The Revenant

Epic movie and chill.

The Revenant is a nonstop two and a half hour cinematic adventure that drops the viewer in the 19^th century uncharted American wilderness to witness all its beauty —and ugliness.

The story, and there’s not much of one, delivers on a simple tale of the human spirit as explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) journeys on a quest to survive. That quest involves survival, betrayal, loss, a grizzly fight with a bear and (perhaps) revenge. Let’s just say I had a hard time complaining about my next busy workday.

While the script is chillingly bare, the pairing of cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity, Birdman), Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman, Biutiful, Babel) and DiCaprio raises this tale to epic proportions.

Simply put: Small story with epic visuals.

Award potential: This is the film that will give DiCaprio his first Oscar and Lubezki his third in a row. An epic film like this may win Best Picture and Best Director in a year without a solid frontrunner, but I doubt it will be the first film in 50 years (other than Titanic) to take Best Picture without a nomination for screenplay. Tom Hardy could also be a surprise upset for Supporting Actor; he's excellent in his terrifying role.

The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks