A scene from Black Swan. Courtesy 20th Century Fox Home Video.
Black Swan – With each new film, Darren Aronofsky proves over and over again how brilliant a director he is and his work on Black Swan affirms it. In short, the film is about a ballerina (played by Natalie Portman) and her struggle to become the best. To say more would ruin it but if you’ve seen Aronosky’s previous films Pi (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), and The Wrestler (2008), it’s as if he mashed them all together to create this dark and beautiful surreal experience. Oscar buzz is floating for Portman and here’s hoping Aronosky is honoured with a nomination as well. **** out of 5 stars.
Sell Out! – In my intro paragraph to my Q&A with Sell Out! director Joon Han, I said: “Sell Out! is an awesome Malaysian musical-comedy from the brilliant mind of filmmaker Yeo Joon Han. Besides being downright hilarious at times, the film features some great performances from stars Jerrica Lai and Peter Davis, as well as wonderful set pieces and musical numbers. Words don’t do Sell Out! justice though as it’s a movie that needs to be seen to be truly adored.” Yup, that about sums it up. Now go see it! **** out of 5 stars. Opening in Toronto at The Royal.
Also opening this week is the documentary Kings of Pastry (Toronto), which follows the top pastry chefs in France as they compete in the Meilleur Ouvrier de France competition.
