The King's Speech (2010)

Winner of 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor, this historical drama features Colin Firth as George XI, the new King during WWII who has a serious stutter.

  I saw this teaser and KNEW it was going for the big awards. For that reason, I put off seeing it until after the Oscars. It was magnificent. The subtlety was absolutely breath-taking. Helena Bonham Carter, who didn't win her Best Supporting Actress nomination, was the essence of control. It's strange to think she's married to the king of camp in real life (Tim Burton), but she still holds her own. Colin Firth definitely deserved his award, his voice, his mannerisms, they were perfect. Geoffrey Rush was also excellent, the chemistry between him and Colin was very natural and well-formed. I also really liked the whole look of the movie, with the costumes and grayish lighting of it all. Very British. It's a rather strange topic for a movie, so specific, but even with its historical context, it's still very relevant in today's world. War is always with us and we all need someone to look to during times of trial. This movie showed how one man, even with a speaking problem, can rise to meet the challenge.

Monsters (2010)

Six years after Earth has suffered an alien invasion, a photo journalist agrees to escort his boss' daughter through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border. 

     I have made it one of my (less important) life goals to watch as many alien movies as possible. I saw this advertised a while ago, discovered it would not be in theaters near me, and so watched it on Netflix. It's a strange movie, very low-budget, with incredibly natural dialogue (the actors were not given scripts, but general outlines and character design) and almost no actual aliens. However, their presence is undeniable, as every crackle of a twig or explosions in the night sky signal a possible attack. 

      It reminded me of a less big "District 9," in that it's about aliens, but it's really about something else. It has a lot about relationships and Mexican-American politics woven into it, which makes it a better alien movie than just all creatures and no humanity. If aliens really did come to earth, it would indeed be a highly-political situation, with lots of people involved.

    Most people would find this boring, but it is very well-done for its genre.