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by Alison Byrd
Staff Reporter
LACKSWAN Here’s some good news for all of
avid moviegoers out there: this year’s
most talked about film isn’t a summer
blockbuster. Darren Aronofsky follows
up his 2008 critically acclaimed masterpiece,
‘The Wrestler,’ with the stunning
‘Black Swan.’ It’s easy to point out that
both movies are eerily similar in the sense
that both lead roles are
performers who suffer
for their art.
The genre of this
movie still remains a
mystery to many, but
one title that certainly
fits it would be “arthouse
horror.” For
something so extremely
visually appealing, it is
quite hard to sit through
-- and I mean this in the
best way possible. It’ll
leave you squeamish,
uncomfortable, mesmerized,
confused and
possibly aroused.
The film centers
on the 28-year-old psychologically
tormented ballerina, Nina Sayers, who
is undeniably dedicated and strives
for perfection. When the director of
her fictional ballet company decides
to change up the storyline in the ballet,
Nina finds herself overwhelmed with
determination to be adequate for the role
of the Swan Queen.
The biggest challenge is that he has
the sweet and delicate white swan and the
passionate and fierce black swan to be
played by the same dancer. While Nina
portrays the white swan almost perfectly,
the new dancer in the company, Lily
(played by the lovely Mila Kunis), shows
a lot more potential for the role of the
blackswan.Amidsttheunderlyingrivalry,
the story revolves around the theme of
destroying oneself to achieve perfection.
One small yet significant performance
is from the newly resurrected career
of Winona Ryder. Her character, Beth
McIntyre, displays the
trouble with aging in the
entertainment industry.
She shows so many
depths to her character
including, but not limited
to, weakness, sorrow,
desperation and envy.
Still, all the while, Nina
looks up to her and views
her as the very essence of
perfection.
Beth’s character is just
as intense and essential
to the film as Nina and
Lily are and completes
the trinity of the white,
black and dying swan.
Aronofsky is quite
recognized for his stunning visuals, as in
old favorites like ‘Requiem for a Dream.’
Everything about it, the choreography,
costumes, makeup, actors, the CGI
effects, the theater, and especially the
music, is both tragic yet beautiful.
Everything is thought out and put
together to impress and perplex. Even
after seeing it again, people won’t be
certain as to what reality is and what
isn’t.
Photos courtesy of: Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Relativity Media
AWARDS
Academy Award
by Joseph Cardenas
Section Editor
This past Golden Globe
Awards surprised many when
‘Social Network’ wiped the
floor clean of all it was nominated
for -- other than Best Actor.
Now, people are predicting
the unheard of for the 2011
Academy Awards.
‘Inception’ is the obvious
Oscar-worthy winner.
It was a classic brainteaser
that not only thrilled you on
the edge of your seat but it also
dove into a concept greater than
what ‘Social Network’ didn’t
consider touching: what is reality?
What is a dream? How do
you know you’re not dreaming?
How do you know you are?
It’s very much like ‘Matrix’
which used that concept of
“your world is not real,” which
was the big cliffhanger at the
end of the movie.
Such a deep concept and
storyline is without doubt worthy
for a win in the Oscar’s Best
Motion Picture award.
Director Christopher Nolan
might not have been nominated
for his rightful place as Best Director,
but he was nominated for
his flawless and perfect work in
its original screenplay.
You can tell from the beginning
that the script was
made for a five-star movie, not
a television series or a graphic
novel.
Every major line is bold
and descriptive and it actually
tells you the story, unlike
‘Social Network’ where it just
bounces all over the place and
gives bits of information you
never see again until the end of
the movie.
It also is made for a team,
which is what ties the movie together.
The score, done by Hans
Zimmer, was remarkable, paced
both slowly and very fast and
flowed melodically. It added to
the dream-like effect the movie
portrayed.
The score of ‘Social Network’
didn’t add any effect, if
one was intended, and didn’t
keep you more interested than
you already were. As for Best
Actor, no credit is given to
Leonardo DiCaprio.
I’ll admit I didn’t find him
as a strong actor in the movie; it
was more weighted on the team
he was with.
However, I do see ‘Social
Network’s’ Jesse Eisenberg getting
an applause for his role as
Mark Zuckerberg, the father of
everyone’s beloved Facebook.
Unfortunately, no more actors
and actresses were picked
for lead roles or supporting
roles for ‘Inception,’ so my
money’s going for Christian
Bale, Natalie Portman and Helena
Bonham Carter.
Though I think ‘Inception’
should win everything it pretty
much was nominated for, I’m
at a crossroads when it comes
to visual effects and art direction
because ‘Deathly Hallows’
was also nominated for both,
and I think it also deserves both
awards.
Now, for Animated Feature,
sorry, ‘How to Train Your
Dragon,’ but ‘Toy Story 3’ will
knock your socks off.
It tugged on heartstrings
and brought everyone back to
the moment when they had to
grow up and leave their childhood
toys behind so they can go
off to college. I also do believe
Best Original Song should go to
‘Toy Story.’
The Oscars this year are
pretty big, and there are a lot
of contenders, like ‘Social Network,’‘The
Fighter,’and ‘Black
Swan,’ but the obvious winner
is our favorite mind-bender:
‘Inception.’
