Results tagged “colin firth”

Review: The King's Speech

Imagine you're second in line for the throne of England, right behind your selfish, womanizing brother, your father the King is in ill health, and you have a terrible stutter that you just can't control. Your father despises you for the impediment, your siblings tease you about it, your country is poised to enter World War II and that older brother desires to marry an American divorcee. Except the King of England can't marry a divorced woman, meaning you're next in line for the throne.

The King's Speech is a powerful and beautifully produced film about the challenge that the Duke of York faced when he was pushed into the public eye, with the role acted perfectly by Colin Firth. The film opens with the Duke addressing the public, painfully stumbling through his written speech, one stutter and pause after another, a scene that's surprisingly affecting, with us feeling the overwhelming anxiety of the moment and frustration of the call of duty to the nation and the honor of family.

Fortunately for history, his faithful wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) finds the unorthodox Australian Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) and convinces her husband to work with him to try and cure the stutter. Masquerading as "Mr. Johnson" for his visits to Logue's run-down Harley Street office, Firth perfectly portrays the conflict between the desire to get better, the anger and frustration at having the affliction and the embarrassment of having a disability.

Truly great films manage to instantly transport us to a world where there's complete suspension of disbelief, where we wonder if we're seeing actual historical footage rather than actors on sets with lighting, caterers and extras just off-camera. The King's Speech is a splendid film that is well deserving of the awards and accolades it's received, even as the speech therapy itself is rather blithely addressed. It's one of my favorite films of 2010.

Continue reading Review: The King's Speech.

By Dave Taylor on January 3, 2011 10:54 PM | 4 Comments | No TrackBacks

Best and Worst Films of 2010

According to Movieweb, there were 651 films released in 2010 and no, I didn't see them all. In fact, there are some movies still on my to-watch list that I know will affect this article (including The Fighter and The Kids are All Right), but I hope to see them soon and add some additional commentary at that point. For now, however, I figure I saw maybe 100-150 new films this year, both clunkers and superb examples of all that cinema has to offer.

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!!

Continue reading Best and Worst Films of 2010.

By Dave Taylor on December 31, 2010 3:49 PM | 5 Comments | No TrackBacks