Here comes the best movie of 2014. And it has been worth the wait locally, the Clint Eastwood directed American Sniper true story of the late Chris Kyle.
Bradley Cooper stars as Kyle, who has gone down in history as the sniper with the most enemy kills ever. A Navy Seal with an amazing sense of duty, country and selflessness. This movie is based on Kyles book, and the recollections of his widow, Teah. Yes, this is the story of an American hero, but it does tell the entire story, as Kyle is a hero, and incredibly flawed all at the same time.
In this new era of war setting movies, this is on par with The Hurt Locker (Oscar winner Best Picture), and Zero Dark Thirty (Oscar nominated Best Picture). These incredible movies have all been set in the war in the Middle East, but they really are more the stories of the people and how the war effects them, their families and eventually all of us. All of these movies are amazing, and this one is a step above even them.
Kyle is from Texas, and he joins the military late in life compared to most. He becomes a Seal, and eventually an amazingly skilled sniper that protects Marines on the streets of Iraq, as they go from house to house looking for wanted terrorists. He registers over 160 kills, and earns the title of "Legend." He becomes the most wanted man in Iraq by the terrorists who know of his prowess. But all of this is not without a price. Clearly Kyle is a sufferer of PTSD, as he has a very difficult time blending back in with his wife, life and young children.
His sense of duty is so strong, he needs to find another way to help in the fight, even after his days in the service are over. But how? Also, can he save his marriage, and his family, and is he a danger to himself or others. These are the questions of American Sniper.
Cooper is fantastic in his performance, and should win the Oscar for this. This is a large role, where he really became Kyle. He gained 40 pounds to look like him, and he does. Cooper spent much time with Kyles widow, learning all he could about Kyle, and brings him to life in an uncanny fashion. The performance is authentic, and real and about as good as any one person in any role in recent memory.
Eastwood's direction is superb as this movie looks great, tells a hard-to-tell story. The backdrops are spot on, and everyone looks incredibly comfortable in this movie. The casting is perfect from start to finish. This is violent but not overly so, as it deals with men under immense pressure in battle and out. This is dramatic, exciting, compelling and downright great. American Sniper does not glorify the war, or demonize anyone.
It shows the war through the eyes of Kyle and the way he saw it. It shows that war is not always what we think it is. Eastwood humanizes war here through the incredibly well defined characters much as he did when he directed and won the Oscar for Best Picture for Unforgiven 20 some years ago. He showed us then The Old West was not glorified, but an ugly tough place and broke the mold on westerns forever. And the same goes here with war. It also shows part of what these guys do that none of us can even imagine, and there's guys doing it right now as we read and write this.
American Sniper. Brilliantly told, filmed, written and acted. This is the best movie of 2014.
Friday, January 16, 2015
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
MOVIE REVIEW - Selma
The critically acclaimed, Selma is out in wide release this week, and it does not disappoint.
Selma is a historical look at a segment of Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy in 1965 three years before his death. It focuses on his crusade at that moment in getting Black Americans the right to vote. Even though the law was passed, millions of African Americans still were being denied the right to vote, primarily in the deep south. This is the story of King lobbying, and fighting for change from the White House to ensure the law would be enforced.
It all culminated in in early 1965 with the 50 mile walk from Selma Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama in the face of tremendous prejudice. That feeling was expressed without mercy from the local law enforcement, and even the Alabama Governors office to prevent the historic walk from happening by any means necessary. Mostly the means were extremely violent against unarmed and peaceful marchers and protesters.
This is a real grown up movie that takes a tough stomach to watch much of it. It is hard to believe of course in the grand scheme of things this was not all that long ago, and what was happening in some parts of this country were pretty tough to watch. This movie does a very nice job though of showing the worst of America at the time, and the best. This movie does rely on you to have some historical knowledge of the times as it does not spell it all out for you directly. This movie certainly will get people interested in the times and the subject.
