Black Swan

Portman is getting a lot of Oscar buzz for her role of Nina, and she is deserving of a nomination acknowledging her performance. Thanks to her second-guessing attitude and innocence, Nina is immediately recognizable as the embodiment of the “virgin White Swan” that the director describes he is casting. But, the question is whether she can find that place inside of her and let go enough to play the Black Swan. As one would expect, sexuality plays an important role in this “transformation.” And the film isn’t afraid to really go there, so to speak. It is pretty common knowledge that Mila Kunis (who plays Nina’s rival, or the incarnation of the Black Swan, Lily) and Portman have a sex scene in the film. And it’s not subtle. In fact, some of Black Swan’s hardest to watch scenes are actually of that nature, because it can be excruciatingly uncomfortable to see Nina transform from such innocence (as Mila Kunis’s dad will tell you). But that is the reason that Portman will likely get an Academy Award nod for this role – she can convincingly go through Nina’s bizarre journey.

Black Swan could be any old thriller, but Aronofsky makes it hard to turn away. His use of color, or lack thereof, obviously is crucial to a film that is intricately drawing parallels between its characters and the characters of the ballet (particularly the Black Swan and the White Swan). Fortunately, rather than coming across as formulaic, Aronofsky’s use of blacks, whites, and grays fit seamlessly with the characters and their surroundings. Look out especially for Nina’s apartment building and its eerie starch white walls and dark black doors. The same goes for the use of mirrors; something that could have been merely a cliché symbol for Nina’s inner struggle is instead a staple. What would a dance studio be without mirrors?

Aronofsky also knows exactly the pace that he wants the film to have; he choreographs the action, seamlessly fitting the unnatural events with the classical music and ballet theme. By incorporating his own symbols through colors, mirrors, and music, the directing itself makes Black Swan visually stimulating. The film is definitely worth seeing, especially to marvel at Portman’s acting and Aronofsky’s direction.

Click here to get Meredith’s take on other new releases.

Forty-five minutes on the elliptical, on the treadmill or in a spin class – that’s my usual cardio routine. But, like many fitness fanatics, I tend to get bored easily. There always comes a time when I crave a workout adventure to keep me motivated.

I’ve sweat through an hour and 30 minutes of  bikram yoga; I’ve trained for and run a half marathon. So when my very good friend suggested I try something called Xtend I was totally down.

I’m sure most of us have heard of the latest fitness trend that incorporates ballet and pilates. The Tracy Anderson Method, Physique 57 and Fluidity are examples of this intense stretching and strengthening program. Xtend is the one found in good ole Hoboken, NJ.

Quite honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I mean, I was told to wear spandex, so I new there would be lots of bending (or maybe some sort of 80′s movie dance routine). But the class regulars explained that I would soon be very, very sore. This excited me because I absolutely love having sore muscles. You really know you’ve gotten a good workout when you can’t walk down stairs the next day.

Anywho, we all lined up and got ready to workout. We began with arm circles, then added in light weights. “Not so bad,” I thought to myself. Looks like I spoke to soon. The workout soon progressed to squats and  ballet barre work and – good Lord! – I’ve never done so many reps in my life. It was CRAZY. I felt the burn in the first 3 minutes of warming up, but the instructor was not forgiving; she kept it comin’.

After an hour of this class, I felt very tight and toned. It felt great to work my muscles in a new way without fear of bulking them up. My main qualm is that there was very little cardio involved. I really like a good sweat and this didn’t do it for me… especially considering it costs $20 a session.

If you’re interested in a good toning workout, but not cool with the hefty price tag, here are some moves you can do on your own, at home or at the gym. (Thank you SELF magazine!)

Jive Hop
Stand with feet together, arms down. Begin hops: jump onto left foot as you kick right leg to side, reaching left arm up and right arm out to side. On next hop, land on the right foot, kick to left and switch arms. Alternate sides for one minute.

Lunge & Lift
Stand with legs together, arms out to sides at shoulder level. Lunge right leg to side, then bring left leg to meet right as you rise onto the balls of your feet, crossing left leg behind right. Drop heels; do a mini-squat (looks like plies in dance). Repeat lunge-squat sequence on left side. Alternate sides for one minute.

Rumba Reach
Stand with feet hip-width apart. Extend left leg to side, pointing toes to the floor; lift arms overhead, palms in. Bend torso as far left as you can with hips square, reaching through fingertips, then bend right. Alternate sides for one minute. Switch so right leg is extended; repeat for another minute.

Jive Cross
Stand with feet together, arms down. Hop onto ball of right foot, kicking the left leg across your body as high as you can and reaching your arms in the opposite direction at shoulder height. Hop onto left foot and kick right leg across body as you switch arm positions. Alternate sides for one minute.

Samba Squat
Stand with right foot turned out, left leg extended to front, toes pointed to floor, arms crossed over chest. Lower into a squat as you raise right arm overhead and left arm out to side at shoulder level. Return to start. Repeat 30 seconds. Switch sides; repeat.

