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The King's Speech is a dull film for me and not something I'm interested in watching again.
Spring Breakers I really disliked, style over substance and deliberately provocative. Not my type of film.
I feel like I'm turning into Honeykid here
21/24 seen.
Spring Breakers I really disliked, style over substance and deliberately provocative. Not my type of film.
I feel like I'm turning into Honeykid here
21/24 seen.
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Cool, and while I didn't vote for it, I did like The King's Speech quite a bit.
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The King's Speech - Nine weeks before filming began, Lionel Logue's grandson, Mark Logue, discovered a large box in his attic that contained his grandfather's personal papers. The box held Lionel Logue's diary, his appointment book, notes from his speech therapy sessions with King George VI, and over 100 personal letters to Logue from the King. It also contained what is believed to be the actual copy of the speech used by George VI in his 1939 radio broadcast announcing the declaration of war with Germany. Mark Logue turned his grandfather's papers, letters, and diary over to director Tom Hooper and screenwriter David Seidler, who used them to flesh out the relationship between Logue and the King. Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth also read through the material for insight into their characters. The exchange in this movie between Logue and King George VI following his radio speech ("You still stammered on the 'W'." / "Well, I had to throw in a few so they knew it was me.") was taken directly from Logue's diary. Firth insisted that it should be included in the movie.
Spring Breakers - The gun barrel blow job scene arose from improvisation on set. Harmony Korine suggested the girls emasculate Alien by sticking the gun barrels in his mouth. It was then James Franco's idea that Alien would get turned on, leading him to perform oral sex on the guns.
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The King's Speech
Read the full review here.
Spring Breakers
NOTE: I usually try to find a positive review for each of the entries, but since the only three reviews for this film are negative, I guess I have no choice but to link a negative review:
Read the full review here.
The King's Speech
Colin Firth steals the film with his wonderful marvelous performance as King George VI. Firth is an actor who can give a role a proper personality and make it incredibly realistic. Helena Bonhem Carter also gave a charming performance as The Queen Mother. She actually resembled her in a way, but Helena resembles alot of people in a lot of roles, and i also forgot about Bellatrix Lestrange in a minute. But again...i have always forgtton about Bellatrix as Helena is that good. But also i cannot forget Geoffrey Rush as Lionel Logue. Charming Actor with a charming performance which gave the film its wit and strong power that makes films like The King's Speech really be brilliant.
Spring Breakers
NOTE: I usually try to find a positive review for each of the entries, but since the only three reviews for this film are negative, I guess I have no choice but to link a negative review:
I probably would not have given this film a chance if not for certain sub-sections of cinema fans selling it as some kind of subversive masterpiece that will probably come to provide a definitive portrait of this generation in the same way that films like Rebel Without a Cause or Easy Rider came to define earlier youth cultures. To a certain extent, I can see how this would appear to be the case. The leads of Spring Breakers may be nigh-indistinguishable, but that seems to become irrelevant since the group tends to function as a singular unit that only starts to break down under the influence of Franco, whose access to lots of drugs and guns (plus his weirdly friendly demeanour) definitely makes him an alternately appealing and frightening figure. There's also the natural escalation of the women seeking greater and greater highs - when sex and drugs lose their thrill, where else do you go but to straight-up criminal behaviour such as robbery and murder? That's without taking into account the film's distinctive visual style, which seems to combine influences from both Nicholas Winding Refn and Terrence Malick as it mixes gaudy neon-soaked lighting with free-floating camerawork and ponderous narration. If nothing else, that at least makes the film worth watching as the interplay of different colours and the film's bizarre editing serve to make it distinctive in that regard and are inventive enough to make sure that I don't write off the film completely.
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The King's Speech was #42 on the MoFo Top 100 of the Millennium.
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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra
Last edited by Holden Pike; 12-30-22 at 05:01 PM.
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The King's Speech is ok but not one that ever stood a chance at making my ballot. I thought Spring Breakers was quite good but again was never in the running for me.
Seen: 19/24 (Own: 11/24)
Seen: 19/24 (Own: 11/24)
My ballot:
Faildictions
Last edited by Chypmunk; 01-12-23 at 12:26 PM.
Reason: correcting counts
mark f
Neither film made mark f's ballot.
The King’s Speech (Tom Hooper, 2010)
Britain's King George VI (Colin Firth) practices his exercises with his speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) so that he can rally the nation by an important speech during WWII.
Britain's King George VI (Colin Firth) practices his exercises with his speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) so that he can rally the nation by an important speech during WWII.
Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine, 2012) -
Endless shots of "students" drinking, smoking, snorting and shaking their booty. That's the good half. When the idiotic James Franco character appears, and the message (?) that his and the spring breakers' lifestyles lead to a dead end seems to be presented, it becomes even more boring, pointless and obvious (in a convoluted, nebulous manner).It is Korine's best-looking film, but that means little when what cinematics on display fail to be coherent or meaningful. I suppose the best I could say about it is that it's more successful than Only God Forgives, but that's the movie it reminded me of, both stylistically and in what I consider their muddled messages.
To reiterate in more detail, though maybe as unclearly as I think the movie does.
I think the reason most people who say they don't like Spring Breakers is because it seems to have a split personality and a mixed message. The film seems to be targeted to high school and college students and starts out as a celebration of booze, drugs, immature behavior and sex. I think that even most of the people who defend it will say that they don't like such movies (unless they're young or feel they missed out on that) but maybe I'm wrong. Then the movie gets more "artistic". It wants to show these particular party girls being seduced by a hiphop, gangsta devil and beginning a life of crime. It wants to be some kind of morality play, but it makes this devil too ridiculous. It also makes the crime lifestyle just as seductive as the party life was. However, the style of the movie is more serious in the second half - it slows down, has "artistic" scenes like the Britney Spears bit and other things whose intent is strangely unclear. Then it ends in something which could be considered tragic or a life lesson, but I took as "about time!" and actually would have preferred an atomic bomb to explode to cleanse the characters, their world and the viewers.
This is also presented in some beautiful photography (unlike most of Korine's films, I don't fault it technically), which appeals to those who think that artistic visuals are more important than content. I'm not sure what was the actual message Korine wanted to convey, but I'm assuming it's something about wrongful behavior bringing sadness. Or maybe it's that you should party and enjoy good-looking things (although beauty, like depth and meaning, are in the eye of the beholder) when you get the chance because it will all be over too soon. Or maybe it's you should just like a movie even if you don't know why exactly. That's fine for those of you who enjoyed Spring Breakers. But for those who don't like it and know why, it's fine to say that it's bad. Bad and good can mean a lot of things. The film is a mixture of both, but I think it's up to each individual what side they believe it falls
Endless shots of "students" drinking, smoking, snorting and shaking their booty. That's the good half. When the idiotic James Franco character appears, and the message (?) that his and the spring breakers' lifestyles lead to a dead end seems to be presented, it becomes even more boring, pointless and obvious (in a convoluted, nebulous manner).It is Korine's best-looking film, but that means little when what cinematics on display fail to be coherent or meaningful. I suppose the best I could say about it is that it's more successful than Only God Forgives, but that's the movie it reminded me of, both stylistically and in what I consider their muddled messages.
To reiterate in more detail, though maybe as unclearly as I think the movie does.
I think the reason most people who say they don't like Spring Breakers is because it seems to have a split personality and a mixed message. The film seems to be targeted to high school and college students and starts out as a celebration of booze, drugs, immature behavior and sex. I think that even most of the people who defend it will say that they don't like such movies (unless they're young or feel they missed out on that) but maybe I'm wrong. Then the movie gets more "artistic". It wants to show these particular party girls being seduced by a hiphop, gangsta devil and beginning a life of crime. It wants to be some kind of morality play, but it makes this devil too ridiculous. It also makes the crime lifestyle just as seductive as the party life was. However, the style of the movie is more serious in the second half - it slows down, has "artistic" scenes like the Britney Spears bit and other things whose intent is strangely unclear. Then it ends in something which could be considered tragic or a life lesson, but I took as "about time!" and actually would have preferred an atomic bomb to explode to cleanse the characters, their world and the viewers.
This is also presented in some beautiful photography (unlike most of Korine's films, I don't fault it technically), which appeals to those who think that artistic visuals are more important than content. I'm not sure what was the actual message Korine wanted to convey, but I'm assuming it's something about wrongful behavior bringing sadness. Or maybe it's that you should party and enjoy good-looking things (although beauty, like depth and meaning, are in the eye of the beholder) when you get the chance because it will all be over too soon. Or maybe it's you should just like a movie even if you don't know why exactly. That's fine for those of you who enjoyed Spring Breakers. But for those who don't like it and know why, it's fine to say that it's bad. Bad and good can mean a lot of things. The film is a mixture of both, but I think it's up to each individual what side they believe it falls
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Spring Breakers was #4 on my ballot. I'm so glad it appears on The Top 100. The movie is about crossing the lines and about how far can they go. 
Cult classic innit?
Cult classic innit?
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I've seen both of these, but didn't vote for either one. About all I remember about The King's Speech was that I felt rather underwhelmed by it. I didn't bother with a rewatch when I was preparing for the countdown. Spring Breakers I've seen a few times and I own it on bluray. It's an entertaining movie and I like it, but it was never in serious contention for my ballot.
