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Dear George!

The upcoming movie "The King's Speech" tells the story of the turbulent period of time between monarchs. Colin Firth plays the part of Albert of the house of Windsor, who would eventually take the throne as King George. This film is full of talent. Accompanying Colin Firth is Helena Bonham Carter, playing Elizabeth, or as she was better known "the Queen Mum." Firth and Carter will be recreating a very famous royal couple. King George came to the throne reluctantly when his brother Edward abdicated the throne in order to marry the twice divorced Wallis Simpson. King George was, a shy socially awkward individual, an unfortunate quality for someone required to participate in public events. It would be his wife Elizabeth, his greatest supporter who would give him the confidence to turn him into a beloved king. George and his wife would bring England through a depression and a world war. This story will go into detail about the man, Lionel Logue, who would work with George to develop his voice, the voice heard by an entire nation.
This is a rich character role for Colin Firth. Oscar buzz has already begun surrounding his performance in this role. The key to the success of this film will be the chemistry created between Firth and Carter. It was said that only Elizabeth could make the king laugh and bring him his out of the fears of public life. Can't wait to see this film.

The King's Speech will be premiering in Canada December 10, 2010.

If you are interested in other films about King George and Elizabeth I recommend the 2002 film, "Bertie & Elizabeth".

That Would Make a Great Movie!

Recently AOL Television collected the top 10 November News Headlines that ought to be Movies. Here's a little taste of the article and my favourite picks. Some are pretty out there so I will save you the hassle and give you my top three.



"It's no secret that there are little to no original ideas left in Hollywood, as we're overrun week after week with sequels and seemingly endless remakes. The question is: Why? Don't movie executives and screenwriters read the news?

The everyday world is filled with strange and bizarre occurrences that are a thousand times more original -- and entertaining -- than a lot of what Hollywood is churning out these days, from a hopeful reality TV star crashing a White House dinner to a seven-day search in the woods for an engagement ring that fell from a hot air balloon.

Here are 10 news headlines from November 2009 that would make great TV movies, complete with our ideal casts."

News Headline: Missing Boy Lived in NYC Subways
Who Should Star in the TV Movie: Rebel Rodriguez, Denis Leary
Synopsis: Francisco Hernandez, Jr., a 13-year-old boy who got in trouble at school and feared further punishment from his mother, removed the battery from his cell phone and lived for 11 days on the New York City subway system, surviving on snacks and soda. This is the story of his incredible journey that really just went around in circles, with Denis Leary as the wisecracking homeless man who befriends him.

News Headline: Two Arrested Over Cheese Heist
Who Should Star in the TV Movie: Karl Urban, Kylie Bax
Synopsis: New Zealand: the land of beautiful scenery, 'The Lord of the Rings' and -- cheese heists? You could really get fantastical with this one, having it just be "inspired" by a true story and let your imagination do the rest -- we'd have the young couple getting a taste for the thug life after stealing the cheese and concocting more "jobs" involving seemingly random items. The movie's show-stopper sequence would have them lifting a bunch of Generation One Transformers toys encased in glass from a high-security specialty toy store.

and my personal favourite . . .

News Headline: White House Crashers Met Obama
Who Should Star in the TV Movie: Tom Wilkinson, Heather Locklear
Synopsis: You knew this was coming, didn't you? We follow the saga of Michaele and Tareq Salahi, the couple who made a mockery of the Secret Service and White House security in general by crashing a White House dinner party and meeting the President of the United States himself. In real life, Michaele is also a candidate for a reality TV show on Bravo, 'The Real Housewives of D.C.' -- but it wouldn't be a shock if she and her husband got their own reality TV show, 'The Salahis,' after pulling this off.

Who really cares if this last one is true, it would be a fantastic movie!

