News: Delays

     Unfortunately, this has been a tough week for me being able to get to the computer and write. I unwillingly wasted two whole days of my life that I will never get back waiting around a courthouse for jury duty. Then, for some reason, blogspot was not allowing me to write anything for awhile. I don't mean to bore you with the details of my personal life, but since this is around the time I have been posting ten more movies from my Top 100 countdown, I just wanted you to know it will be delayed a bit this week. I will try to get it up quickly, but if I don't get it done in a day or two, I might just wait to next week. If that happens, I apologize ahead of time, but if you missed any weeks, this is a good opportunity to catch up. Thank you for your patience.

Review: Black Swan

     What is the difference between an artist and a technician? Does being a perfectionist kill the irrational emotional edge that can move an audience? To be a great artist, is it necessary to be part mad, letting life take you where ever it will and experiencing everything it has to offer, good and bad? Or can a naive talent imitate emotional gravitas in a way that feels authentically moving? These are some of the interesting questions that Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan" explores in this ballet/supernatural thriller (not one of the most obvious combinations).

     Coming off 2008's "The Wrestler", where Aronofsky took a look at the unglamorous life of an aging wrestler, he now turns his eye into the extremely competitive world of ballet. Very few people have the talent, dedication, and will to sacrifice that it takes to make it in the world of ballet (as is true of most any artistic venture or competitive athletic profession). For those that do meet the prerequisite, to make your stamp as one of the all-time greats, in addition (as I hinted at before), you need some intangible quality that creates an unbreakable menage a trois between the audience, the music, and the performer. It is a hard thing to quantify, but whether you have the trained eye of a decades-long professional, or if you have never seen a performance in your life, it is not hard to spot someone who has "it". Most people with that special "it" are likely born with the lack of inhibition that makes them great artists, but it is possible to learn how to "lose yourself", and this is the task set for the heroine in "Black Swan".