Oh yeah, Spoiler Alerts all around.
Tron:
I've heard mixed things about this movie. People either liked it, or they thought it was ok. I thought the film was pretty good. Personally though, I was expecting more Daft Punk music, but seeing their presence in the film as DJs for Zuse's club was pretty clutch. Speaking of Zuse, he's definitely the best character in this movie. Because of him, I'll now start referring to alcohol as libations more often. Too bad they killed him off.
I found myself somewhat lost and a tad confused. This might be because I'm pretty new to the Tron story and am unaware of the details of the original plot. Also, I imagine the beginning of the film was meant to fill in viewers such as myself, except the the theatre I was in had tech problems and there was no sound for the first 5 minutes or so. Good stuff. Luckily we were compensated with a free movie pass/return.
Basically, the sound was great, visuals were great, characters were meh, story was meh. I hear watching it in 3D is pretty exciting, but I find 3D to be really overrated these days and not worth the extra 3-4 bucks.
127 Hours:
Starring James Franco. It's based on the story of Aron Ralston, guy who goes canyoning, gets his arm caught underneath a rock, and after nearly five and a half days, he amputates his wrist and hand to escape and is rescued. The premise was promising, but walking into the movie I was somewhat skeptical. What can you do with a guy stuck under a rock for an at least 90 minute film? Kind of like that one movie Open Water I think where the couple goes scuba diving but gets left behind and is stuck in the middle of the ocean for several days before both eventually die. However, Danny Boyle, the director who also did Slumdog Millionaire, did a great job with this movie. It had a really fresh feeling to it even though most are probably at least somewhat aware of the story of Aron Ralston. At a couple of points I thought the film slowed down slightly, but again, what do you expect from a guy trapped underneath a small boulder for 80% of the movie? The ending was intense, with graphic visuals of Franco snapping and hacking his arm off. I enjoyed this movie, though when I first saw trailers for it, I wasn't aware it would be something of a small/indie film. Or maybe it just happened to be so because the theatre we saw it at only shows those types of films. Regardless, 127 Hours is a great and pretty powerful film.
Black Swan:
Holy crap. Now THIS is an intense movie. I'd heard words flying around about how awesome and spectacular this movie is, and I'm all for psychological films that'll mess with your head. Natalie Portman is simply pristine in her portrayal of Nina, rather innocent, over-protected girl who lands the role of Swan Queen. However, she finds herself only capable of portraying the White Swan and lacks the passion and raw energy of the Black Swan. Meanwhile, Mila Kunis is Lily, another dancer who is the exact opposite of Nina: fun, energetic, flirtatious and rebellious - a perfect fit for the Black Swan, and Nina's believed competition for the role. The story follows Nina and her struggle to be the perfect Swan Queen at any cost.
A cousin is a Natalie Portman fan, and I didn't really quite understand him and his liking, but after this movie, now I do. Simply put, she's amazing in this film. Her characterization is pretty intense and very well done. She does wonders with how she portrays the soft, somewhat fragile mommy's girl to slowly growing in numbers of flashes of the dark and uninhibited side of her that she wants and needs to harness if she's to be the perfect Swan Queen. Portman is just so, so incredible in this film. My experience in viewing Mila Kunis on screen before this movie had been Forgetting Sarah Marshall and The Book of Eli. Marshall was a comedy, so I felt Kunis' role in that movie was limited and somewhat shallow, while her character in Eli, a dramatic action post-apocalyptic movie, I think was a bit forgettable. But her role as Lily in Black Swan was executed pretty well as the foil to Portman's character. It's pretty obvious the two are meant to be contrasts what with Nina in her soft colors and fluffy white scarf while Lily dresses in more black that just screams attitude. I don't know, let's just say Kunis has elevated herself a notch or two in my book.
Also, this is pretty much the guy in me saying this, but daaaaaamn, I definitely did not see the NataliexMila action coming. Crazy
A day later and I still find myself thinking about this movie. It's just so interesting because there are so many themes to ponder about. The intense desire for perfection. Awakenings, self and sexual. Relationships. Paranoia. Man (or woman...ok, dancer) vs self, vs other(s). Self harm. Metamorphoses. Ah, so, so complex and interesting. I'd unfortunately wikipedia'd the movie and spoiled the twist ending for myself, but everything else about the movie and the grittier plot details were still deliciously wonderful.
I think I almost want to watch Black Swan again, but it's nowhere near like my Scott Pilgrim obsession (yet...?)
Hm, other movies I need to see. There's Tangled. I still haven't seen Harry Potter 7 (pt 1). Also, the indie theatre where I watched 127 Hours is screening Rabbit Hole, a movie I'm pretty excited to see. It's based on a play by David Lindsay-Abaire, who I've also discovered wrote the screen play. I first had a taste of the play when classmates acted a scene from it last spring in my acting class, then I read the play in its entirety later in the semester. It's a really powerful and moving play, and I'm stoked to see how the film version turns out. It seems rather promising, from what I can gleam from the trailer. I also haven't seen The Social Network yet, which apparently is surprisingly good. Also, Love and Other Drugs. Why? I love Anne Hathaway. Deal. Then I hear True Grit is a pretty rousing film. So much to see, so little time (and funds).
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