Tag Archives: Survival

The Revenant (2015)

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With “The Revenant,” Alejandro González Iñárritu pulls off a wonderful vision with amazing cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, posing the wilderness of South Dakota as something of an omnipresent force that works against every single character from the moment we step on to the snow covered woodlands. “The Revenant” works around a simple tale of revenge and enduring the elements all to convey the sheer unforgiving world that protagonist Hugh Glass has to venture across simply to avenge his own son. The weather and terrain holds no prisoners and garners zero bias, enduring the war of man and being covered in the blood of the violated while offering as much punishment as it’s dealt. Director Iñárritu’s “The Revenant” is a grueling epic that views what lengths main character Hugh Glass is willing to go through to ensure justice is served.

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The Martian (2015)

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It’s been quite a while since director Ridley Scott brought a film so rich and entertaining to the big screen and it’s a thrill to see Scott bring audiences what is one of the more riveting tales of a castaway trying to survive in the wilderness. Adapted from the novel, Scott delivers a truly compelling drama about lone astronaut Mark Watney left stranded on Mars, who spends his time trying to survive and build his own ecosystem in a harsh alien world incapable of supporting life. What’s most exceptional about “The Martian,” is that it tells the tale of a very motivated hero who spends all of his time trying to solve his problems and very little of it moping around and fearing death.

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Avenged (2015)

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I wish “The Crow” sequels took as much of an advantage with a creative premise as director Michael S. Ojeda does with “Avenged.” While his film isn’t exactly a revenge masterpiece, it’s a strong contender for one of the finer revenge films of the past five years, working as a tragic love story, and a vicious horror themed tale of vengeance. Amanda Adrienne Smith is rather compelling as the victimized Zoe, a deaf mute who ends up at the wrong place at the wrong time.

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Backcountry (2015) [Blu-Ray]

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“Backcountry” is not “Jaws” so much as it is “Open Water” set in the woods. It’s more of an unsettling survival drama centered on a young couple, both of whom bite off too much when they venture into the wilderness. As with most survival dramas, director Adam MacDonald begins the film on an more serene albeit unsettling note and, much in the vein of “Frozen,” begins setting up a lot of mistakes our characters make that will come back to haunt them much later on. Mainly, “Backcountry” is a slow boil where Jenn and Alex find themselves slipping up at every turn and can never seem to take a hint on looming danger.

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Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)

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It’s not often a zombie movie can pay tribute to a ton of classic horror and still come out as one of the genuinely funny and novel horror comedies of the year. “Scout’s Guide” is a fan boy movie from the word go, with big winks like the opening that echo’s “Night of the Creeps,” to small touches like the sign indicating the direction to the town of Haddonfield. And come on, the hilarious trampoline scene is so “Zombies Ate My Neighbors,” I was admittedly giddy. “Scout’s Guide” has a damn good time as a tribute to horror comedy while also painting a pretty good one and done tale about nerds rising to the occasion to save some lives.

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The Car (1977) [Blu-Ray]

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thecar1977’s “The Car” is very much a product of its decade. It’s a silly tale with a narrative involving something about Satanism or pure Evil, while fancying itself as something of a different take on “Jaws.” Rather than Roy Scheider as a small town sheriff and his allies trying to take down a giant shark with almost supernatural predatory abilities, this time we have James Brolin as a small town sheriff who is facing off against a giant black Sedan with the supernatural abilities to hunt down and murder people on the roads and on highways.

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Bone Tomahawk (2015)

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If you ever wondered what “The Hills Have Eyes” would look like remade in to a cheap C grade Western, look no further than “Bone Tomahawk.” It’s hard to believe such a rank amateurish and awful film could attract a cast like Patrick Wilson, and Kurt Russell but here we are watching two genuinely excellent performers slumming it in a movie fashioned around sets that look as if they were stolen from an off Broadway period play. “Bone Tomahawk” fashions itself a horror western, but I’d be hard pressed to brand it horror. I’d be hard pressed to brand it a movie, to be honest.

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