he's a prophet and a pusher, partly truth, partly fiction. a walking contradiction....

      So my taste in men may be questionable. Sure I like the smart, charming, handsome type, but give me a potential psychopath and I'm game. Or maybe it's only when that psychopath is Robert DeNiro. I've always loved Bobby DeNiro, but I don't ever think he's looked hotter than in Taxi Driver. Yes I know he plays a mentally unstable cabbie, but look at that face! Look at that boyish smile and full head of hair (at least for most of the film). He's just adorable until he goes maniacal and kills pimps.
        Marty Scorsese directs DeNiro in a film about finding a purpose. DeNiro's Travis Bickle is an insomniac that has nothing to live for and so begins obsessing about things. First he obsesses over the gorgeous Cybill Shepherd and when that goes south, he turns his attentions to Jodie Foster, playing a twelve year old prostitute. This movie has it all--including a long-haired Harvey Keitel wearing groovy pants. It's a good story that shows that an idle mind really is the devil's playground.

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.

It means that I, like God, do not play with dice and I don't believe in coincidences...

I grew up reading plays. There are times I think that it's more rewarding to read a play than to see it. Now I know that goes against all the rules and regulations of theatre. I can hear my college professors yelling at me now, "Plays are meant to be seen, not read". I get it. But sometimes I just want to hear the words than see the actions. I think that's where the beauty of theatre comes from. Considering the fact that you could have the worst seats in the house and be only able to see the hem of one of the actress' skirt, how is it that you can still be moved by the play? Simple, the dialogue. Every word that a playwright includes is not by chance. It always means something. That's what I cling onto from theatre. I want to make sure I know what diction was chosen. You might have noticed with past reviews that I love the meshing of theatre and film. I love the visual metaphors that are possible in cinema, but I also adore when they include the verbal metaphors as well. One film that accomplishes that is V for Vendetta.
      It's a political allegory about what could happen when we stop being active participants in our government. If we forget that the government works for us and not the other way around, then we relinquish our rights. V is one of those heroes that hasn't forgotten about the "fifth of November" and is planning a revolution to claim back his liberty. On the way, he encounters Evey and falls in love, even though he never thought he could. They risk everything, including their lives, in order to be free. Now we may all believe we're free, but this film illustrates that were clinging to bondage because we're afraid to make our own decisions. But all it takes is a little flame, a match to set off an Armageddon.


Hugo Weaving's voice is sooo sexy in this movie.

sunday movie classic: Dial M for Murder

There's a new segment in town and it's called Sunday Movie Classic. There's nothing on tv and you're not about to hit the town when you have an 8am class Monday morning (or maybe you will. Honestly I don't recommend it). So what's a film lover to do? How about curl up on your sofa with a loved one or a loved mug of hot cocoa and watch some of cinema's finest offerings. In my mind, a classic is anything more than ten years old (and most things get finer with age). To kick start our new tradition, I thought I would pick one from my favorite directors. I went through a phase a few summers ago where I would watch only Hitchcock films and I became really intrigued by his signature and noticing what makes a great Hitchcock film. Dial M for Murder is definitely one of his better mysteries. The plot is that an ex-tennis players hires an old acquaintance to murder his wife, who he found out is cheating on him. The husband has planned out the murder perfectly and if all goes well, no one will be to blame. Of course it doesn't go well and long story short, the murderer ends up being murdered. The twists and turns of this plot gave me an ulcer from the anticipation of what the outcome would be. Would they figure out that the husband is to blame or will he go free? What I love about this movie is that we all think we're clever enough to get away with a crime. We've all watched CSI and think we can outsmart any forensic scientist. However, regardless of how efficient the plan is, you can never trust that minx called circumstance. If you want to see a dazed Grace Kelly and figure out if the husband is every found, I suggest you get your classic fix this Sunday!

it was simply foreplay...

Have you ever gone into a movie theater thinking you knew what a movie was about and then upon viewing the actual film you realized you were misled? I felt that way with Chloe. I thought it was a simple movie about a woman paying a hooker to sleep with her husband to see if he's really cheating on her.  That's just the first twenty minutes. In reality the plot is far from simple. After that, the relationship between Chloe (the call-girl played by Amanda Seyfried) and her client Catherine (Julianne Moore) takes an unforeseen turn. Catherine becomes desperate in her attempt to feel connected to her husband (Liam Neeson) and begins a sexual tryst with Chloe that is definitely too hot to handle. The film is actually an erotic thriller about obsession and needing to feel a connection. The characters aren't clearly drawn and their motivations at times are murky. Liam Neeson's character isn't as present as one would hope (but we'll forgive because he was dealing with the death of his wife during shooting. Being the champion that he is, he returned to work two days after her death) and the film suffers because of it. Chloe becomes less interesting when her actions become maniacal. And the ending was a complete deus ex machina that left me confused and irritated. It's one of those movies that I didn't love but I didn't hate either. I just wanted it twerked. Maybe the original, Nathalie, is more promising.