LEONARDO DICAPRIO’S “THE REVENANT” RETURN ENGAGEMENT IN PHILIPPINE CINEMAS – MARCH 2

Press release

 “The Revenant,” which bagged this year’s plum awards at the Oscars - Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Director (Alejandro Iñarritu) and Best Cinematography (Emmanuel Lubezki) will return in select Philippine cinemas starting March 2.

                DiCaprio’s Best Actor award for his winning performance which the domestic and global audience have been rooting for in his work in “The Revenant” has finally been realized at the recently concluded Academy Awards.  While Iñarritu has for two years in a row have also won Best Director last year for his work in “Birdman” and Lubezki for the third time since his win in 2014 for “Gravity” and last year’s “Birdman.”

                “The Revenant,” meaning someone who came back presumably from the dead tells of the highly-inspiring true story of Hugh Glass (DiCaprio), a fur trapper on his impossible survival during the 1800s.  Inspired by true events, “The Revenant” is an epic story of survival and transformation on the American frontier.  While on an expedition into the uncharted wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass  is brutally mauled by a bear, then abandoned by members of his own hunting team. Alone and near death, Glass refuses to succumb.  Driven by sheer will and his love for his Native American wife and son, he undertakes a 200-mile odyssey through the vast and untamed West on the trail of the man who betrayed him: John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy).  What begins as a relentless quest for revenge becomes a heroic saga against all odds towards home and redemption. 

                The film’s wilderness-based production mirrored the harsh conditions Glass and company actually lived through in the 1800s. Iñárritu and his whole cast and crew were up for all that was thrown at them, welcoming the challenges of shooting in Canada and Argentina, regions known for unpredictable weather and untouched wilds, in order to fully understand the experience of fur trappers in the early 19th century.

                Check out the following cinemas where “The Revenant” will have its return engagement starting March 2, Wednesday – Powerplant, Robinson’s Galleria, Eastwood, Festival Mall, Gateway, Gaisano Davao and SM Megamall.

                “The Revenant” is a 20^th Century Fox presentation distributed by Warner Bros.    

“THE REVENANT” ADVANCE SCREENINGS FEBRUARY 2 NATIONWIDE, SCHEDULED AS LAST FULL SHOW

Press release

Leonardo DiCaprio’s award-winning and acclaimed film, “The Revenant” from Academy Award winning director Alejandro Iῆarritu holds its public advance screenings in Philippine theatres (2D and IMAX screens) as last full show nationwide on February 2,Tuesday – hours ahead of its opening (following) day on February 3.

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

                Based on true events from legendary Hugh Glass’ accounts on surviving the wild, uncertain times and even returning from the dead, “The Revenant” is this year’s most awaited cinema event. In THE REVENANT, the highly anticipated film  from 20th Century Fox, Leonardo DiCaprio plays Hugh Glass, a fur trapper and frontiersman who is left for dead deep in the unchartered American  wilderness by a traitorous member of his team,  John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy).   With sheer will as his only weapon, Glass must navigate a hostile environment, a brutal winter and warring tribes in a relentless quest to survive and exact vengeance on Fitzgerald.  Inspired by a true story, the film is directed and co-written by renowned filmmaker and Academy Award-winnerAlejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman, Babel).  

                Glass’s mythology began in 1823, when he was among thousands joining the fur trade, a driving new force in the US economy. It was a time when many saw the wild as a spiritual void that demanded to be tamed and conquered by the steeliest of men. And so they poured into the unknown, plying unmapped rivers, disappearing into impossibly lush forests, seeking not only excitement and adventure but also profits -- often in fierce competition with the Native tribes for whom these lands had long been home. 

