Thursday, January 20, 2011

The Film Festival Continues

My personal film festival is continuing with four new entries.  This may become an annual event.

Black Swan

This psychological horror story focuses on Nina, a ballerina striving to win the dual role of white swan and black swan in Swan Lake.  Her drive to perfection leads her to mutilate herself and to become obsessed with the ballerina she perceives as her rival.  The style is so over the top that it's sometimes funny.  Barbara Hershey gives Faye Dunaway a run for her money as the ballerina's evil mother.  The ticket taker at the theater described this movie as "weird, but very good."  I agree.

My rating:  **** (out of 5)

The King's Speech

I had no idea that George VI had a stammer.  This movie explores how he deals with this problem when he unexpectedly ascends to the throne due to the abdication of his brother David, the Duke of Windsor.

My rating:  *** (out of 5)

The Fighter

The boxing movie is among my least favorite genres, but I chose to see this one because it has gotten such favorable reviews.  It follows the formula of a determined underdog who achieves victory by dint of hard work.  I still don't like boxing movies, but have to admit that this one was good.

My rating:  *** (out of 5)

Somewhere

Sophia Coppola takes a minimalist approach to this portrayal of a movie star who is dissatisfied with the emptiness of his life.  He has a great relationship with his daughter, who lives with her mother, but most of his time is spent doing publicity for movies and engaging in shallow relationships.  He's  dissatisfied  with everything except the relationship with the daughter but doesn't make much of an effort to spend more time on that and less time on the dissatisfying aspects of his life.

My rating:  *** (out of 5)

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