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Thursday, October 23, 2014

Birdman

Birdman, or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
seen @ Angelika Film Center, New York, NY
10.19.14

I'm sitting here trying to think of how to express my feelings about the movie Birdman and I can't quite come up with something. I don't know why. It's not a bad movie; in fact, it's quite good, but it's so chock full of... stuff - ideas, images, themes - that it's difficult for me to arrange. It would help if I saw it again, but these days, I can't afford to see the same movie twice. Well, I probably could, but I don't want to fall behind schedule, not that it matters. It's not like I've got an editor over my shoulder telling me I've gotta meet a deadline, but when it comes to current movies, I do wanna attempt to stay as up-to-date as I can.

I thought it would be more meta-fictional than it actually was - ha ha, Michael Keaton, actor who played a superhero, plays an actor who played a superhero - but of course, it's much more than that. I also thought it would have more to say about the blockbuster superhero movie trend in Hollywood, though it does have its share of commentary about that. Mostly, i
t's about acting in general, and how fame works in this modern world. 

I found myself admiring the craft of the movie more than the story: the roaming camera all throughout the theater and the surrounding city streets; the way it looks like one long take; the acting, of course. I've seen people praise this movie up and down the net, and it deserves all the praise, but I didn't quite love it as much as I thought I would. Maybe it's a case where I fell victim to the hype surrounding it, but I don't think so.

It was nice to be back at the Angelika again. It's been so long since I'd been there. Of course, at fourteen dollars a pop with no matinee prices, that's probably one big reason why I've stayed away. I would've waited until it came to Kew Gardens, but Vija wanted to see it, so we did. Franz was there also; when we all went to eat afterwards, he realized he left his cellphone there and had to go back for it.

Sorry this took so long. Wish I had more to say about it, but I do recommend it.


4 comments:

  1. I can imagine this one being difficult to talk about. I saw Gone Girl with a friend, and after the Birdman trailer played, we just looked at each other and went, "Wow."

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  2. After 4 1/2 years of doing this, you'd think writing about movies would get easier somehow. Thank Zod I don't consider myself an actual critic.

    Would love to know what you thought about GONE GIRL.

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  3. I heart Zod. Our Zod is an awesome Zod. :)

    You know, I neither loved nor hated Gone Girl, and it seems everyone I talk about it with does--one or the other. It was a movie with no heroes, and an ambiguous ending, and I kind of dig that kind of thing. I thought Rosamund Pike was great, Ben was Blandy McBland, yet somehow gets the job done, and I was amused by Neil Patrick Harris. I thought he was an interesting casting choice for that role. I didn't think really deeply about any statements the movie (or book--which I didn't read) might be making, though I probably should. Ultimately, for me, it was a fun if disturbing afternoon at the movies. It had been awhile since I'd seen a suspense/mystery/thriller type film.

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  4. Fair enough. I guess because I tend to have my ear to the ground a little when it comes to film, I noticed a certain interpretation building up around the critics' reaction to it. See my post on it and you'll see what I mean.

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