See The Revenant in the theatres

It's strange. The Hateful Eight is not worth seeing, but it was rather interesting to write about.

The Revenant is absolutely worth seeing, but I have nothing much to say about it, except to note that it would have been nice if they'd made more use of Brendan Fletcher! I think his role is almost as small as Gabrielle Rose's in Timecop - a very talented local actor being under-used. But that's minor, I guess. The film is, on some level, not that different in spirit from various blockbusters that try to use astonishing imagery to dazzle viewers, except that the astonishing imagery is being made by and for ADULTS. And I was, indeed, astonished and dazzled, much moreso than by noisy spectacles like The Hobbit or The Hunger Games or The Avengers or such - which are films I don't hate, but which are nowhere as rewarding, strictly in visual/ cinematic terms, as The Revenant. You should definitely see it on the big screen.

Edit: my initial write up mentioned that I was disappointed with the projection of the film at New West Landmark, and discouraged people from seeing it there, since the red exit lights on either side of the screen actually cast red pockets of light onto the screen itself and the whole projection seemed kind of muted and under-lit, compared to the trailers. In an email the other morning, I called the Landmark management's attention to the matter, and they have just now confirmed, with a courteous and informative written reply, that yes, there was a problem and that they've called in a technician to fix it. (It was apparently NOT a matter of playing a 2-D film through a 3-D screen or lens, as I suggested here, note). So they're on it, and I trust from the seriousness of their reply that they'll fix it presently. Landmark New West is one of the nicest megaplexes you can catch a film in Vancouver, so I'm pleased to retract my non-recommendation (though you might want to give them some time to fix the equipment...!).