So Bad It Will Probably Win

I am not referring to Donald Trump's campaign. I am referring to a film that has been nominated for the Academy Award "Best Picture" which could actually be almost as bad as last year's horrible Birdman, a film mentioned on this blog some months before.

The horrid film in question is called The Revenant.

It’s too bad it’s not: That would have made for a more interesting movie. The Revenant is better than morose Iñárritu dreck like 21 Grams and Biutiful, and it’s certainly better than last year’s Birdman, a preening, petulant mess about how difficult it is to make great art (as though Iñárritu’s own filmography wasn’t testament to this). Even the best thing about The Revenant is maddening: It is one of the most visually stunning studio films in recent memory, with long takes winding through dusk-dappled woods, seemingly impossible shots of men floating through whitewater rapids and horses falling off cliffs. (The extraordinary Mexican cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki is poised to make history by winning his third straight Academy Award for this film, and the honor would be deserved.) All this useless beauty, in service of obscuring a lazy screenplay and aggressively dimensionless characters.

I am not sure I am going to rent it. I may decide to take a pass on this one.