Movie Review - The King's Speech

You might think that a story about royalty would leave little for us commoners to relate to.  But this King of England has an impediment that I think all of us have experienced, and I don't mean a stutter.  The core of his suffering is insecurity, being uncomfortable in his own skin.  Although an heir to the throne of England, a man with title and every privilege, he lacked all belief in himself.  For King George VI, this hidden lifelong fear is made painfully public every time he tries to speak.  We later learn that his stuttering started in childhood with the abuse of a nanny, and then solidified with the early death of a sibling and constant teasing by his surviving brother. 

What gives this movie it's core is the unlikely friendship that slowly develops between the would-be king (Colin Firth) and his speech therapist Lionel (Geoffrey Rush).  It's great watching these two actors play off one another, with Colin playing the troubled, pathetic noble and Geoffrey perfect as the eccentric self-made therapist.  We later learn that the king had no friends until meeting Lionel, and with his personality you have to wonder if he ever would have found friendship if this patient, humble man didn't enter his life.  Surely every other doctor he would have seen would have let their pride get in the way to become "the man that cured the King of England."

For a movie primarily about a man's speech impediment and his striving to overcome it, it's surprisingly engaging.  You see the everyman in the King and can't help but root for him as an underdog, which is not something you expect from a man of privilege.  When leaving the theater, the one "miss" that  I saw for the film was how it used the backdrop of the impending second world war.  I thought the grim reality of what another global war would mean to the King's country was only used as a plot device to set up his big speech.  But now I think that maybe the insulation the movie exhibits from the events of the "real world" is an accurate depiction of the life of a royal, especially in modern times.  At the end of the film, when the King has his triumphant speech announcing his Empire's entrance into WWII, you realize how a King's moment of personal victory, can quickly be humbled by the dire events of the day.    

Ebert Presents: At the Movies

Roger Ebert debuted his long-awaitied return to TV, Ebert Presents: At the Movies, this past weekend on PBS.  It's been 36 years since Roger, along with his co-host Gene Siskel started their weekly hour-long movie review show, originally called Sneak Previews.  This new show largely has Mr. Ebert working behind the scenes as producer.  Throat and salivary cancer has robbed his voice but you can't stop this man's ambition.  He will have a short segment at the end of each show, where he will review a new film.  The first episode had director Werner Herzog narrate Roger's review which was pretty cool to hear.  It would be awesome if he talked for Roger every week!

So with this new show, Roger's left the bulk of the movie reviewing to movie critics Christy Lemire of The Associated Press and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of Mubi.com.  The first thing you'll notice is how young the Russian-born Ignatiy is (24).  During the first show, the two hosts didn't really seem to have much chemistry,  but we'll see how that develops once they get into a groove.  Interestingly, Christy gave a "thumbs down" to all 5 films they reviewed, while Ignatiy gave a "thumbs up" to each of them.  It's just one show, but to me it did seem like Ignatiy was way too forgiving when it came to a lot of the movies' flaws.  But, maybe the contrast will keep things interesting.

Being a huge Orson Welles fan, it was cool to see all the Wellesian references throughout the first show.  They reviewed the great, classic noir film, The Third Man, probably Welles most famous acting role.  Plus, they introduced the critics in the style of Welles famous trailer for Citizen Kane.  Then they finished off the show with Ebert's face replacing Welle's famous entrance in The Third Man.  Not to mention using Anton Karas' Third Man theme as the theme for the show!  The vain Welles would have been sick with pride.

The One-Eyed Man Is King - New York Times article

Although I already thought True Grit was the best 2010 movie I've seen so far, I just assumed that the more relevant and timely, and most buzzed-about film, The Social Network, would be a shoe-in for the prize of best picture at the Academy Awards.  However, since this morning's announcement that True Grit garnered the second most nominations (10), 2 ahead of the Social Network, Mr. Ebert now believes that True Grit is the front-runner to win Best Picture.

On that note, I saw this interesting article written by op-ed columnist Frank Rich in the New York Times.  He argues that contrary to what you would expect, True Grit provides the view of America that audiences seem to prefer.  Unlike the setting of unaccountability, greed, and selfishness presented in The Social Network's realistic depiction of the 21st century, True Grit offers up a morality tale from the mythical wild west: a place where loyalty and honor are still tangible things.  Until I read this article I didn't realize that these were exactly the reasons I had so much more fun during True Grit than The Social Network.  Should be interesting to see who get's the grand prize!

Modern Family

Man, this show is funny! My wife and I have never laughed so hard. It follows the lives of three related families. And like any sitcom they happen to be way funnier and get into crazier situations than you or I.  It's shot like a standard comedy (no laugh track) with moments of documentary style confessionals from time to time so you get to see what each character is thinking.  Nothing ground breaking, just the funniest writing and acting out there. Check out the last episode here.

Disney Remixes

 

So I remember watching and listening to this musical remix of Disney's Alice and Wonderland and being mesmerized.  If you havent seen this hit play now.  Basically, the sounds and images of the movie have been edited to make an original, trippy song that you won't be able to get out of your head.  You don't even need to be under the influence to enjoy it, but it couldn't hurt.  I looked up the creator and found that he's done this for other movies too.  The Mary Poppins one is good.  Here's his website.

