[9.50/10] Black Swan (2010)

Black Swan (2010)

Brief review: After the phenomenal "Requiem for a Dream", and the visually-striking "The Fountain", Darren Aronofsky brings us yet another twistedly-genius masterpiece, this time revolving around a professional ballet dancer, Nina, who is dealing with the pressures of playing The Swan Queen in her companies production of Swan Lake. Though melodramatic "Black Swan" has a truly macabre nature, as it grows darker and darker as the story progresses, leading to a shocking and dramatic finale, that will have you thinking long after the credits roll. "Black Swan" is a haunting, surreal and mesmerizing experience that leaves audiences with many questions and debatable discussions, about what is real and what is imaginary. It fascinates with dazzling execution, specific visual style, flawless camera work, and a sharp and intentionally lurid cinematography that creates an additional sense of fear in the viewer. All this accompanied with a thoroughly striking classical music score by Tchaikovsky. With her haunting and beautifully-disturbing portrayal of Nina, a repressed and sexually-confused ballerina obsessed with perfection, Natalie Portman delivers not only the best female performance of 2010, but the performance of her career. She's intense, yet delicate. Determined, yet vulnerable. Innocent, yet lustful. A perfectionist, yet flawed. She's simply sensational! Mila Kunis also gives an outstanding and very complex performance as Nina's rival, Lily, and Vincent Cassel has incredible screen presence as the seductive manipulator and ballet director, Thomas. Winona Ryder is brilliant as the neurotic former ballet star, Beth, but it's Barbara Hershey that delivers the best supporting performance as the quietly frightening mother.

Overall summary: Remarkable in its terrifying brilliance and captivating in its ballet-like gracefulness, "Black Swan" is the most sophisticated and beautifully-schizophrenic horror film of the year, if not the decade.

[9.50/10] Tangled [3D] (2010)

Tangled [3D] (2010)

Walt Disney Animation Studios put a cool and modern twist on Brothers Grimm's popular fairy tale, "Rapunzel", to bring their 50th animated feature - "Tangled" - a lavish, vivid and thoroughly delightful 3D animation, that's not only wildly imaginative and visually-spectacular, but also super-engaging, hugely engrossing and laugh-out-loud hilarious! While the story is in some ways familiar, "Tangled" never fails to entertain and wow the audience with its creativity. It follows Flynn Rider, a rouge who chooses an isolated tower for his latest hideout, having no idea, that the tower is already occupied by a princess, named Rapunzel, who was kidnapped as an infant. Rapunzel, who can use her magical hair to heal, sees the devil-may-care bandit as her escape from the tower and a chance at a life of adventure – one that may reunite her with her long-lost parents and restore her royal heritage. There are not enough superlatives to express how magnificently enjoyable this 3D animated feature is. "Tangled" has everything and even more - it's joyous, exciting, action-packed and consistently entertaining, as its story moves along at a nicely brisk pace, without a single dull moment. It's full of wit, clever jokes and great tongue-in-cheek humor. In fact, "Tangled" is so funny and enjoyable, it will make you laugh every five minutes. Furthermore, "Tangled" is filled with likable and engaging characters. Rapunzel's is sympathetically naive, yet she has a true fighting spirit and great sense of humor. Plus, she's adventurous, funny and as sweet as a lollipop. Oh, and her hair's shiny, sparkly and breathtakingly beautiful! Flynn Ryder is no less interesting or likable, and he's overloaded with charm, energy and joy. However, it's Pascal, the chameleon, and Maximus, the horse, that absolutely steal the show! Pascal has to be the cutest and most adorable animated character ever, while Maximus is so hysterically funny, you can't help but laugh hard every time he's on screen. Mother Gothel is the villain, and she's narcissistic and selfish, yet delightfully evilicious. The voice acting by Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi and all the other actors involved is incredible and completely satisfying. Visuals-wise, this Disney flick is nothing short of mind-blowing, as the animation is slickly-crafted, rich in detail and stunningly colorful. "Tangled" is filled with bright and striking imagery, and its CGI scenery, in particular, is so lush and jaw-droppingly gorgeous, you won't believe your eyes. The 'flying lanterns' sequence deserves a special mention, as it's very impressive and truly eye-candy. "Tangled"'s brilliant and flawlessly-executed 3D effects make for an even more atmospheric and magical experience. Also, the songs are meaningful, emotional, moving and beautifully-performed, bringing back memories of Disney classics like "The Little Mermaid" and "Aladdin". Filled with smart and witty dialogues, hilarious characters, eye-popping visuals and stunning 3D effects, "Tangled" is, arguably, the best non-Pixar Disney film, since their 1991 masterpiece, "Beauty and the Beast", and, hands down, the funniest animated flick I've seen in my life. Absolutely glorious!

• My Rating: 9.50/10
• Rotten Tomatoes: 88% (7.6/10)
• IMDb: 8.3/10