BLACK SWAN movie review
Black Swan (2010) — ** If Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan succeeds at anything, which would be asking a lot from this weak melodrama masquerading as an exploitation film masquerading as high art, it is this: the film makes Aronofsky’s previous effort, The Wrestler, seem even better. I overlooked the intensity of Aronofsky’s low-key pro-wrestling drama because it lacked the edge of his earlier work. Now, after seeing the overcooked “edge” of the Black Swan, I miss the subtlety of one Randy “The Ram.” Black Swan falls somewhere between laughable and unwatchable. It’s as ridiculously self-aware of its intentions as Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds without the effortless talent to back up its ego. This film merely puts a tutu on Aronofsky’s greatest hits without exploring anything new… at all. In Black Swan, Natalie Portman play Nina Sayers, a ballerina selected to...
Read More127 HOURS movie review
127 Hours (2010)–***1/2 I remember when Cast Away was released, wondering if Tom Hanks could keep an audience enthralled–with no costars–for two hours. The answer, of course, was yes and he did it with nothing more than his personality. Hanks can pull off such a feat for no other reason than he is Tom Hanks, a movie star in the most classical sense. His charisma and natural whimsy, whether in a TV interview or as a FedEx exec trapped on a deserted island, invite you to sit back and enjoy the show. Like Cast Away, much of the screen time in 127 Hours belongs to one man: James Franco. Franco plays the media-hyped hiker Aron Ralston, who notably cut off his own arm after it was pinned between a boulder and a rock wall. While Franco is many things,...
Read MoreQuickie: THE TOWN
The Town (2010)–***1/2 Quickie Review After orchestrating a complex bank heist in Boston’s gentrifying Charlestown neighborhood, a working-class robber—and Town native—falls for the target’s young professional bank manager. An action-packed heist film with a brooding soul, this Boston crime thriller distinguishes itself from the pack thanks to a superb ensemble cast. Jeremy Renner is as electric here as he was in The Hurt Locker, this time playing a violent, unpredictable member of the crew. Other actors are effortlessly great, even when, like Blake Lively as a townie girl, they play against the type. Director and star Ben Affleck didn’t create a masterpiece, but his follow-up to Gone Baby Gone shows once again that he might just have one in him. Also starring Jon Hamm, Chris Cooper, Pete Postlethwaite, and Rebecca Hall. The Town is now...
Read MoreTHE SOCIAL NETWORK movie review
The Social Network (2010)–*** “As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” No, Mark Zuckerberg, arrogant millennial billionaire in The Social Network and real-life Facebook co-founder and CEO, didn’t say that. That 20th century technology innovator Bill Gates did. At least that’s what a quick Google search for “Bill Gates +quotes” told me. You see, we want the people who’ve changed the world to say inspirational things, phrases we can put in a frame and hang on an office wall. We don’t want to see them stammer and sweat their way through an interview. And if they don’t say anything inspirational? Well, we at least like to believe that these people who say witty and redeemable even when their behavior is beyond the pale, say kicking a best friend to the curb...
Read MoreQuickie: THE GHOST WRITER
The Ghost Writer (2010)–**** Quickie Review A ghostwriter hired to complete the memoirs of a Blair-esque former British prime minister discovers an international conspiracy behind the politician’s career. Atmospheric and genuinely suspensful, this tense, focused geopolitical thriller from Roman Polanski beats with the same heart of darkness that made his Chinatown a classic. Thanks to a subtle but intense lead performance from Ewan McGregor, we enjoy being led through the deceptively low-key mystery–right to the devastating final shot. And yes, it’s easily Polanski’s best film in decades. Also starring Pierce Brosnan, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Hutton, and a brilliant Olivia...
Read MoreI AM LOVE movie review – CIFF 34
I Am Love (2010)–**** I haven’t seen many films at the 34th Cleveland International Film Festival, but for the quantity-over-quality people attending the fest, I’ll say this: I doubt you’ve seen a better film than I Am Love. Filled with rapturous sensuality and tragic melodrama, this Italian export from maestro Luca Guadagnino is thrilling from title to end credits. That Tilda Swinton, the finest actress working in cinema today, plays the lead here is just the icing on this delicious cake. Swinton plays Emma, a Russian immigrant who was swept from her homeland to Milan years ago by her now husband Tancredi (Pippo Delbono). Since then, she has assimilated to the Milan lifestyle, and the film opens with her being the dutiful hostess of a birthday dinner for her father-in-law, the great Edoardo Recchi, Sr. (Gabriele Ferzetti). At the...
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