Two movies
Oct. 25th, 2014 10:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yendiSo we saw two movies for our anniversary:
Gone Girl is the perfect anniversary movie for a couple that appreciates the macabre. I can't imagine anyone's not familiar with it at least to some extent by now, but it's about a woman who goes missing on her wedding anniversary. We'd both read the novel, which was better, but the movie's probably as good an adaptation as possible. Rosamund Pike will definitely get an Oscar nom, as will David Fincher for his directing, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for their score, and Gillian Flynn for her screenplay. I'd also imagine that Ben Affleck will get one for his performance, Carrie Coon for supporting actress, and there's an outside chance of Tyler Perry, of all folks, landing a supporting actor nomination. The rest of the cast is superb as well (particularly Missi Pyle, who steals scenes in everything she's in and has done so for years).
If Gone Girl was a perfect anniversary movie, Birdman's pretty much a perfect movie. The movie's full title is Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), and it's pitched like a meta joke, but it's so much more. Yes, Michael Keaton plays an actor named Riggan Thomson who gave up a big career when he stopped playing a superhero. Yes, Edward Norton plays an incredibly difficult-to-work-with actor. But the movie's not about either of them, at least not directly. It's about the making of a play, about what goes into art, and about the line between fiction and reality. Norton and Keaton will both walk away with nominations, and director/co-screenwriter Alejandro González Iñárritu and his co-writers should get a couple as well. Emma Stone is wonderful as Keaton's post-rehab daughter, and the rest of the cast -- Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Lindsay Duncan and more -- are all perfect in their parts. But it's Keaton and Norton who really drive this movie, with their conflicts as the show moves through previews and Keaton's Riggan hearing the voice of the titular Birdman egging him on. There's a lot going on here, and it's better to go in knowing no more than what I've said. Just a damned-near perfect film.
Gone Girl is the perfect anniversary movie for a couple that appreciates the macabre. I can't imagine anyone's not familiar with it at least to some extent by now, but it's about a woman who goes missing on her wedding anniversary. We'd both read the novel, which was better, but the movie's probably as good an adaptation as possible. Rosamund Pike will definitely get an Oscar nom, as will David Fincher for his directing, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for their score, and Gillian Flynn for her screenplay. I'd also imagine that Ben Affleck will get one for his performance, Carrie Coon for supporting actress, and there's an outside chance of Tyler Perry, of all folks, landing a supporting actor nomination. The rest of the cast is superb as well (particularly Missi Pyle, who steals scenes in everything she's in and has done so for years).
If Gone Girl was a perfect anniversary movie, Birdman's pretty much a perfect movie. The movie's full title is Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), and it's pitched like a meta joke, but it's so much more. Yes, Michael Keaton plays an actor named Riggan Thomson who gave up a big career when he stopped playing a superhero. Yes, Edward Norton plays an incredibly difficult-to-work-with actor. But the movie's not about either of them, at least not directly. It's about the making of a play, about what goes into art, and about the line between fiction and reality. Norton and Keaton will both walk away with nominations, and director/co-screenwriter Alejandro González Iñárritu and his co-writers should get a couple as well. Emma Stone is wonderful as Keaton's post-rehab daughter, and the rest of the cast -- Naomi Watts, Zach Galifianakis, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Lindsay Duncan and more -- are all perfect in their parts. But it's Keaton and Norton who really drive this movie, with their conflicts as the show moves through previews and Keaton's Riggan hearing the voice of the titular Birdman egging him on. There's a lot going on here, and it's better to go in knowing no more than what I've said. Just a damned-near perfect film.
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(no subject)
Date: 2014-10-25 09:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-10-26 04:56 pm (UTC)For anyone who has only seen the movie, I highly recommend the book. It's really good.
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Date: 2015-01-06 05:08 am (UTC)