The only person standing in your way is you.

Black Swan

Black Swan was number one on my list of winter movies and right now it sits at number one on my list of best movies of the year. Darren Aronofsky's masterpiece is a psychological thriller with brilliant performances, intriguing themes, and rich visuals. I was emotionally and physically moved by Black Swan and I believe the film will stay with me for a very long time.

To get started, I'll state the obvious: Natalie Portman was spellbinding and produced a genius performance. This really is the performance of the year. Portman disappeared into Nina. She was vulnerable, naive, and childish; I've never seen Portman this way before. With many of her other roles, she has a strength and confidence. Nina completely lacked both. Portman's fragile frame matched Nina's psyche. Portman completely disappeared into this role; she let go and just fell into the role. I can't imagine any other actress playing Nina.

On top of the revolutionary performance, Portman mastered ballet. She trained for a year and it shows. In many films where an actor must master a skill, the camera rarely shows the actor's face and body in the same shot to better hide a double. But Portman's face and body are seen together throughout the whole movie. She looked as if she'd been doing ballet her entire life. If Natalie Portman doesn't win the Oscar for Black Swan, I'll completely lose what faith I had left in the Academy. Sorry Annette Benning, but your performance in that awful movie can't even touch Portman.

Mila Kunis is exceptional as Lily, a rival dancer. She's very natural in the role and can definitely do more than just comedy. She pushed herself out of her niche and made the role her own. Barbara Hershey also did an outstanding job as Nina's mother. She was equally horrifying and sympathetic. While Vincent Cassel did a great job as the ballet director and provided an excellent motivation for Nina, Black Swan belongs to the ladies.

The visuals and editing rival Portman in strength. The continuous use of black and white emphasize the battle of good and evil that can rage inside a person. The costumes are beautiful and the sets are breath taking. Black Swan is brilliantly shot to look like Nina is being stalked. The visual effects are the stuff of nightmares; this film is scary. Clint Mansell's haunting score moves the film along and adds to the intensity of every scene.

The script brilliantly interweaves Nina's story with the story of Swan Lake; they fold into each other perfectly. The script also moves Nina's character development along well, giving us time with each change. Everything is revealed at the right time. Her transformation left me speechless and my body lifeless. The last act is some of the most riveting, tense, and visually striking minutes I've ever experienced in a film.

The script and story pair well with Aronofsky's previous film, The Wrestler. Both are about a physically demanding and under appreciated art, and the lengths one goes to to be an artist, to achieve perfection, and the costs. Both films are shot similarly for different reasons and both endings pack a powerful punch. But Black Swan is much riskier than The Wrestler. Aronofsky laid the ground work with The Wrestler and raised the stakes with Black Swan.

Black Swan is one of the scariest, engaging, and best films I've ever seen. It's a masterpiece.

Judi Dench in Notes on a Scandal

Definitely one of Judi Dench's most memorable performances and one of my favorites. She could've taken this performance in two directions and she chose an effective path of subtly, slight humor, and bitterness that all flow into her obsessive behavior. She comes across as sympathetic but behind that curtain she's sucking the life out of you. Cate Blanchett describes Dench's character as a vampire and that's exactly what she is. Dench sinks her fangs into this role in a way only Judi Dench can.

Netflix

Inception-Love it. Love it. Must see again. Love it.
Wild Child-Some cute Emma Roberts comedy along the lines of a Mary-Kate and Ashley movie. I'll get this when I need a break from the heavy stuff.
Skins Vol 3-Netflix Instant. I'll try it again.

Welcome to Wonderland.

Burlesque

Burlesque is a fun distraction that manages to be enjoyable despite an awful screenplay.

Christina Aguilera gives an acceptable debut performance. The role doesn't call for much, but she's believable as a small-town girl with a big voice. Her performance was certainly better than Britney's debut in Crossroads. She has great chemistry with the film's more seasoned actors, including forever diva Cher. The two powerhouses play off each other well. It's great to see two generations of divas working together and seeing a torch passed.

