Entries Tagged as 'Movies'

Movie: The King’s Speech

I am at a loss about the acclaim received by The King’s Speech. To me, it felt like a BBC television production.

I did see this on my television instead of on the big screen but this only served to emphasize the appropriateness of the film to live as a television miniseries.

The “smallness” of the movie is due to the choices of the filmmakers. The story of The King’s Speech plays out mainly in interiors and with a limited number of characters. In addition, the shots are all framed to emphasize walls and enclosures. Metaphor for the difficulties of a stuttering king? perhaps.

But it certainly made me wonder at the true impact of his speaking difficulties on his subjects and his nation. The film says that King George VI’s stutter became an ever growing issue as Europe rose to face the threat of Hitler. His speech made him seem weak.

As a military history nerd, you don’t need to tell me how important a strong and unifying leader is during a time of war. But when I watch such a story in a movie, I want to feel this importance.

The king (and as a prince previously) is shown making one uneasy public appearance after another. What is the risk/reward? What are the consequences of his awkwardness? From this movie, I’m not really sure. I want to feel his struggle and share in his eventual triumph. I don’t think this film helped me in any of this.

I have nothing but the highest regard for the abilities of Colin Firth after A Simple Man. I think the movie lets him down here. He and Jeff Bridges should have traded years.

If I Picked the Oscars 2011 (in order of my vote)

Best Picture:

Best Actor

Tags: Movies by Ms. SP
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Movie: Bridesmaids (15-word Review)

Not as hilarious as expected but very funny. Warmth in “can they do that?” raunch.

Tags: Movies by Ms. SP
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Movie: True Grit

True Grit movie DVDTrue Grit is my pick for Best Picture of the past Oscar year.

Those Coen brothers sure know filmmaking.

It is interesting that the classically Coen traits of quirkiness and dark comedy are less noticeably different within a Western.

The HBO TV series Deadwood already used interesting cadences and presentations of language within a Western, and the strange characters of this True Grit could have fit right into any Sergio Leone landscape, but the Coens string it all together. The characters are lively and our investments in each of them changes as the movie goes forth.

The acting is right on form from all the parties involved, and the classically Western shots of horses galloping across a vast landscape are just as breathtaking as they ought to be.

For all that though, there is just one sequence that clinched the movie’s longevity for me. Much like the now-legendary montage in Pixar’s Up, I continue to think about these few minutes and allow them to haunt me.

Like sci-fi, Westerns are so prime for the exploration of larger themes, and while I certainly can do that, the wonderful thing about this movie is that it can stand as great even if we probe no deeper than the surface.

One last note about acting. Two years ago, Colin Firth should have taken home the top acting prize for his amazing work in A Single Man, highly recommended. Instead, Jeff Bridges got the nod. This past year, Colin Firth got a make-up for A King’s Speech, when it really should have gone to Jeff Bridges for his portrayal here. It all evens out in the end, I suppose, but it really is no fun when people win for the wrong parts. The fans of the future lose out.

If I Picked the Oscars 2011 (in order of my vote)

Best Picture:

Best Actor

Tags: Movies by Ms. SP
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