The King's Speech (2010)

Man that was excruciating watching Colin Firth stammer at the speech hours! But what a great performance ...... what a great performance. Why? Would I be surprised if Colin receives an Academy for this one. No not at all. Brilliant movie. Brilliant cast. Brilliant direction by Tom Hooper and a brilliant story by David Seidler.

The King’s speech is the story of King George VI of England prior to the time of World War II. While Bertie(Colin Firth) is forced to take on the throne as his elder brother abdicates because he decides to marry a divorced woman whom he loved (which is unacceptable for a king). Bertie is reluctant coz he stammers and lacks self confidence. He hires Lionel Logue(Geoffrey Rush) a speech therapist as suggested by his wife Queen Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) to treat him to get rid of the stammer. His unconventional methods surprise Bertie which causes him to discontinue his services in the beginning and also when Lionel starts getting involved with the king’s business although he returns to him as his unconventional methods start to work on him. It used to get really embarrassing watching the king struggle with the words while people raised placards saying “God save the king” albeit Lionel assists him to get his fluency and works wonder eventually.

The drama is well depicted and well assisted by some great performances by Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter. The direction by Tom Hooper was brilliant. The flick was well strewn with catchy phrases and some great dialogues. There is one scene that depicts Hitler giving a speech to the German army (in German of course) while everyone was listening to him. One of Bertie’s daughters asks him what he was saying to which he replies: “I don't know but, he seems to be saying it rather well.”

True Grit (2010)

An amazing movie by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen and no one’s surprised as they make their way to the nominations for the Academy this time as well. Although I personally didn’t like No country for old men and I was a bit reluctant to go for another one of their flick but I was really taken by surprise when I actually found the movie quite interesting and brilliant. No country for old men had left me with a sour taste (yeah I am talking about the ending) although the movie was quite brilliant as I recall it now but True grit has certainly something more of a true grit in it.

What really worked apart from the obvious brilliant direction was Mattie Ross’s (Hailee Steinfeld) boldness and Rooster Cogburn’s (Jeff Bridges) true grit. Matt Damon did his part as LaBoeuf the Texas Ranger who follows them on their hunt completing the trio hunting down Tom Chaney(Josh Brolin) who has murdered Mattie’s father and absconded. Mattie is looking for revenge and hires Rooster Cogburn to hunt down Tom Chaney and punish him for his deed. Albeit LaBoeuf is already on the hunt for Tom Chaney and wants him hanged in his own town and there is a bit of a contradiction of opinions between the three of them. The drama is well portrayed as everyone wants a piece of Tom Chaney and LaBoeuf and Rooster are busy proving who’s the best in getting a Bulls eye. Rooster is after a guy named Lucky Ned Pepper (Barry Pepper) and is in for the kill for his reasons.

The flick is a marvellous depiction of the life of Mattie who is looking for vengeance, who is just 14 years old and still can do a lot about getting her job done because of her bravery, presence of mind and skills.

It is a worth watch and I’d rate the movie 8.5 on 10 and recommend everyone to go for it.

The Fighter (2010)

Now that's called a good flick. Some great acting by the cast and an exceptionally well acting by Christian Bale, made the movie worth it. The struggle of Mickey(Mark Wahlberg) as a boxer of Lowell with bits of drama in it assisted profoundly by his family and friends was really appealing and I must say the direction was brilliant.

The movie was based on true events. It is about a boxer "Irish" Micky Ward's road to the world light welterweight title. Dicky Eklund his elder brother portrayed by Christian Bale is the person who trains him and leads him to the road to glory. Christian Bale was the most remarkable person in the movie. No wonder he has been nominated for an Academy and I am pretty sure he would nail it. I was not surprised when got the Globes. Mellisa Leo and Amy Adams were good in the movie as well and did their part pretty nicely.

Mickey (Mark Wahlberg) leads a life of the brother of a famous boxer Dicky Eklund (Christian Bale) who has resorted to drugs and guess what he's happy coz HBO's making a movie about him. However Mickey is pressurized by his family a lot and loses many fight one after the other. He wants to get away from them and Dicky's drug habits have landed him in trouble every now and then. He decides to change his trainer and coach and wants to see the difference by the advice given to him by Amy Adams(his girlfriend) and eventually wins fights because of that. Although eventually the training given by his elder brother aids him to win a fight he was about to lose. He wants Dicky back without making anybody reluctant. The flick is a wonderful depiction of the life of Micky Ward and has been really well dramatized by the complicated family of Micky.

