The King's Speech (2010, U.S.)

The trailer for this film was pretty badly done, if you ask me. I still went to see it because I knew that any film with Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter had to be a winner. On top of that, what could be better than a film about a relatively unknown part of British history?

What can I say? Obviously those three were fantastic, as were most of the supporting actors. The chemistry between Firth and Rush was especially wonderful, particularly in their therapy sessions. The film was enlightening. It was well written. The score meshed perfectly. The cinematography was beautiful. I felt like I'd stepped into the 1930s. Sure, it wasn't the most fast-paced movie. But it was engaging and moving and informative and even somewhat inspiring. I knew it was going to sweep Best Picture and the Best Actors at the Oscars.

This one was a very unsurprising surprise, if you will, and well worth watching.

Rating: 4.0

The Hurt Locker (2008, U.S.)

An army bomb removal squadron disenganges a bomb in Baghdad. And then they disengage another. And a few days later they do another. On and on and on, blah blah blah.

This had to be the slowest paced movie I've ever seen in my life. It would be one thing if they tried to make some deep statement about the psychology of war or something like that. What made it worse was that they probably thought that's what they were doing. But no. Characters weren't sympathetic, writing wasn't good, acting was wooden... awful.

I was already doubtful about the Academy Awards in recent years, but the fact that this movie actually won the Best Picture Oscar just completely made me lose faith in the Academy. I've only seen a couple of other nominees, but all of them were better by far.

Rating: 1.0

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002, UK)

To be honest, I can't really write a good review of this film because I was halfway asleep (or maybe something else...) when I watched it.

However, I did really enjoy it. I've never read the book, but the film had a very good combination of history and adventure.

The thing I remember most clearly is the sets. The prison was especially well-done, I thought.

I think I better watch this one again!

Rating: 3.5