"127 Hours"
Danny Boyle's finest? "127 Hours" just might be. James Franco last stood out in Gus Van Sants, "Milk" and has now returned to the spotlight in this gut-wrenching tale of survival, love, loss, and desperation. Having several people having fainted during screenings in the festival circuit, it is not a movie recommended for the faint of heart. It's all but a shoo-in for "Best Editing" at next years kudos ceremonies. The story is about a man, Aron Ralston, who gets stuck in between crevice in the earth when a rock falls on his hand. Just like any other time Aron ventures out hiking, he doesn't inform anyone where he is going. First Mistake. Aron, perhaps doesn't believe in technology, because he doesn't have a cell phone on him. Mistake two. To top it all off, Aron leaves his Gatorade in his car, taking only his Camelbak and a bottle of water. Mistake three. So when Aron finds himself stuck 40 feet or so below the earth, he is fucked. No phone, very little water (just the bottle, Camelbak is already gone), and no one aware of his whereabouts? The pursuing 90 minutes are a wild ride of beautifully crafted cinema.
"Tangled"
Disney is kicking ass and taking names. PIXAR and last year's "The Princess and the Frog" aside, The Walt Disney Company hasn't been a hot streak lately. The mouse's debut 3D Princess (and computer animated no less) lived up to the rest of the Disney Princesses. The return of Alan Menken ("Aladdin", "The Little Mermaid", "Beauty and the Beast") was worth the wait. Certainly not his best, but far better than his worst, the music and score for "Tangled" almost makes you feel like a kid again. A couple songs Disney can franchise the hell out of if they play their cards right (Broadway Musical adaptation anyone?). Best Song and Best Animated Feature nominations are in this movie's future (possibly with a win in the former, losing to Disney's own "Toy Story 3" for Animation). Whether the return of the Disney Princess is just a way to boost Disney stock or not, the film's have been quite impressive (can't wait for PIXAR's first Princess flick, "Brave", in 2012). Great voice work all around led by Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore. Great holiday film, great family film, and all around great film.
"The King's Speech"
With all the wars, deaths, diseases, and poverty, a speech impediment seems very low on the list of problems in the world, and yet director Tom Hooper has found a way to make us care about it. King George VI, played remarkably by Colin Firth, suffers from a 'stammer' as they call it in the film and his wife, the beautiful Helena Bonham Carter, hires speech therapist Geoffrey Rush to cure him. The friendship that ensues between Firth and Rush is often on ice, yet remarkable to watch on screen. Rush treats the King like no man has before; as equals. He insists on calling him Bertie and sitting in the King's throne in various scenes in the film which make for surprisingly funny moments. Pegged as the lead horse in the Best Picture and Best Actor race, "The King's Speech" is one of those rare films that come once or twice a year.
Can't wait to see Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan" or the Coen Bros. "True Grit" and I'll be sure to review them right here once I do.