Go for this one and keep your eyes open for the acting of Christian Bale. He'd always bring a smile to your face every now and then.

127 Hours (2010)

Another great movie by Danny Boyle. Albeit the story is inspired by a true story and you had a ready made story in your lap, Danny Boyle did a great job manifesting the same in his own style.

The movie is about a guy named Aron Ralston (James Franco) who sets out on an adventure in the canyon of Utah. He finds himself in trouble as he gets stuck under a rock which accidentally gets tipped off as he lands on it, on his right hand. He finds himself stuck with the rock and has only a few things left with him to survive. The story is about how he actually survives the peculiar situation he has been put in. It is an adventurous tale of survival of Aron which is impeccably directed by Danny Boyle(who else could have portrayed this story better!).

There are only a few characters in the movie but that was because the script demanded it. James Franco performed really well and surely has landed himself for an Academy nomination on this one. The direction and the screenplay probably took the movie to a great height what otherwise would have been a clichéd story of survival.

The poster and the movie name had a lot to say and at one point I had considered not watching the flick but I was totally surprised when I found the flick totally mind boggling. It is highly recommended to go for this one coz it is actually a real good movie.

Black Swan (2010)

Kudos to Natalie for this one! She was brilliant in this flick and I wouldn’t be surprised if she gets an Academy for Black Swan because there is absolutely no match for her this time. Also, kudos to Darren Aronofsky for his wonderful direction which apparently led the movie to such a big height!

Nina, (Natalie Portman) plays a ballet dancer who is highly obsessed by the play Swan Lake. She is counted perfect for the role of White Swan - Princess Odette in the story however she faces a competition from Lily, (Mila Kunis) another Ballet dancer who is also perfect for the role of Black swan.

Leroy (Vincent Cassel) is the director of the play Swan Lake who chooses Nina for the lead although he’s unconvinced with her Black swan Dance. He sets his eyes on Lily for the same which worries Nina as she was desperate for the lead.

Nina’s mother on the other hand keeps on pestering her and holds a strange control over her every activity. She is smothered at home however she can’t do anything about it. Nina is so desperate for the role that in an attempt to grab the role she starts impersonating her dark side, Black swan and becomes obsessed with the character.

The flick is no doubt an Oscar material and a perfect watch for those who are sane enough to understand the intricacies of a human brain. Natalie no doubt deserves an Academy for this flick!

Lord of War (2005)

Now thats a movie worth watching. I think Nicolas Cage is one of the finest actors alive who is still imparting class to his roles. He adapts himself to the character in such a fine manner that one would consider him "born for the role". Now that is exactly what he did in this one as well.

Nicolas Cage is an arms dealer who has an obsession with selling arms and he is damn good at it. While doing his monkey business he encounters various problems from the interpol as well as from his conscience. The morality keeps on nibbling at his soul, however he never gets exhausted. Things mess up pretty badly for him as he fails to justify his veracity in front of his wife. It costs him a lot eventually.

Ethan Hawke plays the guy from Interpol who is on a hunt to catch him. Andrew Niccol wrote a brilliant story about war and politics. His earlier ventures as a writer The Terminal(a movie you can never forget) and The Truman Show happens to be my all time favourites.

This movie was exceptionally well directed by Andrew Niccol and brilliantly performed by Nicolas Cage(No one could have done it better).

Happythankyoumoreplease (2010)

What a movie....what a movie..... I must say I'm a big fan of Josh Radnor because of his hit series "How I met your mother" and (who isn't?) I think as a writer he is amazing and he has a long way to go. He has mentioned his love for short stories unknowingly in the TV show many times and I must say his endeavour has never gone unnoticed. Josh Radnor has a real potential. He just brought it together and the rest was obvious. The writing was superb(I'm a writer myself so bro Respect!) and not to forget the brilliant direction done by Josh himself.

A wonderful debut, by the way, as a director for him and all the very best wishes to him for his future ventures. Awesome acting and some great performances by the cast that included Malin Akerman (as usual she is brilliant in this flick too), Kate Mara (I'm beginning to like her already)and Zoe Kazan(with her sweet role which she generally plays quite naturally).

The story was wonderful. Gotta watch it to know it. I'd give it a 7 on 10 and I think the flick deserved it. I'd recommend everyone to go and watch this one because it certainly is worth all the accolades.