For those of you who think I only go to the cinema to see dreadful, shlocky tat like Season The Witch... it's not true. I do go see decent, critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated "worthy" pics too. They're much harder to review.
Take The King's Speech. It really is as good as you've heard. Colin Firth gives a tender, moving performance as the stuttering royal; Geoffrey Rush doesn't overplay the comedic gift he's been given; Helena Bonham Carter manages to make the old Queen Mum both fun and feisty... you can easily imagine this woman growing into the hard-drinking, hard-gambling Spitting Image caricature of the 80s. I struggled beforehand to accept Guy Pearce as Firth's older brother, not only because he's 7 years younger but also because I always think of him as Mike in Neighbours, leather jacket and teenage scowl, riding off on his motorbike in a huff. But even that was forgotten once Pearce stepped into the screen, a ringer for our infamous abdicating monarch.
This film succeeds in all areas... it even makes me like the royal family. Well, the one from 70 years ago. I've nothing to say beyond the accolades...
