Venice Review Round-Up: "Black Swan"

Now that it's festival season again, it's time to bring back the review round-ups, where we take a look at what the critics have to say about the latest anticipated films. The 67th Venice Film Festival kicked off with Darren Aronofsky's highly anticipated ballet thriller Black Swan, and now it's time to see what everyone thought. Check back though, as this post will be updated throughout the day in the event that a flood of reviews pour out that contradict my initial "critics consensus":

The film gets off to a good start from Variety's Peter Debruge, who calls the film, "A wicked, sexy, and ultimately devastating study of a young dancer's all-consuming ambition," and goes on to say that star Natalie Portman gives a "courageous turn [that] lays bare the myriad insecurities genuinely dedicated performers face when testing their limits." He finishes the review by comparing the psychological disintegration elements of the story to Rosemary's Baby and Repulsion, which is pretty high praise. The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt has a different take. He says that the film is "an instant guilty pleasure, a gorgeously shot, visually complex film whose badness is what's so good about it." He goes on to say that "Aronofsky...never succeeds in wedding genre elements to the world of ballet" and that "the horror-movie nonsense drags everything down the rabbit hole of preposterousness."

Natalie is unhappy with Mr. Honeycutt's review; watch out...

Yet the film receives another rave from Screen Daily's Mike Goodridge, who proclaims "Darren Aronofsky soars to new heights with Black Swan, an enthralling drama set in the competitive world of ballet." On a review of a much smaller scale - a tweet - Incontention's Guy Lodge gives the film an "A-" and manages to say the following in 140 characters: "How to tweet this? Aronofsky extends The Wrestler's fascination with physically broken performers to the phsychological. Results are florid and fine cut; dances thrillingly on the border of trash before a sharp left turn into modern fairy tale. Having said that, I can imagine a lot of people disagreeing." Finally, Chris Henson of The Examiner says that "Natalie Portman is devastating."

Additional Reviews:

The Telegraph: "Powerful, gripping, and always intriguing, it also features a lead performance from Natalie Portman that elevates her from substantial leading actress to major star likely to be lifting awards in the near future." ****/****

Indie Wire: "With Natalie Portman, in the demanding leading role, equaling her director in unquestioned commitment the central issue for the viewer is how far one is willing to follow the film down the road to oblivion for art's sake"/"Particularly grating is Hershey's insufferable mother character."

Venice Verdict: A striking, well-acted, mesmerizing work about dedication and obsession whose madness and genre-elements may be too much for some.

Tomorrow: Venice turns 67 with help from Natalie and Darren

Tomorrow marks the kick off of the star-studded Venice Film Festival, the most prestigious festival behind Cannes. But unlike Cannes, Venice (and even more so, Toronto) can actually be a good launching point for Oscar hopefuls. A number of major contenders will be premiering in and out of competition, including Julie Taymor's The Tempest and Darren Aronofsky's festival opener Black Swan. 'Swan,' is one that I'm particularly excited for, especially after the incredible first trailer that premiered roughly two weeks ago. This is Aronofsky's record at Venice is 1-1. 2006's The Fountain received many mixed and negative reviews and was even booed by portions of the audience, while 2008's The Wrestler was widely praised and won the top prize, the Golden Lion. By tomorrow afternoon, given the time difference, we'll finally have an answer as to whether Aronofsky racks up another win or loss.

Best and Worst: The Emmys

Last night's Emmy Awards, under the hosting of Jimmy Fallon, actually turned out to be a relatively solid show (it actually came in at exactly 3 hours, which is pretty impressive). However, not everything worked, whether it was in the acting awards or in Fallon's hosting job. Here's a look at the 62nd Emmy Awards' best and worst moments, along with a handful of things that land somewhere in-between.

Best:

The Opening: What started as a Jimmy Fallon-meets-Glee bit quickly expanded to include the likes of Tiny Fey, Jane Lynch, and Jon Hamm (who may have missed his calling in physical/slapstick comedy). After the taped segment ended, the group rushed on stage live to deliver a fast-paced and very funny song and dance rendition of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" (I'll add a video if it ever pops up online).

Ricky Gervais presenting (oh I wish I could find a picture, believe me): After a slightly rambling (and increasingly funny) intro and a fantastic line about Mel Gibson ("he's been through a lot. Not as much as the Jews..."), Gervais then became obsessed with one of the nominees for Directing for a Variety Series named Bucky Gunts. After several jokes, Gervais opened the envelope, only to throw up his arms and exclaim, "And the winner is...BUCKY GUNTS!"

