TRAILER: "The Gambler"

Hmm. This full trailer for The Gambler makes it look much better than that short little teaser did a couple weeks ago. Although every time I hear "Sympathy For the Devil" in a trailer it reminds me of The Departed, which, coincidentally, screenwriter William Monahan also wrote. This one's premiering at AFI Fest next week- maybe it's a surprise late breaking Oscar contender that nobody's expecting?

REVIEW: "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" (2014) Michael Keaton, Emma Stone. Dir. Alejandro G. Inarritu

Alejandro Inarritu's Birdman is a wildly ambitious film, one that attempts to combine several different elements and tones, all at work in one piece- this is a movie that wants to say a lot about a lot of things, and perform innovative techniques while doing it. It's difficult to say if it achieves the impact it wants- it certainly leaves you pondering the meaning of it all, and of what you've just seen.

Michael Keaton is perfectly cast as Riggan Thomson, an aging former movie star who was once the world famous face of the Birdman franchise, which grossed $1 billion dollars globally. Obviously, this is a not so subtle dig at Keaton's Batman history, and it's so clearly meant to be his reality as a former megastar who missed the boat on the superhero franchise that they may well have used the actual name, rights be damned. Thomson is now attempting a comeback, having written a play which he himself is directing and starring in on Broadway, all the while being haunted by his alter ego, the grizzled voice of Birdman himself, who comes into his head and cynically tells him to give it all up and make a comeback of a different kind.

I said that this film is a hodgepodge of experiments, one of the best of which is the behind the scenes satire of the theater, poking fun at movie stars who desperately want the kind of critical validation they feel comes from being on stage. In these scenes we get some of the best acting, not just from Keaton as he attempts to maneuver the chaos of his flailing play during the previews, but of Edward Norton as a pretentious, over the top, vain film actor who comes in as a last minute replacement and essentially takes over the show, making up his own lines, fighting with the cast and crew, and making a mockery of the play itself in front of the audience. Norton is a hilarious scene-stealer in this movie, and every time he shows up you know a big laugh is on the way. Zach Galafianakis is also very good as Riggan's long suffering attorney, managing the increasingly hopeless situation the best he can, and Naomi Watts is spot on too as a fellow actress mistreated by Norton and willing to do anything to be on Broadway. The ensemble shines the most when the camera is following the various altercations and conversations between the actors, and this is the heart of the film and what I enjoyed most about it.

But there's a lot more to it than that, and Inarritu is not interested in making a film simply about theater people. After all, that's been done before. He wants to satirize show business as a whole, and the script is full of jabs at the current superhero/action movie saturation in the marketplace, the dumbing down of the American consumer and the actors who must degrade themselves for the easy money that is now just tossed their way like candy if they sign up. Riggan wants to be revelant, wants to be taken seriously as an artist, but is jealous and resentful about the Robert Downey Jr.'s of today who can make $50 million dollars for doing nothing so much as showing up and saying the same lines, movie after movie. There's a seething resentment boiling underneath the surface of this film, directed at American culture and the ignorance of the masses, who are so easily fooled again and again (social media does not come away unscathed either, nor do critics themselves). it often comes across as venting from Inarritu, who co-wrote, but really, when you look at the top box office movies of the last five years, who can blame him? It looks bleaker with every passing month.

Birdman's also a character study which spends an awful lot of time inside the mind of Riggan Thomson, usually as he battles the goading of his alter ego, but also as he half-heartedly struggles to connect with his daughter Sam (Emma Stone), fresh out of rehab and working as his personal assistant, she who lectures him on embracing the power that comes with being a viral sensation through physical humiliation, and his faltering relationships with his ex-wife (Amy Ryan) and current girlfriend, both of which suffer due to Riggan's narcissism and self-obsession. The movie's not blind to the self-importance of actors (the Edward Norton character is a direct mockery of such cliches), but when Inarritu employs some elevated moments of magic realism as Birdman comes closer and closer to merging with Riggan himself, the tone does shift to resemble something closer to fantasy and it leaves a strange impact as you wonder what it all might mean. Last, but not least, Inarritu is wanting to be technically innovative as well, and the camera creates the illusion of a single take throughout the entire movie as we follow Riggan, Sam and others through the confines of backstage and outside, the streets of New York coming virulently alive as the movie thrives in a vibrant, claustrophobic, chaotic visual movement. Hitchcock did it before in Rope, and like that film, you can see where the camera breaks in this one, but it's a neat trick nonetheless.

