One of our favorite streaming services, Fandor, reached their 5th birthday this week. To celebrate, they have created a special Spotlight series called “Fandor Essentials,” highlighting the films that most fit the Fandor spirit. Nineteen films are featured, spanning foreign cult films and avant-garde indies, with most of the films available to stream in HD. A few of our favorites include Yorgos Lanthimos’s breakout Dogtooth, Mario Bava’s chamber murder mystery Blood and Black Lace, Werner Herzog’s epic Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Jeff Malmberg’s unforgettable doc Marwencol, and Guy Maddin’s insane The Forbidden Room. Even if you’ve seen all of these, there are undoubtedly others completely off your radar. What better way to revel in the wonders of streaming cinema than by taking in the best on Fandor? For other films new to streaming this week, check out the list below:

Netflix

Batkid Begins (Dana Nachman, 2015)

It’s pretty easy to be cynical about a doc chronicling the highly publicized Make a Wish Batkid project from 2013. For one day, San Francisco was transformed into Gotham City and a six-year-old kid was the only hope to save the estimated 12,000 onlookers from the Penguin, the Riddler and other super villains. The doc meets all the major players and goes through the steps on how they built this incredible event—and you’ll find it tough to keep the smile off your face. There isn’t a lot of heavy substance to Batkid Begins, but it’s a wonderful condensed recap and look at the greater cultural impact. It’s a breezy profile doc entertaining enough to restore your faith in humanity, if only for its runtime. For more on Batkid Begins, check out our full review.

Other titles new to Netflix this week:
The Art of Organized Noize (Quincy Jones III, 2016)
Bombay Velvet (Anurag Kashyap, 2015)
The Forbidden Kingdom (Rob Minkoff, 2008)
The Pearl Button (Patricio Guzmán, 2015)
A Promise (Patrice Leconte, 2013)

Fandor

La haine (Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995)

In this week’s “Criterion Picks,” Fandor takes a look at some beautiful and insightful films tackling one of the most pressing political issues of our time, the immigrant experience. Among the highlighted films is the stylish ’90s French breakthrough, La haine (Hatred). In the lower class suburbs of Paris, the film takes place over a 24-hour span in the immediate time before and after an act of violence and ensuing riot. The main characters’ immigrant status plays a large role in their position and actions they’ve taken, shining a light on the complicated nature of the hot topic. Other films in the series include El Norte, Stromboli, Colossal Youth, Le havre, and more. These films are all available on Fandor for a limited time, until Sunday, April 3.

Other titles new to Fandor this week:
Discontinuity (Lori Felker, 2016)
Heavenly Pursuits (Charles Gormley, 1986)
Lou! (Julien Neel, 2013)
Potiche (François Ozon, 2010)
Sister (Ursula Meier, 2012)

MUBI

I Used to be Darker (Matthew Porterfield, 2013)

Matthew Porterfield is one of the more interesting independent filmmakers working today, and his 2013 film I Used to be Darker was a definite progression from his previous work, which tended to be very raw aesthetically and in narrative. This film is a simpler character study of a young woman from Northern Ireland who finds herself emotionally lost while living in the Baltimore area and navigating the troubled lives of her family. I Used to be Darker is filled with musical performances that build the emotional resonance of its characters while working outside of the overall narrative. Porterfield’s experience in non-narrative filmmaking really shows off throughout I Used to be Darker, allowing for a simple narrative structure to be subtly infused with much more life. You can stream I Used to be Darker on MUBI until April 22.

Other titles new to MUBI this week:
Night Train (Diao Yi’nan, 2007)
Oxhide II (Liu Jiayin, 2009)
La Sentinelle (Arnaud Desplechin, 1992)
Something, Anything (Paul Harrill, 2014)
Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996)

iTunes & Video On-Demand

The Revenant (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2015)

Love it or hate it, the 2016 Academy Award winner for Best Cinematography, Best Director and Best Actor is one of the most bombastic technical achievements of last year. If you were hesitant to go through the 160-minute trek through the treacherous Western wilderness in theaters, you can now take the dangerous journey in the comfort of you living room on demand. And if you’re still on the fence, check out the epic amount of content on Way Too Indie: our plea for an honorable mention among the year’s best, our praise of Leo DiCaprio’s Oscar-winning performance, our full theatrical review, and a different opinion on the most annoying aspects of the very self-important work of art. Check out the film on iTunes weeks before its release on DVD and Blu-ray, if only to have your own opinion on the critical divide.

Other titles new to VOD this week:
The Forest (Jason Zada, 2016)
Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade (Ricardo Curtis, 2016)
The Last Treasure Hunt (Patrick Biesemans, 2016)
The Letters (William Riead, 2014)
Riot (John Lyde, 2015)

This week, Bernard, CJ and Zach react to the Oscars! Listen to find out how they did on their predictions and hear their thoughts on the show’s overall presentation. Also, filmmaker Alex Proyas recently lashed out at movie critics following a landslide of negative reviews for his movie Gods of Egypt. The boys dissect his resentment and discuss whether the hate is misplaced, misguided, or perhaps even warranted. Plus, we’ve got three new, glistening, unbelievable, don’t-miss-it-or-we’ll-kick-your-ass amazing Indie Picks of the Week!