Modern Family takes Best Comedy Series: The other, less talked about, hit freshman show of last year deservedly took home the award for its consistently hilarious first season. Though I hope the cast and crew are prepared to receive hundreds of angry letters about how they "suck and OMG GLEE SHOULA WON!!!"

Mad Men wins for the third consecutive year: I was slightly hoping for a Dexter upset here, but this is more than acceptable. My only fear now is that the show's winning streak will end next year, even though season 4 has thus far been consistently superior to season 3.

Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) and Jane Lynch (Glee) take home the Supporting Actor/Actress - Comedy: The rightfully deserving duo (though as I've said before, both of these categories were stacked with deserving winners) made for a great surprise and an expected triumph respectively, delivering sweet, albeit rushed, thank-you's.

The pre-taped segment about "how to improve Modern Family": Just more proof as to why this is the best (comedic) ensemble on TV. Video to come if it can be found.

Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) wins Supporting Actor - Drama: Against formidable competition (especially the Lost boys), Paul won for what was probably his best work on the show, and seemed genuinely delighted (make that "ecstatic") and in awe of it all.

Dexter's Steve Shill wins for Best Directing (Drama): That the show won an award for its wrenching season finale is fitting, though it can't quite erase the sting of the fact that Michael C. Hall went home empty handed.

George Clooney's humanitarian award: No, he really doesn't need to be exalted any further in Hollywood, but he did give a lovely, grounded speech, so kudos.

Worst:

Everything else in Jimmy Fallon's routine: The constant singing in the audience (which at one point involved a duet with Kim Kardashian...why!?) didn't take long to grow old.

Top Chef wins Best Reality Competition Program: Project Runway is never going to win this award, apparently. And what exactly makes Top Chef so great when you can never truly judge what the contestants have made? At least with something like "Runway" or American Idol you can see/hear the contestant's work, but no matter how well you know food, you'll never be able to taste whatever the TC contestants come up with, which seems pretty weak to me.

The Mad Men girls lose out: I haven't seen The Good Wife, in all fairness, but Moss and Hendricks were both so good last season, and isn't it about time that this show actually took home an Emmy for acting?

Al Pacino's acceptance speech: For all the ups and downs in his career, there's no denying that Pacino is one of the finest living actors. That said, whenever he gives a speech, he becomes a very fast cure for insomnia.

Anna Paquin: I wasn't aware that the matador look was in style this year...

In-Between

Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) wins Best Actor (Drama) for the third consecutive year: I'm torn here, because while his work is certainly strong, I think it's high time that either Jon Hamm (Mad Men) or Michael C. Hall (Dexter), who were both at career highs in their most recent season, took this one home. Maybe that will finally happen next year, considering those rumors that Breaking Bad's 4th season might be coming back too late to be eligible for the 2011 ceremony...

The order of presentation: While keeping the awards (save for best series) clumped together by category (comedy, reality, drama, miniseries/TV movie) kept the show from feeling scattershot, once the comedy awards were over (they were first) the show started to get a little sluggish.

John Hodgman's commentary: Though he would usually throw in something funny/false in about the most recently announced winner, Hodgman was often rushed and inaudible, rendering his quips useless (to be fair though, there were a few great lines in there).

Mad Men wins the wrong award: Congratulations to Matt Weiner and crew for picking up a writing award. It's just a shame that it was for the wrong episode ("Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency..." is one of the series' all-time best).

30 Rock leaves empty-handed: I hope no one had a rage stroke...

The Daily Show wins...again: I'm stunned that of the two men in the audience likely to benefit from sympathy (Michael C. Hall and Conan), that O'Brien didn't take this one. And for that matter, is The Colbert Report ever going to win this? It's not that Jon Stewart's show can't be funny and/or insightful, but he's not exactly miles ahead of his competition; this is one Emmy winning-streak that really needs to end.

The speeches: Amidst the gushy, boring, and sincere acceptance speeches, none of them really sparked with wit, charm, or humor, (and there's usually one a year, if not more).

