Reviews of "Black Swan" and "The Fighter"

As promised here is my review of Black Swan along with a bonus review of The Fighter.

Black Swan

Directed By: Darren Aronofsky

Run Time: 108 min.

Rated: R

Natalie Portman gives a tour de force performance as Nina Sayers in Darren Aronofsky's latest directorial effort, Black Swan. If you liked Aronofsky's own Requiem for a Dream this just may be the film for you. The movie is loaded with "what's-real-what's-imagination" sequences that may even give Inception a run for it's money.

Keep a close eye on the Oscar-worthy set and costume design full of black and white which represent Nina's darker and innocent sides. Throughout the movie watch how the colors transform to help viewers decipher the current mood. Also at play are the colors pink and green which represent Nina's childhood and envy/ambition. The colors speak much louder than the dialogue in this film, and steer Black Swan all the way into the credits.

Mila Kunis (That 70's Show) gives her best on-screen performance yet as Lily, a fellow ballerina in the Swan Lake ensemble. Kunis plays the understudy for the Swan Queen, the part Portman stars as. Nina's obsession for perfection and her up-tight attitude begins to raise doubt amongst her director (Vincent Cassel) that she can play the Black Swan (the more free-spirited counterpart of the White Swan).

Black Swan is Oscar-bait for sure, and expect nominations for Portman, Aronofsky, Kunis, and writing nods as well. Costuming, Production Design, and Cinematography are also looking bright for Black Swan. Not Aronofsky's best, but damn good. (3.5 out of 4 stars)

The Fighter

Directed By: David O. Russell

Run Time: 114 min.

Rated: R

The Fighter feels like Good Will Hunting (minus the smart people and unnecessary Red Sox references) meets Rocky (minus the drawn out training sequences and Sylvestor Stallone's dumb accent). The best part? The amazing ensemble of Mark Wahlberg (Mickey Ward), Christian Bale (Dicky Ecklund), Amy Adams (Charlene Fleming), and Melissa Leo (Alice Ward). Big nominations so far for all of the cast except Wahlberg who is good but nothing special. Wahlberg's co-stars, however, light up the screen led by Christian Bale (The Dark Knight) who is noticeably forty pounds skinnier.

The Fighter helmed by David O. Russell (I Heart Huckabees) is much faster-paced than most boxing flicks and will have you jumping out of your seats by the end of the film. Melissa Leo is perfectly cast as the bitchy mom, as is Amy Adams is Wahlberg's love interest. Christian Bale shows he is a force to be reckoned with whether or not he is a jerk.

Big Oscar potential for The Fighter with likely wins for Bale and Leo. A two hour film that seems like it's over all too fast, The Fighter is a triumphant picture worth seeing in theaters. (3.5 out of 4 stars)

Updated Oscar Predictions

As promised here are my updated predictions for the 2011 Academy Awards. These are my post-SAG nominations list. The Screen Actors Guild nominations are a very good way to determine the major acting nominations (last year 19 out of 20 matched up).

Best Picture

The Kids Are All Right

True Grit

Toy Story 3

Inception

Winter's Bone

Black Swan

The Social Network

The King's Speech

The Fighter

127 Hours

Notably missing are Rabbit Hole, The Town, Another Year, Blue Valentine and How to Train Your Dragon. The Social Network is the movie to beat this year and if any film stands a chance it's The King's Speech. However, it looks like 'Network' holds a solid lead after winning Best Picture from the New York, Los Angeles, Boston, and San Fransisco Critic Circles and the New York Online Critics (NYOC). Winner: The Social Network

Best Actor

Colin Firth (The King's Speech)

Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)

James Franco (127 Hours)

Robert Duvall (Get Low)

Jeff Bridges (True Grit)

Notably missing is Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right) who is considered supporting and Leonardo DiCaprio (Shutter Island not Inception). Like the Best Picture competition, this will come down tooth and nail to The Social Network's Jesse Eisenberg and The King's Speech Colin Firth. Frankly I cannot choose who I like more between these two, and I would like to see them both win. The New York, Los Angeles and San Fransisco Critic Circles awarded Best Actor to Firth whle Boston Critics gave the honor to the young Eisenberg. While this category is still a toss-up, I'll give it to Colin Firth.

