Darren Aronofsky

The Whale

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Whale
  • IMDb: link

Not many films from 2022 brought me to tears, but director Darren Aronofsky‘s managed it with the payoff to his emotional tale of an isolated Internet professor (Brendan Fraser) suffering from guilt, loss, and an obesity that has grown to life-threatening levels. With its small cast and singular locale of nearly every scene taking place within Charlie’s apartment, designed and organized to fit his needs, we feel his isolation in every moment of Aronofsky’s chamber drama.

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Noah

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Noah
  • IMDB: link

NoahObsessed with the story of Noah since he was 13 years-old, writer/director Darren Aronofsky finally sees his vision of a quasi-fantasy/religious take on the biblical tale of the Genesis flood crash into the big screen today like a tidal wave. Sadly, as the characters of Aronofsky’s films usually learn, obsession leads to trouble.

Noah is certainly a labor of love and quite a bit of talent went into the creation of Noah, the ark, and the flood which washed away the sin of man from the face of the Earth. Equally certain, despite the skill on display both in front and behind the camera, is the fact that Noah is a mess on the level of Waterworld. Its grand expectations and epic scale simply can’t find a way to balance its stark character study of a man fighting to do the will of his God against the film’s more fantastical and sci-fi elements which include fallen angels in the form of giant rock creatures, the existence and use of magic, and never-ending storyline that keeps going long after it’s jumped the rails and taken a nosedive into the watery abyss which consumes so many (nameless) characters.

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The Best Movies of 2010

/ / Top Tens & Lists

This wasn’t a year to wow you. 2010 may have been somewhat of an off year for movies, but there are several quality films that hit theaters this year which are worth noting. A couple things struck me as I was putting together this list. First, how actresses stepped up huge this year. Whether in lead or supporting roles, it was a year dominated by the performances of the fairer sex. And second, 2010 was a year of raw emotion, almost visceral, brought to screen. You might argue that one or two of my choices didn’t have elaborate plots, but each delivered on an emotional level.

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Black Swan

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Black Swan
  • IMDB: link

Darren Aronofsky is a weird dude. Talented, but weird. The latest from the director who has given us The Fountain, Pi, and Reqiuem for a Dream is a journey into madness. Black Swan, his companion piece to The Wrestler, examines the the insular world of ballet through the tormented mind of a rising star.

Nina (Natalie Portman), a sheltered but talented ballet dancer, is on the cusp of stardom after being chosen by a demanding director (Vincent Cassel) for the lead role in his new interpretation of Swan Lake. The pressure of the role added to the smothering affection of an over-attentive mother (Barbara Hershey), and the arrival of a talented new dancer (Mila Kunis) begin to fracture Nina’s world as she starts to have experiences that cannot be rationally explained. These include, but are not limited to, hallucinations of strange bird-like creatures, seeing herself on the street, a growing paranoia, and an odd rash on her back as well as fingers which bleed without cause. No one else notices what is happening to her.

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The Wrestler

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The Wrestler
  • IMDB: link

Considering the subject matter of his previous films, Darren Aronofsky could be accused of being a little obsessive/addicted himself, as his latest film takes an unflinching look at a self-proclaimed ‘broken down piece of meat’ wrestler who finds it impossible to give up life in the ring even as he comes to terms with the notion that his best days are indeed well behind him.  Mickey Rourke inhabits the body of Randy ‘The Ram’ like no other role in his career, making The Wrestler not only one of the best films of the year, but elevating Rourke beyond the lost-years of the last few decades to the potential film icon he once was.

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