I like Darren Aronofsky, but I have no interest in ballet or watching Natalie Portman act crazy for two hours, so I wasn't going to see Black Swan, but my Reviewing class required seeing it for the first assignment, so I reluctantly went. I had even watched the Golden Globes in preparation, and was actually pretty excited to see it given the number of awards it was nominated for (four, in case you were wondering). I usually agree with most of the nominations, but sometimes I just don't get it. Guess which category Black Swan fell under.
While I was in the theater watching Black Swan, I was tremendously bored through the first half. I must have looked at my watch ten times in the first hour to see how much time was remaining before I could go home, but once they started the actual performance of Swan Lake, I thought it picked up and I was willing to say by the end that I thought it was okay. I went home, told my roommate about it, told my best friend, called my brother and talked to him about it (because he had already seen it), and as I kept talking about it, the more I realized that I didn't like it.
I thought it dragged on and on endlessly, which is an amazing accomplishment for a movie that isn't even two hours long. Most of my gripes are with the beginning, and my main issue is timing. It takes one scene to establish that Nina (the main character) is shy and reserved. It takes one scene to demonstrate that Lily (the adversary) is the opposite. It takes one scene to demonstrate that Nina thinks Lily is trying to sabotage her, and one more to show that Nina may just be crazy. It doesn't take an hour. So the first half was especially slow moving and it didn't need to be.
Another issue I had was that the characters said things that were already clear to the audience, but weren't that realistic to a conversation to make it acceptable that they were in the movie anyway. For example, towards the end, Nina's mother says to Nina that the role in Swan Lake is changing her. The audience has already been watching the change take place for over an hour, so there was absolutely no need for the mother to announce this like it was a sudden revelation she had. I could give more examples, but I don't want to spoil the movie. I don't like movies that treat the audience like they aren't intelligent, and this film did just that. If I want to be treated like a six year old, I'll go watch Nest Family's The Swan Princess, not Darren Aronofsky's rendition of the same story.
So, my opinion is that it’s a beautiful movie that appears alright on the surface, but is very flawed upon closer inspection.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Characters you love to hate and hate to love
In my opinion, a television series is made by the characters in it. Often times, it only takes one character to make me love it. Or, at the very least, continue to watch it. Call me easy to please, but I prefer to think of it as being loyal to my fictional soulmates. I have hated shows that I watched because I couldn't give up on my favorite character. So I thought it would be nice to kick off 2011 by paying homage to those selective few who have a special place in my heart. To you guys.
1) Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) - Gossip Girl
I'll admit I only started watching Gossip Girl recently (11 days ago, in fact, while I was dog sitting), but it only took one episode to get me hooked to this conniving, manipulative, gorgeous piece of man. He kicked off his appearance in the pilot by making sexual reference to almost every girl in the cast of the show, and he's just gotten worse and worse every episode since (or the first season and a half that I've watched, at least). I love him because I can't believe the things he says and does to people. He knows what he wants and he'll stop at nothing to get it, no matter who he has to step on to get it. Perseverance is something I have a great deal of respect for. And, I love a man that doesn't waste his time pretending to be something that he's not. It's quite refreshing. If Chuck Bass were a real person, I would marry him, sexual references and all. So please, Chuck, don't change a thing about yourself.
2) Brian Kinney (Gale Harold) - Queer as Folk
Queer as Folk is my favorite television show of all time, but mainly because Brian Kinney was so irresistible. His motto was always that he believed in sex and not love, which is pretty much the opposite of what I believe in, but again, I can respect a man with values that he sticks to, and not believing in love is pretty much what characterized Brian throughout the series. He was opinionated and outspoken, and often he was a total asshole, but he was never really wrong. He called the other characters out on their bs and they remained his friends because of it. He didn't believe in apologizing or regretting anything, which is something I think everyone can gain a few things by believing in, as well.
3) Chris Keller (Christopher Meloni) - OZ
My mother raised me to love prison shows, and I learned to love them well from her. And if you're going to watch a show about prison, you want the characters to be really despicable. I do anyway. Keller was one such character. He fell in love with another man and because he loved him so much, he helped to break almost every bone in his body, and then somehow managed to get that guy to fall back in love with him. That 's charisma I can envy. He even got the nun to fall for his tricks, which is nothing short of genius. He was remarkable and I know there are people in the world just like him, which is remarkable, as well. He's certainly someone I would want on my side if I ended up in prison for some reason.