To read the full list: http://www.aoltv.ca/2009/11/30/november-news-headlines-that-ought-to-be-tv-movies/

Jr. is on the Case

I must admit that I am awaiting the new Sherlock Holmes movie with fear and trembling. My apprehensive fear is caused by Guy Ritchie and my hopeful trembling is caused by Robert Downey Jr. I will begin with Guy Ritchie, who has stated that he is trying to give this film as modern look as possible while maintaining a Victorian feel. His hope is that the audience will find a more contemporary Sherlock Holmes in this film. I worry that there may be too much bang for it's buck. Mysteries are about the subtle unfolding of a story, not smashing and crashing. Give the people what they want, I suppose! This being said, when Robert Downey Jr. is added to the mix anything can happen.
I have not been a Robert Downey Jr. fan until recently, and have found myself wandering through his past films with enjoyable results. When it comes to a Robert Downey Jr. film I can never determine if I liked the film or not, but always enjoy him. This was definitely the case with his film Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang; if it hadn't have been for Jr's humor, I probably would hated the film. Again, with Ironman, the plot was fairly formulaic, but Jr. kinda stole the show. I find it rather ironic that an american icon will be playing a British icon. Jr. has the potential to turn Sherlock Holmes into a sex symbol; strange yes, but not surprising in a Guy Ritchie film.
I love a good Sherlock Holmes story, and the Robert Downey Jr. of late has wooed me, but the more I learn about the film the more I fear for it (especially the fact that Rachel McAdams will be playing alongside Jr). Don't get me wrong, I think this movie is going to be a huge blockbuster hit, and I'm sure Robert Downey Jr. will twist and turn every cliche we think we know about Sherlock. I'm looking forward to this case!

What do you think?

Sherlock Holmes currently has no rating on RT.

Master of Macabre

Tim Burton's films have a strange mysterious pull on audiences. To say he has a dark sense of humor would be an understatement. Vanity Fair recently wrote an article on the director entitled, "Death Becomes Him." Perhaps this statement best sums up the director. He is truly in his element when delving into the darker side of life. What is fascinating about Burton, is that he successfully walks the fine line between, the dark genre of gothic, and the candy coated world of Disney. In fact, his early career began at Disney working on the failed animated telling of The Black Cauldron, at the time thought to be too dark for Disney. Perhaps the world was not ready for Burton form of storytelling, yet Disney would return to Burton for his film Nightmare Before Christmas. Burton now has a eclectic assortment of films, that all seem to share a morbid, fantasy quality. Although Burton's films unabashedly enter into darkness, the audience is always shown a glimmer of hope and beauty; perhaps not a traditional sense of beauty, but beauty nevertheless. This is particularly true of his early film Edward Scissorhands, that forged Burton's gothic niche, and was effortless in its ability to captivate in its audience. This film was funny, quirky, morbid, and surprisingly poignant; bringing us to another magical element of his film: the cast. The director surrounds himself with muses who often look like they have walked off his sketchbook. Burton's filmic successes often share one thing: Johnny Depp, whose elegant scarecrow looks lend themselves to his characters. More recently in Barber of Seville, Depp showed the world another of his many talents, his singing voice: the beauty among the darkness. Johnny Depp many be Burton's lucky charm but his true muse is gothic queen herself, Helen Bonham Carter. Despite the fact that Depp and Boham Carter are often a whimsical couple onscreen, offscreen it is the director who holds the heart of the queen. Although they are probably not the most popular couple in hollywood, they certainly do make bed head look chic. Both Johnny Depp and Helen Bonham Carter, have an amazing gift for caricature. These two acotrs also give life to Burton stop motion characters, by lending their voices. In keeping with the proper custom, Carter and Depp will once again be featured in the upcoming film Alice in Wonderland. His newest film will take a step towards the digital world of animation, with its blending of live action and digital overlay. This version of the familiar tale will not surprisingly be a rather untraditional telling, as he creates a new story using character from both of Lewis Caroll's books: Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.
Burton's stop motion films are always delicately crafted; a perfect art form to describe the worlds that he imagines.
Tim Burton's work is currently on display at the MoMa Gallery in New York. Those lucky enough to see the exhibit, will be treated to hand sketches of concept art, storyboards from previous films, and character sculptures used in some of his stop motion films.
He truly is the master of macabre, constantly returning to the world of fairytales as the source for his storytelling. It is excited to think what Tim Burton's imagination will create next.

