I Say, A Devilishly Good Movie!

The King's Speech

Starring: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter

Rating: R for profanity

Score: 4/4

This was one of the most beautiful movies I've seen. The score was of course gorgeous, the acting phenomenal and the storyline was charming.

Lionel Logue is the speech therapist that is going to help Bertie use his voice. Bertie never thought he was going to be King, but once David abdicates he is next in line and must step forward to lead his country. The only problem is, Bertie has a bad stutter and public speaking is a nightmare. Supported by his wife Elizabeth (the wonderful Carter) Bertie reluctantly agrees to meet with one more doctor. Lionel is different, his unorthodox methods slowly draw the King out of his repressive shell.  We soon find that Bertie is afraid; from childhood he has been made fun of and looked down upon because he has a defect.  But he must learn to use his own voice and step up to the crown at a time when his country desperately needs a leader with a voice.

Lionel Logue is a charming character and Geoffrey Rush plays him magnificently; he is affable and empathetic without being condescending or letting Bertie use his old excuses to escape his pain. Colin Firth definitely deserves his Oscar Nomination and it'll be exciting to see if he wins.
Helena Bonham Carter is a no nonsense, practical and supportive Queen Mum and we even get a glimpse of the adolescent Elizabeth II.

A Good Cliché

Burlesque

Starring: Christina Aguilera, Cher, Eric Dane, Cam Gigandet

Rating: PG-13

Score: 3/4

Original it may not be but the flashy dance numbers make up for it.  I thoroughly enjoyed the sassy sashays and hair flips accompanied by vaudeville music and strobe lighting.

Ali is a small town girl looking to make it big in L.A. She stumbles across the club Burlesque (after walking around L.A. all day in ridiculously high heels looking for a job). After watching the mesmerizing show she begs for a job but doesn't get a part on stage...rather she becomes Burlesque's newest waitress.
But with the help of the friendly and cute bartender Jack and the determination that seems to characterize her, Ali perseveres in her dream while dealing with the jealous lead dancer Nikki and slippery businessman Marcus, who happens to be Nikki's former paramour.
Meanwhile, we find out that the club owner Tess, played by the incomparable Cher, is facing her own woes because her club is failing financially. Marcus wants to buy her out and develop a condo where the club stands but Tess doesn't want to give up her dream.

Will Ali achieve fame as a dancer? Will Tess be able to keep her club? Will Nikki get her act together? Will Jack and Ali find love?
Duh.

If It Ain't Baroque, Don't Fix It

The Angel's Game
By Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Translated from Spanish in 2009, this book is a prequel to The Shadow of the Wind which I did not know until researching this title. If the prequel is any indication then the bestselling Shadow should be wonderful.

David Martín is a young writer in Barcelona in the 1920s and 1930s. He writes sensationalist baroque novels but feels like he is not being true to his soul. David is approached several times by a mysterious man named Andreas Corelli who wants David to write a book with the power to change people.

Corelli wants a book about religion and he will do anything to persuade David, even release him from his contract with the publishers of his sensation novels in a mysterious and gruesome way. But David's demons do not always let him rest and focus on his work.

Soon David finds that there is something wrong with enigmatic Andreas Corelli. He also begins to investigate the former resident of his tower house who died under questionable circumstances and left a bloody trail of broken lives behind him...and may have been working for Corelli. But, while David investigates he himself is being investigated because everybody he comes in contact with meets a gruesome death...

This book is haunting and engaging and I had a hard time putting it down. The entire time I was thinking, 'If the right director got hold of this, the movie would be dark and magnificent and frightening.' You root for David while he battles his own thoughts and the dark house he lives in that holds many secrets. The plot takes unseen twists and turns and I loved every minute of it.  

Just Watched... (Another Western!)

 Stagecoach

Starring: John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Thomas Mitchell

Rating: None, it's 1939 after all


Score: 3/4


A fun western in the true vein of westerns; we have: a rugged outlaw, bandanna and all, a beautiful woman who finds it hard to open up about her feelings, a wisecracking drunk, and the constant threat of an Indian attack. It's 1880 and a group of diverse passengers board a stagecoach bound to Lordsburg, NM from Tonto, Arizona.
Dallas is the main girl; she is a prostitute being driven out of town. She has had a hard life and is now hoping to start over.
Doc Boone is the drunk, he can perform medical offices rather well but has a terrible propensity for whiskey.
Lucy Mallory is a lady, she is pregnant and traveling to meet her husband, a cavalry officer.
Samuel Peacock is a salesman, a whiskey salesman to be exact.
Buck is the dopey driver.
Curly Wilcox is a Marshal, he is searching for fugitive Ringo Kid.
Ringo Kid is the main man; a fugitive, he is looking for revenge for the murders of his father and brother. Both of them were killed by Luke Plummer.


Before the stagecoach departs the passengers are warned that Geronimo and his Apache warriors are on the warpath. Because of this, Southern gentleman Hatfield joins the party in order to protect the gentle lady, Mrs. Mallory. Henry Gatewood, that pompous old man, decides to join the party as well. No one is polite to Dallas; something about her tips them all off to the fact that she is not a decent lady. But she tries, she offers assistance and advice but no one heeds her. Along the way, the group picks up the sought after Ringo Kid. His horse is lame and he needs a ride so that he can get to Lordsburg and fight the Plummers.


Of course the group have their trials and tribulations, Mrs. Mallory even goes into labor. Throughout it all we see Dallas and Ringo's burgeoning relationship. She begs him to give up his idea of revenge. The group's biggest challenge is the ever present threat of an Indian attack, how will certain passengers step up? How will others fail in their duty to protect? Who will die?


It was a fun watch, there was of course much less actual violence than a modern western (like True Grit) but it was thrilling none the less. The only aspect I found unrealistic was the instant feelings between Dallas and Ringo; but of course they don't have that much time to get to know each other. I will say this, Ringo of course survives all and makes it to Lordsburg for his shootout with the Plummers.