The Coen Brothers do it again.

Based on a novel from Charles Portis, True Grit tells a story of a U.S. Marshal who is called on a mission by a stubborn and witty little girl. She needs to find her father's murderer and get revenge. The story first became a film in 1969, in which John Wayne performed as the Marshal. I cannot say much about the original screening, because I haven't seen it yet, but it easily got into my Netflix queue when I heard people that really do understand about good movies told me it is an amazing piece. Not forgetting to mention, of course, the presence of the glorious Wayne, who, after so many great Westerns (the best ones I have seen), became an idol in my life.
Despite the fact that the story is a very simple Western fabula, what does go beyond delight is the type of language used. When listening to how each character got their points their very own way, my heart fell for Portis and it definitely made me want to read the book. I do have two items in different queues to take care of now. True Grit, 1969 and True Grit, the book.
Talking about adding movies to my queue, I've got two words for you: Jeff Bridges. For the last few months, I have been watching many of the movies he was in, and I have been completely blown away by each of his performances. It is hard to understand that a man can change so much from one character to another. That's called acting. He is one of the few that can do that with concrete success today. I have to start watching more and more of his movies, because he is slowly becoming one of my favorite actors since humanity started filming. I guess I do have to give some credit for the amazing character he got too, but I am not sure if I would have been in catharsis by the end of the movie if Bridges was not cast to play the part. Jeff continues to be "The Dude", if you know what I am talking about.
Not drifting too far from the same shore(the "acting" subject), I would like to admit that yes, I felt something very good for Matt Damon the first time in my life. I would never imagine Damon being as good as he was in the new Coen film. In fact, before the movie started, I had even forgotten he was cast in it, even though I saw him in the trailer. I was not stoked about watching his work, because that is not the feeling I had from him, ever. I always found him a mediocre actor. After watching the movie, the thought I had was that I would definitely remember him in the next movie trailer he'd be in. In fact, I will be ready to watch it. At least I hope I will. He was subtle, his voice changed, his eyes were different, he interpreted the character in a very interesting way. Simple and honest.
Not forgetting the 14 year old Hailee Steinfeld, who played my favorite character in the movie. I am always glad to watch young talented people on the screen and she was just fantastic. Very well articulated, eyes full of life, a great personality and a very mature and professional posture. Criticism: none. A round of applause to the young Hailee. I only hope she continues in the good side of the coin and keeps acting for high quality films.
True Grit can be considered a very slow movie. The tempo and the flow reminded me of "The Road to Perdition", which is definitely a calmer film, with pauses and many artistic shots. I find films that are free of extreme excitement and passion very charming, because it is a different view of a piece that could become cliché and boring, but truth is, it has to be very well done and maintained, because otherwise, it can go in a complicated direction. The Coen Brothers had the perfect amount of excitement and upbeat throughout the movie, making it not only cinematographically beautiful, but also a down and low Western from our times. Great direction, great photography, great acting. It is very clear that the Coens did it again.

Darren Aronofsky covered in Black.

If there is such thing as a heaven, Darren Aronofsky just guaranteed his place with a big white mansion and a Rolls Royce in the garage. Reasons don't lack, but I can say he has blown many people's minds with many of his movies. Detail: he was born in 1969, incredible. For those who haven't watched an Aronofsky movie this winter, take my advice and start from the beginning of his career, arising in Pi(which I am ashamed to say I haven't seen), then sweeping Requiem for a Dream off the list(a very big chunky must), then understand how he can be mischievous with The Fountain, although the acting is better than the directing, considering Hugh Jackman's best performance, in my very own opinion, and of course, the glorious as always, Rachel Weisz. To finish off well, watch The Wrestler, to pump up the blood in your veins and brain and when you're all done with all of these amazing pieces, do please drop by a movie house to watch his devious new masterpiece, Black Swan, which is the movie that made me want to talk about Aronofsky in this post, in first place.

As well as The Fountain, Black Swan can be considered a movie for actors. The casting, by Mary Vernieu, was almost impeccable, mainly because of our chosen swan queen. It is hard to find words that would describe an actress like Natalie Portman. I have always believed that every ten years, a muse is born in the world of film. The 2000's are Natalie's, without a shadow of doubt. Not only for her committed and flawless performance in Aronofsky's view of the play Swan Lake, but also in her past career. Natalie can be portrayed as something close to perfection these days. She speaks fluent English, Hebrew and knows a decent amount of German and French. She was born in Jerusalem, which makes her very interesting, in my opinion. She studied psychology in Harvard, graduated with honors and mocks about it, saying she would smoke pot everyday. She started ballet when she was four years old and she moves gracefully. Her voice is very suave and she looks stunning even with her head shaved. Besides all of that (as if it wouldn't be enough), she has been in great movies, which I can only remind you of, dear readers. Here they are: The Professional, Cold Mountain, Garden State, Closer, V for Vendetta, Paris, Je T'aime, The Darjeeling Limited, New York, I love you(where she also directs), The Other Boleyn Girl, Brothers and many other great films(not counting the ones that are being released this year or many others that I have watched and liked). Natalie is intelligence, talent and beauty all mixed together in a woman. In Black Swan, she brings it all up with a fine and elegant performance that I haven't seen from any other actress this past decade. Not even Marion Cottilard, who has earned many well deserved awards for Olivier Dahan's La vie en Rose has reached the high top where Natalie is in accord to the critics, the public and the artists.

