The King's Speech

We saw the leading Oscar-contender, The King's Speech, last night. The packed cinema for a midweek teatime showing certainly suggests it is already a hit. And there is superb acting throughout, from Colin Firth's credible stutterer George VI and Geoffrey Rush as the speech therapist Lionel Logue to the impish Ramona Marquez from Outnumbered as a young Princess Margaret. With Timothy Spall as Churchill, Derek Jacobi as the Archbishop, Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth, Michael Gambon as George V and Claire Bloom as Queen Mary, this is truly a feast of British acting talent. The story is simple enough: the Duke of York (prodded by his wife) turns to cheeky Aussie Logue to cure his stammer, and relies upon him for crucial speeches. Tom Hooper directs it all with great aplomb. But it is not quite the perfect film the reviews suggest either. It is a bit drawn out over two hours, the history is a bit fishy (too many references forward) and it feels at times as if it might have been better as a stage play. Even so, it is still one of the best movies likely to emerge in 2011 and definitely not to be missed.

The Social Network

We caught The Social Network over the weekend. It is a surprisingly gripping account of the story behind Facebook, with great central performances particularly from Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg. It is far from being a nerd's movie - Aaron Sorkin's script ensures that. Instead, as told through a series of fascinating law suit hearings, it becomes a tale of class, the snobbery of elite US universities, social inadequacy, innovative genius and the cruelties of business. There's a highly entertaining scene with Douglas Urbanski as Harvard President Larry Summers giving the pretenders to the Facebook patent, the preposterously entitled Winklevoss brothers, short shrift despite their father's wealth. There is plenty of such humour, though a lot of it is of the 'did he really say that' kind, as Eisenberg ranges from disinterested abuse to cutting sarcasm. Yet the whole two hour experience is as engrossing as anything to hit the screens from the US this year. I can't imagine the execs at Facebook think much of it, not least their founder. But in the end, it is a tribute to his sheer genius (whether or not he cribbed some of the idea from elsewhere) in turning a college friendship site into a worldwide phenomenon.

Made in Dagenham

Nigel Cole's Made in Dagenham has received some deserved rave reviews. Sally Hawkins is really superb as the Ford seamstress who leads a 1968 battle for equal pay with the semi-skilled men at the Dagenham factory. Their battle received national attention and highlighted similar inequities before 1970s Equal Pay legislation. Miranda Richardson is great as a feisty Barbara Castle, too. There are moving performances from Geraldine James and Roger Lloyd Pack. And there's a great story, a reminder of equality battles past and a pro-union plot with potential wide appeal. But the film has serious flaws, too. Many of the cast - excepting Hawkins and Richardson - are cast in cardboard cut-out roles, two-dimensional and talents wasted. This is certainly true of the men, including Bob Hoskins playing himself and a shop steward, but is equally true of many of the women in the cast including the ubiquitous Andrea Riseborough. The script is terribly formulaic, like so many such British movies - including Calendar Girls - which may provide mass appeal, but holds back many of the fine cast. Nevertheless, this is a significant movie that makes some important political issues accessible in a way that Ken Loach never could.

Whatever Works

To see Woody Allen's Whatever Works, a film that brings Allen back to New York and to the comic style of his earlier creations. The great Larry David largely reprises his Curb Your Enthusiasm grumpiness as Boris Yellnikoff who finds himself falling for the Southern charms of a Mississippi runaway, Melodie St. Ann Celestine played with naive brilliance by Evan Rachel Wood. As Melodie's parents - great performances by Ed Begley Jr and Patricia Clarkson - track her down, a classic Allen plot unfolds as they discover the freedoms of New York. It is cliched to describe Allen's movies as a 'return to form' - he has had several good movies this century - but it certainly shows that he still knows how to get the most from a great ensemble of actors.

