It's hard to talk about The Revenant without talking about its detractors, which are sure only to grow louder and more numerous as the Oscars draw nearer. We are over Iñárritu, says twitter. His movies are too ponderous, too indulgent, too long, too grueling, too technical, too beautiful, too CINEMATIC.

Mark Harris, a critic I love and with whom I usually agree, recently said he'd "happily trade a few movie houses full of empty-headed swooshy-camera 'pure cinema'" for more of…

So this film is incredible. But I have a feeling I may be saying that a lot this year as I'm catching up on great things I've missed.

That set is something. I haven't done any research into the making-of yet, but if that's a real hotel it was begging for a movie, and if it's a set then it's a masterwork. It was interesting to see fear provoked by a cavernous environment rather than the claustrophobic spaces that seem…