Black Swan

I don't recommend this movie... what a waste of money at the theater...if you still want to see it to keep up with the Joneses wait until it is on dvd. Then at least you can shut it off!

Yeah, I'll wait for the DVD as well, but Natalie Portman did win the Academy Award, best actress, for her role in it, so suck on that Just goofing with you, of course - what would I know, I haven't even seen it, although I've seen most of her other films.

Yeah, I'll wait for the DVD as well, but Natalie Portman did win the Academy Award, best actress, for her role in it, so suck on that Just goofing with you, of course - what would I know, I haven't even seen it, although I've seen most of her other films.

Oh she did a phenomenal job! It was the whole story line and interpretation I was out of sorts with...

I just saw the movie on a DVD from Netflix, and I thought it was great. Not exactly a fun, feel-good movie, but it sure held my attention. Ms. Portman certainly must have done a lot of work to learn all of those ballet dance moves and to loose that much weight, not to mention the superb acting. I can see why she won Best Actress for it; the nomination for Best Picture is a little harder to explain.

The visuals and editing are the drive of what helps make the film so well done. Contrasting blacks and whites so frequently give the obvious hints of good and evil, innocence and darkness. But Aronofsky likes to throw in hints of ambiguity at every turn, changing the colours for each character depending on the scene, and depending on what they may or may not be doing. Even the scenery and set design is in plain black and whites, always making the audience guess the true motivations and intentions of both character and creator.

I have to agree, the cinematography was quite amazing as well, and of course it's the editor who has the greatest effect on the final outcome of any film, much more even than the director. Since I didn't see all of the raw footage, I can't really say anything about exactly how well it was edited, but of course it was done very well, because it held one's attention so strongly throughout. The pace was fast and the high level of tension never wavered. I would recommend this movie very highly to anyone with the brains to understand it.

But, again, it doesn't exactly leave one feeling good (it's a tragedy that doesn't really have any moral message), and I think that was Tracie's original objection. I found that I enjoyed it a great deal simply as Art for Art's sake.

It appealed to me quite strongly as an artist also, because that struggle between the necessary amount of control and the equally necessary fluid creativity that is the central theme of the story is something that I experience every day of my life.

I don't recommend this movie... what a waste of money at the theater...if you still want to see it to keep up with the Joneses wait until it is on dvd. Then at least you can shut it off!

Hahahaha Excellent Tracie, what a critic lol

Have you seen it, Alan?

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 - a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

It's entertaining, but, I was really not crazy about the end. And, as much as I like Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis stole every scene they were both in. She's proven to be a fantastic actress and has moved on from her Jackie role from That 70's Show.