MOVIE REVIEW

Among all of the great movies this year, one movie stands out from the rest of the pack. With 12 Oscar nominations, "The King's Speech" has ruled superior.

Set in England during the 1930s and '40s, this story follows the tragic character of George, the Prince of York, played by Colin Firth. George suffers from a crippling speech impediment, and he is doing everything possible to cure his irregularity. But, nothing is working.

His wife seeks the help of a man who comes highly recommended, a doctor named Lionel Logue, played by the witty and charming Aussie Geoffrey Rush. It is Logue's job to help George cure his problem.

George and Logue become good friends, and Logue even starts to help George with his personal problems.

Through a series of events George becomes king of England, and his voice has to be used to reassure the people during World War II.

This heart-warming story of a man trying to find his voice and help his people feel comfort in a time of crisis (World War II) is really what makes this story so compelling.

There are many great things about this movie. For me, the greatest success of this movie was the acting. Firth, Rush and Helena Bonham Carter, who plays George's wife, really make this movie stand out from the dull movies of 2010. If it were not for the great ensemble cast this movie would be very flat and somewhat boring.

Firth absolutely deserves the Best Actor Oscar. His performance is incredibly convincing. If I had never heard him in interviews or other movies I would be 100 percent convinced that Firth had a stutter in real life. He was able to achieve this stutter with the help of his sister who is a speech pathologist, according to interviews. All of his subtle actions really help make his performance so memorable.

Rush, in any other year would win the Oscar for best supporting actor. His performance was my favorite of the movie. His interactions with Firth were comical, dramatic and devastating. Rush helps to add some comic relief to this otherwise serious movie. Logue is the main driving force for George to get rid of his stutter. If it were not for Logue's assistance, then George would not have been the great king that he was.

This time piece movie captured the discord and chaos of the late '30s and early '40s in England, when the world was at war and the people of England needed someone to look to for inspiration.

One of my biggest complaints about this movie was the audio. In the movie theater during some of the quieter scenes, the tense moments were cut short by loud explosions in the theater next door. There was even a notice saying that the movie was at full volume. The first time I heard the sound explosions seep through the walls in the theater it was fine, but it happened at least five times. I found it very distracting, and it took away from the mood of the movie. This was not the movie's fault but rather poor planning on the part of movie theater's management.

"The King's Speech" is a worthwhile movie, but in my opinion it was not up to the caliber of "Black Swan," "The Social Network" or "Inception." For being director Tom Hooper's first major movie, it was very good, but there was just something ineffable about this movie that just kept it from being great. Firth's performance is definitely the highlight, and if you want to see a one of the best actors of the 21st century at his finest, go and see this movie.