Basically, I could go on and on for days talking about characters I love in television shows, but no one compares to these three. They've made my television experience all the better with their presence. Let's see if they can be dethroned in 2011. Good luck, gentlemen. May the most dubious reign victorious.
1) Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) - Gossip Girl
I'll admit I only started watching Gossip Girl recently (11 days ago, in fact, while I was dog sitting), but it only took one episode to get me hooked to this conniving, manipulative, gorgeous piece of man. He kicked off his appearance in the pilot by making sexual reference to almost every girl in the cast of the show, and he's just gotten worse and worse every episode since (or the first season and a half that I've watched, at least). I love him because I can't believe the things he says and does to people. He knows what he wants and he'll stop at nothing to get it, no matter who he has to step on to get it. Perseverance is something I have a great deal of respect for. And, I love a man that doesn't waste his time pretending to be something that he's not. It's quite refreshing. If Chuck Bass were a real person, I would marry him, sexual references and all. So please, Chuck, don't change a thing about yourself.
2) Brian Kinney (Gale Harold) - Queer as Folk
Queer as Folk is my favorite television show of all time, but mainly because Brian Kinney was so irresistible. His motto was always that he believed in sex and not love, which is pretty much the opposite of what I believe in, but again, I can respect a man with values that he sticks to, and not believing in love is pretty much what characterized Brian throughout the series. He was opinionated and outspoken, and often he was a total asshole, but he was never really wrong. He called the other characters out on their bs and they remained his friends because of it. He didn't believe in apologizing or regretting anything, which is something I think everyone can gain a few things by believing in, as well.
3) Chris Keller (Christopher Meloni) - OZ
My mother raised me to love prison shows, and I learned to love them well from her. And if you're going to watch a show about prison, you want the characters to be really despicable. I do anyway. Keller was one such character. He fell in love with another man and because he loved him so much, he helped to break almost every bone in his body, and then somehow managed to get that guy to fall back in love with him. That 's charisma I can envy. He even got the nun to fall for his tricks, which is nothing short of genius. He was remarkable and I know there are people in the world just like him, which is remarkable, as well. He's certainly someone I would want on my side if I ended up in prison for some reason.
Basically, I could go on and on for days talking about characters I love in television shows, but no one compares to these three. They've made my television experience all the better with their presence. Let's see if they can be dethroned in 2011. Good luck, gentlemen. May the most dubious reign victorious.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Pills Rattle
I am not a poet. But I am trying to get myself ready for a semester of Capstone work, and this is what came out from thinking about my Capstone this evening. Maybe posting this is the therapeutic part of writing it. Enjoy!
In her dreams
He's
One giant pill
The big blue rectangle, not the harmless white circle
And she can’t tell the difference
Between that
And the real thing
She thinks she should stop him
But there’s nothing you can do, she tells herself
You’re only 16, she says to the mirror
He did this to himself, she whispers to her teddy bear
But it doesn’t help
Dull the pain she feels
For letting it happen to him
The guilt keeps building
Everywhere she is, Guilt is too
Until she thinks she’s going to break
Burst at the fraying thread seams
And the burden of keeping it a secret cripples her
And she wonders how they don’t know
Pills rattle again and again
Disappearing one after another after another
Until there is nothing left of him
Her parents don’t notice
Until it is much too late to save him
Mother cries, Father yells
Then Father cries and Mother yells
And they ask her: did she know?
Did she know?
In her dreams
He's
One giant pill
The big blue rectangle, not the harmless white circle
And she can’t tell the difference
Between that
And the real thing
She thinks she should stop him
But there’s nothing you can do, she tells herself
You’re only 16, she says to the mirror
He did this to himself, she whispers to her teddy bear
But it doesn’t help
Dull the pain she feels
For letting it happen to him
The guilt keeps building
Everywhere she is, Guilt is too
Until she thinks she’s going to break
Burst at the fraying thread seams
And the burden of keeping it a secret cripples her
And she wonders how they don’t know
Pills rattle again and again
Disappearing one after another after another
Until there is nothing left of him
Her parents don’t notice
Until it is much too late to save him
Mother cries, Father yells
Then Father cries and Mother yells
And they ask her: did she know?
