#7: GONE GIRL (15-1-15)
Starring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens and Tyler Perry.
Written by Gillian Flynn and directed by David Fincher. 145 mintues long.
A
tricky film to talk about too much without spoiling it and although
this is a film that doesn't have a twist ending, saying too much will
spoil this film for anyone who hasn't read the book. On the morning of
his 5th wedding anniversary, Affleck's Nick Dunne comes home to discover
his wife, Amy Dunne is missing - seemingly the victim of an abduction.
He calls in the police and soon becomes a person of interest when
evidence surfaces that seems to implicate the husband in his wife's
violent abduction and possible death. The film flashes back and forth
from the present to five years earlier, through Amy's journal, and the
start of the Dunne's relationship. And where as the present is told
through Nick's eyes, the past belongs to Amy's. But is everything as it
seems or is someone hiding something?
A thoroughly dark,
involving, engrossing and intriguing film with spot-on performances
from, not only, the two leads but also the supporting cast too. Never
short-changing the audience this is a fascinating and chilling film that
is an absolute delight from beginning to end, although it's the end
that costs this film a perfect 10/10, lacking as it does a satisfying
ending. I wanted a solid full-stop but all I got was an ellipsis.
Directed
with precision and skill by David Fincher this is a film that is never
less than utterly engrossing and it no doubt helps that the screen
writer is also the writer of the novel on which this film is based.
Second time round for this
one, it came back as part of Cineworld's Take 2 program. So, did it
hold up as well as it did the first time I saw it back in October.
A
big, fat yes. The things that were great the first time round remain
so, Affleck has never been better, ditto for Pike. The story and
direction is tight and the film retains its power to surprise.
The
only down side is the sound track, whenever the film flashes back to
the beginning of Pike and Affleck's character's relationship, the
dialogue is almost drowned out by the soundtrack and you find yourself straining to hear what's being said. But it's a minor quibble and doesn't effect the score.
9/10
Monday, 19 January 2015
Sunday, 11 January 2015
#6: FOXCATCHER
#6: FOXCATCHER (11-1-15)
Starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatnum, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave and Sienna Miller.
Written by Dan Futterman, E. Max Frye and directed by Bennett Miller.
134 minutes long.
Based on the true story of the John Du Pont's murder of the wrestling coach and Olympic champion, Dave Schultz. Foxcatcher is an extraordinarily intense portrait of three men, John DuPont - Steve Carrel in a career defining roll, Channing Tatnum as the nice but dim, Olympic and World Champion - Mark Schultz and his brother, US Wrestling Coach as played by Mark Ruffalo. All three deserve great kudos and awards galore.
Together they give superb performances, each seemingly encouraging the other two to match and then raise the bar without ever over-egging the pudding instead, they create a fantastically compelling world, that keeps you utterly engrossed and enthralled right up to its terrible conclusion.
This is a seriously powerful film, deep, dark and brooding, a film that builds slowly, taking its time to introduce the characters and construct its story. Perhaps half of the appeal of the film is that it's based on a true story, which makes the characters seem all that more real – you find yourself caring for them, of trying to identify the tipping point, of wanting to, somehow, stop the dreadful inevitability from happening and yet there's also a strange voyeuristic desire to see that terrible fate claim the life of one of these 'real' people.
An intense, dramatic and amazing. Don't miss it.
9/10
Starring Steve Carell, Channing Tatnum, Mark Ruffalo, Vanessa Redgrave and Sienna Miller.
Written by Dan Futterman, E. Max Frye and directed by Bennett Miller.
134 minutes long.
Based on the true story of the John Du Pont's murder of the wrestling coach and Olympic champion, Dave Schultz. Foxcatcher is an extraordinarily intense portrait of three men, John DuPont - Steve Carrel in a career defining roll, Channing Tatnum as the nice but dim, Olympic and World Champion - Mark Schultz and his brother, US Wrestling Coach as played by Mark Ruffalo. All three deserve great kudos and awards galore.
