Black Swan (2010)

Natalie Portman plays Nina, a ballerina who's worked tirelessly to be perfect and who desperately wants to dance lead in Swan Lake. The only thing holding her back is her inability to allow herself to be anything other than perfection...which means that her dancing lacks a danger and looseness the director desires for the role. I'm not a dance fan and the style about which I know the least is probably ballet, but the cinematography of the movie somehow lends its eye to the viewer. I could see how Nina's moves were more sharp than beautiful and I loved the way Portman wore the determination all over her face. The more desperate she became to nail her moves, the more uncomfortable I was.

The story as a whole was disorienting in the best of ways. Tricks that would normally make me nuts -- like a camera spinning around its subject -- were at home here, furthering the vision rather than distracting from it. The final dance, especially, was magnificent. The more I think about what I saw, the more impressed I am.

A-

Down Terrace (2010)

Although IMDb, the Netflix sleeve, and most critics dub this a "black comedy," I couldn't find anything funny here.

Here's what I *think* the story was: a father and his middle-aged son, some low-management types in a loose criminal organization, are released from prison. The minute they get back to their rundown cookie-cutter home, which they share with the father's matter-of-factly humorless wife, they start wondering whose snitching put them away. The prison pen-pal of the son shows up pregnant, adding to the tension, and people start getting killed. And sometimes there are folky jam sessions because that's how they do.

I was bored, annoyed, confused, and never entertained. But the acting wasn't bad, so there's that.

D-

Moon (2009)

I'd put off watching this movie for more than a year because I knew it was, essentially, a one-man show and I haven't liked the films of this particular man (Sam Rockwell) in quite some time. This time, however, the material was interesting and he didn't play a slimeball. Yay!

Basically, the one-man crew for a fuel company's outpost on the Moon is nearing the end of his three-year contract. Things start to get weird when he has an accident when checking on one of the harvesters and he wakes up in the infirmary confused about how he got back to the base. It's clear a little too quickly what's going on -- I think the mystery could've been teased out to better effect -- but it's still some strong and compelling stuff.

B

Animal Kingdom (2010)

Teenage J's mother dies of an overdose, so he reaches out to her estranged family, who take him in. Turns out that his mother, despite being a junkie, showed good judgment in keeping her son away from his uncles and grandmother. The family take him in, but expect him to play his part in their dangerous war with the local corrupt police force.

Their "leader" and main interest of the cops, older brother Pope, just crackled with calm menace. I was tense every time he was on the screen. In contrast, J was so blank-faced as to make me wonder if the actor was simply a bad one -- but it seems to have been a deliberate characterization. Jacki Weaver, as the matriarch, turns in a performance that is chilling. For the first two-thirds or so, I didn't really see what the fuss over her was about (she's Oscar-nominated for this performance in the Supporting Actress category), but when she had to turn it on, she sure did. It's also in this last portion that the movie as a whole really comes together. Not that the film was bad or boring to that point, but the way things come to a head and then resolve was surprising and masterful. What I thought was merely an OK movie turned into a really good one.

B+

The Social Network (2010)

Uh, hi. I'm one of the 112 people under the age of 70 who don't have a Facebook account. But, even though I've never been "poked" or "liked" something or written on someone's wall, I found this movie fascinating.

A smart kid puts together a website that becomes wildly popular and then gets sued by his former partner who seems to have been tricked out of his share of the profits and some other guys who claim he stole the idea from them. Most of the film is told in flashback. We get a little bit of around-the-boardroom-table legal stuff and then a little bit of campus stuff. And then a little more legal stuff and followed by some whirlwind partying/working scenes. Then more boardroom...well, you get the idea.

It all moves along at a clip and was quite a lot of fun. I wish I knew if what I saw was anywhere near the truth, though.

A

The Town (2010)

Group of pals rob stuff efficiently and fairly regularly, but now that their quasi-leader has gone and fallen in love with a bank employee from their last heist, he wants out...and that doesn't go over too well with the boss or his hotheaded buddy/crew member.

There are some interesting characters and Ben Affleck does a decent job as director, but it all feels reheated. No part of the story drew me completely in, but it was good enough. I will say this: I appreciated the car chase scene. It was shot with an eye for clarity: it was always obvious who was where and that added to the tension.

B-

Babes in Arms (1939)

I am genuinely glad that I didn't grow up in the era that Mickey Rooney was considered a movie star; I find almost everything about him annoying. And, since this is the Mickey Rooney show, I found this movie annoying.

Basically, vaudeville is dying out and the show-biz families are taking their show on the road as a last ditch effort to revive it. They leave their teenage and younger kids behind to be threatened with being shipped off to some kind of a boarding school. To combat this very non showbiz fate, the kids put on a show. Judy Garland's voice is fine, even in blackface (!!), but nothing else about this both manic and tired musical is.

I'd much rather watch a show put on by The Little Rascals!

D-