Topics

• Indie Picks (3:53)
• Oscar Reactions (15:46)
• Alex Proyas Critic Hate (1:00:57)

Articles Referenced

• Cemetery of Splendour TIFF Review
• The Witch Review
• The Witch Indiecast
• Impossible Light Interview
• Oscar Foreign Film Feature

Subscribe to the Way Too Indiecast

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Subscribe on Stitcher

Well, we’ve finally got our wishes. For the first time in 5 years or so, the Oscars race seems fairly unpredictable. It’s been interesting to watch the so-called “front-runners” change throughout the year, starting with Carol earning strong buzz from Cannes and melting all the critics hearts. But when Tom McCarthy‘s Spotlight hit Telluride and Toronto festivals, the tidal shifted to a new standout. It wasn’t until very end of the year that another serious contender emerged, last year’s Oscar winner Alejandro G. Inarritu for The Revenant. And while the hands on favorite to win Best Picture this year is The Revenant (after wins from the Golden Globes, BAFTA, and DGA), it’s by no means a lock. There’s even been a slight surge from Adam McKay‘s housing market collapse film The Big Short, which shakes up the competition even more. Aside from a few categories, this year’s Oscar winners are difficult to predict and because of it should be entertaining to see who walks away with a golden statue.

Watch the 88th Academy Awards on Feb. 28th live at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PST on ABC.

2016 Oscar Predictions

Best Picture:

The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

Best Director

Adam McKay, The Big Short
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Alejandro G. Inarritu, The Revenant
Lenny Abrahamson, Room
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Actress in a Supporting Role

Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Actor in a Supporting Role

Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Best Originial Screenplay

Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
The Martian
Room

Best Animated Feature

Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun The Sheep
When Marnie Was There

Best Foreign Language Film

Embrace of the Serpent
Mustang
Son of Saul
Theeb
A War

Best Documentary

Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom

Best Cinematography

Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Hateful Eight
The Revenant
Sicario

Visual Effects

Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Film Editing

The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Production Design

Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant

Best Costume Design

Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant

Best Original Score

Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Original Song

“Earned It” from Fifty Shades of Grey
“Manta Ray” from Racing Extinction
“Simple Song No. 3” from Youth
“Til It Happens To You” from The Hunting Ground
“Writing’s on the Wall” from Spectre

Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling

Mad Max Fury Road
The 100-Year Old Men Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared
The Revenant

Achievement in Sound Mixing

Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Achievement in Sound Editing

Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Live Action Short Film

Ave Maria
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)
Shok
Stutterer

Best Documentary Short Subject

Body Team 12
Chau, Beyond the Lines
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Last Day of Freedom

Best Animated Short Film

Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay’s Super Team
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow

I saw an interview with Bear Grylls recently where the adventurer praised The Revenant’s realism, saying it accurately depicts a grim struggle for survival in an inhospitable landscape. He liked it so much that he went straight to a travel agent afterwards, booking a nice winter break for himself and the family in the frozen wilderness of Canada where The Revenant was shot.

Everyone seems to have an opinion on the movie, including ridiculous ones like a histrionic piece in The Guardian calling The Revenant “pain porn” and drawing a comparison to ISIS. All news is good news for “Team Revenant” in the run-up to the Oscars, and all those column inches about bear rape and liver eating will surely keep it fresh in everyone’s minds right up to the ceremony.

I don’t really understand why some people are getting so hot under the collar about the film. While the content is gruesome and often brutal, the stylistic choices made by Alejandro Iñárritu keeps the action at a removed distance, even when the camera is shoved up someone’s nose. We’re never given the opportunity to get to know the characters, so we just sit there, observing Hugh Glass’ ordeal with cool detachment, waiting for him to get his revenge so we can all go home. Mel Gibson got the job done about an hour less in Payback, and it was a bit more fun.

DiCaprio and Co. keep talking about what an arduous location shoot it was, which leads me to my main beef with the movie: Iñárritu puts his cast and crew through hell for the sake of authenticity, but makes so many flashy choices that keep drawing our attention to the artifice of the piece. Here are five of them.

1. Long, Long, Long, Masturbatory Takes

Iñárritu and Lubezki are up to their Birdman tricks again, filming long sequences of The Revenant in elaborate takes. The film’s opening set piece is immense, a stupendous tracking shot through the mayhem of an Indian raid on Leo’s fur trapper camp. It’s a little too perfect, as the camera glides clinically through the bloodbath, taking the time to pan and tilt at just the right moment to capture people getting their heads caved in.

Some call this immersive; I call it showboating. It’s like watching a demo reel for a hyper-realistic first-person shooter, and the technique calls attention to the whereabouts of the camera rather than making it disappear. The trouble with long takes is that it goes against the usual visual rhythm we expect in a film, so when the cut doesn’t come, it makes us more conscious of the director’s decision not to cut. Because of this, I’m spending more time admiring the craft than getting involved in the action.

By comparison, look at George Miller’s virtually invisible direction in Mad Max: Fury Road. There are no such flourishes from him. Miller’s only interested in orchestrating his team in service of the story, and that is far more immersive. Iñárritu’s choice of long takes serves his ego rather than the story.

2. Stuff-on-Lens Syndrome

Another thing some people find “immersive” that I find a bit too video game-like is stuff getting splattered all over the lens. It worked in Saving Private Ryan because it felt like some ultra-intrepid film crew was documenting the battle. It doesn’t make sense in The Revenant. Cameras didn’t exist back then, so what is getting spattered with blood, water and misted up by Leo’s breath? The viewer’s eyeballs? It just brings attention to the fourth wall, and once you do that, it makes the viewer conscious of that transparent barrier between them and the action.

3. Ridiculous Dream Sequences

You know when someone at work starts telling you about a dream they had last night, and you take it as an opportunity to think about something else? Dream sequences in movies almost always have that effect on me. Because they’re dreams, the director can throw any old nonsense in there, or use it to fill in some back story that decent writing could have covered in dialogue. We didn’t need a dream sequence in Jaws to show Quint’s harrowing experience on the USS Indianapolis.

