The Incredible Hulk (2008)

It's very strange to watch "The Incredible Hulk" in a post-Avengers world where Mark Ruffalo is our friendly neighborhood green monster. I always liked this movie, though. It was far superior to Eric Bana's "Hulk." Even if it doesn't fit nicely into the consistency of the other MCU films, it stands alone decent enough. I do, however, find it unfortunate for the Hulk franchise that there are so many competing faces for the role that make it difficult for fans to keep track of. 

It doesn't help, either, that this story starts in the middle of his origin story. It depends on audiences to pay close attention to the opening credits if they want to know how Hulk came to be. 

Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) is living in Brazil seeking a cure to his ~unique condition (results from a gamma test gone wrong… he now turns into a giant green monster when his blood pressure gets too high). General Ross (William Hurt) is searching for him, believing him to be government property. Aaaaand so that he can create this super army. The best moments in the movie all involve the mysterious “Mr. Blue” (Nelson) though the CGI is also top-notch. Hulk is not my fav compared to most other super heroes out there (it’s not easy being green) but I thought this adaptation and a smaller green dude created life and emotion behind the monstrosity.  Norton was a perfect fit and gave a good performance.  6/10

Birdman (2014)

It's quirky as hell, but the phenomenal acting performances keep it afloat.

We are first introduced to washed up actor Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) sitting cross-legged in midair in his tighty-whities. The voice of Birdman - the action hero he is famous for playing - is taunting him, the voice seemingly coming from a movie poster. No, it doesn't make sense but this unnatural power his former alter ego holds over him is a recurring theme throughout Riggan's story arc. Riggan has decided to try and reinvent his career by adapting, directing, and starring in Raymond Carver's play "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love." Replace Riggan with Michael and Birdman with Batman and you have the fictionalized version of Michael Keaton's story. I kept thinking to myself, "you know, this movie is a little weird... but good for Michael Keaton!"

We're thinking the same thing about Riggan's character. It seems the gods are against him and the play hits several bumps on its way to production. Mid rehearsal the main actor is hit on the head and hospitalized leaving Riggan without a lead. Another cast member Lesley (Naomi Watts) suggests famous method actor Mike Shiner (Edward Norton). When Shiner joins the cast, it appears he is just as difficult to get along with as Norton himself. He has undeniable acting pizazz when he feels like it, but can be quite the downer when he doesn't. This provides for many entertaining scenes between Mike and Riggan while we reach the heart of Mike's character in his exchanges with Riggan's daughter Sam (Emma Stone) who has been recently released from rehab. In fact, these simple conversations and truth or dare games are more touching than anything else we feel from the other characters. These were the scenes where I actually felt connected to what was happening on the screen. Sadly, there wasn't quite enough Norton and Stone to go around and I don't know if I ever fully invested myself into the plot on the emotional level I wanted to.

I really want to like this movie. But I'll be honest, I feel like I must be missing something major because there are so many little pieces to this work that I love. I mean, you've got great supporting performances from Zach Galifanakis, Andrea Riseborough, and Amy Ryan, you've got a talented director Alejandro González Iñárritu to brew up a perfect mixture of comedy, and tragedy (a lighter side compared to his "Biutiful" or "Babel"), and you get to see Michael Keaton walk around in his underwear. So maybe I just don't get it the way I'm supposed to?

Where "Birdman" did manage to sweep me away was with its mesmerizing camerawork. I haven't seen anything like that since Alfred Hitchcock's "Rope"(which was filmed in ten 10-minute long takes). I felt like the voyeur spying on these actors' lives and following them around while they take care of their business. Though the tracking camera felt intrusive and somewhat pervading, it was a fun and different experience to feel like I was actually there.

This, however, was the only thing special thing about "Birdman." As much as I can appreciate its quirks and its phenomenal acting, there is still something that falls short for me to consider it more than an overhyped and overpraised art film. 6/10