Yes, there are horrible scenes of extreme police brutality and long moments of tough to take prejudice. But without question the movies best and most powerful moments are the ones where King (David Oyelowo) is giving immensely moving speeches as we really get to know King other than just clips on the History Channel. Oyelowo is simply terrific as King. Plus, they show King for who he really was as a man outside the Civil Rights movement, and inside the walls of his own home.
They also show is relationship with President Lyndon Johnson (Tom Wilkinson), and that makes for great theater too. They do a great job in showing the various perspectives both men were coming from during a very turbulent time in our nations recent history. Wilkinson is great as LBJ, and you can feel the respect, and the tension between the two men.
Selma. Command performances, a very solid and moving movie.
Selma is a historical look at a segment of Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy in 1965 three years before his death. It focuses on his crusade at that moment in getting Black Americans the right to vote. Even though the law was passed, millions of African Americans still were being denied the right to vote, primarily in the deep south. This is the story of King lobbying, and fighting for change from the White House to ensure the law would be enforced.
It all culminated in in early 1965 with the 50 mile walk from Selma Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama in the face of tremendous prejudice. That feeling was expressed without mercy from the local law enforcement, and even the Alabama Governors office to prevent the historic walk from happening by any means necessary. Mostly the means were extremely violent against unarmed and peaceful marchers and protesters.
This is a real grown up movie that takes a tough stomach to watch much of it. It is hard to believe of course in the grand scheme of things this was not all that long ago, and what was happening in some parts of this country were pretty tough to watch. This movie does a very nice job though of showing the worst of America at the time, and the best. This movie does rely on you to have some historical knowledge of the times as it does not spell it all out for you directly. This movie certainly will get people interested in the times and the subject.
Yes, there are horrible scenes of extreme police brutality and long moments of tough to take prejudice. But without question the movies best and most powerful moments are the ones where King (David Oyelowo) is giving immensely moving speeches as we really get to know King other than just clips on the History Channel. Oyelowo is simply terrific as King. Plus, they show King for who he really was as a man outside the Civil Rights movement, and inside the walls of his own home.
They also show is relationship with President Lyndon Johnson (Tom Wilkinson), and that makes for great theater too. They do a great job in showing the various perspectives both men were coming from during a very turbulent time in our nations recent history. Wilkinson is great as LBJ, and you can feel the respect, and the tension between the two men.
Selma. Command performances, a very solid and moving movie.
Saturday, January 10, 2015
MOVIE REVIEW - Taken 3
Here comes the poster child movie for one that critics are slamming without mercy, and audiences are loving.
Taken 3, continues the story of ex-special ops and OCD hero Brian Mills (Liam Neeson) and his family. The original Taken was a really fun, tidy thrill ride that we all loved. Behind all of its bells and whistles, it was a father moving Heaven and Earth to save his daughter from kidnappers. Taken 2, was not as good, as we had to relive his wife AND daughter being taken again. And the end result was the same, strike another one for the good guys.
Taken 3, is a bit of a stretch, but it again is a dad protecting his daughter. But this time there are some new wrinkles. Brian's ex-wife (Famke Janssen) is murdered, and the whole thing is set up to make it look like Brian did it. So he is on the run, trying to find the killer, and trying to protect his daughter (Maggie Grace) from the same fate. All the while, he is being chased by the Los Angeles cops for the murder. There are plenty of huge action and chase scenes, and much of this is hard to swallow, as a ton of silliness is blended in. There was plenty in the first two, but now we may be getting weary of it. It just looks a bit more obvious here.
But a great choice was the casting of Forest Whitaker as the lead investigator chasing Brian. Whitaker makes any movie better, even a marginal one. This movie, (although not in the same class at all) takes on The Fugitive's formula. A sympathetic, innocent hero on the run from a dogged, smart and really great character developed here by Whitaker. You like both characters and are a bit conflicted on who to cheer for, actually wishing them both the best. The formula got The Fugitive tons of Oscar nominations and a win for Tommy Lee Jones who played the colorful cop. There will be no Oscars here.
