Black Swan (2010)

Genre: Drama

Running Time: 108 min

Plot: A New York City ballet company wants to reinvent itself with a new adaptation of Swan Lake. Portman wins the starring role of the Swan Queen and quickly unravels with all the pressure of being the face of one of the most prestigious ballet companies.

Review: Have you ever wondered what it would feel like going through a nervous breakdown and on the edge of psychosis? Black Swan delivers this feeling to the audience as they sit back and enjoy a truly unique story.

You might wonder what actually happens in the movie and you realize that you are in the same boat as Portman's character. You think one thing happens, but it turns out to be a fantasy or a mind trick she plays on herself. The intensity builds and builds and explodes in chaotic beauty during the final performance.

I have never felt the way that I did after the film ended, and I'm guessing the entire movie theatre felt the same way because it was completely silent. After a few seconds to process what just happened you can hear a stir of echos of cheering mixed with confused comments. Black Swan is one of the darkest movies I've seen and it is not meant for everyone. If you are curious about what movies should do to audiences, Black Swan is a perfect example to get people talking and is now one of my favorites.

Quote you might say after watching this: "What just happened? I will never mess with a ballet dancer again."

Bottled Youth Movie Review Rating: 10/10 bottles

Skyline (2010)

Genre: Thriller

Running Time: 94 min

Plot: An army of unknown extraterrestrials wreak havoc on the human race and harvest their brains. Powerful blue lights paralyze and force humans up into the foreign spacecraft.

Review: Did anyone else think Michael Bay directed this when the trailers came out? Come on... the first thing I said was, "It looks like Michael Bay is remaking Independence Day." Strange enough that after I watched the film; I was even more convinced that he was a part of it and was uncredited. Average thriller/horror with fake drama, average acting, average plot, used all the films budget on special effects sums up to be most Michael Bay movies.

I went to see this for two reasons: the special effects looked good and Turk was in it. There were two good reviews after watching the movie: the special effects were great and Turk was in it.

Skyline is a lot of fun to watch for a boring night and you want to play board games and have noise in the background. If you want to see a better made action/horror/thriller with extraterrestrials, I would watch Cloverfield, District 9, or even Starship Troopers.

Quote you might say after watching this: "At least Skyline isn't the worst movie that I've seen."

Bottled Youth Movie Review Rating: 5.5/10 bottles

Devil (2010)

Genre: Horror

Running Time: 80 min

Plot: A group of strangers all meet up in an elevator to go on with their day when all Hell breaks loose. The elevator breaks down and every so often the lights flicker and fade out... when the power comes back on there are more and more devious acts that occur. Is this group of strangers really strangers or were they pre-destined to all be in this elevator at the same time.

Review: This is my first response when I heard about this movie, "Great... Another good idea for a movie that M. Night Shyamalan can ruin." Do I really want to take the chance on Devil? Will it be more like M.Night's better movies like Sixth Sense and Unbreakable or like his disastrous movies like The Happening and The Village?

Surprisingly, I would classify Devil with Night's better movies... (Gasp here) He finally was able to re-capture suspense like he did in the Sixth Sense. It was about the noises, lighting, and subtle details that ingage you throughout the movie. A very simple plot of a group of strangers on a elevator that breaks down and people start dying.

The best part about Shyamalan's movies are trying to figure out the plot twist before it happens which is extremely easy with most of his movies, but Devil is a bit more difficult to figure out. You start out with wondering if one of these people are possessed by the devil or if there is something else present. Are these people really strangers or do they have something in common? Everything is slowly revealed with some shock and awe and there is one plot twist I really wanted to see but didn't happen... I wanted the creepy/goofy kid to start licking the wall trying to taste Snozzberries.

I was very entertained by Devil and it had my brain going non-stop trying to figure out the movie before it ended. I was able to figure out who the Devil was after a lot of second guessing but was totally surprised by the main plot twist towards the end with the last "I'm so sorry" connection. It's a very good horror/thriller to watch this year during Halloween time!

Quote you might say after watching this: "Do snozzberries taste like snozzberries in Hell?"

Bottled Youth Movie Review Rating: 7/10 bottles