Movie Review: Birdman (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Following last week’s Oscar nominations, ‘Birdman’ directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu was a clear standout collecting a number of nomination nods including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. Curious to see what the hype is about, I went on an internet scavenger hunt to get a good copy of the film. I call it ‘research’ ahead of the award ceremony happening on 22 February.

‘Birdman’ is a stunning black comedy about a has-been actor’s (Michael Keaton) attempts to put together a Broadway play as a desperate move to revive his career and to shake off his ‘Birdman’ superhero image, which he is famously known as.

The film immediately introduces Michael Keaton’s character Riggan Thomas… levitating in his dressing room as prepares to go to rehearsals, days before the Broadway debut. You quickly notice the camera does not blink, the cut-free scenes takes you through the events that unravel leading up to the opening and you see how different characters unfold and intertwine backstage on on-stage.

It’s not your regular look at a pre-event theatre production, it involves an ‘accident’ on stage, a last-minute replacement in the form of Edward Norton, a disastrous preview and someone shooting themselves in the head. The most captivating storyline is Riggan’s dialogue with his ‘Birdman’ voice in his head that is dead-pan similar to Keaton’s Batman voice.

All the characters pulled their weight in the movie, and you instantly gravitate to each one but the credit goes to Michael Keaton. He seamlessly switches from his disturb character to being wildly funny and back. His Best Actor Golden Globes award makes sense in this challenging role.    

Disturbing at some parts and darkly funny with great comic references, ‘Birdman’ is a unique take on the narcissistic world of actors and actresses and playfully mocks their insecurities to feel relevant. ‘Birdman’ will surely soar through the award season. 

For more info and the trailer, click her.

By:

Karen Nicolet

www.clumsychic.com

Instagram: @clumsychic

Movie Review: Imitation Game

Back again with an Oscar nominee and this time it’s so so GOOOD!!! I was at the edge of my seat! It is for sure one of the Best movies I watched in a while! Ah! So good!! I keep telling people to go watch it. The story on itself is very interesting and put that with Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley and you’ll get one hell of a movie!

So, to get you hooked, is the story of Alan Turing (Benedict) a super smart mathematicians who was recruited secretly by the British army with other mathematicians to decrypt the most sophisticated encryption German machine, enigma, which change its setting everyday at 12am. So basically, it’s a race against time!  

The movie is so smart and very hooking! You keep hoping they will solve the codes and you wonder how they will do it! It’s like a supper smart puzzle and you’re waiting for all the right pieces to be found! And the best thing, it’s really is a true story! It was very thrilling and they played with the plot very well! The center of the story was World War II, but flashes here and there show us more about Turing life. The other thing that made it more of a drama thriller rather than just a drama, was the scenes with the actual war happening. The movie showed us more than just the office those guys and lady (Keira) worked in.

With the plot, I was very much enjoying the smart script! Ah, I love me a good script! Smart, sharp and really represent the tone of the movie! And Benedict was amazing with his lines! I mean give the man an Oscar already! He, for me, is one of the most brilliant actors we have right now. He completely immerses himself into the character. Keira was pretty awesome too. I’m not a huge fan of most of her movies, but when she participates in something like this, she truly shines!

The movie was brilliant from all aspects! The cast was great, the scenes sequences made sense, the colors theme was so pretty and the cloths really caught my eyes! Even though they're simple, but it all fit in one picture! It all just pulled me from my seat and threw me right in the middle of the story. You know I cried a little bit too!

It’s good for those who want to watch a well-constructed movie and those who just want to go watch something fun and exciting! Go watch it! And you won’t regret it!

For more info and the trailer, please click here.

Till another one!

Kemz

Movie Review: The Book Thief

I watched this movie on the plane in an adventurous flight that was like a movie in itself, and after watching a very cruel movie that I hate to even remember, (12 Years a Slave). But when I started watching this movie, I forgot all about that cruelty and the state of our flight! The movie started with a traveling train that drew me deep into the story for the whole two hours.

The story takes place in Germany during the Second World War. A communist mother has to give up her two children to an adoptive family in order to save their life. Liesel (Sophie Nélisse) loses her brother during the journey, and is left alone with her new family; Rosa (Emily Watson) the thunderstorm like mother, and Hans (Geoffrey Rush) the kind hearted father. Liesel who knows not to read nor write gets help from her new father, who teaches her through her first book “The Grave Digger's Handbook”; the first book she stole after the burial of her brother.

During the extermination of the Jews, the family hides Max (Ben Schnetzer) in their basement, which left them in constant fear of being discovered. Liesel gets attached to her new friend Max, and lets him have a glimpse of the outside world through her eyes, and her words. While delivering the laundry to the mayor’s house, Liesel discovers wonderland in a room: in the study room there are the books she was forced to burn! And so starts her story of stealing books.

I liked so many things about this movie as it had many inspiring scenes. For example, when Max asks Liesel to report the weather he said: “If your eyes could speak”, so that he can visualize the outside world through her words. And when he gives her a diary and asks her to write, as if to find someone in words. It will probably lead you to think, do I have anyone whom I would find in words? I liked Max’s personality, and I liked Liesel so much; she is a brave devoted girl. Also, the lightness of the movie, the story and set, the family, and the idea of Liesel’s dictionary, where she creates her own dictionary on the walls of the basement made me like this movie even more.

This is a very light and beautiful movie. During the winter of December, the houses in Heaven Street give the Bavarian test of Germany. The soundtrack by John Williams is so light and beautiful, the kind of music that would lift up your soul and draw a smile on your face! Yet, you are in constant fear of what would happen next, since that story is narrated by Death!

This is a good family movie; it shows how a child is devoted to his/her family, how valuable friendship is, and how to keep a secret! Even for grownups it is a nice movie, you will laugh at some parts and shed tears on others.

The Book Thief movie is based on the novel by Markus Zusak and directed by Brian Percival. It won three awards and was nominated for one Oscar.

It reminded me how much I miss school!

By:

Noura AlNaimi

Twitter & Instagram: @nouranaimi

Blog Twitter & Instagram: @KemzMovies