NMR: The King's Speech

I debated for a long time whether or not to actually rent this. I was rather miffed that it won best picture given that I felt there were a number of far more deserving films of that honor. But I decided I would be the bigger man and see why this was supposed so much better than them. Ultimately, it may have been a self fulfilling prophecy, but this was exactly what I expected. This is a well made film that I found mostly forgettable. The acting is solid here as both Colin Firth as King George and Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue, the man who helped the king with his speech impediment do exceptional work and play off each other well. The subject matter is also fairly interesting as you could see the larger historical ramifications that overcoming this problem had on the king and his country. However, everything about this film reeks of desperation in trying to garner awards and nominations. This is Oscar baiting at its worst. And sadly it worked as the Oscars chose to shun films that were fresh, innovative, or current, in favor of another period piece that appeals only to an out-of-touch older generation. That is more of an indictment on the system than the film, however. This film is certainly not without blame though as it pushed every button and worked every angle in order to make sure the same old outcome would be produced. If the subject matter does interest you, I definitely would recommend you see this as it is very well done. However, it's likely that if you haven't seen it yet, you likely won't be persuaded by this review. Rating: ****

And with that, I don't believe I have any major films left from 2010 that I plan on seeing. So with that, I will officially take down my 2010 Top Ten movies list. I'm pretty pleased with the 10 that are on there and I feel it's one of the strongest lists I've had since beginning this blog. If 2011 hopes to have as strong of a list, the slate of quality films better be heavily backloaded.