Hi there. My fiance decided we should celebrate my birthday for 3 days. He took me to one movie/day. My favorite was The Fighter. Christian Bale deserves an Oscar for his portrayal as Mark Wahlberg’s brother, a has-been and crackhead. The woman who plays Mom, Melissa Leo, steals every scene she’s in. I’d give her best supporting actress. I’ve never seen her before but bet we’ll see her in movies to come. A lesser actress would’ve overdone it. She NAILS it. Leo, born a native New Yorker, played Boston blue collar Mom perfectly. This film deserves 4 stars out of 4. It’s about loyalty, addiction, aching desires to be somebody, perseverance, relationships, family dysfunction, and so much more.
Black Swan was the film on Day 2. It’s a dark, trippy cinematic 3.5 stars. Natalie Portman was brilliant and will surely receive an Oscar nom. It was Portman’s tour de force performance. She was able to portray a professional ballet dancer’s relentless inner demons with total believability. Part of that is due to the screenwriter’s skill for showing the inner workings of a disturbed mind—not an easy thing to do. Another compelling character is her coach played by Vincent Cassel who previously appeared in the 4-star flick, Eastern Promises. If you’ve never seen that movie, run don’t walk, to rent it immediately. Black Swan is a must see movie but it’s also so intense it is a tad exhausting. Both Steve and I walked out of there and at the same time said “I need a nap.” It was that heavy—gut-wrenching—but don’t get me wrong. It’s spectacular and you’d be a fool to miss it.
On our 3rd movie day we went to see the 4-star The King’s Speech. It’s the story of King George VI of Britain and his quick, unexpected ascension to the throne. He is played marvelously by Colin Firth but for me the most captivating character was the unusually quirky Speech Therapist played by Geoffrey Rush who I love in every movie he’s in. He is an actor of the finest caliber, as one taxi driver with a thick Brooklyn accent once said, “He can really portray.” He first grabbed me in his magnetic performance as a child prodigy in Shine—the story of a gifted pianist whose volatile father drives him over the edge. In Quills he plays, with divine darkness, the infamous Marquis De Sade during his stay in an insane asylum. His wildly entertaining performances in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) and the next two sequels made me an ever more loyal fan. Helena Bonham Carter does a fine job playing the King’s devoted, loving, wife and showing once again that behind every good man is a great woman.
Ok, now I must stop blogging and meet Steve at the Clearview Chelsea Cinema—the same theatre we’ve seen all of these flicks. Today we’re seeing I Love You Phillip Morris starring Jim Carrey. Another actor we’re looking forward to watching is Steve’s long-time good friend, Antoni Corone, who is featured in the trailer. My review on that film will come soon.
Tomorrow we’ll see The Tourist — not because it’s got great reviews but because we both love watching Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp.