Thoughts on the movie 'Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)'

Last Friday afternoon we went to see 'Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)' the new movie co-written, produced and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu.

Movie poster for 'Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)'

The movie stars Michael Keaton as Riggan Thomson, a former action movie hero whose primary claim to notoriety is starring in a 3-picture superhero franchise, 'Birdman', nearly 20 years earlier.  Riggan is the writer, director, co-producer and star of a play slated for Broadway, 'What We Talk About When We Talk About Love', based on a Raymond Carver short story.  Riggan's co-producer and best friend is Jake (Zach Galifianakis) and his go-fer is his daughter Samantha (Emma Stone).   The play seems to be a 4-character drama that also features Lesley (Naomi Watts), Riggan's girlfriend Laura (Andrea Riseborough) and Mike (Edward Norton), a last minute replacement for an injured actor.

The director keeps the movie bouncing between reality, staged reality, and utter fantasy -- as Birdman and Carver encroach on Riggan's sanity.  The performances from the entire cast are uniformly excellent.  In addition to Keaton I would single out Zach Galifianakis and Emma Stone for special mention.  This story takes place at the junction where aspirations collide with reality -- tectonic plates that can crush a fragile soul -- or set it free.  Go see it if you love New York, if you love the Broadway theater, if you dare to dream.  It will make you laugh and make you care.

Wes Anderson's 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'

The new Wes Anderson movie 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' is silly.  I laughed a lot during the movie, but came away feeling disappointed and somewhat cheated.  I think that Wes Anderson is kind of a cult figure -- that you either 'get' his movies and think he's great; or you don't 'get' them and can't understand what all the fuss is about.

Official Poster for 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'

There were lots of very funny bits -- I especially enjoyed a chase scene that involved several Winter Olympic sports -- but they didn't really add up to a satisfying experience.  Most of the cast is made up of the usual 'Wes Anderson' repertory players -- Ralph Fiennes is Gustave H., the legendary concierge; Edward Norton is Henckels, the German officer; F. Murray Abraham is the elderly Zero Mustafa relating his story to the young writer Jude Law in the framing device; Willem Dafoe is the evil Jopling, Adrien Brody is Dmitri, the dispossessed heir; Bill Murray and Bob Baliban are fellow concierges at other European hotels; Owen Wilson is M. Chuck, the concierge that succeeds Gustave when the Nazis take over the hotel; Tilda Swinton is Madame D., patroness of Gustave; Saorise Ronan is Agatha, the girl from the bakery.  The real star is a newcomer, Tony Revelori, who plays the young Zero, lobby boy, protege, and sidekick of Gustave H.  Zero provides the narration that loosely holds the movie together and bridges its absurdities.

By all means, if you're a die-hard Wes Anderson fan, go see this movie.  If you're not, or if you aren't sure, you might want to avoid it.