Category Archives: Entertainment

The King’s Speech – Movie Review

The King’s Speech. The frontrunner at this year’s Academy Awards, with 12 nominations, including best picture. Where do I start with this… if there was one performance to top what I think James Franco pulled off with 127 Hours (you can check out the review here), it would be Colin Firth.

His performance in the role of King George VI, the father of current queen of Britain Elizabeth II, is astonishing.

The movie’s plot is, in a nutshell, the unexpected rise of Prince Albert, the Duke of York, to become King George VI after his older brother abdicates the throne. The twist? Prince Albert has a severe stutter that limits everything he does in life – from the moment he was a kid. So the movie is him, trying to learn ways to cope and overcome this stutter.

Any actor that can pull off that stutter for almost two hours deserves recognition. The stutter is so limiting, as I said, that there are moments where you simply hold your breath for this man as he tries to utter words that don’t come out. There are other moments where you feel utter joy for him as sentences pour out of his mouth. Regardless of whether you actually know the history of Britain (I don’t), Colin Firth is beyond credible in his impersonation of the character he portrays. He is up for best actor at the Oscars and is the favorite to win. And in all honesty, if either he or James Franco won, I wouldn’t mind.

Off to the other cast in the movie. The other two notable actors are Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter. Geoffrey Rush was amazing. Probably my favorite in the best supporting actor race, although he will not win. His role is the unconventional speech coach Albert hires to help him with the stutter. His interaction with Colin Firth on screen is gold.

Helena Bohman Carter was very good as well as the supporting wife. She’s always in the background. But she’s like the catalyst that gets things going. She is up for best supporting actress for her role in this.

There’s a couple of scenes that I think were brilliant but I can’t divulge them here so I don’t spoil them to anyone. However, to conclude this, the movie does not have dull moments. It keeps you engaged throughout.

And it also makes you want to visit London.

Another interesting thing to ask is, what would the current queen of Britain think about this movie?

Here’s the trailer:

Blue Valentine – Movie Review

Overall, a good movie. There were points where I thought it was great. It’s all about the acting. This is a movie built on two brilliant performances.

Michelle Williams deserves all the recognition she’s getting. She has too many scenes where she shines, the best one, in my opinion, being when she’s at the clinic. You can’t but feel what she’s feeling when she’s lying on the doctor’s gurney there and if you don’t feel anything, then you need to get checked. She got an Oscar nomination for her role, and deservedly so.

Ryan Gosling is brilliant in this as well. He delivers a raw, gut-wrenching performance of the man trying to keep himself together and to keep his marriage still standing. I felt he was another snub at the Oscars this year. He deserved a nomination for his performance in this. I honestly thought he was a lock for a nomination.

I liked the story itself, the blooming of a love, told in flashbacks, and its disintegration, in the present, going in parallel. But I felt that both plots were underdeveloped. Like why are they falling out of love? How did they fall madly in love in the first place? that’s one of the shortcomings of this movie. But, as I said, the brilliant performances make up for it.
It’s very interesting, however, to see how this mismatched couple (and they are seriously mismatched) actually comes to the realization that they are, in fact, not suitable for each other. Many marriages are like this, I believe. The couple stays together because they have a child that’s gluing their crumbling relationship apart… and the movie is basically this couple getting to the realization that even the child is not enough anymore. And this is the crux of the movie: the reality. You forget you’re watching a movie at certain points as it draws very close to the life you know many people are leading.

127 Hours – Movie Review

I watched 127 Hours about two weeks ago but didn’t have a blog to share my ideas about it. To say this is a must-watch is an understatement. Brought to you by the same crew that gave you “Slumdog Millionaire” two years ago. And if you thought that movie was brilliant (which most of us did), wait till you watch this. It is one of the most breathtaking, exhilarating, awesome, amazing, brilliant, captivating movies I have ever watched. It was beyond perfect. The movie is James Franco and James Franco is the movie. No one else matters. Nothing else matters. You live the movie with him. You share the emotions he’s going through in the movie and at one point, you’d be holding on to dear life when he does the act that would ultimately save his life.

However, unlike Slumdog Millionaire, this doesn’t look like a surefire hit at the Academy Awards this year. But don’t let the lack of awards fool you. It’s a brilliant movie that simply got lost in the momentum of other movies out there (The Social Network comes to mind).