The Revenant gives us some very repetitive dream sequences to show us what happened to Leo’s dead wife. It’s pretty hackneyed, and it gets comical when she starts floating around above him like a possessed Sigourney Weaver in Ghostbusters.

4. Tom Hardy’s Accent

Hardy’s talent as an actor is undeniable, but he’s a very odd duck. In interviews, he looks like he’d rather be wringing the life out of the interviewer with his bare hands than answering their banal questions. And Hardy goes through accents like Inspector Clouseau goes through costumes and silly wigs. The Peter Sellers comparison is apt because one has to wonder—does Tom Hardy need to hide behind these crazy voices the same way Sellers needed to with his characters?

Hardy picked up a Supporting Actor nomination for this year’s Oscars, and he certainly immerses himself in the role of Leo’s nemesis John Fitzgerald. As a Brit, he could have chosen any kind of American accent. Instead, he chose the most outlandish, impenetrable accent he could muster, basing it on Tom Berenger in Platoon. It struck me as such an ostentatious acting choice that every time he spoke it took me out of the movie—like Iñárritu’s directorial choices, the accent feels too much like self-indulgence.

5. “What the hell are you looking at?”

Having spent a couple of hours getting splashed, splattered and breathed on, the fourth wall is finally shattered when Leo peers right down the lens at us in The Revenant’s final frames.

It’s reminiscent of 12 Years a Slave‘s most sanctimonious moment when Solomon Northrup casts a challenging gaze into the camera. That movie spends about an hour showing us that slavery is a bad thing, then Brad Pitt shows up to tell Michael Fassbender that slavery is a bad thing. Then Northrup looks straight out of the movie at us, as if to say, “Shame on you, don’t you know slavery is a bad thing?” Well, no shit, it’s only been abolished for a hundred and fifty years or so.

At the end of The Revenant, Leo fixes us with a similar meaningful gaze, although his message seems to be more universal.”Mankind…bunch of assholes, huh?”

In a week where the Golden Globes proved once again how much of a navel gazing joke and an obvious excuse for televised drunkenness it is, one has to look at this morning’s freshly announced Academy Award nominations and hope Academy voters will renew a little faith in the practice of picking out the best and brightest of the year in cinema.

The Revenant and Mad Max: Fury Road—both a bit more action-oriented than we’re used to seeing in Oscar forerunners—were the favorites with 12 and 10 nominations given to the two films respectively. And if suffering for your art earns you an Oscar these days, Leonardo DiCaprio might just finally take home a little gold dude. Fifth time’s the charm, Leo!

This year we have eight films vying for Best Picture and not a single person of color nominated in a lead or supporting role, which likely has more to do with the lack of diverse films being greenlit and less to do with biased voters, but still an unfortunate truth. Those who so dutifully championed Tangerine this past year are likely feeling the sting of rejection.

Despite nabbing Lead and Supporting nominations, Carol was shut out of the Best Picture and Best Director categories. Ridley Scott was also noticeably absent from the Best Director list for The Martian (which, in case there’s been confusion, is NOT a comedy). Quentin Tarantino might also be feeling a bit overlooked this morning, with only three nominations for The Hateful Eight, but, at least, one is for cinematography, supporting Tarantino’s decision to shoot on 70mm. Star Wars: The Force Awakens asserts itself plenty in technical categories, another unsurprising feat for this box office behemoth.

All in all, it’s not an especially unpredictable list of nominations, but the real fun comes in guessing the winners. The 88th Academy Awards will be held on Feb. 28th and will air at 7 p.m. ET/ 4 p.m. PST on ABC. Check back for our continued 2016 Academy Awards coverage and read on for the full list of nominees.

List of 2016 Oscar Nominations

Best Picture
The Big Short
Bridge of Spies
Brooklyn
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

Best Actress in a Leading Role
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn

Best Actor in a Leading Role
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo
Matt Damon, The Martian
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl

Actress in a Supporting Role
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Best Director
Adam McKay, The Big Short
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
Alejandro G. Inarritu, The Revenant
Lenny Abrahamson, Room
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

Visual Effects
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Foreign Language Film
Embrace of the Serpent, Colombia
Mustang, France
Son of Saul, Hungary
Theeb, Jordan
A War,Denmark

Best Animated Feature
Anomalisa
Boy and the World
Inside Out
Shaun The Sheep
When Marnie Was There

Best Screenplay
Bridge of Spies
Ex Machina
Inside Out
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton

Best Adapted Screenplay
The Big Short
Brooklyn
Carol
The Martian
Room

Best Documentary
Amy
Cartel Land
The Look of Silence
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom

Editing
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Production Design
Bridge of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant

Best Original Score
Bridge of Spies
Carol
The Hateful Eight
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Original Song
“Earned It” from Fifty Shades of Grey
“Manta Ray” from Racing Extinction
“Simple Song No. 3” from Youth
“Til It Happens To You” from The Hunting Ground
“Writing’s on the Wall” from Spectre

Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling
Mad Max Fury Road
The 100-Year Old Men Who Climbed Out The Window and Disappeared
The Revenant

Best Cinematography
Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Hateful Eight
The Revenant
Sicario

Achievement in Sound Mixing
Bridge of Spies
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Achievement in Sound Editing
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Best Costume Design
Carol
Cinderella
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant

Best Live Action Short Film
Ave Maria
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay (Alles Wird Gut)
Shok
Stutterer

Best Documentary Short Subject
Body Team 12
Chau, Beyond the Lines
Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness
Last Day of Freedom

Best Animated Short Film
Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay’s Super Team
We Can’t Live Without Cosmos
World of Tomorrow

Bernard and CJ kick off 2016 by looking back at Way Too Indie’s Best Films of 2015 list as well as looking at the big releases that are in theaters right now. From The Hateful Eight, to Joy, Anomalisa, The Revenant and more, they’ve got you covered as you brave the winter cold to see the latest movies at your local cinema. You’ve seen our Best of 2015 feature already, but do the boys agree with how things ultimately shook out on the staff-voted list? Considering CJ’s infamously dissentious nature, things could get interesting. Plus…INDIE PICKS OF THE WEEEEEEEK!!!