Together they give superb performances, each seemingly encouraging the other two to match and then raise the bar without ever over-egging the pudding instead, they create a fantastically compelling world, that keeps you utterly engrossed and enthralled right up to its terrible conclusion.
This is a seriously powerful film, deep, dark and brooding, a film that builds slowly, taking its time to introduce the characters and construct its story. Perhaps half of the appeal of the film is that it's based on a true story, which makes the characters seem all that more real – you find yourself caring for them, of trying to identify the tipping point, of wanting to, somehow, stop the dreadful inevitability from happening and yet there's also a strange voyeuristic desire to see that terrible fate claim the life of one of these 'real' people.
An intense, dramatic and amazing. Don't miss it.
9/10
Saturday, 10 January 2015
#5: INTO THE WOODS
#5 INTO THE WOODS (10-1-15)
Starring Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, James Cordon, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine and Johnny Depp.
Adapted by James Lapine (from his and Stephen Sondheim script), directed by Rob Marshall.
124 minutes long.
What if...
What if the worlds of Cinderella, Jack and the Bean Stalk, Rapunzel and Red Riding Hood collided in a new fairy tale, that sees a baker and his wife sent on a quest by a witch to find four items – a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn and a slipper as pure of gold that when combined will lift a curse that has left the couple childless and the witch ugly, crooked and ancient. That's the premise of Into The Woods, or at least the first half of the movie. The second half deals with that age old fairy tale meme, 'what happens after our multiple heroes and heroines all get their happily ever afters?'
Into The Woods is a fairly entertaining movie with a good cast, some funny moments, clever lyrics and enjoyable music, although you won't be humming any of the songs, of which the best is an extremely funny duet between the two Princes as they try to out sing each other on a waterfall.
This is Rob Marshall's third cinematic musical after Nine and Chicago and it's clear that his background as a choreographer and as a director of Broadway musicals easily makes him capable of controlling this massive and rambling story. The first half, or the bit up to "They all lived happily ever after." is the most entertaining and was certainly enough for me, I was happily reaching for my coat when it occurred to me that there was more to come, much, much more to come! And sadly I sort of lost interest, I just didn't think the film really needed it, from then on the story is wholly new as the characters from the first five stories must overcome a new threat with revenge on her giant mind, which will also lead to a happy ending but not in the way you might imagine.
I can't say I'm a huge fan of musicals, there's a few i love, Singing in the Rain, Moulin Rouge! and Chicago but the recent musicals have left me deeply unmoved and I truly hated the awful Lesile Miserable so this one came as a pleasant surprise by not being as remotely hateful or dreadful as that later one nor, sadly, as memorable as the formers.
5/10
Starring Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, James Cordon, Emily Blunt, Chris Pine and Johnny Depp.
Adapted by James Lapine (from his and Stephen Sondheim script), directed by Rob Marshall.
124 minutes long.
What if...
What if the worlds of Cinderella, Jack and the Bean Stalk, Rapunzel and Red Riding Hood collided in a new fairy tale, that sees a baker and his wife sent on a quest by a witch to find four items – a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn and a slipper as pure of gold that when combined will lift a curse that has left the couple childless and the witch ugly, crooked and ancient. That's the premise of Into The Woods, or at least the first half of the movie. The second half deals with that age old fairy tale meme, 'what happens after our multiple heroes and heroines all get their happily ever afters?'
Into The Woods is a fairly entertaining movie with a good cast, some funny moments, clever lyrics and enjoyable music, although you won't be humming any of the songs, of which the best is an extremely funny duet between the two Princes as they try to out sing each other on a waterfall.
This is Rob Marshall's third cinematic musical after Nine and Chicago and it's clear that his background as a choreographer and as a director of Broadway musicals easily makes him capable of controlling this massive and rambling story. The first half, or the bit up to "They all lived happily ever after." is the most entertaining and was certainly enough for me, I was happily reaching for my coat when it occurred to me that there was more to come, much, much more to come! And sadly I sort of lost interest, I just didn't think the film really needed it, from then on the story is wholly new as the characters from the first five stories must overcome a new threat with revenge on her giant mind, which will also lead to a happy ending but not in the way you might imagine.
