“A man becomes a critic when he cannot be an artist”
It’s the end of series 5 and the Spoiler team celebrate this momentous landmark by returning to our very first episode in which Paul, in a fit of pique over Alejandro Iñárritu’s ‘Birdman’ beating ‘Whiplash’ to the Best Picture Oscar, hinted at his dislike for the film, Rachael defended it and Andy declared himself undecided. Nearly two years down the line, how have the team’s opinions changed?
Despite still feeling that it’s “too actory”, Paul surprises everyone by absolutely loving ‘Birdman’ second time round, while Andy (for whom this is the fourth time round) has decided the film is “tonally weird”. Rachael highlights the importance of the excellent performances and the team all agree that Michael Keaton is an underrated talent, even if this may be the first role he could really get his teeth into since ‘Beetlejuice’. Paul reminisces about recording TV theme tunes on his ZX Spectrum tape recorder, Rachael tries to keep her heartbeat in check as it attempts to mimic ‘Birdman’s rhythmic drum score and Andy attempts to think of a better alternative ending for the film than Birdman on the toilet. The series ends with the team in tears of laughter as Paul unleashes his unexpected rating scale.
Elsewhere, Andy takes a look at the ‘it was all a dream’ trope in movies and TV shows and examines the theory of the ‘Tommy Westphall Universe’ which suggests that 90% of the audiovisual entertainment we love is taking place inside the head of one young boy.
This week’s scale: Birdman or Bird-bob man
The SPOILER Awards - Lockdown Special (Episode 56)
Pride (2014, Ben Schnetzer, Dominic West, Andrew Scott): SPOILER Episode 55
Dark Season 1 (2017, Netflix Original Series): SPOILER Episode 54
Top Gun (1985, Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer): SPOILER Episode 53
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1902): SPOILER Episode 52
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018, Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee): SPOILER Episode 51
Singin' in the Rain (1952, Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor): SPOILER Episode 50
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008, Dir: Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett): SPOILER Episode 49
The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro (2015): SPOILER Episode 48
I, Daniel Blake (2016, Dir: Ken Loach, Dave Johns, Hayley Squires): SPOILER Episode 47
Ex Machina (2015, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac): SPOILER Episode 46
Detectorists Series 1 (2014, Mackenzie Crook, Toby Jones, Rachael Stirling): SPOILER Episode 45
Labyrinth (1986, Jim Henson, Jennifer Connelly, David Bowie): SPOILER Episode 44
SPOILER Puppeteer Special: Nigel Plaskitt (Pipkins, Spitting Image, Little Shop of Horrors)
Boyhood (2014, Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke): SPOILER Episode 42
Amelie (2001, Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz): SPOILER Episode 41
Cool Hand Luke (1967, Paul Newman, George Kennedy): SPOILER Episode 40
Django Unchained (2012, Quentin Tarantino, Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio): SPOILER Episode 39
Wonder by R J Palacio (2012): SPOILER Episode 38
Big (1988, Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins): SPOILER Episode 37
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