I recently curated and edited Limité‘s 2014 Fall Film Guide. Get a taste below, then click here for the full guide.
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Fall is nearly upon us, so we’re turning our sights towards some of the season’s hottest releases—from what are sure to be big budget crowd pleasers (the latest in the Hunger Games and Hobbit franchises), art house favorites (Whiplash, Mr. Turner), and sure-fire Oscar bait (Birdman, Foxcatcher). Mark your calendars for these fall flicks.
BIRDMAN
by Daniel Quitério
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJfLoE6hanc]Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Cast: Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts
Genres: Comedy, Drama
Website: birdmanthemovie.com
Release Date: October 17 (limited)
Summary:
Before Ben Affleck, Christian Bale, George Clooney, and Val Kilmer—and after Adam West, Robert Lowery (who?), and Lewis Wilson (who, again?)—Michael Keaton crusaded on screen in cape and utility belt. Hewas Batman. No question. Now, 22 years after Batman Returns, Keaton perhaps stares himself in the mirror in his latest role in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s critically acclaimed Birdman.
As Riggan Thomson, Keaton is a has-been actor who once played an iconic superhero. Now, he’s ready to reclaim the spotlight as he mounts a Broadway play that is sure to reaffirm his glory. And for his efforts—and following successful premieres at the Venice and Telluride film festivals—Keaton’s name has entered the Oscar conversation.
Officially titled Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), the film pairs director Iñárritu (Babel, 2006) with Oscar-winning cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (Gravity, 2013) for the first time on a feature. The lenser employed a fluid approach to his photography, giving the entire film the feeling of one long, continuous shot. Iñárritu discussed his ambitious vision following the Telluride screening, stating, “I sent the actors a photograph of Philippe Petit crossing the high wire between the twin towers, saying ‘This is the film we are doing, guys’.”
Fox Searchlight, the studio behind last year’s Best Picture winner, 12 Years a Slave, returns to the Oscar race when Birdman opens in limited release this October. The picture can next be seen as the Closing Night Gala Selection at the 52nd New York Film Festival, which kicks off September 26.
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