Monthly Archives: December 2010

Black Swan

This is one of those kooky movies. Every few years it doesn’t hurt to see one, like “Psycho” or “Fatal Attraction” or whatnot. “Black Swan” is a little like those, but I thought it over the top in parts in what it was going for. Didn’t it seem to get a bit ridiculous? The audience laughed in a couple spooky parts that weren’t necessarily meant for laughter.

Despite that, I did like bits of “Black Swan,” which is the story of a veteran ballerina in a New York City company who wins the lead in “Swan Lake” but appears headed for a breakdown from the pressure as well as contending with a smothering psychotic mother (played by Barbara Hershey) and a rival ballerina (Mila Kunis).

The film does a good job at capturing the strenuous demands and artistry that goes into such a top venue dance performance. Nina, the lead ballerina (played by Natalie Portman), practices endlessly through pain and injuries to get the moves just right. She aims for perfection in a profession that insists on it, but along the way things start to become unglued.

Portman’s hard work and dance training for the role will likely earn her an Academy Award nomination, as well as the total angst she exudes as the character. Vincent Cassel does a great job as well as the demanding ballet director who pushes Nina to capture both sides of the role as the white and black swan.

It’s an intriguing vantage point for a movie. But the director seems to go a step further than necessary, making it more over the top than perhaps what would have made it more intriguing. Continue reading

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The Fighter

Hmm another boxing film? Is another needed? Despite my initial reaction “The Fighter” has a story and cast that rises above the typical pugilistic fanfare. Set and filmed in Lowell, Mass., it is based on the true story of Dicky and Micky Ward, half-brothers who boxed as pro welterweights in subsequent decades. Upon retirement, the older one, Dicky, slid into crack addiction and landed in jail, but resurfaced in time to train his younger brother to a WBU title fight. The film depicts the brothers’ humble beginnings, their neurotic parents and dopey sisters on the road to Micky’s attempt to fulfill a dream that Dicky never did. (It’s rated a strong R for language, drug content and some good boxing action, though there’s seems a bit more outside drama than in the ring.)

Christian Bale does a great job as the quirky and stoned-out Dicky, while Mark Wahlberg is comfortable in the shoes of Micky, the fighter struggling with losses and thoughts of quitting. The rest of the cast is terrific, too, with Melissa Leo (of “Frozen River” acclaim) as the overly involved chain-smoking mother, and convincing new faces who play the brothers’ seven dumpy sisters. Perhaps Amy Adams, is the biggest surprise, as Micky’s tough sailor-tongued girlfriend who bumps heads with the tightly wound family. It’s hard to believe this is the same Adams who’s known for the wholesome roles in “Enchanted,” “Julie & Julia” and the upcoming “Muppets.” In “The Fighter,” she refreshingly branches out to partake in a role much grittier.

“The Fighter” is an entertaining flick, made better by the very authentic feel it generates thanks to the superb performances, script and fact that it’s filmed on location with input from the actual brothers. Mark Wahlberg said he trained four years for the role, which isn’t too hard to believe. The movie’s already received six Golden Globe nominations and four SAG nominations, and is likely to take a few home. I wouldn’t say it’s the best movie of the year, but it does pack a pretty good punch. Continue reading

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The Walking Dead

I hardly watch TV shows these days (just sometimes “The Office”) but was lured into watching AMC’s hit zombie show, “The Walking Dead,” and got a bit hooked. Who knew zombies could come out during the day, and move faster than they appeared to in the ’70s. These zombies are mobile, menacing and very hungry for human flesh. And if they bite you, you can kiss it goodbye because you’ll soon become part of the walking dead. The show is not for the lighthearted, or for young kids with vivid dreams; it’s quite graphic, blood-spurting and violent with zombie heads being blown off and limbs being dismembered (it’s on cable after all).

It takes place around Atlanta after the apocalypse, where a small group of human survivors are trying to avoid becoming mincemeat of the zombies, and to find help, notably from the Centers for Disease Control and Protection, which they heard might be a refuge from the zombie epidemic. But alas, on the season finale the group finds just one scientist left at the CDC, and he doesn’t have a solution. What’s more, the complex is set to explode after its power conks out. Our human friends only have enough time to get the heck out of there before a shattering kaboom ends Season 1.

Whoosh it was a short season, just six episodes long. But apparently it attracted the biggest audience ever for a cable drama series in the 18 to 49 demographic. No kidding, scary zombies are cool with these folks. It helps that the human survivors are led by sheriff deputy Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), who admittedly makes a pretty tasty hero amid the array of characters. Moreover, the special effects and zombie appearances are creepily convincing, enough to make you want to run for cover.

The show has a bit of the allure of “Lost”: mysterious, scary and suspenseful. But comparably it has a much simpler storyline. I’m sure to watch it next season, too. It’s good. As for the best sci-fi series, it probably can’t compete with the great “Planet of the Apes” of my youth … with Charlton Heston, Cornelius and the ruling apes, there’s just no way. Continue reading

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Zuckerberg & The Social Network

I seem to have had my fix of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, this past weekend: first in “The Social Network” and then in an interview of him on “60 Minutes.” The 26-year-old billionaire is doing quite well, thank you very much. He seemed a bit more relaxed in the “60 Minutes” interview than in past ones and wasn’t sweating it as much over the security of people’s info on the Facebook site as he was in Kara Swisher’s longer, tougher interview with him in June. Though it still remains the biggest concern for users.

On “60 Minutes” he said Facebook doesn’t sell your info and advertisers don’t get access to it. Though applications on Facebook have been known to. “It’s really an important thing for everyone to just be thinking about. Privacy and making sure people have control of their information is I think one of the most fundamental things on the Internet,” Zuckerberg said. He went on to discuss Facebook’s newest projects, which are steering the company to get more involved in your life: in sharing more activities, grouping your friends more around your interests, and in getting the real you more out there etc.

As for “The Social Network,” it’s an entertaining look at the start-up of Facebook. Aaron Sorkin’s script hums along with fast-paced dialogue of Mark’s character and his buddies at Harvard and the beginnings of the site. At the crux of the film, are the snags and enemies Mark’s actions make along the way, notably one lawsuit that accuses him of stealing the site’s idea and another for ditching his CFO. The film switches back and forth entertainingly between the two lawsuits and Mark and Facebook’s rise. The best part seems to be Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of the prodigy, which is convincing and at times quite amusing. I’m not sure it’s really the very best movie of the year, which others claim, but it’s a timely hit on an Internet craze that’s still exploding all around us. Continue reading

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