An interesting combination.

This weekend I stepped into the 21st century and purchases myself an IPhone. In the past, I usually purchases the $99 with the $100 mail-in rebate. The phones that typically had a lifespan of 6 months and whose coolest feature is the ability to send and receive text messages. I learned that I was due for an upgrade with Verizon - about damn time, it only took two years of loyalty to often times less than stellar service - and perused my options. There was not much difference between the Droid phones and the IPhone but my Verizon customer representative, the attractive Derek, made a convincing argument that I would be ultimately happier with the IPhone. I was leery at first. In the past, I have been known to rant and rave about IPhones and the annoying people who decided to buy them, I even blogged about my annoyance in the past. However, I realized that my prejudice was narrow-minded, especially when I was holding my beautifully new IPhone in hand, then my perspective shifted ever so slightly. I asked my roommate the other day if it is wrong to be in love with an inanimate object, to find such joy in an IPhone. He unabashedly told me "yes" - he is also the roommate that doesn't have a phone because he feels it is a way for the "man" to subvert us through technology, so he probably was the wrong person to ask.  

Something else that brought joy to my life this weekend was the premiere of Thor. My fellow gay nerd enthusiast and I decided to go see the film featuring the talents of Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins - I would be lying if I didn't say that the chiseled body of Chris Hemsworth might have served as a huge contributing factor to my wanting to go. Based on Norse Mythology, Thor is the son of Odin - the all father and ruler of Asgard - and is line for the thrown along with his clever and mischievous brother Loki. Thor's rash and selfish with the Ice Giants - the main enemy of our story - forces Odin to banish Thor to the realm of Earth where he must learn to put aside his selfish desires for the good of his people and of mankind. It is there on Earth that he meets Natalie Portman, the energetic yet sometimes annoying scientist, who has magically come into his life to show him the error of his hedonistic tendencies and present him a better way. 

The movie was actually spectacular - not just because Thor truly is the Thunder from Down Under and tended to wear tight leather pants throughout the entirety of the movie. The movie had a believable and authentic storyline, with incredible special effects which served to enhance the overall movie - not simply there to overshadow a lack of plot which tends to happen in other movies. I recommend spending the few extra dollars and seeing the movie in 3D - the graphics in Asgard are stunning.  Make sure you also stay to the end of the credits, for with all Marvel movies, there is a little teaser paving the road for the greatest superhero cinema event of the century; the Avengers movie. Can I just say that I might spontaenously combust the day I go see that movie. Imagine, some of Hollywood's hottest leading men, in ridiculously tight costumes, fighting other men in equally tight-fitting costumes ... I'm just saying

I most recently saw the intrepid psychological thriller "Black Swan" featuring awe-inspiring performances from Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, and Vincent Cassel. The movie follows Nina Sayers, a talented yet socially awkward and sexually repressed ballet dancer, as she attempts to win the role in a theater company's upcoming production of Black Swan. Typically in the past there is a dancer who plays the White Swan - gentle, virginal, and delicate - and another dancer to play the White Swan's evil twin sister the Black Swan, who in contrast is vengeful, manipulative, and seductive. However in this movie the director decides to have one dancer interpret both parts. Nina is a perfect fit for the character of the White Swan but struggles to perfect the demanding role of the Black Swan. What ensues in the next hour and a half is a psychological mind-fuck that forces audiences to question what is perfection and to what lengths would we all go to attain such perfection. The screenwriters and directors cleverly developed the plot as to keep the audiences in the dark, but not confused, until the final moments of the movie when we as the audience have that realization of understanding and scream "OMG NO WAY!"

Most surprising was Mila Kunis' phenominal acting in the movie. The actress, most known for her role on That 70's Show and lending her voice on Family Guy, delivers an outstanding performance in the movie. I am not going to lie, the quasi lesbionic scene between Portman and Kunis even had this drag queen all atwitter.

This movie could not have come at a more appropriate time. I feel in some regard that 2010 was the year that popularized the 3-D IMAX movie going experience. Though a few movies in the past were in 3-D IMAX, it seemed that everything that came out this year was in 3-D. Everything from children's movies - Toy Story 3, How to Train Your Dragon, Legend of the Guardians - to action movies - Clash of the Titans, The Last Airbender, and Resident Evil: Afterlife - all promised the 3-D IMAX experience to patrons. Suddenly facets such as plot, character development, and dialogue were replaced with the 3-D experience, as if the American public would overlook the GOD-AWFULNESS of the movie as long as weapons and monsters popped out at them.

Hopefully the Black Swan will start a new trend in cinema where writers strive to produce thought-provoking films that are both engaging and entertaining. If not, I sure look forward to Clash of the Titans 3: The Epic End available in 4-D IMAX Smell-O-Vision.