                Many such men died anonymously, but Glass entered the annals of American folklore by flat-out refusing to die. His legend sparked after he faced one of the West’s most feared dangers:  a startled grizzly bear.  For even the most tested frontiersmen that should have been the end.  But not for Glass. In Iñárritu’s telling of the tale, a mauled Glass clings to life – then suffers a human betrayal that fuels him to continue at any cost. In spite of tremendous loss, Glass pulls himself from an early grave – clawing his way through a gauntlet of unknown perils and unfamiliar cultures on a journey that becomes not just a search for reckoning but for redemption. As Glass moves through the frontier in turmoil, he comes to reject the urge for destruction that once drove him.   He has become a “revenant” -- one returned from the dead.

                                 

                “The Revenant is a story of harsh survival but also one of inspirational hope,” Iñárritu says.  “For me, the important part was to convey this adventure with a sense of wonder and discovery, as an exploration of both nature and human nature.” 

                “The Revenant” opens in cinemas across the nation starting February 3 (also in IMAX screens) from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.  Check your nearest theatres for schedule and advance ticket purchase.

The Revenant movie review

Reasons why you should watch The Revenant:

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

#Leonardo Dicaprio always choose a good movie project.

#Most of Dicaprio's movies are nominated.

#The scene with the bear was awesome. The bear should get nominated.

#The bloody gore is relevant for the movie.

#The cinematic effect is really good. It made you become part of the story when the camera rotates like you are looking for target.

#You also feel that you are being hit by an arrow even though it is not in 3D.

#The movie is from a historical period of America that most of us Filipinos or even fellow Asians are not familiar with.

#Better watched in IMAX cinema.

#The big question here is, will Leo win an Oscar this time.

For more movie reviews, follow this blog and like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook. The Revenant opens in Philippine cinemas on February 3 by 20th Century Fox and distributed by Warner Bros. Viewed at IMAX Cinema of SM Megamall.

IRISH ACTOR DOMHNALL GLEESON STARS IN “THE REVENANT’ AND “BROOKLYN”

Press release

IRISH ACTOR DOMHNALL GLEESON STARS IN TWO STRONG OSCAR CONTENDERS –

“THE REVENANT’ AND “BROOKLYN”

Rapidly rising Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson stars in “The Revenant” and “Brooklyn” – two of this year’s strong Oscar contenders.   Gleeson , who has been coming to the fore as one of the most versatile actors of a new generation with roles in  “About Time,” “Calvary,” “Unbroken,” “Ex Machina” and in “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens” goes from unshaven in his role as Captain Henry in “The Revenant” to all-dapper in “Brooklyn.”

Photo credit: 20th Century Fox

                In “The Revenant” by Oscar winner filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu and Leonardo DiCaprio takes on the title role,   plays the role of Captain Andrew Henry, a real-life historical figure who was one of the founders of the Rocky Mountain Trading Company and a leader of the expedition up the Missouri River.

                Inspired by true events, “The Revenant” is an epic story of survival and transformation on the American frontier.  While on an expedition into the uncharted wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brutally mauled by a bear, then abandoned by members of his own hunting team. Alone and near death, Glass refuses to succumb.  Driven by sheer will and his love for his Native American wife and son, he undertakes a 200-mile odyssey along with Henry’s (Gleeson) soldiers through the vast and untamed West on the trail of the man who betrayed him: John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy).  What begins as a relentless quest for revenge becomes a heroic saga against all odds towards home and redemption. 

                For Domhnall Gleeson, playing the role of Fitzgerald’s disappointed Captain, it was thrilling to go up against Hardy as Captain Henry realizes he has been duped.  “Tom has brought an edge to Fitzgerald where you never know which way he’s going to go,” Gleeson says.  “My character feels beaten down by Fitzgerald, but then he starts to hold his ground – and it was really exciting to go toe-to-toe with Tom.”

                Gleeson notes that the script gives Captain Henry a fictionalized arc beyond what history knows of him.  “The real Andrew Henry was respected, whereas in this story you see him as an uncertain man learning to be leader. He goes on a journey, growing into the man he was said to be,” he explains.  From the start, Gleeson understood the film was going to be a purposefully challenging experience.  “Before we even started shooting, Alejandro said he wanted it to be a tough experience for the actors – and he was true to his word.  We were put in unusual circumstances and challenging conditions but it was exciting because it was so different,” he comments.  “I certainly have never done anything like it before.  There’s an exhilaration to making a movie in a way that people just don’t make movies anymore.” 

