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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

DVD reviews: Thrilling, nutty ‘Black Swan’ shows Portman at her Oscar-winning best

Philadelphia Inquirer

Available this week on DVD:

“Black Swan”: Oscar winner Natalie Portman gives the performance of her career as a fiercely disciplined prima ballerina struggling with the dual roles of “Swan Lake,” and with a newly recruited dancer (Mila Kunis) threatening to steal her part. Vincent Cassell, Barbara Hershey and Winona Ryder are on board for this thrilling, nutty psychodrama from Darren Aronofsky (“The Wrestler”). (1:50; R for strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and some drug use) • • • •

“Tangled”: A fractured fairy tale in the spirit of “Enchanted,” Disney’s animated “Tangled” is a boy-friendly version of Rapunzel, more of a hair-raising adventure than yearning romance. (1:40; PG for brief mild violence) • • •

“Fair Game”: Naomi Watts stars as Valerie Plame, the CIA operative outed by the Bush administration in the wake of the Iraq war, in this taut, suspenseful spy drama. And human drama. And political drama. With Sean Penn as Plame’s husband, the former U.S. Ambassador Joe Wilson. (1:48; PG-13 for some language) • • •

“Made in Dagenham”: The irrepressible Sally Hawkins is the little engine that could in this fact-based story about a 1968 strike at a Ford plant in London that helped change legislation. A story of labor triumph for this era of labor pain. (1:53; R for language and brief sexuality) • • •