictions. The supporting cast is excellent in this film, especially Edward Norton and Emma Stone who share several great scenes together along with Michael Keaton. Galifianakis also impresses in a much more serious role than what we are used to seeing him in, but this is still Keaton’s film who displays a wide range of emotions. Birdman has become such an important part of his life that he actually interacts with him in a surreal way. The film balances this magical realism very well and Keaton pulls off the feat of having these inner conversations with himself. The intimate camerawork only enhances these performances even more. 

My Review: Gravity (9/10)

"It's time to stop driving. It's time to go home."

There are so many great things I want to say about this movie that it's very hard to decide where to begin. I could mention how breathtaking and spectacular the visuals were, or how powerful Sandra Bullock's performance was, or how tense and gripping the film was, or how well this film established its narrative structure of a simple survival story, but I would have to begin by saying this is the scariest space has been since Ridley Scott's 1979 sci-fi film, Alien. Alfonso Cuaron had several years to prepare for this film and he had big shoes to fill because his latest film, Children of Men, was a spectacular thriller. Let me begin by saying he doesn't disappoint because Gravity is even more mind blowing than that film was. The vastness and emptiness of space turns out to be the greatest villain here and Cuaron does a masterful job at letting us experience that fear on a personal level. The movie is only 90 minutes long but at the end you walk out feeling physically weak after experiencing so much tension. All the hype the film is getting is totally justified, and not just because it's visually stunning, but because it is a completely well crafted movie. I thought Avatar was visually stunning, but I still didn't like that movie very much, so it takes more than that to get me on board and Cuaron did it thanks to a great script and a powerful performance from Sandra Bullock. The tone of the film and the attention to detail is truly unique and that is what makes this film stand out above all the other thousands of space movies we've seen. The long shots Cuaron loves to incorporate in his films never worked so much to his advantage as they do here adding to the vastness of space. I really want to experience this film on IMAX because I'm sure it is all the more breathtaking and worthwhile. This is a wonderful film that will end up on many critics top film lists. Gravity manages to draw you into space and experience it in first person. It is as if Cuaron put us inside Bullock's space suit and let the camera be our eyes. Gravity is an overwhelming experience and one you shouldn't miss out on. It is something special.

The plot is very simple: Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a medical engineer who is on her first space mission working on a satellite. She went through months of training for this specific mission. Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) on the other hand is an experienced astronaut who is in command of this, his last mission. Matt is a self loving guy who enjoys every second of his work, while Ryan is quiet and tries to keep to herself. She seems to enjoy the quietness of space, but she herself has experienced tragedy in her life and hasn't been able to move on. She focuses on her work and nothing else. During their routine mission Matt and Ryan receive a message from Earth telling them to return to the space shuttle as soon as possible because the debris from a satellite explosion is heading their way. As we see from the trailers, the debris reaches them before they can get onboard and all of a sudden Matt and Ryan are left all alone drifting through the vastness and darkness of space trying to survive.

Gravity may not be a character driven film, but the entire movie serves as a sort of metaphor for Ryan's life. She mentions how she spends most of her days simply driving around without a purpose in life and now she is drifting alone through the emptiness of space. Clooney plays a supporting role here but his character plays a key role in Ryan's transformation. At first she is just overwhelmed by the entire incident without a clue as to what she has to do and dependent on Matt, but he manages to calm her down and convince her that she has to fight for survival. Life is worth living despite the terrible incidents we experience. We can either let it suck our souls and simply drift and continue on living without a purpose, or we can rise to the challenge and fight those obstacles and find meaning and joy in life. I think that is the core message of Gravity under all the breathtaking visual accomplishments. It is a simple story about survival with an impeccable performance from Sandra Bullock, breathtaking cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki (The Tree of Life), and it is technically perfect. This is probably the closest I will ever be to experiencing space. The film perfectly balances the beauty of space with its horror and you should experience it through the biggest screen your city has to offer because it is a rewarding journey.