Ousa
Posts : 928 Join date : 2010-03-07 Age : 76 Location : Kansas
| Subject: Latest Movies viewed! Mon Jan 09, 2012 2:35 pm | |
| I don't know but, I felt drawn to this movie when I saw the trailer on Amazon and bought it at Walmart. It reminds me of the pursuit of perfection and the psychological and emotional effect both positive and negative that can occur and how it sometimes will draw you into a darker more sinister side of the world of the horror in your mind just to reach perfection! These are not my words but a better overall description of the Black Swan with Natalie Portman: Feverish worlds such as espionage and warfare have nothing on the hothouse realm of ballet, as director Darren Aronofsky makes clear in Black Swan, his over-the-top delve into a particularly fraught production of Swan Lake. At the very moment hard-working ballerina Nina (Natalie Portman) lands the plum role of the White Swan, her company director (Vincent Cassel) informs her that she'll also play the Black Swan--and while Nina's precise, almost virginal technique will serve her well in the former role, the latter will require a looser, lustier attack. The strain of reaching within herself for these feelings, along with nattering comments from her mother (Barbara Hershey) and the perceived rivalry from a new dancer (Mila Kunis), are enough to make anybody crack… and tracing out the fault lines of Nina's breakdown is right in Aronofsky's wheelhouse. Those cracks are broad indeed, as Nina's psychological instability is telegraphed with blunt-force emphasis in this neurotic roller-coaster ride. The characters are stick figures--literally, in the case of the dancers, but also as single-note stereotypes in the horror show: witchy bad mommy, sexually intimidating male boss, wacko diva (Winona Ryder, as the prima ballerina Nina is replacing). Yet the film does work up some crazed momentum (and undeniably earned its share of critical raves), and the final sequence is one juicy curtain-dropper. A good part of the reason for this is the superbly all-or-nothing performance by Natalie Portman, who packs an enormous amount of ferocity into her small body. Kudos, too, to Tchaikovsky's incredibly durable music, which has meshed well with psychological horror at least since being excerpted for the memorably moody opening credits of the 1931 Dracula, another pirouette through the dark side. --Robert Horton This is a 5 star movie for me. I hope you have the time and the money to go buy it and see it! Ouza | |
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Veil
Posts : 162 Join date : 2010-04-21 Age : 47 Location : Texas
| Subject: Re: Latest Movies viewed! Mon Jan 09, 2012 5:04 pm | |
| I absolutely agree on this one. Black Swam is one of those rare films that did live up to the hype surrounding it, and largely due to Portman's performance. I've been a fan of hers since she was in The Professional, and her ability to take over a screen is nothing short of epic. So I recommend those two, and also V for Vendetta, to get the full impact of her presence. On the lighter side (mainly), try Mr. Magorgium's Wonder Emporium. She has a fragility in that one that is fantastic.
As for the movies that also give me disturbing chills by young actors/actresses: Like Minds (Murderous Intentions here in the US-2006), Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning (2004), and the recently released Red Riding Hood (2011). Of the three, really only the first one is a psycho thriller with exceptional acting, but all good bets. | |
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Ousa
Posts : 928 Join date : 2010-03-07 Age : 76 Location : Kansas
| Subject: Re: Latest Movies viewed! Mon Jan 09, 2012 7:22 pm | |
| I saw Red Riding Hood on HBO and it really knocked my socks off, very well done and not what I expected! Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman were both superb but I never expected the Grandmother and her little family secret. Ouza | |
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| Subject: Re: Latest Movies viewed! | |
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