Now that I have tried to put my deep appreciation for Portman's work (and it is indeed appreciation, because when an actress sees a performance like hers, it just brings inspiration and certainty about how our art can be so gorgeous) in this post, I can start talking about the movie itself, despite the fact that the movie would not be as stunning if Natalie was not in it. Proof of that is Mila Kunis. I am a big fan of her work in That 70's Show. In fact, it is the only television show that I actually take time to watch. Mila plays Jackie, this annoying little prick who is always talking about money and futile things. She does a great job at that and looks gorgeous in every movie I have seen her in. In Black Swan, I thought, I really thought I would see her grown up and different from the annoying little prick she always plays. Since the movie is considered a dark and at the same time, delicate piece, I expected a little more professionalism. Black Swan is a psychological thriller that transcends any foolish figures of speech or image. It is a movie of pauses, of deep topics. Mila's character, Lily, portrays competitiveness. To me, her part was washed off by Natalie's performance. Mila was not terrible, but she did not change a bit from any of her other characters I have seen and it did not go well with what the movie was trying to achieve. That for me, is hard to watch. Now, talking about acting, Winona Ryder comes back to the big screen with a very small but wonderfully played part. She is deeply committed and very powerful in her own way, which I always liked about Ryder. She has her own style, and it works very well, mainly for Black Swan. I can't say much more about the acting in this masterpiece, the big parts were just genius.

Turning your heads back and admiring the backstage work, I would also like to point how the whole crew of sound, lightning, set design, screenplay, production and art direction did a splendid job. As well as for the special effects, dance preparation, make up and costume design. All very pleasing and fresh. As for the direction, I only pray to the heavens that Aronofsky will continue his path into the great world of amazing filmmaking so we can keep watching his wonderful work and be inspired by it every single time. I bow down to Black Swan. The amazing story, the perfect acting, the superb directing and all of it I haven't pointed out. I haven't watched such a good movie made in our days in a long time. I wonder now if it will be possible to count in two hands the awards this wonder is going to win. I can't wait to watch it again.

Prologue.

The year of 2010 is almost over. Christmas lights fill up the city of San Francisco and give the beautiful Californians a lack of tan but a deep and invigorating surplus of elegance. It has been three years now that I have learnt how to deal with the winter in this gorgeous, white city. It has been three years that I have given myself throughly not only to the American culture, but also to all the cultures that surround and influence the Americans in general. Throughout my life, I've realized I need to leave a mark in each place I end up having a certain intimacy with. San Francisco is different. This city has left its mark on me. I have intentions of leaving, yes, after all, I had always felt the urge to learn new cultures, but I will always come back. This city is my mother. It embraced me in so many ways and it's got everything I need. With that in mind, I started to blog. I have moved on from many things the last few years and time is going by quickly. My mind has become more aware and active. The film acting/writing/directing classes from my school started a year ago and not only I had started a networking experience with people that work with film, but I also learned something new about the film industry everyday. From my past, I have experienced a lot of theatre work, but it was the first time that I, a little girl watching good movies since I was eight years old, had finally entered the world of screenplays and green walls. For that, I studied and studied until I could analyze perfectly well Allen's work from the beginning of his career to the latest movies or how Lynch can make certain scenes seem so peaceful and rage-full with only a direct disconnection from the lenses and the camera.
My love for the movies had become more concrete, real and even demanding now and then. So demanding, in fact, that even knowing that I will always have this passion, I needed to go back to my roots, theatre. Now I am indeed returning to the hands of the theatre gods. I will be in the green room, the make up set, under the colorful lights, feeling my feet touching the wooden floor, heart racing, vomiting lines, shooting people looks and expressions. With much of that feeling I can't really explain inside of my chest, through my pores, entering my lungs and grounded on stage, I'll be doing what I love. While I'll dedicate myself entirely to this new experience with the Thrillpeddlers(check us out on http://thrillpeddlers.com/), I can't leave my other passion to rest completely, so I decided to write about the movies I'll be watching these next few months. I have done that before, but this is my first time writing in English, so I hope you all have a great time with my horrible grammar and my sometimes poor vocabulary. We'll see how things turn out to be. Many times, I have been frustrated about writing in English, so I do not promise I will always be correct. As I said before, I have been here for three years and I only wish my English would be perfect by now, but it isn't. At least not in my view, because I am a serious thread to people that speak my language(portuguese) incorrectly. In a way, I am paying for that, but I still need to improve my ability to learn the English language. Until then, I will write. So here it is, the great and glorious blog that will indeed help me not only to satisfy my urge to analyze movies and keep in touch with film work, but also help me achieve a wider vocabulary and truthful grammar(hopefully) in a language that takes my breath away. So hold on tight, my dears readers, it might be a bumpy little ride, but trust me, it will be worthy it. Ops! Worth it!