View Poll Results: Yay Or Nay?

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Thread: Birdman (Alejandro González Iñárritu)

  1. #1
    Administrator Ezee E's Avatar
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    Birdman (Alejandro González Iñárritu)


    Barbarian - ***
    Bones and All - ***
    Tar - **


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  2. #2
    Administrator Ezee E's Avatar
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    I can't wait until the Match Cut group sees this as there's so much to talk about with this movie.

    Where has this Inarritu been? Gone is the HEAVY drama, and instead is a fascinating approach that puts him with Cuaron and Del Toro (upping anything Del Toro has done). Yes, the movie is told in a series of one-takes that makes the story incredibly frantic. There's a character study here, as well as it being ensemble. I don't really know of anything that's been like that before.

    Of course Michael Keaton is the standout here. I've always been a huge fan, waiting and waiting for his comeback. He's been mostly relegated to voice acting and the occasional bad movie, so it's great to see him in his best role since 2005's Game 6. He is top notch here in a role that demands quick-speaking and someone that can act big without looking hokey.

    The other actors all work great with each other. It's been a while since there's been so much dialog in a movie that feels like something from the Howard Hawks time. Keaton-Norton and Stone-Norton probably work it the best with the rapid delivery.

    The one-shots all deliver here, without REALLY calling attention to themselves. Instead, it feels like you're simply being pulled along as a production assistant taking notes as the play crumbles and shines. Emmanuel Lubezki isn't the only one to be complimented on this. The use of existing lighting, the creativity of the movie set, and the use of props, special effects, etc are all to be commended.

    This is something to be seen. Can't wait to discuss further.

    Barbarian - ***
    Bones and All - ***
    Tar - **


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  3. #3
    In the belly of a whale Henry Gale's Avatar
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    Jealy to my core but so glad to hear you were impressed by it on a similarly profound level as seemingly all the other reactions from the festival ether.

    I'm not sure how much more I can want to see this than the state of wanting to jump at the very first chance I get that I've already been at since I saw the trailers, but the anticipation just grows and grows.
    Last 11 things I really enjoyed:

    Speed Racer (Wachowski/Wachowski, 2008)
    Safe (Haynes, 1995)
    South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (Parker, 1999)
    Beastie Boys Story (Jonze, 2020)
    Bad Trip (Sakurai, 2020)
    What's Up Doc? (Bogdanovich, 1972)
    Diva (Beineix, 1981)
    Delicatessen (Caro/Jeunet, 1991)
    The Hunger (Scott, 1983)
    Pineapple Express (Green, 2008)
    Chungking Express (Wong, 1994)

  4. #4
    Administrator Ezee E's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Henry Gale (view post)
    Jealy to my core but so glad to hear you were impressed by it on a similarly profound level as seemingly all the other reactions from the festival ether.

    I'm not sure how much more I can want to see this than the state of wanting to jump at the very first chance I get that I've already been at since I saw the trailers, but the anticipation just grows and grows.
    I also got to see it a day before the rest of the Telluride fellas at the staff screening. Yussss.

    Barbarian - ***
    Bones and All - ***
    Tar - **


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  5. #5
    Guttenbergian Pop Trash's Avatar
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    Walter Chaw apparently hated this. Not sure what to make of that.
    Ratings on a 1-10 scale for your pleasure:

    Top Gun: Maverick - 8
    Top Gun - 7
    McCabe & Mrs. Miller - 8
    Crimes of the Future - 8
    Videodrome - 9
    Valley Girl - 8
    Summer of '42 - 7
    In the Line of Fire - 8
    Passenger 57 - 7
    Everything Everywhere All at Once - 6



  6. #6
    Administrator Ezee E's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Pop Trash (view post)
    Walter Chaw apparently hated this. Not sure what to make of that.
    Yeah, pretty heated about it too. He responded to a few of my tweets and called it 'middlebrow slop.' Whatever that means. I forgot that he lives in Colorado and programs the Alamo Drafthouse. He also was at the same condo as I this year.

    Barbarian - ***
    Bones and All - ***
    Tar - **


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  7. #7
    Kung Fu Hippie Watashi's Avatar
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    This film felt like it was made by a bitter film student who got annoyed anytime someone talked or laughed during an arthouse film shown during Film 101.

    It's really pathetic how Inarritu tries to be bold by doing his best Kaufman impression, but falls flat on his face. I'm really beginning to hate this trend of filmmakers being "meta for meta sakes" with no clue how to be subtle. This film feels like a bunch of random angry notes and half-baked character profiles that don't extend beyond the page. It hits every arthouse note and it doesn't know it because it's too busy being about TRUTH and ART and other crap like that.

    Fuck this movie.
    Sure why not?

    STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (Rian Johnson) - 9
    STRONGER (David Gordon Green) - 6
    THE DISASTER ARTIST (James Franco) - 7
    THE FLORIDA PROJECT (Sean Baker) - 9
    LADY BIRD (Greta Gerwig) - 8


    "Hitchcock is really bad at suspense."
    - Stay Puft

  8. #8
    Guttenbergian Pop Trash's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Watashi (view post)
    I'm really beginning to hate this trend of filmmakers being "meta for meta sakes" with no clue how to be subtle.
    What other movies have this trope in your opinion?
    Ratings on a 1-10 scale for your pleasure:

    Top Gun: Maverick - 8
    Top Gun - 7
    McCabe & Mrs. Miller - 8
    Crimes of the Future - 8
    Videodrome - 9
    Valley Girl - 8
    Summer of '42 - 7
    In the Line of Fire - 8
    Passenger 57 - 7
    Everything Everywhere All at Once - 6



  9. #9
    Here till the end MadMan's Avatar
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    Wats hated it. Now I know I'll like it.
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  10. #10
    Quote Quoting MadMan (view post)
    Wats hated it. Now I know I'll like it.
    I laughed.

  11. #11
    Piss off, ghost! number8's Avatar
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    Weird that it took Inarritu making a wink-wink satire with over-the-top goofballs for him to finally have characters in his film that resemble human beings instead of walking misery conduits. Still, he really does not know how to not scream his commentary with twelve exclamation marks. I like that the single-take gimmick actually has a thematic purpose to the story instead of just being something technically impressive.

    I had a ball with it as a comedy and a Michael Keaton comeback vehicle, but I feel like Bojack Horseman did this story better.
    Quote Quoting Donald Glover
    I was actually just reading about Matt Damon and he’s like, ‘There’s a culture of outrage.’ I’m like, ‘Well, they have a reason to be outraged.’ I think it’s a lot of dudes just being scared. They’re like, ‘What if I did something and I didn’t realize it?’ I’m like, ‘Deal with it.’
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  12. #12
    Guttenbergian Pop Trash's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting number8 (view post)
    I feel like Bojack Horseman did this story better.
    ha...that looks awesome.
    Ratings on a 1-10 scale for your pleasure:

    Top Gun: Maverick - 8
    Top Gun - 7
    McCabe & Mrs. Miller - 8
    Crimes of the Future - 8
    Videodrome - 9
    Valley Girl - 8
    Summer of '42 - 7
    In the Line of Fire - 8
    Passenger 57 - 7
    Everything Everywhere All at Once - 6



  13. #13
    The Pan Spinal's Avatar
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    It was really weird seeing this days after seeing Game 6.
    Coming to America (Landis, 1988) **
    The Beach Bum (Korine, 2019) *1/2
    Us (Peele, 2019) ***1/2
    Fugue (Smoczynska, 2018) ***1/2
    Prisoners (Villeneuve, 2013) ***1/2
    Shadow (Zhang, 2018) ***
    Oslo, August 31st (J. Trier, 2011) ****
    Climax (Noé, 2018) **1/2
    Fighting With My Family (Merchant, 2019) **
    Upstream Color (Carruth, 2013) ***

  14. #14
    The Pan Spinal's Avatar
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    As for the film ... I don't know ... it's one of those things where I liked it and I'm disappointed at the same time. If it exists solely to finally get Michael Keaton an Oscar nomination, then great. It's a convincing, captivating performance. The structure of the film is initially entrancing. But over time, I found it a bit distracting as I found myself trying to spot the 'invisible' cuts. Writing this about an hour after walking out of the film, I realize that I didn't get a whole lot out of the meat of it. Is there anything about the script or the characters that is particularly revelatory or memorable? I'm not so sure. Still, the ensemble's pretty good and it's fun while you're watching it. I like the film best when it veers off into the surreal. There's a few times where I thought, oh, that's pretty neat.

    And that's about it. I liked Babel better.
    Coming to America (Landis, 1988) **
    The Beach Bum (Korine, 2019) *1/2
    Us (Peele, 2019) ***1/2
    Fugue (Smoczynska, 2018) ***1/2
    Prisoners (Villeneuve, 2013) ***1/2
    Shadow (Zhang, 2018) ***
    Oslo, August 31st (J. Trier, 2011) ****
    Climax (Noé, 2018) **1/2
    Fighting With My Family (Merchant, 2019) **
    Upstream Color (Carruth, 2013) ***

  15. #15
    Crying Enthusiast Sven's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Spinal (view post)
    Is there anything about the script or the characters that is particularly revelatory or memorable?
    Loved Keaton, and I think the film is strongest when it is focusing on his psychosis (or, as you say, "veers into the surreal"). The revelations offered by the side characters come off as pat or phony (his daughter's mouthpiecing is particularly annoying), and I too found the single-shot structure distracting, albeit serving a theme that is bolstered by the technique's self-consciousness (ie, it's important that the film looks authentic while simultaneously reminding the viewer that it is not).

    Frustrating damn movie, but rapturous and well-performed. Lesbian kiss, Norton's bad boy put-on, and the denouement were my biggest problems, but all significant to the film's extra-diegetic text-pulling. Birdman is pretty serious about being a movie about being actors who sometimes make movies.

    Surprisingly loved Galifianakis.

  16. #16
    Galfiniakis was expert. I expect something big from him at some point, not to jinx it or anything.

