Capsule Reviews (12/20/10 - 1/04/10)
TRUE GRIT (2010) ****1/2
It's kind of a shame that the Coens are so reliably good because instead of hailing this as a return to the classic western, this is just the Coens doing what they do, picking a genre, and excelling at it. This is a beautifully shot movie, exceedingly well acted, fantastically written, and precisely executed. Some might think the whole thing is too slight, but this is genre storytelling at its finest.
THE FIGHTER (2010) ****1/2
Proof that Christian Bale has still got it in him, even after nothing but raspy, he-man performances for the past couple of years (RESCUE DAWN aside). Shooting the fights in the video HBO broadcast style was inspired, especially since I grew up watching those broadcasts. This is just a solid, very well done movie with fantastic performances. It's unexpectedly funny, more than a little sad, and more organically inspiring than most sports movies I've seen, actually. Impressive.
THE KING'S SPEECH (2010) ****
A solid, if restrained, crowd pleaser in the form of Oscar bait, which it most assuredly is. There's life to this though, mostly in the form of Geoffrey Rush, and every time Rush and Firth are on screen together, it's a pleasure. But besides that, it's mostly by the numbers, despite being, surprisingly and refreshingly, small scale.
It's kind of a shame that the Coens are so reliably good because instead of hailing this as a return to the classic western, this is just the Coens doing what they do, picking a genre, and excelling at it. This is a beautifully shot movie, exceedingly well acted, fantastically written, and precisely executed. Some might think the whole thing is too slight, but this is genre storytelling at its finest.
THE FIGHTER (2010) ****1/2
Proof that Christian Bale has still got it in him, even after nothing but raspy, he-man performances for the past couple of years (RESCUE DAWN aside). Shooting the fights in the video HBO broadcast style was inspired, especially since I grew up watching those broadcasts. This is just a solid, very well done movie with fantastic performances. It's unexpectedly funny, more than a little sad, and more organically inspiring than most sports movies I've seen, actually. Impressive.
THE KING'S SPEECH (2010) ****
A solid, if restrained, crowd pleaser in the form of Oscar bait, which it most assuredly is. There's life to this though, mostly in the form of Geoffrey Rush, and every time Rush and Firth are on screen together, it's a pleasure. But besides that, it's mostly by the numbers, despite being, surprisingly and refreshingly, small scale.