James Franco got nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for this performance. He is said to be Colin Firth’s main competitor for this year’s award season. He lost the Golden Globe and I believe that, even though this was a more raw performance than Firth, he will lose the Oscar as well because The King’s Speech (Firth’s movie) is building momentum. I will post my thoughts regarding The King’s Speech later.

I won’t go into the plot here but I have to say that Danny Boyle did another great job with directing this. And the overall result is a movie that, as I said, will probably get you to take a look at your life differently – at least for a while.

The score is done by A.R. Rahman. The movie’s theme song is titled “If I Rise” and was co-written with Dido. It is a beautiful tune, representing the movie’s tagline: There Is No Force More Powerful Than The Will To Live, and calling you to rise above the little things in life to lead the best life possible. Check it out:

F**kin’ Perfect – P!nk

This is one of the best music videos I’ve seen in a while. The song is empowering. Brilliant. Check it out. You have to.

2011 Oscars Nominations

The 2011 Oscar nominations are out. The King’s Speech leads the pack with 12 nominations, including best picture, best actor, best supporting actor, best supporting actress and best editing.

Missing in the best actor category are two notable names this year: Ryan Gosling for Blue Valentine and Mark Wahlberg for The Fighter. Also Mila Kunis not getting a nomination for best supporting actress is surprising.

The best actress category included, as expected, Natalie Portman and Annette Bening.

However, I’m glad Hailee Steinfeld (the fourteen year old in True Grit) got recognition for her awesome performance. Jennifer Lawrence, another newcomer with Winter’s Bone, also got a nomination for best actress and deservedly so. Winter’s Bone itself got four nominations and I believe the movie deserves every one of them, including a best picture nod. I’m also glad Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows got a couple of nominations in technical categories.

The biggest snub, however, and one that I cannot even begin to fathom is Christopher Nolan not getting a nomination for best director. I cannot even start to analyze how he did not get enough votes to – at least – get a nomination. Maybe the voters didn’t understand Inception?

Also, my inner Carrie Underwood fan is revolting at having only four songs nominated for best original song. A fifth slot would have given Carrie her first Oscar nomination!

Full nominee list:
Best motion picture of the year

  • Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) A Protozoa and Phoenix Pictures Production
    Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
  • The Fighter (Paramount) A Relativity Media Production
    David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
  • Inception (Warner Bros.) A Warner Bros. UK Services Production
    Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers)
  • The Kids Are All Right (Focus Features) An Antidote Films, Mandalay Vision and Gilbert Films Production
    Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
  • The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) A See-Saw Films and Bedlam Production
    Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
  • 127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) An Hours Production
    Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
  • The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) A Columbia Pictures Production
    Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
  • Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney) A Pixar Production
    Darla K. Anderson, Producer
  • True Grit (Paramount) A Paramount Pictures Production
    Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
  • Winter’s Bone (Roadside Attractions) A Winter’s Bone Production
    Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Performance by an actor in a leading role

  • Javier Bardem in “Biutiful” (Roadside Attractions)
  • Jeff Bridges in “True Grit” (Paramount)
  • Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network” (Sony Pictures Releasing)
  • Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company)
  • James Franco in “127 Hours” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role

  • Christian Bale in “The Fighter” (Paramount)
  • John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions)
  • Jeremy Renner in “The Town” (Warner Bros.)
  • Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features)
  • Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a leading role

  • Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right” (Focus Features)
  • Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole” (Lionsgate)
  • Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone” (Roadside Attractions)
  • Natalie Portman in “Black Swan” (Fox Searchlight)
  • Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role

  • Amy Adams in “The Fighter” (Paramount)
  • Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech” (The Weinstein Company)
  • Melissa Leo in “The Fighter” (Paramount)
  • Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit” (Paramount)
  • Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom” (Sony Pictures Classics)

Best animated feature film of the year

  • How to Train Your Dragon (Paramount) Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
  • The Illusionist (Sony Pictures Classics) Sylvain Chomet
  • Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney) Lee Unkrich

Art Direction

  • Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney), Robert Stromberg (Production Design), Karen O’Hara (Set Decoration)
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Warner Bros.), Stuart Craig (Production Design), Stephenie McMillan (Set Decoration)
  • Inception (Warner Bros.), Guy Hendrix Dyas (Production Design), Larry Dias and Doug Mowat (Set Decoration)/span>
  • The King’s Speech (Paramount), Eve Stewart (Production Design), Judy Farr (Set Decoration)
  • True Grit (Paramount), Jess Gonchor (Production Design), Nancy Haigh (Set Decoration)