    This was a nice paean to the abilities of mediocre people aspiring to big, poetic things. Meta text! The critic is the sympathetic villain, but this communicates the opposite theme of Ratatouille.
    The Act of Killing (Oppenheimer 13) - A
    Stranger by the Lake (Giraudie 12) - B
    American Hustle (Russell 13) - C+
    The Wolf of Wall Street (Scorsese 13) - C+
    Passion (De Palma 12) - B

  17. #17
    Alone again, naturally eternity's Avatar
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    It's really great when it intends to be funny. It's kind of a pain in the ass when it doesn't.

  18. #18
    pushing too many pencils Rowland's Avatar
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    Went into this with an anti-Iñárritu axe to grind, greased by the mini-backlash that has been building amidst the critical circles I follow, but I found it to be a surprisingly slippery beast, and an exceedingly stimulating one at that.

  19. #19
    Crying Enthusiast Sven's Avatar
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    Yeah, there are a lot of reductive readings out there. Chaw's review, for example, is embarrassingly unaware.

  20. #20
    Piss off, ghost! number8's Avatar
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    I like how critics who would normally forgive the unrealistic portrayals of hundreds of professions across cinema are up in arms and singling out the Lindsay Duncan character.
    Quote Quoting Donald Glover
    I was actually just reading about Matt Damon and he’s like, ‘There’s a culture of outrage.’ I’m like, ‘Well, they have a reason to be outraged.’ I think it’s a lot of dudes just being scared. They’re like, ‘What if I did something and I didn’t realize it?’ I’m like, ‘Deal with it.’
    Movie Theater Diary

  21. #21
    Super Moderator dreamdead's Avatar
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    Not sure this one isn't utterly diaphanous in terms of what it says. And it's not always coherent in its agenda. At times its profundity works--some of the literal transposings of Raymond Carver's story, and some of the Norton/Stone material on the roof--but almost all of the Watts business is just vapid, and the women here do get the short stick a lot.

    Also: If so much of the film seeks to make us understand Keaton's grandiose delusions (showing him actively rather than telepathically breaking the items in his room when Galfiniakis walks in; the switcheroo from Keaton's flying to the cabbie who wants to be paid for his fare), then it seems counter-intuitive to close the way it does, especially since it's undercutting (intentionally? surrealistically?) the earlier "suicide."

    It's wonderfully frenetic in its design, and the pacing was dazzling as I was watching it, but at the end there's a bit of me questioning how thoroughly Iñárritu knows what he's doing. I'm afraid I'm going to remember remarkably little of this beyond Keaton's performance by month's end.
    The Boat People - 9
    The Power of the Dog - 7.5
    The King of Pigs - 7

  22. #22
    Super Moderator dreamdead's Avatar
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    A good breakdown of the film's ending. This one captures a lot of my reservations toward the finale.

    So confused about what the point of the film is, great Keaton aside.
    The Boat People - 9
    The Power of the Dog - 7.5
    The King of Pigs - 7

  23. #23
    Moderator TGM's Avatar
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    I thought the cast was great all around, probably the best ensemble I've seen all year. Keaton should definitely get nominated, but I wouldn't at all be opposed to nominations for Norton, Stone, or Galifianakis either.

  24. #24
    Guttenbergian Pop Trash's Avatar
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    Mostly positive overall about this. I'm a sucker for backstage theater antics and the whole 'getting locked out of the theater' thing got a big laugh from me since that has actually happened to me a few times (thankfully not in the middle of a performance.)

    I do agree with common consensus that the critic character is really weak (Anton Ego she is not) especially in light of the Roger Ebert doco that also came out this year. Just a really one-dimensional antagonist that has a boring ironic twist everyone could see a mile away.

    Inarritu's penchant for overheated acting and dialogue works here more than his other films because of the characters being actors and because of the slippery way the narrative moves from stage to backstage (or 'real' life.)

    Obviously the thing is a technical marvel and Lubezki continues to be MVP.
    Ratings on a 1-10 scale for your pleasure:

    Top Gun: Maverick - 8
    Top Gun - 7
    McCabe & Mrs. Miller - 8
    Crimes of the Future - 8
    Videodrome - 9
    Valley Girl - 8
    Summer of '42 - 7
    In the Line of Fire - 8
    Passenger 57 - 7
    Everything Everywhere All at Once - 6



  25. #25
    Here till the end MadMan's Avatar
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    On my way home from seeing this tonight I realized that I thought about Robin Williams and his suicide and I determined that I could not recall the last movie he made. That fear of irrelevance, of wanting to make a statement with art and making something that one could truly be satisfied with is a concept I can't relate to. I'm a failed writer and thus I pen reviews (I'm not good at that either) and thus I cannot grasp the artist. However I can all too well understood failure, wanting to be noticed in this world of social media and constant attention whoring.

    I loved that opening shot even though I have no idea what it means. The same goes for the wonderfully abstract ending as the film goes full circle and borrows/steals/homages 8 1/2 (1963). The cast is marvelous, adding greatly to the proceedings and I love how this film is shot. That drum heavy score is perfect also. So far this is the best film I've viewed this year and it deserves better than this shitty smartphone writeup and snide comments from message boards.
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