Movie Review: The King's Speech

A movie starring Colin Firth about a British king struggling to overcome a speech impediment, sounds action packed right? I did not expect to enjoy this movie. I expected it to be stuffy, heavy-handed and beyond boring. However, I decided to bite the bullet and check it out since it won best picture.
As it turns out it was almost more of a buddy movie then a grand historical piece. Prince Albert (Colin Firth), the Duke of York and eventual king, seeks the help of Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an atypical and under-qualified speech therapist. The relationship between Logue and Bertie was interesting to watch unfold. Rush & Firth did a good job of showing the complexities of this unlikely friendship. The supporting cast, including Helena Bonham-Carter and Guy Pierce was also excellent. The film was entertaining and had a fair bit of humor. It had a quiet, laid-back kind of tone.
Overall we really enjoyed the movie. It is definitely worth watching. There are plans to re-cut the film and remove some language to give it a PG-13 rating. See the original. The use of coarse language was actually pretty important to the story and was handled in a tasteful way. I think this new PG-13 cut would just seem watered down. They got it right the first time around.

Movie Review: Thor

I’m still a little shocked that they did a Thor movie. I mean, okay, he’s one of the core Avengers. Even so… he’s Thor, as in the god of thunder. He’s never really been one of my favorites. It’s a little cheesy. He throws a hammer; he talks like a King James Bible. It’s weird. I was skeptical about this movie and was pretty sure the DVD would be in the $5 bin in like 5 weeks. I was pleasantly surprised.

I don’t want to give too much away, but in the nutshell Thor (Chris Hemsworth) goes against his father (Anthony Hopkins) and is banished to Earth. With Thor absent, his broth Loki (Tom Hiddleston) assumes control of Asgard. Meanwhile on Earth Thor meets up with a scientist named Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). Thor’s weapon Mjolnir is also on earth, but before retrieving it he must first prove his worth.

Like I said, I was pleasantly surprised. It was much better than I expected it to be. I always like Clark Gregg’s Agent Colson. He provided a bit of humor as well as some continuity with the other Marvel movies. One of my favorite moments was Jeremy Renner’s clever cameo as Clint Barton (AKA Hawkeye). Overall the movie had some good action and a fair share of humor. However, with the plot being split between Asgard and Earth it did feel a little uneven and maybe a bit under developed. Hemsworth and Portman had little chemistry and the romance felt rushed and unnecessary. Plus the scenes is Asgard were way more interesting. I especially loved the battle with Frost Giants. I would have liked more of that kind of action. Finally, I was really disappointed with the post-credits scene. I’ll leave it a mystery, but let’s just say I expected more.

Anyway, go see Thor. It’s the kind of movie that should be seen in the theatre. Also, while I’m not a huge fan of 3D this might be worth seeing that way.

Tune in here for a special episode of the All the Books Show podcast where we discuss the entire MCU!