This is an easy target for critics to hammer away on for tons of reasons, most of them apt. But it's mid-January, and we need a little silly and mindless action to get us through it. I think everyone needs just to take a deep breath and remember they can't all change cinematic history. There is an attempt to freshen this a bit, but over all it is just an action movie, nothing special. This does miss some of the drama of the first one especially. Neeson is asked here to basically be an action hero, and not a great actor as he was in the original. And that's a huge problem. This is far more concerned with smash-em-up than act-em-up, and that's a shame.
To this series credit, it does look like it may be over. Plus, Neeson may be a bit too old to redo this role in two years. He has lost an edge or two. Also, this series has maintained a PG-13 rating throughout with minimal harsh language and although violent, not graphic or bloody. And that is well done.
Taken 3. It is what it is. Let's hope this series takes itself off into the sunset before it screws it all up and destroys the original premise.
Taken 3, continues the story of ex-special ops and OCD hero Brian Mills (Liam Neeson) and his family. The original Taken was a really fun, tidy thrill ride that we all loved. Behind all of its bells and whistles, it was a father moving Heaven and Earth to save his daughter from kidnappers. Taken 2, was not as good, as we had to relive his wife AND daughter being taken again. And the end result was the same, strike another one for the good guys.
Taken 3, is a bit of a stretch, but it again is a dad protecting his daughter. But this time there are some new wrinkles. Brian's ex-wife (Famke Janssen) is murdered, and the whole thing is set up to make it look like Brian did it. So he is on the run, trying to find the killer, and trying to protect his daughter (Maggie Grace) from the same fate. All the while, he is being chased by the Los Angeles cops for the murder. There are plenty of huge action and chase scenes, and much of this is hard to swallow, as a ton of silliness is blended in. There was plenty in the first two, but now we may be getting weary of it. It just looks a bit more obvious here.
But a great choice was the casting of Forest Whitaker as the lead investigator chasing Brian. Whitaker makes any movie better, even a marginal one. This movie, (although not in the same class at all) takes on The Fugitive's formula. A sympathetic, innocent hero on the run from a dogged, smart and really great character developed here by Whitaker. You like both characters and are a bit conflicted on who to cheer for, actually wishing them both the best. The formula got The Fugitive tons of Oscar nominations and a win for Tommy Lee Jones who played the colorful cop. There will be no Oscars here.
This is an easy target for critics to hammer away on for tons of reasons, most of them apt. But it's mid-January, and we need a little silly and mindless action to get us through it. I think everyone needs just to take a deep breath and remember they can't all change cinematic history. There is an attempt to freshen this a bit, but over all it is just an action movie, nothing special. This does miss some of the drama of the first one especially. Neeson is asked here to basically be an action hero, and not a great actor as he was in the original. And that's a huge problem. This is far more concerned with smash-em-up than act-em-up, and that's a shame.
To this series credit, it does look like it may be over. Plus, Neeson may be a bit too old to redo this role in two years. He has lost an edge or two. Also, this series has maintained a PG-13 rating throughout with minimal harsh language and although violent, not graphic or bloody. And that is well done.
Taken 3. It is what it is. Let's hope this series takes itself off into the sunset before it screws it all up and destroys the original premise.
Monday, January 5, 2015
MOVIE REVIEW - The Woman In Black 2
Someone explain to me why on earth do they make sequels to flicks that were really no big deal in the first place. Usher in The Woman In Black 2: Angel Of Death.
Funny thing is, the original was not a gigantic hit but was a rather interesting movie, and a cut above the rest of this genre. Even Daniel Radcliffe was in the first movie, but he waved this one off. The original had a cool look, and a jolt or two. This one just looks cool.
This takes place in 1941 England, where a bunch of orphaned kids from WWII end up with some school teachers in the British countryside, away from the bombing in London. While there at this empty mansion they start being "haunted" by mysterious ghosts (The woman in black). This is supposed to be scary, but it's not. At all.
