The King's Speech

Following the death of his father King George V (Michael Gambon), and the ludicrous abdication of his playboy brother King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce), Bertie (Colin Firth) is suddenly crowned King George VI of England. Bertie has suffered from a serious speech defect for as long as he can remember, and has failed to overcome it despite the help of of various highly qualified physicians and speech therapists.
His wife Elizabeth (Helen Bonham Carter), arranges for her husband to see a formal speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). The two form an undenyable bond even throughout Lionels unorthodox methods. With the support of Logue, his family and Winston Churchill (Timothy Spall), the King tries to overcome his impediment and unite and lead his country into war.

With all the oscar buzz that is surrounding this film, it is sturbbornly hard to ignore the hype. Some might even argue it was designed as "oscar bait". Regardless of that, this film is a timely, elegant piece that captures the realistic nature of a future King. Firth will recieve alot of praise for accurately capturing the stammer of the future king, but it is not solely on that merit that his performance is so strong. Firth is excellent because he humanises George VI.
That said, Rush plays his counterpart with absolute authority and the two play off each other in perfect tandum.

In all honesty, you would be better off ignoring the hype and seeing the movie simply because it features an unusually intimate portrait of a king, and a compelling story of personal triumph over adversity.


4/5

Simon Jewell

Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go is a love story, adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro's bestselling, Booker Prize short listed novel of the same name. Kathy, Tommy and Ruth live in a world and a time that feel familiar to us, but they are not quite like anything we know. They spend their childhood at Hailsham, an English boarding school. When they leave the shelter of the school and the terrible truth of their fate is revealed to them, they must also confront the deep feelings of love, jealousy and betrayal that threaten to pull them apart.

Nothing about this film is casual. Perhaps one of the most impeccably shot films of the year. Every scene is portrayed as a beautiful painting.
Carey Mulligan is the lynchpin of this film. Her doe-eyed softness and melancholic smile subtly engage the viewer. Strong performances from Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightly and by the 3 younger selves of these characters.
This film isnt about heartbreak, but about losing people and the aknowledgement of human life.

At points this film feels oddly detatched, the cast drive the isolated plot and the beautiful cinematography keep the viewer at picturesque attention. Perhaps the detatchment from the overall theme is purposely done to give more human disconnection & isolation, either way this film definately succeeds at touching the mind, but fails to tug the heartstrings.
Its raw portrayal of human connection and isolation inspires some deep thinking about the world we live or could live in soon..

Beautifully portrayed.
4/5

The Fighter

The fighter follows the tale of Irish American boxer Micky Ward and his "crackhead" brother, who helped him train in the 1980's.

Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) is a blue collar worker with a dream of making it big as a boxer. In his corner is Dicky Ecklund (Christian Bale) who once knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard and has lived off the local fame and crack cocaine ever since. His mother (Melissa Leo) is the older version of a pageant mom who desperately wants success for her boy but struggles against her own selfishness. Everyone in his corner is working against him until he meets Charlene Fleming (Amy Adams) who helps him get his career and his life on track.

The performances from this very strong cast are electrifying. Each holds their own immensely, but a standout performance from Christian Bale shines through.
The lengths he endures as an actor to achieve such a believable character from the last is very admirable and any nods for awards are duely deserved.
Wahlberg's duties as Micky are largely confined to that of a dramatic anchor. This might be a thankless role by comparison, but The Fighter would fail to land its knockout blow without him.

It's uncomfortable at points, because it's so squirmingly guilt-inducing. It oozes off the screen with every Marlboro sigh, and snuffly threatened tear. The fight scenes move like real life and any comparisons to Rocky style action shots fall flat, you feel every punch and blow.
Real people have been created here. Yes they are based on actual real life characters, but the depth and emotional impact in the performances give a very believable inlet into this story.

Even if you're not a boxing fan, The Fighter should be on your list of things to see. It's a movie that transcends the limited audience of the sport it covers thanks to a universal story brought to life by some of the best actors working right now.

A definate knockout..

5/5