Stanley Tucci is magic as usual. Cam Gigandet is sooo nice to watch...because he's foxy. Alan Cumming is great but totally underutilized. Finally, it's great to see Kristen Bell play someone other than a cute, nice blonde. She's a great dancer but I wish we could've heard her vocal talents. But this isn't a normal musical and clearly it's all about Cher and Christina.

The film isn't really a musical; characters mostly sing when they are supposed to, not because the moment feels right. But that doesn't stop the musical numbers from being pretty awesome. Catchy original and timeless songs sung by The Voice, Christina Aguilera. And Cher's still got it.

The script is just a dis-ast-uh. Cliche and cheese combine and produce the mess of the Burlesque script. I don't think Steve Antin has much writing experience and it certainly shows. And he used way too many establishing shots. Don't worry Steve, I haven't forgotten for the tenth time that we're at the Burlesque Lounge.

Burlesque really reminded me how great it is to be a girl sometimes. We get to wear stunning outfits adorned in pearls, feathers and a whole lot of sparkle. We get to paint beautiful canvases with lipstick, eyeliner and eye shadows and create works of art. Though dancing in little outfits in front of men isn't for everyone, it can be very empowering for some women, and the women in Burlesque were certainly powerful.

If you need to turn your brain of for about an hour and a half, look at pretty colors, watch dance moves you'll never be able to do and hear vocals you'll never be able to mimic BUT leave feeling satisfied, then see Burlesque.

Jeremy Renner in The Town

For the most part, I liked The Town but Renner made it a memorable film. He plays an incredibly unpredictable character with a fire in his eyes that scared me. He left behind a path of destruction and was like a lit firework in each scene. His accent was sometimes hard to understand but I'll take that as his dedication to the role. Another excellent performance from an immensely talented man.

Netflix

Going the Distance-I love Justin and Drew. This looked cute.
Enter the Void-Supposed to be super intense but David and Anne loved it.
Battlestar Galactica-Netflix Instant. Supposed to be sooo good. An upcoming TV project.

I wanna talk about how bad you make this room look.

Crazy Heart

Crazy Heart is a fairly predictable drama about an alcoholic country singer that won Jeff Bridges his Oscar.

I'd been wanting to see Crazy Heart for a while, but not because it looked interesting. I needed to see if Jeff Bridges beat Colin Firth because the performance was better or it was just "Jeff Bridges' turn." Jeff Bridges really is great. He inhabits Bad Blake and gives an honest and raw performance. Bridges pushes himself to the edge and the edge isn't pretty. He's the heart of the movie and he's a great musician. A fantastic performance, he carries the movie and few actors could've played this role. Bridges' also had great chemistry with Colin Farrell, his former protege. Farrell sings a mean country song and sounds 100% Southern. Kudos to his dialect or accent coach.

I maintain my stance that Colin Firth was better and Bridges' Oscar was an I.O.U. Bridges kicked ass but Firth's role required a deeper and higher level of emotional intensity and conflict than Bridges' in my opinion. I'm not as peeved that Bridges beat Firth after watching Crazy Heart, but I still would've rather heard Colin Firth's acceptance speech than Bridges'.

The story was fairly predictable and a lot like a country song. Guy is broken and needs to be saved by music and a fine woman. The love story turned me off. Seeing an overweight, alcoholic, dirty man rub his hands all over Maggie Gyllenhaal just didn't do it for me. Furthermore, this love story would never happen if the roles were reversed. Would an attractive man fall for an aged, slightly overweight and female character? Probably not. That's why I find the romances in Crazy Heart and The Wrestler, for example, a bit preposterous.

The soundtrack is phenomenal. This is real, bleeding heart country music. No Taylor Swift pop-country riff-raff. If you like country music, pick up this soundtrack. Even if you don't like country music, this is a must own film soundtrack.

Overall, the film is a strong B. Great performances but the story was too predictable for my taste.

Rupert Friend in The Young Victoria
While Emily Blunt is great in the titular role, Rupert Friend as Albert stole the film for me. His performance is very reserved and chivalrous, sweet and strong. I fell in love with him right along with Victoria. His eyes speak more than his words ever could and he's a strong, male feminist character. Albert seems like a role that anyone could've played but Friend made it his own. I really hope we get to see him in more.

Netflix

Easy A-I enjoy Emma Stone and this was supposed to be better than it looked.
Eclipse-I know. For shame.
Les Miserables-Netflix Instant. Love the pairing of Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush.

There's a moment, there's always a moment.

Closer

One of my all-time favorites, this gritty drama is a brutally honest look at relationships and the hurt people cause each other. The film is filled with vulnerability, strength, brilliantly shot scenes and fantastic performances.

Jude Law is so unlikable as Dan, a man who's slimy but think he's a romantic. I think it takes serious acting skill to play an unlikable character. While he doesn't turn in the film's strongest performance, he does an exceptional job. And his chemistry with Natalie Portman is amazing.

What his character represents is what's best about him. I'm in an evolutionary psychology/communication class and we talk about cheating, what drives humans, and so forth. In lectures on relationships, we've learned that everyone cheats; it's in our nature to not be monogamous because we need to mate with the best genes to produce better offspring, etc. However, when it comes to cheating, men especially want to cheat but do not want their female partners to cheat. There's some kind of intrasexual competition between men to sleep with as many women as possible while holding onto their mate. Dan is this theory. He's driven mad imagining a woman he's with sleeping with another man; it leads to the downfall of his relationships in the film. It's always cool to see things you learn in school in real life.

I really respect Julia Roberts for going outside her box. She's never been my favorite of actresses because she plays the same role a lot. But she's different as Anna. She's a liar and depressed, not cutesy and lovable. Good role choice. Next step, play a serial killer, eyyy Julia?

Clive Owen is phenomenal as Larry the "caveman," a man with an unquenchable sexual thirst but deeper complexities. In the original play, Owen played Dan which I cannot imagine at all. Owen's got a kind of Cro-Magnon look to him. He plays his character clever and though he's sleazy, he's far more appealing than Dan.

Despite the other stellar performances, all roads lead to Natalie Portman. She's so gifted. Her character is manipulative and sweet, she traps men in her web of intrigue. The lyrics in the opening and closing song by Damien Rice, "I can't take my eyes off of you," totally applies to Portman's character. People see her and fall in love, she's a "vision." This was a really adult role for Portman. We always knew she was talented but she stepped her game with Closer. This has definitely groomed her for what looks like an even more adult and intense role in the my most anticipated Christmas time film, Black Swan. I love her in this role.

Patrick Marber wrote a very intimate screenplay. The dialogue is in your face but seems very private. I shouldn't be listening to these conversations, I'm a peeping tom for watching this scene. The meat of the film is in the dialogue; there's not one sex scene in the whole film.

Coupled with the intimate screenplay is the way Mike Nichols shot the film. Many of the scenes are filmed as if you're a bystander at a variety of distances. You could be sitting a the table in the restaurant watching and listening to Anna and Larry's conversation or you could be standing at the top of a staircase watching Anna and Dan greet each other. I kind of feel like I have to take a shower after watching Closer; I feel dirty invading these people's space.

Mike Nichols shot some really great scenes in Closer. The juxtaposition of the opening and closing scene with the Damien Rice song playing is just brilliant. Furthermore, the use of fish is interesting. Fish pop up in several scenes in the film, which made me think of the saying "There's other fish in the sea." Going along with the repeated Damien Rice lyric, "I can't take my eyes off of you," and the last lyric in the song, "'Til I find somebody else," the idea of there being other fish in the sea makes sense. You can love someone until the end of time, having eyes only for them until you meet someone new and the feelings start all over again, just with a different fish.

Closer is truly incredible but it can be scary. Do not see this if with a person you are having a relationship with. If the relationship is good, you'll look for cracks. If the relationship is bad, you will break up.

