The worst part is that the film looks beautiful, with gorgeous exterior shots, terrific visual effects and a sequence of well-staged interior shots that make it clear the production team (led by director David Gordon Green) was aiming at a modern, updated The Princess Bride.  Problem is, writer Danny McBride couldn't resist having the characters talk like wanna-be toughs who have just learned the latest obscenities, resulting in a film that was more profanity-laced than an Eddie Murphy stand-up routine.

The story, such as it is, involves the much-beloved Prince Fabious (James Franco) meeting the loopy but beautiful Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel) on a quest and bringing her back to the castle to meet his slacker brother Prince Thadeous (Danny McBride) and Dad, King Tallious (Charles Dance). She'd been trapped in a tower since a young child - a la Rapunzel - by the evil wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux) and he returns on their wedding day to kidnap Belladonna and return her to his evil lair.

Fabious now has a new quest, to rescue his fair Belladonna from the clutches of the evil Leezar, and accompanying him - on his first quest, and under duress - is Thadeous and his faithful servant Courtney (Rasmus Hardicker).  Cue a non-stop stream of sexual and scatological jokes that almost always fell flat and scenes that were often embarrassing to watch (the Great Wize Wizard, the selection of the Minotaur's trophy), all with weirdly impressive production values.

Therein lies the tragedy of Your Highness. With a more mature writer and some adult supervision on the dialog and scenes, there really was the basis of a beautifully produced chivalric comedy. But Your Highness is not that film and unless your sense of humor is stuck in sixth grade, this is not the film for you to see. Ever.

It's inevitable that we're not going to agree on which films were the best and which were the worst of the year. As a critic, I'm used to it, used to walking out of a theater shaking my head at what a banal, insipid film I just wasted two hours of my life watching, while surrounded by people excitedly talking about how awesome and thrilling it was. Yeah, so it's totally okay if you disagree,

I also suspect that we look for different things in movies. Generally I look for films that demonstrate the hero's journey, a mythic tale of growing up, finding oneself and overcoming obstacles to grow and mature at the end of the film. It doesn't have to be The Karate Kid, however, even Iron Man (not a 2010 release, I know) does a great job of exemplifying what I'm talking about. In my opinion, a film should be a journey, an adventure!

Except for when it's not. Sometimes big, loud, sexy, exciting, silly and sophomoric is just what works and I will candidly admit that I can enjoy Police Academy just as much as I enjoy Lawrence of Arabia. Well, maybe not quite as much, but you get the idea. Roger Ebert coined the phrase "guilty pleasure movies" and I think that's a great name for 'em, though I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be guilty about.

Anyway, enough preface! Onward!!

Turns out that Black Swan is a breathtaking, intense, horrifying and beautiful cinematic essay on obsession, maturity and the fine line between reality and fantasy, and it's well worth seeing, regardless of whether you're interested in ballet.

Portman plays Nina Sayers, a dancer in a Manhattan-based ballet troupe who has mastered the technical requirements of ballet but lacks the passion, sensuousness and soul to be an outstanding prima ballerina. The troupe artistic director Thomas (Vincent Cassel) announces their next performance will be Swan Lake, but he's going to make it edgier, and the lead will need to play both the white swan, an embodiment of all that is sweet, pure and youthful, and the black swan, the dark alter ego, the sexual, aggressive counterpoint to the white swan.

Nina is cast for this role, a role that'll be the pinnacle of her dancing career, but the pressure of performing, the expectations of her obsessive, controlling mother Erica (a superb Barbara Hershey), making sure that the antithetical Lily (Kunis) doesn't steal her part and the challenge of finding the "black swan" within her innocent, child-like personality tear Nina apart, and it's that descent into madness that's the heart of the film.

Black Swan is a powerful movie with just a few small flaws, a definite contender for Best Picture this year, and a strong statement on just how far Portman has come as an actor from her early role in the Star Wars saga. It's also intense, with some alarming scenes and a few nods to horror film conventions, so I don't recommend it for the highly squeamish and will warn you not to be surprised if things aren't always as they seem on screen.