Greenberg

To see Noah Baumbach's thoughtful and incisive Greenberg: the story of faded rock singer turned carpenter, Roger Greenberg, who is recuperating in his brother's house after a spell in a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown, where he starts an awkward affair with the family's young personal assistant, Florence (played with brilliance by Greta Gerwig). Ben Stiller plays Greenberg with huge understanding, giving his combination of grouchy complaints, terrible personal behaviour and self-obsession such depth that one actually cares about an otherwise horrible person. Gone is the goofiness of Meet the Fockers: who knew that behind the goofball comedy there was an actor capable of carrying a multi-layered film like this through virtually every scene? There is great support from Rhys Ifans and Jennifer Jason Leigh as a fellow band member and former lover respectively. But this is a breakout film for the two principals - Stiller from his stereotype, and Gerwig showing she is destined for greatness. This is not easy viewing - it can be ponderous and episodic - but it is nevertheless a great movie.

Robin Hood

I'm not a huge fan of adventure films, particularly those of a pseudo-historical bent like Braveheart. So against expectations, I was pleasant surprised by Ridley Scott's Robin Hood which we saw last night. This is a vastly superior, highly intelligent take on the legendary figure placing him in the context of the history of his day. It benefits from a cracking and witty script, great Pembrokeshire scenery and marvellous acting. The grimy filth of peasant life in Nottingham is as well shown as the misery of soldiers returning from the Crusades and the (albeit animated) realities of a sea-based French invasion. Scott spares little of the brutality of medieval war, but the film is as much drama as action, and is all the better for it. Russell Crowe is a great Robin, with Cate Blanchett superb as Maid Marion, but there are plenty of other great actors through the film including Eileen Atkins as the domineering Eleanor of Aquitaine and Matthew MacFadyen as a simpering Sheriff of Nottingham. The film ends before the merry band start life as saintly outlaws, setting up the sequel. A great escape from the week's politics.

This post was picked up in the Belfast Telegraph.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

To see the Swedish film adaptation of Steig Larsson's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Män som hatar kvinnor) last night. Noomi Rapace is brilliant as Lisbeth Salandar, the troubled tattoed cybersleuth who joins crusading journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist)in a bid to uncover an increasingly disturbing mystery surrounding the disappearance of a young woman forty years earlier. The story introduces Swedish Nazis and plenty of grisly revelations along the way. This is not a film for the faint-hearted any more than the book - and its theme of 'men who hate women' has attracted plenty of controversy - but it is still at heart a tale of good and evil. It is also a cracking thriller which despite its 2h 45 it rattles along with pace, ditching extraneous aspects of the book and focusing on the principal plotlines. I read the thriller at Christmas, and the film is as faithful an adaptation as is possible, capturing the characters and landscape as one imagines it. It deserves a better critical reception than it has received.

Up in the Air

To see Jason Reitman's bittersweet comedy Up in the Air last night. The Juno director's latest offering has a brilliant and sparky cast led by George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a 'transition executive' who traverses America firing people. Bingham gives motivational speeches on living life from a near-empty rucksack, with no commitments and few possessions. drawn from his own experience of living from a cabin-size suitcase and a life spend in hotels and airports. His big goal in life is gaining ten million American Airlines miles, and he enjoys nothing more than the executive club privileges that go with regular Hilton stays. His life is threatened by two events: the emergence of an apparently equally transient frequent flyer Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga) as his occasional lover and the appearance of a young tech-savvy executive, Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) with her ideas of firing people through videoconferences. The story takes the apparently inevitable twists and turns of the Hollywood comedy. But this is Jason Reitman, so nothing is so readily predictable. A hugely enjoyable film.

A Serious Man

To see the Coen Brothers' latest film, A Serious Man, last night. One of the brothers' best films, this is a dark comedy about a midwestern Jewish professor Larry Kopnik whose life is beginning to resemble the car crash that occurs during the movie. His wife is leaving him for the insufferable Sy, his students are bribing him, his racist neighbour is making life hell, his rabbis offer trite tales instead of the wisdom he seeks and he faces constant calls from Dick Dutton demanding payment for albums he didn't order from a music club. All this takes place as his son prepares for his Bar Mitzvah, and the film is not only laced with a wonderful sense of time - 1967 - and place, together with an affectionate portrait of the Jewish community with which the Brothers are so familiar. There is uniformly excellent acting, especially from the relatively unknown Michael Stuhlbarg as Kopnik, with great support from Richard Kind as his wayward brother and Fred Melamed as Sy. Not to be missed.

