Light, fluffy feel-good confection that dramatizes the friendship (even ‘bromance?’) of a British king (Colin Firth) and his speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush). Well-scripted with spare comic touches, the movie shines when the two leads share the stage, and in examining the vestiges of still-class-conscious Britain – such as the prejudice of an overweening Archbishop of Canterbury against an un-Oxbridge educated commoner using new controversial techniques – from Australia no less!
Tag Archives: Academy Award
The King’s Speech (2010, dir. Tom Hooper): didn’t deserve the Oscar – then again, not all of them do – but it’s enjoyable enough
The Social Network (2010, dir. David Fincher, script Aaron Sorkin): entertaining, sometimes gripping, but not the great classic it could have been
Entertaining take on the Facebook creation myth, with everyone a devil and no redeemers. Good movie, relevant since it captures part of the Web 2.0 zeitgeist, but not a great classic – Citizen Kane for the millennials this ain’t. Clever dialog from Sorkin, clearly researched for geek authenticity (slipped up on “m-y-s-q-l”), but no movie-making lines such as in his earlier scripts (A Few Good Men). Women will also be unimpressed by the lack of strong, sympathetic female portrayals (a hallmark of Sorkin’s prior work).
WetWareGames 
12 Years A Slave (2013, dir. Steve McQueen): showing us the closest thing to a living Hell on earth
Addendum: After it’s well-deserved Academy Award for Best Film, and further reflecting on the movie, I’d have to remark that being a non-white in the 19th century American South was the closest thing to a living hell on earth. In every way as horrifying, de-humanizing and fundamentally evil as the Holocaust.
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Posted by Jokersmiley on January 25, 2014 in Film Reviews, Passive Media, Social Commentary
Tags: 12 Years A Slave, Academy Award, Best Film, Brad Pitt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Oscars, Solomon Northup, Steve McQueen