BLACK SWAN

I saw this last Sunday night and haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. Unless TRUE GRIT completely floors me, this is the best movie I saw all year.

Quick side note - You're probably going to think I'm crazy when you see my Top 5 and I have BLACK SWAN and TOY STORY 3 as numbers 1 and 2, because they couldn't be more different. But that's just how I roll.

Back to it. I've been trying to formulate in my head what to say about this movie, but I feel that words don't quite do it justice. It's just an all around great film and if Natalie Portman doesn't win Best Actress at the Oscars in a few months, then everyone that votes shouldn't be allowed to anymore. Portman gives a pitch-perfect portrayal of a woman obsessed with perfection but slowly spiraling into madness. It's an anxiety laden trip that, at times, was hard to watch yet I was unable to look away.

Some people are no doubt going to find it silly and too overtly sexual for their tastes (at some points during the screening I was in there was audible uncomfortable laughter from the audience), but I'm not one of those people. Not only was BLACK SWAN an amazing piece of drama, it was probably one of the best horror films I've seen in a long, long time. It wasn't the knock you out of your seat scary, but there are moments when you're just overcome with an intense feeling of dread. You have no idea what will happen next or where it's going to go from there. Every moving part of making a film—music, lighting, camera work, acting, directing—was put together brilliantly here by Darren Aronofsky. He never lets you get comfortable and the movie keeps you on your toes the entire, never letting up for a second before something else grabs you.

BLACK SWAN and THE WRESTLER were originally conceived as one film, juxtaposing the high art of the ballet world and the lowest perceived form of entertainment that is professional wrestling. I'm glad Aronofsky decided to break them up because they're both top notch films on their own and I think they both would have lost something had they been presented as one.

As I said before, I haven't been able to stop thinking about this movie since I first saw it and I'm not sure how many other movies I've been able to say that about—ever, let alone this year.

If you haven't yet, go see it. You may not agree with me and if you don't, I'd really love to hear your reasons as to why.

And one more thing is for sure—Aronofsky's next movie is the X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE sequel, simply called THE WOLVERINE. And after seeing BLACK SWAN, I can safely say I've never been more excited to see a Wolverine, an X-Men, hell, any comic book movie for that matter, than I am to see that one. I have absolutely no idea what it's going to be like (and if you think you do, you're full of shit), but judging from his track record, Aronofsky has amazing things in store.