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I have refused to watch No Strings Attached
for a long time until I finally gave in last week. I really didn't understand why Natalie Portman would choose such a pointless role right after she scored the Academy Award for Best Actress in Black Swan. I felt like it was an insult to her fans and her talent. Then again, she's the one reading the screenplays and choosing her movies. Add this to the fact that I am not a fan of Ashton Kutcher or Hollywoodian Rom-Coms and you get why I did not watch it. But last week I needed a light movie to watch and after reviewing Frances Ha and Black Swan and figuring out that Greta Gerwig and Natalie Portman were both in No Strings Attached, I thought "what the hell, let's watch this." After all, only idiots don't change their minds. This movie is a typical textbook romantic blockbuster. It covers all the symptoms. Attractive and successful leading duo in total love denial, nice friends you can't help but feel sorry for, and a happy ending that you see coming from miles away. You see it coming even before it begins as the trailer already gives too much. There is one thing I liked about the movie though; the plot goes against convention and reverses typical Rom-Com roles in presenting the man as the helpless romantic who wants to settle down and the woman as the player who only wants to use him for sex. This movie fits Kutcher or Jake Johnson but I expect much more from Portman and Gerwig. I can only hope this won't happen again in their career. No Strings Attached is an entertaining comedy with funny lines but it won't make history.
for a long time until I finally gave in last week. I really didn't understand why Natalie Portman would choose such a pointless role right after she scored the Academy Award for Best Actress in Black Swan. I felt like it was an insult to her fans and her talent. Then again, she's the one reading the screenplays and choosing her movies. Add this to the fact that I am not a fan of Ashton Kutcher or Hollywoodian Rom-Coms and you get why I did not watch it. But last week I needed a light movie to watch and after reviewing Frances Ha and Black Swan and figuring out that Greta Gerwig and Natalie Portman were both in No Strings Attached, I thought "what the hell, let's watch this." After all, only idiots don't change their minds. This movie is a typical textbook romantic blockbuster. It covers all the symptoms. Attractive and successful leading duo in total love denial, nice friends you can't help but feel sorry for, and a happy ending that you see coming from miles away. You see it coming even before it begins as the trailer already gives too much. There is one thing I liked about the movie though; the plot goes against convention and reverses typical Rom-Com roles in presenting the man as the helpless romantic who wants to settle down and the woman as the player who only wants to use him for sex. This movie fits Kutcher or Jake Johnson but I expect much more from Portman and Gerwig. I can only hope this won't happen again in their career. No Strings Attached is an entertaining comedy with funny lines but it won't make history.
is set on a ballet background. Yes, the plot revolves around the upcoming season of the NYC ballet. But dance is not the central topic of this film. This Darren Aronofsky picture focuses on rivalry and the danger of pushing yourself too hard. Black Swan underscores the role of a challenging environment on mental issues. And what is more challenging than being the prima ballerina of a dance company with an international reputation? To say that the professional ballet world is cruel and that the dancers have a fearless sense of competition would be understating the truth. I find the accuracy of this universe to be brilliantly depicted by the writers. Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) is casting the perfect soloist to dance both the white and the black swans for his new adaptation of Swan Lake. In Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) he finds the perfect white swan. Lily (Mila Kunis), a new dancer in the company, will help Nina's liberated personality emerge. The way the cinematography is handled is a sublime illustration of what's going on in Nina's mind. It isn't a black and white picture but black and white are the main colors on screen. A few touches of pale pink surrounds Nina when she is in an innocent frame of mind. But when her darkest side rises, the colors get more brutal and intense. I really think the colors of this movie are important to the storyline and act as actual characters. Natalie Portman has been an excellent actress since she started at the age of 12. Black Swan confirms it again and allows her to win the Best Actress Academy Award for this demanding role. She plays the two opposite ends of the emotional spectrum with a dexterity that leaves me stunned. Mila Kunis, her counterpart, is a sexy badass ballerina who seduces Nina's hidden evil side and helps it take over her childlike innocence. The fall of the former star of the company (Winona Ryder) and the complex and disturbing relationship between Nina and her mother (Barbara Hershey) are main pieces of this psychological thriller puzzle.