[YMS] So, I just saw Birdman, and it was pretty fucking fantastic.
Now, I'm aware that some of you are wondering why I'm making so many 'Quickies' this month,
but that's just because there's been a lot of great movies this month that I've been able to see in theatres.
Quite honestly, I don't think there's been a single other thirty day span in my life that I've seen this many great
movies in theatres. 2014 is proving itself to be a fantastic year for movies, and Birdman is one of the best.
Now, I've been excited to see this movie for a while because it's from one of my favourite directors,
Alejandro González Iñárritu - [mumbles] not sure if I'm pronouncing that right, but okay.
I've seen every single one of his feature-length films and I don't think there's a single one that wouldn't make
it on my best of the year list. He's a master at what he does, and in this movie he's really outdone himself. Despite being
excited for this movie for a while, there was one detail I didn't know until about a week ago - and that's that almost
the entire movie is cheated to look like one continuous shot. And it's pulled off amazingly well. If you understand film-making and
editing then there will be some moments where you can tell that would probably be the point where it would make the most sense to make a cut.
But that's about as close as it gets, and it's cheated so well that you can never actually see any cuts being made.
There was so much careful planning and coordination that went into this movie, and it really shows in the final product.
If you've seen the trailer then you should expect that parts of it are a little surrealist, to say the least. This is very true,
and those scenes play a prominent role in the film, so although this is a movie I think that most everyone will enjoy, don't be
thinking that it's, like, a real superhero movie. This is a movie about a washed up actor that used to play
a superhero trying to revive his career in broadway. It's interesting that the lead is being played by Michael Keaton,
who used to play Batman. Not only that, but Edward Norton, who used to play The Incredible Hulk,
and Emma Stone, who was in the last two Spider-Man movies, are also in the film, and they both do a great job. There
was not a single weak performance in this film and everthing felt incredibly natural.
There was also so much purpose towards every single decision that was made. Like, the fact that the movie's about a theatrical
production goes really well with it being all in one shot. If you think about it, that's kind of how theater works.
Many of the theatrical techniques to change scenes, like actors changing costumes, were likely used in this film as well.
And remember, I say "likely", because I'm not a hundred per cent sure where the cuts actually are.
The story was absolutely fantastic, and it's shocking to see a screenplay with four collaborative writers working
together that flows so well; they challenged each other creatively and were able to get the very best ideas out of it.
The way that this movie is written is kind of like one giant statement on the entertainment industry. And it criticizes a lot...
...including snobby critics. It also heavily criticizes the superhero genre. But it does it right.
I recently talked about a pretentious piece of crap called 'Clouds of Sils Maria' that did it horribly,
but this movie did it in a way that actually had purpose and didn't feel needlessly preachy.
And what better movie to criticize a lack of art in mainstream cinema than one that's as masterful as this.
Because the way that this was shot was absolutely mind-blowing, and this is probably the best directing
I've seen all year. If you couldn't tell from the trailer, this movie mostly functions as a comedy,
but as expected from this director it was much more than that. Watching our characters perform their lines in a
theatrical play wasn't just time spent not learning anything: we got to see our characters' relationships develop each time
they were performed, and the selective lines that we were shown for this play really bring us into the mind of the main
character and why he chose to tackle this particular play. Before watching this film, I was a little skeptical knowing that
Alejandro's main-man composer Gustavo "Santao-la-la-la-lalla" wouldn't be working on it. But even without him the score was
pretty great. But what was greater than the score was the way that it was used: I don't want to be too specific about it and
spoil a particular moment, but let's just say that it adds
loads of personality to the film.This has all the markings of an amazing film - the decisions that were made were intelligent
and had purpose; the film-making went above and beyond impressive. I was absolutely transfixed into this movie, except for one moment
where the guy two seats from me started FUCKING TEXTING LIKE A FUCKING IDIOT! I shouldn't have to tap you in the middle of a movie
to shut off your goddamn phone, you stupid piece of shit! Did you not see the Public Service Announcement at the beginning of the
movie that told you not to be a Tommy Texter, you fucking moron?!
[PSA NARRATOR] That bright light and clicking is annoying to everyone around you. Don't be a Tommy Texter! Let everyone enjoy the show.
[YMS] Anyway, I thought this was a pretty fantastic movie and I can't wait to watch it again in my room, where people with the brains of
pre-schoolers can't ruin it. I would recommend this movie to pretty much everyone that doesn't expect that this is actually a
superhero movie. As many of you already know, I don't exactly hand these out like candy, but this movie impressed me enough that
I'm comfortable giving it a ten out of ten.