Did she know?
Saturday, December 18, 2010
The Fighter: horrendous title, amazing film
There are very few movies that I like. There are even less that I love. And when I love a movie, I really, really love it and will defend it to almost any length. The Fighter was one such movie.
I have a list of celebrities that I would kill my own mother to converse with.(Okay, not literally, please no one call the cops on me.) I refer to them as the "top five" and I have a poster of each hanging on the wall of my bedroom. They are as follows, in order of importance to me: Russell Crowe, Vin Diesel, Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Bradley Cooper. Now let's take a moment to think about the actors in The Fighter: Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. I was in love before it started.
While the amount of eye candy was high for the film, that isn't why I loved it. It was honest. It was heart-breaking. And while it was about a man who was a boxer, it wasn't about fighting. It never lost sight of the real story: the struggle to separate yourself from the people and things that are holding you back in pursuit of your dreams. In the case of Micky Ward, flawlessly acted by Marky Mark himself, he faces an internal struggle about whether he should ditch his drug addict brother Dicky (Christian Bale) as his trainer in an effort to further his boxing career, or whether his family is more important than a job.
As if this were not enough to fuel the story along, throw into the mix his cannonball of a mother, Alice, and his opinionated sisters, of which there are seven, and the girlfriend (Amy Adams) who comes along to try to convince him that his family members are all scumbags and even gets into a fist fight with one of them, and you've got yourself a wonderful film that is sure to be nominated for a couple of awards.
I've read a lot of reviews of this film that have said that it's an inspirational story of a man finally catching a break, but I'm not sure that's quite right. I think it’s the story of a man finding his inner strength and the courage to stand up to his family and demand that he finally get the respect that he deserves. I think it's about a man who learns to stand on his own two feet and cut the ties from the brother that he's legended. It's also about his brother letting him become his own man.
Like I said, it's not often that I find a movie that I love. But when I do, it's a true champion. It's even less often when I can't find anything bad to say about a movie, but I have nothing bad to say. This is a film that everyone should see. Regardless of whether they like boxing.
I have a list of celebrities that I would kill my own mother to converse with.(Okay, not literally, please no one call the cops on me.) I refer to them as the "top five" and I have a poster of each hanging on the wall of my bedroom. They are as follows, in order of importance to me: Russell Crowe, Vin Diesel, Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, and Bradley Cooper. Now let's take a moment to think about the actors in The Fighter: Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. I was in love before it started.
While the amount of eye candy was high for the film, that isn't why I loved it. It was honest. It was heart-breaking. And while it was about a man who was a boxer, it wasn't about fighting. It never lost sight of the real story: the struggle to separate yourself from the people and things that are holding you back in pursuit of your dreams. In the case of Micky Ward, flawlessly acted by Marky Mark himself, he faces an internal struggle about whether he should ditch his drug addict brother Dicky (Christian Bale) as his trainer in an effort to further his boxing career, or whether his family is more important than a job.
As if this were not enough to fuel the story along, throw into the mix his cannonball of a mother, Alice, and his opinionated sisters, of which there are seven, and the girlfriend (Amy Adams) who comes along to try to convince him that his family members are all scumbags and even gets into a fist fight with one of them, and you've got yourself a wonderful film that is sure to be nominated for a couple of awards.
I've read a lot of reviews of this film that have said that it's an inspirational story of a man finally catching a break, but I'm not sure that's quite right. I think it’s the story of a man finding his inner strength and the courage to stand up to his family and demand that he finally get the respect that he deserves. I think it's about a man who learns to stand on his own two feet and cut the ties from the brother that he's legended. It's also about his brother letting him become his own man.
Like I said, it's not often that I find a movie that I love. But when I do, it's a true champion. It's even less often when I can't find anything bad to say about a movie, but I have nothing bad to say. This is a film that everyone should see. Regardless of whether they like boxing.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
A little rant
I hate texting. No, not hate, loathe. If I were to ever meet the person who invented texting I would give them a big ole' Archie slap right across their face. (Side note: if you don't know what an Archie slap is, check out Guy Ritchie's RocknRolla immediately.) I would slap them and then I would storm away in a huff.
