Review of Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) by A T — 25 Jun 2015

Ever since 2009 when I started to predict and calculate the Oscars and the chances of winning I've always picked the runenr ups, or I've at least enjoyed the runner ups much more than the film that Wins.

Avatar, Social Network, Descendants, Django Unchained, Gravity and Boyhood in a perfect world you would have won but sadly we have to deal with The Hurt Locker (ugh), The King's Speech, The Artist, Argo (ugh), 12 Years a Slave and Now Birdman.

if you look at the common pattern of the movies listed, 3 are about perseverance, 3 are about Americans, and more importantly (especially in the more recent years) 3 are about the arts. And that is why Birdman won.

Don't get wrong, out of the bunch listed, Birdman is probably the best winner in years, I just don't think it's my favorite movie of the year. What makes Birdman a good movie is how it almost plays out like a play in a play.

Like 30 Rock. Everything from the weird lively soundtrack is awesome. The "one shot" approach is kind of cheesy at times but works well I feel. The satire on America, the need for "blockbusters" and no one wants "the moody films" is so spot on it makes you wonder why this movie is so interesting in being that way against the dreck of summer 2014 of Marvel.

Still, Birdman I don't feel follows to it's promise. It doesn't amount to anything substantial (you could argue Boyhood didn't either, but I feel a much more emotional connection to that film).

The acting is ok, if quirky, nothing really gets resolved and maybe that's the point. I think the movie is more for the interest if you like the arts versus to watch as a "good" movie.