The teachers are trying to protect the children, and there are a couple of side plots that make no sense and you don't care about. And the reason is simple. There is nothing compelling about this movie at all. This movie just lays there and basically falls asleep. And you might too. A jumble of predictable attempted scary things, but you are way ahead of it. You see all of them coming and it's nothing you have not seen 50 times before in various other movies. Bumps ad bangs and shadows. Stop it! Imagination please?
There is a nice young actress in this movie, Phoebe Fox, and she is a refreshing face on screen as the main character and one of the young teachers. And this movie has a nice look, as it travels us back to the early 40's. I will say this movie is visually pretty well done, as was the first. But nice sets, props, and costuming doesn't a movie make. This simply isn't anything that is really interesting or exciting here.
The Woman In Black 2:Angel Of Death. DOA.
Funny thing is, the original was not a gigantic hit but was a rather interesting movie, and a cut above the rest of this genre. Even Daniel Radcliffe was in the first movie, but he waved this one off. The original had a cool look, and a jolt or two. This one just looks cool.
This takes place in 1941 England, where a bunch of orphaned kids from WWII end up with some school teachers in the British countryside, away from the bombing in London. While there at this empty mansion they start being "haunted" by mysterious ghosts (The woman in black). This is supposed to be scary, but it's not. At all.
The teachers are trying to protect the children, and there are a couple of side plots that make no sense and you don't care about. And the reason is simple. There is nothing compelling about this movie at all. This movie just lays there and basically falls asleep. And you might too. A jumble of predictable attempted scary things, but you are way ahead of it. You see all of them coming and it's nothing you have not seen 50 times before in various other movies. Bumps ad bangs and shadows. Stop it! Imagination please?
There is a nice young actress in this movie, Phoebe Fox, and she is a refreshing face on screen as the main character and one of the young teachers. And this movie has a nice look, as it travels us back to the early 40's. I will say this movie is visually pretty well done, as was the first. But nice sets, props, and costuming doesn't a movie make. This simply isn't anything that is really interesting or exciting here.
The Woman In Black 2:Angel Of Death. DOA.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
LOCAL GOLF - Dewsweepers Five Favorite Courses of 2014
Golf season for the Dewsweepers ended suddenly this fall. We play Sunday mornings of course, and chronicle our rounds and local courses here weekly.
This fall the weather was not good on many of our fall Sundays, and then the cold came in for good. But, we still played a ton of great local courses and it's only fitting we dish out some deserved kudos here. These are our Five Favorite Courses we played this season. This is not a "best of" list. These are the courses we enjoyed the most for many reasons. We play courses all over from Sandusky to
Willoughy, to Canton, to Eastern Portage County.
Should be noted all courses we played, and there were a ton, were all in great shape and all local superintendents should be proud of their courses, during another challenging weather year for them.
I will also link you back to our original review so you can learn about the courses in case you have never played there. So from the Dewsweepers Joe Red. Tex, Beef and Wynn....
The Dewsweepers Top Five Favorite Courses for 2014
1/ Sugar Bush - What a great track we played for the first time this season in Portage County. We
played this early in the year and on this day it was a bit wet, but we loved this
course. Very challenging, great character. We will play this at least twice this year.
2/ Manikiki - Simply a great course in the MetroParks in Willoughby. This is an old school course
with a rich history, and a great rate to boot for the quality of course it is. Simply a
gorgeous place to play, worth the drive. Second year on this list.
3/ Shale Creek - In Medina. This was right up there with the great places we played. And this could
have been the toughest course we played all year. And the day we played it was
early in the season and windy. Fabulous place. Play it.
4/ Thunderbird Hills South - In Huron. One of the best kept secrets in the area. Second year on this
list. Young course part of a 36 hole complex that is fabulous and getting better every
year. Worth the drive. Play the North and the South, would make a great trip.
5/ Maplecrest - Near Kent is one of the fun places we play. It is not a long course, but a shotmakers
course. Fun to play and you can score if you are hitting the ball straight. Old and
mature. Wonderful and quaint place to play.