                Gleeson says the roughness of the shoot enriched the performances.  “My character is meant to find his circumstances horribly difficult, he’s meant to feel out of place and so I poured everything I was experiencing into the performance,” he explains.  “You hope that ultimately the size of all that these men contended with --- the desperation, the madness and uncertainty -- will feel present in the movie theater.”

                From the cold and ruthless forest in “The Revenant,” Gleeson dons neatly pressed suits as Jim Farrell in “Brooklyn” where he plays opposite Saoirse Ronan who plays Eilis, an Irish immigrant in America who must choose between two countries, two men and two destinies.  

 

                Eilis’ Irish lover, Jim Farrell (Gleeson), had to be both an opposite attraction and a legitimate threat to Eilis’ New York lover, Tony Fiorello (Emory Cohen).  Gleeson knew he, too, had to find a subtle but visceral chemistry with Saoirse Ronan, to put the question mark in the audience’s mind.  “Life in Brooklyn may offer Eilis more, but it was my job to make Jim seem worth staying in Ireland for,“ he says. “I really wanted to create a connection with Saoirse that you would feel is worth fighting for.”

                Like his castmates, Gleeson related to Eilis’ experience in his own way.  “I think everybody’s known a sense of displacement at one time or another, of not having a clear home,” he says.  “I’ve certainly been familiar with that at various times in my life -- and I thought it was captured brilliantly in this story. Then there’s a lot of romance and fun to the story, which is very appealing.” 

                “Brooklyn” director John Crowley says that Gleeson’s take on the character brought out the bittersweetness of the story.  “There’s a consummate intelligence to Domhnall,” says Crowley. “He thinks very deeply about all his roles and he brings an intensity and maturity to Jim that bounces beautifully off of Emory as Tony. It was so important that Jim and Tony occupy vastly different spaces, that they be totally opposite versions of men that Eilis could see herself with – and Emory and Domhnall brought completely different but equally compelling feelings that underline her choice.” 

LEONARDO DICAPRIO’S WINNING FILM “THE REVENANT” STAYS FIERCE - EDGES OUT “FORCE AWAKENS” AT THE (U.S.) BOX-OFFICE ON ITS OPENING (FRI)DAY

Press release

With multiple wins at the recent Golden Globes and major nominations in the upcoming 88^th Academy Awards,  film “The Revenant” (read my review here) starring Leonardo DiCaprio directed by Academy Award winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu is fiercely strong at the (U.S.) box-office  with an incredible opening (Friday, Jan. 8) of $14.4 million, edging out “Star Wars: The Force Awakens’” ($10.75 million) that day.

Photo credit: 20th Century Fox

               

                “The Revenant” best seen on the big screen, is on its way to $100 million with an estimated gross of $97 million to-date.  Inspired by true events, “The Revenant” is physically intense and emotionally gripping story of a man presumed to be dead but came back to life.  The legend of Hugh Glass, as he is regarded to be the revenant, someone who came back from the dead, is played by Leonardo DiCaprio.   Part thriller, part wilderness journey, The Revenant explores primal drives not only for life itself but for dignity, justice, faith, family and home. 

                Glass’s mythology began in 1823, when he was among thousands joining the fur trade, a driving new force in the US economy. It was a time when many saw the wild as a spiritual void that demanded to be tamed and conquered by the steeliest of men. And so they poured into the unknown, plying unmapped rivers, disappearing into impossibly lush forests, seeking not only excitement and adventure but also profits -- often in fierce competition with the Native tribes for whom these lands had long been home. 

