Tag Archives: Black Swan

10 of the Best Movie Moments from 2011

  By Sue Murphy | December 26, 2011 - 10:00 am | Movies & TV
1 Comment

Sure, there has been a lot of absolute rubbish from this year, but 2011 still churned out some really great films. Recently, I added up all the films I have seen this year which came to about 150. Rather than name the Top 10, I thought it might be nice to look at those moments that really defined the year, the ones that made us laugh, tear up, sit in shock, retreat in fright or just appreciate a damn fine moment. 1. Caesar says NOOOOOOOOO – Rise of the Planet of the Apes The real surprise hit of the summer and deservedly so, the Apes rose and had our full support. With a heightened intelligence and living life like a human, Caesar is imprisoned following an attack on a neighbour while protecting his guardian. During his incarceration, he begins his rebellion with this defining moment, a nod to the old … There’s more →

Pretentious? Moi?

  By Lisa McInerney | February 22, 2011 - 2:44 pm | Movies & TV, The Culch
7 Comments

There was great rejoicing in my house recently when, on a few days off from work, I decreed that we would watch lots of movies. Possibly Himself thought that this would be his great opportunity to catch up on the latest big-name blockbusters; I didn’t think to ask. Then again, neither did he. Perhaps he didn’t qualify my definition of “movie” because he already knows what an off-centre thinker I am when it comes to visual entertainment. Either or, our recent popcorn session was spent over Black Swan, Winter’s Bone, and the like, films you need a coffee and a pompous chat after. Oh, and Afterschool. I’d been desperate to watch Afterschool for quite some time. We had a very loud sort of pompous chat after, because Himself took an immediate dislike to it. He found it disjointed, overblown, too stylised, and ultimately unfulfilling. Pretentious, I think was a term … There’s more →

Review : Black Swan

  By Andy Gaffney | January 27, 2011 - 9:28 am | Movies & TV, The Culch
5 Comments

Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan in many ways should be an ad man’s dream. It has big beautiful dance scenes for girls who enjoy pretty things like unicorns, and it has a very well-publicised sex scene between two of the sexiest actresses on the planet for men who have eyes, the perverts. However it is also a seriously dark and downright odd film all about ballet, which probably makes your average Don Draper’s job a little bit harder. The film revolves around Natalie Portman’s Nina whose dedication and perfectionist approach to ballet pays off when she is offered the lead role in her company’s production of ‘Swan Lake’ by handsome apparent-genius director Thomas Leroy, played in the film by a seedy smug prick doing a Vincent Cassel impression. However Nina’s mental state, already shaky from battling incredible self-doubt and a controlling mother, is pushed into batshit crazy territory when sultry dancer … There’s more →