Black Swan

I love ballet. We have this home video and my mom snuck up behind me with the camera where I was dancing, unaware, to some classical number. I look hilarious. Like most children do when they dance. I've always loved dance. More than that, I've always loved ballet. As a child I thought The Nutcracker was the best of ballet. I got over that when Ia heard the score to Romeo and Juliet. It's so emotional. Add some iconic choreography and you have got yourself a tear jerker. But then I saw Swan Lake. The story, the music, the angst all come together to create a beautifully overwhelming and tragic story. At the end of last year, director Darren Aronofsky and writers Mark Heyman and Andres Heintz came together themselves to tell this story on screen. 


Natalie Portman was chosen to play ballerina Nina Sayers, who wins the lead in Swan Lake. While perfect for the role of the White Swan, she slowly loses her mind trying to free herself of the inhibitions preventing her from owning the role of the Black Swan. 


Portman carries a wonderful fragility. This enables her to embody her imperfections and inhibitions in a wonderful way. It also stands in stark contrast to the evil that later emerges as she suffers psychologically. The Academy Award given (as well as every other award) was well and wholly deserved. Up to that point Mila Kunis plays a polar opposite to Natalie's fragility. This pairing is golden. Kunis, largely known for her role as Jackie on That 70's Show, is welcomed in this more serious role. 


While sexually explicit at points and horrific at others, this film will stay with you for days. And we should return to its inspiration; the ballet and its original score. For their story and themes are the reason such wonder has occurred. 

The Social Network

Facebook. What a generational phenomenon. The ability to follow each other's every move. The ease of discovering personal information and never needing to 'catch-up' with people you haven't seen in the flesh for years. We rely on it. We live by it. It was only appropriate that it should be made into a screen play. Every movie-goer in the world can relate to this viral phenomenon. Even better than this, it stems from the fascinating tale of twenty year old Mark Zuckerberg, a sophomore at Harvard with apparently nothing better to do. 


The story begins with the making of an offensive hot-or-not type website created by a marginally intoxicated, recently dumped computer-science major. The website got so many hits on the night of its launch, it crashed the Harvard server. At this point, Mark is approached by Harvard upperclassmen looking to create an exclusive social networking site available only to Harvard students. From here Facebook is created, Sean Parker - founder of Napster - comes in as partner, Zuckerberg makes a lot of friends, loses more and gets sued twice. 


The story of Facebook's rise is told in an interesting fashion. In creating this multi-billion dollar internet company, Zuckerberg was sued by two sets of people involved. It is through these lawsuits that the story is told. While this isn't an entirely new method of recap-story-telling, it fit the nature of this narrative well. The complication arises in balancing the story as told between the two lawsuits. Lucky for the viewer, this isn't anyone's first whack at it. Director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin, do a seamless job of moving from the story to the lawsuits. Jesse Eisenberg carries a wonderful deadpan ambivalence as Zuckerberg and Andrew Garfield, as Eduardo Saverin - co-founder and student at Harvard, provides a wonderful point of chemistry for the film. Most of North America is grateful for their pairing. 


If there is a moral to the story and I'm reading it right, it's as old as time. Greed, jealousy, arrogance. As old as Cain and Able (that's for you Dad). And unless you have somehow escaped the life-sucking trap that is Facebook, you, as the viewer, can't find much distance from this greed, jealousy and arrogance. You're a part of that story. You've helped make it what it is. I'm not distancing myself from this as I accuse you of being a part of it. I'm there as much as you are. And here the producers are, forcing us to confront this as we watch the story unfold; and we're not even aware. 


Filmmakers are amazing. 

The Tourist - and that's why I don't travel.

Weekday matinee movies are a funny thing. It's like an adventure for everyone involved. Everyone there has nothing else better to do, and for that reason you don't care whether or not the movie is good because you got the theater experience in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday. A couple weeks ago, my roommates and I set out to see The Tourist. I wasn't particularly interested in seeing this film but for reasons previously stated, I went anyway.


This movie begins with the beautiful and captivating Angelina Jolie caught in the middle of some sort of CIA-type investigation. After besting the tracking agents a number of times, she introduces the audience to Johnny Depp, an innocent bystander to be used as a pawn in their scheme. After a number of amusing and impossible incidents the two fall in love and the movie ends with a surprising twist. 


