BLACK SWAN: A MOVIE REVIEW

With “Black Swan”, director Darren Aronofsky takes you to the edge and pushes you beyond. Emotionally, visually, and intellectually. It is a visceral experience, set to an intoxicating score and cinematography.

Natalie Portman captures Nina perfectly. She is a fragile, repressed, tight wound dancer who gives everything to the art form of ballet, but very little to her own life. When the former prima ballerina, Beth (Winona Ryder), is forced into “graceful” retirement, Nina becomes her replacement in Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake”. Her technical mastery of ballet is undeniable and according to the show’s director (Vincent Cassel), she is a natural fit for the role of the White Swan. But the Swan Queen has a dual side. The Black Swan is seductive, powerful, sensual, sexual…dangerous, even. Is this a side that Nina can unleash in herself?

Nina wants so badly to let go of her coldness, of her detachment, of the lack of passion in her expression – of her complete represssion. You can feel it boiling somewhere underneath, but Nina is unable (or she afraid?) to let go, to embrace a certain part of her nature: The Black Swan that’s buried within her. It hurts her. And it’s almost as painful to watch as a person trying to breath under water. It is nothing short of psychological torture.

Meanwhile, her alternate (played with great balance, restraint, and a touch of humor by Mila Kunis) is able to tap into that passionate intensity with great ease. What she lacks in technical form, she makes up in spirit. This also translates into how she is able to connect with other people and experience everyday life. Nina, however, always stands just outside of herself, almost frozen, never fully managing to embrace the moment and live within it. She leads her life with her head instead of her gut, sheltered.

It is true that “Black Swan” is melodramatic, but there is a self-awareness about it within the film. It even seems to laugh at this realization at times. This melodramatic approach gives off this sense of walking on a tightrope, living on the edge between life and death, art and reality, light and darkness. It is a riveting cinematic game. It is beautiful in both its imagery and in its ability to capture life’s painful moments in the way that it does, with such recognition. On some level “Black Swan” is both disturbed and disturbing.

Inherent in “Black Swan” is the concept of sacrifice for art’s sake. Houdini’s infamous feat of surviving in the water torture cell meant that the master magician underwent great physical torture and risked his life each time he performed the act, all for the audience’s entertainment. Ballet is very similar.

Nina’s bent toes, exhaustion, nail marks and mental state – it’s also all very extreme. The dancers sacrifice so much for their art, for the thrill that the audiences get, they even sacrifice their youth. Nina drives herself to perfection – whatever it takes. Ultimately, she is willing to sacrifice body, mind and soul to become the Swan Queen, to play her…perfectly. And she does.

“Black Swan” will leave you haunted.

some guys focus more on how to get a girl. but once they have her, they lose focus on how to keep her.

How to Stop Being a Jealous, Paranoid Girlfriend

The last Entourage episode gave me the creeps. In particular, the break up scene when Eric called his gf (now ex-GF) crazy for asking to look at his emails, viewing his phone call history and listening to his voice mail. The whole scene… from the time the girl accused her BF of infidelity without any solid evidence, to the scene when she said “you’re a liar” when the guy has been nothing but sincere with her.

Why was I creeped out? Because at one point in the past, I was like that. Yep, the green-eyed monster reared its ugly head whenever a boyfriend would so much as look at another girl. I was told I have a scary “angry-stare”, and I know a few girls who might have felt like I wanted to maul them when they so much as touch the tip of my boyfriend’s fingernail.

This post is all about how I moved out from the crazy, jealous, paranoid girl mentality to a somewhat-secure, still-crazy, mature woman.

Is it really all about insecurity?

It’s easy to say a jealous girlfriend has a lot of insecurities inside her skull which contributes to her paranoia, but I think there’s another factor involved… relationship experience.

You’re bound to be the jealous type if your old boyfriend was very jealous. Let’s face it, no one really knows how to make a relationship work on the first try, and we somehow rely on our partner to help us establish a relationship pattern. I mean, you put together an idea of what a ‘perfect relationship’ should be based on what you experienced in the past. Your friends might also have contributed to your notion of how to run relationships. Girls share what they know with their gal pals and they learn the ropes together. It’s like the blind leading the blind until someone actually stumbles on some golden nuggets of relationship advice.

How to Stop Being a Crazy, Paranoid Girlfriend? – Two Suggestions.

1. Give Him a “Grace Period”

It will take a while before the ‘couple’ switch in his brain activates, so it won’t do any good to force him to change instantly. Some men won’t instantly change his lifestyle just because they have a girlfriend.

If you begin your dating life with the thought that your partner SHOULD automatically shut off other women from his life just because he already has a girlfriend, you’re setting yourself up for a heartbreak every time reality tells you this is not the case. He may still go out with his friends to meet women, still flirt with his hot friend and still go to places where single men hang out. If you get jealous every time one or all of these things happen, your first months together will become very rocky and stressful.

2. Value His Privacy

Reading someone else’s mail is a no-no, even if that guy is your boyfriend and you’re only glancing at his mail. Some couples exchange email passwords to show that they trust each other… bad idea. My wake up call came when a guy told me in his usual no-nonsense way that giving guy's heart to me does not mean he no longer has the right to his own privacy.

Even if you don’t mind showing your mail to your boyfriend, don’t ask to see his. To most men (and to most people), getting their mail opened by another person is the psychological equivalent of another person wearing their undies without permission or another person watching them while they do their business inside the toilet.

One last thing…. being paranoid or jealous is STRESSFUL, which won’t do anything for your looks. So, quit.

credits to someone on their thoughts.

127 HOURS: A MOVIE REVIEW

The topic of mortality is something that is so common and yet so taboo for human beings. We busy ourselves with work, with play and basically in living normally that we tend to forget how fragile life truly is. We could even argue that some think that they are invincible as God. But someday, we must face the truth - that this life will end for all of us. It's so sad and so amazing that even though we find ourselves in a hopeless situation, man still pushes forth every single day. Maybe that is one thing that separates us from every other living thing in this world - the ability to push beyond our limits. "127 Hours" promises to be the embodiment of the human spirit to always never give up.

Aron Ralston (James Franco) is on an isolated trip to Bluejohn Canyon in Utah. Aron is so confident about his talent in trekking that he forgets to inform anyone where he is going to. All is well until he finds himself trapped in an isolated canyon when a boulder crushes his arm into the canyon face. The movie details the struggles of Aron as he tries to free himself from the boulder the next five days.

"127 Hours" is an amazing film that realistically and almost perfectly portrays the physical and mental struggles of Aron Ralston. So detailed was the film that it really felt more like a documentary than a film adaptation and at one point even gut-wrenching and cringe-worthy. The center of attraction is of course the guy playing as Aron Ralston, James Franco. Franco was unbelievable in his performance and in our opinion, was able to perfectly convey the tension and desperation that Aron felt when he got trapped. Although the film's realism is it's downside too. Some may find it becoming a bit tedious in the middle parts. Although this is the case, "127 Hours" was actually well-presented. It managed to make the film interesting even though we knew what the outcome was. "127 Hours" inspires and is a beast of its own.

How one can survive the harshest of conditions and lived to tell the tale. As I can see it, human instincts came into play and the will to survive conquered it all.

From the book "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" by Aron Ralston.