Looking Ahead: Five 2011 Films I Cannot Wait to See

There are obviously many films that I would like to see by the end of the year, but there are only a few that stand out as something that could be great.  Here are five of them:

1.  Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, and Mark Strong all star in this intriguing espionage thriller in which veteran George Smiley (Oldman) is brought out of retirement to find a Soviet spy hidden within MI6’s group of agents.  This is planned to come out on November 18 (the week of my birthday) and I anticipate it to be well-acted and considerably suspenseful.  It will be interesting to see how Colin Firth’s performance matches up to his previous Oscar-winning one.  I expect Oldman to steal the show.

 

 

2.  Warrior

A second movie starring Tom Hardy.  It isn’t a boxing movie, if you looked close at the poster.  Instead, we get to see Hardy do some mixed martial arts as Tom Conlon, an ex-Marine set to fight his own brother in the final round of the MMA tournament.  The fighting looks intense and the added emotions behind the fight promise to elevate Warrior above our average sports flick.  I will be ready when this is released on September 9.

 

 

 

3. Hugo

November 23, a week after the release of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Martin Scorsese’s newest film will be open for the general public.  What looks promising is that Scorsese has never done anything like this before, and this is the first film that he’s made in nine years that doen’t star Leonardo DiCaprio.  I really don’t know exactly what to expect, but if it is as enchanting as the imaginative children’s book which it is based on, then we should be in for a treat.

 

 

4. The Adventures of Tintin

It wasn’t too long ago that I was reading those wonderful illustrated adventures of Tintin.  These books were funny, intelligent, and high-spirited.  I am excited to see a hint of film noir in the trailer, along with some fascinating settings.  I doubt that Tintin will come close to winning the Best Animated Feature Oscar, but I would love for the French author, Herge, to get some sort of recognition.  Released on December 23.

 

 

 

5. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

I do love some good, mindless action thrills and the Mission: Impossible movies are one of the best franchises at bringing us just that.  While they typically show some significant flaws in some areas, I can always depend on them if I ever want to jump off a skyscraper or be suspended in a touch-sensitive, high-security CIA vault.  I can’t wait to see what director Brad Bird has in store for us this December.

 

 

 

Trailers:

 

 

 

 

Film Review: The King’s Speech (2010)

“What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.”

Though these are the famous words of a much different film, they are very representative of this one.  The King’s Speech tells a fascinating true story of a newly crowned king who is still living out the results of his childhood.  With a quick temper and a constant stammer, King George VI is taken to the unorthodox speech therapist, Lionel Logue.

George, at first reluctant, is eventually shown that Logue can help cure his problem.  The king’s stammer is the tragic result of a repressed childhood, one of fear and hesitance.  We find that he has been mocked because of the now-inescapable habit, and in turn, that he masquerades a cold, quiet, stubborn personality because this is the only way that he has been treated.

Logue’s persistence and loyalty soon transforms their relationship into an extremely touching friendship.  The Oscar-worthy performances of Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter help ensure that we are moved.  The cinematography is also well-captured, putting characters to one side or slightly off-center of the screen.

There are a few lines that are very quotable, but nevertheless, the entire script is excellent.  The film’s mixture of comedy and bittersweet emotion make it a truly triumphant crowd-pleaser.  Its appearance as a period piece does not confine it to certain elements that some shy away from.  This is 2010’s Best Picture winner and few seem to disagree with the academy’s choice (for once).  The King’s Speech is a film anyone can love, for its acting, camerawork, dialogue, story, humor, and emotion are all pitch-perfect.

Rating: 4.5/5