Somewhere

Sofia Coppola’s Lost In Translation is one of my favourite films. Somewhere has a similar theme and almost identical style. I like it immensely, but it does not resonate quite on the same level with me as LIT. At least not yet. LIT definitely grew on me over time and Somewhere may yet. I feel a bit less direct sympathy with the Stephen Dorff character, than with the Bill Murray one. We are of a different age for one thing. For another, I somehow feel that Dorff’s Johnny’s predicament may be more of his own making. This is not necessarily a fair appraisal. Regardless, this is an excellent film. Coppola’s style of the calm, coolly observing camera is wonderfully effective. Elle Fanning (Dakota’s younger sister) is magnificent as Cleo. At 12 she already has 32 film credits and we will be seeing much more of her.

The King's Speech

A masterpiece. This is the spellbinding story of King George VI’s battle with a debilitating stammer and of Lionel Logue, his speech therapist, who helps him through all of the speeches that he delivered during the course of WW2. If you think this sounds like a recipe for dull fare, you could not be more wrong. This film is so well made that you will be on the edge of your seat, literally mouthing the words along with Bertie, as Lionel Logue insists on calling the King, as he painfully, but bravely, battles through his speeches. The performances of Colin Firth as King George and Geoffrey Rush as Logue are at the very height of the craft. Both will get Academy nominations, and both may win. You can see every nuance of humiliation and frustration suffered by the King on the face of Colin Firth. Rush brilliantly underplays the eccentricity of the unqualified Australian therapist, who must walk a fine line to be able to help the King. This may be the best picture of 2010. It has already cleaned up at the BFIs and the Golden Globe nominations are in the bag.

The Kids Are Allright

Here´s one about an unusual Los Angeles family dealing with some unusual family issues. Jules and Nic are a lesbian couple who have had two children,one each - a boy and a girl, using the same sperm donor. The boy, 15, is curious about his biological father and asks his sister, who has just come of age, to help track him down. They do so, and he turns out to be Paul (Mark Ruffalo), a pleasant, earthy LA restauranteer who grows much of his own supplies locally at a small organic community farm. He is brought home to meet the Moms and complications ensue. Great performances all round. Julianne Moore is as always breathtakingly sexy and just seems to get more so as she gets older.

Love and Other Drugs

Needing to kill a few hours before a Sunday evening flight from JFK, I went to see this at a huge cineplex on 42nd street near Times Square. I like going to the movies in New York, the quality of the screening and sound always seems a step ahead of anywhere else. It may just be my imagination.

Love and other drugs turned out to be a couple of hours well spent. Great performances from Jake Gyllenhaal (as Jamie) and Anne Hathaway (as Maggie). On one level its the story of the introduction of the drug Viagra in the 1990´s. On another its the rather sad and thought provoking tale of a young woman with early onset Parkinsons. Jamie and Maggie like each other very much and are keen to embark on a relationship, but both realise the implications of her having a degenarative disease. Its billed as a comedy and indeed parts are very funny, but once the reality of Maggie´s condition sinks in, the laughs are thin on the ground. Its well made though and sensitively handled by the hugely talented director Edward Zwick (Glory, Legends of the Fall, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond, to name but a few).