Hollywood's Best?

Rating: 5/10 (21 February 2015)

"Birdman" looks to have a good chance of winning the best movie Oscar. It is also an excellent example of what I do not like in a Hollywood movie. One way to explain my dislike is to point out that "Birdman" seems to have been created with a check list of those features considered necessary to film a blockbuster.
Superhero? Check. War damage to cities? Check. Emotional tension? Check. Multi-generational points of view? Check. Somewhat unusual camera work and music? Check. Nudity? Check. Indicate that you are on the forefront of Hollywood conventions? Check. This was done by showing male bodies instead of female and by treating sex more subtly than has been the norm for the past generation.
The movie even has some issues that ought to resonate with me: career angst, tensions with ex-wife, and tensions with grown children.
Because there are so many checkboxes, none of the above works. For example, the issues that ought to resonate with me do not because there is not enough background to bring me from my concerns to Birdman's concerns.
There is one subject that is treated in more depth, the tensions between Hollywood and Broadway. If you look for deeper meaning within the movie, this is where you will find it. However even this central theme is stunted by those checkboxes. For all I know, the subject itself was just another checkbox--one aimed at those who vote for the Oscars.
Come to think of it, there is another check box that was ticked off, symbolism. This may be my imagination but all those scenes of characters moving around in narrow corridors seem to reflect what the creators of this movie were doing when working within Hollywood's constraints.
If you want to see a very well conceived and executed attempt to make a Hollywood style movie, then see this movie. Otherwise forget it.