Hey, I Saw A Movie

• Despite having a krillion movie channels and a Netflix account, we rented Black Swan via pay-per-view last night. (Why doesn't that technology kill all the rest?)  I used to watch a couple of new movies per week, but those days are gone.
• Verdict: Huge thumbs up. I've always believed you don't know how much you like a movie until about a week after watching it. I don't need a week on this one.
• I expected it to be pretty high tone, but it can almost be described as a smart and modern day Carrie.
• Women will eat this film up. 
• There's no question you'll spend a lot of time asking "What the heck is going on?" but, oddly, not in a frustrating kind of way. But you'll have no idea what is real and what is not.
• I love. love, love Natalie Portman (from Beautiful Girls to The Professional to the fantastic Closer.) Have for years. And she's not even 30 yet.
• As for her character, I wanted to yell at the scream, "Don't you have just one friend who you can call and say 'Man, there are some freaky things going on!""
• My biggest criticism of the movie is that it continuously invokes the #1 horror cliche (look in the mirror and see something shocking in the background, take a step backward and turn around to be confronted with someone suddenly standing there, etc.) I hate that. You end up watching a movie in a tense manner - not because it's brilliantly written - but because you know the director is screwing with you. 
• With all the rehearsal and dressing room scenes, a sexually harassing director, and a naive star, I was laughing at myself for thinking of Elizabeth Berkley's Showgirls so often.
• And then I read a review that said, "Showgirls meets Fight Club on crazy pills." Spot on.