Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

5/5

Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman is a cinematic masterpiece. The movie follows a washed-up actor (Keaton)--made famous by gaudy superhero movies--as he prepares for opening night of his Broadway debut after years of ignominy. He must hire an abrasive but extraordinary actor (Norton) at the last minute, ingratiate himself to a prejudiced theatre critic (Duncan), and combat his own personal neuroses and psychoses in the form of his Lycra-suited alter ego, the titular Birdman.

Sometimes a movie has all the right elements for success but they just don't fit together right. That is not the case with this movie. Here every spinning plate makes every other spinning plate that much more impressive, all building together to create an unforgettable experience. The screenplay is filled with smart observations, textured discussions on the differences between movies and theatre, performance and criticism, art and entertainment. The actors take that sharp and incisive writing to the next level with equally dynamic range--subtlety and loudness, introspection and histrionics--whenever the script calls for it. And it has one of the most genuinely ambiguous endings I can recall in years.

But Birdman will be remembered most for its inspired cinematography. The entire movie is filmed as if in one long camera take thanks to advanced CGI and unerring, excruciatingly detailed pre-planning. Not only is it visually mesmerizing and logistically jaw-dropping, it enriches the film by adding an element of claustrophobia to Keaton's mental deterioration. Movies like this are why movies exist, why creativity cannot survive in the world of books and music alone. It is a wholly fulfilling work of artistic genius. Birdman is a cinematic masterpiece.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2562232/

Jack Goes Boating (2010)

4/5

The plot of Jack Goes Boating focuses on the blossoming relationship between Jack (Hoffman) and Connie (Ryan) and the slowly disintegrating marriage of their close friends Clyde (Ortiz) and Lucy (Rubin-Vega). The movie is based off a play of the same name (with Hoffman reprising his stage role). Some of it feels much better suited to a film than a play while some of it follows the opposite logic. Its theatrical roots are very clearly evident: the whole movie is basically a collection of conversations with the occasional city shot interspersed between people talking about the events going on in their lives. We witness very little with our own eyes. I wish Hoffman had spent more time in the adaptation so that this film shows instead of tells. However, there were two things about the film that could not be replicated on stage. One was the close-up shots of the characters (because Hoffman "wanted to see them think") and the second was the "visualizations" that Jack does to prepare himself for a new endeavor. This one scene sticks out in my head where we see Jack leave his swim practice and walk over a bridge. He stops in the middle, looks out at the cars passing underneath, and lowers his head. He closes his eyes and suddenly he is in a swimming pool. We see what he sees and then we see it blend with the reality of his situation--and it is a remarkably poignant moment.

The best thing I can say about this movie is that it stays with you. As seems to be more and more common with independent films, the two leads are awkward and risk-averse, fearful of relationships due to perceptions of their own quirks and shortcomings. I left the theater not thinking much of them, but the characters wouldn't leave my mind. I began to see the depth and realism imbued in the actors' performances, and the tragedy and the hope that their stories bring. It made an impact on me. The romance between Jack and Connie is tender and heartfelt, the frustration between Clyde and Lucy is left appropriately below the surface, but you can see them struggling at every moment to maintain the appearance of a wonderful marriage. And despite some of the film's flaws, I think that the movie's ultimate goal was to make the audience think and wonder about the life of the characters before the movie begins and after the movie ends. It succeeds on that point admirably well.

Philip Seymour Hoffman's directorial debut is surprisingly adept visually, but on the whole was not as impressive as I was hoping it would be. Apart from certain shots and visual flairs, most of the cinematic elements simply serve the purpose of turning this play into a movie, and have no inherent artistic quality in and of themselves. It's not a poor first feature by any means, but it's certainly not the best I've seen. Watch it if you are a fan of Philip Seymour Hoffman or indie romances with oddball characters, but understand that it may not be exactly what you expect.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1278379/

Changeling (2008)

4/5

Clint Eastwood's Changeling tells the emotional true story of LA mother Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) whose missing son Walter is claimed to be returned by police captain J. J. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan). Except the boy is not her son, and the police deny their mistake. She finds an ally in Reverend Briegleb (John Malkovich), who encourages her to fight the corrupt LAPD. After she publicly announces the police's error, they lock her up in a mental asylum, force-feed her medication, and threaten electric shock therapy. I will leave the rest of the story's twists and turns open for you to discover yourselves.

While the drama was a bit overwrought and overbearing in the beginning, it works. We feel her pain and sympathize with her quest for truth, hanging on every new piece of evidence in the hopes of discovering what happened. Jolie does an exemplary job here; we are not watching an actress, but a distressed mother at her wit's end, with every imaginable injustice cast upon her and no end in sight. The abuses of power, by both the police and the psychiatrists, are horrifying, ugly, and almost unbearable.

Eastwood directs the film with intensity and brilliance. He has imbued Changeling with astute set design, painterly lighting, and evocative cinematography. The editing and pacing are spot-on as well, thanks in no small part to the story and its writing. Most movies sag in the middle half, but Changeling shifts into an exciting suspense thriller halfway through to help us get through its 2 hour 22 minute running time while still remaining true to its dramatic roots.

The ending, which is as inconclusive as all historical mysteries, is still extremely satisfying. Changeling exposes fears that I'm sure any parent can relate to, and it does so without simplifying or sugar-coating them. But it is not just for parents. It is for anyone who has ever loved a family member or friend to the point where they cannot stop loving them. And so I wholeheartedly recommend this movie to anyone who fits that description.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0824747/

Dan in Real Life (2007)

3/5

Dan in Real Life is a movie whose entire story you know in detail if you've seen the trailer. A widower (Steve Carell) takes his three daughters to a family reunion, of sorts, where he meets a girl and falls in love with her. Only to find out later that she's his brother's girlfriend. The fairly predictable plot never really kept my attention and never really surprised me. And neither did Steve Carell. The director decided to hinge the movie on his puppy dog innocence instead of his offbeat, awkward humor. He (and Dane Cook) had very little opportunity to make us laugh, thanks to the rather bland script. (One point in the middle, though, I did laugh. But it was because of the absurdly rich suburban activities he and his entire family were able to partake in on a non-holiday in a countryside.)

Technically, there was nothing noteworthy. It was much more a romantic comedy chick flick than anything else, which I wasn't really expecting. Still, it accomplished what it set out to do (with few risks and fewer rewards), so I can't really give it a lower star rating than 3. But overall it was pretty disappointing if you're expecting a Steve Carell vehicle. If you're expecting blah, then this movie will satisfy you. But why would you watch a movie you knew to be mediocre instead of great?

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480242/

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

4/5

Ben Affleck's directorial debut is self-assured and technically proficient. While not as incredible as American Beauty or Amores Perros, Gone Baby Gone is still a solid first effort. The story follows a private detective (Casey Affleck) in Boston hired to find a missing child. What starts as a simple premise quickly finds itself in the murky waters of moral ambiguity. As in all mysteries, this movie contains mystery, moments of tension, and a surprise ending. But its strongest contribution is that it forces us to ask ourselves what we would have done. For some it's an easier question than others.

I was impressed by the acting from all parties. We sense a lot of their backstories in subtle actions, not obvious dialogue--even the most shallow characters are portrayed with complexity. By far the most unexpected and impressive performance is Amy Ryan's depiction of the missing girl's drug-addled mother. She stole every single scene she was in. But even the best acting can't hide bland, blunt dialogue, which this movie had a surprising amount of. Still, the writing wasn't all that bad. The story was constantly fascinating, both in terms of plot and ethics.

Most of the problems in this movie lay in the editing. The story's two-part structure hurt the overall pacing of the film. The editing of each scene felt really jumpy, and I think Affleck overdid the grainy, two-second flashbacks. Also, the rapid-fire Boston accents (and even one Haitian accent) were difficult to follow and made the mystery even more confusing. Overall though, Gone Baby Gone is an intriguing film and succeeds in being much more than a simple police procedural.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0452623/