Black Swan Review

Natalie Portman is dancing with Oscar in this film. If Natalie Portman doesn't win a best actress Oscar for her performance, she will have been nothing short of robbed. Her portrayal of a ballerina playing the lead role in the "Swan Lake" ballet, is nothing short of fantastic. Her character gets so wrapped up in her career and the role that the lines between real life and the role get blurred and she completely gets enveloped by the role. Of course, we shouldn't ignore the fact that this movie is great in other ways too.

This movie also stars Barbara Hershey (Erica Sayers), Portman's mother. She is a control freak and former ballerina herself. You end up feeling a love hate relationship with her. Winona Ryder, the ballerina Portman ousts for the lead role in "Black Swan", is powerful in her portrayal of a past-her-prime ballerina. Her character is so gruesome at times, I found myself covering my eyes in some scenes. Ryder is brilliant in her performance. It is good to see her back in movies. Vincent Cassel (Thomas Leroy) does a great job as the artistic director of the ballet company who has the power to make or break any career. His character is sexy and creepy at the same time. Mila Kunis (Lily) is the best friend/biggest threat to Portman's (Nina) character and she is magnetic in this movie. It is easy to see why Nina is drawn to her.

Last but not least, Darren Aronofsky delivers this fabulous story with his usual dark mood. As usual, Darren exhausts you. I found myself very wound up and tired at the same time after watching this movie. He has the wondrous ability to draw the viewer into his movies and you are both haunted and mesmerized at the same time for hours sometimes days. In the case of his movie, "Requiem for a Dream", I still shiver, squirm and feel downright uncomfortable years after I seeing it.

See "Black Swan" before it leaves the theater. This movie needs to be seen on the big screen because it was shot so brilliantly and the performances were so great. You will forget that you are watching a movie and you will feel like you were in the story.

Inception Review

Inception is one of the best movies this year. Leonardo DiCaprio gets better looking every year. He looks fantastic and his acting is impeccable in this film. His role would be tough for anyone because the story and character are both so complicated. He pulls this off flawlessly though. We have come to expect nothing but the best from this actor and every film he is in is better for having him. This film is complicated and the story can be hard to follow if you have a short attention span but it is a fabulous and very unique story. Kudos to Christopher Nolan for having the guts and imagination to write and direct this movie. Also lighting up the screen in this spectacular creation is Lukas Haas. He was the little boy in "Witness" and now he is all grown up. Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Michael Caine, Ken Watanabe and Pete Postlethwaite are among the long list of great actors that make this movie interesting to watch. Don't go to the bathroom or concession stand or you will miss enough of the movie to confuse you. There is no deception about "Inception", it is a must see movie with lots of thrills.

Robin Hood

The 2010 version of Robin Hood has an all-star cast of Russell Crow (Robin Longstride), Cate Blanchett (Marion Loxley), William Hurt (William Marshall) and of course the incredible Ridley Scott directing. All of this makes me wonder... how could this movie go so wrong? The answer isn't the acting since you can't get enough of William Hurt. They should have had him on the screen a lot more. The answer is that the story was not developed very well and fell short of the hype... far short. Theses actors deserve a better script to work with. The script tries to give you more of the real history of the legend of Robin Hood. The premise is to give you the background of the legend. This is a great and different approach to this movie but again Brian Helgeland, the scriptwriter, didn't make it happen. Sorry, Brian, I am really a huge fan of yours. Brian has written scripts like Green Zone and Mystic River, which totally hit the mark. I guess you can't win them all. If you want to go see an entertaining and fun version of Robin Hood, don't see this movie. Rent the 1991 version, Robin Hood: The Prince of Thieves, with Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman and Alan Rickman, who was a fantastic Sheriff of Nottingham. You'll enjoy this version a lot more.