Over Christmas Break I got a chance to watch Alejandro González Iñárritu’s ‘The Revenant’, and Quentin Tarantino’s ‘The Hateful Eight’. I found both films enjoyable as a viewer, and as an amateur film analyst. Below are my personal ratings and a brief description of the movies.

The Revenant- 8.5/10

The Revenant is a story of survival and revenge told through amazing acting and breathtaking shots of the winter outdoors.
It follows Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), a huntsman in a group who make a living from selling wild animal pelts. After a brutal bear attack leaves him injured, the group leaves Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), Glass’ son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) and Bridger (Will Poulter) at the base of a mountain to take care of Glass while the group treks up the mountain. Fitzgerald believes that Glass is dead weight and attempts to put him to rest but is interrupted by Hawk, Fitzgerald kills Hawk while Glass watches. Fitzgerald then deceives Bridger into thinking they are under attack and that they are ‘forced’ to leave a dying Glass. From that point on, Glass is determined to get revenge on Fitzgerald and travels across a punishing winter land while injured to find him.

The Hateful Eight- 8/10

The Hateful Eight is a western styled mystery movie that is extremely  Tarantino-esque, and that makes for a great treat for his fans. It’s filled with dark humor, and lots of blood that Tarantino fans are accustomed to.
The film starts with John ‘The Hangman’ Ruth (Kurt Russels) in a stagecoach on his way to Redrock to have Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), a wanted murderer, hanged and killed so he can collect her bounty. Along the way, John picks up two passengers: Major Marquise Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), a violent war hero and bounty hunter; and Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), son of a racist war leader and the new sheriff of Redrock. A blizzard forces John Ruth and his passengers to stop at Minnie’s Haberdashery, where they meet an executioner, a man who wants to make it home for Christmas, a Mexican stable worker and a retired war vet (the other half of the eight). When someone in the group is mysteriously murdered, Major Marquise Warren starts to piece together a theory of what is actually going on in the haberdashery.

I think both directors did an excellent job on their films. Before The Revenant I wasn’t familiar with Iñárritu’s movies, and after watching the movie I look forward to more of his work. Tarantino satisfied me as usual, and I cannot wait for his next films. I recommend watching both movies, as I believe they are two of the best recent movies.