Bad Timing For BATMAN

Months ago, the Colony Theater in Raleigh (where I work part-time) booked Tim Burton�s 1989 superhero hit BATMAN for Wednesday, February 18th, for their Cool Classics series. The Colony�s General Manager Denver Hill told me that it was timed for the lead up to Michael Keaton winning a Best Actor Oscar for his acclaimed role in Alejandro Gonz�lez I��rritu�s BIRDMAN.

BIRDMAN - full title: BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE IF IGNORANCE) - is undoubtedly Keaton�s comeback to the mainstream, albeit in an abstract indie project, in which his character is an actor aching for a comeback via a shaky Broadway production, after being written off as the star of a superhero franchise.

As its Best Picture Oscar win on Sunday attests, BIRDMAN has a lot more going for it than that meta-aspect but re-visiting the classic Keaton performance that made that angle possible was the agenda for the Colony�s revival screening of BATMAN, and I was excited as I haven�t seen it in over two decades.

To plug the event, I wrote it up in the Film Picks column in the Raleigh News & Observer, and put together a slideshow of behind-the-scenes pics for the Examiner to further promote the show.

But a week ago, the day before the screening, we got hit by what they call a wintry mix that blanketed Raleigh in ice and snow. As a result, only 40 or so people braced the elements to come see Burton's late '80s fan favorite take on the Dark Knight.

We were disappointed that the weather so affected the turnout so Denver made plans to have an encore presentation the following week on Wednesday, February 24th.

In the meantime, despite the film and director I��rritu winning, Keaton lost the Academy Award to Eddie Redmayne (for THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING) and so the idea of the BATMAN screening celebrating Keaton�s win was, of course, no longer a thing.

This was very surprising as the odds so seemed to be on Keaton to win. I, like many, had predicted such.

And, as the internet has pointed out, Keaton himself thought he had it in the bag as he can be seen tucking his acceptance speech back into his jacket in this clip that�s, of course, gone viral:

When I shared this clip with Denver on a Facebook chat he said: �Jeez. That is sad. But it�s kind of fitting. Seems like a scene from �Birdman.��

It does indeed seem like a postscript for Keaton�s self put-upon character Riggan Thompson.

But what�s also sad is that the Colony�s encore BATMAN screening is again the victim of bad timing as we were hit by another snowstorm today.

Do Mother Nature and The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences both have it in for Keaton or what?

Whatever the case, I�m still planning on revisiting the man�s breakthrough lead in BATMAN - whether or not I do it by bracing the elements on Wednesday night, or by putting on the DVD at home, as of this writing, remains to be seen.

More later...

Oscars 2015: Oh, How Wrong I Was

For a while, during the broadcast of the 87th Academy Awards broadcast, which I watched at the Rialto Theater in Raleigh (pictured above) last night, I was getting every category right as per my predictions posted last Friday. But my winning streak ended approximately halfway through after 14 Oscars were given out, when my pick for Best Editing, BOYHOOD, was beaten out by WHIPLASH. After that I lost 4 others (see below) including the biggest one, Best Picture.



I was happy that BIRDMAN and its director, Alejandro Gonz�lez I��rritu, won (the film was my #2 favorite of 2014), but I was really rooting for BOYHOOD, and Richard Linklater to take home the gold because I thought it had the slight innovative and emotional edge going for it. 

As for the show itself, first-time host Neil Patrick Harris did a good job starting with his intro - �Tonight we honor Hollywood's best and
whitest -sorry brightest� - and the opening song and dance number (especially the Jack Black bit) was one of the stronger ones of recent years, but he wasn't given the best material to work with, something many are blaming on Oscar Head Writer Greg Berlanti, who's so not a comedy writer.



I enjoyed Lady Gaga's tribute to the 50th anniversary of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, the �Everything is Awesome� (from the otherwise snubbed THE LEGO MOVIE) production number (featuring amusing appearances by Tegan and Sara, The Lonely Island and Questlove!), and the acceptance speeches by Julianne Moore, Patricia Arquette, IDA director Pawel Pawlikowski (glad this win may get more people to see the striking IDA), and director I��rritu in particular.

But I wasn't a fan of NPH's running gag about his Oscar predictions being sealed in a briefcase, locked in a clear box onstage, with his recruiting previous Oscar winner Octavia Spencer to keep her eyes on it throughout the show - the supposed pay off really didn't result in big laughs. I also was disappointed that Joan Rivers, who I tweeted �was in a lot of films, even directed one (a big flop but it starred Oscar fave Billy Crystal)� and SNL's Jan Hooks, who also appeared in a lot of movies including a pivotal part in PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE, were left out of the In Memorium segment.

Anyway, here's the 5 Oscar predictions that I got wrong:

Best Picture: BIRDMAN

Best Actor: Eddie Redmayne. 