Jason Bateman on Arrested Development

Every actor on Arrested Development is a genius. That show is so well cast. But to balance out all those insane personalities in the Bluth family, you need a straight man. And Bateman is the perfect straight man. He created a dedicated and understated character in Michael Bluth who was full of love but grew flustered with his ridiculous family. It takes a really strong actor to hold their own with all those extroverts and still be funny. Please let Hollywood make that Arrested Development movie, I wasn't ready for the Bluth's story to end.

Netflix

Toy Story 3-Dislike the 2nd one but this has gotten such great reviews.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)-Supposed to be bad but I love Jackie Earle Haley.
The Girl Who Played with Fire-Netflix Instant. I won't see this for a long time. Still haven't finished the first book in the series or seen that movie. Winter break project?

Halloween is the one night a year when girls can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.

Mean Girls

A comedy staple! My generation's Clueless! Mean Girls is a slightly exaggerated, though mostly spot on account of high school and all the gossip and social climbing students encounter through that four year minefield of high school.

What an amazing performance from Lindsay Lohan. This role firmly established her as a talented young actress and I'm sure opened up a world of professional opportunities. But we all know what happened, and it's a shame. She really is talented. She's believable as the likable and naive girl next door from Africa and the "regulation hottie" who has been influenced by the Plastics, the cool/mean girl clique at her high school. With more of the right roles, Lohan could've (and maybe still could) had a bright career. Her comedy skills are definitely on point.

Mean Girls gives me reason number 537873 to love Rachel McAdams. The girl is amazing, talented, flawless and so on. She shines as the glamorous mean girl Regina George. She has a knack for comedy. Even though Regina George is so awful, I can't help but like her because Rachel McAdams is just so good. Rachel McAdams can do anything.

The rest of the cast are as exceptional as the leads. Lacey Chabert gains audience sympathy as the desperate Gretchen Wieners, whose hair is full of secrets. Great debut from Amanda Seyfried, an actress who's creating a great career for herself. Her dead pan humor brings the laughs. Amy Poehler is a goddess and is not used enough. Her spot on portrayal as a (wannabe) "cool mom" is kind of horrifying but simultaneously hilarious. Finally, we have the current queen bee of comedy, Tina Fey. I just have no words. Fey is practically perfect in every way.

Tina Fey's script is genius. There are so many great lines that my friends and I recite to this day; my roommate is always looking for an excuse to say, "You can go shave your back now," while I take pleasure in saying "And none for (insert name), BYE!" And I don't know any girl who doesn't laugh at "I can't go to Taco Bell, I'm on an all carb diet. God Karen, you're so stupid!" Rachel McAdams says stupid in a very weird way and that makes the joke funnier. Even after viewing this classic countless times, the jokes are still hilarious.

Not only do the jokes continue to be funny, but the depiction of high school always amazes me. Mean Girls IS high school, exaggerated of course. The overt and subtle bullying, the ridiculousness of people's behavior, the desire to find yourself and fit in along the way...all true. There's a darkness to high school that Tina Fey shows but accompanies with comedy, but we get the point. This movie spoke to my generation. It might not define it, but Mean Girls definitely rings true.

The serious line that always stuck with me is at the end, after all the chaos with the Burn Book and the "girls going wild." In a voiceover, the Lindsay Lohan character says, "Calling somebody else fat won't make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesn't make you any smarter. And ruining Regina George's life definitely didn't make me any happier. All you can do in life is try to solve the problem in front of you." Why do we call each other fat then? Does it really make us feel better about our weight? There's this competition between girls that is just alarming. We put each other down to feel better about ourselves but the feeling goes away. We have to be better and we can only be better by making other people lower. This competition is at its worse in high school, but it doesn't always end there. One just needs to be comfortable with oneself, not comparing them self to others or putting others down, and just solve the problem in front of you.

Mean Girls joins Clueless and Heathers as some of the finest comedy and teen cinema. They help the genre get taken seriously. Mean Girls is intelligent, funny, and eye-opening.

