Monday Movie Mania - Birdman

This is another movie I'd wanted to see in the theater, but it was released in the midst of the sale of the Houston house and the move north. We caught it during the HBO free weekend while I was down with the flu.

I love Michael Keaton's eclectic taste in roles, and I wasn't disappointed with the Academy award-winning Birdman. But to be frank, this is not something just anyone would enjoy. There're a lot of internal jabs that will fly over the heads of non-artists, and I say this as someone whose head was flown over. *smile*


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) Keaton's performance deserved an Oscar win, not just a nomination. His Riggan is someone who lays everything, including his sanity, on the line to prove he is an artist, not a hack.

2) Whether intentional or not, there are too many parallels between Keaton and Norton's characters and their real lives. It's difficult not to believe that director Alejandro G. Inarritu and his co-writers weren't influenced by their actors.

3) The use of an apparent continuous shot gave a sense of urgency to the story. The movie wasn't a one-shot, but the cuts were done cleverly, the film appeared seamless.

4) The ambiguous ending might piss off some people, but I love it. Afterwards, DH and I discussed possibilities, and laughed our butts off.


CONS
1) While the script was clever, I was bothered by the writing for Broadway critic Tabitha Dickinson. Despite actor Lindsay Duncan's efforts, the character came across as the stereotypical ballbuster/failed artist as critic. I understand that's how most artists (including me) feel about those who criticize our projects, but I would have preferred a little more depth in the character other than spite for spite's sake.


With the caveat that this is an artsy movie, and not the Avengers, I give Birdman 9 stars out of 10.

I'm Slipping When It Comes to the Oscars

Oscar Night is a big deal at our house.

Okay, I make it a big deal. The movies I root for, the gowns I drool over, and the food I make. This year's menu was fairly simple--nachos and chocolate cherry butter cookies.

Normally, I see at least fifty per cent of the movies nominated. My best year was 1998 when I saw every nominated movie except for the foreign films, half the shorts, and two of the full-length documentaries. That was the year Shakespeare in Love won, a popular, financial and critical success. (We won't discuss the pink princess fantasy frock Gwenyth Paltrow wore to the Oscars when she won Best Actress for that same film.)

This year I saw only four of the nominated films--Maleficent, Interstellar, How to Train Your Dragon 2, and...

The Legos Movie. There's a reason I haven't reviewed it.

And there goes that damn song in my head again.

"Everything is AWESOME..."

One of the movies I'd really wanted to see this year was Birdman. I love Michael Keaton (and have since the days of Nightshift), and his insane sense humor while playing a washed-up actor noted for his superhero blockbusters hit me as something I would love.

Unfortunately, Birdman was released right in the middle of The Move. By the time I caught a breather at Thanksgiving, it had been ditched by West Bumfuck's tiny Cineplex in favor of crazy chicks leading revolutions and penguins.

So even though I haven't seen it yet, I was happy Birdman got a lot of Academy nominations. I was a little surprised about the nomination for Best Picture since I'd heard it is a rather black look at how Hollywood culture chews up actors. I was shocked that it won Best Director and Best Picture.

This Friday, I plan on heading over to Family Video and renting Birdman.

Yes, West Bumfuck is that far behind the times. We have not one, but six video rental stores thriving in our glorious metropolis!