Yes, Keaton was robbed, but Redmayne's humble giddiness at winning was a little touching and funny, and his performance as Stephen Hawking in THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING was solid, even if I wasn't so hot on the film. But, again, yeah, it would've been really sweet for the 63-year old Keaton to have finnally gotten that bigtime recognition.

Best Director: Alejandro Gonz�lez I��rritu

Best Editing: WHIPLASH

Best Original Screenplay: BIRDMAN

Besides BIRDMAN, the other big winner of the night was THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL, which won 4 Oscars. Now, those I got right.

Well, that's it for this year's Oscars. 19 of of 24 wasn't so bad, and I got a few surprises. Now back to watching movies for fun and not for sport.

More later...

BIRDMAN: A Work Of Bizarre Genius That Will Blow Audiences Away

Now playing at an indie art house near me:

BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE)

(Dir. Alejandro Gonz�lez I��rritu, 2014)

 

Alejandro Gonz�lez I��rritu�s much buzzed about fifth film BIRDMAN may be a comedy, but it�s as dark, layered, and intense as his dramas AMORES PERROS, 21 GRAMS, BABEL, and BIUTIFUL.

It�s a stunning, magnificent motion picture � one of the year�s best films - that�s bubbling with energy as it juggles a slew of themes, along with excellently edgy performances, and tireless camerawork.

All this and it�s also a major comeback for Michael Keaton, in his first lead role in ages, as an actor who formerly starred in a superhero franchise who�s staging a comeback � how�s that for meta for the former Batman star?

Keaton�s character, Riggan Thomson, wants to prove himself, do �something that matters,� by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production, his adaptation of the Raymond Carver short story �What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.�

The film, gorgeously shot by Emmanuel Lubezki (GRAVITY, THE TREE OF LIFE, CHILDREN OF MEN), is structured like one long take � a continuous uncut flow that immediately catches you in its sweep. You�ll really get to know the hallways, dressing rooms, and all of the backstage nooks and crannies of Broadway�s St. James Theatre where it largely takes place.

The narrative is mostly from Keaton�s point of view � a sweaty, stressed out head space that�s bordering on insanity as he often hears the gravelly voice of his alter ego, Birdman, saying stuff like �You were a movie star, remember?�

Others snaking in and out of the storyline include Emma Stone as Keaton�s daughter/assistant fresh from rehab, Zach Galifianakis as Keaton�s agent/lawyer/best friend, Amy Ryan as Keaton�s ex-wife, Andrea Riseborough as Keaton�s possibly pregnant girlfriend/co-star, Naomi Watts (also currently appearing in ST. VINCENT) as the lead actress in the play, and Edward Norton as a hotshot stage actor, who�s a last minute replacement after a loose lamp injures the original lead.

The Birdman voice in Keaton�s head claims he made the light fall, because he�s not really just a Hollywood has-been, he has telekinetic powers and can fly � of course, only in his mind, but the film has a lot of fun going with this surreal mind frame.

The sequences concerning the disastrous previews of the play are amusingly nerve wracking - one stage-set scene involving Norton getting a hard on in bed with Watts is a hilarious highlight. At another performance, during the same act, Keaton gets locked out of the theater with his bathrobe caught in the door. In only his underwear, he runs through Times Square through the crowds of theatre goers, fan boys, tourists, and assorted New Yorkers and becomes a viral sensation.

It�s a funny statement on our fame obsessed culture, one that sharpens when a cruel critic (an acidic Lindsay Duncan) tells Keaton: �You�re a celebrity, not an actor.�

Duncan�s not the only one who takes Keaton down � Stone rags on her dad for being out of touch: �You hate bloggers, you mock Twitter, you don't even have a Facebook page!�

Norton�s talented yet arrogant Mike Shiner threatens to steal the show from Keaton, but the actors� scenes together show them matching each other�s intensity � both deserve Oscar nominations, or whatever awards season action they surely will receive.

Only Keaton�s inner Birdman seems to be there to build him up.

I��rritu, who co-wrote the film with Nicol�s Giacobone, and Alexander Dinelaris, Jr., who collaborated with him on BIUTIFUL and first-time screenwriter Armando Bo keeps the visceral momentum going through the film�s two-hour running time. It never dragged or went off point, and when I wasn�t laughing, a wicked smile was curled up on my face. When Keaton�s delusional state takes over in the last third, with superhero special effects and crazy imagery such as a ginormous squawking bird-creature towering over the city, it�s a twisted Terry Gilliam-eque delight.

Keaton�s Riggan Thompson may be covered in flop sweat, but he�s got a smash on his hands here for BIRDMAN is a work of bizarre genius that will blow audiences away.

More later...