With all these contradicting elements at play, Birdman is certainly an event film not to be missed, but I can't help but wonder if a bit less of any one element would have made the overall impact stronger, helped it to convey one or two messages in a sharper, more powerful fashion, rather than the many, sometimes disparate statements at once. But it certainly is a wild enough ride as it is, and one worth taking, if you're open to letting its strange spell work its magic on you. I'd recommend it.

* * * 1/2

TRAILER: "Minions"

Well, for those who can't get enough of those lovable minions, behold, the trailer for the Minions movie is here. The spinoff/prequel to the Despicable Me movies is set to come out next July, is destined to be a smash hit and will be starring the voices of Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm, which to me is the only interesting thing about it. But these guys sure are popular, so here's what you've been waiting for:

Action Movies Lead the 2015 People's Choice Award Nominations

Well, here we go with the usual schlock nominated by the "people," even though I have no idea why they're doing this so early, with two whole months left in the year for movies to come out. Oh, wait, it's because the People's Choice Awards don't care about quality, that's right. They ought to add "shitty" to every category before the word "movie" if they want to be truly accurate. Here's the list of pure popcorn action movies the masses endorsed this year. Sorry, but I cannot respect any organization that nominates Maleficent for best anything at any time, ever. The People's Choice Awards are dead to me.

Favorite Movie

• 22 Jump Street
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• Maleficent
• X-Men: Days of Future Past

Favorite Movie Actor

• Brad Pitt
• Channing Tatum
• Hugh Jackman
• Mark Wahlberg
• Robert Downey Jr.

Favorite Movie Actress

• Angelina Jolie
• Emma Stone
• Jennifer Lawrence
• Melissa McCarthy
• Scarlett Johansson

Favorite Movie Duo

• Andrew Garfield & Emma Stone (The Amazing Spider-Man 2)
• Chris Evans & Scarlett Johansson (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
• Jonah Hill & Channing Tatum (22 Jump Street)
• Shailene Woodley & Ansel Elgort (The Fault in Our Stars)
• Shailene Woodley & Theo James (Divergent)

Favorite Action Movie

• The Amazing Spider-Man 2
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier
• Divergent
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• X-Men: Days of Future Past

Favorite Action Movie Actor

• Chris Evans
• Denzel Washington
• Hugh Jackman
• Liam Neeson
• Mark Wahlberg

Favorite Action Movie Actress

• Angelina Jolie
• Jennifer Lawrence
• Scarlett Johansson
• Shailene Woodley
• Zoe Saldana

Favorite Comedic Movie

• 22 Jump Street
• Blended
• Let’s Be Cops
• Neighbors
• The Other Woman

Favorite Comedic Movie Actor

• Adam Sandler
• Channing Tatum
• Jonah Hill
• Seth Rogen
• Zac Efron

Favorite Comedic Movie Actress

• Cameron Diaz
• Charlize Theron
• Drew Barrymore
• Melissa McCarthy
• Tina Fey

Favorite Dramatic Movie

• The Fault in Our Stars
• The Giver
• Heaven Is for Real
• If I Stay
• Noah

Favorite Dramatic Movie Actor

• Ben Affleck
• Brad Pitt
• George Clooney
• Matt Damon
• Robert Downey Jr.

Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress

• Chloë Grace Moretz
• Emma Stone
• Meryl Streep
• Reese Witherspoon
• Shailene Woodley

Favorite Family Movie

• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
• How to Train Your Dragon 2
• The LEGO Movie
• Maleficent
• Rio 2

Favorite Thriller Movie

• Annabelle
• Dracula Untold
• The Equalizer
• Gone Girl
• The Purge: Anarchy

Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Sherlock" Series 1-3

Okay, so I'm recommending something a little different this week, and mostly because the way too expensive gift pack of the BBC series comes with these awesome Sherlock and Watson busts that any fan would love to display in their house (I wish I could buy just those). But given that the gift set really is a lot of money, this is mostly a reminder to check out the show (it's streaming on Netflix) which just recently received a bunch of overdue Emmy love, including wins for Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. It's not often that a breakthrough role can be so instantly iconic that it launches the actor straight from television into movies, but that's certainly what this show has done for Cumberbatch, and all it takes is one episode to see why. He's the real deal.