Topics

• Indie Picks (5:54)
• Best Films of 2015 (16:50)
• Winter Movie Guide (52:45)

Articles Referenced

The Hateful Eight Review
Joy Review
Anomalisa Review
The Revenant Review
Sisters Review
Tangerine Review

Subscribe to the Way Too Indiecast

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Subscribe on Stitcher

In Alejandro González Iñárritu‘s The Revenant, Leonardo DiCaprio plays survivalist legend Hugh Glass, a frontiersman betrayed by both his land and fellow man, left ripped and ravaged without anything left to live for. Inch by inch we watch Glass crawl and tumble across miles and miles of picturesque Great Plains scenery, and little by little it becomes clear that, despite the film’s impossibly grandiose, elaborate, labored production, its story is relatively uncomplicated. Sitting firmly in the annals of American Myth, Glass’ journey is about little more than the unexpected fruits of grit and resilience, a classic survivalist tale through and through.

It’s an interesting thing marrying such a straightforward narrative (based loosely on Michael Punke‘s 2002 novel The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge) with Iñárritu’s overblown sense of spectacle and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki‘s floating, balletic long-takes. The combination works, but on a level that likely isn’t as high-minded or deeply spiritual as the filmmakers intended. The sights are soar, the sounds swirl, but what keeps things grounded and compelling are the hardworking actors and the simple satisfaction of watching a man on a mission, fighting tooth and nail to reach his target.

The target is a cantankerous, slippery brute called Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) who earns Glass’ ire thoroughly. The rivals are a part of an expedition for the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, scouring the land for pelts to trade. While gathered on the Missouri river, the group is attacked by the Arikara tribe in a dizzying, dazzling bombardment of grotesque tomahawk and arrow kills punctuated by blood-curdling screams of agony all around. The men barely make it out alive, their numbers severed. When a grizzly bear mauling leaves Glass fatally wounded, the captain of the hunting party (Domhnall Gleeson) deems it too dicey to transport him via stretcher across the rocky terrain, leaving him under the care of Fitzgerald and a boy scout-ish tagalong (Will Poulter). They’re offered extra pay to stay behind and give their dying comrade a proper burial upon his all but inevitable death, and while Fitzgerald hasn’t got an ounce of compassion in him, he needs the cash considering they were forced to abandon their precious pelts in the escape from the Arikara. Once the rest of the party leaves, however, he plots a scheme more befitting of his nefarious attitude.

Glass was a real man, though what we see in The Revenant has gone through three filters of fictionalization—the history books, Punke and Iñárritu. After the Fitzgerald betrayal, the film follows Glass as he uses his frontier skills to nurse himself back to health while he tracks down the man who left him for dead. It’s a big, heaping plate of revenge and outdoors survival that’s meaty enough on its own, though Iñárritu and Lubezki add unneeded garnishes (shallow spirituality and white-guilt symbolism) that almost spoil the meal.

DiCaprio’s performance is tremendous in that he uses every inch of his body to tell Glass’ story. It’s a mostly non-verbal role that sees him expressing a wide range of emotion with his eyes (in the chunk of the story where Glass is incapacitated) and with his entire body as he slowly rehabilitates and traverses the unforgiving terrain. Overwhelmingly, this is a story of despair and tragedy, but we do get to see love in Glass’ eyes early on. In flashback, we see his Pawnee wife and their teenage son (Forrest Goodluck), who he raised to be a tracker like himself. Their fates, of course, aren’t sunny because…Iñárritu. DiCaprio. Tragedy is their jam, man.

Iñárritu and Lubezki teeter on the line between visual splendor and artistic arrogance so precariously that it adds to the excitement of their films in an almost meta way. Sometimes the imagery is ingenious; when Glass is all but crippled, Lubezki presents the surrounding landscape as not beautiful, but paralyzingly frightening in its endlessness. But then a bird flies out of a dying woman’s chest and you can’t help but laugh at how silly it looks. The ambition is bloated and these guys are totally caught up in their artsy maestro bullshit, but even the weakest shots in this movie (most of them involving iffy CG elements) have enough flair to them that you can hardly turn your attention from the screen.

Subtlety and thematic complexity aren’t Iñárritu’s strengths, so when The Revenant lets go of its “big ideas” and focuses on Glass’ manhunt, things get really good. Hardy plays a terrific scumbag, so when Glass finally get his hands on Fitzgerald, it’s both gratifying and insanely intense. Admittedly, the pleasures found in the excessively gory final showdown are decidedly testosterone-driven, but if you approach the movie as a primal tale of bloody revenge (á la Kill Bill and Mad Max: Fury Road, for example), there’s no reason to apologize for reveling in all the limb-hacking and eye-gouging.

