"Just Like Yours, But Sweeter!"

Natalie Portman in Closer: yes, I'd like very much for you to "man man zhuan guo lai, wan xia yao" too, thanks.

I confess--though it will surprise no-one--that I've had the hots for Natalie Portman since her paedophile-baiting debut in Léon (aka The Professional). It helps that, despite her ultimate unattainability, she's always been a more plausible proposition than most other Hollywood sex symbols since she's just a year younger than me.

What may suprise some, however, is that I also have an unnatural fondness for Jude Law, whom I think is absolutely gorgeous.

You can therefore imagine my dark delight at seeing them share screen time in Closer, especially so when this is Portman's raciest role to date (she had full-frontal nude scenes which were cut by the director, for crying out loud!). Originally, my girlfriend and I had planned to watch the local romantic comedy I Do I Do, but looked for other options after we realised we couldn't make that show's timing.

Since I haven't figured out how to create expandable posts yet, I'll just leave out the spoilers and say that Closer is a strong, complex and well-paced adult drama with clever plot devices. It was refreshing to see Jude Law in a vulnerable role after his suave, confident personas in Alfie and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. And Natalie Portman, of course, was hot beyond hotness. Oh and she acted really well too.

Shame about the cut scenes, then. I'm sure they would've been more interesting than these dull paparazzi shots.

Oddly enough, despite my extremely divided attention this evening, my girlfriend and I started talking about marriage again.