rsw7703 Reviews

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

"Acting...Genius!"

[1/10 · 22 February 2015]

Years ago a recurring Saturday Night Live sketch was about the "Master Thespian". It featured John Luvitz and ended with the exclamation "acting!......genius!" I hadn't thought about this take-off on ultra pretentious pseudo-intellectuals until today. As I read through the many rated-10 reviews of "Birdman" here on IMDb it instantly came to mind. How can so many people declare this film to be a "Masterpiece?" I must suffer a deficit of intellect. I expect these reviewers will pity my failure to grasp the brilliance. Maybe they are right and I am a dullard. But to me, "Birdman" is a Master Piece of Crap. "Acting...Genius?" LOL.

Watching this movie was torture enough, I simply cannot prolong my suffering with a full recounting of it's myriad disappointments. I do feel compelled to make three comments. The music score was annoyingly bad. The Writer/Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu appeared on the Golden Globes and did not speak English very well. Of course there are 2 other writers credited so I suspect the script was a translation of sorts. So I suppose Alejandro González Iñárritu has created a film populated with "Master Thespians." Third, I have always liked Michael Keaton and if anything kept me in my seat to the bitter, unresolved end of this mess, it was him. Too bad for me.

American Sniper (2014)

Outrageous

[8/10 · 22 February 2015]

They have their enemy in the cross hairs and they shoot with impunity. They are irresponsible, biased and heartless. Therefore I must give the creators of this outrage the lowest rating, a 1 for awful. These people are NOT the filmmakers who crafted "American Sniper." These people are the specific IMDb reviewers who have rated this film based on political dogma rather than artistic merit. They are the snipers. They are shooting from the wrong location (IMDb) at the wrong victims (the filmmakers). IMDb is not a political forum. The rated 1 reviews predominate the top of the user review list. So the casual visitor is likely to gather "American Sniper" is a VERY bad movie. As a result, the film is shot in the back unfairly. After all, the overall rating is 7.5. That is quite good. But the better reviews do not show up in any fair quantity until several pages into the user review list.

In fairness, some of the negative reviews were thoughtful and demonstrated that the writers had actually watched the entire film. They separate the art from the message. And certainly, films with a political point of view are fair game for political opinion. My beef is with the many reviews which are undisguised political diatribe. The ones which make little or no notice of the film as entertainment, craftsmanship, or art. There are countless forums for this kind of free speech. But, in my opinion, I'd rather not see it stacked en mass here on the user review lists.

As for my opinion of the film, I give "American Sniper" 8 out of 10. It isn't the Best film I've seen this year, but it is surely one of them. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Bradley Cooper was perfect in the role giving an amazing performance. Every performance was excellent and Clint Eastwood at 84? Come on man, outstanding! So the haters can hate... somewhere else. This forum is about movies not politics.

Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)

Keeping it short

[1/10 · 11 February 2015]

Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan had zero sex appeal, for me anyway. I hoped I was going to see something a bit more provocative than predictable. However, what unfolded on the screen was a story without enough substance. So I grabbed the first hard cover volume from my aunt's large collection of "literature." She warned me not to expect much and she was right. I somehow got through 150 pages of poorly written boredom and gave up. I'm glad I saw the film for free. On the positive side, I can report that the Music is by one of my favorite film composers, Danny Elfman. Plus, the soundtrack includes music from the likes of Beyonce, Ellie Golding and many others which helps but does not rescue the largely silly visual acrobatics. Maybe my opinion would be different were I a repressed housewife or middle aged spinster. But that is as stupid a remark as the movie itself, given I am a man.