If there’s one thing about The Revenant that irked me, it’s Iñárritu and co-writer Mark L. Smith‘s decision to push the story as a revisionist western in which the sins of the Native American genocide are examined through the eyes of a bunch of white guys. It’s an insult to both the Native American perspective, which is almost always grossly underrepresented in these kinds of stories, and to the real Glass, whose extraordinary ordeal is more than worthy enough of a movie on its own without faux-mystical themes muddying everything up.

2015 has been an interesting year for film to say the least. Unlike years past, there haven’t been those one or two landmark films that cast a shadow on the rest of the field, no Birdman, Boyhood, The Tree of Life, or There Will Be Blood for the film critic intelligentsia and wider moviegoing audience to rally behind in unison.

The filmic pillars of the past twelve months have been not films, but actors. Towering, career-defining performances from surging newcomers and refined Hollywood mainstays alike have wowed audiences in great numbers. Some belong to the best movies of the year; others are transcendent, standing a cut above the movie that harbors them.

With respect and admiration, Way Too Indie presents what we feel were the Best Performances of 2015. Be the roles leading or supporting, male or female, these twenty performances made the biggest impression on us.

Way Too Indie’s 20 Best Performances of 2015

Christopher Abbott – James White

We’re perpetually in close proximity to Christopher Abbott in James White, in which he plays the titular party boy/mama’s boy who flirts with self-destruction as a habit. Death breathes down his neck as he copes with his father’s recent death and prepares for his terminally ill mother’s departure. Abbott is a fireball of anger, frustration, love and regret that director Josh Mond always keeps in plain view, uncomfortable as that can be sometimes. Whether it’s with his slumped-over posture or with the twitch of an eye, Abbott bares James’ soul incrementally, with subtle physical tics and tells that hint at a raging internal war he can hardly contain. This is the kind of role actors live for, and this is the kind of performance that indicates greatness. [Bernard]

Joshua Burge – Buzzard

When Buzzard begins, Joshua Burge’s protagonist Marty is trapped by apathy, and by its finale, he’s fleeing in desperation. Burge characterizes Marty as a deadpan loser, a lower class user trying to milk the system to continue fostering his unimpressive existence. But as Buzzard unfolds, we begin to question exactly why Marty does what he does. Where did his poverty come from? Is the system he abuses perhaps partially responsible for his careless mentality? Burge forces the audience to finally sympathize with Marty long after they’ve (likely) dismissed him as an insolent dweeb. He carves complexity on a face we so easily prejudge and misclassify. Buzzard is a testament to the ability shoe-string budget features have to be meaningful, and Joshua Burge is responsible for a significant amount of its success. [Cameron]

Suzanne Clément – Mommy

In Xavier Dolan’s award-winning Mommy, Suzanne Clement plays the film’s most enigmatic character, Kyla, who lives across the street from the film’s two protagonists, the behaviorally inept Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon) and his single mother, Diane (Anne Dorval). Kyla is a complex and potentially traumatized character who has trouble verbalizing herself, symptomatic of the pain of losing a young son, which is revealed through subtle, visual queues early on in the film. Though Clement may not receive as much screen time as Pilon or Dorval (especially during the first half of the film), her understated performance is just as resonant, and for that, she deserves immense recognition. [Eli]

Benicio Del Toro – Sicario

Benicio del Toro has shown us so many dimensions of his gift that he seldom surprises us onscreen. Likewise, he seldom disappoints—he’s one of the best character actors we’ve got. But in Sicario, he changes up his game, playing a Mexican cartel land assassin who’s intimidating in the most frighteningly peculiar way. He doesn’t just beat up his victims and hostages; he invades their space, extracting information by leaning into them with his shoulder (and, in extreme cases, his crotch). His interpretation of the classic hitman archetype is one of the most interesting I’ve seen in years, a more psychologically sick and quietly menacing killer than what we’re used to seeing at the cinema. He isn’t a death machine, but a damaged, tired man who takes no pleasure in the chase but is nevertheless driven to kill by his obsessions. We’ve seen Benicio before, but not quite like this. [Bernard]

Leonardo DiCaprio – The Revenant

In critical assessments of a performance, the lengths to which an actor physically challenges himself can often be the sole takeaway from a film; however, Leonardo DiCaprio’s work in The Revenant goes beyond simply suffering for one’s art. As the vengeance-fueled Hugh Glass, DiCaprio is a constantly compelling force. He crawls through snowbanks with bloodstained hair, strains while climbing up snowy mountainscapes, and practically foams at the mouth while tied to a stretcher during the moment where he’s betrayed. It’s an assaulting experience for both actor and audience. Yet, DiCaprio is such an emotive, vulnerable performer that he never loses sight of the human beneath the flesh wounds. In the nearly three hours of The Revenant, much of which features DiCaprio alone and engulfed by nature, you get a sense of Glass’s thought process from the little hesitations and panicked glances over his shoulders. You see it on his face and in his body language. He’s a man that is beaten and battered, but immensely strong of will. Bringing humanity to the bleakest circumstance in remote locales is among the actor’s greatest achievements in a career full of notable roles. [Zach]

Anne Dorval – Mommy

In Mommy, Anne Dorval delivers one of the best lead performances of the year as a mother struggling to care for and understand her violent son amidst the more common struggles that lower-middle class families face. It’s a performance filled with such power and honesty that it makes this heartbreaking struggle (and the even more heartbreaking moments of fleeting happiness) all the harder to swallow. And like all great performances, Dorval is able to turn on a dime with the material, like when she finds the moments of humor in Xavier Dolan’s wonderful script and nails them. Don’t let this be a performance you miss this year. [Ryan]

Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs

How does someone step into the shoes of an icon and leave his own indelible impression? It certainly helps to be aided by the staccato rhythms of an Aaron Sorkin script, but in Steve Jobs, Michael Fassbender portrays the late Apple CEO like Silicon Valley’s Gordon Gecko—impossibly charismatic despite a ruthless streak of narcissistic tactics. As Steve Jobs, Fassbender doesn’t quite walk as much as glide from scene to scene. It’s easy to imagine a version of Sorkin’s play-like three-scene structure feeling too “start and stop” but Fassbender expertly throttles the film’s momentum like Travis Pastrana jumping dirt mounds at the X Games. Steve Jobs is an actor’s movie, but it’s Fassbender who handles the brunt of informing relationship through his actions. The magnetism of his performance both makes this movie enthralling and embodies the alluring aspects of Steve Jobs, the man. [Zach]

Nina Hoss – Phoenix

Nina Hoss’ subdued, tour-de-force performance in Christian Petzold’s post-Holocaust psychodrama Phoenix will leave viewers with their jaws firmly planted on the floor. Indeed, the final scene of Phoenix is so breathtaking and cleverly cathartic that it feels like the perfect end to a slow-burning cinematic puzzle. It’s primarily because of Hoss’ restrained performance as Nelly Lenz, the facially-disfigured and unidentifiable concentration camp survivor, that the gradual expansion of the film’s intensity works so well. And her eventual explosion, her emotional release that concludes the film, is simply one for the ages. [Eli]

Oscar Isaac – Ex Machina

While maybe not on the level of his work in A Most Violent Year or Inside Llewyn Davis, Oscar Isaac is always reliable for a good performance, and that doesn’t change here. One moment Isaac’s Nathan can be filling the audience with a sense of uneasy tension before quickly lightening the mood and filling it with laughter. Isaac brings so much charm and mystery to the role that he nearly steals the show from the wonderful Alicia Vikander. Isaac has quickly established himself as one of the better actors working today with a string of great performances; hopefully that streak will continue with his next film, another sci-fi movie called Star something or other. [Ryan]

Richard Jenkins – Bone Tomahawk

As Chicory, the old and seemingly useless town deputy, Richard Jenkins initially appears to be little more than comic relief in Bone Tomahawk. But as time goes on, and our characters make their trek to a shocking and brutal destination, Jenkins slowly but surely walks away with the film. Some credit has to go to S. Craig Zahler’s excellent screenplay, which gradually reveals a more complex character underneath Chicory’s buffoonish surface, although Jenkins’ ability to create such a genuine and sympathetic character from the page is what helps elevate Bone Tomahawk from a low-budget genre pic to a future cult classic. You can see the power of Jenkin’s performance already; despite a small release with little to no fanfare, he managed to get an Indie Spirit Award nomination, a surprising and—for those who’ve seen it—deserving pick. [C.J.]

Brie Larson – Room

The year’s most heart-wrenching film is anchored by one of 2015’s best performances. A young mother kidnapped and locked inside a shed for several years while raising her son, Joy (or “Ma”) is a tangled knot of trauma waiting to come undone. Beginning the film as a warm, protective woman doing whatever she can to shield her boy from their terrible situation, Larson often underplays the predicament. She imbues her character with the belief that if she can provide a sense of normalcy, her son might avoid permanent mental scarring. In the breathtaking moments when Larson has a raw, emotional reaction to the threat against her son, or the hope she retains for his future, her performance elevates Room to a special level of stories about family. When she collects her inevitable Oscar nomination, the broadcast may play a clip of her louder, more dynamic performance from the film’s latter half; however, Larson’s ability to balance emotional pain, world-weariness, naiveté, hopelessness and hope in one role is what makes this performance remarkable. [Zach]

Rooney Mara – Carol

The language of Carol is one communicated through gestures and expressions. Words are held back in almost every line of dialogue, so it’s up to the actors to divulge the psychology of the people they are attempting to embody. Rooney Mara, whose role in many instances is wrongly being credited as supporting, is astonishing in her ability to sculpt depth and humanity within Therese. If she’s hesitant, her hands and eyes will move a certain way. If she’s curious, her eyes will light up. Whether she is speaking or silent, we can always follow the emotional narrative occurring within Therese’s mind, and if that doesn’t speak to the caliber of her performance, I don’t know what does. [Cameron]

Elisabeth Moss – Queen of Earth

Elisabeth Moss’s performance in Queen of Earth is something out of a classic Hollywood melodrama—the kind of performance you would see from Bette Davis or Joan Crawford. From the first frame of the film (a close-up of the actress’ mascara-run face), Moss dominates the screen. Even while she is a wholly exaggerated person by the end of the film, almost animalistic, Moss leaves just enough humanity to ground herself. Director Alex Ross Perry helps give the performance the variance it needs with an out-of-time structure, jumping between past and present, showcasing the many levels of her depression. It’s the highest stakes role of the young actress’ career and she takes the opportunity by both hands, strangling it to unconsciousness. After her highly praised supporting role in Perry’s Listen Up Phillip, their follow-up together shows a fantastic working relationship and hopefully a pairing that will grow over the years. [Aaron]

Cynthia Nixon – James White

The highly underrated Cynthia Nixon provides the backbone to Josh Mond’s stunning debut feature. Nixon casts a strong shadow over the film even when she’s absent from the screen for extended periods. Her performance as a woman suffering from cancer is so fully realized that it’s almost too painful to watch (and probably will be for some). Another great element to her work here is how well she complements Christopher Abbott’s strong work in the title role, giving him so much to work off of. This is truly one of the strongest performances of the decade so far and will hopefully lead to even more equally interesting roles for Cynthia Nixon. [Ryan]

