The King's Speech (Impediment)

The King's Speech is a movie starring Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush. It is about King George VI and his battle with the contradictory nature of his predicament, possession of both a stammer, and a public position that requires him to publicly address an entire nation through radio broadcasts during a time of stress for the country. 

Set in the cavernous and looming rooms of palaces to further highlight his daunting task, The King's Speech is beautifully shot. In particular, the early scenes of his speech therapy with Geoffrey Rush, "Lionel" are very visually compelling. This film is also incredibly funny, the comedic timing of the three main actors renders many otherwise average lines humorous. 

The interesting power dynamics at work throughout the film deepen the characters, for the relationships we are following begin when Colin is merely the Duke of York, then continue through his kingship. Helena Bonham Carter as his wife, Queen Elizabeth, is particularly excellent. Actually, the three main actors all do incredibly in terms of creating and bringing to life  characters people feel like they know. The movie itself however is a little long, and the pacing drags a bit. Some of the scenes feel extraneous, or if not entirely unnecessary, too long by a significant amount of time, something I would blame on editing that isn't disciplined enough. 

Overall, definitely one to see, however don't go to the theatre tired. 

The Eye Wasn't As Corny(a) As I Expected It To Be

Recently, I bought The Eye, mainly because it was 5 dollars and because I love Jessica Alba without parallel. But not blindly. I know a shitty movie when I see it, even if I love one of its protagonists (Love Guru comes to mind but there are more, Good Luck Chuck isn't winning any awards anytime soon). However, I decided to give this one a shot, it's based on a japanese movie which usually works out well.

Jessica Alba plays Sydney, a blind violinist who hasn't been able to see since she was five. But because of technology (wooo technology!) she can now get a corneal transplant. So she does this, and can now see! But she starts to see scary visions mainly involving fire and freaky ghost children. So she selfishly makes her eye therapist (who is of course in love with her) risk his license, finding out who the donor was and taking her to MEXICO so she can talk to the girl's mother about her dead daughter, while looking into the eyes of her buried child. But surprisingly, this works out well for all parties. I'm not going to ruin the ending, but this movie was well-acted by Alba, however it was a little bit of a one note bird. It's a good note though.

I like the ending, it's not too feel-good fairy tale. It's a good little movie, especially if you're not REALLY into scary movies, because it is scary, but not filled with cheap scare tactics and unnecessary gore the way some of these "movies" being made nowadays are. CoughTexasChainsawMassacrecough.

Also MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Oh Hey Darren

                    BLACKSWANBLACKSWANBLACKSWANBLACKSWANBLACKSWAN

Okay so I just watched Black Swan with my family. This movie is a tumultuous little ride of emotion, at times it can seem like a cheap/bad horror movie at other times, a well made "psycho-sexual thriller" (what does that even mean, and why is everyone so addicted to saying it?) For those of you who have been living under a stupid rock, this movie is about a ballerina, Natalie Portman, who desperately wants to be featured more in the ballet company she is in. When the new production of Swan Lake is announced she of course wants the role of the Swan Princess, but according to the head of the company, Tomas, she lacks the duality and sexuality needed to dance the role of the black swan, as well as the white.

Between her crazy overbearing and potentially sexually abusive (?) mother (Barbara Hershey) and the new sexy young thang in the company, (Mila Kunis) Nina (Portman) has a verifiable cornucopia of choices for her night plans; stay in getting her nails clipped rather bloodily, eating cake and scratching herself while her mom  paints endless portraits of her and lives vicariously through her, or go out, do ecstasy, make out with a few guys in a sheer black tank top and eventually have an intense lesbian sex scene.

But not only does Nina not know if she is a lesbian, she doesn't know if she's crazy either! Throughout the film she continues to see copies of herself walking around. However if I looked like Natalie Portman, I would want to see myself everywhere too, so I don't know if that really verifies that she's crazy.

Winona Ryder sneaks her way into this film as a jilted "little princess," the last favorite of Tomas, until she gets too old and has to be cast aside, as is the way in the cutthroat world of surrealist ballet, as we all know. She also gets hit by a car (accidentally intentionally or pushed, we never find out) but of the couple times Nina visits her in the hospital, during one, she shoves a nail file into her face repeatedly, so look forward to that.

This film really is great, Aronofsky has proven himself time and time again to be a storyteller of great vision, especially for the very corporeal subsets of society (drug addicts in Requiem, wrestlers in The Wrestler, and cancer patients in The Fountain) which now includes ballerinas. I'm looking forward to his next film about circus performers, because I feel like it's coming.

Things We Lost in the Fire

This is a beautiful film starring Halle Berry, Benicio del Toro and, (even though his character dies in the first 10 minutes of the movie) David Ducohvny.