Chasing Emmy: Predicting the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards

The Globes, Grammys, Oscars, and Tonys were all months ago, and yet now, at the end of August, the Emmys, the odd man out of awards shows, is finally upon us. I agree with those writer who have pegged the 2000s as a new Golden Age of Television, and despite some terrible snubs from the 09-10 TV season, the Emmy voters made some terrific choices this year. Here's hoping tonight's winners measure up. One thing before we get started: it's easy to forget, but even when it comes to series or performances, the shows usually only submit one or two episodes for consideration, which can sometimes affect a nominee's chances (I've heard that Modern Family's producers made a poor choice for Sofia Vergara, submitting an episode where she does practically nothing). I haven't been able to find a list of submitted episodes (yet), so these predictions are based more on my knowledge and feelings towards the shows and performances as a whole, not on an episode-specific basis.

Outstanding Comedy Series:

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Glee

Modern Family

Nurse Jackie

The Office

30 Rock

Will Win: Glee or Modern Family.

Though 30Rock is still the funniest show on TV when it hits its mark, season 4 took longer than usual to find its groove, and people noticed. Expect the comedy champion's (it has won for its first three seasons) reign to finally end. The question is, what will take its place? Modern Family is more consistently funny and balances its ensemble better, but Glee really has been the "it" show of the season.

Should Win: Modern Family.

Right from the pilot episode, it's been funny, consistent, and known how to use every member of its ensemble to perfection. Some shows take a half season or a full season to really find their groove; Modern Family founds its immediately, with brilliant and hilarious results.

Outstanding Drama Series:

Breaking Bad

Dexter

The Good Wife

Lost

Mad Men

True Blood

Will Win: Mad Men.

Unlike 30Rock, Mad Men still has a strong shot at keeping its winning streak going (let's hope it doesn't end next year though; season 4 has been amazing so far).

Should Win: Dexter.

As much as it pains me to say it, I'm not sure if season 3 was the best year for Don Draper and crew (though season 3 did have one of the best episodes in the show's history: "Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency..."); at times it was almost too slow. Season 4 of Showtime's vigilante serial-killer Dexter Morgan, on the other hand, delivered some of the show's strongest moments by far, both in terms of acting (Hall, Carpenter, Lithgow), writing, and story-telling (the Trinity Killer case).

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:

Alec Baldwin - 30Rock

Steve Carell - The Office

Larry David - Curb Your Enthusiasm

Matthew Morrison - Glee

Jim Parsons - The Big Bang Theory

Tony Shalhoub - Monk

Will Win: Tony Shalhoub.

I'm just glad that this show is finally over. I have nothing against Tony Shaloub, but the same cannot be said for Monk or his performance on the show.

Should Win: Alec Baldwin.

Can he win for the fourth year in a row? It's doubtful, but as part of the pair that holds 30Rock together, he's still fantastic on the show.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series:

Kyle Chandler - Friday Night Lights

Bryan Cranston - Breaking Bad

Matthew Fox - Lost

Michael C. Hall - Dexter

Jon Hamm - Mad Men

Hugh Laurie - House

Will Win: Michael C. Hall or Jon Hamm.

Both have yet to win an Emmy for their acclaimed performances, and this could finally be the year one of them takes home a statue. Between the two, I have a feeling the Emmy voters will pick Hall over the more understated Hamm, but that's far from a bad thing; both are excellent performances.

Should Win: Michael C. Hall.

He's made a serial killer likable and fascinating over and over again, without ever once delving into the obnoxiousness that pervades the character in the source novels.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series:

Toni Collette - United States of Tara

Edie Falco - Nurse Jackie

Tina Fey - 30Rock

Julia Louis-Dreyfuss - The New Adventures of Old Christine

Lea Michele - Glee

Amy Poehler - Parks and Recreation

Will Win: Edie Falco.

The show has received pretty solid support, though the one thing that could lessen her chances: Nurse Jackie is more of a drama with some comedy in it, not the other way around...will the voters notice, or will they only use that as a reason to vote for her?

Should Win: Tina Fey or Amy Poehler.

Two very funny women on two very funny shows. Fey in particular had a great, and she seems to blossom (as an actress) a little more with each passing season.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series:

Connie Briton - Friday Night Lights

Glenn Close - Damages

Mariska Hargitay - Law and Order: SVU

January Jones - Mad Men

Julianna Margulies - The Good Wife

Kyra Sedgwick - The Closer

Will Win: Julianna Margulies.

