Cold News Soars

So I was going to complain about how cold it’s been.  We seemed to bypass the customary transition period between autumn and winter and plunged straight into February weather.  This does not allow the dangerously thin summer blood to properly thicken and protect.  I said I was going to complain; I’m not because I’m using all that energy to thank the good Lord that I don’t live anywhere near Buffalo.  Those poor bastards received more snow in the last 48 hours than we’ve received in the last two complete winters.  Ouch.  I think even my trusty snow blower would run screaming from this onslaught.  Six to eight feet of snow in three days, c’mon!!

Speaking of cold – my beloved son published his weekly Fantasy Football League Power Rankings in his role as league commissioner.  He could have taken a moment to laud the rookie team of his mother and father for ascending into first place.  He could have.  He didn’t.  “Team Bonecrusher - #1 – They are as dangerous in the league as they are backing out of their garage”.  Cold, indeed.

We lost one of the iconic figures of the past half century in cinema overnight with the death of Mike Nichols.  He was a huge success on Broadway as well as Hollywood and his resume reads like an all-star team: Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple,  Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,  The Graduate, Carnal Knowledge, Working Girl just to name a few.  Not bad for a guy who escaped Nazi Germany as a kid and arrived here speaking no English.  A tough voice to lose but he leaves us a legacy of work that will immortalize his vision.  Still when I heard the news I thought we were all a little diminished.

R.I.P to One of the True Talents

It’s therefore somewhat appropriate that I was lucky enough to see Birdman yesterday.  It’s an incredibly smart satire on the shallow personalities of actors and the need for acclaim.  Michael Keaton nails the lead role of an aging Hollywood actor who made his fame as an iconic superhero (some type casting here).  He now has to deal with an eccentric and truly evil Broadway actor played by Edward Norton as well as an emotionally estranged daughter (the usual excellent Emma Stone) and a bevy of actors, critics, and agents.

I loved the way the movie was shot as it follows one actor as he/she moves around the Broadway theater as the play balances on disaster the day before the premiere.  Keaton’s character may be insane, imaginative, or just might possess real super powers which allowed some effective use of whimsy in an otherwise bleak dark comedy.  A very smart script delivered by a truly gifted cast, Keaton and Norton must be nominated for Oscars for their performances here.  I absolutely loved the ending scene – that’s all I’m saying.  Go see it.