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The Revenant & Hologram for the King

May 13, 2016 By Wendell Collins

Spring is hanging on with a vengeance, giving plenty of time for movie going before the summer blockbuster season. If you have not already seen the Oscar winning The Revenant, do so - Leonardo DiCaprio is very deserving of his first Academy Award (although I thought his acting in The Departed was too). Directed and co-written by Oscar-winning Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman, Babel), it's about the most intense, gruesome movie I've ever seen. (Don't eat beforehand). The cinematography is breathtaking, as is the music. It's an all-around amazing movie experience, with a terrific supporting cast.

For lighter fare, I very much enjoyed A Hologram for a King. Tom Hanks is wry, understated, earnest, at his best in this quirky film based on a Dave Eggers novel. The movie opens with a wild Talking Heads roller coaster ride that sets the tone for the rest of the film - dreamlike, absurd, and whimsical. Reminiscent of Tailor of Panama in its land of deadpan bureaucracy, great cast and otherworldly locale, Hologram deftly tackles the themes of middle age relationships, work ennui and relationship dysfunction while immersing you in another world.