Black Swan Review

To understand Black Swan, one must know the story of Swan Lake, a Russian ballet masterpiece. Odette is a princess cursed into a swan by an evil sorcere. The "Swan Queen" (bestowed by her companions) falls in love with a prince, and so does he. Sadly the prince fell for the wrong girl, Odille, the sorcerer's daughter who is transformed to look exactly like Odette. Or so my sister comic books explain. Moving on.

Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is a budding ballerina, a typical virginal girl trying to exist in the competitive world of ballet. She still lives with her mother, Erica (Barbara Hershey) in a room full of stuffed dolls. Her mother was a dancer also and now dedicates her life to her daughter's career. When Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) retires his old prima ballerina Beth McIntyre (Winona Ryder), he is to pick a new Swan Queen for his upcoming, modernized rendition of Swan Lake. Nina nabs it. Herein the problem emerges, bit by bit.

Nina, the virgin that she is, could not portray Odille The Black Swan convincingly. Although Nina is a natural White Swan, she couldn't pace herself to play the darker, aggresive, seductive, sexual Black Swan. Throughout the movie, we see Leroy pushes and pushes Nina to "Let it go!", even giving her an unusual homework. The role of the Black Swan is more suited for the energetic and sexually-charging Lily (Mila Kunis), a new dancer, a competition. Nina and Lily makes a friend-or-foe dance (see what I did there?) in the entirity of the movie. As the premiere night goes closer the pressure intensifies for Nina. She must take control of herself before something unwanted happens: sacrifices must be made.The movie progresses as the rivalry continues and the line between reality and fantasy became blurred.

Natalie Portman plays Nina Sayers. And then she plays Odette. And also Odille. She is the Swan Queen. Portman gave away the best performance of her life so far (No, not even Queen Amidala, fanboys). And to think that she haven't dance in more than ten years. Director Darren Aronofsky is said to have used little of her body double, having such an awe of so many of Portman's beautiful moves captured. Portman plays the part(s) with such emotion that we'll believe that she is those characters. She perfected the role of a girl searching for perfection. The transformation of Nina Sayers is so brilliant, it's almost haunting. (You'll see it when the Black Swan emerges for the first time, I literally had goosebumps. Okay, no more spoiling.)

The supporting cast is also a pretty top notch ensemble. Vincent Cassel plays Thomas Leroy with such ego and bravado, he plays good cop, bad cop and also the only important male cast in the movie. Mila Kunis is almost too believable as the fun, sexy dancer from the West Coast. Barbara Hershey did a good job of playing the bearing stage-mother. And the beautiful Winona Ryder gave us a preview of her long forgotten talent although we just see her glimpsly in the movie.

But it must be said that the movie is all Aronofsky. He captured the essence of the story with his directing. His team of writers also helped with one of the best script this year has seen. And the overlapping use of still and motion cameras are brilliant, but then again it is his style. (For reference, see the critically acclaimed The Wrestler which led Mickey Rourke to an Oscar). Aronofsky used bits and pieces of the original Tchaikovsky orchestra to accompany the transformation of the Swan Queen, which is done amazingly. Like The Wrestler, Black Swan is a story about dedication to perfection, so much so that sacrifices must be made and sometimes life will ruin because of it.

Verdict: 4 stars



Note:
Black Swan is nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Motion Picture - Drama category
Natalie Portman is nominated in the Best Performance By An Actress - Drama categoy
Mila Kunis is nominated in the Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role
Darren Aronofsky is nominated for Best Director - Motion Picture

I daresay come Oscar nomination time, the movie wil also get recognition from the academy. And win some.

My Top 10 Favorite Christmas Movies

Seeing that it's a couple days away from Christmas, I thought (and hey, maybe it's just me) it might be kinda rad to put my top 10 favorite Christmas movies.
But before that, here's another five that barely made the cut and still joyable to see:

Polar Express (2004)
Bad Santa (2003)
How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Die Hard (1988)
(I know you're thinking "Die Hard? A Christmas movie? WTH?" Well it is. He's trapped right around Christmas time. That makes it an actual Christmas movie hehe. Plus this one is special for the dudes out there.)

And here's the top ten:

10. Jingle All The Way (1996)

Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a father constantly dissapointing his son and wife. Revelation: find a famous and almost extinct toy his son wants, and prove people he is still the favorite dad.


9. Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

One of Tim Burton's masterpiece. Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween Town, stumbles into Christmas Town and is fascinated by it. So much that he orders the entire Halloween Townspeople to help him celebrate Christmas there. But things don't go according to plan. (note: haven't seen the new 3D version. I hear it's a blast.)


8. Scrooged (1988)

My favorite Christmas Carol rendition. Funnyman Bill Murray stars as Frank Cross, a modern version Ebenezeer Scrooge, who doesn't appreciate Christmas as a result of a bad childhood The rest, well, you get the picture.