Claire Danes in Temple Grandin
I've never been a Claire Danes fan. I've ripped her apart when I've had the chance. But she is in fine form in Temple Grandin. Playing a real person is a challenge, but a real person with autism, that a whole other level of challenging. Claire Danes truly shows her acting chops in this HBO original movie. Throughout most of the movie I forgot I was watching Claire Danes. If you see any interviews or footage of the real Temple Grandin, you see how amazing Danes' performance is. She needs to turn out more work like this.

Netflix

Winter's Bone-Jennifer Lawrence is getting Oscar buzz.
Robin Hood-Missed this in theaters.
Some Kind of Wonderful-Netflix Instant. A John Hughes film not mentioned as much as his Molly Ringwald projects.

Times change, we need to change as well.

Invictus

I had wanted to see Clint Eastwood's inspirational sports movie starring God and Will Hunting last December when it came out but it was one of the couple that I missed. After seeing Invictus last weekend, I'm glad I saw it on DVD and skipped paying $11.00

Morgan Freeman is absolutely amazing as Mandela. It's the role he was born to play. Not only do the two resemble each other, but Freeman completely embodies the South African leader. We are so used to seeing Morgan Freeman play a wise man and say, "Ah, that's Morgan Freeman doing his Morgan Freeman thing, he's great." But there were times I forgot I was watching Morgan Freeman. He takes his typical wise man role to the next level. He's magical, authoritative, and engrossing. I've always found Nelson Mandela fascinating and seeing one of America's most beloved actors portray one of the world's most beloved people adds an extra emotional layer to the role. One negative, Freeman's accent faded in and out a few times, but that's easily forgivable. Definitely one of Freeman's best performances.

Matt Damon does the best with what he's given but so much of the writing and focus is on Freeman. They are both leaders leading broken people and while Matt Damon does portray his character's motivation clearly, his character's writing isn't as strong as Freeman's and doesn't really go anywhere with the role. Damon maintained a solid accent though.

Beyond the performances, the film has its highs and lows. Apparently, pretty much everything Invictus showed really happened, so good for Eastwood for trying to be authentic. The voice over of the poem that inspired Mandela, Invictus, is a great way to pull heart strings. The film is predictable as are most inspirational sports movies but enjoyable as are most inspirational sports movies.

There were some fairly awkward moments scattered throughout Invictus. There's an incredibly cheesy and distractingly out of place song, an awkward dance sequence, and unnecessary slow motion. While I like slow motion, there's just too much of it and when slow motion is overdone, it's distracting and annoying. On top of the slow motion is slowed down grunting noises from the rugby players...lots of them and for a long time. Yeah. Too much slow motion isn't leaving me tense and on the edge of my seat.

Furthermore, there's a lot of CGI in the climactic rugby game...and one can easily tell it's CGI. Clint Eastwood is a powerful, rich, and respected director. You think he could've done a better job of making the CGI look real.

This movie does remind us of the power of sports. Besides all the race relations and tensions (perfectly depicted between the white and black security guards), sports have a powerful way of uniting people and nations. Everyone backing their nation's team creates a sense of comradery and brother/sisterhood, even just for a little while. People who might not normally get along gather around radios and televisions (as shown in the movie) with something in common. Even more powerful is that that comradery can last after the team wins, as show in the movie. Beyond all BS regarding insane salaries, team/manager politics, steroids, betting, and so on, sports are a wonderful display of athletic prowess and are more important and have more potential than we give them credit for.

Definitely glad I saw Invictus, definitely better than some of Clint Eastwood's more recent work, definitely glad I didn't spend money on it.

Carey Mulligan in Never Let Me Go

This sad, ethical question raising film is filled with strong performances but they were lead by the outstanding Carey Mulligan. She again shows a wisdom beyond her years and handles heavy and complex emotional material with subtlety and restraint when one's instinct might be to scream and breakdown, much like Andrew Garfield's character (who was also incredible, he's one to watch). It's really exciting to watch Carey Mulligan get started in her roles, I feel like I'm watching the early growth and development of the next Kate Winslet or Meryl Streep. Mulligan is not only one the most talent young actresses currently working, she's better than a lot of the working actresses out there right now. I cannot wait to see what roles she takes on. She's a gift to the film industry.