Best Actress

Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right)

Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)

Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)

Natalie Portman (Black Swan)

Hilary Swank (Conviction)

Notably missing is Michelle Williams for Blue Valentine. All the early buzz indicates Annette Bening taking home the gold but don't count out Portman, Kidman, or Lawrence either. Winner: Annette Bening.

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale (The Fighter)

Jon Hawkes (Winter's Bone)

Jeremy Renner (The Town)

Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right)

Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)

Notably missing is Andrew Garfield (The Social Network). Anyone who's name isn't Geoffrey Rush shouldn't even bother showing up. He gave a performance of a lifetime as the speech therapist in The King's Speech. If someone pulls an upset expect it to be Christian Bale in The Fighter. Ninety percent of the praise for the movie was over Bale's performance. Winner: Geoffrey Rush.

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams (The Fighter)

Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech)

Mila Kunis (Black Swan)

Melissa Leo (The Figher)

Hailey Steinfeld (True Grit)

If Hailey Steinfeld wins she'll be the third youngest winner in Academy Award history at the age of 14. Unfortunately for Steinfeld, that's one record that won't be set at this telecast. Amy Adams vs. Helena Bonham Carter vs. Melissa Leo. Will the fact two of the three are both in The Fighter make a difference? Probably not, but it doesn't hurt Helena Bonham Carter. While I quite enjoyed Helena's performance, I haven't seen The Figher. I have read rave reviews (say that three times fast) about Melissa Leo's performance so I'll take a leap of faith on her. Winner: Melissa Leo.

Best Director

Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)

Danny Boyle (127 Hours)

David Fincher (The Social Network)

Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)

Christopher Nolan (Incpetion)

Notably missing are the Coen Brothers (True Grit) and David O. Russell (The Fighter). Stay tuned for the Director's Guild of America nominations and winner to have a better insight on this category. The DGA has a long history of predicting the Best Director at the Oscar (only six times have they not matched up). It's between Tom Hooper and David Fincher on this one, and I'll give it to Fincher cause The Social Network kicked ass.

Best Documentary

Restrepo

Waiting For Superman

Exit From the Gift Shop

The Tillman Story

Inside Job

A very solid lineup of documentaries, and this is the category I am least positive on, but certainly one of the easier to predict given only fifteen documentaries are eligible. Waiting For Superman seems like too obvious of the choice and Inside Job might be too political for Oscar voters so I'm going to go out on a limb and predict Restrepo.

Best Animated Feature

The Illusionist

How to Train Your Dragon

Toy Story 3

Hands down the winner is Toy Story 3, but this is overall the best lineup in years. Three excellent films, and the category may be expanded to five depending on the entries, but as of now that's the lineup. Winner: Toy Story 3

Best Original Screenplay

David Speidler (The King's Speech)

Stuart Blumberg & Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right)

Mike Leigh (Another Year)

Christopher Nolan (Inception)

Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz, John J. McLaughlin (Black Swan)

The best part about Kids was the script, but then again The King's Speech was such a dialogue-driven film that it's hard to believe it won't win. My bet: Stuart Blumberg & Lisa Cholodenko (The Kid's Are All Right).

Best Adapted Screenplay

Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)

Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3)

Ben Affleck, Peter Craig, Aaron Stockard (The Town)

Joel Coen & Ethan Coen (True Grit)

Debra Granik, Anne Rosellini, Daniel Woodrell (Winter's Bone)

Why are we even discussing this? Winner: Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network)

Sound and Effects will be divided amongst Inception and Tron: Legacy boasting the finest effects of the season. Cinematography, Costume, Art Direction, Makeup and Foreign Film are a mystery to me right now. Editing should be the only award for 127 Hours the whole night which sucks since it was such an awesome film, a film that wouldn't work without the precision of it's editing. All the shorts (Documentary, Live Action, and Animated) are also up in the air. Original Score may go to Daft Punk for their work on Tron: Legacy if the Academy is feeling unique or they could reward Hans Zimmer with his second statue for his score to Inception. Best Song could go to a song from Tangled, Burlesque, or Randy Newman's song in Toy Story 3. These awards I won't be able to predict until post-nominations in January.

