Day One

As a culture blog, we would be more than a bit remiss we we to remain silent on today of all days. Make no mistake, it doesn't matter who you are; today is a day to be celebrated. Welcome to the first day without Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Love is love.

Happy Holidays everyone.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Lest it appears that all that we care about is Mr. Aronofsky and his latest venture, we are here to remind you that there are many many many great films to see. This year is shaping up to be the most exciting year for film since the glory of 2007, or maybe even 2001...AKA the greatest film year of the aughts (as it should be what with that Kubrick reference practically built in).

Hal says hello, and that the film slump after 2001 can only be attributable to human error.

Anyway, as in any year, this time of the season marks the pre-Oscar season. It's that time of year when the world falls in love with movies. This year in particular has some delightful gems to offer, what with releases from visionaries including Fincher, Leigh, Polanski, Nolan, Boyle, Russell, Cholodenko, and Mitchell, among several others. Does that mean that every film will recieve major Oscar nominations? Of course not, but it certainly does mean that this year's Oscar season will be significantly more interesting than in seasons past. It's going to be a bloodbath until Oscar night, and we here at The Culture Cure are going to gobble up every second of it.

Take for example the precursors that have already announced winners (LAFCA, NYFCC, SEFCA, NBR, NYFCO, and BSOFC):

Outside of the death grip that The Social Network seems to be holding over Best Picture and Best Director, this year's awards are looking mighty split. And in a year this good, that can only mean two things:

A. Surprise nominations!

B. Close votes and unpredictable winners!

Both of which are among the best qualities any awards season can have. And since everything on that chart (arguably barring True Grit) is deserving of attention, we cannot wait to see how the spoils of the season are going to play out! So on that note, fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy Oscar night. And we wouldn't have it any other way.

Tchaikovsky Meets Mansell

Clint Mansell

In our current obsession with Black Swan, it would be wrong of me to look past the fantastic soundtrack. Clint Mansell, an English film composer, comes back yet again to work with Darren Aronofsky. My first encounter with Mansell happened to be with my first viewing of Requiem for a Dream, another film by Aronofsky. I fell in love with the score as fast as I fell in love with the film. Mansell's style usually incorporates various techno styles and instruments while providing a classical base.

Mansell composed the score to Black Swan using elements from Tchaikovsky's masterpiece, Swan Lake. Fitting enough since the film is based on the ballet. However it is remarkable how Mansell created a new experience, without changing its roots. While any other composer would have modulated to a minor key and called it a score, Mansell chose to do otherwise. Keeping the original piece rather intact is what makes the whole score work. Nina Sayers' dark obsession with her image and the ballet is transcribed into the soundtrack with a seemingly flawless effort. Thank you Clint Mansell for providing yet again a seamless bridge between film and music.

Clint Mansell on Twitter

Welcome to The Culture Cure: Black Swan Style

This blog was started because lately film criticism and public perception has my dear friend Billy and I feeling rather like this:

And we want to get back to feeling like this:

Welcome to our blog. It isn't half as crazy as Nina here, but hopefully it can be half as entertaining. If you've seen Black Swan, then you certainly know that's a pretty tall order, but we're going to do our best.

If you haven't seen Black Swan, we feel your pain. A week ago we were in the same boat. GO NOW. Even if it means a long drive and paying an arm and a leg for gas. Like it or not, it's something of an unmissable film experience. Gotta love that crazy bastard Darren Aronofsky. He's 5 for 5 now in our books (yes, even including The Fountain).