I can't say I'm a huge fan of musicals, there's a few i love, Singing in the Rain, Moulin Rouge! and Chicago but the recent musicals have left me deeply unmoved and I truly hated the awful Lesile Miserable so this one came as a pleasant surprise by not being as remotely hateful or dreadful as that later one nor, sadly, as memorable as the formers.
5/10
Thursday, 8 January 2015
#4: TAKEN 3
#4: TAKEN 3 (8-1-15)
Starring Liam Nesson, Forrest Whittaker.
Written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen.
Directed by Olivier Megaton
112 minutes way too long.
"Pop Quiz, hot shot." to borrow a phrase from a vastly superior action film.
Question 1. You return home to find the body of your ex-wife lying dead on your bed, her throat has been cut from ear to ear. How much blood is there?
Question 2. You've captured a gang leader and are holding a gun to his head to interrogate him. Rather than answer your questions he forces your gun into his own mouth and pulls your trigger, blowing his head off. How much blood is there?
Question 3. You survive a brutal ballet of bullets and batterings in the main bad man's lair and finally fatally shot him twice in the naked torso. How much blood is there?
Answers. None what so ever! Particularly if this is Taken 3, a 12A action film.
This is a shit film, no point beating about the bush, it's just shit. It's lazy, dull and so filled with plot holes it's like the two writers responsible emptied machine guns into the script. Actually, I was surprised to discover that writers were involved in this sorry mess, I'd just assumed everybody involved just turned up and winged it, making it up as they went along.
The whole cast from Liam down to Sherod Ogletree and Erick Wofford just looks bored, mind-bogglingly bored. Liam more so than the others. The plot, is the very definition of dull. Nesson's Bryan Miles wife is killed, he's framed and a gang of Russian mobsters seem to be gunning for him. Nesson goes on the run to prove his innocent while, over-acting Whittaker (his character doesn't get a name) is the police man on his trail. What follows is lack-lustre jogging from the elderly Nesson as he gently out lops the coppers and goes 'off grid' to use his particular skill set to avenge his dead ex-wife and save his now pregnant daughter from any disaster and the baddies.
What makes this sorry sack of rancid shit even harder to stomach is how terribly piss poor the direction is. Seriously, if you thought the writing was terrible and it is, then the direction will leave your eyes bleeding, utilising both a frenzied editing style that ensures that no action gets less than 90 cuts per minute and a shaky cam boot to disguise the action, ensuring you can be safe that you'll have not the foggiest what's going on. But that's not a bad thing, it does mean you can bring your under 12s along and not fear for them seeing anything gruesome or violent because seriously, they'll not be able to work out what the fuck is going on either.
Like the truly horrific Die Hard 5, this film gives not one jot about collatoral damage and you too can marvel at the high number of civilian deaths that Miles is partly responsible for. How this demented serial killer can avoid any sanction for the sheer number deaths he causes is boggling.
And who the hell decided that making this sort of film accessed by under 12s, if accompanied by an adult, was a good idea? They need to hang their heads in shame. No self-respecting parent would allow their child to see this, it's not fantasy violence, this is violence presented in a real world. And kids just won't care about watching a man older than their grandparents stumble round supposedly killing people, but I can't be sure.
I blame Expendable 2 & 3. Seriously, what is wrong is a full-blown 18 cert action film, I'd even settle for a 15, but no more 12As please, it's ugly and feels like a cheap ploy to try and squeeze money out of the audience.
Just shit, don't bother. Just watch the first one again.
2/10
Starring Liam Nesson, Forrest Whittaker.
Written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen.
Directed by Olivier Megaton
112 minutes way too long.
"Pop Quiz, hot shot." to borrow a phrase from a vastly superior action film.
Question 1. You return home to find the body of your ex-wife lying dead on your bed, her throat has been cut from ear to ear. How much blood is there?
