MTV Awards: Teen’s Dreams, But Critic’s Nightmares

Moon ManWhen I was younger, MTV was my saving grace. It had some great programs, good music, and an overall cool vibe. But the best part for me, were the award shows. That was the time where musicians, comedians, and actors were able to step out of their serious roles and just have fun. I remember watching it in 1997 when Puff Daddy (now Diddy, for those who don’t know), along with Sting and Faith Evans did a tribute to one of the greatest rapper’s of all time, Notorious B.I.G.. Of course, at this time, I had no idea who Biggie Smalls was, but it was still a very touching tribute.

Now, I am older and bolder, and a hell of a lot smarter than I was back then. Now, I see both of MTV’s award shows as mere jokes. MTV uses this time to, not really celebrate the mediums it is representing that night, but is advertisements for its own productions. Every time I hear that “The cast of Jersey Shore” is going to present an award, all I can do is drop my head in shame. [Read more...]

Now Playing Review – Black Swan

……  O_O  ……

In order to sum up my thoughts on Black Swan you would have to determine what you could based on a blank expression that looked a little like that, mouth slightly more agape.  That’s right, I really did just resort to an emoticon to review a film.  Unsophisticated response?  Maybe a little, but even hours after watching this film and the loss of the visible appearance of that look, the dumbfounded expression is still present on my brain (if my brain could wear an expression of course), with a splash of a “WTF” overtone.

Rising on pointed toe far above the flashy dance films being pushed out in the past few years, Black Swan follows Nina Sayers at the start of her escalating dance career as a ballerina.  Following the struggles to outshine the other girls in her dance company Nina is finally giving the starring role of the swan queen in Swan Lake, but it is in the happiest moment of her life that it begins to unravel around her. [Read more...]

Review: Black Swan

Black Swan is another fantastic entry into Darren Aronofsky’s filmography that is driven by a wonderful lead performance by Natalie Portman and could very well be my favorite film of the year when it is all said and done.

The film follows Nina Sayers who has been a background ballet performer in an elite New York company that finally gets her shot at stardom when the company’s lead decides to “retire.”  Nina gets her shot in the company’s next performance of Swan Lake and her life begins to parallel her character of The Swan Queen. Nina applies a lot of pressure on herself and beyond that she lives with her mother who is overbearing and is clearly living vicariously through her daughter.  Added to the self and parental pressure is the extremely competitive nature of the world of ballet and these elements all thrown together provides for a volatile environment for Nina to try and rise to stardom.  So when her director keeps getting disappointed in her work and a new talent from San Francisco shows up in the company, Nina finds herself in a stressful situation.

[Read more...]