It is a very beautifully done piece about heroin addiction and survival from all things. The characters and the film is presented in a very realistic manner, shots are slow and wide, there is no quick cutting around, as a viewer, you stay with the people and the story for a very long time and soak it in. Following in the naturalism vein, none of the characters wear any facial makeup. This is notable especially on Berry, who is obviously still gorgeous, but this lack of cover allows her acting to come from deep down and lets the audience see that depth. It seems at times as if she is acting from her pores, it's so ingrained. Del Toro also benefits from this choice, as an addict, he looks honestly awful most of the time. But this makes the progression over the course of the film more powerful.

The complicated narrative is also served by this simplistic presentation, the audience is often lulled into a plotline only to realize it belatedly with a jolt at the exact moment of realization for the characters. This creates an added empathy between viewer and character.

The movie also is presented in an interesting mix between past and present, which again, in an ancillary way, adds to the beautiful pace and unfolding of the film.

The movie strays from overly dramatic renderings of drug use and cliched plotlines. All that is left is beautiful acting, a ringing true story, and the serene yet memorable visuals.

This movie has the best pacing this side of Taxi Driver

This movie is about two hit-men who after a job goes wrong are sent by their boss to Bruges, Belgium to hide out and await further instructions. 

The first time I saw this movie I thought it was very slow to start, but then picked up at the end and got amazing. Since watching it the first time, I feel that it is measured out and develops in perfect time, with this slow buildup of characters and situation, which all comes to a head at the exact right moment. 

This movie is very dynamic, with the two main characters being hit-men there is a certain amount of requisite violence, but one of the most striking things about this movie is how funny it is. There are many parts where I laughed aloud even when I watched it alone, which usually never happens. 

The script is well written, and the performances are top notch. This is maybe the best Colin Farrell has ever been in my opinion (he was in this random movie about a boat called Cassandra's Dream, which he was good in, but the writing wasn't as good as this, so it makes it seem less) he is very funny, in an unconscious way and vulnerable as a character. Liam Neeson plays quick tempered "Harry" whom after being told by his wife while hitting a telephone relentlessly in anger, "it's an inanimate fucking object" screams back "you're an inanimate fucking object!"

The themes and comedy are a little dark which I always like, the writing is good, the actors are good and  the end is REALLY good. Watch it, see what you think and tell me!

What's Better Than Nicholas Cage on Land Stealing Cars? Nicholas Cage in the Air Stealing Hearts. And Speaking in A Horrific Southern Accent

This is a wonderful movie about ex-ranger Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage) who mistakenly kills a man in a  fight to defend his wife's honor, (very dramatic, in the rain which is concluded by "Frank" the presumed owner of the bar checking the attacker's pulse and pronouncing, "Oh, he's dead Cameron"). Poe then goes to jail for a period of time, but all of this happens in the first minute of the movie. The movie starts when he meets his parole and gets on a plane to go home to his beautiful wife, and daughter whom he has never met.

This movie has so many great things about it. First of all, there is a "give everyone shit" attitude throughout the movie amongst most of the characters with nothing being taboo. People are made fun of for race, ethnicity, accents, you name it. Most hilariously by a young Dave Chappelle as "Pinball" a talkative yet good natured inmate with a drug problem. 

John Malkovitch and Ving Rhames do an excellent job of being the intelligent mastermind criminals who are always a step ahead of the DEA and Marshall's office (headed by a squirrely but well-intentioned John Cusack) while Danny Trejo and Steve Buscemi do an excellent job of being the deeply mentally deranged and psychotic criminals. There is an especially haunting scene with Buscemi where he shares a cup of tea with a little girl in a drained pool in the middle of an abandoned airfield. Lending this scene some extra weight was the profession from Buscemi we get a couple of scenes before, how after killing 30 people he, "drove through three states wearing one little girls' head as a hat."

Cage is in full form, spouting what are supposed to be honorable lines in what is supposed to be an Alabama accent. The best of which famously, happens in a fight over a present for his daughter that results in him killing another inmate in the weird air shaft underbelly of the plane then lamenting, "Why couldn't you just put the bunny back in the box?"

Armed only with shoulder length greasy tresses, bulging muscles and a not too clean wifebeater, Cage manages to "save the fucking day" Meanwhile, there's so many mentions of propane and scenes of propane tanks you'd think Simon West had share in Chevron.

The final scenes of the movie come to a dramatic head, with Poe taking on not only the whole plane of convicts but even more metaphysical dilemmas, like the existence of God. In one of the best scenes ever, Poe gets shot in the arm and keeps advancing, showing that he will NEVER BACK DOWN. And finally, in one of the best scenes of iconic destruction since Independence Day, the plane "lands" on the Las Vegas strip. But just when you think it's over, it's not- even after the intense plane crash there's still another high volume chase involving an ambulance and two motorcycles and death by pulverization for one lucky individual. Only after all this does it then rain money.

