Mike Goes To Movies

TIFF: Lucy in the Sky (2019) As some of you may have seen, Lucy in the Sky was one of my most anticipated films at TIFF. This was because of the helm of the film, director, Noah Hawley, the visionary creator behind the phenomenal tv series, Fargo and Legion. For those of you who have seen these shows (and I implore that if you have not, then to do so), you know that Hawley has an aptitude for quirkiness, bending narrative and atmosphere. His style is like if David Lynch and the Coen brothers melded together in the Fly's telepod and then was given a large budget to craft a story. Fargo was a strong example for Hawley's sharp writing and then Legion built upon this, simultaneously encouraging him to break all of the steadfast rules of writing. And so, it was no surprise (at least to me) that I was very, very excited for his feature directorial debut with Lucy in the Sky. The film is loosely based upon the tabloid story that circulated just over a decade ago of the drama tha...

Black Swan (2010) This is a film that I remember liking very much when I saw it in the theatre almost a decade ago, however, for whatever reason I don't actually think I've seen it since then. As time passes with films like this, you start to question whether the memory you have of the film is actually accurate, which leads you to finally dust off the DVD case and gave the film a long over-due watch. After watching Black Swan last night, I can now confidently say that this is a remarkable film. I loved pretty much everything about it - the dark atmosphere juxtaposed with the beauty and serenity of ballet, the twisted and gruesome decay of Nina's mental-state, the cinematography of the ballet sequences, and, of course, the absolutely stellar performance by Natalie Portman. Portman, in particular, really blew me away. I originally saw the film prior to her winning the Oscar and so it was always in my mind that she was very good but now being able to go back to the perfor...