Film Review - The King's Speech

I hadn't heard an awful lot about this film before going to see it, beyond the fact that it was expected to do well at the BAFTA's. To be honest, it didn't really sound like a film I would generally like watching, but when a friend of mine wanted to go and see it, I decided to go along and see what the fuss was about.

The synopsis of the film is as follows: "The King's Speech" tells the story of the man who would become King George VI, the father of the current Queen, Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George 'Bertie' VI (Firth) reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded nervous stammer and considered unfit to be King, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Rush). Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country into war."

While I was watching the film, I realised I was actually enjoying it. The acting was very good and that made me wonder whether Colin Firth found it difficult to rid himself of the stammer he portrayed in the film, once filming had finished. Not a very important point, but it would be interesting to know :-)
I can understand why some people claim the film is 'slow', it is in parts and could never be described as exciting and full of action. However, I still quite liked these slow parts as I found it engaging to see all the different techniques the King tried to help rid him of his stammer and the unorthodox way his therapist went about it.

I found it quite a heartwarming tale of triumph. I can't imagine how happy and relieved the real King must have felt at the time, getting through a critical speech without stammering. Overall I would recommend people to see this film and on the plus side, at least we know this will be a film that can't spawn a sequel :-)

I give it 6 and a half out of 10 - I did enjoy it but I don't think I would buy the DVD or watch it again and there are many other films out there that I prefer

Film Review - Skyline

I had been looking forward to seeing this film as it looked like a cross between Independence Day and Cloverfield, two films I very much enjoyed. End of the world disaster movies do appeal to me in general though.

The film, however, was quite weird and even now, a few weeks after seeing it, I still haven't really made up my mind what I think about it. It wasn't what I expected, but I wouldn't go as far as to say it was a bad film, but then again, I also wouldn't buy it on DVD.

It would appear from the trailer that aliens invade Earth but you don't see an awful lot more of the aliens in the whole film as you do in the trailer, it would have been better, I think, to see a little more interaction between the humans and the aliens. The characters are a little weak, in that they seem to behave as most humans in that situation would - they're scared, they try to hide and they try to evade capture, there's no real talk or action towards the main characters becoming the heroes and ridding the world of the aliens, this moment never really comes.

I suppose the best way I can describe it is that it was anti-climactic. On the plus side though, it was quite gory and violent at times and the ending was different and unexpected. It was kind of left open for a sequel, but also finished satisfactorily as a stand alone movie - though I do hope they leave it alone, I'm not sure where they could go with a sequel.

Writing this has made me realise my feelings towards the film are more negative than positive, though I do stress I didn't hate the film, but I doubt I will seek to watch it again.

My rating would be 4 out of 10