In beautiful symmetric symmetry, the movie begins and ends to the same song, the one and only, "How Do I Live" by Leann Rimes. But don't you worry, Sweet Home Alabama is in there a couple of times, how could it not be?

Nabokov Isn't the Only One

Hard Candy. What a movie. Patrick Wilson seems to be an indie go-to leading man (Little Children- he's also in Watchmen and the Phantom of the Opera remake which I will not discuss) Also Ellen Page manages to wander out of teenage pregnancy and into vengeful jailbait. This movie falls under my favorite category besides revenge biopic- psychological thriller. It is an excellent portrayal of the two characters, famously, the cast is five people, two of which don't have speaking parts if I remember correctly. So the focus is really on this relationship. A lot like Lolita if you've read that. Not only in content, which is where it is most reminiscent, but also in the richness of dialogue. This movie will make you sit up and watch it, I haven't met a person who didn't physically tense up during the final scenes. 

WHAT WHY DOES NOBODY KNOW THIS MOVIE IT'S SO GOOD

This is an excellent movie about a kid trying to grow up and facing literally every challenge along the way. Michael, (Sean Nelson) a 12 year old drug dealer, is incredibly smart and uses this to his advantage to escape the almost inevitable fate (death) that takes so many of the other characters in the film. Fresh is a latent psychological thriller of a movie with a subtle layering that quietly builds until it explodes in the final scenes. 

With Samuel L. Jackson as his absentee chess playing father, N'Bushe Wright as his cracked out but beautiful whore of a sister, and Luis Lantigua as his loudmouthed best friend, Fresh doesn't get much help throughout the film. In fact it seems as if the people closest to him are hurting his chances at a happy life. 

But don't count him out just yet, this movie is completely unpredictable and satisfying in a plot-constructed way akin to Fracture or Psycho. 

Vin Diesel can act? (Even though I loved XXX)

M. Night Shyamalan's Best Movie (Which Isn't Saying Much After 1999, But I Haven't Seen Devil Yet)

Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis respectively are incredible. Paired with this script which actually is a plot, not just a series of plot twists (thank you South Park) and a beautiful blue wash film style, like Payback if anyone has seen that, make this movie good on every level. There are some parts of this movie that are so haunting they will stay with you. Another psychological thriller that is executed well.

This movie follows two seemingly ordinary men, 

Darwin (and Tarsem Singh) got a few things right

Giovanni Ribisi Makes Another Winner

This is a funny little movie as my mom would say. The main character (played by Giovanni Ribisi) Solo, is depressed and at the reluctant suggestion of his therapist (Don Cheadle) gets a dog. Then he manages to get himself into a number of mix ups and sticky situations, the common thread being of course his new friend. Great performances by all involved manage to make each character an interesting and refreshing new take on what would on paper seem like a trite stereotyped character. Rich Bitch (Mena Suvari), Sex Obsessed Best Friend (Scott Caan), Stripper with a Heart of Gold (Lynn Collins) Eccentric and Kind of Violent Drug Dealer (Kevin Corrigan) and of course, Depressed Writer (Giovanni Ribisi). 

Joseph Gordon Levitt and the Most Intense Scene in a Movie I've Ever Seen, INCLUDING Curb Stomping

This is a hard movie to talk about without giving away too much. But if you need to be convinced to give it a shot, I can offer this: Joseph Gordon Levitt stars, and he hasn't made a bad movie ever (with the possible exception of 500 Days of Summer, but there's a can of worms I won't open). Michelle Trachtenberg finds her way in here as kind of a punk best friend to Levitt, how she landed this script after Ice Princess I'll never know.

This movie features drugs, alien abduction, halloween, little league baseball and absentee fathers. If that doesn't make you want to watch it, I don't know what else I can do. This is one of the best movies I've ever seen. But I think that about all the movies on here. So, do what you wish. 

Mafia and Yakuza, What Could Go Wrong?

This is a Japanese movie by director Takeshi Kitano, who also acts. I've heard him described as the japanese Oprah, in the sense that he is involved in so much and is such a fixture/cultural icon. This is one of his more recent movies, starring Forest Whitteker (Ghost Dog) about a man who must leave Japan because his involvement with the Yakuza (Japanese Mafia) goes sour, then upon arriving in New York, through a series of twists and turns he manages to get into trouble with the Mafia. This results in an awesome stand off. If violence and fight choreography doesn't entice you the way it does me, the quality of the movie will woo you. Kitano is famous for shooting entire movies in an incredibly short period of time. He encourages actors to practice a movie and act it out many times, like a play, before he films anything. He thinks to film a scene out of context again and again to elicit a certain emotion is interrupting the natural flow of the action and is cheap/fake. So many of the scenes in his movie are a single take. If you've ever seen Children of Men, you know what a feat this is. The film is also visually very dynamic, and beautiful to watch. Truly, a well made movie.