Really?

You know it's a weird day when the highlight is not having to stand in line at the DMV. I went to get my plates renewed as well as my driver's license. I decided to go early and thanks to the time and the chill in the air, I went right up to the counter when I got there. A couple of checks and one crappy picture later, I have my new license. It's very mod and tricked out to make it harder to copy. I decided to be fairly honest and update my weight this time around. Only fairly honest though...I'm not crazy.

My poor Illini failed to defeat #1 Ohio State this morning. With about 7 min. left, we were up by 8 and then those damn people at CBS had to show a graphic. The graphic pointed out that Illinois had only turned it over 2 or 3 times in the half. Kiss of freakin' death...well, that and some questionable calls by the refs, some killer defense, and the strange decision to send a bounce pass to a guy who is 7 feet tall. Sad, sad, sad.

Then, I decided to go see The Fighter. As a movie, it was okay. As an avenue to see some excellent performances, it scores a bit higher. Christian Bale steals this puppy away from everyone. Melissa Leo and Amy Adams hold their own, but Mark Wahlberg seems to get sort of lost in the shuffle. I'm not sure if that is because his character is dominated not only by his brother's life and personality, but also set aside by his mother. Or, it could just be the way the script was written. Not a bad movie, but not a super one.

For some reason, I have started watching Criminal Minds. A & E and ION both show it about a million times during the week and I've been catching it here and there. I can't decide if I watch because of the strangely hot Matthew Gray Gubler or because I'm waiting for the script to slip into melodrama. Maybe I need to watch it from the beginning, but every time I hear the voice over featuring a quote that ties into the story, I start to giggle a bit. Plus, Thomas Gibson's expression never changes...ever. I like the guy, don't get me wrong. But, dang. I think there are 3 hours of it tonight. It'll be good to bounce back and forth between that and the Purdue/Michigan State game. At least watching someone catch a serial killer will get my mind of off the Illinois loss.

GO BEARS!

Hello again

I realize it seems like I have disappeared since I haven't updated since right after Thanksgiving. I did not purposely take a vacation or anything. I just didn't feel really inspired to write. I haven't felt particularly inspired by much of anything lately. But, I'm going to try and get back into the groove. It will start slow; I'll probably update during the weekend. So, let's get started.

After a few weeks of begging the movie gods, The King's Speech finally came to town this weekend. I have been a fan of Colin Firth's for quite some time and was rooting for him to win the Best Actor Oscar last year for A Single Man. He definitely has a shot this year for his portrayal of King George VI (or Bertie as his family and friends called him). I'm sure a decent amount of people know that after George V died, his eldest son, Edward, became king. Edward abdicated the throne about a year later so he could marry an American who was twice divorced. As the Head of the Church of England, you couldn't really do that so Edward chucked the whole king thing to get hitched. George VI then helped lead the country through WW II. But, thanks to much larger personalities like Churchill, Hitler, etc., George sort of gets lost in the shuffle. I don't believe his story is very well known in America and probably only sort of known in England.

Bertie was a stammerer. He apparently had been since he was 4 or 5. Being the second son, it was unlikely he would ever become king, so he could be comfortable enough with his speech issues since he wouldn't really have to do much public speaking. Things began to change when he had to give a speech in his father's place and it went really, really, badly. Bertie's wife, who most of us know as the Queen Mother, kept trying to find someone to help her husband. Eventually, they came across a speech therapist named Lionel. The movie takes us through Lionel's treatments and their growing friendship.

You totally believe Colin's performance. Nothing seems forced or fake. You can see the frustration and feeling of inadequacy move over his face as he tries to express himself, to find his voice as it were. You feel for him every step of the way. Geoffrey Rush is a great foil for Firth. It is funny and heart breaking to see their relationship grow and change. Helena Bonham Carter plays Elizabeth (Bertie's wife) and, as my friend Jackie pointed out, it was good to see her "not playing crazy."

If you are a fan of these actors and a fan of period/historical pieces, this movie is right up your alley. It is funny, moving, and has just the right amount of triumph without becoming too sentimental. The script is whip smart and I like that the director seemed to let the story unfold on its own.

I would put this up there with my 2 other favorite movies of the year, The Social Network and Inception.

Hopefully, Colin will pick up a Best Actor Golden Globe this evening. He already snagged the Critic's Choice award for the same category on Friday. Fingers crossed.

Oh, on a side note...for those of you who are fans of the BBC's production of Pride & Prejudice that made Colin a major star, the actress who played Elizabeth Bennett, Jennifer Ehle, plays Lionel's wife. I don't know if this is the first time Colin and Jennifer had acted together since P & P, but it was fun to see them together again.