Black Swan

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 108 minutes

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Natalie Portman stars in this artistic portrayal of a female ballerina in America. Do not be fooled, it isn’t the warm hearted fairytale you may think it is. Among the dancing and production of Swan Lake, characters evolve around drugs, violence, and sex. An obscenely dark plot with a creative and artistic beauty to add to it’s magic. Natalie Portman gelled to the role perfectly, well deserving the Academy Award. This is the first truly new movie plot line in quite a while. Well worth a watch, and deserves nothing but praise.

Rating: *****

83rd Academy Award Results :-)

It truly was a night to remember!! Congratulations to all the worthy winners - especially the exceptionally talented Colin Firth!!!


Best Film - The Kings Speech
Best Direction - Tom Hooper for 'The Kings Speech'
Best Lead Actor - Colin Firth for 'The Kings Speech'
Best Lead Actress - Natalie Portman for 'Black Swan'

Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner - Christian Bale for 'The Fighter'
Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner - Melissa Leo for 'The Fighter'
Animated Feature
Winner - Toy Story 3
Art Direction
Winner - Alice in Wonderland
Cinematography
Winner - Inception
Costume Design -
Winner - Colleen Atwood for Alice in Wonderland
Documentary (Feature)
Winner - Inside Job
Documentary (Short Subject)
Winner - Strangers No More
Film Editing
Winner - Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter for 'The Social Network'
Foreign Language Film
Winner - In a Better World from Denmark
Makeup
Winner - Rick Baker and Dave Elsey for 'The Wolfman'
Music (Original Score)
Winner - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for 'The Social Network'
Music (Original Song)
Winner - 'We Belong Together' from 'Toy Story 3' by Randy Newman
Short Film (Animated)
Winner - Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann for 'The Lost Thing'
Short Film (Live Action)
Winner - God of Love
Sound Editing
Winner - Richard King for 'Inception'
Sound Mixing
Winner - Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick for 'Inception'
Visual Effects
Winner - Inception
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Winner - 'The Social Network' adapted by Aaron Sorkin
Writing (Original Screenplay)
Winner - 'The King's Speech' written by David Seidler

BAFTA Results 2011 :-)

Sunday night was truly a night to remember. Apart from being one of the only times I haven’t found Jonathan Ross irritating, there was plenty of acting talent and some well deserved awards. Leading up to the Oscars build up, will the BAFTA’s be an outline for the winner’s of the Academy Awards?!

Academy Fellowship - the very talented, humble Sir Christopher Lee

Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema - The Harry Potter Films

Best Film - The King’s Speech

Outstanding British Film - The King’s Speech

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer - Four Lions, Written and Directed by Chris Morris

Director - David Fincher for The Social Network

Original Screenplay - David Seidler for The King’s Speech

Adapted Screenplay - Aaron Sorkin for The Social Network

Film Not in the English Language - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Animated Film - Toy Story 3

Leading Actor - Colin Firth for The King’s Speech

Leading Actress - Natalie Portman for Black Swan

Supporting Actor - Geoffrey Rush for The King’s Speech

Supporting Actress - Helena Bonham Carter for The King’s Speech

Original Music - The King’s Speech

Cinematography - True Grit

Editing - The Social Network

Production Design - Inception

Costume Design - Alice in Wonderland

Sound - Inception

Special Visual Effects - Inception

Make Up & Hair - Alice in Wonderland

Short Animation - The Eagleman Stag

Short Film - Until the River Runs Red

Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award - Tom Hardy

The King’s Speech pretty much wiped the floor with all the other films. With a total of 7 wins, including Colin Firth for Best Leading Actor (well done, Colin!), The King’s Speech is set to win big at the Oscars. The main challengers appear to be The Social Network, Inception and Alice in Wonderland, although for all us film buffs, we could have guessed that anyway. Congratulations to all the winners, and condolences to the runner’s up.

Brothers

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 105 minutes

Director: Jim Sheridan

Tobey Maguire stars as Sam Cahill, an army Captain taken captive from the front line in Afghanistan. While he is presumed dead, his wife (Natalie Portman) and daughters grow closer to his good-for-nothing brother, played by Jake Gyllenhaal. A mix of gore, comedy, action and romance, this film was an average watch. The movie seemed very slow-moving, and although the plot was unique and endearing, wasn’t quite pulled off to the best of it’s ability.

Rating: ***