THE REVENANT

BLOOD LOST. LIFE FOUND.

Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Will Poulter and others

Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller

Duration: 156 minutes

Plot: a frontiersman on a fur trading expendition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team. 

Analysis: let's talk about the Mexican wonder boy, the only director in the history of cinema who managed to win the oscar for best direction in two consecutive years. Let's talk about Alejandro Inarritu. Apart from some short films, television series and documentaries, Inarritu has directed only six movies during the past twenty years. In almost all of them (e.g. 21 Grams, Babel and Birdman) he uses in excess a plethora of sentimental and spiritual references, thus rendering its films lovable by the critics yet difficult, unappealing or even unpleasant for the vast majority of the audience to watch.
     However, in Revenant Inarritu chose to follow a different path, concentrating mainly in the action scenes and the plain description instead of the sentiments. The result is brilliant. Each and every scene of Revenant is abound with such a raw realism and so many meticulous details that actually makes the viewer feel like being part of the movie. The cameras being closely focused to every single movement (from a hasty chase to the slow fall of a snowflake) greatly boosts that feeling. The landscapes are breath-taking and the colors of the scenaries (or, to be presice, the complete absence of colors since the white of snow dominates everything) add a cold beauty to every image.
     Αpart from its direction, Revenant may also feel extremely proud about its cast's performances. Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy. Tom Hardy and Leonardo DiCaprio. Two of the greatest (if not the greatest) actors of their generation. Regarding DiCaprio, we can simply say that he was prepared to do anything to win that oscar. Literally anything. From eating raw meat and frozen dirt to sleeping inside a dead horse's stomach. His lines are limited but the expressions of his face are limitless. Hardy, on the other hand, has plenty of dialogues. And it is a true delight to hear him speaking with his brutal, rustic accent. I still cannot believe how he lost the oscar for best supporting actor to Mark Rylance of Bridge of Spies. 
     Summing up, Revenant is an unvarnished and realistic film, where violance and cruelty overthrown the feelings. And even though this may sound a little tough, you should know that violence is given with such a marvelous grace and cruelty with such a poetic elegance that will manage to captivate your attention, keeping you sitted in your couch until the very end of the movie. 

Things to notice:

• Inarritu's marvelous direction,     
• the stunning performances of DiCaprio and Hardy and
• the bear!

Oscar awards (2016):

• three (3) oscar wins for: 

a) Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role,

b) Best Achievement in Directing and
c) Best Achievement in Cinematography.

• nine (9) oscar nominations for:

a) Best Motion Picture of the Year,

b) Best Performanc by an Actor in a Supporting Role, 
c) Best Achievement in Film Editing, 
d) Best Achievement in Costume Desing,
e) Best Achievement in Makeup and Haistyling, 
f) Best Achievement in Sound Mixing, 
g) Best Achievement in Sound Editing, 
h) Best Achievement in Visual Effects and 
i) Best Achievement in Production Desing.

Personal Evaluation: 8.2/10

Should be watched tonight if: you are curious to find out how badly Lio wanted that oscar.

Trailer

LEON THE PROFESSIONAL

If you want the job done right, hire a professional.

Director: Luc Besson

Actors: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman and others

Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Duration: 110 minutes

Plot: Mathilda, a 12-year-old girl, is reluctantly taken in by Leon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. Leon and Mathilda from an unusual relationship, as she becomes his protegee and learns the assassin's trade (written by Movie Guy).