Side-Step Trimmer
Stand with feet together, left heel lifted, arms down. Step wide to left, landing with heel lifted, toes turned out and knee bent as you circle left arm up and to the left. Return to start. Repeat 30 seconds. Switch sides; repeat.

Click this link to see the moves on video.

If you’re like me and need to shake up your exercise regime, these slimming moves will definitely keep you on your toes … literally. Enjoy!!

Eating healthy and staying fit don’t have to be so….monotonous. Nutrition experts are constantly coming up with new forms of exercise and new research on dieting that may be just the new thing you (and your body) need. The latest? Combinations of our favorite things to get even better results:

1: Piloxing

Joseph Pilates, meet your match. In the boxing ring, that is. There’s a new exercise contender in the draw now: Piloxing!

Here’s the blow-by-blow: LA-based fitness trainer Viveca Jensen bases the classes off of the best of both worlds, by combining the intense power moves of boxing (like the one-two punch) with the softer toning moves of pilates (like those pesky 100′s). Supposedly, it has a “Swedish twist” to it, which apparently makes it better/more efficient. (Swedish fish do taste better than regular fish, so I guess there is a truth to that.) Celebrities like Hilary Duff and Alexis Bledel have signed on to this new exercise trend, claiming it helps to attain a “sleek, sexy, and powerful” self-image.

2: Yollet

Last time I donned a tutu, I was tailgating with my friends and had no intentions of doing ballet whatsoever.

But with this new fitness trend, I just might wear it again. This time with exercise in mind (no, chugging beer is not considered a workout for your esophagus). Yollet (pronounced yo-lay) is a fusion of Classical Ballet and Yoga, and its 1-hour class is just what you’d expect: 30 minutes of non-stop chasse’ing then 30 minutes of downward dog and stretching.

3: Food Synergy

Many foods have shown to have a “one-plus-one-equals-three” effect when eaten together, amping up the nutrition benefits more than when eaten separately. For example, combining foods that contain carotenoids, such as tomatoes, with a healthful fat, such as olive oil, makes it easier for the body to absorb the nutrients more readily.

This new “food synergy” gives you more reasons to eat your favorites together:

Oatmeal + OJ (power breakfast!)

Blueberries + Grapes (little circles of yumminess)

Peanuts + Whole Wheat (PB&J all the way)

Apples + Chocolate (yes, I said it. Chocolate.)

Now you have an excuse to drizzle a little full-fat dressing onto your salad too!

So, what do you think? Would you try any of these?

I’ve had the pleasure to write a handful of College Candy’s Guys We Wanna Eff, and as a red-blooded twentysomething female it’s certainly not a difficult task to write about the hottest male stars. But I have to preface the ode to this week’s man of honor by saying I would trade in a year’s worth of paychecks and possibly Spring Break for one night with Rahm Emanuel. He takes the number-one spot on my Eff List. That’s right, I said it!

While Joe Biden (who, may I say, looks A-OK for a man of 66) is technically second-in-command behind President Obama, Rahm Emanuel occupies what many call “the second most powerful job in Washington” as the White House Chief of Staff. The position labels him as the highest-ranking officer of the Executive Branch (after the President), as well as Obama’s senior advisor. Before joining the new administration, Emanuel was a Congressman representing Chicago in the House of Representatives. Now, what woman doesn’t want to eff a man in power?

“Rahmbo” isn’t just a stiff politician, however. Did you know he studied ballet throughout childhood and college? Totally true; his mom still wishes he were a dancer! He followed his career in dance with a short stint as a civilian volunteer for the Israeli Defence Forces, and his brother Ari is the inspiration for Jeremy Piven’s character on Entourage. The man gets around–in a good way!

But it’s his feisty personality that really gets me going. He is known among politicos as “The Enforcer” for his ability to get things done. His way. Rahm once mailed a dead fish to a pollster he didn’t quite get along with back in the day–how’s that for teaching others not to eff with him? (Effing me, however, is a different story.)

To me, Rahm is one sharp-shooting silver fox who’s had me begging for a little effing action ever since I saw his dark bedroom eyes and wry, snarky grin. Oh, and I can’t help but love a man with a dirty mouth. He was once quoted as saying, “‘Rahm’ …roughly translated from Hebrew, means ‘go screw yourself.’” (Can I get your help with that?)

But to recap, the man’s a dancer (read: he’s flexible), he has megawatt connections to Hollywood (via his bro, Ari) as well as everyone in politics, he’s a smart-alec success who still can pull off frat-boy pranks (dead fish!) with pizzazz. In the words of Rahm, what more could you effing want?

Ice, Ice Baby…for that black eye I just gave you

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Why is Natalie Portman so awesome?

Paris Hilton is not my ideal BFF

Big Boi goes from billboard to ballet

Dear Jonas Brothers: will you marry me?…Any of you three will do.

How to stay a virgin at college

Does a threesome ruin a relationship?