7. Miracle On 34th Street (1947/1994)

I like both version the same. Granted, the original one is sweeter and loved more by audiences. But the remake also shares the same spirit as the original. The story of Kris Kringle, labeled insane by many people, who claims the be the actual Father Christmas and must prove it.


6. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)

Join as Clark Griswald (Chevy Chase) tries to set the best Christmas for his family. His quite too big family. In a wacky way: the Clark Griswald way. Hilarious laughs guaranteed.


5. Love Actually (2003)

A multi-story about Christmas set mainly in the UK. Love around Christmas is the main idea. Brilliantly done. And the musics in here is really good, hehe.


4. A Christmas Story (1983)

 

All Ralphie wanted was the ultimate BB gun. So why are the adults saying otherwise? It's how to get your Christmas wish come true. Or be naughty trying.One of the most fascinating and favorite Christmas movie of all time.

3. Home Alone (1990)/ Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (1992)

On my number three is a double feature. Although the second movie has an equal amounts of laugh, the original is undeniably a Christmas classic. But I love them both. The story of Kevin McAllister, black sheep of the family getting his wish come true: being alone for Christmas at home. And then in New York the next year. 

2. Elf  (2003)

Buddy, a human mistakenly raised by North Pole elves, goes on a quest to find his real father. With Will Ferrell, no wrong can be done. Non-stop laughs. My favorite Christmas comedy!

aaand..drum roll...




1. Frank Capra's It's A Wonderful Life (1946)

George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart, in one of his most fascinating acting ever) is a bankrupt businessman given a second chance on life and appreciating what he has. THE most favorite Christmas movie in America. (note: re-runs in almost major TV channels in the USA, every year).

There you go folks. Ho ho ho, and a merry christmas to you and yours :)

The Town Review

The Town is an adaptation from the novel The Prince Of Thieves. Ben Affleck plays on it and directs it. And he picked a cast never seemingly to fail. As it turns out, the movie doesn't.

Doug MacRay (Affleck) is the mastermind of a Boston bank robbery crew of four; most notably the wild and trigger-happy James "Jem" Coughlin (Jeremy Renner in yet another stunning performance). They successfully robbed a bank and held hostage a girl, Claire (Rebecca Hall). Turns out Claire lives only a few blocks from their neighborhood in Boston, claimed the bank robbery capital of the world. When Doug stalks poor Claire, things took a turn: he fell for her. Later, they have to make one last heist. Before you say "hey, thats Public Enemy", i say: Ah, but there's more. The "more" part involves me spoiling the movie out. So you'll have to see it for yourself.

The connections of characters in this movie is very believable, thanks to a very astute cast. Blake Lively plays Jem's sister, in love all her life with MacRay (and a splendid job at that by the Gossip Girl alumn). The ever-so-charming Jon Hamm plays Frawley, an FBI agent pursuing the gang of four. Peter Postlewhaite plays the godfather-like The Florist (too bad he doesn't have more screeentime). Affleck himself did a pretty good job. But the most impressive persona in this movie has to be Jeremy Renner.

Emerging from the ashes of The Hurt Locker is the almost-cliche James Coughlin: former inmate, jumpy loose cannon, dependant yet hard-mannered. Renner played the part with such poise we almost forgot he was Sgt. William James, a war-junkie. Almost as impressive is Ben Affleck's direction. The city of Bahs-Ten (i mean Boston) itself is a character. It explains a lot about what goes on. Affleck does a good job capturing the hood of the city. And I like the way the story offers a lot of coincidence and giving chance a break, because not everything in life is so predictable. Lastly, notice the scene where MacRay, Jem and Claire talks in a cornerstreet cafe. It is so chilling, I became so in dillused in the scene, feeling the same way MacRay does about a certain tattoo. If a movie can do that, it sure is a good one in my book.

Of course the movie isn't perfect. It could do more. The ending kinda roasted. Some of the character could've done more. Jon Hamm could play a more aggresive FBI agent. Like I said, The Florist could be given more screen time. And in time, Ben Affleck can (and will) be a more proven director. Just you wait and see.

Verdict: 3.5 stars (out of 5)


Note:
The Town is nominated for a Critics Choice Award for Best Acting Ensemble (this means a group of cast as a whole.
Jeremy Renner is nominated for a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for performances by male in a supporting role.

TRON: Legacy Review (in 3D)

Okay, so here goes my first review in the blog: TRON: Legacy

But first, i wanna tell you how long I've been waiting for TRON: Legacy. Eight months. I've heard the news over a year ago. Saw the first trailer on March, gak lama sebelom gw ultang tahun (taeah colongan). And boy, was I excited! The trailer was a feast for the eyes. Let's fast forward eight months later, skip all the trailer i saw, music i downloaded (Daft Punk!), and the TRON suit t-shirt i pre-ordered on Kaskus.

