Darren Aronofsky’s BLACK SWAN is a rare find, a horror film with substance. This psychological horror film benefits from a shockingly good performance from Natalie Portman. Portman stars as Nina, a ballet dancer cast as the leads in BLACK SWAN, as both the white and black swan. Nina’s gradual unravelling from prim and proper princess into a darker more disturbing individual is haunting thanks to Portman’s performance, and Aronofsky’s handling of the material.4) 127 HOURS
Director Danny Boyle and star James Franco deliver a gut-wrenching, self-discovery drama with 127 HOURS. This true tale of outdoorsman Aarron Smith’s tragic fall and trappings in the cavernous rock formations in Utah is a harrowing, but inspirational awakening of one man’s soul. Boyle’s manic directorial eye is more subdued in 127 HOURS, but the talented director still leaves his mark. Franco delivers a performance that is straightforward and yet nonetheless effective, conveying anguish, despair and redemption with minimal dialogue.3) MOTHER
The most thrilling movie of 2010 came from overseas with the Hitchcockian Korean film MOTHER. A desperate mother pulls out all the stops to prevent her son from spending a lifetime in prison in director Joon-ho Bong’s latest. THE HOST director has improved upon his already impressive early work, delivering a truly suspenseful mystery wrapped around one woman’s personal conundrum. Hye-ja Kim is mother, the anchor of this odd, funny, slightly disturbing and thrilling tale. Kim’s performance runs the gamut of emotions: anger, sadness, vengeance and elation, all conveyed with deep sincerity. The only thing rarer than Kim’s fine performance, is a genuinely shocking finish. MOTHER delivers both, and is as enriching as it is entertaining.2) BLUE VALENTINE
Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams deliver a lifetime’s worth of emotions in the modern love story, BLUE VALENTINE, my runner-up as the best film of 2010. Gosling and Williams, as Dean and Cindy, along with co-writer and director Derek Cianfrance purely capture the thrill of falling in love and the heartbreak in seeing it end. Cianfrance wisely juxtapositions Derek and Cindy’s initial encounters and romance with their later marital struggles, lending a bittersweet touch to the flashbacks, and tear-jerking moments to the couples’ strained ending. BLUE VALENTINE wonderfully and painfully examines the honeymoon and when it is over. 1) INCEPTION
Writer-director Christopher Nolan’s science-fiction masterpiece is said to have been in the works for ten years, and it was worth every minute of it. This imaginative and explorative trip into the psyche of dreams and one man’s burdensome past is a feast for both the eyes and mind. Nolan enlists Leonardo Dicaprio to navigate us through the structure of one’s subconscious in spite of being oblivious of his own. Dicaprio is surrounded by a talented cast including Ellen Page, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ken Wantanabee, but Nolan is the real star. The director’s visionary work is a complex experience built on philosophical, emotional and thematic pillars. INCEPTION is complicated, but Nolan’s skill in delivering this mind-blowing dramatic thriller is the ease at which his story is told through its narrative and visuals. INCEPTION is the cinematic event of the year, and my top film of 2010.Photos courtesy of Fox Searchlight, Magnolia Pictures, The Weinstein Company and Warner Bros. Pictures
No comments:
Post a Comment