Analysis: Luc Besson is one of the few modern directors i personally admire and respect and the person that gifted us with some of the finest action movies of the '90s (such as Nikita and The Fifth Element). Leon The Professional is yet another example of his unmatched capability to easily and gracefully combine drama and comedy under the wings of heavy action and pure adventure. The direction is excellent, keeping the audience in alert and making even the simplest and plainest scenes to seem like an exhilarating work of art (after all Besson is famous for the incredibly fast tone he gives to his movies). Furthermore, the selection of the actors was extremely successful, as the reticent and cold-blooded yet moving Reno and the spirited, sweet and sympathetic Portman compose a wonderful duet, while Oldman is simply stunning as the "bad" guy. Last but not least, the scenario is just what it should be in such a movie, adding the exact right doses of humor and melancholy to the whole action mixture. 
     Summing up, Leon The Professional is a well-balanced, fast-paced action movie with not only a solid script but also persuasive performances, marvelous direction, plenty of memorable quotes and dozens of scenes that will make you wanting to watch them again and again. In other words a film that will undoubtedly excite you.

Things to notice:

• Luc Besson's dynamic direction,  
• the great chemistry between the protagonistic duet and
• Garry Oldman's fabulous performance (i bet you are gonna see in replay his "EVERYONE" moment).

Oscar awards (1995): -

Personal Evaluation: 8.8/10 

Should be watched tonight if: you are looking for something more than just another ordinary action movie.

Trailer

THE HATEFUL EIGHT

No one comes in here without a damn good reason.

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Actors: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth and others

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Crime

Duration: 187 minutes

Plot: he in the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters.

Analysis: let's face the truth here. This is a Quentin's movie we are talking about. So, ipso facto, the main and undisputed protagonist of the film is its director. That said, on with the analysis. Whoever will attempt to watch The Hateful Eight will realise that until the first half of the film, this is perhaps the most mature and solid direction Tarantino has landed in his career. Each and every scene has a unique beauty. The deep colors, the evocative sounds, the spicy dialogs –or even the complete absence of all these things–impart tones of harmony and charm. It is almost like watching a well-executed theatrical play rather than a blogbuster movie. The scenario is excellent, urging you to become part of the film by paying attention to every little detail in order to solve the mystery and the performances are exceptional –fact quite usual for a Quentin's movie, since he is the one who not only put in Hollywood's map a plethora of famous actors such as Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Roth and Christoph Waltz but also ressurected the dying career of John Travolta. In other words, the first ninety minutes of the movie were, in my humble opinion, the finest directional minutes Quentin has ever gifted us.

    But, eventually, the end comes for every good thing and the same happens as we proceed in the second half of the movie, where we watch an excessive revelation of pure... Quentinism! That means blood, shooting, blood, biding, blood, hanging, blood, mutilations and a little more blood. The second half of the film made me feel like watching a little kid building a beautiful castle in the sand and then, without any reason, leveling it furiously to the ground. But this is what Quentin's soul is: the soul of a little kid. A kid determined to create not a perfect movie –even though he could– but simply a movie he would like to see. And this is exactly why we love hating Quentin Tarantino. Because he remains true to himself. An irritating, unconvesional, provocative yet fabulous self.    

Things to notice:

• Quentin's,       
• Tarantino
• crazy direction (and every second of the movie's first half).

Oscar awards (2007):

• one (1) oscar win for: Best Original Score [Ennio Morricone's big moment after 55 years (!) of success and musical masterpieces. It was about damn time].

• two (2) oscar nominations for:

a) Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role and

b) Best Achievement in Cinematography.

Personal Evaluation: 7.6/10

Should be watched tonight if: you adore Quentin (and have the stomach for a "little" bit of a bloodbath).

Trailer

GANGS OF NEW YORK

AMERICA WAS BORN IN THE STREETS.

Director: Martin Scorsese

Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis and others

Genre: Crime, Drama, History

Duration: 167 minutes

Plot: in 1863, Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Point area of New York City, seeking revenge against Bill the Butcher, his father's killer.

