Posts tagged Natalie Portman
Black Swan – Movie Trailer
Dec 23rd
Posted by Channel 1 Networks in Movie Trailers
A psychological thriller set in the world of New York City ballet, BLACK SWAN stars Natalie Portman as Nina, a featured dancer who finds herself locked in a web of competitive intrigue with a new rival at the company (Mila Kunis). A Fox Searchlight Pictures release by visionary director Darren Aronofsky (THE WRESTLER), BLACK SWAN takes a thrilling and at times terrifying journey through the psyche of a young ballerina whose starring role as the duplicitous swan queen turns out to be a part for which she becomes frighteningly perfect. BLACK SWAN follows the story of Nina (Portman), a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her retired ballerina mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) who zealously supports her daughter,s professional ambition. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side with a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.
“Black Swan” Ode to a Ballerina
Dec 22nd
Posted by Dan Culberson in Hotshots Movie Reviews
“Ode to a Ballerina”
BLACK SWAN is a psychological thriller about the world of ballet, an art form that has been around since 1581 and is probably not everyone’s cup of tea.
However, if you admire beauty in any form, would you prefer green or pekoe, plain or cream and sugar with yours?
Directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, and Winona Ryder, it is about one ballerina’s desire to dance the lead in a bold new production of “Swan Lake” and her pursuit of perfection in order to obtain the role.
Nina Sayers is a young ballerina whose technique is flawless, and as she tells her mother on the morning of the first day of rehearsal at the beginning of a new season, “He promised to feature me more this season.”
She is talking about Thomas Leroy, the director of the company, and he wants to open the season with a production of “Swan Lake” in which the star ballerina will dance both the roles of the white Swan Queen and the Black Swan.
Thomas tells Nina that if he was only casting the White Swan, the role would be hers, but a private encounter in his office with Nina convinces him to take a chance and cast Nina as the star of the production.
Can she ignore the jealousy of the other dancers?
Can she measure up to the director’s expectations?
Now, naturally there are up-and-coming dancers involved, as well as other dancers who are past their prime, including Nina’s own mother, who gave up her promising career as a ballerina in order to have Nina.
And in a nod to the mythology of “Swan Lake” itself, the audience is forced to ask is the story real or is it surreal? However, in the case of the finished production, the surrealism works. And the music is not so bad, either.
Keep in mind that there is already a great deal of Oscar buzz about this wondrous and glorious film about a wondrous and glorious art form.
BLACK SWAN is a mythical ode to a ballerina which shows that being obsessed with the pursuit of perfection can lead to tragic results, and to paraphrase the words of Keats, “That is all you know and all you need to know.”
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
“Brothers” Ending All Wrong
Dec 9th
Posted by Channel 1 Networks in Hotshots Movie Reviews
Ending All Wrong
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
BROTHERS is a remake of a 2004 Danish film, and you just might want to rent that earlier film than see this muddled mess.
Sure, this one stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Sam Shepard, and Mare Winningham, but there are holes in the story, unresolved issues, and problems that continue up until the very ending.
Now, these problems might be the result of the version released in theaters, perhaps because of studio pressure, and a preferred “director’s cut” is waiting in the can for its DVD release and that bane of all writers: the “alternate ending.”
Until then, we are stuck with this one.
The time is 2007, and Gyllenhaal and Maguire play brothers Tommy and Sam Cahill, who are polar opposites. Tommy was always the family screwup, whereas Sam was a star football player in high school, married his high-school sweetheart, and followed in their father’s footsteps to become a captain in the U.S. Marines.
In fact, as the movie opens, Sam is getting ready to be deployed to Afghanistan for his fourth tour of duty, and Tommy has just been released from prison.
Sam tells Tommy, “Stay out of trouble.” And Tommy replies, “All right. You be safe over there, all right?”
Before he leaves, Sam writes a letter to his wife, Grace, that he hopes won’t have to be delivered. But shortly after his arrival in Afghanistan, Sam’s helicopter is shot down by Taliban rebels, and Sam is presumed dead.
Back home, Grace takes the news of Sam’s death hard, and Tommy steps into the surprising role of comforting her and her two young daughters.
However, in spite of what the publicity would have you believe, it isn’t what you think.
Meanwhile, Sam wasn’t killed, but was captured by the Taliban and held prisoner, during which time he does something horrible.
So, when Sam is rescued and comes home, he is carrying a terrible guilt, and his arrival disrupts the new, surprising arrangement at home.
Now, if you do see this theatrical release of the film, ask yourself these questions: Does Grace read the entire contents of Sam’s letter for the audience?
Are we told everything that happened between Tommy and Grace? And does Sam reveal the whole story of his imprisonment?
BROTHERS doesn’t answer these questions, and the ending is all wrong.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”