Achievement in Cinematography

  • Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) Matthew Libatique
  • Inception (Warner Bros.) Wally Pfister
  • The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Danny Cohen
  • The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Jeff Cronenweth
  • True Grit (Paramount) Roger Deakins

Achievement in costume design

  • Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney) Colleen Atwood
  • I Am Love (Magnolia Pictures) Antonella Cannarozzi
  • The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Jenny Beavan
  • The Tempest (Miramax) Sandy Powell
  • True Grit (Paramount) Mary Zophres

Achievement in directing

  • Black Swan (Fox Searchlight), Darren Aronofsky
  • The Fighter (Paramount), David O. Russell
  • The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), Tom Hooper
  • The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing), David Fincher
  • True Grit (Paramount), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Best Documentary Feature

  • Exit through the Gift Shop (Producers Distribution Agency) Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz A Paranoid Pictures Production
  • Gasland Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic A Gasland Production
  • Inside Job (Sony Pictures Classics) Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs A Representational Pictures Production
  • Restrepo (National Geographic Entertainment) Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger An Outpost Films Production
  • Waste Land Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley (Arthouse Films) An Almega Projects Production

Best documentary short subject

  • Killing in the Name Nominees to be determined A Moxie Firecracker Films Production
  • Poster Girl Nominees to be determined A Portrayal Films Production
  • Strangers No More Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon A Simon & Goodman Picture Company Production
  • Sun Come Up Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger A Sun Come Up Production
  • The Warriors of Qiugang Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon A Thomas Lennon Films Production

Achievement in film editing

  • Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) Andrew Weisblum
  • The Fighter Paramount Pamela Martin
  • The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Tariq Anwar
  • 127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) Jon Harris
  • The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

Best foreign language film of the year

  • Biutiful Mexico
  • Dogtooth Greece
  • In a Better World Denmark
  • Incendies Canada
  • Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi) Algeria

Achievement in makeup

  • Achievement in makeup (Sony Pictures Classics) Adrien Morot
  • The Way Back (Newmarket Films in association with Wrekin Hill Entertainment and Image Entertainment) Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
  • The Wolfman (Universal) Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)

  • How to Train Your Dragon (Paramount) John Powell
  • Inception (Warner Bros.) Hans Zimmer
  • The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Alexandre Desplat
  • 127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) A.R. Rahman
  • The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)

  • Coming Home from Country Strong (Sony Pictures Releasing (Screen Gems)) Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
  • I See the Light from Tangled (Walt Disney) Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
  • If I Rise from 127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
  • We Belong Together from Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney) Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Best animated short film

  • Day & Night (Walt Disney) A Pixar Animation Studios Production Teddy Newton
  • The Gruffalo A Magic Light Pictures Production Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
  • Let’s Pollute A Geefwee Boedoe Production Geefwee Boedoe
  • The Lost Thing (Nick Batzias for Madman Entertainment) A Passion Pictures Australia Production Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
  • Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary) A Sacrebleu Production Bastien Dubois

Best live action short film

  • The Confession (National Film and Television School) A National Film and Television School Production Tanel Toom
  • The Crush (Network Ireland Television) A Purdy Pictures Production Michael Creagh
  • God of Love A Luke Matheny Production Luke Matheny
  • Na Wewe (Premium Films) A CUT! Production Ivan Goldschmidt
  • Wish 143 A Swing and Shift Films/Union Pictures Production Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

Achievement in sound editing

  • Inception (Warner Bros.) Richard King
  • Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney) Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
  • Tron: Legacy (Walt Disney) Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
  • True Grit (Paramount) Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
  • Unstoppable (20th Century Fox) Mark P. Stoeckinger

Achievement in sound mixing

  • Inception (Warner Bros.) Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
  • The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
  • Salt (Sony Pictures Releasing) Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
  • The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
  • True Grit (Paramount) Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland

Achievement in visual effects

  • Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney) Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Warner Bros.) Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
  • Hereafter (Warner Bros.) Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
  • Inception (Warner Bros.) Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
  • Iron Man 2 (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment, Distributed by Paramount) Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Adapted screenplay

  • 127 Hours (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
  • The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing), Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
  • Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Michael Arndt. Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
  • True Grit (Paramount), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
  • Winter’s Bone (Roadside Attractions), Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

Original screenplay

  • Another Year (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Mike Leigh
  • The Fighter (Paramount), Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson. Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
  • Inception (Warner Bros.), Written by Christopher Nolan
  • The Kids Are All Right (Focus Features), Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
  • The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Seidler