THE ENTITY

THE ENTITY (1982). Director: Sidney J. Furie.

Carla Moran (Barbara Hershey) lives with her three children and has had a difficult past. One evening she senses an intruder in her bedroom, and is physically assaulted and raped -- but no one is there! Periodically this continues, and she wonders if she's going crazy. A sympathetic psychiatrist named Phil Sneiderman (Ron Silver) tries to get to the bottom of what's happening to her, but he, understandably  thinks it's in her mind and she's doing it to herself, even though there are wounds on her body in places that she couldn't possibly reach. Fed up as the attacks continue, Carla eventually turns to a team of parapsychologists, a trio whose presence in Carla's life and home Phil strenuously objects to. They believe a strange "entity" is responsible for the attacks on Carla, and arrange for her to help trap this invisible creature in a huge "set" erected in a gymnasium equipped with cameras and canisters of a liquid that can freeze the entity. But, as Phil fears, will Carla get caught in the trap instead of the monster? 

The Entity is a suspenseful film that benefits from two excellent lead performances from Hershey and Silver, as well as good work from the supporting cast, which includes David Labiosa [Mega Piranha]  as Carla's grown son, Billy; Margaret Blye as her caring friend, Cindy; Alex Rocco as her freaked-out boyfriend, Jerry; Jacqueline Brooks as Dr. Cooley; and others. The thumping on the soundtrack during the "thrill" sequences becomes irritating and there are a few moments of illogic, but the picture -- if not always in the best taste -- is absorbing. This is based on a novel by Frank De Felitta which was supposedly inspired by an actual case. You decide. 

Verdict: Compelling psychological-supernatural horror story. ***. 

HANNAH AND HER SISTERS

Farrow, Hershey, and Weist

HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (1986). Written and directed by Woody Allen.

"I particularly love the mother, just a boozy old flirt with a filthy mouth." --Hannah's mother basically talking about herself.

Hannah (Mia Farrow) has a happy life with her husband, Elliot (Michael Caine). but she's unaware that he has fallen in love with her free-spirited sister, Lee (Barbara Hershey of Black Swan). As Lee and Elliot begin a guilt-wracked affair, Hannah's other sister, Holly (Dianne Wiest), a struggling actress, starts a catering business with her friend, April (Carrie Fisher), and the two both fall for married architect, David (Sam Waterston). Hannah's ex-husband, Mickey (Woody Allen) is drawn to Holly years after they had a disastrous first date. Like most of Allen'\s films, Hannah and Her Sisters is quite entertaining, with some fine acting from virtually the entire cast, but Allen himself -- who comes off like a stand-up comic sprouting lines, many of which are admittedly amusing -- doesn't really fit that neatly into the picture. I\m not sufficiently interested in exploring Allen's psyche to delve into any so-called deep meanings in his movies, but Hannah is engaging enough but no real masterpiece, despite its popularity. The business with Mickey thinking he may have a brain tumor is tasteless. As usual, many of the characters, admirably cultured, do what's expedient, not necessarily what's right. Max von Sydow shows up briefly as an older man that Lee discards once things heat up with Elliot, and Maureen O'Sullivan [Tarzan Escapes], Mia Farrow's mother in real life, plays Hannah's mother, with Lloyd Nolan [Portrait in Black] as her husband. Julie Kavner, who has a small role as a co-worker of Mickey's, does the same tiresome shtick she's been doing since she played Rhoda's sister on TV.

Verdict: Interesting and fun, but also kind of minor all told. **1/2.

BLACK SWAN

BLACK SWAN (2010). Director: Darren Aronofsky.

This psychological thriller [or whatever you want to call it] with a ballet backdrop features all the usual elements of such movies: a dancer falling for her teacher; jealous rivalries among dancers; and so on, then adds a twist in that the lead character, Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), who is dancing the role of the swan in a new production of Swan Lake, is mentally unraveling as the date of her debut in the role rapidly approaches. She begins to have strange, sometimes sexual, and often violent hallucinations. Just as the character she portrays in the ballet has a light and dark side, so does Nina, with tragic results. Portman deservedly won an Oscar for her portrayal, and she is the glue that makes the film the riveting twaddle that it is. But despite its good points -- including the fact that it is absorbing and very well acted [Barbara Hershey, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, and Winona Ryder are also excellent in important supporting roles] -- Black Swan is a bit overwrought and occasionally silly, threatening to collapse into [literal] hysterics at any moment. A girl-on-girl sex scene seems to have been thrown in for all the wrong reasons, and does nothing to delineate character. [If the implication is that this is one more indication of Nina embracing her "dark" side, it's a bit regressive, but I suppose it could also suggest she's shedding her inhibitions. But why have a gay sex scene, even a fantasy, without real gay characters? It's like the filmmakers said, "guys won't want to take their girlfriends to a film about ballet, but when they find out it has two chicks gettin' it on...!"] Ultimately, Black Swan holds the attention but its chief appeal is Portman's and the other performances. It's undeniably arresting, but doesn't hold up under close scrutiny.

Verdict: Portman and the rest of the cast deserve kudos. ***.