Another Year

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: An old married couple (Jim Broadbent & Ruth Sheen) deals with all the tragically desperate single people around them.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen, Oliver Maltman, Peter Wight, David Bradley, Martin Savage, Karina Fernandez, Michele Austin, Phil Davis, Imelda Staunton

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. It's tragically long and desperately tragic, but the acting is so mesmerizing, that it's almost worth enduring.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Isn't "desperate" a quality that's always funny?-- I mean, when it's another person's desperation.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Okay, you're right, desperation is tragically depressing regardless of whose it is.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: This film may actually contain this year's Best Performance by a man or a woman. But Leslie Manville will probably get screwed out of her deserved Academy Award because Natalie Portman's got all the hype. My advice, go for Supporting and win!

Q: How is the Acting?

A: A series of well executed subtle and not-so-subtle shared looks and glances tell stories more complex than any words ever could.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: In making movies like Happy-Go-Lucky and Topsy-Turvy, Mike Leigh has tried to fool us into thinking that he makes upbeat spirited movies, only to lure us back into his original world of movies with the word "Bleak" in the title. Thankfully, he puts hyphens in the titles of his upbeat movies, and not in the titles of his downbeat ones, so in the future, we'll have to pay closer attention to that, if we don't want to find ourselves in a 2hr 20mn exploration of desperately tragic loneliness.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The dialogue is well written and perfectly executed by the actors, but the ending doesn't give you a lot of hope for these tragically desperate characters... which I guess is the point, since after all, it's not called "A Pivotal Year," it's just Another Year.

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: The Brits are known for having bad teeth, but some of the teeth in this film are distressing enough to be showcased in some kind of bizarre human museum, like Ripley's Believe It or Not. Even the normal-looking teeth are shown filled with scraps of food for entire scenes at a time.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: Another Year Trailer

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The King's Speech

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: King George VI of England, né Prince Albert Duke of York (Colin Firth), had all the makings of a great King except for the fact that he stuttered. This is the story of the unconventional methods he learned from Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) to overcome his impediment.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Derek Jacobi, Timothy Spall, Michael Gambon, Jennifer Ehle, Eve Best

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Go! When you come out of this movie you realize that the filmmakers only had one thing in mind when they made it: The Academy Awards. It’s a deliberate attempt at prestige recognition, and likely to accomplish at least a small part of its goal.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: A high-falutin’ prince, a wife who stands on ceremony, and an upstart speech therapist who doesn’t take anybody’s—f*@k, bugger, balls—crap, what’s not to laugh at?

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: A litt-tt-tt-tt-tt…le bit. Don't get all PC on me, I'm crying, not stuttering.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: A Single Man proved that that Academy wants to give Colin Firth an Oscar, The King’s Speech proves that he can win one. From what I’ve seen, (and I've seen most of it), this is looking like his year.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Geoffrey Rush reminds me of my uncle, so that's warm and cozy. Guy Pearce shows a side of his character we haven’t seen before, which broadens his depth as an actor. And it’s nice to see Helena Bonham Carter going back to playing dignified rich people, rather than some freak in one of her husband’s wacky concoctions.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Gorgeous and inventive wide-angle shots are highlighted by beautiful lighting, elegant sets, and an emotional classical score.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: The story of Prince Albert’s minor handicap is small and almost not worth telling, but the dialogue and characters draw you in, sometimes even enough to take your mind off wondering why the penis ring was named after him.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-kings-speech/10034251/trailers

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Bruno

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Gay fashionista, Bruno (Sacha Baron Cohen), experiences a public fashion faux-pas, and suddenly goes from hot to not in his home country of Austria. Solution? Go to America to try to rebuild and contrive his celebrity anew.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Sacha Baron Cohen, Gustaf Hammarsten, Clifford Banagale, and cutie pies Chibundu and Chigozie Orukwowu, with cameos by Bono, Sting, Snoop Dog, Chris Martin, Elton John, Slash, Paula Abdul, Harrison Ford, Ron Paul, and a bunch of randoms.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. It's a bit much. And by "a bit much," I mean, totally hard to stomach and offensive in ways that make you want to shower until you run out of soap.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: You'll spend more time saying, "Eew," than "ha ha ha," but I know that for some of you freaks those emotions are pretty interchangeable.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: If you go in expecting the brilliance and depth of Borat, you will at least be sadly disappointed.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: Larry Charles and Sacha Baron Cohen should consider their R rating to be the highest of awards, because the MPAA I know would've given any other filmmakers a minimum of NC17 for this raunch-fest.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Nobody can deny that this man has balls. It's only too bad we had to spend so much time looking at them.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: What worked about Borat was that the situation and the people felt real and authentic. I'm sure I won't be the first or the last to say that despite its authenticity, this pseudo-documentary feels totally staged.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: What worked about Borat was that the character was an innocent, trying to be sympathetic to his new world, and approaching it with very humble goals. Bruno is the opposite of that, and borders on unlikeable. Also in Borat the brilliance came from the real people, who showed their ugly true colors to the foreigner. Whereas in this film, it's the main character, Bruno, whose colors are ugly, and the real people who end up seeming fake.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/bruno/34365/trailers

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