Seen: 12/24
My Ballot:
11. The Man From Nowhere (#95)
20. Jojo Rabbit (2019) (#89)
25. Kitbull (One Pointer)
Reviews in My 2010s Countdown Preparation Thread
My most recent review for Spring Breakers:
Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine, 2012)
(Rewatch)
Look, I'm not going to sit here and try to claim that this is any kind of quality movie making. It's not. It's a messy trainwreck of a Girls-Gone-Wild-meets-Gangsta-rap-music-video 94 minute fever dream in which James Franco in cornrows and a grill says "spring break" and "look at my shit" over and over amidst a sea of neon bikinis and boobs.
It's kind of fun, though.
Seen: 12/24
My Ballot:
11. The Man From Nowhere (#95)
20. Jojo Rabbit (2019) (#89)
25. Kitbull (One Pointer)
Reviews in My 2010s Countdown Preparation Thread
My most recent review for Spring Breakers:
Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine, 2012)
(Rewatch)
Look, I'm not going to sit here and try to claim that this is any kind of quality movie making. It's not. It's a messy trainwreck of a Girls-Gone-Wild-meets-Gangsta-rap-music-video 94 minute fever dream in which James Franco in cornrows and a grill says "spring break" and "look at my shit" over and over amidst a sea of neon bikinis and boobs.
It's kind of fun, though.
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Yeah! Finally one from my ballot actually makes the countdown
I had The King's Speech as my #19
My review:
The King's Speech ( Tom Hopper 2010)
I enjoyed every single minute of this film! And I rarely feel that way about any movie. I'd seen this only once before back when it first came out on DVD. I remember loving it then. So much so that I told a couple people about it, who then watched it and also loved it, which is pretty amazing in itself.
The King's Speech is right up my alley for movie subjects. It's historical, it's biographical and it's about the British royal family. I've seen a lot of movies about the British monarchy and this tale of King George VI struggles with stuttering, was both illuminating from a historical viewpoint and quite entertaining in a heartfelt way. I actually laughed a number of times, no not at the stuttering but at the clever witticisms that Lionel (Geoffrey Rush) blurted out to Colin Firth who played King George VI.
Geoffrey Rush was spot on with his role as the unconventional Australian speech therapist. He brought life and energy to the role and made a good film great. And Colin Firth made a good Prince Albert/King George VI too, he brought dignity and frustration. The frustration is what he felt by having the crown thrust upon him when his older brother who had been the King abdicated to marry an American divorcee.
I loved the look of the film too, especially the funky room they spent a lot of time in...shown in the screen shot above.
I had The King's Speech as my #19My review:
The King's Speech ( Tom Hopper 2010)
I enjoyed every single minute of this film! And I rarely feel that way about any movie. I'd seen this only once before back when it first came out on DVD. I remember loving it then. So much so that I told a couple people about it, who then watched it and also loved it, which is pretty amazing in itself.
The King's Speech is right up my alley for movie subjects. It's historical, it's biographical and it's about the British royal family. I've seen a lot of movies about the British monarchy and this tale of King George VI struggles with stuttering, was both illuminating from a historical viewpoint and quite entertaining in a heartfelt way. I actually laughed a number of times, no not at the stuttering but at the clever witticisms that Lionel (Geoffrey Rush) blurted out to Colin Firth who played King George VI.
Geoffrey Rush was spot on with his role as the unconventional Australian speech therapist. He brought life and energy to the role and made a good film great. And Colin Firth made a good Prince Albert/King George VI too, he brought dignity and frustration. The frustration is what he felt by having the crown thrust upon him when his older brother who had been the King abdicated to marry an American divorcee.
I loved the look of the film too, especially the funky room they spent a lot of time in...shown in the screen shot above.
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It's about time someone gave my list more attention.
The King's Speech is a wonderful film not only about conquering over your weaknesses, but friendship as well. The relationship between George and Lionel is the heart of the story, helped greatly by the incredible performances by Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. They give their characters that likability and sympathy that tips the movie over into masterpiece territory. It can be very funny at times as well, particularly with the unusual yet effective method Lionel gives George to work on his stutter. The fact that it almost got the movie an R is ridiculous and shows how embarrassingly out-of-touch the MPAA are. This is a movie that everyone can enjoy, and thankfully the rating got appealed eventually.
Wouldn't have guessed in a million years Spring Breakers would make the list. I didn't even think people liked the movie that much.