Mark Ruffalo – Spotlight

Mark Ruffalo has spun a pretty interesting career for himself. From his indie beginnings to becoming America’s favorite Hulk, Ruffalo perfectly blends a leading man’s charm with a character actor’s sensibilities. That plays well into his role as Mike Rezendes, a key member of the Boston Globe’s investigative reporting team. The film beautifully creates the team dynamic, but Ruffalo sticks out with the most dynamic emotional moments. The ticks and vocal choices may turn some off, but Rezendes is a fully-formed character. You believe his inner-struggle with the information he has uncovered and his passion for digging deeper. His scenes with Stanley Tucci, playing an attorney who possibly has incriminating evidence against a church official, are a highlight of his performance. They build an important relationship by the end of the film, but it is certainly a process, as the two veteran actors play a game of give-and-take across the film to prove themselves to each other. Above all, Ruffalo portrays the kind of journalist we wish every journalist could be—compassionate, hard working, intelligent, willing to take on the impossible story and push to find the difficult answers. This all comes out of Ruffalo’s workmanlike performance. [Aaron]

Michael Shannon – 99 Homes

When Rick Carver is first seen in 99 Homes, he’s callously insulting a man who just committed suicide moments earlier. At first glance Michael Shannon’s character appears to be a walking symbol of the heinous capitalist practices that created the housing crisis, but Shannon helps complicate things to the film’s benefit. Carver is fully aware of how immoral his actions are, but as he repeatedly points out, he’s merely playing by the same rules as everyone else. He is, much like the film’s protagonist, simply trying to survive and succeed within the system, albeit through more questionable means. It speaks to Shannon’s talents that he can take such an unlikeable character and, by portraying him as a ruthless pragmatist, turn 99 Homes into a more powerful and effective cri de coeur. [C.J.]

Kristen Stewart – Clouds of Sils Maria

The loveliest thing about Kristen Stewart’s performance in Olivier Assayas’ Clouds of Sils Maria is that it hardly feels like a performance. It feels like Kristen Stewart playing herself, only a slightly altered, slightly more cinematic version of herself named Valentine. She has such a natural presence onscreen, speaking and reacting like a normal human being while acting as the voice of reason for her boss and good friend (played by Juliette Binoche). In Clouds, Stewart is not only the most likable character, she’s also the most mysterious, albeit in a very simple way; for most of its runtime, there’s very little mystery to Valentine at all. Then, suddenly, a shift in the third act forces viewers to think about the significance of her character’s presence (in the context of the film’s themes) and, as a result, Clouds’ enigmatic nature multiplies. [Eli]

Mya Taylor – Tangerine

A lot of attention has been paid to Kitana Kiki Rodriguez’s lead performance in as Sin-Dee in Tangerine, and rightly so; it’s a brash, uncompromising and great turn from a first-time actress. But if Rodriguez is the ball of furious energy that keeps Tangerine going, then think of Mya Taylor as the film’s beating heart. Playing Alexandra, the more subdued friend of Sin-Dee, Taylor acts with a confidence and naturalism that prevents the film from veering too far off the map. Rodriguez may dominate the screen, but Taylor is the perfect, sensitive yin to her boisterous yang, and by the end it’s impossible not to recognize how vital Taylor’s performance is to the film’s success. [C.J.]

Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina

We might look back at 2015 as the year of Alicia Vikander. Overall, she had four great performances this year, including the romantic sidekick in the pulpy The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and two finely tuned dramatic turns in Testament of Youth and The Danish Girl. It’s her role as an A.I. in Alex Garland’s Ex Machina that leaves the biggest impression, though. Her role in the film is to basically prove the Turing test through a sequence of interviews with lonely programmer Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson). Ex Machina‘s wonderful character design and effects go a long way, but nothing would work without her central performance. Vikander plays Ava with a softness and fragility that makes her completely irresistible to both Caleb and viewers. Her curiosity pierces through the usual robot affectations that Vikander wears well. She has to be both human and machine, hero and villain, and convincing enough to work within the film’s plot conceit. Her ability to effortlessly manage all of these complex layers is one of the most impressive feats we’ve seen all year. [Aaron]

Kōji Yakusho – The World of Kanako

In The World of Kanako, Kōji Yakusho portrays a man living in a perpetual state of dazed anger. He drinks himself half to death and has a long list of pent-up regrets and fears that orchestrate his emotional instability. When his daughter, Kanako, goes missing, he finds a direction in which to point his abstract fury. What Yakusho gives us in bringing this character to life is a master class in expressive body acting. Twitching, howling, and never failing to interact with his environment, Yakusho pulls no punches, diving into the core of his character’s deranged headspace and demented patriarchal rage. [Cameron]

]]> http://waytooindie.com/features/20-best-performances-of-2015/feed/ 0 http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/carol-leads-2016-golden-globe-nominations/ http://waytooindie.com/news/awards/carol-leads-2016-golden-globe-nominations/#respond Thu, 10 Dec 2015 15:10:32 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=42280

As the Award Season is heating up, we’re beginning to see which films are clear favorites among critics and the industry. Certainly one of the frontrunners this year is Todd Haynes‘ Carol, which hauled in the most nominations this year for the Golden Globes, with a total of five. But Carol leading the noms isn’t exactly a surprise, the film has accumulated a ton of praise ever since its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. What is shocking is the four nominations for Alejandro González Iñárritu‘s The Revenant, which received underwhelming reactions from critics so far. Though Iñárritu is no stranger to the Golden Globes, last year he led the race with seven nominations for Birdman. Other strong contenders this year are Danny Boyle‘s biopic Steve Jobs and Tom McCarthy‘s newsroom drama Spotlight.

