It's fair to say this is unlike any movie you've seen. It's part backstage drama and part interior monologue, sometimes portraying things in a naturalistic way, and other times soaring into magical realism. You know a film is quirky when the much-ballyhooed fact that it's shot to look as though it's all one continuous take is actually one of the least unusual things about it. Granted, that cinematic feat impresses, particularly the claustrophobia it conveys as the camera winds through tiny backstage halls. But the atmosphere created by director Alejandro González Iñárritu and the performances by the cast are what sticks with you. Michael Keaton holds "Birdman" together with his riveting portrayal of an actor fighting his demons - mostly those demons are his doubts, personified by his most famous character, Birdman. Emma Stone once again proves herself a superb actress as Keaton's out-of-rehab daughter, and Edward Norton is a hoot as a talented but crazy and very juvenile actor. Actually, all the characters suffer from extreme levels of self-absorption - with the exception of Keaton's ex-wife, a madonna stereotype given some life thanks to Amy Ryan's grounded portrayal.

- KRISTINA DORSEY