Holiday movies

There are always a lot of movies getting buzz at this time of year, and going to see movies is one of my favourite Christmas activities.  Today I went to see "The King's Speech" and it was a wonderful movie, very appropriate for the holidays.  Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush are amazing as the man who will become King George VI (the current Queen's father) and his speech therapist, Lionel Logue.  I saw Colin Firth interviewed on Charlie Rose and he's quite an eloquent speaker, but the way he depicted the difficulties caused by his character's stammer (stuttering to us in North America) is heart-breaking.  As is typical of a British movie, there is quite a bit of intelligent wit and humour mixed in with the struggles.  As is also typical of a British movie, the secondary roles are filled with top-notch actors (Derek Jacobi, Michael Gambon) as well as old familiar faces (Anthony Andrews, where's he been?) and there is a bit of a Pride and Prejudice reunion, as Jennifer Ehle plays Lionel Logue's wife.  She was Elizabeth Bennet to Colin Firth's Darcy in the 1995 TV mini-series version of the Jane Austen book (the definitive version, as far as I'm concerned).  The eventual triumph of the King is no less suspenseful and joyful for knowing how it will turn out. 

I also saw "Black Swan" a few weeks ago, as part of a benefit for City of Angels Ballet.  I enjoyed this movie, although it's definitely not an uplifting holiday pic.  The movie is creepy and dark and hallucinatory.  The visuals are amazing throughout, from the cinematography to the costumes to the makeup.  Some of the dialogue is a little melodramatic, and the very last few minutes didn't live up to the rest of the movie, especially the climactic final performance.  The dance scenes were filmed so as to give the actors the best chance of looking like real dancers-they were not filmed in full body but showing bits and pieces, arms, heads, etc.  Professional dancers subbed in for the more demanding scenes and the editing of this was superb.  This isn't so much a 'ballet' movie as a movie set in the ballet world.  This is also a movie that you will either love or hate, probably not a lot of in-between.

Update:  On Christmas Day, I went to see True Grit.  What a great movie!  Amazing character in Maddie, the young girl looking to avenge her father.  Great cast, great story, great score, a movie that really takes you away to a different time and place.