Monday, July 18, 2011

Oscar Madness - "Black Swan" (2010)



Mat here. A weekend visit
(back in Feb! - it has been a while!) by my parents turned into an orgy of Best Picture nominee-viewing.

Mum and Dad expressed an interest in seeing Black Swan, and along we went to the cinema. It was Danielle's second time, and she said it's a film that can benefit from repeat viewing to see things you miss or apply
some of the many different interpretations that the internet was buzzing with.

Black Swan is a psychological thriller about Natalie Portman, a promising young ballerina trying for the lead in Swan Lake (the lead plays both the White and Black Swan). She has some serious mother issues, and her serious mother
is played to psychotic perfection by Barbara Hershey. The pressure of the role and her smothering home life takes its toll and her mind starts to unravel.

Trying to tell fact from fiction is one of the rewards of Black Swan, and Natalie Portman definitely earned her Best Actress award here. The film is wonderfully paced and shot, with a suitably spooky soundtrack from Darren Aronofsky's longtime composer Clint Mansell. The ballet scenes are
stunning and there is a smattering of subtle (and not-so-subtle) visual effects that bring the film vividly to life.

We left the cinema buzzing and, even though it wasn't easy viewing, both Dad and I said we'd be happy to watch the film over as soon as it finished.
The marks were unanimously high: Lyn 88, Mike 87, Mat 95 and Danielle 97.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Where have all the reviews gone?!?!

We're still here and we're still watching - more to come in the very near future! We've just been a bit distracted by family/uni/work.... ok and we got new androids and can't stop playing with them!

We have reviews of half the pictures nominated from this years Academy Awards, we'll refrain from bashing the poor drugged out hosts (oops) but will soon return with guest reviewers and comparisons of: The King's Speech, Inception, Toy Story 3, Black Swan & The Social Network.

We've also kept up with some of the classics (new and old) and can't wait to share some of our musings on such widely different films as; Midnight Cowboy (1969), The Departed (2006) and The Lost Weekend (1945).

See you soon!