The King's Speech is a wonderful film not only about conquering over your weaknesses, but friendship as well. The relationship between George and Lionel is the heart of the story, helped greatly by the incredible performances by Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. They give their characters that likability and sympathy that tips the movie over into masterpiece territory. It can be very funny at times as well, particularly with the unusual yet effective method Lionel gives George to work on his stutter. The fact that it almost got the movie an R is ridiculous and shows how embarrassingly out-of-touch the MPAA are. This is a movie that everyone can enjoy, and thankfully the rating got appealed eventually.
Wouldn't have guessed in a million years Spring Breakers would make the list. I didn't even think people liked the movie that much.
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A key difference being that those are all standalone films and can be appreciated on their own individual groundbreaking merits whereas Endgame is the 22nd film in an established franchise that practically demands an audience has kept up with all the previous adventures (even what was at that point considered the worst one, Thor: The Dark World). Even the "spectacle" it promises is just an escalation of the "bunch of heroes on screen at once" premise that The Avengers already did back in 2012 (and I'm all but certain that will crack this list at a higher spot anyway so it'll just further emphasise how redundant this is).
I would add that, while no one here cited Oscars as an indicator specifically, The Return Of The King won Best Picture and I'm sure is beloved by many here, even though it is not a standalone film and makes no sense unless you've already sat through at least 6 hours of previous content.
I haven't seen The King's Speech. It doesn't really look like my thing, but I may get to it sometime down the road.
I have seen Spring Breakers, which I like quite a bit. I'm sure other people here can better articulate its themes than I can, but I will say that, while I enjoyed it quite a bit, I felt the meandering tone of the film which intercut numerous party scenes within its themes of finding your true self, Alien's characterization, and the Spears song did more bad than good and made it look like Korine didn't have enough plot points to fit a feature length film, so he had to stretch it out. I think the meandering tone worked much better for Gummo since it didn't have much of any plot progression and was more a 'day in the life' kind of film. Still though, I'm glad it made it here.
I have seen Spring Breakers, which I like quite a bit. I'm sure other people here can better articulate its themes than I can, but I will say that, while I enjoyed it quite a bit, I felt the meandering tone of the film which intercut numerous party scenes within its themes of finding your true self, Alien's characterization, and the Spears song did more bad than good and made it look like Korine didn't have enough plot points to fit a feature length film, so he had to stretch it out. I think the meandering tone worked much better for Gummo since it didn't have much of any plot progression and was more a 'day in the life' kind of film. Still though, I'm glad it made it here.
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Wouldn't have guessed in a million years Spring Breakers would make the list. I didn't even think people liked the movie that much.
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As someone who really loves oratory and believes in its power, I have a soft spot for The King's Speech...but all that really does is raise it from "utterly forgettable" to "a pretty good, simple story, well told." I may or may not watch it a second time some day, which all by itself is pretty damning for a Best Picture winner.
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As someone who really loves oratory and believes in its power, I have a soft spot for The King's Speech...but all that really does is raise it from "utterly forgettable" to "a pretty good, simple story, well told." I may or may not watch it a second time some day, which all by itself is pretty damning for a Best Picture winner.
1. Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth are wonderful and their performances are worth the 2 hours.
2. The King's Speech beating Black Swan for Best Picture is an even more egregious bed-shitting than Forrest Gump beating Pulp Fiction (I actually love Shakespeare In Love and have a low-key loathing for Spielberg so I'll leave the other one people go on about, and the Kane affair out of this).
I've not seen The King's Speech, and don't seem to have much interest in it, as I have had my chances to see it!
Surprised to see Spring Breakers on this countdown, honestly. I have seen it, and while I do recall it being better than I initially expected, I forgot about it fairly quickly and never had any urge to watch it again. It did have some cool style, I guess!
No votes for these two from me.
Surprised to see Spring Breakers on this countdown, honestly. I have seen it, and while I do recall it being better than I initially expected, I forgot about it fairly quickly and never had any urge to watch it again. It did have some cool style, I guess!
No votes for these two from me.
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The King's Speech - I can't remember if I saw a trailer for this movie, or just heard people talk about it while promoting it (maybe a guest spot on The Daily Show?), but somehow it struck me as instantly forgettable and likely to do well at the Oscars. I never watched it, and nothing in the intervening years since has changed my perception of it. Which is to say my interest in it is low.
Spring Breakers - A cult film that I remember enjoying and Franco's Alien was certainly unique in a memeable sort of way for a little while. I don't remember it well enough to discuss it and was never in consideration for my ballot.
Spring Breakers - A cult film that I remember enjoying and Franco's Alien was certainly unique in a memeable sort of way for a little while. I don't remember it well enough to discuss it and was never in consideration for my ballot.
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