Twas a gloomy Friday. Gw ke blitzmegaplex Paris van Java with some friends and a cousin of mine. Bought the tickets, got excited and patiently waiting to be inside the 3D studio. (PS: saw the teaser for Kungfu Panda 2. Woohoo!)

Thus, it begins. 

And ends in dissapointment. Dear Lord, I'm pissed off. Here goes, the real review:

Gw sadar sih kalo film ini bakal mengedepankan mind-blowing visual prowess rather than the depth of the story. Sadly, minds are not blown. More on visual later. Ceritanya standar. Sam Flynn (played by the almost-flat Garrett Hedlund), ahli waris perusahaan komputer Encom yang mencari petunjuk ayahnya, Kevin Flynn (Academy Awards winner Jeff Bridges) yang dicurigai hilang bertahun-tahun lalu. Sam, predictably a strapping, non-conformist, rebellious broken home boy, enters the world of computer program his father created called The Grid. And almost instantly is thrown in the lion cage, sort of speak. Yeah, if by lion cage you're talking about disc-fighting (you'll get it when you see it. At least the trailer).

The problem is, it all happened so fast. Tiba-tiba dia udah bertanding ala gladiator di Colosseum. Tiba-tiba dia udah ditantang oleh sang antagonis. Tiba-tiba dia udah kabur. Tiba-tiba dia udah merencanakan untuk kembali. And so on, you get the drift. Dan ceritanya gak ada klimaksnya. Bahkan gw kesulitan untuk menentukan acts one, two and three.** Plot yang disajikan penulis-penulis naskah (even I'm not that interested to find out who they are) are too predictable. An augmented reality in a computer world is as common as a Lady Gaga tribute in Youtube. Nggak ada faktor kejut, atau faktor "wow!" yang ngebedain sama film-film sejenis. Intinya, the script is lazy, lazy, luh-azy.

Visually, it's not as stunning as I hoped. What can I say,  I had high hopes. Sure, the light-cycle scene is quite impressive. Motorcycle in a stick is pretty neat. The lights reminds me a bit of Speed Racer. But the rest is just, umm, standard. The Grid itself doesn't really has the depth for the audiences' curiosity. Satu-satunya yang mengejutkan secara visual adalah ketika di dunia nyata, film disajikan dalam format 2D (you'll find a forewarning in the beginning of the movie). Director Joseph Kosinski (di film pertamanya -- sebelumnya doi kebanyakan bikin iklan) didn't do a good enough job. Or, maybe a swell job, considering the script and CGI is already bad as it is. He certainly didn't direct his actors to do better. Mungkin Jeff Bridges terlalu dipercaya untuk bermain-main dengan peran(-peran)nya. Fail. I did not see an Oscar winner. Too much dude-ism being thrown by Bridges. Like I said, Hedlund plays a flat protagonist. The better acting found here is the sexy Olivia Wilde playing Quorra (yang entitasnya juga patut dipertanyakan) and the David Bowie-like Martin Sheen as Zuse.

(Note: see this in 3D. Otherwise, it will kill the movie in all. Nontonnya kalo lagi nomat aja biar gak mahal, alias biar gak nyesel).

Satu yang gw suka banget dari film ini: the music. Yang belom denger, pasti kaget kalo tau scoring dan lagu di film TRON dibuat oleh electro-duo Daft Punk! In all realness, I never had this profound excitement to electro music. Sound yang mereka buat cocok banget nangkep dunia cahaya The Grid. Be-tee-dub, they make an appearance in this movie as, you guessed it, DJs. You have got to download the main track from this movie, Derezzed.

So, in all, it's not as mind-blowing as Avatar visually, doesn't have the "wow!" effect like Inception, lacks a genius script like Aaron Sorkin's The Social Network. I really thought TRON would be in my Top 10 Movies of 2010 list. It didn't. Maybe I'll hold a spot for Black Swan or The King's Speech if I see it in the next two weeks.

2.5 stars (out of 5)

Cheers!

PS: Lemme know whatchuthink.

Well this is a start...

Finally, a blog.

Why you might ask? Because proscracination is a b*tch. Hmm, more on that later.
This blog is, as the title says, predominantly about movies. And perhaps a little more on what I can offer.

Only three things I'm passionate about: football, music and, hey hey you guessed it, movies. So occasionally, hopefully not too often, I'll jabber about non-movie stuffs.
I'll give you an insight on how I feel about some movie, and about movies. I pride myself in having a good eye for good movies. If the blog seems a bit snobbish, well maybe it's because I am sometimes. But all in all, I'm in it for a good time.

Here we go... : )