BBC Trailer:

November Movies Are Here

Well, it's a new month and that means a new selection of movies to watch in our Movies for Every Month page. This November is called "In Commemoration, Part II" which continues our theme from May of celebrating war movies in honor of Veteran's Day this time. The wars for which we have veterans still living come up from WWII through Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and others, but we've chosen ten films that best mark the occasion, one of which is Oliver Stone's 1986 Best Picture winning Platoon (above). The list also includes films like MASH, Full Metal Jacket, The Hurt Locker, and The Thin Red Line, so head to the monthly movie page to read the description and click here for the full list of ten great films for Veteran's Day, now with full trailers added. Happy Movie Watching!

2014 British Independent Film Award Nominations

Another awards body has weighed in with noms today, and that's the BIFA's, where certain British independent films have gotten a boost, like Mr. Turner and The Imitation Game. Their favorite film seemed to be '71 though, which led the pack with 9 nominations:

BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM
'71
Calvary
Mr. Turner
Pride
The Imitation Game

BEST DIRECTOR
John Michael McDonagh for Calvary
Lenny Abrahamson for Frank
Matthew Warchus for Pride
Mike Leigh for Mr. Turner
Yann Demange for '71

THE DOUGLAS HICOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR]
Daniel Wolfe & Matthew Wolfe for Catch Me Daddy
Hong Khaou for Lilting
Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard for 20,000 Days on Earth
Morgan Matthews for X+Y
Yann Demange for '71

BEST SCREENPLAY
The Imitation Game (Graham Moore)
'71 (Gregory Burke)
Calvary (John Michael McDonagh)
Frank (Jon Ronson & Peter Straughan)
Pride (Stephen Beresford)

BEST ACTRESS
Alicia Vikander for Testament of Youth
Cheng Pei Pei for Lilting
Gugu Mbatha-Raw for Belle
Keira Knightley for The Imitation Game
Sameena Jabeen Ahmed for Catch Me Daddy

BEST ACTOR
Asa Butterfield for X+Y
Benedict Cumberbatch for The Imitation Game
Brendan Gleeson for Calvary
Jack O'Connell for '71
Timothy Spall for Mr. Turner

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Dorothy Atkinson for Mr. Turner
Imelda Staunton for Pride
Maggie Gyllenhaal for Frank
Sally Hawkins for X+Y
Sienna Guillory for The Goob

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Andrew Scott for Pride
Ben Schnetzer for Pride
Michael Fassbender for Frank
Rafe Spall for X+Y
Sean Harris for '71

MOST PROMISING NEWCOMER
Ben Schnetzer for Pride
Cara Delevigne for The Face of an Angel
Gugu Mbatha-Raw for Belle
Liam Walpole for The Goob
Sameena Jabeen Ahmed for Catch Me Daddy

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION
'71
20,000 Days on Earth
Catch Me Daddy
Lilting
The Goob

BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT
'71 (Editing - Chris Wyatt)
Mr. Turner (Cinematography - Dick Pope)
Catch Me Daddy (Cinematography - Robbie Ryan) 
Frank (Music - Stephen Rennicks)
'71 (Cinematography - Tat Radcliffe)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
20,000 Days on Earth
Next Goal Wins
Night Will Fall
The Possibilities Are Endless
Virunga

BEST INTERNATIONAL INDEPENDENT FILM
Blue Ruin
Boyhood
Fruitvale Station
Ida
The Babadook 

I'm happy to see the love for Calvary in there, which I thought was a really good movie, but I guess I need to check out this film '71, which stars former Skins alum Jack O'Connell. Still, these are like the British version of the Indie Spirits I suppose- not a lot of influence for bigger awards groups yet.

