Saw it last night. The cinematography was amazing, along with the self referential humor to the direction of hollywood compared to theater. "No one cares about movies with people talking. They just want to watch Post-Apocalyptic Porn"


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I'm still not sure whether or not Riggan had superpowers.







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From 10/31:

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This film is a darkly comic satire of both movies and theater and of the supposed rift between blockbuster schlock and true art. As a backstage look at actors and their anxieties and failed personal lives, it reminded me of The Entertainer and The Dresser.

The movie stars Michael Keaton in a self-referential role as a movie actor who became a major star twenty years before as the action hero Birdman, but who has fallen on hard times and has come to redeem himself as an actor by starring on Broadway in a work by Raymond Carver ("What We Talk About When We Talk About Love") that he has adapted for the stage and is directing, as well. He is tormented by a voice in his head--his alter ego, Birdman, fed up with the effete snobbishness of the theater. His daughter, who is working as his assistant, is just out of rehab; his girlfriend thinks she's pregnant; his ex-wife is on scene; he has hired a difficult but "name" actor (Edward Norton) to help fill the seats.

The movie is shot in such a way that it gives the sense of being one long take, except for a bit at the beginning and at the end, an interesting approach that has the disadvantage of dragging us through the narrow byways of backstage at the St. James theater in NYC.

There are some hilarious parts in this movie. It is exceptionally well-acted by all concerned. It teeters between magical realism and a study in insanity throughout, and for me loses that balance with a thud at the very end. The journey there is well worth it, however; I very much recommend it. 0

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Finally saw this today. What an insanely bizarre movie. I don't anticipate a Best Picture nomination but Best Cinematography and Best Editing have to be locks. Michael Keaton should probably get a Best Actor nomination too.

Saw this last night. Can't say I've seen anything like it. Inarritu should definitely get a Best Director nomination and Lubezki should repeat for Best Cinematography again. I don't think there is a better cinematographer working right now than him.

Spoilers







Just now seeing this. I don't get the confusion people have at the end. Throughout the whole film, the jazz drumming is a representation of the manic state his mind is in. At the end, there is the flowing orchestral music as he stands on the ledge. The next scene is her coming in the room, freaking out when she can't find him, and as she goes to the window you can hear sirens and alarms. Then you start hearing the drums as she laughs sporadically. Dude jumped.
Really interesting movie, great shots, ed norton killed it (not surprising)








spoilers

Saw it tonight and thought it was fantastic

Saw it last night and loved it. I went in expecting weird and to not like it. I am not a huge Innaritu fan. I thought Babel was cinematic masturbation at it's worst. But I was on point with this one from the beginning to end. The weird stuff just made sense to me and seem to fit.

The acting was all amazing, directing, editing, etc. It deserves everything it's nominated for.

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(there's not a single edit until the last five minutes),

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Are you sure? I spotted a few edits. They are very well hidden, but I swear they were there like Stone coming down the dark stairway, or when Keaton walks through a door and a stage hand walks past him (almost doing a human wipe). It's at the 20 second mark of the trailer in the original post.

I do NOT think he has superpowers. The most obvious answer comes after his long flight back to the theatre when a cab pulls up and chases him to get paid, revealing that he didn't fly, he just took a cab and flew in his mind. No one ever witnesses his powers or reacts to them until the final shot of Stone looking up, but to me that is more symbolic. He has viewed himself as super, while his daughter never has, and now, in the finale, she finally sees the hero inside him.

What about the streaking fire in the sky? At the beginning I thought it was a meteor coming to destroy the earth, playing into the theme Emma Stone presents of irrelevance of humans. But now I take it to be him flying across the sky, his enemies, his doubters, the critics and the jelly fish that tried to kill him all washed up on shore.

Excellent movie. Both Keaton and Emma Stone have a great shot at an Oscar.

Saw this a few weeks ago and I love Keaton... But this bored us to tears and was just way too weird.

"I look like a turkey with leukemia."

Weird as ****, what the hell did I just watch?

Well this is... interesting


http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a627797/birdman-writer-reveals-plans-for-embarrassing-johnny-depp-ending.html#~p3QgQlyzWDb1pL

saw it yesterday and really, really enjoyed it. it was the kind of movie experience that feels fresh and fascinating, similar to how I felt watching "gravity". who says there's no more originality in Hollywood?

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Well this is... interesting


http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a627797/birdman-writer-reveals-plans-for-embarrassing-johnny-depp-ending.html#~p3QgQlyzWDb1pL

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Enjoyed the movie for the most part. Think I would have LOVED it with that ending.

Would have been interesting but I don't think Depp fits the role in the same way Keaton does. Depp is still a star both critically and (more so these days) box office. The meta level of Keaton being a relatively non-working actor who used to be huge is lost.

I am anxious for it to come out next week on Blu-ray so I can actually watch it again.

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Depp is still a star both critically and (more so these days) box office.

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Not for long...

That was weird as ****. And not good weird.

Honestly, what is the point of the telekinesis and flying?

It's comrade now, thank you very much.

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Honestly, what is the point of the telekinesis and flying?

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It was primarily to show that Riggin was losing his mind and having a nervouse breakdown... Whenever he would get frustrated and start to lose it, he would showcase superpowers, because his inner "Birdman" persona was haunting him, reminding him that even though he had fallen so far, he still deserved to be a Star/Superhero.

It was a combination of his inflated self-importance and memory of his past glory manifesting into a deranged hallucination.

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Eh. Not enough Kevin James.

Keep your acute observations and genuinely enlightening thoughts about a challenging, but truly unique and entertaining film to yourself.

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Not sure what you mean with the Kevin James thing or if it's directed at me, but I'm assuming so.

Look, I enjoy "unique" movies as much as the next guy, and the movie is entertaining, but I honestly feel like you could take out the superpower stuff and it would be a better film. It feels like that stuff was put in there just for sake of being different, when it didn't really need it. The performances themselves were more than strong enough to carry this thing.

Maybe I'll enjoy it more on a second viewing once the weirdness factor wears off a little bit.

(And I cannot stand Kevin James.)

Wasn't directed at you. I'm not even super into this movie myself. But I have seen a lot of people not liking it because of its "weirdness," and I was just making light of that in general. I actually probably would have liked it less if not specifically for that weirdness. I can't see a "normal" version of this movie being as successful/effective. To me, that stuff felt completely in line with the whole conceit of his entire career being built on a character with super powers. It felt incredibly organic in that sense.

Gotcha.

You may be right about a normal version not being as effective, though I don't know if it'd be as bad as say, taking the same type of stuff out of Black Swan, where the whole movie is changed. In this case, I feel like the alter ego's voice speaking to him was enough to get this movie's point across.

I was actually really enjoying it until he started flying around the city, that's when they lost me.

That's a good point about Black Swan. The same type of stuff here definitely isn't as crucial. I just didn't it was completely out of left field, either.

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Gotcha.

You may be right about a normal version not being as effective, though I don't know if it'd be as bad as say, taking the same type of stuff out of Black Swan, where the whole movie is changed. In this case, I feel like the alter ego's voice speaking to him was enough to get this movie's point across.

I was actually really enjoying it until he started flying around the city, that's when they lost me.

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I'm right there with you.

But that is a key scene to me. All his other "super power" moments are alone. There are no witnesses. We are left to wonder what is real or not. The end of the flying scene is key because we see the cab pull up and ask for money, keying us in on what is real and what is not. The fact that he didn't actually fly, he took a cab, and he's just losing it.

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But that is a key scene to me. All his other "super power" moments are alone. There are no witnesses. We are left to wonder what is real or not. The end of the flying scene is key because we see the cab pull up and ask for money, keying us in on what is real and what is not. The fact that he didn't actually fly, he took a cab, and he's just losing it.

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I agree. It wasn't like it was out of nowhere... it was in line with the tone and feel of the movie. It had been using the powers as allegorical devices and building on them as he slipped further away from reality. The flying around New York scene was important because it conveyed that he finally totally snapped and like Jim said, allows you to see that it's definitely in his head with the cabbie asking for money.


Personally I loved this movie. One of the most original things I've seen in a while. And even if it's too weird for some, you can't deny that it's a beautifully and impressively shot film. Plus I love "meta" stuff.

I just hope Community can somehow shoot an episode about it. A meta show about a meta movie.

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But that is a key scene to me. All his other "super power" moments are alone. There are no witnesses. We are left to wonder what is real or not. The end of the flying scene is key because we see the cab pull up and ask for money, keying us in on what is real and what is not. The fact that he didn't actually fly, he took a cab, and he's just losing it.

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So what was the deal with the final scene with Emma Stone? I didn't get that part?

He jumped to his death. You can hear sirens down below.

Nothing special to add, but I finally got around to seeing it and I loved this movie. One of the best I've seen in quite a while and I'm excited to watch it again.

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He jumped to his death. You can hear sirens down below.

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Which her face than puts the icing on the stupid cake that is this movie.

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He jumped to his death. You can hear sirens down below.

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I think the ending is open to interpretation. There's no right answer. I've read some good thoughts on it in a couple of articles/reviews.