Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like The Revenant:
The Northman
If The Northman isn’t Robert Eggers’ best movie, it’s at least his boldest. It’s finetuned and pinpoint beyond what you’d expect from an already exacting director, and the stunning ensemble cast is entirely dedicated to their profound roles – all led by Alexander Skarsgård and Anya Taylor-Joy.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
I had fun, and the filmmaking is rarely less than impressive, but Avatar: Fire and Ash is named for a new corner of Pandora that it only partially explores. If these films are going to keep coming, I want Cameron to keep pushing into unfamiliar terrain instead of returning to the same interpersonal circuits. Otherwise, what is the point of having a world this big?
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
George Miller finds so much new ground to cover with Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga that perfectly justifies its own existence. While Fury Road was interested in such a contained story propelled by larger-than-life action sequences and big rig warfare spawning from a game of cat and mouse, Furiosa fills in the gaps of a world much larger than what is expected. Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth stun in a prequel well worth the wait.
Logan
James Mangold’s spaghetti western approach to Logan fits like a glove, and the smaller, more contained approach to setting and plot allows the film to really center on Wolverine’s chaotic and mangled past. Includes gruff performances by Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart.
Killers of the Flower Moon
In Martin Scorsese’s epic crime drama, Killers of the Flower Moon, we are transported back in time to the early 1920s, to the Osage Nation in Oklahoma, a land drenched in blood and oil. Adapted from David Grann’s best-selling book of the same name, Scorsese’s take on this dark chapter in American history takes us on a thrilling, if occasionally meandering, journey that showcases the director’s distinct cinematic style while exploring a unique angle on the source material.
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths
Quickly after the title card of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s latest film Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is it clear what drove the acclaimed Mexican filmmaker and visionary to make such a sweeping and epic story about the artistic complex of an award-winning professional. After all, the director and writer of Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and The Revenant received his fair share of awards recognition for pieces basking in ingenuity and complete originality.
No Country for Old Men
Revisiting No Country for Old Men on its 4K Criterion Collection release reminded me why this film stands among the greats—not just of 2007, not just of the 21st century, but of all time. It’s Joel and Ethan Coen at their most precise and uncompromising, blending their dualistic approach to filmmaking: the sharp nihilism of their darker works with the understated, situational humor that defines their lighter outings. It’s a masterpiece of tension, craft, and existential dread, all wrapped in a narrative as sparse and unrelenting as the Texas landscape it inhabits.
There Will Be Blood
Calling this a canonical masterpiece is almost redundant, yet revisiting Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood still feels shockingly alive, starting with Daniel Day-Lewis, whose Daniel Plainview might be the defining screen portrait of American ambition curdled into misanthropy. From the wordless, pickaxe-and-broken-bones prologue to the baptism humiliation and the “I drink your milkshake” finale, Day-Lewis maps a soul corroded by competition until there is nothing left but the will to dominate.
Gladiator II
Gladiator II tries to follow in the footsteps of its predecessor, but often stumbles, feeling like a rehash of the 2000 original rather than something new. The story treads familiar ground, and the visual effects can be distractingly bad, as if Ridley Scott decided to embrace outdated CGI instead of pushing the boundaries of what’s possible today. It’s frustrating to watch a film with such potential settle for being a shadow of what came before.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Directed by Andrew Dominik, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a film that defies categorization. At once a Western, a character study, a crime drama, and a meditation on the nature of fame and legend, it is a film that offers something for every viewer, yet never loses its focus or its power.
Read our full review of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
READ MORE: The Revenant (2015), Movies Like Avatar: Fire and Ash, Movies Like Killers of the Flower Moon
