Chacun son Cinéma (2007)

(Eng: To Each His Own Cinema)

An anthology that contains over thirty short films by as many different directors, commissioned to celebrate six decades of the Cannes Film Festival. Each work is approximately three minutes in length and was supposed to represent the director's "state of mind [...] as inspired by the motion picture theatre." As usual with this kind of thing, I'll put the full list in comments.
My 'Admit One' was for Kitano and Cronenberg, neither of which were essential. The ones that moved me most were Alejandro Iñárritu's 'Anna' and Abbas Kiarostami's 'Where Is My Romeo?', both of which had more emotion than the others combined. Also, I really liked Chen Kaige's 'Zhanxiou Village'.
A lot of them take place inside a theatre with crucial scenes from actual films being projected onscreen, so expect some spoilers.

3 light shows out of 5

THE REVENANT [2015]

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu's brutally bleak survival thriller, The Revenant, was one of the films I was anticipating the most in 2015 and it delivered the goods something fierce.
Set in the 1820's, while on a fur trading expedition, a huntsman is viciously attacked by a bear and left for dead by the man who killed his son.
Leonardo DiCaprio, in the leading role, gives it all he's got and forces you to feel it with each drop of sweat, blood and tear that is shed.  All the while, Iñárritu is displaying his masterful technique of well-crafted photography and thoughtful direction.  There's plenty of beautifully executed tracking shots that absorb the viewer deeper into the distress of the characters and their harsh environment.  Not only is it a masterpiece with technicality but it also tells a harrowing story of survival, the love & hatred of the Earth and what's more important: one's masculinity or keeping one's humane side in-check?
With all this, I was most pleased to see the Aboriginal's finally portrayed in a mainstream film, not as victims of or threats to the white-man, but rather just human beings trying to survive on a planet that will be here long after we've all disappeared.

5 toasty warm horsies out of 5

BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) [2014]

Since it was first announced two years ago, people have been looking at me funny when I expressed my excitement for director Alejandro González Iñárritu's twisted dark showbiz satire, Birdman.

I'm happy to say my excitement wasn't for nothing and this is easily one of the best films of the 2014 and quite possibly the best film of the year.

Michael Keaton, in what should become a defining moment in his career, portrays a has-been actor who can't shake off the comic book character he played in a popular late '80's franchise, while trying to make a comeback as a serious performer. With a cast that doesn't a weak link within it, the unusually long but effective tracking shots and a dizzying drums only score by Antonio Sanchez, this daringly ambitious film could have been a disaster if everything wasn't in the right place, which it is all thankfully fitted to careful perfection.    

5 weird moments for a boner out of 5

Babel (2006)

A multi-narrative film about relationships, personal tragedy and consequences. You’ll likely be initially confused as to how and why the separate threads of Morocco, America, Mexico and Japan are connected, but it will reveal over time. Each individual story gets the right amount of attention, never outweighing the others.
It’s 143 minutes of other people’s misery, but it’s powerful and it’s beautiful with some affecting music. Essentially, it’s storytelling in its purest form.

3½ mysterious notes out of 5