5/ (Tie) Brookledge - Cuyahoga Falls. For a city owned course, this place is terrific! Amazing
shape and a great staff. If you have never played this place, you should. Challenging and
wonderful. Country club quality for a public course.
Courses to keep an eye on in 2015
Cossett Creek - (Formerly Brunswick Hills) Brunswick. New attitude and major improvements
there. Exciting to see, and this could be a great place to play soon. Still work to do
but they are on their way.
Hickory Nut - Columbia Station. The improvements to this course over the past couple years are
amazing. This is really coming along, and is improving all the time in every way.
In few more seasons, this place could be incredible.
Springvale - North Olmsted. This place is in the middle of a major renovation from top to bottom.
The course, though simply designed was in AMAZING shape this summer. This was
the surprise of the season for us. Great place!
There the are! Look for the Dewsweepers Sunday Morning Golf Course Reviews this spring right here! Hopefully starting in March!
scott@wqmx.com
This fall the weather was not good on many of our fall Sundays, and then the cold came in for good. But, we still played a ton of great local courses and it's only fitting we dish out some deserved kudos here. These are our Five Favorite Courses we played this season. This is not a "best of" list. These are the courses we enjoyed the most for many reasons. We play courses all over from Sandusky to
Willoughy, to Canton, to Eastern Portage County.
Should be noted all courses we played, and there were a ton, were all in great shape and all local superintendents should be proud of their courses, during another challenging weather year for them.
I will also link you back to our original review so you can learn about the courses in case you have never played there. So from the Dewsweepers Joe Red. Tex, Beef and Wynn....
The Dewsweepers Top Five Favorite Courses for 2014
1/ Sugar Bush - What a great track we played for the first time this season in Portage County. We
played this early in the year and on this day it was a bit wet, but we loved this
course. Very challenging, great character. We will play this at least twice this year.
2/ Manikiki - Simply a great course in the MetroParks in Willoughby. This is an old school course
with a rich history, and a great rate to boot for the quality of course it is. Simply a
gorgeous place to play, worth the drive. Second year on this list.
3/ Shale Creek - In Medina. This was right up there with the great places we played. And this could
have been the toughest course we played all year. And the day we played it was
early in the season and windy. Fabulous place. Play it.
4/ Thunderbird Hills South - In Huron. One of the best kept secrets in the area. Second year on this
list. Young course part of a 36 hole complex that is fabulous and getting better every
year. Worth the drive. Play the North and the South, would make a great trip.
5/ Maplecrest - Near Kent is one of the fun places we play. It is not a long course, but a shotmakers
course. Fun to play and you can score if you are hitting the ball straight. Old and
mature. Wonderful and quaint place to play.
5/ (Tie) Brookledge - Cuyahoga Falls. For a city owned course, this place is terrific! Amazing
shape and a great staff. If you have never played this place, you should. Challenging and
wonderful. Country club quality for a public course.
Courses to keep an eye on in 2015
Cossett Creek - (Formerly Brunswick Hills) Brunswick. New attitude and major improvements
there. Exciting to see, and this could be a great place to play soon. Still work to do
but they are on their way.
Hickory Nut - Columbia Station. The improvements to this course over the past couple years are
amazing. This is really coming along, and is improving all the time in every way.
In few more seasons, this place could be incredible.
Springvale - North Olmsted. This place is in the middle of a major renovation from top to bottom.
The course, though simply designed was in AMAZING shape this summer. This was
the surprise of the season for us. Great place!
There the are! Look for the Dewsweepers Sunday Morning Golf Course Reviews this spring right here! Hopefully starting in March!
scott@wqmx.com
Saturday, January 3, 2015
MOVIE REVIEW - The Imitation Game
Here comes a movie that is being reviewed very well, is good, and in the grand scheme of things no one is going to see.
The Imitation Game is out and is pretty darn good. This is in limited release and is worth the drive to find it. I call this kind of movie a "film" (in good fun). This is a period art piece that looks great, tells a story you don't know, and through it all, finds relevance in today's world and for today's movie goer. If it were just given the chance.
