A Bunch of Random Thoughts

* The girl-on-girl scene between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis is only one of a few good reasons to see the new Darren Aronofsky-directed psychological mind-hump Black Swan, currently in limited release theaters but soon to expand to more screens. Overall, it's quite engrossing, mostly because of the intentionally low-budget look and feel of the film, the hand-held camera shots, the dark, grainy textures and mood scapes. Portman plays an immensely talented and technically proficient but somewhat wooden, unemotional ballet dancer, and she is selected amongst many also-talented competitors to play the role of the Swan Queen in her Lincoln Center (NYC) troupe's redux of the Tchaikovsky classic from which the movie bears its namesake. Kunis plays a hotshot, free-wheeling "colleague" of Portman's, straight off the plane from San Francisco - a confident, self-assured competitor with carry-the-room charisma who strikes up a "friendship" with Portman and ultimately is selected as the Swan Queen alternate just days before Opening Night, cementing what the protagonist perceives to have been an adversarial relationship with Kunis all along.

What happens throughout much of the flick is mind-bending. Let's just say that mental stability is not present in heaping amounts in some of the most prominently featured characters in this movie, which leads to often confusing moments for the viewer. It's kind of like - "Hey, did she just imagine that shit, or did it really just happen?" For me, it feels like a convenient "out" for Aronofsky, and/or whomever wrote this script. The lines between fantasy and reality are often blurred. If you can buy into the spirit of that construction, then rock on, you will enjoy the hell out of this movie. I thought it was kind of a cheap device at times, but again, the end result is that this is a powerful cinematic work, one that will likely leave a lasting impression of some degree, which is more than I can say for a lot of what Hollywood churns out these days.

Oh and this movie does nothing to help fight the stereotype (an untrue stereotype, of course!) that women are effing CRAZY. Same goes for the "power-abusing ballet troupe director working with young, pretty, impressionable females in a subservient position" stereotype. Worth checking out, no matter how you feel about it all afterwards.


* Just finished reading a killer novel - a true-life account of an undercover ATF agent's harrowing one-year experience infiltrating an Arizona-based Hell's Angels Motorcycle gang. The book, formerly on the New York Times bestseller list, is called "No Angel" and the agent is named Jay Dobyns. What this guy had to give up in his efforts to put a serious dent in the Hells Angels organization is mind-boggling. Rather than a story that shifts focus onto several different protagonists or characters, it shows you how Dobyns lived through all of this while juggling his personal life and relationships with colleagues who became increasingly concerned about this man's safety and well-being as he plunged deeper into the Rabbit Hole of illegal activity and self-deception.

It's a lightning-fast read. At times you might find yourself wishing that more crazy stuff is constantly happening, but don't expect every other page to be littered with tales of hot-lead shootouts, wild sex, copious drug use and salacious material in general. All of that stuff is discussed, mind you, but since this is a real-life account, you get the full truth of how these events honestly played out as Dobyns kept meticulous notes and lived this unbelievable saga 24/7 for the better part of a year. You find yourself ripping through especially as you get closer to the end to find out what the hell happened to this guy, and what the hell happened to the bad asses he was pursuing. Riveting stuff if the true-crime genre is right up your wheelhouse.



* Auburn and Oregon will play for the National College Football Championship on Monday, January 10th in Glendale, Arizona. Ho hum. The two best teams ended up with unbeaten records, so there's not as much BCS Controversy this year as in other years. But as usual, a playoff would be nice so that we could see if TCU, or Stanford, or Wisconsin, or Boise State, or any of a handful of other teams really is worthy to also be hoisting some kind of national trophy. Don't look for this to happen anytime soon, by the way. But in fairness, these are the two best teams as the 2010 season played out. Cam Newton, controversial season of his own aside, won the Heisman Trophy fittingly on Saturday night, and he did have an unfathomably eye-opening season so he deserves it. I'm going with Auburn to win this game though, and give the SEC its fifth straight national championship.

Also, for anyone who has had their eye on the Pitt Panthers this season, take note of that battering ram in the backfield wearing a No. 27 jersey. His name is Henry Hynoski, and he played high school ball at the alma mater of yours truly (Southern Columbia Area H.S. in Catawissa, Pa.). He was part of a truly special group of players that won 5 straight state championships from the fall of 2002-2006, and his work ethic and perseverance has certainly served him well as a collegiate student athlete. There's talk that he might have the tools to play at the next level, no easy feat indeed especially when you come from a formative school surrounded by corn fields. But make no mistake, Hyno is the real deal. Watching him is like looking at an offensive lineman throw blocks in the backfield and take the occasional handoff or screen pass. He never hesitates for a second to put his body in front of whatever terrifying defensive player is careening into the Pitt backfield to take the QB's head off. I like to keep an eye on Pitt and Penn State to see where the in-state Pennsylvania talent decides to go. It seems like Pitt has nabbed a lot of really strong homegrown players over the past several years. It should be interesting to see how that road turns now that Dave Wannstedt is out as head coach.



* Oh NFL, how you continue to seduce us with your crazy and wily ways. Okay, let's just all agree that the New England Patriots shouldn't necessarily be the favorite to win the Super Bowl. Yes, yes I know - they're playing the best football out of anyone right now, that's true. But I'd just like to remind us all of what happened in February of 2008 (Helmet catch, anyone?) Yeah, I know I sound like a hater. I guess I've just had enough of the Pats. I kind of wish they'd go away already, you know? Kind of like Brett Favre. But they probably aren't, I get it. Come on, let me have my wishful thinking at least.

As an Eagles fan, I'll gladly take that sometimes scary-to-watch 30-27 nipping of the hated Cowboys in Dallas last night, but that Philly defense is definitely suspect. It's not one of the best in the league even when it's 100 percent healthy, which it is currently not. Next Sunday the Birds (9-4) go to the Meadowlands to battle the Giants (8-4), with whom they may share the same record pending the outcome of tonight's New York-Minnesota showdown. Not going to be easy, especially considering the Eagles won a nail-biter over the Giants at the Linc a few weeks back.

All I know is that it's really a shame that somebody has to win the putrid NFC West, meaning that a deserving team (Green Bay, Tampa Bay, possibly even the Giants or Eagles) will be left on the outside looking in come playoff time. Kind of a crime, actually. The next three weeks will certainly be high on the NFL drama.

And if you're a Jets fan who was soaring on confidence as recently as three weeks ago, you have to be re-examining your entire outlook on the 2010 season for Rex Ryan and company. The Monday Night thrashing at the hands of the Patriots last week isn't even all that unbelievable considering what that team has done lately, although it was still quite humbling because of all the national hype and so forth. But that 10-6 loss to Miami at the Meadowlands yesterday? Ouch. The Jets should have come out and beaten the pants off that team, using that national Foxboro embarrassment as motivation to dig deep and find out what they've really got in the tank. But nope - the often confused, seemingly offensively directionless Dolphins, with the sometimes hapless Chad Henne at the helm, beat the Jets. Yikes. Jets will probably still make the playoffs, but some serious issues need to be addressed to avoid an early exit. And believe me I hope they get it together. I would much rather see them than the Patriots come out of the AFC East to do some real playoff damage.