Question 2. You've captured a gang leader and are holding a gun to his head to interrogate him. Rather than answer your questions he forces your gun into his own mouth and pulls your trigger, blowing his head off. How much blood is there?
Question 3. You survive a brutal ballet of bullets and batterings in the main bad man's lair and finally fatally shot him twice in the naked torso. How much blood is there?
Answers. None what so ever! Particularly if this is Taken 3, a 12A action film.
This is a shit film, no point beating about the bush, it's just shit. It's lazy, dull and so filled with plot holes it's like the two writers responsible emptied machine guns into the script. Actually, I was surprised to discover that writers were involved in this sorry mess, I'd just assumed everybody involved just turned up and winged it, making it up as they went along.
The whole cast from Liam down to Sherod Ogletree and Erick Wofford just looks bored, mind-bogglingly bored. Liam more so than the others. The plot, is the very definition of dull. Nesson's Bryan Miles wife is killed, he's framed and a gang of Russian mobsters seem to be gunning for him. Nesson goes on the run to prove his innocent while, over-acting Whittaker (his character doesn't get a name) is the police man on his trail. What follows is lack-lustre jogging from the elderly Nesson as he gently out lops the coppers and goes 'off grid' to use his particular skill set to avenge his dead ex-wife and save his now pregnant daughter from any disaster and the baddies.
What makes this sorry sack of rancid shit even harder to stomach is how terribly piss poor the direction is. Seriously, if you thought the writing was terrible and it is, then the direction will leave your eyes bleeding, utilising both a frenzied editing style that ensures that no action gets less than 90 cuts per minute and a shaky cam boot to disguise the action, ensuring you can be safe that you'll have not the foggiest what's going on. But that's not a bad thing, it does mean you can bring your under 12s along and not fear for them seeing anything gruesome or violent because seriously, they'll not be able to work out what the fuck is going on either.
Like the truly horrific Die Hard 5, this film gives not one jot about collatoral damage and you too can marvel at the high number of civilian deaths that Miles is partly responsible for. How this demented serial killer can avoid any sanction for the sheer number deaths he causes is boggling.
And who the hell decided that making this sort of film accessed by under 12s, if accompanied by an adult, was a good idea? They need to hang their heads in shame. No self-respecting parent would allow their child to see this, it's not fantasy violence, this is violence presented in a real world. And kids just won't care about watching a man older than their grandparents stumble round supposedly killing people, but I can't be sure.
I blame Expendable 2 & 3. Seriously, what is wrong is a full-blown 18 cert action film, I'd even settle for a 15, but no more 12As please, it's ugly and feels like a cheap ploy to try and squeeze money out of the audience.
Just shit, don't bother. Just watch the first one again.
2/10
Sunday, 4 January 2015
#3: BIG HERO SIX
#3: BIG HERO SIX (4/1/15)
Starring the voice talents of: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Daniel Henney, T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jnr., Génesis Rodríguez, James Cromwell and Maya Rudolph. The amazing animation skills of the Walt Disney animation studio, written by Jordan Roberts, Dan Gerson and Robert L. Baird and directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams. 102 minutes long.
In the near future, two orphans – 14 year-old boy genius Hiro and his elder brother, Tadashi Hamada live with their Aunt in San Fransokyo, Hiro squanders his genius-level talents building battle bots to take part in illegal robot fights while his brother creates, Baymax - a large white inflatable robot doctor - in the genius lab of the nearby Tech University. When Hiro creates an amazing new robotic nanobot gadget of his own to secure a place at Uni with his brother and a gang of fellow genius-level nerds his future looks fantastic! However, Hiro has little time to reap the benefits of his invention before it and his brother, are destroyed in a terrible explosion and Hiro is bereaved again.
But Tadashi's creation comes to the aid of Hiro and in the best emotional section of the movie the robot helps the boy to come to terms with his grief while accidentally helping him to discover the explosion and fire was no accident and there's a mysterious masked super-villain in town using his nanobot technology for his own nefarious purposes.