                Many such men died anonymously, but Glass entered the annals of American folklore by flat-out refusing to die. His legend sparked after he faced one of the West’s most feared dangers:  a startled grizzly bear.  For even the most tested frontiersmen that should have been the end.  But not for Glass. In Iñárritu’s telling of the tale, a mauled Glass clings to life – then suffers a human betrayal that fuels him to continue at any cost. In spite of tremendous loss, Glass pulls himself from an early grave – clawing his way through a gauntlet of unknown perils and unfamiliar cultures on a journey that becomes not just a search for reckoning but for redemption. As Glass moves through the frontier in turmoil, he comes to reject the urge for destruction that once drove him.   He has become a “revenant” -- one returned from the dead.

                Adds Leonardo DiCaprio:  “The Revenant is an incredible journey through the harshest elements of an uncharted America.  It’s about the power of a man’s spirit. Hugh Glass’s story is the stuff of campfire legends, but Alejandro uses that folklore to explore what it really means to have all the chips stacked against you, what the human spirit can endure and what happens to you when you do endure.” 

                “There are powerful themes for me in the film:  the will to live and our relationship with wilderness,” explains DiCaprio of his immediate attraction to the story.  “I’ve also previously played a lot of characters who were incredibly articulate in different ways and had a lot to say, so this was a unique challenge for me.  It was about conveying things without words or in a different language.  A lot of it was about adapting in the moment, about reacting to what nature was giving us and to what Glass was going through as we filmed.  It was about exploring the most internal elements of the survival instinct.”

               

                Based in part on Michael Punke’s novel  “The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge,” 20th Century Fox and New Regency present “The Revenant,” also starring Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Forrest Goodluck, Paul Anderson, Kristoffer Joner, Joshua Burge and Duane Howard.

SURVIVING THE WILD PRIOR TODAY’S FULLY-CONNECTED WORLD IN “THE REVENANT”

Press release

                Surviving the wild by pure instinct prior the advent of emergency call buttons such as 911 and high-tech gadgets is what makes the latest Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio film, “The Revenant” this year’s highly-thrilling cinematic experience – directed, produced and co-written by Academy Award winning filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu. 

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

                Inspired by true events from the sparse accounts of the legendary fur trapper and trader Hugh Glass, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, Glass became a revenant, someone believed to be dead who has returned to life after going through a harrowing series of events fighting for his life when left to survive in the wild set during the 19^th century American Frontier. 

                Immersing audiences in the unparalleled beauty, mystery and dangers of life in 1823 America, the film explores one man’s transformation in a quest for survival. “The Revenant” explores primal drives not only for life itself but for dignity, justice, faith, family and home.  The film’s wilderness-based production mirrored the harsh conditions Glass and company actually lived through in the 1800s. Iñárritu and his whole cast and crew were up for all that was thrown at them, welcoming the challenges of shooting in Canada and Argentina, regions known for unpredictable weather and untouched wilds, in order to fully understand the experience of fur trappers in the early 19th century.

                Glass’s mythology began in 1823, when he was among thousands joining the fur trade, a driving new force in the US economy. It was a time when many saw the wild as a spiritual void that demanded to be tamed and conquered by the steeliest of men. And so they poured into the unknown, plying unmapped rivers, disappearing into impossibly lush forests, seeking not only excitement and adventure but also profits -- often in fierce competition with the Native tribes for whom these lands had long been home.

                Many such men died anonymously, but Glass entered the annals of American folklore by flat-out refusing to die. His legend sparked after he faced one of the West’s most feared dangers:  a startled grizzly bear.  For even the most tested frontiersmen that should have been the end.  But not for Glass, in Iñárritu’s telling of the tale, a mauled Glass clings to life – then suffers a human betrayal that fuels him to continue at any cost. In spite of tremendous loss, Glass pulls himself from an early grave – clawing his way through a gauntlet of unknown perils and unfamiliar cultures on a journey that becomes not just a search for reckoning but for redemption. As Glass moves through the frontier in turmoil, he comes to reject the urge for destruction that once drove him.   He has become a “revenant” -- one returned from the dead.

