Birdman (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Today as the nominations for this years Academy Awards were announced, much of the buzz surrounded Birdman, the dramatic comedy which focuses on washed-up actor Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) and his bid to hit the big time again through writing, directing and starring in his own adaptation of a Raymond Carver play. As the film begins, the viewer is instantly thrown into confusion as to why Riggan is levitating, perhaps alluding to real superhuman powers that he may possess, maybe under the mask of the washed-up Birdman hero, there's a real superhero.


After this somewhat confusing opening scene, we see the first glimpse of Riggan's play, in which he becomes infuriated with one of the actors he has employed to work on his play, who is then mysteriously hit on the head and has to pull out the film. After this event, the film becomes to introduce it's fantastic ensemble of actors and actresses, including Zach Galifianakis, Emma Stone and the always excellent Edward Norton. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu really nailed the casting for this film, as every actor seems to complement the other, the volatile chemistry between Riggan and Mike (Norton) make for great viewing, leading to several hilarious encounters between them as the film goes on. Despite the little we see of Galifianakis, his simple transition from total goof-ball comedy actor to a serious yet comedic character is very professional and gives a glimpse of his dramatic range. Emma Stone played Riggan's ex-drug-addict daughter, and the complicated relationship between her and her father really helps to enforce the significance of her growing romantic involvement with Norton's character Mike, whose character takes a change for the better as the film grows, from arrogant/ignorant actor to a mature performer who helps Sam (Stone) and Riggan grow with him as the film continues. So it came as no surprise to me that Keaton, Norton and Stone all received Oscar nods for their performances, but despite Keaton having strong competition from Eddie Redmayne for the best leading actor nod, my vote would go his way. Unfortunately it looks as if Norton will be beaten by the excellent J.K Simmons for Whiplash, but that is a fair result.
The one other aspect that makes this film so unique is the way it was shot. Birdman is possibly the best shot film I have ever watched; the way that the film appears as one long take, rather than clear scenes with obvious cuts. The cinematography is perfection, and the way the film appearing to be one long take gives greater focus on the actors, with the background often blurred out as the camera follows the character's movements, especially around the backstage of the theatre. It is great camera work that ultimately, despite stiff competition, should win the Oscar for best cinematography, and it would be a great surprise if it didn't win.

Overall, Birdman is a beautifully made film, the camera work, and without the doubt the constant sound of drumming that almost feels like it is following Riggan around is wonderfully mixed into the film. The acting is fantastic, with Keaton really coming into his own playing a role that he described as "more dissimilar to myself than any character I have played", he captured Riggan's damaged psyche perfectly, and his confrontations with Sam and his Jekyll and Hyde like alter-ego Birdman almost make Keaton himself seem insane. Norton, Stone and Galifianakis all give tremendous supporting performances for one of the best ensembles of the year, close to matching Wes Anderson's 'Grand Budapest Hotel', which of course Norton also starred in. Birdman is a fantastic film and totally deserves it's 9 Academy Award nominations, and it will be interesting to see how many Oscars it actually wins, as it faces stiff competition, but I would rate this film a total 10/10, and would recommend to any to watch this film when they get the chance.

The Libertines at Hyde Park

There has been a huge amount of controversy over the BST Hyde Park Libertines concert on July 5th, with all kinds of crowd problems and general poor handling of the event overshadowing the quality of the actual music that day. As someone who attended the gig, it is completely true that none of the news stories have been exaggerated. Whilst some stories may blame the crowd more than the organisers and vice versa, both can be outlined as the cause for the serious problems caused. First of all, in the crowds defence I don't quite think the newspapers really understood the magnitude of the event. The Libertines reforming is the biggest musical story of the year by far, and the opportunity to see a band who haven't played live since 2010 due falling out and huge tension between Pete and Carl was not one to be taken lightly. There is no way the excitement of the crowd can be understated, everyone was buzzing, relishing the chance to see a fantastic band perform live, myself included, so the organisers didn't really take into account how much crowd excitement there would be. Nonetheless, some people definitely took it too far, flairs being a good example of this, whilst somewhat amusing, they can be dangerous, my friend himself behind hit on the eye by a flair, causing a nasty burn. Also the climbing on the delay tower which I was near too also wasn't very intelligent, again whilst funny a lot of people could have been hurt. Not just during the Libertines were there problems, during the Pogues, a man suffered a heart attack, and the incredible lack of response from the security was shocking, and fortunately the man survived, but nonetheless it asked real questions of the security of the event. The fact they took checking for alcohol more seriously than crowd safety so they could make more money was ludicrous. On a whole however, the crowd problems in my opinion were a minor dent in what can only be described as a brilliant, surreal experience. Not only the Libertines, having also watched The Enemy and The Pogues as well, though Shane MacGowan didn't look particularly healthy, were brilliant. The Libertines were sensational, the passion from the crowd and then them reflecting that passion back was fantastic. My highlights of the set would definitely be 'I Get Along' and 'Death On The Stairs', both capturing the emotional state of this resurrected band. A real top experience and definitely in my top 5 performances, a great time and now I very much look forward to seeing them again in September, in a more controlled environment so they hopefully don't have to keep stopping.

My first review

My first review comes very simply in the form of my absolute favourite film with undoubtedly my favourite actor, Drive. This neo-noir crime thriller is much more than Ryan Gosling staring deeply at Carey Mulligan. Oh no this is a true masterpiece in my opinion that reflects a great connection between director and lead actor, mixed with a truly stunning soundtrack and a great supporting cast of actors. The combination of Winding-Refn and Gosling produce a performance of real quality refined with brutal violent scenes and an excellent display of emotion. The story one smile tells is vital, it really defines the character when comparing his violent nature and his love for Irene and Benicio, the way his smile makes up for the lack of dialogue, it basically speaks for itself in my opinion. The supporting actors are by no means severely overshadowed by Gosling's performance, with Albert Brooks and Bryan Cranston both putting in great individual performances, the former's being subtly brutal in the most intelligent way. This great acting, coupled with an electrifying soundtrack really brings the film deeper into this neo-noir, almost Vice City like category. Cliff Martinez almost outdid himself with the soundtrack, the inclusion of specifically Kavinsky's 'Nightcall' and Riz Ortolani's 'Oh My Love' really outline the plot and the character, with 'Nightcall' I feel being a song that perfectly reflects Gosling's character. Overall it can be said that though it doesn't stick to it's traditional written roots, this film is a resounding success due to a brilliant adaption by Nicolas Winding-Refn and a host of top actors playing their roles superbly, just topped off with perhaps the best movie soundtrack to date, in my opinion, Drive is a modern classic and will remain so for years to come, a truly exceptional piece of cinema.