Recruiting the services of gang of science nerds, Hiro transforms and equipments them into the super-hero team Big Hero Six of the title and off they head to battle the villain. From then on, it's business as usual with action, adventure and excitement galore plus the usual Disney life-lesson about forgiveness, responsibility and the benefits of working together.
Visually speaking, Big Hero Six is simply breath-taking, the street scenes, the detail, the textures, the animation, the design and in fact every aspect other than the story are pure A+, picture-perfect things of wonder. But the story is sadly all too generic, riddled with plot holes and 'what the?' moments and all rather blah-blah. It's like looking at a fantastic Lamborghini and then popping the hood to find a generic, 2 stroke engine inside, which is a great shame because when this film focuses on Hiro coming to terms with his grief thanks to Baymax or hanging out with the techno nerds it soars, but when it's bogged down in the rather complicated and padded plot it's all just becomes a little bit samey and average. And that's a sad because films like How to Train Your Dragon 1 & 2 and The Incredibles have shown that modern animated adventure films can come up with something be fresh and original in the story dept, what a shame this one didn't.
However, none of that should bother the target audience, particularly the boys who will love this film regardless of the generic story and by-the-numbers plot.
7/10
Starring the voice talents of: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Daniel Henney, T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jnr., Génesis Rodríguez, James Cromwell and Maya Rudolph. The amazing animation skills of the Walt Disney animation studio, written by Jordan Roberts, Dan Gerson and Robert L. Baird and directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams. 102 minutes long.
In the near future, two orphans – 14 year-old boy genius Hiro and his elder brother, Tadashi Hamada live with their Aunt in San Fransokyo, Hiro squanders his genius-level talents building battle bots to take part in illegal robot fights while his brother creates, Baymax - a large white inflatable robot doctor - in the genius lab of the nearby Tech University. When Hiro creates an amazing new robotic nanobot gadget of his own to secure a place at Uni with his brother and a gang of fellow genius-level nerds his future looks fantastic! However, Hiro has little time to reap the benefits of his invention before it and his brother, are destroyed in a terrible explosion and Hiro is bereaved again.
But Tadashi's creation comes to the aid of Hiro and in the best emotional section of the movie the robot helps the boy to come to terms with his grief while accidentally helping him to discover the explosion and fire was no accident and there's a mysterious masked super-villain in town using his nanobot technology for his own nefarious purposes.
Recruiting the services of gang of science nerds, Hiro transforms and equipments them into the super-hero team Big Hero Six of the title and off they head to battle the villain. From then on, it's business as usual with action, adventure and excitement galore plus the usual Disney life-lesson about forgiveness, responsibility and the benefits of working together.
Visually speaking, Big Hero Six is simply breath-taking, the street scenes, the detail, the textures, the animation, the design and in fact every aspect other than the story are pure A+, picture-perfect things of wonder. But the story is sadly all too generic, riddled with plot holes and 'what the?' moments and all rather blah-blah. It's like looking at a fantastic Lamborghini and then popping the hood to find a generic, 2 stroke engine inside, which is a great shame because when this film focuses on Hiro coming to terms with his grief thanks to Baymax or hanging out with the techno nerds it soars, but when it's bogged down in the rather complicated and padded plot it's all just becomes a little bit samey and average. And that's a sad because films like How to Train Your Dragon 1 & 2 and The Incredibles have shown that modern animated adventure films can come up with something be fresh and original in the story dept, what a shame this one didn't.
However, none of that should bother the target audience, particularly the boys who will love this film regardless of the generic story and by-the-numbers plot.
7/10
Friday, 2 January 2015
#2: DUMB & DUMBER TO
#2: DUMB & DUMBER TO (2/1/15)
Directed by the Farrelly Brothers. Staring Jim Carey and Jeff Daniels and Kathleen Turner. Written by six people. Six. It took six of them to write this. 110 minutes long.
