By DNA Smith
PICKS OF THE WEEK
“The King’s Speech” (R) — Colin Firth stars as Britain’s King George VI, who, following the death of his father (Michael Gambon) and the abdication of his brother Edward (Guy Pearce), is in a spot of bother. It appears our reluctant monarch has a bit of a stammering problem, old bean, and must overcome it. Enter Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an Australian self-taught speech therapist, whose methods are, shall we say, unorthodox.
Despite divisions of class, the two form a lifelong bond, and the King overcomes his impediment in the nick of time to give the most important speech of his life on the eve of World War II.
I expected “The King’s Speech” to be another slow-paced costume drama, but was pleasantly surprised that it moved at a quick pace. The performances by the entire cast were brilliant, and there were more than a fair share of humorous moments. Highly recommended. Pip-pip and all that.
“Ip Man 2: Legend of the Grandmaster” (R) — Donnie Yen stars once again as Ip Man, the kung-fu legend who developed the Wing Chun style of martial arts and was mentor to Bruce Lee. This sequel continues the story of the grandmaster as he moves to Hong Kong to open a kung-fu school, but faces opposition from Master Hung (Sammo Hung), the leader of a group of corrupt masters, leading to a fierce battle between Ip and a Western-style fighter named Twister. Although not as awesome as the first film, “Ip Man 2” is still a great martial-arts movie, especially if you love old-school, down-and-dirty fighting styles.
“Tokyo Gore Police” Unrated Blu-Ray Edition — Warning: Watching this movie will mess you up for life. It is one of the most gory, sick and twisted films to come out of Japan. So, hooray for it finally coming out in high-def.
Set in the not-too-distant future, the film stars Eihi Shiina (“Audition”) as Ruka, the daughter of a high-ranking police officer. Her father is murdered by a gang of criminals who have been modified into super-creatures, their bodies mutilated and “bio-fused” with weaponry by psychopathic engineers. In order to solve the case and avenge her father’s death, Ruka must do battle with this mob of abominations.
TV SHOWS
“Glee Encore”
“The Ernie Kovacs Collection”
“American Dad!” Vol. 6
“The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” The Complete Sixth Season
“Captain Planet and The Planeteers” Season One
“Howe and Howe Tech”
“Shaun the Sheep: The Big Chase”
“Lone Ranger” Compilation
“One Piece” Season Three, Fifth Voyage
“Darker Than Black” Complete Season One
© 2011 King Features Synd., Inc.