Thanks for reading.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association is a Joke.

Anyone who has yet to see the list of nominees for the 2011 Golden Globes is lucky. I assure you you'll be disgusted by the choices the Hollywood Foreign Press has made. Anyone who says Americans have bad tastes have now been silenced by the choices of the HFPA.

One category in particular stands out: Best Comedy/Musical.

First of all, stop separating the films into two categories, that's your first mistake. Second, don't nominate shitty movies. The only movie I was happy to see make it in was the indie standout The Kids Are All Right. Red is a decent film, not excellent, not bad, so I'll excuse it's nomination. However, I simply can not get over the fact two terrible films and one sub-par movie made the list: Alice In Wonderland, Burlesque, and The Tourist. If anyone's keeping count, 'Alice' was the sub-par film.

The Golden Globes are the only form of revenue for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and that would be why you see big name movies (the billion-dollar grossing Alice In Wonderland). But why then are flops like Burlesque and The Tourist on the list? Perhaps it's because Burlesque was the only notable musical this year and the HFPA likes to throw one in there given the title of the category (remember last year's Nine). The Tourist, though...? I've got nothing.

The site Rottentomatoes.com compiles reviews of all the top, regional, and online critics on their site. The scores for Burlesque, The Tourist, and Alice In Wonderland are, respectively, 37, 20, and 51% (all certified 'Rotten Movies'). How can I take an awards ceremony seriously that rewards producers for making bad movies? It simply makes no sense.

In case you haven't noticed yet, Johnny Depp was in two of the aforementioned films, and he got a nomination for Best Actor in both. What a surprise. Johnny Depp is a fine actor, but his performance in both weren't that amazing. So the point of his nominations? Ratings boost. The same reason they nominated 'Alice', the bigger the movies, the more people watch. Except for that logic is flawed. The vast majority of viewers for the Oscars and Golden Globes are repeat viewers. That's why last year when "Avatar" was nominated, there wasn't a huge climb in ratings by fan boys. Because Fan Boys don't watch kudos casts like the Globes or the Academy Awards. Are a bunch of little girls really going to care to sit three a three hour long telecast to see Johnny Depp a few times? Probably not.

So what should we nominate instead? Well Toy Story 3 is your obvious choice given that it was the highest grossing and best reviewed movie of the year. How to Train Your Dragon deserves more than a Best Animated Feature nomination as well, as it was DreamWorks Animation's finest film ever. The last spot could go to a number of films ranging from Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World to Easy A.

As far as their nominations for Dramas go, you see the same thing with Inception. While Inception was an excellent film, 127 Hours was better, plain and simple. Inception got nominated for the same reason The Dark Knight did two years ago, the fan boys. While Inception is visually stunning, and has a plot that will drive you crazy, the cinematic elements that drive 127 Hours to the finish line aren't as apparent in Inception. I would drop The Fighter and Black Swan as well and throw in True Grit, The Town, or Winter's Bone. Neither of these really surprised me and you can expect the Oscars to leave out The Town as well, but include True Grit and Winter's Bone with their expanded ten nominations.

Really happy with the Best Actor (Drama) category (Go Jesse Eisenberg!). Take Halle Berry out of the Best Actress (Drama) category and we're okay. The whole Best Actor (Musical/Comedy) category is messed up. Keep Paul Giamatti (Barney's Vision) and Kevin Spacey (Casino Jack) just because those dudes are amazing, but throw out both Johnny Depp nominations and Jake Gyllenhaal (Love And Other Drugs). Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right) deserves a serious apology for excluding him from this category. Put Tom Hanks in there for Toy Story 3 if you really can't find anyone better than Depp and Gyllenhaal.

Angelina Jolie was nominated for the same reason Depp was, ratings boost, and she should be excluded from Best Actress (Musical/Comedy). Call me crazy, but Justin Timberlake (The Social Network) deserved a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. If that means taking out Michael Douglas (Wall Street 2), do it. Alas, Best Supporting Actress was the finest nominated category, no changes.