Bright Star

To see Jane Campion's new film on the last years of the poet John Keats' s life, Bright Star. Based on Andrew Motion's biography, the film tells of his love for Fanny Brawne, his neighbour's daughter in Hampstead and how that affected his life before TB took him to Italy for a forlorn cure and his untimely death. Abbie Cornish carries the film as a hugely impressive Fanny, and there is much to like in the beautiful filming and poetry recitals. But Ben Whishaw fails to spark as Keats and Bright Star suffers from a tediously ponderous first half that is not entirely mitigated by the narrative strengths of the film as events move towards their tragic conclusion.

An Education

To see An Education, last night. Nick Hornby and Lone Scherfig's rendering of Lynn Barber's autobiographical coming-of-age tale, set in early 1960s London, tells the story of 16 year-old Jenny, a bright A level student played with great panache if a little too much maturity by Carey Mulligan, hoping to get to Oxford, who lets her studies suffer as she receives the attentions of an older man, David, whose flash car owes much to his dubious business dealings. Jenny's parents are as seduced as she is by David's charm and wealth, allowing her to swap her homework for weekends in Oxford and Paris, all the time oblivious to the increasingly unpalatable truths about their daughter's 'boyfriend'. Critics have bemoaned the breeziness of the film, which splendidly evokes the good life for some in London at that time, wishing for something darker and more sordid, to go with the obvious unsuitability of the relationship. But the film's ending is hardly lacking in an appropriate lesson in morality, and the film benefits from its general breeziness - and some great acting.

Broken Embraces

To see Pedro Almodóvar’s latest outing for his favourite femme fatale, Penelope Cruz, last night. Broken Embraces (Los Abrazos Rotos) has a disjointed feel at first - it flits between events in 1992 and today, as it follows the fortunes of a film-maker who has been blinded as a result of a gradually evolving and occasionally surprising series of events. Critics have said this is the great Spanish director's most self-reflective film to date, which it is, though some have argued that it veers towards self-indulgence. I disagree. This is a good film, beautifully filmed, especially on Lanzarote, and with a captivating performance by Cruz and strong performances by all the other principals, particularly Lluís Homar as the blinded director Mateo Blanco and José Luis Gómez as the ruthless businessman and author of Blanco's misfortunes. The plot may be labyrinthine, but it is also wholly engrossing. And while it may not be a masterpiece like Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown or Talk to Her, it is ultimately a fine celebration of the redeeming power of cinema. Almodóvar fans will not be disappointed.

Fermat's Room

We finally caught Luis Piedrahita and Rodrigo Sopena's brilliant mathematical thriller, Fermat's Room (La habitación de Fermat) at the weekend. A taut clever thriller, it brings four maths geniuses together ostensibly to solve a complex enigma, but in reality to subject them to a terrifying ordeal. Hercule Poirot may not be amongst them, but there are enough false trails to energise the little grey cells, all served up with the chilling horror of a room that has no obvious exit but is gradually reducing in size, and will crush them if they don't solve a series of problems. This is an excellent debut by the Spanish directors, and if it is still around where you are, don't miss it. It may be the most gripping 90 minutes you experience all year.

State of Play

We saw Paul Abbott's magnificent newspaper-political thriller State of Play tonight. The film adaptation transplanted to a thinly disguised Washington Post newsroom casts Russell Crowe as the crusading journalist conflicted by his friendship with the ostensibly right on crusading congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) whose world starts to fall apart after the death of his mistress and researcher. Having seen the great BBC TV series on which this is based is no handicap in watching this taut thriller, with other fine performances from Helen Mirren as the newspaper editor, Robin Wright Penn as Collins's wife and Rachel McAdams as a cub reporter-cum- newspaper blogger. The complex conspiracy theory plot is leavened with some great lines about the world of newspapers and blogging, as Crowe gives another brilliant turn as the old-fashioned reporter in the battered car and dated computer, but the right instincts. The film will hold your attention throughout with Kevin Macdonald's taut direction.

