KCUR Arts Reporter Steve Walker keeps us abreast of the best in area films. By Steve Walker
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Another Year The brilliance of English director Mike Leigh is in his ability to explore complex psychic and socio-economic issues by putting common, everyday people under his microscope. And it's no accident that those people are played by the finest actors Britain has to offer - in the case of his latest film, "Another Year," Oscar-winner Jim Broadbent, Ruth Sheen, Imelda Staunton and, in a performance that stings, Lesley Manville. Broadbent and Sheen play a happily married couple who often find themselves surrounded by those untouched by similar luck. As Sheen's co-worker friend, Manville is devastating as an aging tart who got the short end of the stick when it came to life's uneven distribution of happiness. |
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Biutiful At the surface of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "Biutiful" (Oscar nominated for Best Foreign Film and Best Actor), one finds Javier Bardem as a single father in Barcelona struggling with a terminal illness. But this is no Lifetime movie and he's no angel. Bardem's character is involved with numerous purveyors of stolen and counterfeit goods and it seems the tragedy he's responsible for is on a par with the tragedy he's living. Inarritu - the director of the extraordinary "Babel" and "21 Grams" - sticks to a fairly linear narrative here but the film still feels wordly and multi-layered. And don't expect lovely travelogue vistas of beautiful Barcelona - these characters work the gritty side streets and back alleys. |
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The King's Speech Playing King George VI, father of the current Queen of England, Colin Firth is the man to beat for this year's Best Actor Oscar. The royal suffered from a debilitating, humiliating stutter which, in turn, ate away at his charm and confidence. With the loving support of his wife (Helena Bonham Carter) and the unorthodox tactics of a speech coach (Geoffrey Rush, who's also wonderful), he is eventually able to fill the shoes he was born to wear. Ably directed by Tom Hooper, the movie is whip smart, engagingly funny, and incredibly moving. ? |