                One of the movie’s most thrilling scene, the bear attack that threatens to end Glass’s life, immediately took DiCaprio into a mano-a-mano struggle with one of nature’s most skilled predators. “The bear attack was incredibly difficult and arduous,” DiCaprio recalls, “but it’s profoundly moving. In the film, Alejandro puts you there almost like a fly buzzing around this attack, so that you feel the breath of Glass and the breath of the bear. What he achieved is beyond anything I’ve seen.  Glass has to find a way to deal with this full-grown animal on top of him.  He’s at the brink of death – and you are fully immersed in this moment with him.” 

                “The Revenant is a story of harsh survival but also one of inspirational hope,” Iñárritu says.  “For me, the important part was to convey this adventure with a sense of wonder and discovery, as an exploration of both nature and human nature.” 

                “The Revenant” opens in cinemas February 3 from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

LEONARDO DICAPRIO’S LATEST AND LOUDEST BUZZ ON HIS AWARD-WINNING PERFORMANCE IN “THE REVENANT”

Press release

In what the movie critics and cineastes consider his (latest) most powerful performance, Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio stars in a fully immersive and visceral cinematic experience in “The Revenant” - directed, produced and co-written by Academy Award®-winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu.  “The Revenant” also gathers a highly-pedigreed impressive cast that includes Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter, Forrest Goodluck, Paul Anderson, Kristoffer Joner, Joshua Burge and Duane Howard.    

 

Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

                Inspired by true events, DiCaprio plays the legendary Hugh Glass, a fur trapper in an epic adventure set in the unchartered 19th century American Frontier.  Based on author Michael Punke’s “The Revenant: A Novel of Revenge,” published in 2002 and is one of the most extensively researched accounts about, Glass’s mythology began in 1823, when he was among thousands joining the fur trade, a driving new force in the US economy. It was a time when many saw the wild as a spiritual void that demanded to be tamed and conquered by the steeliest of men. And so they poured into the unknown, plying unmapped rivers, disappearing into impossibly lush forests, seeking not only excitement and adventure but also profits -- often in fierce competition with the Native tribes for whom these lands had long been home. 

                Many such men died anonymously, but Glass entered the annals of American folklore by flat-out refusing to die. His legend sparked after he faced one of the West’s most feared dangers:  a startled grizzly bear.  For even the most tested frontiersmen that should have been the end.  But not for Glass. In Iñárritu’s telling of the tale, a mauled Glass clings to life – then suffers a human betrayal that fuels him to continue at any cost. In spite of tremendous loss, Glass pulls himself from an early grave – clawing his way through a gauntlet of unknown perils and unfamiliar cultures on a journey that becomes not just a search for reckoning but for redemption. As Glass moves through the frontier in turmoil, he comes to reject the urge for destruction that once drove him.   He has become a “revenant” -- one returned from the dead.

                Immersing audiences in the unparalleled beauty, mystery and dangers of life in 1823 America, the film explores one man’s transformation in a quest for survival. Part thriller, part wilderness journey, The Revenant explores primal drives not only for life itself but for dignity, justice, faith, family and home. 

Known for such films as 21 Grams, Babel and the Academy Award®-winning Best Picture Birdman, The Revenant is Iñárritu’s first historical epic.  He brings his distinctive mix of visual immediacy and emotional intimacy to a story that transports audiences to a time and place that have rarely been experienced through visceral modern filmmaking. 

                The film’s wilderness-based production mirrored the harsh conditions Glass and company actually lived through in the 1800s. Iñárritu and his whole cast and crew were up for all that was thrown at them, welcoming the challenges of shooting in Canada and Argentina, regions known for unpredictable weather and untouched wilds, in order to fully understand the experience of fur trappers in the early 19th century.

                Leonardo DiCaprio shares,  “The Revenant is an incredible journey through the harshest elements of an uncharted America. It’s about the power of a man’s spirit. Hugh Glass’s story is the stuff of campfire legends, but Alejandro uses that folklore to explore what it really means to have all the chips stacked against you, what the human spirit can endure and what happens to you when you do endure.” 

                Hailed as this era’s most technically advanced film with impossible camera moves, “The Revenant” opens in Philippine cinemas this January 27 from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.