The King's Speech

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 118 minutes

Director: Tom Hooper

Academy Award winner Colin Firth stars alongside the wonderful Helena Bonham Carter and the brilliant Geoffrey Rush in this regal movie about the tribulations of King George VI and his stutter. Based on true events, the tale depicts the King’s relationship with his family, wife (Bonham Carter), and speech therapist (Rush) as he comes to terms with his childhood, the pressures of royalty, and the duties of a King that he thought he’d never have. Easily the best film of 2010/11. Deserved all the awards that it got. Amazing acting, costume, music, screenplay and more. Highly recommended. 

Rating: *****

Black Swan

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 108 minutes

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Natalie Portman stars in this artistic portrayal of a female ballerina in America. Do not be fooled, it isn’t the warm hearted fairytale you may think it is. Among the dancing and production of Swan Lake, characters evolve around drugs, violence, and sex. An obscenely dark plot with a creative and artistic beauty to add to it’s magic. Natalie Portman gelled to the role perfectly, well deserving the Academy Award. This is the first truly new movie plot line in quite a while. Well worth a watch, and deserves nothing but praise.

Rating: *****

83rd Academy Award Results :-)

It truly was a night to remember!! Congratulations to all the worthy winners - especially the exceptionally talented Colin Firth!!!


Best Film - The Kings Speech
Best Direction - Tom Hooper for 'The Kings Speech'
Best Lead Actor - Colin Firth for 'The Kings Speech'
Best Lead Actress - Natalie Portman for 'Black Swan'

Actor in a Supporting Role
Winner - Christian Bale for 'The Fighter'
Actress in a Supporting Role
Winner - Melissa Leo for 'The Fighter'
Animated Feature
Winner - Toy Story 3
Art Direction
Winner - Alice in Wonderland
Cinematography
Winner - Inception
Costume Design -
Winner - Colleen Atwood for Alice in Wonderland
Documentary (Feature)
Winner - Inside Job
Documentary (Short Subject)
Winner - Strangers No More
Film Editing
Winner - Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter for 'The Social Network'
Foreign Language Film
Winner - In a Better World from Denmark
Makeup
Winner - Rick Baker and Dave Elsey for 'The Wolfman'
Music (Original Score)
Winner - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for 'The Social Network'
Music (Original Song)
Winner - 'We Belong Together' from 'Toy Story 3' by Randy Newman
Short Film (Animated)
Winner - Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann for 'The Lost Thing'
Short Film (Live Action)
Winner - God of Love
Sound Editing
Winner - Richard King for 'Inception'
Sound Mixing
Winner - Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick for 'Inception'
Visual Effects
Winner - Inception
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
Winner - 'The Social Network' adapted by Aaron Sorkin
Writing (Original Screenplay)
Winner - 'The King's Speech' written by David Seidler

The White Ribbon (Das Weisse Band)

Certificate: 15

Running Time: 144 minutes

Director: Michael Haneke

A foreign film about a small German village, and the strange events that take place over a couple of months. Without giving too much away, bad things have started to happen within the village, people are suffering, and it seems the culprit is yet to be identified. The whole movie seemed a bit pointless and got nowhere, and it seems there can’t have been many foreign films out last year, as it was nominated for an Academy Award. Quite a disappointment in truth.

Rating: **