Birdman

Riggan Thompson used to rule the film industry as Birdman but since then has done little of note. Now he is trying to rekindle his acting career by adapting a Raymond Carver play to Broadway.  The movie chronicles this process through dress rehearsals and opening night. The acting is top notch with Michael Keaton and Edward Norton grabbing most of the limelight. Alejandro González Iñárritu has used a technique that makes it seem the film is one long shot. The end result is akin to playing a first person shoot out except that the film is a drama. The dialogues flow ceaselessly giving not a moment of stillness in the movie. At the end you are left a little nauseous thanks to the roving camera and cranky due to the noisy screenplay!

Rating: * +

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Merry Gentleman

There is nothing merry about the gentleman (Michael Keaton), that Kate (Kelly Macdonald) runs in to on the door step of her apartment. Frank is a glum boring professional killer and she is on the run from an abusive husband. Then there is the overweight detective on the heels of Frank and who has a giant crush on Kate. Predictably the unlikeliest of people bond and unpredictably Keaton's directorial debut keeps you involved even though in the end you wonder if it all was the worth the effort.

Rating: * *