SNEAK PEEK : "Birdman": 'The Good, The Bad and The Ugly'

From The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.Ca, take another look @ 'the good, the bad and the ugly' in "Birdman", starring Michael Keaton, Edward Norton and Emma Stone:

MICHAEL STEVENS FOR 'THE GOOD':

"'Birdman' aka 'The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance' hurtles along as if in flight, with a single cinematic take, soaring over, under and around the inner demons haunting 'Riggan Thomson' (Michael Keaton) , a grizzled film actor turned stage director, eager to rebuild his reputation in the theater world ...

"...after famously portraying the iconic movie superhero 'Birdman'.

"The funny, clever script shows how vain, fragile and bird-brained actors can be, as they go through the hollow motions of life, when their true calling is in performance...

"...with a convincing ensemble cast, bopping along to a jittery jazz drum score by Antonio Sanchez...

"'Birdman' is a unique satirical feature, that kept me on the edge, never knowing when Keaton's character would let go in a desperate leap of faith..."

GRAF ORLOK FOR 'THE BAD':

"Coupled to all the seething rage and confusion in the main characters, there is also lots of behind-the-scenes sex going on, at times seductive, implied or full frontal...

"Emma Stone as 'Sam' plays an ex-druggie daughter to Keaton's character, showing how emotionally charged she can really be when she wants to...

"...only to have sex on the floor of the theater with Edward Norton's con-man actor 'Mike Shiner', while the play is going on.

"There is also a lovely, tender kissy scene between Naomi Watts as actress 'Lesley' and Andrea Riseborough as 'Laura'...

JANE DOBERMAN FOR 'THE UGLY':

"I always enjoyed Michael Keaton as 'Batman', but his twitchy catalogue of facial mannerisms began to bug me in his later films, seemingly unable to deliver a single line without topping it off with a Tourette's-like expression.

"In 'Birdman', Keaton showcases his full range of tics, grimaces, sighs and quirks that audiences have never seen so close-up before.

"I was also a bit insulted by writer/director Alejando Iñárritu denigrating Hollywood SFX comic book movies and their pop heroes, as fodder without substance, adored by rabid, mindless adherents ready to tear a celebrity apart in "Day Of The Locust' fan-frenzies...

"The jealous conceit here is that good actors only slum in such films for the money, without a care for the genre.

"Also contributing to Birdman's sleep-walking state of mind, 'The Narrator' from 'Fight Club' aka actor Edward Norton is cast as an a-hole actor, beefed up to show the world he is not just a 'puny Banner' but a six-pack 'Hulk' in his own right.

"But there is more, including Keaton looking like a banged-up, bandaged 'Birdman' by way of 'Phantom Of The Paradise' and Emma Stone's character shrugging off her rebellious skankiness to finally become Daddy's girl...

"Then during what should have been a wonderful end to the film, with Keaton's character beautifully embodying the fantasy of a soaring 'Birdman'...

"...I came crashing back to earth as the film devolved into 'Howard Beale', giving a jaded audience the old ironic 'what-they-want' .

"...with Stone's character giving her best 'Chief' impression from the end of 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest'.

"I really didn't mind wetting my beak...a little, in the sad, amusing world of 'Birdman', but there is not much else in this 'landmark' of a film, that will stop me from flying south for the winter...