Predictions
Social Network
by Caludia Morales
Section Editor
It is only once in a blue
moon that awards shows leave
me satisfied and feeling that
credit was given where credit
was due. The recent Golden
Globe Awards, however, did
just that. Not only did Chris
Colfer and ‘Glee’ in general
win well-deserved awards in
the television side of things,
‘The Social Network’ (David
Fincher’s poignant film revolving
around the creation of Facebook
and the events surrounding
it) reigned supreme over
the film categories, receiving
numerous awards including the
sought-after “Best Motion Picture”
award.
Now, with the Oscars
around the proverbial corner,
‘The Social Network’ is
slated to win a second round
of awards, as it so obviously
deserves, receiving a total of
six Oscar nominations. Its biggest
competitor is Christopher
Nolan’s ‘Inception.’ Both films
are indubitably great ones, and
both made an impact on their
respective audiences. However,
‘The Social Network’ is clearly
the better of the two, taking
everything into consideration.
Many argue that ‘Inception’ deserves
the upper hand because
it focuses on that beyond reality
and was a creation entirely
Nolan’s, as opposed to the very
real content matter in ‘The Social
Network.’
While the creativity behind
‘Inception’deserves high recognition,
it does not warrant worship.There’s
more to it than that.
Sure, ‘The Social Network’ revolves
around Facebook, something
so colloquial that it goes
above and beyond a household
name, but that doesn’t mean
that there’s not a great story to
be found in its origin. ‘The Social
Network’ delves into things
bigger and more universal than
Facebook itself -- social status,
human insecurities, corruption,
friendship and the interactions
between humans. While
it may not encompass a dream
within a dream within a dream,
it doesn’t need to. It makes the
audience think and keeps them
in suspense without over-embellished
ideas.
‘The Social Network’ is
a generational film, one that
captures the Y Generation impeccably
and speaks volumes
about who we are and what we
are becoming; that’s more than
‘Inception’ can hope to hold a
candle to.
‘The Social Network’ is
nominated for such categories
as Achievement in Directing
and Achievement in Film Editing;
‘Inception’ was nominated
for the former as well as many
of ‘The Social Network’s’ other
categories, but not for Achievement
in Directing. Even the
biggest ‘Inception’ haters are
surprised by this, myself included,
but in the end it says
much about which film is more
worthy.
Other films I’m glad to see
getting recognition are ‘Harry
Potter and the ‘Deathly Halows,
Pt. 1’ (nominated for Art Direction
and Visual Effects) and the
year’s animated movies (‘Toy
Story 3’ is nominated alongside
‘The Social Network’ and ‘Inception’
for Best Motion Picture).
The only disappointments
I can articulate are those of not
enough ‘Harry Potter’ nominations
and Andrew Garfield
(Eduardo Saverin in The Social
Network) being snubbed for
Best Supporting Actor (though
Jesse Eisenberg’s nomination
for his role as Mark Zuckerberg
in ‘The Social Network’ is one
entirely deserved).
I can only hope that the
Academy Awards will be nearly
as satisfying and accurate
in their choices as the Golden
Globes were.
THE TOURIST
by Ashley Camaraza
Section Editor
When I first entered the theater, I was already
excited enough to watch another Johnny
Depp film. ‘The Tourist’ basically starts off
with Angelina Jolie walking the streets inconspiciously.
First guess is that she is a hired assasin,
as usual, though this is not the case later
on in the movie.
As we know, the most exciting part of the
movie is when Elise, played
by Jolie, decides to hop
onto the train introducing
the character Frank Tupelo,
played by the magnificent
Depp.
The movie revolves
around Frank, who is a lonely
math teacher touring in Italy
to mend his broken heart.
Unfortunately, the fantastic
scenary in Italy where this
film takes place did not make
up for the lack of chemistry
between Jolie and Depp.
Even though Depp is
like a lost, lovable puppy
and Jolie is as gorgeous as
ever, it was not enough.
These two sex symbols obviously
ended up not having any interest in
working together.
Throughout the film, the audience will
usually question what is going on. ‘The
Tourist’ is one of those movies about an
identity crisis that will leave viewers shocked
at the outcome. Elise puts Frank in a situation
where gangsters begin to go after him and try
to kill him. She does this as a way to protect
her husband, who owes the government
money. The movie has a huge lack in pace
causing the excitement to barely interest the
audience.
Things start getting interesting when
Paul Bettany (‘Legion,’ ‘A Beautiful Mind’)
and Rufus Sewall (‘A Knight’s Tale,’ ‘Legend
of Zorro’) are added to this film. Inspector
John Acheson, Bettany’s role, works for
the government and is one of the people
after Elise’s husband. There is a twist in the
plot when a secret about Elise is revealed,
confusing the audience a bit
more. Once this occured,
more action and humor is
ensued.
Overall, ‘The Tourist’ does
not deserve such harsh
reviews. I honestly did
enjoy the movie, especially
since it has Depp in it. Most
people aren’t used to seeing
him act as a normal person
considering all his other roles
in the past (such as the very
odd Edward Scissorhands,
the vengeful Sweeney Todd
and the crazy and wonderful
Mad Hatter in ‘Alice in
Wonderland’).
Everything ends up making
sense in the end, of course,
and the audience will be shocked as to what
is revealed. Deficiency in pace as well as
chemistry are the two main issues. Those
looking forward to perceive action in this
movie will be highly disappointed. There is
rarely any action except for a few scenes.
Viewers should watch this film if they wish
to laugh and enjoy the beautiful scenery in
Venice, Italy. Depp fans, I’m sure you will
love this one.
hOLLYWOOD