I've always been a sucker for a good heist/secret agent movie. That is not what I would call this. The film presents potential in the first half-hour but quickly takes a dive when Angelina herself turns out to be an agent working on the case. Beyond this, the two spend less than twenty-four hours together before falling in love. Not only is this unrealistic, they don't experience enough together to warrant an emotional bond. Therefore, their love, to the viewer not only seems impossible, but shallow. 


I didn't like this movie. I would not watch it again. But like I always say, a couple hours of Johnny Depp never hurt anyone. The measure of good looking people cast in this film, made it completely worth my time and the six dollars I paid for it. That, though, is really all the good I can say for it. 

An Education for the viewer.

Please be warned that this entire review was written to be read (to be heard in your mind) in an English accent.

The world of tumblr is very educational in the way of popular culture. For example, through the tumblr accounts I follow daily, I have learned that Carey Mulligan, is all the rage. It is for this reason that tonight, I set out to take in her performance in the 2010 film An Education. Now having done so, I can certainly see why.


This film, set smack in the middle of the twentieth century, displays the difficulty for a young girl in choosing higher education or discovering the things the world has to offer - often at some cost. Carey Mulligan plays sixteen (going on seventeen) year old Jenny Mellor who is quickly seduced by the worldly excitement older man David, played by Peter Sarsgaard, has to offer. As he opens to Jenny his world of wonder, beauty and experience, she discovers another world of deceit and betrayal, hidden beneath the glamor.


The portrayal of Jenny's home and parental relations were wonderfully stuffy, as was the nature of her scholarly education. This stands in stark contrast to the seemingly wild life David exposes her to. In being reprimanded for her rebellion she powerfully explains "It's not enough to educate us anymore, Ms. Walters, you've got to tell us why you're doing it." This scene, along with others at the climax of the film, bring forth a strong feminist statement for the time. It is said many times throughout the film that Jenny can be anything she wants to be; women have so many more options nowadays. The journey David takes her on and her willingness to leave her plans and future behind, show that even with the feminist progress that had been made, many barriers seemed to stand in the way of her living the kind of life she longed for. 


Carey Mulligan holds a wonderful yet painfully dangerous innocence about her character as she begins to interact with Sarsgaard - who incidentally does quite the believable English accent. As she progresses throughout the show, there is an obvious aging of her character. The talent of this young actress is most evidently shown in this. Other high points of the film include Emma Thompson as Jenny's school principle, Rosamund Pike (Pride and Prejudice) as David's friend and business cohort and as was already mentioned, Peter Sarsgaard, who truly showed his range as a philandering British business man.


Needless to say, from this rave review, I truly recommend a watch. But I beg of you, keep your ears open for the feminist strains. If you aren't open to seeing it with those eyes, you might - as some of my lesser friends did - find it dull. I, on the other hand, am putting it in my top ten. 

The Problem with Twilight - a review in waiting.

Okay. I'm discovering that this whole blog for reviews isn't really working out for me. I'm too lazy and refuse to dedicate the time required to perfect a well phrased and worded review. This one however, cannot wait any longer. 

I came home from Eclipse a couple weeks ago having thoroughly enjoyed myself. Those movies are brilliant. I consider myself an intelligent person and as a result do not find that statement a challenge to that intelligence. Furthermore, anyone who admits a connection to the media-driven understanding of love and romance pushed on us everyday by American society, cannot (repeat CANNOT) say that the Twilight Series is not page after page of cultural genius. 


The vampire phenomenon is not new. We must note Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire, first a book and then a movie, which tells the tragically epic story of a man who becomes a vampire after wishing too closely for death after his wife and baby die in childbirth. Three years after its release, my generation will remember, the hit TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which followed an incredibly lame high school student as she fought to defend her generation against the evil of its day - Vampires. 


If you haven't noticed in your however many years, we as a human race are fascinated with that which is not our own. We are fascinated with worlds we cannot understand and will never be a part of. This goes back much further than the early nineties. J.R.R. Tolkien played on this with Middle Earth as did C.S. Lewis with Narnia. It also surfaced in the late nineties with the release of Harry Potter (closest to my heart). Anyone who read those books knew the vernacular for every spell and charm in there. The best part was imagining a world in which those phrases and arm gestures worked. As a surprise to no one, Twilight is no different. And appropriately so. 

Stephanie Meyer has found a way to feed (pardon my awesome pun) on our fascination with Vampirical life, while developing a very deep and blood boiling love story. It's straight up Christian Porn (a phrase coined by a dear friend that I will perhaps elaborate on later). All the viewer wants is for Edward and Bella to find a way to work it out. But what is that way? Is it for her to become a vampire too, so they can live happily in their stunted 17 year old physical state? Or is it for them to accept the passing of time and love each other as long as they are both alive? Then you add in Jacob with his eye-brow raising abs and his heart stopping smile. He loves Bella just as much as Edward, without presenting the problem of a very altering and painful life change. 