The Decemberists - The King is Dead

I haven't really gotten into The Decemberists previous albums much, not sure why.  And except for their really great opener Don't Carry It All my first listen of their new album The King is Dead didn't really blow me away.  But something made me listen to it a few more times and it really has grown on me.  Enough to make me think I should go back and listen to their older stuff more.  This new album has an upbeat and folksy (in a non-Palin way) feeling about it which I like.  And the best thing is you can preview the entire album here!

This American Life

This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio show that has been produced by Chicago Public Radio since 1995, and is broadcast across the country on NPR stations.  Each show centers on a theme, and then presents 2  to 5 stories on that theme produced by different journalists.  Man, that sounds kinda boring, right?  For reasons hard to explain, boring is probably the last descriptor anyone would have for this show.  Maybe that's because of the always-unique weekly themes, or the great introductions provided by host Ira Glass, or the usually perfect music accompaniment provided as the backdrop for each story.  In the end, what really sets this show apart from anything out there on TV or radio, is great storytelling.  The unique and fresh views of daily life that these journalists provide help to keep this show relevant, must-hear radio.

Their latest show entitled "Kid Politics" has stories of instances when kids were asked to govern, and how they did compared to their adult counterparts.  Listen Here

Snubbed Comedies of 2010

After watching the Golden Globes last night it was really hard not to think there was some vote rigging when it came to the nominees for the best musical or comedy.  The two suspect nominees were The Tourist and Burlesque, which both were given 2/4 stars by Ebert and received 20% and 37% positive reviews on Rottentomatoes.com.  Maybe if one sneaked through no-one would suspect anything, but both?  The worst thing is that there were some pretty damn good comedies that got screwed out of the nomination. 

The number one film screwed over was Easy A.  I just saw this one the other day and really liked it.  Emma Stone was  perfect as the non-adulterous adulterous, and very deservingly nominated for best actress last night - they got something right at least.  It's a really funny high school comedy that's a sort of loose re-telling of The Scarlett Letter - kinda like How to Loose a Guy in 10 Days' retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. 

Two other screwed over movies were Get Him to The Greek, an over-the-top Russell Brand/Jonah Hill unlikely buddy comedy, and Dinner For Schmucks, a really good Straight Man/Funny Idiot routine played by Paul Rudd and Steve Carell.

Big Love

From time to time throughout Big Love's 5-year run, I thought the story was a little over the top, drama for drama's sake.  But like a train wreck it's hard to look away from this crazy dysfunctional family.  Plus, being HBO, the production quality is high and acting is top-notch from this great ensemble cast. 

All of the drama stems from the family's attempt to blend into normal society and keep their polygamist marriage a secret, while dealing with the family's strong ties to the local compound of fundamentalist Mormons.  As you would expect from a bunch of religious zealots, there's no end to sinning: conspiracies, arson, theft, adultery, rape, incest, lies, murder, backstabbing, abortions, hidden homosexuality, bitter jealousy, kidnapping, and bird trafficking.  Sounds like fun, right?  The last season begins tonight, with the husband just elected to Utah's state senate and the family outed publicly as polygamists.  Let the craziness begin!

My Favorite Albums of 2010

The Black Keys - Brothers.  A bluesy, gritty album that delivers song after song of searing vocals, catchy lyrics, and irresistible pounding rythym.  And all of this coming mostly from it's two band members, guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach and drummer/producer Patrick Carney.  The first 5 songs on the album alone are so good, you can't imagine they can keep it going for 11 more songs but they do.  Many of later songs, though slower tempo, have some of most insightful lyrics and best vocals of the album, my favorites being Unknown Brother and These Days.

Band of Horses - Infinite Arms. Clearly the best thing the Band of Horses have going for them is the soaring vocals of Ben Bridwell.  And this album definitely highlights his talents with melodic tunes featuring some amazing harmonies.  This makes for a very easy listening experience, when you're not in the mood for the heavy beats of the Black Keys.  It definitely seems like they were inspired by The Beach Boys Pet Sounds, but were still able to make something fresh and unique of their own.  My favorite songs are Blue Beard and Infinite Arms. 

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs.   Everything that Arcade Fire does is BIG: at least 7 band members, big rock anthems, grand statements in their lyrics.  Just look at the list of instruments they play: guitar, drums, bass guitar, piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass, xylophone, glockenspiel, keyboard, French horn, accordion, harp, mandolin and hurdy-gurdy.  And this is the main reason I can't wait to see them live, what a show that must be.  I would rate this one a close second to their debut album Funeral, but an improvement from their second attempt Neon Bible.  Like always there are some great anthems here: Ready to Start, City with No Children, Half Light II, and Sprawl II we'll get you going.  Then some great quieter, more introspective songs: The Suburbs, Modern Man, and Wasted Hours.  The only negative for me is that by the end of the album I begin to think "Yeah the suburbs suck, but they're not THAT bad, are they?"  Either way, musically another great Arcade Fire record.

Jeff Bridges on American Masters

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners."

Last night's show of American Masters on PBS featured The Dude, Jeff Bridges.  And until watching this I didn't know that he really was The Dude.  Not that he is a drugged-out ex-hippy, that was just a role he played.  But watching the documentary you see the way he carries himself, having a very Dude-like quality of letting life come his way, instead of trying to take control all the time.  And you see his Dude-ness in all the unorthodox movie roles he's chosen over his career, always looking for new acting challenges and new experiences.  Over the years he has also become an accomplished musician, photographer, and artist.

McSweeney's Quarterly Concern

"One of the more recognizable lines from Superman, in all it's various forms, is that guy yelling 'Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!'  But in the moment before it's made clear that Superman is flying by, doesn't the line imply that the guy's just some weirdo screaming at people to look at birds and planes all day? "

That was one of the many fan letters published at the beginning of every issue of McSweeney's Quarterly Concern.  What is McSweeneys?  Basically it's a quarterly publication of some of the best American and international short fiction.  But what's really great about it is the creativity that is put into the theme of each issue and what the stories are actually printed on.  For example, the fall 2009 issue was an oversized full-color newspaper that had current events stories, entertainment news, comics, new fiction, all written by some of the best writers out there.

Then this last issue had the stories printed on individual mini-books stored inside a box painted like a man's head.  That's what's cool about McSweeneys; every three months you never know what you're gonna get, except some great new short stories.

Man in a Blizzard

Here's a very cool short video of the New York blizzard from a couple of weeks back that Ebert's a big fan of.  Being a midwest native now living in Northern California this video brought back a lot of memories.  The combination of the quickly edited images and mellow music really gets at the feeling of living through a big snowstorm: that feeling of being trapped and isolated but at the same time having that comforting no-school-today feeling of being happily home-bound for at least one day.  Unless you are homeless, then it just plain old sucks.

Zodiac

Ever since watching David Fincher's recent great movie Social Network I wanted to re-watch his 2007 film Zodiac.  I did and it's better than I remember it.  Great characters, better acting, and a great crime drama setting of 1970's San Francisco.  Pretty amazing how Fincher can create tension and drama out of what would normally be pretty mundane scenes.  And that basement scene is about as spine-tingling as you will see.

Movie Review - True Grit

Like pretty much everyone else I had pretty high hopes for this movie and it did not disappoint.  I really liked the Coen Brothers last three films: No Country For Old Men, Burn After Reading, and A Serious Man.  But they all sort of left me with a sour taste in my mouth.  I think it's because they all seemed to be commenting on the randomness and entropy of life, with characters that are for the most part all out for themselves and stumble upon some crazy shit everywhere.  Even though that is fun to watch, for me it limits how engaged I feel with the characters and ultimately how much I enjoy the movie.   So it was pretty refreshing to see the Coens make a movie that had some clear direction and had characters that believed in something other than themselves.  

As usual for a Coen brothers movie it looked amazing.  The bleak setting of the wild west never looked better.  My favorite scene was when U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and his current employer, 14-year old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), are wating to spring a trap on a gang of outlaws, one of which is believed to be Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), the man that murdered Mattie's dad.  First off, it is a beautiful scene with our heroes perched up-high in a moonlit canyon where down below sits a one-room shack with flickering light leaking through it's cracks and smoke rising from it's Chimney.  The tension is high because up until this point the audience and the characters have only heard about the outlaw Cheney and the gang he rides with and don't know what to expect.  Without describing it to death, it ends with the surprise entrance of good-guy Texas ranger Lebouf (Matt Damon), followed closely by the gang of outlaws.  Great climax to a perfectly set-up scene.

But as amazing as Bridges is in the role of the grizzled, run-down Marshall, and solid acting from Damon and Brolin, the 14-year old newcomer is by far the standout.  From the first scene she is perfectly believable in that role, and commands your attention the whole movie.  That was pretty damn risky for the Coens to have an unknown kid lead this movie, but boy did it pay off.

Great movie, and so far I think this edges out The Social Network for best movie of 2010.  But how the hell do you compare the Social Network with True Grit?  For me, True Grit was more fun, so it wins first prize (so far anyway).  

Don't Say Oh Well by Grouplove

This was today's top tune on KCRW the other day and I've played it many times since then.  Don't know much about the band except that they're new and have an album coming out on Jan 25.  Hopefully it's as good as this song!
Listen Here

Steven Millhauser

Thanks to a few short stories published in McSweeney's Quarterly, I've lately gotten into the writings of Steven Millhauser.  He's written many short story collections over the years, and has a really unique style, categorized as magic realism.  Some of his subjects include: a painter whose works come to life, an underground world in an ordinary town, children flying on carpets, and a city obsessed with miniature automatons.  What I love about his stories is the way he can describe these imagined places, people, and things with so much care and detail that I hardly notice I'm reading fiction at all.  Here's my favorite collection of his stories: The Knife Thrower and other Stories