you always hurt the ones you love...

Last night I rewatched Blue Valentine and I remember why I think Ryan Gosling is so hawt. Typically I don't do blondes, but there's something so authentic about him that I can't help but to be ensnared by his charms. The film that tells the story of a couple throughout the years through the use of interchanging cuts from the present to the past. It's heartbreaking, hilarious, and awkward all at the same time; which is a lot like real life isn't it. I won't rehash the plot for you or tell you the 100 reasons why this film is worthy of your viewing. Just know its one of the few movies to ever make me cry. The scene that I cried at is this one:



It's mainly cause I love this song.

Just watch the movie. You want regret it.

but he stammers so beautifully...

It's very rare that I find a buddy who enjoys the same obscure movies that I do and gets excited for awards season. I met my soul mate in Collin three years ago, but this year, I found a female counterpart and I'm really excited. My fellow intern, Sonia, and I have really hit it off in the last few months and before she left to go visit her family for the holidays, we decided we needed to see The King's Speech together. Now three of my favorite actors are in it, the sexy Colin Firth, the dynamic Helena Bonham Carter, and the bastard Geoffrey Rush (don't get me wrong, I love him, but we have a sordid history). This movie has been getting tons of Oscar buzz and of course I needed to see what the hype was all about.
The synopsis on the web basically said that King George VI had a speech impediment and required the help of a therapist. Boo. The movie is so much more than that. Honestly, if I had to think of one word to describe the film, it would be "Bromance". It's an awkward love story in which two mean from very different backgrounds become life-long friends. Before King George VI was king, he was Albert, Duke of York, who lived a happy life with his wife and two daughters and his bloody stammer. Incapable of having a fluent conversation without the interruption of his stammer, Albert's wife (played by Bonham Carter) employs Lionel Logue, speech therapist, as a last resort. Logue implements unconventional methods in an attempt to lessen Albert's stammer. Even though their relationship starts off rocky, the two dissimilar men form an attachment with each other. Their relationship is more akin to brothers than employer/employee. When Albert finally ascends to the throne unexpectedly, Logue is there to coach him with every speech.
    Colin Firth is incredibly impressive with his interpretation of an important man suffering from such an embarrassing sickness. He stammers and stutters so beautifully, that it's impossible that he won't receive recognition from the Academy. Bonham Carter has delightful quips and a certain unapologetic elegance in her role, that she makes you smile every time she's on the screen. Honestly my favorite character is Lionel Logue played by Geoffrey Rush. Rush says every line unexpectedly and deposits humor in scenes that you wouldn't traditionally think were funny. Every line is refreshing.
      The movie is such fun, which you wouldn't be able to tell by the crappy trailers and even worst promotional artwork (WTF was that?). The King's Speech is a good time, even if you have to listen to the lines super carefully.

don't hold on too tight...you might fall

I've been really busy these past few months and I've been neglecting my friends and the cinema. Finally Collin decided that this could no longer go on and so he forced me to go see Black Swan, not that it took much encouragement. Once I saw the trailer months ago, I've been aching to go see it. Collin already saw it but was dying to see it a second time. That's enough of a review for me.
So we braved the cold and trekked to Union Square to enjoy a ballet psycho thriller (yeah, I know it's weird). Honestly it was so good. Natalie Portman really deserves all the accolades that the critics are throwing at her. She's amazing and is practically in every scene, oozing vulnerability. She's scared and timid, but full of passion and ambition that rings true for every struggling artist. Aronofsky does a wonderful job of portraying the world of ballet, where in order to be on top, someone else has to fall down.
Natalie embodies Nina Sayers, a shy ballerina with superb talent, whose personal growth has been stunted by her over-bearing mother played by the immaculate Barbara Hershey (fyi, Barbara was the most terrifying part of this whole movie). When offered the role of a lifetime, playing both the White and Black Swan in Swan Lake, Nina has to dig deep inside herself to find the sexiness and passion to inhabit the unpredictable persona of the Black Swan. However it doesn't come quite easy to Nina and she's constantly looking over her shoulder when her competition, Lily (played by Mila Kunis), is trying to claim her shining crown.
The movie is sexy and scary, which is hard to achieve in modern cinema. While the viewer doesn't always know what's real and what's being constructed by Nina's psyche, the trip that we take is a fun one. The are hilariously awkward moments (including a masturbation scene gone wrong) and uncomfortable awkward moments (including dance maestro, Vincent Cassel, abusing his power on Nina).
The last 20 minutes of the film are truly breathtaking, which I can attest because Collin raved about them prior to seeing the film and then proceeded to grab hold of my arm for the last act, cutting off circulation (I'm starting to regain movement in my right fingers). Honestly this award season is jam-packed with standouts, but Black Swan is truly something you need to go see.

Sometimes awful things have their own kind of beauty....

About a week ago I was having a conversation with one of my best friends (waddup Collin) about my love for The Departed and the Casino Royale. I explained to him that not only are the storylines great in these two movies but they are also visually stunning. His reply " Oh you like highly-stylized movies, huh?". Um Yes. That is what stylized means. Raw and gritty with a shaky camera are not usually choices filmmakers make for aesthetics but rather because of their lack of resources (there are of course exceptions like Rachel Getting Married, which had an invasive documentary type feel that I loved). Both Casino Royale and The Departed are action movies. However there is dramatic cinematic feast for the eyes, that comes from the fashion designer and first time director Tom Ford, called A Single Man. Though I wanted to see this film for months, it took the encouragement of a friend (Thanks Matt!) via his facebook to make me rent this movie. Let's just say I'm glad he did. It's one of those films that uses every possible metaphorical device to complete its arsenal of aesthetics. The story of a college professor in the 1960s, who, after the sudden death of his partner of sixteen years, has given up hope. The narrative is punctuated through the poignant use of music and color. The film is shot with gray,dull undertones but whenever happiness is on the horizon, the color shifts as if someone switched on the brightness dial on your television. It's as if when our protagonist George receives a breath of new life, we, the audience, do as well. Colin Firth is simply extraordinary in this role (which won him a BAFTA award and an Oscar nomination)  and has such subtlety in his grieving that it transcends both beautiful and grotesque and reaches the sublime. Julianne Moore plays George's best friend who has never fully accepted the fact that he's gay because she's still desperately in love with him and clinging to the life they could have had. Newcomer Nicholas Hoult does a wonderful job as one of George's students who believes that he has all the answers in life with none of the experience. He has the resilience of youth which I, and many of my peers, can identify with. The film left me with a rediscovered appreciation of art and what it means to take a story and bring it to life. I applaud Tom Ford and the cast and I think you will too.