Sure, texting is useful for some things. When my roommate's at work and I need to remind her to pay the bills when she gets home, it would be inappropriate to call, but I will probably forget before I actually see her, so I send her a quick text to remind her. When I'm bored in class, I occasionally text to pass the time. The other day my mother sent me a picture of their Christmas tree and it was nice because a phone call describing it would not have done it justice. If I want to tell someone something quick that doesn't need any sort of response, a text works nicely. So, I admit that it's useful at time, but in general, I hate it.
And I can't escape because that's the primary way that people are communicating. I can't remember the last time my phone rang and it was anyone other than my mother or father calling. People text, so I text. I'm just like everyone else--I want to be kept in the loop and I'm afraid that I'll miss all the gossip and invitations to do stuff if I didn't.
I hate how fake everyone is through text. It's like how I imagine online dating to be--you're only going to show your best side and hide away all your craziness and neurosis to unleash at a time when you are having that actual, rare face-to-face interaction. I hate getting to know someone through texting. It takes me an hour to think of something clever, yet casual, to say, and then another hour analyzing what I sent and thinking of all the better things I could have said. And by then he's responded and I have to think of more endearing things to say.
I'm not witty over text. I'm not funny or engaging. I came across as soulless and flat as the piece of technology that I’m being read and analyzed over. You can't be sarcastic over text or pick on someone affectionately--you end up coming across as a snide, rude bitch. Which I am not. (Obviously.)
And then you find yourself sitting with your phone in your lap, willing it to go off, channeling all of your telekinetic powers to tell that phone to flash the message you've been waiting for. And when it doesn't, you obsessively read through your text conversation, searching for what you said wrong. Did he really think that funny story that you sent him was funny or was his "haha" just being polite? And maybe you should have been a little more open-ended and inviting with your responses to his questions. Remember all that craziness and neurosis that I was talking about before? Well it's in full force now.
I have a phone. It dials and accepts calls. Try it sometime. We can have an actual conversation. You can use that conversation to ask me out on a real date, where I can be awkward and vulnerable instead of just being a series of perfectly pieced together texts. I'll say something, you can say something back, you can ask questions, I can answer them and ask you more, and we can really get to know each other, neurosis and all.
Sure, texting is useful for some things. When my roommate's at work and I need to remind her to pay the bills when she gets home, it would be inappropriate to call, but I will probably forget before I actually see her, so I send her a quick text to remind her. When I'm bored in class, I occasionally text to pass the time. The other day my mother sent me a picture of their Christmas tree and it was nice because a phone call describing it would not have done it justice. If I want to tell someone something quick that doesn't need any sort of response, a text works nicely. So, I admit that it's useful at time, but in general, I hate it.
And I can't escape because that's the primary way that people are communicating. I can't remember the last time my phone rang and it was anyone other than my mother or father calling. People text, so I text. I'm just like everyone else--I want to be kept in the loop and I'm afraid that I'll miss all the gossip and invitations to do stuff if I didn't.
I hate how fake everyone is through text. It's like how I imagine online dating to be--you're only going to show your best side and hide away all your craziness and neurosis to unleash at a time when you are having that actual, rare face-to-face interaction. I hate getting to know someone through texting. It takes me an hour to think of something clever, yet casual, to say, and then another hour analyzing what I sent and thinking of all the better things I could have said. And by then he's responded and I have to think of more endearing things to say.
I'm not witty over text. I'm not funny or engaging. I came across as soulless and flat as the piece of technology that I’m being read and analyzed over. You can't be sarcastic over text or pick on someone affectionately--you end up coming across as a snide, rude bitch. Which I am not. (Obviously.)
And then you find yourself sitting with your phone in your lap, willing it to go off, channeling all of your telekinetic powers to tell that phone to flash the message you've been waiting for. And when it doesn't, you obsessively read through your text conversation, searching for what you said wrong. Did he really think that funny story that you sent him was funny or was his "haha" just being polite? And maybe you should have been a little more open-ended and inviting with your responses to his questions. Remember all that craziness and neurosis that I was talking about before? Well it's in full force now.
I have a phone. It dials and accepts calls. Try it sometime. We can have an actual conversation. You can use that conversation to ask me out on a real date, where I can be awkward and vulnerable instead of just being a series of perfectly pieced together texts. I'll say something, you can say something back, you can ask questions, I can answer them and ask you more, and we can really get to know each other, neurosis and all.
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