Review: Birdman (2014)

Birdman (2014)

A washed up actor, who once played an iconic superhero, battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career and himself in the days leading up to the opening of a Broadway play.

Director:

Alejandro González Iñárritu (as Alejandro G. Iñárritu)

Writers:

Alejandro González Iñárritu (as Alejandro G. Iñárritu) , Nicolás Giacobone, 2 more credits »

Stars:

Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton | See full cast and crew » 

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJfLoE6hanc 

Recent addition to S.O.'s collection, watched with him.

It had funny parts, good actors. There was an interesting mix of commentary on different things, like theater life, celebrity, labels, etc. Had a very Spanish feel to me, which makes sense, considering the director is from Mexico. The magic realism was what gave it away. It still worked though, unlike Blueberry Nights, the Wong Kar Wai English film that didn't translate to America, which is sad b/c I generally love WKW films. :( It was interesting to have such long takes, gave us something extra to watch for. (IMDB said there were only 16 and that originally the director wanted zero.) The unreality made it a little hard to keep up. And that gun made me nervous the whole time. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Birdman concept was written to make a joke about Keaton as Batman. I thought it was a fun nod. I'm not in love with it, I didn't hate it. There were some great lines in it. Worth a watch. The drum thing was a bit annoying at times. That's about all I got. 

Review: Bottle Shock (2008)

Bottle Shock (2008)

The story of the early days of California wine making featuring the now infamous, blind Paris wine tasting of 1976 that has come to be known as "Judgment of Paris".

Director:

Randall Miller

Writers:
Jody Savin (screenplay), Randall Miller (screenplay), 5 more credits »

Stars:

Chris Pine, Alan Rickman, Bill Pullman | See full cast and crew » 

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYs0kblXToA 

Rented from the library, watched with my S.O.

Verdict: 9 out of 10. Enjoyable film about the turning point in American wine. Cast of characters was very nice, great music of the era. Chris Pine's hair/wig drove me nuts the whole time though. Some of the use of the female character Sam was cliché (guys watching her use a hose and get wet, flashing her boobs to get a ride). The film followed the format we screenwriters are taught about overcoming adversity, rising to the call, sacrificing oneself for the greater good, dark night of the soul, etc. Would love to look more into the original story too to see how true-to-life the film was or how much it played up certain elements.
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What's your take? Have you seen or do you want to now? Leave a comment, share the page. And have a nice day.

New Year's Eve (2011)

New Year's Eve (2011)

The lives of several couples and singles in New York intertwine over the course of New Year's Eve.

Director:

Garry Marshall

Writer:

Katherine Fugate

Stars:

Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Biel, Ashton Kutcher | See full cast and crew » 

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_dt27_0vL4 

Rented from the library, watched sola

Another cringeworthy collaboration from Gary Marshall and Katherine Fugate. Not as god-awful terrible as previously-reviewed "Valentine's Day" but more of the same and still dumb. They use some of the same actors so it took a second to figure out if they were supposed to be the same as in the previous movie or if it was a new story line. New story line, but apparently only white people have New Year's Eve stories, (as was my gripe before). The writer/director has a thing about showing some of the same people in both films, like one of the older nurse (the director's wife), the person with disabilities in the chair, the same little boy did a cameo I think as the kid who bodysurfed. It's enjoyable to see some of that because it means they care about their family/friends etc. The inclusion of the sacrifice of military personnel is also a theme. I think I hated this one LESS because it was more about variations of relationships, not just love. The first one could have benefited a bit more from that. It also could have benefited more by casting more non-whites in leading roles, instead of as supporting roles. I swear, for movies that supposedly take place in New York (and previously LA), it sure is hell-bent on whiteness. I mean, hell, the pastor and his whole family could have been black. Why not? Or they could have been Asian or whatever. Basically these films are really white-washed and lack imagination. They also assume we can spend a few minutes with a person and all of a sudden have a romantic connection with them. Stupid rom-com trope for sure. Hector Elizondo became a Polish joke/character and the pregnant couples were strange. They were fighting over who gave birth first and therefore wins the New Year's Baby money prize. I BADLY wanted an underprivileged, struggling mom to be the one that beat them because they needed a slap in the face. And there was only one black baby in the nursery and 7 white ones. Seriously? What hospital is that? Some hoity-toity one I guess. :P Anyway, the 'interconnectedness' theme was at play again, and whoopty-doo on that one. I don't know if it was actually any better than the first one or I just was used to the letdown I knew I was starting? Anyway, if you watch either of these movies, they would probably benefit from a drinking game of sorts.
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Nice thing on the trivia page that belies my whining about diversity. Halle Berry was originally cast in the Katherine Heigl role and had to turn it down b/c of a custody battle, but then later was recast as the nurse.
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Here's an ouch from the award page... The only award it did win: Actress Most in Need of a New Agent: All of the actresses in New Year's Eve (2011).
~~Gary Marshall helped to write and directed The Other Sister which is about special needs, so he must have a soft spot in his heart for it. Which is cool. And I mean, they man has cred.... but these movies just didn't work. How they made the second one... well... whatever.