Just a few months shy of her 30^th birthday she’s engaged, she’s knocked up and today she got herself an Oscar.  I’m delighted.  I like Natalie Portman.  She’s a good actress and she comes across as being a real lady.  Herself and Cate Blanchett should get together and establish the Hollywood Academy for Ladies.  Cate can be principal, Natalie vice-principal.  They could teach those other Hollywood trashbags a thing or too.  But this isn’t about ladies and trashbags.  This is about Black Swan.

First let’s talk ornithology.  All the swans in Australia are black.  That’s not a metaphor.  If the makers of Black Swan wanted a title that was kinda punchy and kinda dark then it failed in the Southern Hemisphere.  They may as well just have called it Normal Swan.

Joking aside, I found this film utterly compelling.   It tells the story of a young ballerina, Nina (Portman), who wins the much-coveted lead role in her New York ballet company’s production of Swan Lake.  Nina’s reserved, perfectionist temperament is ideal when she dances the part of the white swan, but to completely succeed in the role she must also engender the dark, lustful confidence of the black swan.  Here is where her challenge lies.  There is a darker side to Nina that she keeps mostly in check but this role forces her to explore it and to re-evaluate what it means to be “perfect”.  The process is both her making and her destruction.

Over the course of the film it becomes clear that Nina is not going to be able to have it all.  For her performance to be everything it needs to be she sacrifices her body and her mind.   As you watch Nina succeed in her role you feel dismay that no one in the narrow little world she inhabits can save her.  Her mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) is bitter, clingy, overprotective and can’t accept that her “sweet girl” has grown up.  Her director Thomas (Vincent Cassel) is concerned solely with her performance.  All his interactions with her seem aimed purely at manipulating her into giving what he wants on stage, without a care for her emotional well-being.  And her understudy Lily (Mila Kunis), a new dancer in the company, at one turn appears a compassionate friend, at the next an enemy determined to hasten Nina’s destruction for her own gain.

Black Swan is no happy little ballerina film.  It’s intense and often disturbing viewing.  If you’re a bit squeamish about blood and injuries (as I am) you may find yourself having to look away at times, as Nina graphically cracks, cuts, tears and bleeds emotionally and physically.

 

I went to see Black Swan.  It was really good.  I’m composing a longer review than that, but in the meantime have a look at this…..

Notice anything wrong?  Thanks a lot Palace Barracks cinema – that’s five minutes of my life I’m never getting back.

I’m sorry stripy mug from K-mart you have been replaced by this way more entertaining mug from Target.  Pack yer bags stripy and get out.  Target mug, even when I lose my voice from shouting I will still be able to bang you against the table repeatedly….until the cake arrives.

Middle of the week.  Nothing in the fridge.  Lazy and hungry.  We should have done the sensible thing and gone to the supermarket.  But no, we wandered up to Hardgrave Road to see what in the way of restaurants could satisfy our grumbling tummies.  We should have picked something cheap and cheerful.  But no, we spied the sleek blue-grey walls, rustic timber beams and fresh white table cloths of Mondo Organics and decided, for no particular reason whatsoever, to treat ourselves.

We were glad we did.  Euro-Australian style using all organic produce, it was one of the nicest meals we’ve had in ages.

It was tough to choose a dish as everything on the menu sounded so enticing.  I eventually settled on the fish of the day (snapper) despite the fact it was served with Brussels sprouts (?!).  Patrick went for the lamb.

Complementary spelt sourdough bread and a bowl of wild Australian olives promptly arrived at the table.  The olives were tiny in size but very tasty and the oil they were sitting in was divine.  Patrick declared it “the best olive oil he’s had since that place in France”.  That place in France (I’ll have to check the name with him) was “the best olive oil he’s ever had in his life”.  Good start Mondo!

On to the mains – Patrick’s lamb rack was a perfect medium rare and came with a delicious smoky aubergine (eggplant) accompaniment, among other things.  To be honest, I didn’t pay too much attention to his as I was too engrossed with my own.  The snapper was pan-fried to golden brown, fresh and piping hot.  It came with “pea and ricotta pillows” – homemade raviolis with a generous, creamy, bright green and extremely flavoursome pea filling.  The Brussels sprouts, which I had been concerned about, were nothing like your Mammy would serve at Christmas.  They had been broken into individual leaves and coated with a creamy sauce cut through with little bits of preserved lemon for zing.  Time consuming preparation I imagine but it totally avoided that strong, bitter flavour you get when you bite into a whole one.  The dish was finished with some roasted cherry tomatoes which worked well flavour-wise and also added a bit of colour to what was otherwise quite a green dish.

We didn’t have any dessert.  It was a Wednesday remember?  We were already being naughty!  On the beverage front I enjoyed an organic cloudy apple juice while Patrick was pleased with his Moa beer and a glass of house red.  We also ordered a side dish of green beans and silver beet topped with hazelnuts.  The bill came to $116.

Neither myself nor Patrick are overly bothered about whether or not our food is organic, but Mondo’s emphasis on that assures a real concern for the quality and source of the produce they use, and that really comes across in the flavour of the food.

It’s so nice discovering new places in a new neighbourhood and Mondo Organics is definitely somewhere we’ll return.  Their weekend breakfast menu looks delicious.  They also run a cooking school.  Patrick has his eye on the Austrian Strudel class next month.  I know – I’m a lucky girl.

mondo-organics.com.au

 

The last Coen brothers movie I saw was forgettable.  I watched it around three months ago and when my husband brought it up in conversation on Monday night I had absolutely no recollection.  But then, he couldn’t remember the title, and could only offer – “Remember it had that scene with the tornado at the end?”  That didn’t help.  All I could think of was Twister and I was pretty sure that’s not a Coen brothers film.  I had to go and look it up.  The film in question was A Serious Man.  Once Google had jogged my memory I realised I had actually quite enjoyed it, but for some reason it just didn’t stick.  Why is it some films just don’t stick? Continue Reading

Is it wrong to target vulnerable victims of the Brisbane floods to increase your incense sales?

Many people start blogs when they go travelling.  I’m starting one on my return.  I’m just back from two months in India with my wonderful husband and have relocated to Brisbane.  I’ve been thinking about starting a blog for awhile and a new start in a new city seems like the right time to do so.  You can read a bit more in the “About Leah” section.

We’re living in the West End area of Brisbane.  Above are a few photos from my new home suburb snapped while humming that Pet Shop Boys song.  Look at the GIANT chai I got in the Three Monkeys cafe.  I thought they’d mixed up the orders and brought me a soup my mistake.

India was amazing, by the way.  If you’re contemplating a trip there yourself I’m more than happy to share advice, tips and recommendations.

See you tomorrow!