The Black Swan

Originally when I heard about the brilliant Natalie Portman in the new film Black Swan I was careful as to which opinions I took into account. I was pleased to find that my judgements remained accurate as the Black Swan was pure genius on Portman's behalf, not only did she do the majority of her own dancing, but the role was not acting it was a character. The intensity of the character was perfectly done; the irritable but gracefulness of Portman's character was incredible.

The Black Swan, directed by Darren Aronofsky is a beautiful depiction of the intensities that come with the elegance of ballet. The Black Swan is a film that takes a new spin on the classic Swan Lake. The part of the black swan is given to Portman's character, Nina Sayers. Nina struggles in identifying the opposite role in the dark and evil black swan, while the graceful white swan seems to be a piece-of-cake.

The film is tangled with sexual desires between Nina's rival dancer Lily, played by Mila Kunis, and the ballet companies director Thomas Leroy, played by Vincent Cassel. With the urge of perfection Nina has a difficult time balancing the pressures of her over-bearing mother, Thomas, and the inner struggles of her developing psychosis. The part of the black swan is both dramatically shown through her grueling ballet rehearsals and the demands of Nina's life. The fight to find her inner white swan and the evil black swan takes a toll on Nina and drives her mad. Through her struggle to find the black swan, Nina also realizes that she must find herself.

The film starts with an innocent ballet dancer, going to sleep in what seems to look like a 12 year-olds bedroom, filled with stuffed animals and childish ballerina jewelry boxes. Nina has a mother who once was a ballet dancer herself, now spends her life worshipping and caring for her daughter, who is probably in her mid-twenties. The story continues with the intensity of Nina's nonstop practices, and the disturbing love interest of Nina and Thomas, and Nina and herself. From her home to the ballet company each place she goes seems like a jail; dark, cold and lonely, the films depiction of a disturbed life is perfection.

The Black swan in not only an interpretation of a ballerina, but it is a story of finding oneself. Black Swan is a dark tale of a disturbed girl, striving for perfection and doing whatever possible to have her much deserved role. The film seems like it is a fight against her rival dancer, but the truth of the story is, it is a fight against herself.

New Year, New Shifra

It has been a while since I added a new post to my blog. It seems that I have put another passion on the back burner, but I am very interested in getting back into the swing of things and add to my blog. Today is the first day of a new year, which always means new, new years' resolutions. I hate new years resolutions, for the sole reason that I always seem to break mine. So this year I have goals, it doesn't matter if some of my goals are not reached but if I at least attempt them I'll be happy. One of my goals is to continue adding to my blog (even if no one is following it). Another goal is to work out at least twice a week (most of my goals are things I know to be do-able, that I don't do). Another goal is to go to all of my classes this coming semester, unless I have a ridiculously good excuse! I really hope I reach some of my goals!

My Love for Hans

If you were to look through my iTunes you would find that my playlists are what I listen to most often, in fact I have listened to one of my playlists over seventy times (remember this is just on my computer, not counting the daily walks with my iPod in my ear, and also note that my computer is very new). So in reality I have probably listened to my favorite playlist four times a week since the soundtrack came out in 2006! What is this playlist you ask. . . the soundtrack to the Holiday by Hans Zimmer.

If you have never seen The Holiday, it is vital for you to see it. Not just because of the cute love story but because of the soundtrack. The soundtrack by Hans Zimmer is incredible. It has some real gumption, literally, one of my favorite tracks is titled Gumption.

The Holiday is a story about two women, Amanda and Iris. Both having troubles with their love lives they decide to switch houses for two weeks. (Amanda is from Los Angeles and Iris is from Surrey, England.) While living in each others homes, Amanda falls in love with Graham, Iris's brother, and Iris falls in love with Miles who is Amanda's friend. With a few twists to the story including a sweet, old next door neighbor and few others that I don't want to spoil, it is truly a great love story. I'm usually not the type of person who watches the sappy, romantic comedies but this one is just so good!

The theme of gumption is used periodically throughout the film and like I stated earlier is used in the amazing soundtrack! The soundtrack is mainly comprised of scores created by Hans Zimmer. The music has a delicate feel that makes you think about everything but gives you such a happy feeling. It is the best music. (I bet the director told Hans Zimmer to think about the word gumption and just go off that). The soundtrack is such a great representation of the film. Music in this film is so important, not only because it adds to the feel of the film, but because the film revolves around music and art. Amanda owns a movie trailer making company, her next door neighbor was a famous screen writer, and Miles is a film composer. If this film had not had such incredible music the movie would not have been as successful. I hope you take my word and listen to this soundtrack, you can thank me later!

Kramer vs. Kramer

As for anyone who knows me my emotions are quite limited, usually I'm laughing or content with the situation, but that's about it. It's rare to see me cry, especially when it is something that I am not personally experiencing. A perfect example is a film. It is unusual for me to cry (hard-core cry) during a film. In fact, I can count on my fingers the films I have cried during: The Land Before Time, My Dog Skip, The Notebook, Click, American Beauty and my newest edition, Kramer vs. Kramer.

Kramer vs. Kramer is such a realistic representation of a torn family. A mother decides to leaver her husband to find herself, but when she leaves she also decides to leave their child, Billy. Ted Kramer, played by Dustin Hoffman, works in advertisement and happens to be very successful, but as a single dad he learns to juggle his time between work and his son. Almost a year after Johanna Kramer had left, played by Meryl Streep, she is back and is asking for custody of her now seven-year-old son. Ted, once a busy businessman, has flipped his world upside down to care for his son. Now in the midst of the custody battle Ted fights till the end for his son. The heart-wrenching performance from both Streep and Hoffman is incredible and so real. Not only did it bring tears to my eyes but their performance made me think about my own personal experiences with family. I would recommend this classic film to anyone! It was unbelievable.

note: Both Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman won an Academy Award for their roles as best leading actress and actor in Kramer vs. Kramer.

Oscars are just around the corner. . .

Three days and counting the Oscars are almost here and I can't wait! I look forward to the Oscars every year and am excited to see the winners for 2010. My goal, though I don't usually reach it, is to watch all of the nominated films. With barely no budget and no time, I was only able to see a few of the bigger ones. Like everyone in the world I saw Avatar and loved it. But as of today I finished watching Inglourious Basterds, which was awesome! I was quite surprised by this movie, going into it I knew the basic idea of the film but as I soon learned I did not know as much as I thought. A film by Quentin Tarantino, I automatically knew there would be a lot of bloodshed. But the beauty of the film were the angled shots, the brilliant colors and most importantly the language used. I was in awe of how Tarantino used these to create a movie that gave a message but also gave off a gorgeous image. To decide whether Avatar or Inglourious Basterds will win the best picture academy award is one tough call. But both are very worthy of the award. I am so indecisive about who the winner should be that I will accept either one of the two as the winner of the biggest award Sunday night.

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Bathing suits for girls with curves!

My friend and I are embarking on an exciting experience! We are going to Israel this May/June on a birthright trip. It is going to be hot, hot, hot when we go and there will be plenty of opportunities to swim in the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea! BUT, in order to swim I need to get a bathing suit! I have been looking for quite some time, and have found the perfect bathing suit. This bathing suit by JCrew is so great for girls with curves (or without) and for a bigger bust. I love it in black, but unfortunately they are sold out. Put this charcoal grey/slate is just as good. The rouched design is perfect, and the length is even better! The style resembles a 1950's look which gives this bathing suit such a classic feel. Not only will I look great in Israel but I can use it all summer long :-)