Best Director is okay, but Danny Boyle (127 Hours) should replace either Christopher Nolan (Inception) or Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan). Best Animated Film is a solid lineup as well, expect Toy Story 3 to win with ease. The screenplay category is good except replace Inception with Toy Story 3. I realize the plot is really really complex, but the script itself wasn't anything to brag about. Best Score is all fine and dandy, and haven't seen any of the Foreign Films yet but there is a lot of strife over the nomination of The Concert.

I don't care about the TV nominations, plus they all look pretty solid. The exclusion of the final season of Lost is bullshit, and as long as Glee doesn't beat 30 Rock again, we're fine there.

I will post soon on an updated prediction for the Oscar Nominee and Winners.

Movie Reviews and Such.

In today's blog, we will be reading reviews of a few Oscar-worthy flicks. Sound like a plan? Good. I am currently writing this blog on an airplane. Free Wi-Fi courtesy of Google Chrome (awesome web browser, get it). Why am i flying you may ask? Good question (and it will allow me to segway into the next section), I am returning from a trip to New York. I saw three excellent films there (2 of which are sure to be Best Picture contenders), "127 Hours", "Tangled", and "The King's Speech". Two of the three are in limited release, and so it was essential I see them in NYC or wait a month and see them at home.

"127 Hours"

Danny Boyle's finest? "127 Hours" just might be. James Franco last stood out in Gus Van Sants, "Milk" and has now returned to the spotlight in this gut-wrenching tale of survival, love, loss, and desperation. Having several people having fainted during screenings in the festival circuit, it is not a movie recommended for the faint of heart. It's all but a shoo-in for "Best Editing" at next years kudos ceremonies. The story is about a man, Aron Ralston, who gets stuck in between crevice in the earth when a rock falls on his hand. Just like any other time Aron ventures out hiking, he doesn't inform anyone where he is going. First Mistake. Aron, perhaps doesn't believe in technology, because he doesn't have a cell phone on him. Mistake two. To top it all off, Aron leaves his Gatorade in his car, taking only his Camelbak and a bottle of water. Mistake three. So when Aron finds himself stuck 40 feet or so below the earth, he is fucked. No phone, very little water (just the bottle, Camelbak is already gone), and no one aware of his whereabouts? The pursuing 90 minutes are a wild ride of beautifully crafted cinema.

"Tangled"

Disney is kicking ass and taking names. PIXAR and last year's "The Princess and the Frog" aside, The Walt Disney Company hasn't been a hot streak lately. The mouse's debut 3D Princess (and computer animated no less) lived up to the rest of the Disney Princesses. The return of Alan Menken ("Aladdin", "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast") was worth the wait. Certainly not his best, but far better than his worst, the music and score for "Tangled" almost makes you feel like a kid again. A couple songs Disney can franchise the hell out of if they play their cards right (Broadway Musical adaptation anyone?). Best Song and Best Animated Feature nominations are in this movie's future (possibly with a win in the former, losing to Disney's own "Toy Story 3" for Animation). Whether the return of the Disney Princess is just a way to boost Disney stock or not, the film's have been quite impressive (can't wait for PIXAR's first Princess flick, "Brave", in 2012). Great voice work all around led by Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore. Great holiday film, great family film, and all around great film.

"The King's Speech"

With all the wars, deaths, diseases, and poverty, a speech impediment seems very low on the list of problems in the world, and yet director Tom Hooper has found a way to make us care about it. King George VI, played remarkably by Colin Firth, suffers from a 'stammer' as they call it in the film and his wife, the beautiful Helena Bonham Carter, hires speech therapist Geoffrey Rush to cure him. The friendship that ensues between Firth and Rush is often on ice, yet remarkable to watch on screen. Rush treats the King like no man has before; as equals. He insists on calling him Bertie and sitting in the King's throne in various scenes in the film which make for surprisingly funny moments. Pegged as the lead horse in the Best Picture and Best Actor race, "The King's Speech" is one of those rare films that come once or twice a year.

Can't wait to see Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan" or the Coen Bros. "True Grit" and I'll be sure to review them right here once I do.

