Joel and Ethan Coen return to their subversive, comedic roots with Hail, Caesar!, a boisterous caper into 1950s Golden Age cinema when the cold war machinery of the American empire demanded studio heads to dish out big budget Hollywood distraction and grandeur.

Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s latest film, The Revenant, offers a visceral glimpse into America’s complicated history during the 1800s when the nation pursued manifest destiny, at any cost. Although critics have largely focused on praising the emotional gravitas expressed in Leonardo DiCaprio’s character (Hugh Glass) as he endures one harrowing brush with death after another, The Revenant is in fact a subversive pastiche of Western Americana lore, native American mysticism, and an exploration of the fragile bonds of human civilization.