Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

broderic on March 13, 2015

Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) had opened in my neck of the woods last October/November. It was only playing in 2 or 3 places around town; down at the arty theatre and its off shoot, the slightly well to do theatre uptown. Then it was showing at the whitey mall in the suburbs near me. I was planning to catch a viewing when I took the day before Thanksgiving off. When I checked the listing on that Wednesday morning, the film was gone. I was unable to catch it. I believe it played for only a week there, and I was unable to catch it.

It won the Oscar for Best Picture last month.

Now its on BluRay and DVD, but I had to watch it in theatre. In the last few weeks, its been playing right next door in its victory lap. I went this past weekend. I was finally able to catch it.

The film revolves around an actor whose starred in a trilogy of superhero films about Birdman some years ago. He wants to be a more legitimate actor, so he writes, stars, and directs an adaptation of a Raymond Carver story on Broadway. Except his past haunts him as well as the present difficulties in staging the play. His cast gains a “ACTOR.” His show is lacking funding. The critics are readying to rip the show to shreds. And he’s only hearing Birdman egg him on. Is he crazy?

Maybe, he was. The story suggests it isn’t reality, but a figment of the lead’s imagination. The Birdman follows him around. He floats in the air in his tight-whiteys. He exhibits telekinesis. He was crazy!

This one winning the Best Picture fits the trend of ‘meh’ that the last few have been. It doesn’t knock you out as a film. It doesn’t scream classic. Let’s give it another few years and re-evluate if it is any good. Maybe in a decade.

All I know is I saw 2 of the 8 Best Picture nominees and this was the worst of the two.

3 of 5 stars.

Link of the Day [3.11.15]

broderic on March 11, 2015

Apple introduced the new MacBook during the Apple Watch event on Monday. I haven’t read too much about the Watch. I read more about the new MacBook. I had no time to read the specs. I just browsed the pictures at today’s link. Someone tell me if this is good.

Check it out. Maybe get the gold one.

http://www.apple.com/macbook/

Still Alice

broderic on March 11, 2015

Still Alice was a horror movie.

That’s not what you say about the film which won Julianne Moore the best actress Oscar, but it was very horrific.

Moore stars as the eponymous Alice, a young Columbia professor who is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. She’s in her early fifties, but she inherited the disease from one of her parents. The film follows her descent into the horrors of this disease. It was especially tough for her character, because she was an intellect.

It was also tough on her, because she could pass it along to her 3 children, two of whom took a test to discover if they had inherited it. The youngest daughter didn’t, and she kept leading a care free life coming back to help her degenerating mother.

I had a friend who went crazy. He became erratic and delusional. When you looked into his eyes, you did not see him there. That is frightening like the Alzheimer’s in this movie. The person you know is gone but is still physically there. They are living ghosts.

3 of 5 stars.

Link of the Day [3.10.15]

broderic on March 11, 2015

What I felt when reading through today’s link the first time was resignation. I already knew that we gave up a lot of our freedom for the safe, security we needed to defeat a bunch of know-nothing, backwards scaremongers of the Middle East. But the more I read, the more I got angry.

What the hell man?! This is supposed to keep us safe? I feel safe already? FUDGE these guys.

Then the article started getting into some of the specifics. Like how the ‘white hat hackers’ are cracking our development tools to inject malicious code into our applications. That just makes me disgusted.

Is this our United States? Is this what we wanted? We wanted to feel safe for this? Thanks, W. FUDGE that guy. FUDGE you guys for giving in.

https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/03/10/ispy-cia-campaign-steal-apples-secrets

Link of the Day [3.01.15]

broderic on March 1, 2015

I wear boxers.

I switched from the “tighty-whiteys” in high school.

Now should I switch to the boxer-briefs?

I have a couple boxers made with jersey style fabric, but they have the boxer silhouette.

At this moment, my weight is getting such that my underwear is almost too small now. If I have to go up a size and get new underwear, should I follow the crowd and go with boxer-briefs?

Maybe. I should try on a pair.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-26/how-the-boxer-brief-got-into-america-s-pants

Kingsman: The Secret Service

broderic on March 1, 2015

I was ready to be appalled by the violence in Kingsman: The Secret Service, because of the reviews I read about it. Guts spilling out everywhere, heads exploding, decapitations, mangled bodies. I was expecting Quentin Tarantino levels of blood. The movie had it all, but I wasn’t appalled. After a while, it was pure spectacle. It became hilarious and hard to believe. It was cartoony violence.

The movie revolves around a secret spy organization which keeps the world safe from Saville Row in London. They are the tailors who tinker and spy. To be a part of the organization, one had to be born in high class. The kid in this one wasn’t high born but was given a chance because his dad was a trainee who gave his life to save Colin Firth’s life. The film follows the kid’s journey from novice to international super spy. He saves the world.

The film reminded me of James Bond movies with Sean Connery. It was kitsch in that sense. The cartoon violence was part of that. It couldn’t take itself too seriously. It was like Quentin Tarantino decided to do an Austin Powers movie. Still, there was violence, but come on, it was ridiculous. There was even a secret lair in what should’ve been a volcano. Plus heads asploded in it. ASPLODE!

3 of 5 stars.