Buzz For Birdman Out of Venice

"Birdman" has landed in Venice; the film has received a rapturous amount of praise by nearly everyone that's seen it. 

Take a look at some excerpts from the reviews below, which boost Birdman ahead as the strongest (seen) contender in the picture, director, acting, and tech categories.

Hollywood Reporter's Todd McCarthy writes that: 

"Birdman flies very, very high. Intense emotional currents and the jagged feelings of volatile actors are turned loose to raucous dramatic and darkly comedic effect in one of the most sustained examples of visually fluid tour de force cinema anyone’s ever seen, all in the service of a story that examines the changing nature of celebrity and the popular regard for fame over creative achievement. An exemplary cast, led by Michael Keaton in the highly self-referential title role of a former super-hero film star in desperate need of a legitimizing comeback, fully meets the considerable demands placed upon it by director Alejandro G. Inarritu, as he now signs his name... The film’s exhilarating originality, black comedy and tone that is at once empathetic and acidic will surely strike a strong chord with audiences looking for something fresh that will take them somewhere they haven’t been before."

Variety's Petet Dubruge was just as high on the film, entitling his review: "Michael Keaton Stages Comeback of the Century". Dubruge raves about the film, and Keaton's performance (the film's centerpiece). However, he's very high on Edward Norton's performance, of which he says: 

"Norton very nearly steals the show from Keaton at one point. Revealing body and soul alike, both stars are inviting us to laugh at aspects of their real selves, though Norton initially seems the more impressive actor, amplifying his own intense commitment to realism to absurd extremes — with the hilarious result that finding himself in the moment during an early performance proves a rather dramatic cure for his character’s offstage impotence. At first, Keaton doesn’t seem capable of reaching as deep, either in reality or as Riggan, though that’s before the humiliation of wandering through Times Square crowds nearly naked."

So it certainly seems as if Birdman has stuck the landing, which is great news for distributor Fox Searchlight; they are Oscar heavyweights at this point, bringing films such as "Black Swan", "Juno", "The Descendants" and last year's Best Picture winner "12 Years A Slave" into the Oscar race. 

Birdman opens in theaters October 17th.