2016 Golden Globe Nominations

FILM

Best Motion Picture, Drama
Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Room
Spotlight

Best Motion Picture, Comedy
The Big Short
Joy
The Martian
Spy
Trainwreck

Best Director – Motion Picture
Todd Haynes, Carol
Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Revenant
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
George Miller, Mad Max
Ridley Scott, The Martian

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Rooney Mara, Carol
Saoirse Ronan, Brooklyn
Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy
Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Melissa McCarthy, Spy

Amy Schumer, Trainwreck


Maggie Smith, Lady in the Van

Lily Tomlin, Grandma

Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Jane Fonda, Youth
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Helen Mirren, Trumbo
Alicia Vikander, Ex Machina
Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
Bryan Cranston, Trumbo

Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl
Will Smith, Concussion

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Steve Carell, The Big Short
Matt Damon, The Martian
Al Pacino, Danny Collins
Mark Ruffalo, Infinitely Polar Bear

Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Paul Dano, Love & Mercy
Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation
Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies
Michael Shannon, 99 Homes
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Emma Donoghue, Room
Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer, Spotlight
Charles Randolph, Adam McKay, The Big Short
Aaron Sorkin, Steve Jobs
Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight

Best Animated Feature Film
Anomalisa

The Good Dinosaur

Inside Out

The Peanuts Movie
Shaun the Sheep Movie

Best Original Song
"Love Me Like You Do" 50 Shades of Grey
"One Kind of Love" Love and Mercy
"See You Again" Furious 7
"Simple Song No. 3" Youth
"Writing's on the Wall" Spectre

Best Original Score
Carter Burwell, Carol
Alexandre Desplat, The Danish Girl
Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
Daniel Pemberton, Steve Jobs
Ryuichi Sakamoto Alva Noto, The Revenant

Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language
The Brand New Testament
The Club
The Fencer
Mustang
Son of Saul

TELEVISION

Best TV Series, Drama

Empire
Game of Thrones
Mr. Robot
Narcos
Outlander

Best TV Series, Comedy
Casual
Mozart in the Jungle
Orange Is the New Black
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Veep

Best TV Movie or Limited-Series
American Crime
American Horror Story: Hotel
Fargo
Flesh and Bone
Wolf Hall

Best Actor in a TV Series, Drama
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Wagner Moura, Narcos
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan

Best Actress in a TV Series, Drama
Caitriona Balfe, Outlander
Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder
Eva Green, Penny Dreadful
Taraji P. Henson, Empire
Robin Wright, House of Cards

Best Actor in a TV Series, Comedy
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Gael Garcia Bernal, Mozart in the Jungle
Rob Lowe, The Grinder
Patrick Stewart, Blunt Talk
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy
Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex Girlfriend
Jamie Lee Curtis, Scream Queens
Julia Louis Dreyfus, Veep
Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin
Lilly Tomlin, Grace & Frankie

Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Limited-Series, or TV Movie
Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Regina King, American Crime
Judith Light, Transparent
Maura Tierney, The Affair

Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Limited-Series or TV Movie
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Damian Lewis, Wolf Hall
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Tobias Menzies, Outlander
Christian Slater, Mr. Robot

Best Actor in a Limited-Series or TV Movie
Idris Elba, Luther
Oscar Isaac, Show Me a Hero
David Oyelowo, Nightingale
Mark Rylance, Wolf Hall
Patrick Wilson, Fargo

Best Actress in a Limited-Series or TV Movie
Kirsten Dunst, Fargo
Lady Gaga, American Horror Story: Hotel
Sarah Hay, Flesh & Bone
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Queen Latifah, Bessie

]]>

A new trailer has surfaced for The Revenant, the highly-anticipated film from Alejandro G. Iñarritu (Birdman) which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domnhall Gleeson, and Will Poulter. We already got a glimpse of the beautiful cinematography from the masterful Emmanuel Lubezki in the first trailer, and there’s some gorgeous shots in this one too, but now we’re starting to see some of the actual plot.

The story is inspired by true events of one man’s grand adventure for survival, as legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is abandoned by his own crew after getting mauled by a bear. The Revenant showcases his survival of life-threatening injuries in harsh winter conditions as well as his pursuit for redemption.

The Revenant opens in limited theaters on December 25, 2015—just in time for Oscars contention—then goes wide on January 8, 2016.

Less than a year removed from his Best Director and Best Picture Academy Award wins for Birdman, director Alejandro G. Iñarritu has refueled his addicition to risky filmmaking through another ambitious collaboration with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. The Revenant, shot over the course of a few months in the largely untouched wilderness surrounding Calgary, was filmed entirely using natural lighting at the expense of the production’s flexibility. This expectedly facilitates some stunning long take camerawork from Lubezki, though much of the trailer more closely resembled the cinematographer’s chaotic work on Children of Men and not his more recent contributions to Birdman.

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a trapper in the 1820s who is mauled by a bear, DiCaprio’s Hugh Glass survives his injuries, the harsh winter, and a hostile environment in order to take revenge against his traitorous partner (Tom Hardy). Domnhall Gleeson and Will Poulter star as well. The Revenant is not expected to début until December 25th (in limited release), so you will have to wait nearly half a year for the context of this exhiliarting and epic footage.

Watch the new trailer for The Revenant below: