Saturday, February 14, 2015

Oscar Best Picture Nominee: Birdman

With the Oscars coming up in a little over a week, I decided I would take these next few days to discuss my opinions of the Best Picture Nominees.

"Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" (2014)
Directed by Alejandro González Iñúrritu
Written by Alejandro González Iñúrritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr., Armando Bo
Starring Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis and Naomi Watts

A washed-up actor, best known for his role as "Birdman", the protagonist of a super hero franchise attempts to recover his family, career and himself just days before his passion-project play opens on Broadway.


An in depth look at what it's like to be an aging type-cast actor, while still trying to maintain your dignity, "Birdman" nails it on all fronts. The acting is unmatched by any ensemble in recent years and the cinematography is unmatched in the entirety of cinema history.

With seamless editing, the majority of the movie appears as though it is an hour, forty-one minutes and 18 seconds (Yes, I timed it) of one continuous, unbroken shot. To put that in perspective, that means the actors had to roughly 10-15 minutes of dialogue, blocking and action without messing up. And if anything went wrong in that shot (camera work, lighting, sound, acting etc.) they would have to do it all over again.

How many miles do you think they walked, just
resetting for each take?


While every film, good or bad, is a work of art, "Birdman" takes the art of cinema to a whole other level. And while it's not my favorite movie of 2014, I believe it is the most deserving for the Best Picture Oscar this year. It's a close race, so we'll know on February 22nd.

My Rating: 10/10


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