Movie Review: The King's Speech, 3.5 stars

The King's Speech is an excellent movie about Prince Albert (Colin Firth) who had to become King George the VI after his brother gives up the throne to marry a divorced american.  The problem is that the prince is a stutterer so he is required to give speeches to crowds and an radio.  Enter Geoffrey Rush as his speech therapist and ultimately his best friend.  Funny and interesting throughout the movie.  Not stuffy or boring considering the subject matter.  Doesn't need to be seen on the big screen but well worth the money.  Helena Bonham who usually plays very strange characters does an excellent job playing the prince's very smart and practical wife.  I can imagine a lot of Oscar nominations from this film.

Movie Review: The Fighter. 3.5 stars

The Fighter is another movie portraying Boston as a city full of low life, white trash.  Of course, coming from New York, I already knew that was the case (along with Philly).  If you haven't seen it yet, the movie The Town is also an excellent movie about the same type people.   Mark Wahlberg does an excellent job as a talented fighter who is held back by his drug addict brother and overbearing mother.  It's the supporting cast that really shines in this movie though.  Christian Bale as the fighters brother, Amy Adams as his defective girlfriend, and Melissa Leo as his pathetic mother really make this movie great.  They could have made this into four movies, each about those characters and produced four excellent movies.   This is a true story that's very Rocky-ish, that I'm sure anyone would enjo

Movie Review: Tron: Legacy 2 stars

Tron: Legacy is a cool looking movie but that's it.  Slow, uninteresting, poorly written, poorly acted and pretty boring.   It's a little over two hours (should have been 90 minutes) but it felt like I was watching it for days.  After numerous checks of my watch throughout the movie it mercifully ended.  It would have been much better if they let Jeff Bridges have some fun with the role.  Instead they all read their lines, got their paychecks, and went home after a  couple of days work.  Then the programmers worked for the next six months making it look cool.  Not worth your time to watch even if you watched it for free.  

Movie Review: Harry Potter, Deathly Hallows, part 1, 2.5 stars

Harry Potter, Deathly Hallows, part 1 is a well done movie that will probably be more enjoyed by the people who read the book.  I've enjoyed the movies without reading books or caring about the genre because, like the books, they were well done and interesting.   This movie is just a place holder for the final movie that will end the series.  We follow the three main characters as they whine about how terrible their lives are and what a bother it is that all their friends and family are getting wiped out by the evil people.  You have probably already seen it if you read the book but if you haven't, you can skip this one.  It doesn't provide any information that you will need for the final chapter and it's slow and boring to sit through.

Movie Review, The Black Swan, 4 stars

This NOT for the squeamish!  It is a brutal, in your face, psychological drama that is very difficult to watch.  In fact, I hated this movie for the first three quarters of the movie but then it turned the corner and became one of the best pictures of the year.   Natalie Portman (definitely Oscar winner) plays an obsessed ballerina whose ambition is to be the top ballerina in New York.  You feel very sorry for her because she is functionally insane and kept that way by her whacked out mother played by Barbara Hershey in an Oscar winning performance.  Mila Kunis plays her competition in the troop and also puts in an outstanding performance.  Definitely a best supporting nomination for her.  In a small but powerful role is Winona Ryder the aging queen of the ballerinas whom Natalie Portman is trying to replace.  Perhaps an Oscar nomination for her too.

This movie will have you squirming in your seat and looking way from the screen in several scenes that are very difficult to watch.  At the end of the movie it all comes together and it simply blows you away.  They really give you a workout, reminiscent of last year’s movie Precious. I thought that movie was tough to watch but in comparison to Black Swan it was a Pink Panther cartoon.

Again, let me warn you, if you decide to see this movie realize that it is brutal to watch and I can imagine some people walking out before the end because of the shocking scenes you are presented.  Even with all that, I believe that this ties my nomination for Best Picture with Inception which I also rated as 4 stars.  I watched Inception in the theater three times and cannot wait to see it again.  I don’t know if I ever want to watch Black Swan again unless I just fast forward to the last twenty minutes LOL.

Movie Review, The Tourist, 2.5 Stars

Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie star in this light hearted tale of intrigue that has gotten very bad reviews.  I watched it with low expectations and they exceeded them.  It’s not a serious movie so if you go in and just want to get amused then this movie does its job.   I believe that it might have been miss marketed as an action/adventure movie and that is not a good description of this movie which is why the reviews are so bad.   I don’t understand why Hollywood tries to trick people into seeing a movie by misrepresenting itself in the preview clips.  I guess it’s just to boost the first week numbers which is where they make most of their money.

This is not worth your movie dollar though but would make a fun rental when it comes around.

Movie Review: 127 Hours, 3 stars

James Franco does a great job in this movie about an irresponsible, fun loving hiker who has an accident while exploring remote caverns in Utah.  When a rock pins his arm to the side of a cavern wall we watch him try and figure a way out which takes 127 hours.  This is a good movie but not a great one.  It only lasts 90 minutes and I still checked my watch twice because it seemed long.   They are saying this is a “best picture” nomination but only in a very poor year.   It’s worthy of your movie dollar but I would wait and rent it.  I do believe that James Franco could be nominated for best actor for his performance though.