TOP 10: Best “Movies of the Outdoors”

With summer upon us, and summer being a season that many people love to spend outside as much as they can, I thought it would be fun to do a new top 10 list of movies set primarily outside and where nature figures significantly into their plot or themes. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Honourable Mentions: Jurassic Park (1993); Midsommar (2019)

10. Ice Age (2002)

Standout nature moments: Ice sliding, watermelon football, “Mmm, piiiinecones!!”

9. Holes (2003)

Standout nature moments: God’s thumb, a lake turned desert, the glorious rain

8. Annihilation (2018) 

Standout nature moments: Tree people, flowers everywhere, “it’s not destroying, it’s making something new”

7. Life of Pi (2012)

Standout nature moments: Zoo on a boat, carnivorous island, ocean light show

6. All is Lost (2013)

Standout nature moments: Water, water, more water

5. Finding Nemo (2003)

Standout nature moments: The jellyfish swim, the EAC, Dory speaking whale

4. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Standout nature moments: March of the Ents, rain at Helm’s Deep, rock climbing with Gollum

3. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Standout nature moments: Sand, sand, more sand

2. Moonrise Kingdom (2012) 

Standout nature moments: Bob Balaban’s informative narration, kids on the run in the woods, the big storm

1. The Revenant (2015)

Standout nature moments: Bear attack, bear nap, catching snowflakes

Other Top 10 Lists on Joel Watches Movies:
TOP 10: Best Opening Credits/Sequences
TOP 10: Most Overrated Films
TOP 10: Most Underrated Films

The Revenant (2015)

A frontiersman on a fur trading expedition in the 1820s fights for survival after being mauled by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team. (IMDb)

An immaculate cinematic experience; gorgeous forested landscapes and their well-worn inhabitants are captured in spectacular natural light and with as much gritty detail as breathtaking breadth. Swelling strings and impeccable action-camerawork add further flair. DiCaprio’s committed turn drives forward a brutal and bloody survival/revenge plot that fits its severe setting like a glove with its stark visceral simplicity, while Hardy and co. offer strong support in their own secondary narrative.

9/10 (Amazing)