Netflix

Leaves of Grass-An Edward Norton comedy where he plays twin brothers. Cool.
Boogie Nights-I love Mark Wahlburg and this was his big break. Plus it was one of Paul Thomas Anderson's first films.
The Breakfast Club-Netflix Instant. Freaking love this movie. And I still think it would make a great play.

The internet's written in ink.

The Social Network

After the stunning trailer, I had very high expectations for The Social Network, David Fincher's film about the founding of Facebook. The film met and far exceeded my expectations, creating a compelling story and fascinating characters.

Jesse Eisenberg is a revelation as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Ever since I saw him in The Squid and The Whale, I didn't like him. His character was a damaged asshole and I could not separate Eisenberg from the character in The Squid and The Whale. But seeing him play a different damaged asshole in The Social Network, suddenly something clicked; this guy is unbelievable! He's not the neurotic guy we've seen in the past; he's a driven, calculating, determined genius driving an unstoppable train towards fame and fortune. He's an ass and he's the antagonist, but Eisenberg makes him incredibly human. As strongly evidenced in the beginning, the end, and at various points throughout the film, Zuckerberg has human motives for the things he does and one feels sorry for him. That's totally a credit to Eisenberg, making the audience feel bad for the bad guy.

The supporting actors all held their own against the acting powerhouse of Jesse Eisenberg. Andrew Garfield wonderfully plays the "protagonist" character. He's really burst onto the scene this year and he's got a long career ahead of him. Very, very talented. Armie Hammer took on the daunting task of playing twin brothers who were very different but were totally dependent on one another. He made them individuals through his performances. Max Minghella provided some necessary comic relief.

The big question on audience's mind is how will Justin Timberlake do? I'm pleased to say he was very, very good. There were times when I forgot he was Justin Timberlake. He worked very hard to disappear into the role. He does not deserve an Oscar nomination for this performance but I applaud him for taking on a serious and pivotal role. If he keeps going in this direction and picking movies like The Social Network, he'll have a successful acting career.

For a movie about the founding of a website, writer Aaron Sorkin sure found a way to make it all interesting. The dialogue is witty but not unbelievable. The film is an excellent presentation of greed, ambition, and friendship and how those three rarely combine and end well. It was fascinating to watch Zuckerberg come up with the elements of Facebook users have been used to from the beginning, like the relationship status and "the wall." Furthermore, watching a character freak out about a relationship status on Facebook accurately portrays the internal and sometimes external freak outs Facebook users go through. A great way to laugh at oneself.

However, it's really important as an audience member to do your research before or immediately after you see The Social Network. This is not a 100% true story. This is fictionalized account and it's based on a book from Eduardo Saverin's perspective, the guy who gets screwed. It's very bias. If one can do the research, separate the fact from the fiction and look at the film as mostly fiction, it will be very enjoyable. Dislike the "character" of Mark Zuckerberg, not the real Mark Zuckerberg.

Furthermore, Trent Reznor's score was hypnotic. The best parts of Nine Inch Nails and then some. I definitely see an Oscar nomination in his future.

In a year of a lot of movie disappointments, The Social Network is a breath of fresh air and definitely one of my favorites of 2010. A must-see, but take everything with a grain of salt.

Kristen Bell in Veronica Mars

I've been on a TV kick in this section lately. I love Kristen Bell and my love began with Veronica Mars. Bell was witty, intelligent, and lovable as the young sleuth. It's a shame that her film roles haven't been as complex or shown off her talent the way Veronica Mars did, because this show proves she can act. She created a fabulous female role model in Veronica, a strong and smart young women with human imperfections. I'll love KBell forever for this role.



Netflix
Babies-Great trailer!
Notes on a Scandal-Want to see again.
Damages-Netflix Instant. I hear good things.