Birdman

After hearing all the awards this has been nominated for I decided to go see it the other day without any real expectation of what was in store for me. Yes, it's not really a superhero movie, it's about an actor who happens to be famous for a previous movie role (the titular "Birdman") trying to make a successful stage play. That in itself sounds incredibly dull, however the method that it is delivered is pretty cool, having just one long camera shot (via movie magic) almost the entire span of the movie. I dread to think how much rehearsal time and takes it took for everyone to get each sequence correct.

As you would expect, the acting is superb. Not just from lead Michael Keaton, but from all the others too - again probably perfected through the fires of stress and repetition due to how the movie is shot. Despite having many funny moments the story is a pretty depressing one but that didn't really bother me so much. What did bother me was the choice of music, or lack of it - in favor for many percussion solos (which are cleverly injected in some shots, complete with drummer and everything). Sure there are some parts with a solo cello playing some dark tunes but usually it's the drum guy you hear even in the opening and ending credits. If the point of that was to make me uncomfortable, it worked.

Do I make you uncomfortable?

From a technical view point, this film is great. Did I like it? That is a different question. Let's just say, I give it three out of five soliloquies. Despite that I can't really recommend it unless you like that technical aspect in film or just are a fan of Mr. Keaton.