Soaring

Riggan (Michael Keaton) aka Birdman - a stereoytped actor from yesteryears, is attempting to resurrect his career in the face of a hostile and unrelenting media reception, estranged daughter Sam (Emma Stone), demanding method actor Mike (Edward Norton) whom he cannot do without - but most of all the ghosts of Birdman lurking in his mind, that are telling him to let go of Broadway ambitions, and pander to the kitschy tastes of his loyal audience. Brilliantly executed, somewhat predictable, full of allegory. Well-packaged Academy Awards candidate

15/20

Intrigue Entree

Clive Owen and Naomi Watts lead in The International, that dwells on a topic close to every Swiss Banker’s (at the time of writing) heart – the world of offshore private banking. A personal rant would be that the offshore private banker has really little chance of escaping vilification in this tumultuous economy. Cut to the movie. Fast paced script, action scenes that range from good to exceptional (the one at the Guggenheim in New York), great locales. On the other hand, not much of a storyline, a complete absence of suspense, and the rounding off in an unconvincing morality tale fashion. Worth a watch, but definitely not one for posterity

10/20

Cant believe I Watched This

If I were to sum up Funny Games in two words it would be unmitigatedly negative. Terrifying in its casual malice, the sequence of events shocks beyond the expectations of a rational audience. In some odd way this movie reminded me of Apocalypto – whatever can go wrong does – except that Apocalypto ends on a redemptive note while this movie simply leaves you staring and the credits and wondering what just happened. A blend of gorno (Saw, Hostel etc) and the traditional horror movie elements of isolation will leave you gasping at the end. If you know how this movie ends, you probably would not want to watch it. Naomi Watts anchors a difficult role, while Brady Corbet (Peter) and Michael Pitt (Paul) are creepy. Definitely not one for casual family viewing.