She's practically had this in the bad since the Golden Globes; the show and the role have been a huge comeback for her and people have taken notice.

Should Win: The only one I've seen consistently is Jones, and while she's perfect for Betty Draper, she's extremely limited as an actress (I'm still trying to forget that SNL episode).

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series:

Ty Burrell - Modern Family

Chris Colfer - Glee

Jon Cryer - Two and a Half Men

Jesse Tyler Ferguson - Modern Family

Neil Patrick Harris - How I Met Your Mother

Eric Stonestreet - Modern Family

Will Win: Neil Patrick Harris.

He already has an Emmy this year (for his guest stint on Glee) but Harris has yet to win for HIMYM. The men of Modern Family will likely split votes among themselves, I don't really see Glee winning BOTH of the supporting categories, and Jon Cryer already has an undeserved Emmy from last year.

Should Win: This is a tough one. The MF guys are all great in their roles, but then again, but I'm going to have to go with Burrell for being such a hilarious doofus desperate to be a "cool dad".

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series:

Andre Braugher - Men of a Certain Age

Michael Emerson - Lost

Terry O'Quinn - Lost

Aaron Paul - Breaking Bad

Martin Short - Damages

John Slattery - Mad Men

Will Win: Terry O'Quinn.

Lost's final season isn't leaving empty handed, and this is its strongest bet.

Should Win: Aaron Paul.

At times extremely unlikeable (though the same can be said of everyone on Breaking Bad), season 3 was Paul's best yet as Cranston's partner in crime. Those last few episodes were award-worthy on their own.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series:

Julie Bowen - Modern Family

Jane Krakowski - 30Rock

Jane Lynch - Glee

Holland Taylor - Two and a Half Men

Sofia Vergara - Modern Family

Kristen Wiig - Saturday Night Live

Will Win: Jane Lynch.

The easiest category to pick for tonight's show, Lynch's Sue Sylvester has been a sensation since's Glee's beginning. Throw in a handful of touching scenes involving Sue and her mentally handicapped sister, and the award is all but locked up.

Should Win: Any of them.

No seriously, any of them, with the exception of perhaps Taylor. This is an absolutely incredible line-up and any one of these ladies would be incredibly worthy winners.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series:

Christine Baranski - The Good Wife

Rose Byrne - Damages

Sharon Gless - Burn Notice

Christina Hendricks - Mad Men

Elisabeth Moss - Mad Men

Archie Panjabi - The Good Wife

Will Win: Elisabeth Moss.

She's been nominated before (in lead), and I don't think any of the others have enough buzz or support, whereas Moss was praised from early on.

Should Win: Christina Hendricks.

She's made Joan Holloway something of an icon (and not just for her figure), and taken a role that could have been a complete throwaway and made her an interesting role. While Moss's Peggy somewhat retreated in season 3, Joan stepped up to the plate on more than one occasion, and Hendricks deserves to be rewarded for it.

For the remainder of the nominees, jump on over to IMDb. The show starts at 7 pm (Central Time) on NBC; happy Emmy viewing, everyone!

"The Town" gets off to a good start

For those of you wondering whether Ben Affleck's second stab at directing would either be a disappointment or, worse, prove that Gone Baby Gone was a fluke, TotalFilm's Jamie Graham begs to differ. In his 4 star review, Graham has few negative things to say, to the point where he barely bothers to elaborate on them. He gives particularly strong praise to the cast (without pointing fingers at a weak link), especially Affleck, Renner, Hall, and even Gossip Girl's Blake Lively. The sections of the review that most caught my eye, though, were these:

Gravel-toned, pragmatic, it’s the voice of Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck), the brains of the brawny crew who hit a bank. The commentary won’t appear again until the closing scenes. It doesn’t need to, its job is done: we’re 20 seconds into Affleck’s sophomore directing effort and we already know this is a hardboiled crime drama, a modern-day noir. And while The Town glories in genre tropes it also dumps any overt stylings or clipped, staccato dialogue, instead keeping the action alive and lithe. Keeping it real. The plot is conventional, clichéd even, MacRay trying to find that one last job, get out, “put this whole fuckin’ town in my rear-view mirror.” No one will let him.

