Movie #17: Black Swan

Similar to Inception I left this movie asking myself what the eff just happened and is it real. So did the rest of the cinema apparently, as it took a couple of minutes for people to realize the film was over and come to terms with what they just saw. 

While I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, I have so many questions left unanswered, and if I were to truly question the possibility of events in this movie, I would loose myself, and become just as delusional as Miss Portman's character Nina Sayers, who with the help from a  emotionally tormenting, overbearing mother becomes obsessed and then delusional following the stress of being cast as head ballerina in her company's production of Swan Lake. 

Similar to The Fighter where Mr Bale lost weight for his role as Dickie Ecklund, Miss Portaman reportedly lost around 10 kg's (20 pounds) to make her look more like a ballerina. Amazingly, Miss Portman also did capitalized on nearly 10 years of ballet lessons to perform most of her dance routines in this movie; any shots with only Miss Portmans hips down were shot with dance double, 26 year old proffesional ballerina Sarah Lane. While costar Mila Kunis had less experience on the ballet front her dance double was proffesional ballerina Maria Riccetto.
I give this movie 9/10 for a fantastic ballet movie, and for providing an unforgettable start, middle, and finish.
Ciao

Movie #16: Somewhere

Hopefully there isn't Sofia Coppola fanatic out there because unfortunately this movie was horrendously bad. Unnecessarily prolonged boring scenes with little to no script at all is never a recipe used for even a 4/10 movie. Therefore I give the movie a 3/10. The only reason I could sit through the painful 97 minutes of this was because of the beautiful Elle Fanning.

Au Revoir

Movie #15: The Fighter

After movies like Rocky I was a bit skeptical about another poor kid from a hick town becoming the best fighters the world has ever seen by overcoming adversity etc. However, many critics have dubbed the fighter as the best movie of 2011, and so far, I would agree. 

As i've said previously, I love movies based on actual events, and its definitely an added bonus when the actors do that little bit extra to portray  the characters lives as close as possible. Take Mr Bale for example, reportedly lost weight to achieve the gaunt thin frame of Dickie Ecklund by eating very little; lets not forget that Mr Bale also lost just under 30 kg's (63 pounds) for his role in The Machinist. Reportedly, Bale also went missing for hours at a time in preparation for his role as the 'Irish' Micky Wards half brother. 

I actually did some research afterwards and watched the original trilogy of Ward vs Gatti, which is the last fight in the movie, and it gave me more understanding to just how amazing a boxer Ward was, and then to think that some of the things in movie may have happened, its inspiring to say the least..

This movie definitely deserves all the Oscar nominations, and I give it a humble 9.5/10.
Ciao

Movie #14: The Green Hornet

Im not sure whether my expectations were too high or it was just overall a shitty movie, but I couldn't stay interested At All for the 119 minutes of (usually highlarious) Seth Rogan admiring on an Asian dude with mad scientific/engineering skills and pretending to fight crime. The saving grace for this movie was Christopher Waltz. The man is a genius. 

I adored him as a renegade nazi in Inglorious Basterds, and cant wait to see him in the much anticipated Water for Elephants.

Unfortunately for Chris, his epic potrayal of self-conscious criminal mastermind could not give this movie any a higher rating than a 5/10

dont worry Mr Waltz, im sure i'll Love Water for Elephants

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Movie #13: Tangled 3D

Yes, I do go see nearly every movie in cinema :)

Suprisingly I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, despite not being able to figure out during the entire 100 minutes who voiced Rapunzel (which later was discovered as Many Moore), and despite the impossibility that one would face when handling, dodging, plaiting, and swinging from a 100 meters of supposedly pristine clean blonde hair. Rating a 6.5/10. If only everyday was a Disney fairytale, then it could be a 10 :)

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Movie #12: The King's Speech

So sorry for the long delay but here we go...

With a whopping 12 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and acting honors for Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush, as well as a Best Director mention for Tom Hooper, this movie is impossibly intriguing. 

With an amazing cast including Firth, Rush and not to mention a few hot-off-the-brooms Harry Potter hotshots including Helena Bonham Carter, Timothy Spall and Michael Gambon. However, with the movie based on true events, despite the cast this would of been a must see for many.

A 8.5 out of 10f for The King's Speech :)

Au revoir

Movie #11: Desert Flower

I haven't read the critically acclaimed book, so prior to seeing this movie I expected this to be a coming of age film about a girl discovering the highs and lows of the western world and the high fashion industry. 

O, how I was wrong.

This movie was incredibly moving. I'm always amazed by movies based in true events (The Blind Side, Unstoppable, 127 hours (coming soon) ), they truly put Hollywood 'blockbusters' to shame. Obviously if you have read the original by Waris Dirie then you will know that the central issue is Female genital cutting (*I have to preach caution when opening this link*). I'm not sure how to sum up my thoughts about this issue, but the movie does a great job of addressing what should be definitely be a banned practice globally. 

I give this movie a 9/10 for being an amazing story, beautiful cast, and informative content. Extra points because Waris was strong enough to overcome the beliefs of her family/country/culture to successfully bring this issue onto a global spotlight

xo

J