I will never understand why one awards show would announce their nominees two days after another awards show announces theirs. Unless the SAG Awards are simply trying to steal a teeny bit of the Golden Globes' spotlight? C'mon, guys -- that's cheap. And if you want to shine, all you have to do is avoid making any nominations that are every bit as ridiculous as those made by the foreign press. You almost succeeded, although I will give you props for not nominating anybody from The Tourist.

Tags: Black Swan, SAG Awards, The King's Speech, The Social Network, True Grit, Winter's Bone

In preparation for this Sunday's Golden Globes extravaganza, I finally got around to watching Black Swan a few nights ago. And while I was struck by how engrossing and visually stunning the movie is, I was also struck by how much it reminded me of another fine film about the plight of dancers: 2000's Center Stage, starring Zoe Saldana and Peter Gallagher. It may sound crazy, but really, it's a lot like Center Stage, if Center Stage grew up and then battled hardcore mental illness. Don't believe me? I've put forth the thematic similarities below. (Warning: Contains spoilers.)

Tags: Black Swan, Center Stage, Natalie Portman, Peter Gallagher, Zoe Saldana

When Darren Aronofsky was announced as the director of the next Wolverine movie, it was a bit of a shock, considering that the man was not known for his high-octane action pieces, and the last installment had exploding helicopters. But between the nightmare world of Requiem for a Dream, the sci-fi epicness of The Fountain and the physical pain and loneliness depicted in The Wrestler, I had confidence that the man would deliver the best Wolverine film -- maybe even X-Men film -- to date. And after seeing Black Swan, with its hallucinatory psychodrama, I am 100% sold, because I came out of the movie wanting to see more comic-book adventures of Natalie Portman's split-personality character. Maybe if I were a ballet fan, I might have wanted to see more of the ballet itself, but I guess it says a lot about me that I'd rather watch her fight Batman.

Tags: Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky, Natalie Portman, review, The Wolverine

The nominees for this year's Golden Globes -- given out by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association -- have been announced, and there are a few surprises, which is always going to happen when you have separate categories for dramas and comedy/musicals, and when entertainment reporters from other countries are involved. Some of them have crazy tastes in movies. They're French! Among other nationalities!

Tags: Black Swan, Golden Globes, Inception