Handsomely made and crafted but lacking in any kind of intrigue or tension, Bridge of Spies is the kind of prestige picture that just sits on the screen and fails to engage emotionally. I hesitate to give much more in the way of venomous diatribe because the movie isn’t one that engenders anger, just boredom.
Birdman‘s full title is Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) but it should probably be called Birdman or (How a Movie Can Have Great Elements and Still Not Work). That’s probably the best way to describe the movie which admittedly has some amazing elements that can’t be denied. It certainly has a startling vision from director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, wonderful cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki, one of the best sound mixes I’ve ever heard and some delightful performances and yet…I left the movie feeling unwhelmed and detached. This isn’t to say that a movie has to be crowd pleasing or warm, but I felt the movie kept me at a distance and didn’t let me fully embrace the spikes and dementedness.