Analysis: what can i possibly say about this movie? A movie that was nominated for ten (10) oscars and did not win a single one (the greavest injustice in the history of the institution), although it should have won all of them. Talk about Scorsese's brilliant direction (by far the best of his career), describe the incredible sceneries or analyze the amazing cast? My words would be proven quite poor to accurately picture the whole magnitude of this film. In short i could just say that the details of the sceneries are unparalleled. Scorsese is directing with such an elegance and coordination that there is not even a single scene having something needless or extraneous in it. The hundrends of background actors, the thousands of costumes, the bold colors, the music rhythms, even the smells and the perfumes of the bustling streets, will unavoidably lure your mind into a voyage in the past. Furthermore, the selection of the cast was excellent, with all the actors delivering satisfying performances. However, the one that clearly stands out is no other than the leaving legend Daniel Day-Lewis, the only actor in the history of the cinema to have won three (3) times the oscar for the best performance in a leading role. In Gangs of New York he is simply stunning, capturing your attention and making you craving for his next word and waiting impatiently for his next movement.
     Nevertheless, the one thing which renders this movie as one of the best i have ever seen is nor the direction neither the performances and the sceneries. It is the deep, true and passionate love of Scorsese towards New York City. Towards his city. A love coming to life through the ending scene of the movie, where the viewer will realise, with tears in his eyes and the beautiful melody of U2 sounding in his ears, that the entire film is nothing more than an insuperable hymn of an old man to the love of his life. His hometown.

Things to notice:

• Martin Scorsese's incredible direction,  
• the amazing sceneries that actually make you feel like walking in the 1863's New York and
• the insuperable Daniel Day-Lewis, delivering yet another memorable performance.

Oscar awards (2003): 

• ten (10) oscar nominations for:

a) Best Motion Picture of the Year,
b) Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role,
c) Best Director,
d) Best Writing, Original Screenplay,
e) Best Cinematography, 
f) Best Art Direction/Set Decoration,
g) Best Costume Design,
h) Best Film Editing,
i) Best Sound and
k) Best Original Song.

Personal Evaluation: 9.7/10

Should be watched tonight if: you don't want to miss one of the greatest movies of all times.

Trailer

WATCHMEN

JUSTICE IS COMING TO ALL OF US. NO MATTER WHAT WE DO.

Director: Zack Snyder

Actors: Jackie Earle Haley, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino and others

Genre: Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi

Duration: 162 minutes

Plot: a group of heroes, forced into retiriment a decade before, are called together once again to investigate the murder of one of theur own. What they discover is an age-old conpiracy to change the balance of power in a world not different from our own.

Analysis: Watchmen may seem like yet another version of a super-heroic movie. However, this is far from being true. Watchmen is, indeed, a movie with super-heroes but it is not a heroic one. The main star of this film are not the exceptional heroes but the society itself. Director Zack Snyder (a true veteran in this genre of movies, with films like Sucker Punch, 300 and Man of Steel in his resume) describes with an ingenious and emblematic way the deterioration of the american society and the deep changes that carved the face of U.S.A. after the end of World War II. In this intense period, a period defined by Cold War, espionage and nuclear threat, a bunch of super-heroes find themselves being an obsolete and needless remnant of the long forgotten past, thus mirroring the loss of trust between the former allies (U.S.A. and U.S.S.R.) and the increase of hostility throughout the globe.
     Snyder gives us all those symbolisms through beautiful, picturesque scenes and wistful songs. Especially the intro of the movie, which describes the changes that took place during forty year in less than four minutes, is simply unsurpassed. Furthermore, the director does not afraid to depict the violence of the newly formed society with brutal scenes and tart dialogues. The script is flawless and even though the duration of the movie is quite long (almost three hours) it will not tire you one bit, since there is nothing needless or redundant in it. All in all, Watchmen is a film that will excite and amaze even the most demanding audience, being something totally different from the movies we are used to watch. I heartily reccomend it, not only for the action lovers but for the deep thinkers as well.

Things to notice:

• the amazing intro,  
• the colorful direction and
• the unexpected finale.

Oscar awards (2010): -

Personal Evaluation: 8.2/10 

Should be watched tonight if: you still believe in super-heroes.

Trailer