Seen the trailer? Did you enjoy the trailer. Did you like the bit where Lloyd fakes his 20 year catatonic state? Did you like it when the hotel room full of fireworks went off? How about the bit with the two boys talking on the phones to each other, not realising they were? Great stuff, I agree! Trouble is those are most of the high-lights, take those out and you're left with perhaps 3 or 4 other extremely funny moments sprinkled amongst the remaining 100 odd minutes. And those minutes seemed to be filled mainly with showing us all what a thoroughly unlikable character, Jim Carey's Lloyd Christmas really is. Mean-spirited, spiteful and actually unpleasant. Btw, if the trailer or the original film left you unmoved then this film is most certainly not for you.
The plot revolves round Jeff Daniels' Harry Dunne's quest to find his long-lost daughter and secure a much needed kidney. Add to that some spurious sub-plot and a long rambling road trip plot and you have this, tired and at times rather nasty mess. That said there are some occasionally laugh-out loud hilarious scenes, no seriously there are moments where tears will roll down your face, but those are sadly too few and far between, or should that be to [sic] few and far between. Chortle chortle.
Referencing several moments for the original Dumb & Dumber film made back in 1994, this at least isn't just a lazy rehash although there are several very uncomfortable jokes made at the expense of women and there's one gag involving a cork that caused an audible, collective shocked gasp among the audience. Of the lead pair, once again Jeff Daniels still pips Carey as the funniest, but that's not much of an accolade.
This 20 year in the making sequel won't be as fondly remembered as the original in 20 years time.
3/10
Directed by the Farrelly Brothers. Staring Jim Carey and Jeff Daniels and Kathleen Turner. Written by six people. Six. It took six of them to write this. 110 minutes long.
Seen the trailer? Did you enjoy the trailer. Did you like the bit where Lloyd fakes his 20 year catatonic state? Did you like it when the hotel room full of fireworks went off? How about the bit with the two boys talking on the phones to each other, not realising they were? Great stuff, I agree! Trouble is those are most of the high-lights, take those out and you're left with perhaps 3 or 4 other extremely funny moments sprinkled amongst the remaining 100 odd minutes. And those minutes seemed to be filled mainly with showing us all what a thoroughly unlikable character, Jim Carey's Lloyd Christmas really is. Mean-spirited, spiteful and actually unpleasant. Btw, if the trailer or the original film left you unmoved then this film is most certainly not for you.
The plot revolves round Jeff Daniels' Harry Dunne's quest to find his long-lost daughter and secure a much needed kidney. Add to that some spurious sub-plot and a long rambling road trip plot and you have this, tired and at times rather nasty mess. That said there are some occasionally laugh-out loud hilarious scenes, no seriously there are moments where tears will roll down your face, but those are sadly too few and far between, or should that be to [sic] few and far between. Chortle chortle.
Referencing several moments for the original Dumb & Dumber film made back in 1994, this at least isn't just a lazy rehash although there are several very uncomfortable jokes made at the expense of women and there's one gag involving a cork that caused an audible, collective shocked gasp among the audience. Of the lead pair, once again Jeff Daniels still pips Carey as the funniest, but that's not much of an accolade.
This 20 year in the making sequel won't be as fondly remembered as the original in 20 years time.
3/10
Thursday, 1 January 2015
#1: BIRDMAN
#1: BIRDMAN or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (1/1/15)
Starring Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan and Naomi Watts. Written by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Running time 119 minutes.
Will this be the second year on the trot where the best film of the year just so happens to be the first film of the year? If not, then whatever trumps it is going to be freking awesome! BIRDMAN is a strange, deeply dark comedy whose laughs come from situation and character rather than punchlines and pratfalls. Presented as a single long take, Birdman is actually a series of fantastically long, single-shot scenes that never fails to amaze and delight.
