I'm Most Excited About...#2

These are a few films that have been on my radar for some time, and they're the films I'm probably most excited to see. Some of these films have been released, but I haven't seen them yet, so there. Here's the second film of this series...

"I am birdwoman. Feeeeear me"

So next on the list would be Aronofsky's Black Swan. This stars Natalie Portman, who you might know from her kind of important roles in the Star Wars prequels, V for Vendetta, and a hilarious rap song on SNL. She's also famous for looking like Ramona, that character from the Beverly Clearly kids books, in a movie called The Professional in which she plays a waifish orphan who convinces a professional assassin not only let her move in with him, but to teach her the ropes of you know, assassinating people so she can go on a murderous rampage against the people who killed her parents. Also she's like twelve. It is widely considered one of the greatest child actor performances of all time.

This is also a movie that completely disregards all gun safety
tips you ever thought were remotely important. Also all social
rules regarding older men and little girls.

In Black Swan, Portman portrays a young and talented (and dangerously unbalanced) ballerina who lands the role of a lifetime in "Swan Lake". But a new ballerina's(Mila Kunis) competition starts to push the already-possibly-insane girl off the edge. Her pursuit of the Black Swan may cause the dancer to lose her mind. Losing your mind is a big deal. Like Britney Spears shaved her head, big whoop. Natalie Portman's character is pretty sure she's turning into a bird. And not like Miley Cyrus put on some bird wings and stuck herself in a cage like some under-aged stripper. Like this:

"ACK! I'm a bird! I just pulled a freaking feather from my own skin!"

Portman, who is barely over five feet tall, reportedly lost 20 pounds for the film by eating only carrots and almonds, and worked out to the point that she was swimming a mile a day and rigorously practicing ballet for five hours a day. Please, spend months eating almonds and see how you feel about working out every day for five hours on your tippy toes. Portman's getting in character freaked the director out when he noticed her spine and ribs sticking out, and he insisted she eat more because that's just gross. Also she could collapse from exhaustion and it was dangerous to her health. According to Portman she's now eating healthily.

Look. This is a movie that the actors and the director have put an incredible amount of work into. I mean, the star actress starved themselves so you could see a good movie, so go see it dagnabbit! Director Darren Aronofsky's other notable work includes a couple of little films called Requiem for a Dream and The Wrestler, you might have heard of them before. So. Great star, plus an amazing director, plus a touch of psychosis, says to me: Great film.


Black Swan has been stacking up rave reviews to keep in a giant swimming pool which will be shipped off to Oscar voters come awards time to prove how awesome it is. Portman is considered to have guaranteed herself a spot on the Best Actress list at the Academy Awards with this performance. Says one blogger, "While the screenplay employs numerous twists to help bring about her state of mental anguish, her change from a timid young girl to psychotic, crazy bitch is nothing short of Oscar worthy." Now doesn't that just say it all?


Of course, you might be asking yourself why you'd want to see Natalie Portman as a half-starved, three-fourths-crazy psycho, but that's why this is my list, not yours.



Director: Darren Aronofsky
Rated: Rated R for strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and some drug use.
See the IMDb page here