Let me ask you something - do you like romance? Do you like a slightly skewed presentation of true love? Then you like Twilight; even if you're not willing to admit it. 


But here's the problem. It's just so ridiculous. There's no getting around it. While the effects in the movie are decent and the acting passable, my intelligence - the same intelligence that allows me to appreciate this cultural phenomenon - helps me understand that it is not good. While I appreciate the well formed, albeit holed, love story, the presence of the good vampires, the enemy vampires  the wolverines and now the Volturi (the very powerful government - for lack of a better word - over all vampires), will never even out. 


Stephanie Meyer, you have won in many ways. You will never, however, be great in your victory because what you have created is laughable at best; at least for those of us who can keep our libido's at bay. 

Maxwell's Plum - Nearing English Perfection.

On my first trip to the Maritimes, Laura and I made our way down from Moncton, NB to Halifax, NS. This trip was exciting for me as I had heard of the urban culture in the port city of Halifax, NS but had yet to experience it. 

As we tediously made our way through the city and down to the harbor we passed by Maxwell's Plum. It had been our aim to find a cute pub to eat at and as we passed it I knew it was where I wanted to go. Laura wanted to see what else we could find, but I didn't. From the name to the location to the blue and red exterior the two seconds I had to identify it were enough to tell me I had to go.

I'm currently having a love affair with red meat. This is pretty new - five months new. Every time I go out to eat I just have to get a burger. It's has to have cheddar and bacon, everything else is icing on the cake. So I'm looking at Maxwell's menu and I the burger platter is listed and just 9.99. Sweet. I'm getting that. I order my beer and delicious burger and we had a nice conversation in a wonderful pub environment.

Then my burger came. Please identify that there are two burgers on that plate. Two half pound beef patties with bacon, cheddar, tomato, lettuce, onions . . . not to mention that pile of fries. I rechecked the menu - no I hadn't missed it; there wasn't even a description for the platter. I was immediately filled with fear. I tried to convince myself two thirds of the way through the first one that I wasn't getting full. I only made it through half of the second one but dang were they good. Laura was also pleased with her strips of chicken and she's not so easily pleased. 

Beyond our service - which was a little lacking, though I wouldn't assume it to consistently lacking - Maxwell's Plum was an amazing experience. It should also be noted that they have something called a brewtender which brings you eighty oz of beer on tap to your table. That's just a win right there. And if you buy the brand of the day you can get it for 20 bucks. I wouldn't, however, recommend buying it by the bottle. It's over-priced. So if you're in downtown Halifax and happen to be on Sackville St., walk into Maxwell's Plum and have a beer. I guarantee you'll enjoy it. 

Sufjan - say it right or I'll pinch you.

The time has come. 

Sufjan Stevens has been effectively changing my life for two years now and I need to find a way to articulate why and how.

The thing that captivates me most about his music is its spiritual nature. I don't speak directly to the lyrics. Though one has to wonder about his religious background as he references the Holy Spirit, the divinity, Bible Studies and the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. On his album Seven Swans he has songs dedicated to such biblical narratives as Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac and the Transfiguration. 

Beyond this lyrical basis, Sufjan carries an innovative use of instrumentation that, considering the time frame, parallels the innovation of J.S. Bach. If you don't know anything about this Bach-ian innovation let me just say that his blending of international styles to create something that appealed to the Western world as a whole was completely unexpected and beyond what anybody had ever done. In the same way, Sufjan Stevens uses the nature of certain instruments sounds to attain a sound that captures the essence of his musical message. He employs everything from horns to banjos to strings. In his commissioned album the BQE (named after the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) he employs a full orchestra. The know-how required to write for such an ensemble is impressive and strengthens my appreciation of the complexity of the rest of his work.  


I've done some research in an attempt to discover whether Sufjan is a Christ follower or just intensely spiritually and biblically aware. I've come up dry. There is nothing I've found in print to convince me that Sufjan has a working relationship with Christ; yet I stand changed because of his music. 


I took a music fast for two weeks last fall and the broke that fast with Seven Swans. The aim of the fast was to reclaim the affect of music on my soul. At that point I knew nothing could fill my soul like that album. It claimed me then and continues to today.