Birdman - review

Much of the marketing of Birdman has focused on the meta-casting of Batman Michael Keaton in the role of Riggan Thomson, a washed up actor most famous for playing a superhero called Birdman, who attempts a comeback by writing, directing and starring in a Broadway adaptation of a Raymond Carver short story.

Yes, there is a critique of the current superhero boom (when needing a replacement for an actor, Riggan lists off a few names but is told they are all busy filming comic book movies) but in fact it is a much darker look at the current trend of Hollywood actors, or as one critic derisory calls them "celebrities", trying to legitimise their careers by having a crack at theatre on Broadway or the West End.

Currently finishing up runs on Broadway are Bradley Cooper (Rocket Raccoon) and Birdman co-star Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy) and the last couple of years in London has seen the likes of James McAvoy (Charles Xavier) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki) tread the boards when they are not part of the Marvel Universe.

A star name can help boost ticket sales and generate publicity for a show but it can come at a cost and that can be the feeling of resentment from old school thespians and theatre audiences who are unwilling to accept the baggage that can come with that type of celebrity and it is something that the film addresses head on as Riggan starts to unravel as he heads towards opening night.

Having put everything he has on the line to put on the show, the pressure builds and not only is he put under pressure by his obnoxious, pretentious co-star Mike Shiner (a hilariously pompous Edward Norton), his former-junkie daughter who he is trying to reconnect with (Emma Stone) and the voice in his head... Birdman (Keaton's own voice played with a Christian Bale's gravely growl).

Oscar nominations could be in store for Keaton's regenerative performance as well as Norton's (literally) scene-stealing turn but if there is one guaranteed Oscar destined to come Birdman's way it will be award to cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (which would be a back-to-back win after Gravity).

When you become aware of the cinematography and editing and start wondering just how they did it, it can sometimes take you out of the film but what is amazing about following Chris Haarhoff's steadicam around the backstage corridors of the St. James Theatre in one seemingly continuous take is that it gives this sense of immediacy and realism that instead creates the feeling that you are watching a play (within a play/film).

And in a film featuring one "single" extended shot, it is the final shot that will leave audiences filled with that genuine sense of wonder because they have indeed witnessed something super.

There is a saying in the entertainment world - "Theatre is life, film is art and television is furniture" and Birdman beautifully blurs the lines between life and art, cinema and the theatre, creating an experience that truly soars.

5 stars

LEGO Movie - review

"Everything is awesome" booms the only song played in Bricksburg 24 hours hours a day and you know what? It is absolutely true.

Everything about The LEGO Movie is awesome and it is easily the most inventive and consistently funny and entertaining film of the year.

With a plot that is very similar to The Matrix, Emmet is a construction worker who lives in Bricksburg and does everything according to the instructions in order to conform and fit in as best he can. One day at work he follows a girl dressed in black, tumbles down a hole and finds a strange object called The Piece of Resistance. Introduced to a sage-like black man called Vetruvius who shows him the true world of Legoland beyond the city limits, he is hailed as "The One"... I mean "The Special" who can fulfil the prophecy and stop Lord Business from unleashing The Kragle from ending the universe as they know it.

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller are now three for three as directors of movies which sound like a potential disaster but turn out to be unexpected delights:

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs - an animation about a device that turns weather into food.

21 Jump Street - an action comedy based on an 80's teen cop series.

And The LEGO Movie, a feature-length movie based on a kids toy. As Transformers has proved, it doesn't always work.

There are so many amazing and hilarious cameos and surprises in store that it would do a disservice to reveal them in the review but it is safe to say that Superman vs Batman and Ben Affleck have some way to go to beat this for a Justice League movie and best Batman since Nolan's.

An exciting blend of stop motion animation mixed with CGI, the level of detail is simply astonishing with thrilling action sequences and a multitude of background sight gags that will keep revealing more and more with multiple viewings.

This film is one of the greatest films ever assembled and suitable for ages 8-99 (that's just a suggestion) and anyone who has ever played with the sophisticated interlocking brick system, whether you went exactly by the instructions or let your imagination run wild just as Lord and Miller have here.

The only thing missing is a joke where a construction worker gets mad when another guy puts the final piece on a building he has constructed.

5 stars

REVIEW: X-Men: First Class - Vaughn gives this franchise a reboot up the arse.

Ah, what a difference a couple of months can make.  It was only back in March that people (The Incredible Suit included) were despairing over the terrible marketing campaign Fox were putting out for X-Men: First Class.  Could it be that an insanely tight production schedule had resulted in a turkey of mutant proportions?
Fast forward to the end of May and First Class debuts to a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and critics hailing it as the best comic book movie since The Dark Knight.
So what's the truth?  While it is certainly not as good as The Dark Knight, it is closer to Batman Begins than Batman & Robin.
A lot of the reviews so far have made comparisons to Christopher Nolan's reboot of the Batman franchise and a lot of them are justified.  Both Tim Burton's Batman and Bryan Singer's X-Men started with the heroes already existing in society.  Nolan went back to the beginning to look at what makes a man dress up as a bat to fight crime, and Vaughn looks at the formation of the X-Men (the recruitment montage features one of the best ever cameos and uses of the F-bomb) and the pivotal moment that turned friends Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnser into the enemies they were are the start of the first film.

"I loved you in Band Of Brothers", "I was going to say the same thing!"

Matthew Vaughn is really coming into his own as a director and delivers a summer blockbuster that nearly manages to break out of the comic book genre and become just a really great movie.  The period setting allows for Vaughn to fulfill his Bond fantasies (to the extent that the villain has a secret submarine in his yacht).  Kick-Ass proved he could do action but he manages to create a fun, action-packed summer blockbuster that never has to sacrifice story or character development. 
He has an impressive ensemble cast that help provide a lot more threads in the Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon game but top marks however must go to the James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence.  Despite the iconic performances of Stewart and McKellen, their younger counterparts quickly make the parts their own.  McAvoy has an impish charm to him, using his power to get girls until fate shows him that he is destined to use this power for a greater purpose, and Fassbender has the steely eyed look of a man who could be the next James Bond, and in this film he becomes a bona fide star.
There is a moment in the film where Xavier helps Magneto achieve the full extent of his powers and the look on Fassbender's face played out with Henry Jackman's music underneath is a truly touching moment which cements their friendship which makes the tragic turn events take all the more sad.
Jennifer Lawrence also makes the most of a terrific story arc that focuses on what has always been at the heart and soul of the X-Men stories: the struggle and fight for acceptance in a world that fears what is different.
First Class is not a perfect film.  Due to the rushed production schedule (it was rewritten, filmed, edited and post production all within a year), unfortunately there are some niggling issues like dodgy CGI, Beast's make-up, missing love story lot between Charles and Moira, a couple of underwritten minor characters, and Fassbender's accent going rather Oirish at times.  But I think that if Vaughn had had a little more time to polish rounds the edges then this could have been a five star film... but unless he gets the chance to tinker with it before the DVD release then he'll have to make do with a rating of 4.5 stars.

4.5 stars