Early Oscar Predictions

My decision to return to the blogging world has been a tough one. After weeks of discussion with friends and family, we decided it would be best if I praised blogspot.com with one final blog. It has not been an easy choice and I am sure I will regret it. I'd like to thank everyone for being so supportive these past few weeks. When I came out as a "blogger" a few months ago everyone seemed to be okay with it. Perhaps I'm just blog-curious, or perhaps I'm a full-out blogger, either way one thing is sure: I am NO John Erusha.

Anyway, onto the Oscar Predictions. These are very preliminary and will change as the nominations are announced in January. Not to brag or anything, but I've been doing quite well in my Oscar Pools in recent years. I was the foremost expert on the Oscars on my High School paper staff, and was right on all but 3 predictions last year (cinematography, adapted screenplay, and sound).

I will NOT make those mistakes again this year, but Jason Reitman got SNUBBED last year by Geoffrey Fletcher for "Precious".

Best Picture

"The Social Network" will take home the big prize of the telecast barely edging out "The King's Speech". Other nominees will include "Toy Story 3", "127 Hours", "True Grit", "The Kids Are All Right", and "Black Swan". A lot of Oscar talk about "Hereafter", consider it dead. Any talk about "Inception" is a joke, I will be surprised if it even gets a nomination. Good movie, and if it gets a nom it will be to apologize to Chris Nolan for not nominating "The Dark Knight". But have you SEEN "The Social Network"!?!?! It truly will be the movie that defines our generation. I personally would love to see "Toy Story 3" pull an upset. It's the best of the year, and possibly the best PIXAR has put out. It's a shoo-in for Best Animated Feature, of course.

Best Actor

Colin Firth beating out Jeff Bridges and Jesse Eisenberg. I would love to see Eisenberg win in this one, but I find it unlikely. Very cool dude, met him at the Vail Film Festival before Adventureland, before Zombieland, and before The Social Network. But even then, I knew that kid would explode, and he did. Bridges doesn't have what it takes to win back-to-back.

Best Actress

Annette Bening for "The Kids Are All Right". Other possible contenders are Natalie Portman, Anne Hathaway, or Nicole Kidman.

Best Director

David Fincher vs. Danny Boyle. It's a rematch of the 2009 Oscars, only this time, Fincher has helmed a masterpiece. Boyle's "127 Hours" has gotten some solid buzz from the festival circuit, not having seen it I can't comment on it. Lee Unkrich deserves a nomination for "Toy Story 3" as well, but won't get it.

Supporting Actor

Geoffrey Rush in what may be the closest race of the season. This one is the category I am least positive about. I'm a huge fan of both Justin Timberlake and Andrew Garfield in "The Social Network", and I'm going to give this Oscar to whoever wins the field at The Golden Globes. In a few months I'll have a better idea on who will win this one.

Supporting Actress

Helena Bonham Carter in another extremely close race. Just as Supporting Actor will become clearer as we get closer to Awards Season, so will the category for Supporting Actress. Although almost everyone disagree on who will win this one, most agree Carter will at least get a nomination for "The King's Speech". Melissa Leo is up there right next to Carter for a possibility.

Adapted Screenplay

"The Social Network" is almost guaranteed. The best damn thing about this movie is Aaron Sorkin's powerful script. "Toy Story 3" will upset if we have a repeat of last year in this category.

Original Screenplay

"The King's Speech" will battle with "Inception" and "The Kids Are All Right" in this one. I can really see any of these three winning it, but would like to see "Inception", not because I think it has the best script, but because besides the technical awards (visual, sound, even cinematography perhaps), it won't win anything big. Christopher Nolan is a master in the art of story-telling and he deserves more than he gets. Then again, what credit the Oscars don't give him, the fan boys sure do make up for it. They looooooooove anything Chris Nolan.

Anyway, I will have a more definite list as time gets closer and after I have a chance to see all the movies. Best Song should go to Randy Newman (and perhaps best Score too) for "Toy Story 3". Best Documentary? "Waiting For Superman", probably.

Goodbye for now blogosphere, you may reach me on twitter at twitter.com/senatorbrown or on the FB at Facebook.com/senatorbrown.