TRAILER: "A Most Violent Year"

Thursday marks the start of the AFI Film Festival and with it comes the premiere of J.C. Chandor's A Most Violent Year, one of the last remaining Oscar hopefuls to be seen this season. We really don't know anything about this movie, other than the fact that its star Oscar Isaac was nominated for a Gotham award a couple of weeks ago for it, so clearly at least a handful of critics have seen it already. It wouldn't surprise me if he was great in this, given how terrific he was in last year's Inside Llewyn Davis. Here's hoping the movie lives up to this trailer, which makes it look pretty good, at least in my opinion. It's coming out on Dec 31st.

BOX OFFICE 10/31-11/02: 'Nightcrawler' Tops a Slow Halloween Weekend

When Halloween falls on a Friday or Saturday it traditionally means a sluggish weekend at the box office, and that's exactly what happened here, as Jake Gyllenhaal's thriller Nightcrawler came in at No. 1, with just $10 million to show for it. It also got a "B-" Cinemascore despite fantastic reviews, so who knows how well it will actually hold on, but this one was made on a pretty small budget ($8.5 million), so in light of that, it is a modest success. Another movie having a successful run is Ouija, which almost nudged out Nightcrawler from the top position, with nearly $11 million itself, although most of that came on Friday night, unsurprisingly, seeing as it was the only horror movie out this week.

Holdovers Fury and Gone Girl came in third and fourth, respectively, with the former having earned $60 million in its run so far, while the Ben Affleck thriller has become a major success, with over $135 million in the pot, and likely to finish between $150 and $160 million. In fifth place was the animated Book of Life, with just under $9 million, as the top five films all earned very similar amounts this week, crowding together into the finish line.

Top 5:

1. Nightcrawler- $10.91 million
2. Ouija- $10.9 million
3. Fury- $9.1 million
4. Gone Girl- $8.8 million
5. The Book of Life- $8.3 million

In limited release, St. Vincent earned another $7 million, essentially staying flat with its expansion numers from last week and amassing a total of almost $20 million so far. That's actually a pretty successful number and may mean that Bill Murray's still in the conversation for an Oscar nod after all. Meanwhile, the Nicole Kidman thriller Before I Go to Sleep bombed with just $3 million, and Birdman expanded into 231 theaters and earned $2.5 million, with its wider expansion still to come around Thanksgiving. Next week, get ready for the box office to be obliterated when Interstellar and Big Hero 6 come out and battle each other for No. 1- should be a big weekend for blockbusters after the quiet fall it's been so far.

Movie of the Day: "Let the Right One In" (2008)

So finally, we get to the number one choice in our picks for great vampire films this week, and this one is quite a doozy. If you've never seen it, you have to check out this Swedish horror movie from just a few years ago, as I think it's simultaneously a terrific thriller as well as one of the best movies ever made about kids (but intended for an adult audience). Yeah, it's that good. A 12-year-old boy in the late 1970's is approached by a mysterious, somewhat androgynous girl in his apartment complex, and being a lonely, bullied, child of divorce, he immediately cottons on to her attentions, which eventually reveal themselves to be rather dubious. She's a vampire and she needs what's known as a familiar, and though their blossoming relationship is affectionate and heartwarming, there's a terrifying and tragic layer to it that the movie doesn't shy away from. The film is coded with an atmosphere of dread and longing, and shows you all that can be seductive, romantic and threatening about the vampire, in whatever form it comes in. An instant classic (and the American remake from 2010 is quite good too, but this one couldn't be topped). Happy Halloween, everyone!

2008 Trailer:

VIDEO CLIP: "Interstellar"

The first scene from Interstellar has debuted online, so if you can't wait until next week for every little bit of Chris Nolan's ambitious space epic, you can see some of it right here. Matthew McConaughey gets schooled in his kid's teacher's conspiracy theories in this scene from the film:

FIRST LOOK: "Avengers: Age of Ultron"

Marvel released an extended look at the trailer, but with the added scene at the beginning of the gang all trying to lift Thor's hammer at a party. Don Cheadle's Rhodey is also hanging out with the group here, and it looks like Black Widow's ever evolving hairstyle is now back to where it was in the first film. Check it out: