It is the first week of 2016, and we have a slew of new releases this time around. I selected to highlight a few of them below, so keep reading.
The Revenant
Directed by: Alejandro González Iñárritu
With: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, and Domhnall Gleeson
Heads up: The story of a frontiersman named Hugh Glass on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s is on a quest for survival and revenge after being brutally mauled by a bear and left for dead by his companions. This is the film to see this weekend; a potentially Oscar front-runner (it could be the role that finally lands Leonardo DiCaprio his firs Oscar), the cinematography looks amazing, and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive, including our critics. Lloyd Bayer gave it 4 stars, and in his review he wrote: “As Iñárritu’s most ambitious film, The Revenant doesn’t disappoint and even with its somber tone and length, there isn’t a single dull moment. If anything, the entire film is an exhaustive experience but positively riveting, terrifying, and haunting – like something that has returned from the dead and won’t go back”. Don’t miss it on the big screen.
The Danish Girl
Directed by: Tom Hooper
With: Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander, and Amber Heard
Heads up: A fictitious love story loosely inspired by the lives of Danish artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener. Lili and Gerda’s marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer. This is what the critics call an Oscar-bait, from Tim Hooper the director who gave Les Misérables and The King’s Speech. It looks like a solid film and it will be nominated for several Oscars for sure. I would like to watch it mainly for the two leads especially Alicia Vikander who was mesmerizing last year in Ex Machina and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Daddy’s Home
Directed by: Sean Anders
With: Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, and Linda Cardellini
Heads up: Stepdad, Brad Whitaker, is a radio host trying to get his stepchildren to love him and call him Dad. But his plans turn upside down when the biological father, Dusty Mayron, returns. Ferrell and Wahlberg made a great pair in The Other Guys a few years ago, and they are at it again in this film, which despite mostly negative reviews is a smash hit in the US. Even if it is not a great film, I think it will a good time at the movies.
Fathers & Daughters
Directed by: Gabriele Muccino
With: Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Jane Fonda, and Aaron Paul
Heads up: The story of a Pulitzer-winning writer grapples with being a widower and father after a mental breakdown, while, 27 years later, his grown daughter struggles to forge connections of her own. Despite a stellar cast, led by the always great Russell Crowe, this film looks like a sappy soap opera. Many people this kind of drama though, so if you are one of them by all mean, but if you are not, then there are much better offerings on screen right now.
Wazir
Directed by: Bejoy Nambiar
With: Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, John Abraham, and Neil Nitin Mukesh
Heads up:the tale of two unlikely friends, a wheelchair-bound chess grand-master and a brave ATS officer. Brought together by grief and a strange twist of fate, the two men decide to help each other win the biggest games of their lives. But there’s a mysterious, dangerous opponent lurking in the shadows, who is all set to checkmate them. From writer/producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra comes this action thriller lead by the legend Amitabh Bachchan. I liked the trailer very much, and I think it will be worth your while.
