video review : Black Mass

video review : Black Mass

Use your hand to cover the “M” on the opening title shot. It’ll be the most entertaining part of the movie. Not that this Boston crime story will necessarily put you to sleep. It’s just that director Scott Cooper is a poor man’s Martin Scorsese.

It’s a case of style over substance as Johnny Depp, looking like an actor in costume, plays the role of Winter Hill Gang leader James Whitey Bulger. The plot preludes his life as a fugitive, but it’s barely interesting enough to make you care.

my rating : 3 of 5

2015

video review : The Revenant

video review : The Revenant

The revenant the title refers to is a pelt hunter named Glass, the story’s most important and most annoying character. After being attacked and almost killed by a bear, an early peak as far as memorable scenes go, he’s left injured for most of the movie. His constant grunting and sighing is what irks to the point of nearly ruining an otherwise thrilling adventure.

The cinematography and choreography of the first ten minutes or so, the Indian ambush, are particularly engaging. There are underlying themes of love and war; nostalgic endearment and bitter revenge are more like it; but The Revenant is mainly a tale of survival as protagonist Hugh Glass, left for dead in the cold and snowy wilderness, fights to survive.

my rating : 4 of 5

2015