Finally...

... saw "The King's Speech."  Beautiful film.  I could watch Colin Firth on the screen for much longer than an hour and 51 one minutes, stammer or no stammer.  It didn't, however, hit me with a 'wow' factor.  I wasn't disappointed in the film at all, but it didn't leave me as breathless and teary as I had hoped it might.  Geoffrey Rush was wonderful.

That's all I've got tonight, folks.

Ouch

That's all I can think to title this one after watching "Salt" with Angelina Jolie and "Dogtooth" the foreign film from Greece.

"Salt" was a fine movie, but I haven't ever really liked Angelina Jolie in anything since "Girl, Interrupted."  It's not her fault, I don't think, I'm just not a fan of the work she is apparently drawn to.

"Dogtooth" reminds me of why the category can be called "foreign" and demonstrate several meanings of the word.  It was such an unusual and uncomfortable film for my tastes...  but the poignancy of Christina finding escape through movies was not lost on me.

I am hoping to catch at least two more movies in the next several days.  I've also been advised the Oscar Shorts are on their way, so I am SUPER grateful for that.  My score sits at 20 out of 56 with just 25 or so days to go.  I have not knocked out any one whole category, but the key films that would help me with that are "127 Hours," "The King's Speech," and "True Grit."

War and the Golden Globes

Viewing "The Tillman Story" and "Restrepo" in the same week may have been overdoing it.  Both documentaries were heartbreaking and illuminated the utter chaos and confusion that seems to define the situation as it was there.  Many young men being sent in to fight these battles that they don't understand trying to help people who don't understand and inadvertently making a mess out of a mess that was already there to begin with.

To add to my confusion as I try to make sense of the senselessness, the Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning, and "Burlesque" was among the nominees.  Somebody help me...  when was this tracking?  The only other shock was a pleasant one:  "Alice in Wonderland" was nominated for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy.

"Black Swan" is arriving in my area on December 17th.  Still no word on "127 Hours" and "The King's Speech."  I still have so many films to see.  It's getting serious now.