Obviously, this is a great first "official" review for the film as both its theatrical and festival premieres approach. Gone Baby Gone received plenty of praise, but only managed a nomination for Amy Ryan, so if this allegedly conventional-yet-really-well-done film takes off, Affleck could have a major Oscar contender on his hands in everything from Picture, Director, and the acting categories, down to sound design. Obviously it's still too early to make hardcore "I'll-bet-my-house-it'll happen" Oscar predictions, but if other critics follow suit, you might want to start bumping The Town up a few notches on your list of contenders.

"Animal Kingdom" - REVIEW

Somewhere in the second half of David Michod's Animal Kingdom, Janine "Grandma Smurf" Cody (Jacki Weaver) tells dirty cop Randall Roche (Justin Rosniak), "You've done some baaaad thing, sweetie. 'Aven't ya?" What we know about Roche isn't all clear: we know he's helped the Cody family in their criminal exploits, but are there other, even more sinister things he's done? Were those actions just done out of malice or was there justification? We don't know, as is the case with most of the film. This trait, while initially frustrating (especially if you've been misled into thinking that this is the sort of crime drama filled with raids and shoot-outs), in the end works in Animal Kingdom's favor, to create a top shelf slice of Australian cinema (all the more impressive that it's a debut).

As is opens, perpetually sullen teen 'J' Cody (James Frecheville) has just witnessed his mother die from a heroine overdose. Unsure of what to do, he calls and is shortly taken in by Grandma Smurf, the family matriarch. She lives with (or at least spends a lot of time with) her four sons: family man Barry (Joel Edgerton), mama's boy Darren (Luke Ford), increasingly unhinged Craig (Sullivan Stapleton), and creepy eldest son Andrew (Ben Mendelsohn). When it seems like this is going to go down the typical cops vs. robbers story arc, Michod throws a curve-ball: the first act of violence that we see comes out of nowhere, calling into question which side is really more corrupt. Michod's use of violence is sparse and lasts but a few seconds, more akin to A Prophet than Inglourious Basterds, and each time it sends a jolt through your system. And, like a Greek or Shakespearean tragedy, its those brief little jolts of violence that move the plot along towards a finale that's bound to end badly.

Throughout it all, Michod and crew guide the film along with steady (occasionally too steady) pacing. This is a slow-burner of a film all the way through, though there are a few moments that let the flame die out completely due to pacing. Some of this, however, is countered by Antony Partos' ambient music, which keeps pace with the editing, and helps maintain your attention. Like the actual animal kingdom that populates our world, sometimes its those all-but-silent moments, those uneventful bits of calm before the flashes of violence, that are the most compelling. Still, Michod's screenplay keeps you on edge, never divulging more than it has to (and sometimes less than that) in order to keep the story together without playing all of its cards too soon.

The other big highlight (with one exception) is the cast, who have their parts nailed. Mendelsohn is perfectly, unnervingly eerie as the strange ring-leader Andy, and Guy Pearce as Det. Leckie provides a solid turn as a good man working for a police force tainted by corruption (for god's sake, will someone give this man some more lead roles soon?). But in what is otherwise a boy's game, the winner is Weaver's Janine. With a Brenda Blethyn-esque voice, Weaver effortlessly navigates between her character's ambiguities towards her sons and her grandson. The result is a bizarre, unsettling, almost kitten-ish form of concealed malice that really comes through in the film's superior second half. The only weak link is Frecheville. While the character is supposed to be something of a fish out of water, Frecheville comes dangerously close to being a black hole for the film, instead of a compelling center. In some ways it works in the plot's favor, but I can't help but think that someone with more expressive features could have turned scene after scene of downcast, blank staring into a more effective performance.

But by the time Animal Kingdom burns through to its conclusion, even Frecheville's performance seems like a minor complaint. This is skilled film making that (thankfully) manages to avoid taking sides. Both cops and robbers have their singular "good guys" (Leckie and J, respectively), but everyone else is left up to the audience. The Codys are criminals, yes, but how can we know for sure that the cops and justice system aren't just as corrupt? Sometimes, when films leave you talking, it's actually not a good thing; you unearth things that either didn't make sense or didn't satisfy emotionally or narratively. Animal Kingdom, thankfully, is quite the opposite. Discussion simply reveals seemingly out-of-the-blue events to have a genuine purpose, all in the context of a story that never goes exactly where you think it's going to.

Grade: B+/A-

Trailer for Danny Boyle's "127 Hours"

Why hello there, all but assured Best Cinematography nomination.