Brilliant

Rating: 10/10 (17 November 2014)

Birdman is a film that left me feeling truly raw as I walked out of the cinema the first night I saw it, in fact, I have been turning it over in my mind for the past two weeks since I witnessed the (obvious) best film of the year, picking apart the beautiful details. Now, there are only a few movies I will watch over again within the same year, but I saw Birdman in the cinema for a second time a week after my first viewing and bought it on Blu-Ray.
The cinematography is flawless, even revolutionary. Each scene seamlessly stitched together with passionate craftsmanship that can only be accomplished by cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, who recently won an Oscar for his work on Gravity.
Director Alejandro González Iñárritu has been quoted as saying that he intended for Birdman to be "a cinematic desert." And that is being modest. This movie truly feels like a breath of fresh air in the film industry because of its creativity and originality. Now, I have only given five other films a 10 out of 10 rating, this being the sixth. Those films include The Godfather, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction and The Big Lebowski.
The technical aspect of this film is obviously extraordinarily noteworthy, but how is the acting? In one word. Radiant. Michael Keaton gives the performance of a lifetime as a washed up actor who's ego is far beyond what it should be. Emma Stone, Ed Norton and Zach Galifianakis have also never been better. In fact, they are all Oscar Worthy, except for maybe Zach Galifianakis, but that's only due to his abbreviated screen time.
I also loved how it touched on the expectations of movie goers today and their opinions on what they want to see when watching a blockbuster film,as well as film critics and how all they ever do is use big unnecessary words to avoid actually reviewing films and look for a good quotes to put on the posters and DVD covers.
I predict that this film will age very well and hopefully resonate in the thoughts of moviegoers and critics alike. And there is no reason why Birdman shouldn't sweep the 2015 Academy Awards.