Michael Keaton plays Riggan Thomson, a tired, washed-up, Hollywood super-star who once played the titular character, Birdman in three blockbuster movies, but that was 20 years ago. Now Riggan's back, on Broadway and funding, writing, directing and starring in a play, based on his favourite Raymond Carver's short story 'What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.' But as first preview night approaches, circumstances and nerves are beginning to get the better of Riggan and he starts to have serious doubts, his co-star is seriously injured in an on-stage accident and Riggan is forced to hire Edward Norton's insanely arrogant but brilliant, Mike to replace him, but Mike threatens to steal both the play and his daughter from under Riggan's nose. But that's just the tip of his problems, he's also got an on-off, is-she,-isn't-she-pregnant actress girlfriend, an ex-wife, his - fresh out of rehab - daughter, a best friend who's also producing the play (the surprisingly good, Zach Galifianakis who proves he can actually act and act well!), a truly venomous theatre critic hellbent on killing the play and Riggan's mostly unseen alter-ego, Birdman who's whispering advice into his ear to muddy the waters even further. Told over three nights and set almost entirely inside the theatre, Birdman is an incredibly unusual tour-de-force of a movie and unlike anything you've ever seen, unless you've seen Robert Atlman's 1970 classic, Brewster McCloud, which oddly enough was also about a bird-obsessed man.
There are so many incredible scenes and moments in this film that it deserves to be seen and marveled at. Birdman is an utter delight from beginning to end, bizarre, surreal, black as coal funny with brilliant performances, none more so than Keaton who utterly owns this movie lock, stock and barrel! Seriously I bloody loved this film. How it managed to be both so surreal and strange as well as incredibly grounded and real is a testimony to Alejandro as director and the gifted writers who wrote this film.
It most certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea, and I can understand why, but I guarantee that if you go and see it, you'll be talking about for weeks, it's that sort of rare and special film that deserves to be seen, even if you hate it. For seriously, when was the last time we got a mainstream film this daring, brave or downright bat-shit crazy?
10/10
Starring Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan and Naomi Watts. Written by Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo. Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Running time 119 minutes.
Will this be the second year on the trot where the best film of the year just so happens to be the first film of the year? If not, then whatever trumps it is going to be freking awesome! BIRDMAN is a strange, deeply dark comedy whose laughs come from situation and character rather than punchlines and pratfalls. Presented as a single long take, Birdman is actually a series of fantastically long, single-shot scenes that never fails to amaze and delight.
Michael Keaton plays Riggan Thomson, a tired, washed-up, Hollywood super-star who once played the titular character, Birdman in three blockbuster movies, but that was 20 years ago. Now Riggan's back, on Broadway and funding, writing, directing and starring in a play, based on his favourite Raymond Carver's short story 'What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.' But as first preview night approaches, circumstances and nerves are beginning to get the better of Riggan and he starts to have serious doubts, his co-star is seriously injured in an on-stage accident and Riggan is forced to hire Edward Norton's insanely arrogant but brilliant, Mike to replace him, but Mike threatens to steal both the play and his daughter from under Riggan's nose. But that's just the tip of his problems, he's also got an on-off, is-she,-isn't-she-pregnant actress girlfriend, an ex-wife, his - fresh out of rehab - daughter, a best friend who's also producing the play (the surprisingly good, Zach Galifianakis who proves he can actually act and act well!), a truly venomous theatre critic hellbent on killing the play and Riggan's mostly unseen alter-ego, Birdman who's whispering advice into his ear to muddy the waters even further. Told over three nights and set almost entirely inside the theatre, Birdman is an incredibly unusual tour-de-force of a movie and unlike anything you've ever seen, unless you've seen Robert Atlman's 1970 classic, Brewster McCloud, which oddly enough was also about a bird-obsessed man.
There are so many incredible scenes and moments in this film that it deserves to be seen and marveled at. Birdman is an utter delight from beginning to end, bizarre, surreal, black as coal funny with brilliant performances, none more so than Keaton who utterly owns this movie lock, stock and barrel! Seriously I bloody loved this film. How it managed to be both so surreal and strange as well as incredibly grounded and real is a testimony to Alejandro as director and the gifted writers who wrote this film.
It most certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea, and I can understand why, but I guarantee that if you go and see it, you'll be talking about for weeks, it's that sort of rare and special film that deserves to be seen, even if you hate it. For seriously, when was the last time we got a mainstream film this daring, brave or downright bat-shit crazy?
10/10
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