Why the speechmaker beat The Social Network [TELEGRAPH]

Colin Firth as George VI in The King's Speech. In the film, the monarch's stutter is blamed on childhood traumas Photo: REX

In The Social Network, a socially inept computer geek becomes an accidental billionaire making many enemies along the way. It was a brilliantly scripted story, but we don’t really care much about the fate of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (played by Jesse Eisenberg); indeed, we probably feel that all those billions in the bank have provided an enviably comfortable cushion against the vicissitudes he’s faced.
The King’s Speech, on the other hand, grips from the painfully moving opening scene, in which the future George VI ascends from the bowels of Wembley Stadium to address a crowd of many thousands as if he were climbing up the scaffold to his own execution.
And when finally, thanks to the help administered by eccentric speech therapist Lionel Logue, he addresses the nation on the radio with barely a slip in his delivery, it’s impossible to stifle a tear of sympathy. The King’s Speech is the story of a challenge heroically overcome.
That’s why the Academy lavished so much love on it.

SHOOT: Because we like to feel tingly even if it's vastly out of date?  My best flick Oscar pick was 127 Hours, but what do I know.
Read the rest here.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/oscars/8351626/Best-Picture-2011-Why-The-Kings-Speech-beat-The-Social-Network.html