This is the true story of a man named Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch). He was a late-20's genius mathematician in England during WWII. He and a small team were charged with trying to decode the unbreakable code known as "Enigma" the Nazi's were using most effectively for communication. Enigma was so sophisticated at the time, that it could be used every single day, in the open and its encryption was so advanced the Allies were helpless against it. It was a huge reason the early days of the war were going so poorly for the Allies in Europe. What Turing had to do was invent a machine that could be used to combat the Enigma machine - and hopefully win the war. So he invented the first computer. - In the 1940's - True.
That is the basic story. But it shows his troubled relationship with virtually everyone in the world. Turing is deeply conflicted in his entire life and has issues far beyond just the task at hand. He is a complicated man, who finds it very difficult to achieve happiness or peace. He does develop a friendship with fellow genius and team mate, Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley). She helps guide him through the endless pitfalls and difficulty that he encounters, both on a personal level and in dealing with team mates and even the British government itself. He also has deep secrets he must keep quiet as well.
This movie looks amazingly authentic. The sets, costumes, hair, makeup, and overall presentation is simply perfect as it transports us back to WWII. Cumberbatch is terrific in this large role that will certainly gain him an Oscar nomination. Knightley too, not only will be nominated, but could very well win Best Supporting Actress, as she is nothing short of sensational. She is rapidly becoming one of Hollywood's best and most believable actors.
The Imitation Game. Much to like here. Very, very good. One of the years ten best movies.
The Imitation Game is out and is pretty darn good. This is in limited release and is worth the drive to find it. I call this kind of movie a "film" (in good fun). This is a period art piece that looks great, tells a story you don't know, and through it all, finds relevance in today's world and for today's movie goer. If it were just given the chance.
This is the true story of a man named Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch). He was a late-20's genius mathematician in England during WWII. He and a small team were charged with trying to decode the unbreakable code known as "Enigma" the Nazi's were using most effectively for communication. Enigma was so sophisticated at the time, that it could be used every single day, in the open and its encryption was so advanced the Allies were helpless against it. It was a huge reason the early days of the war were going so poorly for the Allies in Europe. What Turing had to do was invent a machine that could be used to combat the Enigma machine - and hopefully win the war. So he invented the first computer. - In the 1940's - True.
That is the basic story. But it shows his troubled relationship with virtually everyone in the world. Turing is deeply conflicted in his entire life and has issues far beyond just the task at hand. He is a complicated man, who finds it very difficult to achieve happiness or peace. He does develop a friendship with fellow genius and team mate, Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley). She helps guide him through the endless pitfalls and difficulty that he encounters, both on a personal level and in dealing with team mates and even the British government itself. He also has deep secrets he must keep quiet as well.
This movie looks amazingly authentic. The sets, costumes, hair, makeup, and overall presentation is simply perfect as it transports us back to WWII. Cumberbatch is terrific in this large role that will certainly gain him an Oscar nomination. Knightley too, not only will be nominated, but could very well win Best Supporting Actress, as she is nothing short of sensational. She is rapidly becoming one of Hollywood's best and most believable actors.
The Imitation Game. Much to like here. Very, very good. One of the years ten best movies.
Friday, January 2, 2015
MOVIE REVIEW - Birdman
To say that the new Micheal Keaton dark comedy, drama Birdman is in very limited release would be generous. It has gotten very little local play, and is being reviewed as one of the years best movies.
I won't go that far, but Birdman is amazingly smart and original on so many levels, I can see why the Hollywood community has been sufficiently seduced by it. This has a big cast, an original premise, and is made in a way you really haven't seen before. In addition to Keaton there is Edward Norton Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, and Zach Galifianakis. All of whom you have not seen before on screen in a movie playing characters like this. In essence, they all had to reinvent themselves for this movie.
