Movie: The Raven (2012)

Rating: C+

I really wonder if Hollywood is afraid of making anything provocative, shocking, and daring. The Raven had so much potential, and a wealth of back material to draw from. And while it was clever, it wasn't particularly smart. Where there were plot twists, they weren't particularly mind-bending. Yet another movie in this year's indulgence of mediocrity.



It's been said that John Cusack is probably the most natural actor of our time. And I quite agree with that. It's a shame that most of the other cast members in this film was not so natural. And while I feel that Cusack is miscast in this role, I think he did an admirable job as Edgar Allan Poe, I feel that the role would have been better served being played by someone a little darker, say perhaps, Johnny Depp.

The biggest problem of the movie was its lack of direction. There really would have been no difference if they completed this movie with 1 murder, or with a dozen. The clues of the murder led you to the next clue and not to who the killer was. So really, The mystery and chase was really rather pointless. And while ONE of the murders was decidedly graphic and macabre, none of the other ones had the same level fear, torture, nor blood.

Perhaps one would be more involved in the movie if they were more familiar with Poe's work, but I doubt very many know more than a handful of his life and work well enough to find the correlation intriguing. This movie could have had so much more depth. It could have been significantly more gripping. Or they could have opted to make it totally tragic. Instead, they opted for mediocrity.

~Cheers.

Movie: Black Swan

Rating: A+

A gripping tale of a ballerina's rise to fame that's both terrifyingly beautiful and beautifully tantalising. Darren Aronofsky delivers the most emotionally devastating movie I've seen in a really long time.



Delving into the neurotic psychoses of a ballet dancer as she reaches the pinnacle of her career, Natalie Portman delivers a powerful and visceral performance. Black Swan shows us the strength and frailty of what it takes to become a prima ballerina, and what happens when said ballerina has deeply rooted self esteem issues. We watch as Natalie Portman takes us deeper and deeper into Nina Sayer's insecurity, watching her sanity creak, crack, and finally crumble.

The dancing isn't stellar, and it's most apparent when Portman is practising with an instructor who shows her a couple moves in one of the scenes. But it was good enough that it didn't take anything away from stellar performances all around. The story revolves around Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, with each Natalie Portman personifying The White Swan and Mila Kunis personifying The Black Swan. Portman's insecurity reflected by Mila Kunis' self assuredness. Portman's innocence, with Kunis' corruption. Where Portman is totally inhibited, Kunis is entirely uninhibited. This line is further pulled taut by Vincent Cassel's masterful portrayal as the director of the ballet; part asshole, part perfectionist, part sleazeball, mixed in with a bit of tough love, trying to bring Portman out of her shell to embody both The White AND Black Swan.

Black Swan is unforgettable and intense. A heavy film that makes no pretense as it hits with you with a train. Bold, dark, and magnificent. And definitely not for those with weak stomachs.

~Cheers.