Tim Burton's films have received an average rating of 83% on RT.

What do you think?

Hunt for Oscar

The hunt for this year's Oscar host continues. Apparently this role isn't quite so coveted as it use to be. Although the gig was once again offered to last year's host Hugh Jackman, he politely refused. Ricky Gervais, another hopefully, has taken on that role for the Golden Globes. As well, both Ben Stiller and Robert Downey Jr. have declined the offers.

I'm going to throw a couple names out there: Johnny Depp, Clive Owen, Bill Murray.
What about a female hostess?

Who would you choose to host the 2010 Oscars?

The 82nd Oscar awards take place March 7th, 2010. Synchronizing watches now!

An Education

As I write this, I am listening to An Education soundtrack. Beth Rowley is lulling me with You’ve Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger. The first thing that I must say about this film is that the soundtrack is incredible. Through this soundtrack I was introduced to two fabulous female artists: Beth Rowley and Melody Gardot. (Beth Rowley can be seen crooning in one of the scenes, wearing a striking black number, you can’t miss her!) It is very appropriate for music to have a prominent role in this film, and fitting that two such strong female artist should lead the way. Nick Hornby’s films (High Fidelity and About a Boy) always have a strong tie to music.
I won’t deny that I have been anticipating this film for quite some time. I was intrigued from the beginning. My filmic huger was feed, as I learned this movie contained all my favorite things: the early 60’s, music, fashion, and French culture. What can I say, for me, it was an easy sell from the beginning. Therefore I’m sorry if my opinion is bias.
The title describes it all; this movie purposes the question: what is the true definition of an education? The story focuses around a high school student, Jenny, played by newcomer Carey Mulligan. An Education boasts a talented cast. I believe this is a breakthrough role for Mulligan. Physically, she epitomizes the delicate, fledgling female becoming a woman, struggling with the place between girlhood and womanhood. Mulligan carries her confidence with her graceful humor. I found myself being swept up in her world of awe for the unattainable. Peter Sarsgaard (Garden State) is perfect. I know that sounds terrible, but he was just perfect. He physically embodied the character and conveyed emotionally charisma, all with the perfect amount of innocence and seduction. Alfred Molina, who I always love, did not fail to deliver his dry jumbled humor, achieve by perfect timing. Surprisingly one of my favorite characters was played by Rosamund Pike (what a great name!) (Jane, Pride and Prejudice), who could say all that needed to be said with a simple eyebrow raise or blink. I loved that Emma Thompson dropped in for a small but powerful performance as the school’s head mistress, she was so well cast. Of course, who else could play that role, clearly Emma Thompson. I'm excited to see how this film fares at the Oscars.
At the heart of this story is a struggle, deciding what is more important, an education offered by school or life. I believe that this struggle transcends gender, but in this case the writer choose to focus on the feminine side of this question, as under the lens of the early 60’s. Many tough choices are analyzed as the film unfolds, in fact as the movie progresses just about everyone has some kind of regret. I found that I was totally enthralled by the questions that were being posed. Although my own life is not nearly so dramatic as Jenny’s (ha), I find myself wrestling with many of the same questions, and being seduced by a life of easy come, easy go. I was on the edge of my seat awaiting the answers, but they never came. This is my only criticism of the movie: the ending is . . . cryptic. Is it success or denial? I don’t know if the conclusion does the rest of the film justice. This being said, I can’t think of how else the movie could be ended. Perhaps life is one giant conundrum, there is no right answer. Like the film I have yet to find my conclusion.
I will finish this on a light note! This film is glamorous from start to finish. Beautiful romanticized scenes of Paris, . . . sigh, I love it. The fashion of this film is glorious, and that is simply because early 60’s fashion was glorious. My goodness, why can’t men dress like that today. MMMmm! That’s all I am going to say about that.

Overall, I love that this film was able to explore, with humor and sensitivity, the dark secrets of such a seductive era.

Oh, I almost forgot! . . . I do have one question. How did C.S. Lewis find his way into this film?

This film received 92% on RT.

What do you think?