This is the fictional story of Riggan Thomson (Keaton). He is an actor now about 60, who is desperately trying to become relevant again. He played a superhero character some 25 years ago named Birdman in a series of movies. He made three then walked away. He made a ton of cash, but felt like he wasn't doing good and meaningful acting. So he is now on Broadway trying to open a play that he has adapted from a 70 year old book. A drama about love. And he is finding roadblocks all along the way.
He's going broke doing it. He has lost his marriage, and his daughter is recently out of rehab. He's terrified of being a failure. He's paranoid about his image, his critics, and the whole deal in general. Plus, he's hearing voices in his head from the past. In short he's a mess. Will his play be a success? That is Birdman in a few sentences, but it is so much more.
The making of this movie is the real star of it. It is totally groundbreaking as it is shot in one seemingly continuous take. There is no evidence of any hard editing, or any editing at all. The camera follows our characters from scene to scene seamlessly, and this is extraordinary film making in a technical sense. You've never really seen anything like this, and this scores huge originality points there. The soundtrack, when used, is basically a light drum solo that gives this a real independent feel. And again adds to its originality.
This is wonderfully, and tragically funny with all of our stars giving really command performances. Galifianakis will hardly be recognized as this is a thousand miles from The Hangover. He is funny, and pretty darn good. Keaton is great as the complicated Riggan, and the rest of the cast really stands up well.
This also is great parody of the live theater business, and Broadway in general. It lampoons the actors and the business at large in a straight forward, honest, but not vicious way that is really funny. It also takes to task the whole Superhero genre of movie making, with many references to the fact that these animated and computer generated movies are not art at all, simply mass appeal drivel that mindless patrons support. All of this ironic too, with Keaton of course being an ex-Batman from 25 years ago.
Birdman. Some are calling it the best movie of the year, I will not. But this is insanely original, fun, and really, really well done. Very good.
I won't go that far, but Birdman is amazingly smart and original on so many levels, I can see why the Hollywood community has been sufficiently seduced by it. This has a big cast, an original premise, and is made in a way you really haven't seen before. In addition to Keaton there is Edward Norton Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, and Zach Galifianakis. All of whom you have not seen before on screen in a movie playing characters like this. In essence, they all had to reinvent themselves for this movie.
This is the fictional story of Riggan Thomson (Keaton). He is an actor now about 60, who is desperately trying to become relevant again. He played a superhero character some 25 years ago named Birdman in a series of movies. He made three then walked away. He made a ton of cash, but felt like he wasn't doing good and meaningful acting. So he is now on Broadway trying to open a play that he has adapted from a 70 year old book. A drama about love. And he is finding roadblocks all along the way.
He's going broke doing it. He has lost his marriage, and his daughter is recently out of rehab. He's terrified of being a failure. He's paranoid about his image, his critics, and the whole deal in general. Plus, he's hearing voices in his head from the past. In short he's a mess. Will his play be a success? That is Birdman in a few sentences, but it is so much more.
The making of this movie is the real star of it. It is totally groundbreaking as it is shot in one seemingly continuous take. There is no evidence of any hard editing, or any editing at all. The camera follows our characters from scene to scene seamlessly, and this is extraordinary film making in a technical sense. You've never really seen anything like this, and this scores huge originality points there. The soundtrack, when used, is basically a light drum solo that gives this a real independent feel. And again adds to its originality.
This is wonderfully, and tragically funny with all of our stars giving really command performances. Galifianakis will hardly be recognized as this is a thousand miles from The Hangover. He is funny, and pretty darn good. Keaton is great as the complicated Riggan, and the rest of the cast really stands up well.
This also is great parody of the live theater business, and Broadway in general. It lampoons the actors and the business at large in a straight forward, honest, but not vicious way that is really funny. It also takes to task the whole Superhero genre of movie making, with many references to the fact that these animated and computer generated movies are not art at all, simply mass appeal drivel that mindless patrons support. All of this ironic too, with Keaton of course being an ex-Batman from 25 years ago.
Birdman. Some are calling it the best movie of the year, I will not. But this is insanely original, fun, and really, really well done. Very good.
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