What Movie Did You Watch, Pt. 1: Starting Over

[eurocheese]

(03-04-2015 12:46 PM)misplaced validity Wrote:  Carnage - While I'm not sure I fully buy the way the one couple keeps staying, damn if the acting isn't terrific. I also love how alliances change based on the course of discussion, and how it shows people ultimately argue to be right regardless of anything else. And there are some truly LOL moments, most courtesy of John C Reilly but from all involved.

Winslet's "I WIPE my ASS with your HUMAN RIGHTS" makes me laugh every time I think about it. She should take on more comedic roles. Her stint on Extras killed me still too, especially after her Oscar win.

[misplaced validity]

(03-04-2015 04:41 PM)eurocheese Wrote:  

(03-04-2015 12:46 PM)misplaced validity Wrote:  Carnage - While I'm not sure I fully buy the way the one couple keeps staying, damn if the acting isn't terrific. I also love how alliances change based on the course of discussion, and how it shows people ultimately argue to be right regardless of anything else. And there are some truly LOL moments, most courtesy of John C Reilly but from all involved.

Winslet's "I WIPE my ASS with your HUMAN RIGHTS" makes me laugh every time I think about it. She should take on more comedic roles. Her stint on Extras killed me still too, especially after her Oscar win.

That line (and whole speech) was fan-fucking-tastic! It's the moment that seals the deal on her character and performance.

[Brad]

Caught up on a few 2014 titles...

Lucy- I know the word was generally positive here, but I kept my expectations in check, and managed to be very pleasantly surprised. One of the year's best popcorn flicks.

Two Faces of January - Not particularly noteworthy, but a solid rainy-day flick. The performances rfom Isaac, Mortensen and Dunst all worked pretty well for me, and the scenery was great.

Foxcatcher - Big disappointment for me as well. Carrell was shaky (perhaps editing did him now favors) but there seemed to be no consistency with the vocal tics and cadence, Tatum seemed to be just thrusting his chin forward and making a Hulk impression. Ruffalo is best in show, but had he been overlooked, I wouldn't have complained. Was just left with a shrug.

[NGL]

The King's Speech
2010, Tom Hooper

The is the last film I watched on TCM's "31 Days Of Oscar."

At first, one would think that the subject of a stutter would be a little too thin for a feature-length film. While I believe this limits the ultimate success of The King's Speech, it does, both poignantly and humorously, draw on how King George VI's stammer interacted with World War II England. Actual trivialities such as handshake, means of eye contact, or a speech impediment, unfortunately can become real-world big deals based on how others react. This is most so for a king that eventually needs to inspire his nation to face Hitler when he fights to get his words out.

Even though I think Colin Firth gives an Oscar-worthy performance, there are enough stuttering scenes to make the film at points slightly irritating. While I find the swearing-to-get-the-words-out the most humorous, I find the most poignant not to be the final speech; but, King George's talking to his youg daughters Elizabeth and Margaret.

I know some have claimed Hooper lacks in visual style in The King's Speech, but I got a kick out of the panache with which it moves back and forth from the luxurious housing of royalty to Lionel Logue's drab office space.

A-

[JSMalahy]

My boyfriend and I got swept up in this last night, too. It's a terrific movie, and I feel like it only improved with age. With the middling and lazily-written The Imitation Game drawing genre comparisons this year, the skillful writing and directorial control of The King's Speech is all the more apparent.

[dug11]

I really enjoyed The King's Speech. It gets a bad reputation, but I think they made the right choice in giving it Best Picture over The Social Network. Really great performances and a charming film overall. Glad others here like it.

[NUguy514]

The direction in The King's Speech is distractingly bad, and Hooper's win is one of the worst Best Director wins I can recall. It's a good movie in spite of that; however, since there were at least six more interesting, better nominees that could have been chosen Best Picture, I was really disappointed by this film's win.

[Raybee]

It's not my favorite of the year or of the nominees, but I quite liked it. I saw it in theaters that year, too (that was the last year I saw a lot in theaters, I've slacked since then). It's also one of the few times I didn't mind Geoffrey Rush who is usually so hammy in everything.

[NUguy514]

Totally agree about Geoffrey Rush. I usually find him so over-the-top, but he was fantastic in TKS. I actually wanted him to win of the nominees (not that he had a prayer of winning).

[Above the Title]

I enjoyed "The King's Speech" but I think "The Social Network" will end up being one of the defining movies of the generation...just pretty much a perfect film about the very way in which we communicate. There were actually a lot of atypical AMPAS picks that year - "Black Swan," "Winter's Bone," "Kids Are All Right," a western, an animated film, so them going with a historical drama seemed like such a letdown. I would say it's quality and deserving of a nomination but that's about it. Firth gives a great performance but it would have switched it so he won for "A Single Man" and Bridges won for "True Grit."