Movie #376 - Black Swan

Black Swan
2010 - Rated R - 1 hr 48 min
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder, Benjamin Millepied

Yes, this movie got a lot of hype. And yes, so did Natalie Portman and her dancer-in-six-months training program. Usually hype drives me far away from a movie. I'm not a bandwagon rider, you know?

Something about the chilling previews sucked me in and so I went to see it in theaters. For weeks afterwards, I got chills every time I thought about it.  Now that's an impression. Owning it (finally) is really exciting for me. And I want everyone to watch it, but I'm acutely aware that Black Swan is not for everyone.

It's not a dancing movie, it's not a chick movie, and it's not a romance. So stop you're whining already.  Instead, it's been dubbed a "psychosexual thriller," a new category of weird mind-altering movie that's incomparable so far.  Aronofsky takes the art and beauty of The Fountain and combines it with the warped mind twists of a movie like American Psycho. Natalie Portman is perfect as the symbolic white swan, fighting against her inner black swan, stuck in a schizophrenic battle that plays itself out on the stage. I won't give anything away, because it's best to experience it as I did - not knowing much but expecting a wild, chilling story.

And that ending.... yup, still gives me chills.

Movie #179 - Elizabeth

Elizabeth
1998 - Rated R - 2 hr 4 min
Director: Shekhar Kapur
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Vicent Cassel, Emily Mortimer

Time for me to geek on you for a second.

This movie is fantastic. Sorry, but the portrayal of Elizabeth I here is unparalleled.  Cate Blanchett is Elizabeth.  Like, for real. Her transition from young, persecuted Lady Elizabeth to the Virgin Queen throughout this film is brilliant. 

Joseph Fiennes's Robert Dudley, on the other hand, isn't exactly what I expected.  Dudley's more brash, less suave, less Shakespeare-In-Love-y.  It works for the movie, but it could have been better.  Geoffrey Rush is excellent (no surprise) and look! Thomas Frain! He went from this movie to The Tudors. Huh.

My one regret is that I owned the sequel The Golden Years so I could finish up her story.  Guess I'll put that on my wish list (not that I need another movie to watch right now).  And so we move onward...

Movie #97 - Brotherhood of the Wolf

The Brotherhood of the Wolf (Le Pacte des Loups)
Universal Pictures
2001 - Rated R - 2 hr 22 min
Director: Christophe Gans
Starring: Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, Vincent Cassel

This is probably one of the lesser-known titles on our wall, so I'll explain.  It's a French movie (hence the title) and it's dubbed into English and it's based on an old French myth about a werewolf.  Apparently, over 100 people were "eaten" by a mysterious animal.  This movie posits there's a werewolf and a conspiracy of townsfolk who know it.

Not one of my favorites - though Mike raves about this movie - I find it kind of distracting that it's dubbed.  And I also find it's a bit too slow.  The special effects are middle grade and every shot of this film is dark, dark, dark.  Great suspense and atmosphere, a good plot with lots of intrigue, just not a favorite.  Hey. We like what we like, right?