The silence of Paul Merton

We caught Paul Merton's Silent Clowns at Bath's Theatre Royal last night, the show where he presents a series of silent comedies from the early 20th century. It is wonderful to be reminded of the ingenuity of the silent film-makers. The 1925 Buster Keaton film Seven Chances, following the antics of a young man who has several hours to find a bride or lose a seven million dollar inheritance, is a gem (and is better than the advertised Steamboat Bill Jr, which I've seen before), as were shorter clips from Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, and earlier French film-makers. There was some great piano-playing from Neil Brand which gave the theatre the feel of a pre-talkie cinema. But there was a some justified grumbling from the audience about how little Merton told us about the movies and movie-makers. He has undoubtedly done a great job bringing these pictures to a new audience. But he doesn't need to remain as silent as his subjects.

The Boat that Rocked

I'm not surprised that the critics hated The Boat that Rocked, Richard Curtis's homage to Radio Caroline and the sixties pirate radio stations that led to the creation of Radio 1 and nearly 300 local pop stations. I would normally be with them.

But, instead, as one who had a fleeting involvement with dry land pirate stations in Ireland in the late seventies and early eighties, I preferred to wallow in the great music and enjoy the absurd caricatures developed by Curtis and a pretty good cast - including Bill Nighy as the louche station boss, Kenneth Branagh as a Pythonesque cabinet minister (who bore little resemblance to Tony Benn) and Philip Seymour Hoffmann playing a version of the legendary Emperor Rosko (whose shows later graced the Irish pirates).

True, it didn't go into the reasons why the BBC couldn't play more pop (a Musicians' Union ban) or the ideological objections of the Labour government (who handled the whole thing very badly). And the ending was a bit ridiculous. But if you take it at face value, as an entertaining - if overlong - piece of nostalgic hokum, it is just good fun.

Gran Torino

To see Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino last night. Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a cross between Dirty Harry and Victor Meldrew, who fumes through his retirement against his grasping offspring, an over-solicitous priest and his Asian neighbours in the wake of his wife's death, only to warm to the latter and become their defenders despite his frequent racist language. His growing attachment and support to a Vietnamese teenager, Thao, and his sassy sister Sue (with brilliant performances by Bee Vang and Ahney Her) draws him into a bitter gang feud with shocking but not entirely predictable consequences. There's a great theme song sung by Jamie Cullum and the Gran Torino is Walt's beloved vintage Ford which provides an important backdrop to a movie which though not Eastwood's best is still another engaging addition to an impressive oeuvre.

Doubt

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

To see Woody Allen's latest offering last night. In Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Allen is back on form after some lacklustre British films (though I did quite enjoy Scoop when it surfaced on BBC2 recently) with a typical tale of tangled lives and loves, leavened with witty and sophisticated dialogue, and a fair few amusing situations. Allen has brought together a cracking cast, with Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson playing two American girls, Vicky and Cristina, on holiday in Spain, who both fall for the charms of Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), a local artist with an on-off relationship with his violent ex-wife, Maria Elena, played with manic brilliance by Penelope Cruz. The backdrop of Spain, particularly Oviedo, gives the film extra charm. Above all, this is a vindication for those of us who have stuck with Allen through thick and (very) thin. If you liked Hannah and her Sisters or Manhattan, you'll love this.

Milk

To see Gus Van Sant's gripping and moving account of the political rise and assassination of the gay rights activist Harvey Milk. In just over two hours, Van Sant tells the story of how Milk took on a growing anti-gay movement in 1970s America, using the growing muscle not only of the gay community in San Francisco but also of a surprising group of allies who included the Teamsters and Governor Ronald Reagan, to see off a referendum that could have seen gay people sacked from jobs in public schools and social services. His victory and success also cost him his life. Sean Penn is utterly compelling in the title role of Milk, and were it not for his previous Oscar success and sentimentality over Mickey Rourke, he would surely be the top contender for a Best Actor Oscar this year. In a brilliant year for Hollywood movies, this is another one that has to be seen.