The Damned United (2009)

Now I'm not normally a Football film fan but this film about Brian Clough's doomed tenure as Leeds United Manager is a truly fantastic film. It's told in the form of flashbacks, we start off with him being appointed as Leeds boss but we go back to his days as Derby County boss. Now this film is based on a book and I have to say that I have never read the book though I might after seeing this film. Michael Sheen is brilliant as Brian Clough. Like David Frost in Frost/Nixon, Sheen captures the manerisms of the person he is playing. He might not look to much like Clough but that doenst really matter to much because his performance is so good that you look past it quite quickly. I liked how Clough comes across as someone who has lots of confidence but puts himself over to the Leeds team badly and its soon clear how important Peter Taylor was to Clough. Timothy Spall is great as Peter Taylor. Actually Spall in great in pretty much everything he is in.

The Damned United is a film that should be seen because like Frost/Nixon, the central character's flaws and positives are in clear view.

The King's Speech (2010)

The Kings Speech is a film about someone with a speech impediment being forced into a position that they dont really want to be largely because of the said impediment. It's just unfortunate that the position is King of England. The film is the first of Colin Firth's that I have ever seen because I just cant bear those Briget Jones films.

The film has some impressive performances especially from Firth and Geoffrey Rush. Helena Bonham Carter is very good as the future Queen Mother and Guy Pearce is surprisingly good as Edward. Michael Gambon is perfect as usual but its a shame that he isnt in it for very long.

The Kings Speech is a very good film that apparently received applause from cinema goers. It didnt happen in the screening that I was in but it should have.