Colin Firth in The King’s Speech. Film: With meticulous attention to period details and an engrossing history-based story that humanizes the struggle of a British king like no movie before it, The King’s Speech is great, albeit old-fashioned, filmmaking. Colin Firth stars as Bertie, a/k/a Prince Albert (Colin Firth), who unexpectedly becomes King George VI as World War II looms, due to his older brother’s abdication over his love of divorcee Wallis Simpson. But the king has a secret stammer, made worse by the thought of public speaking. His struggle to overcome it, aided by an impudent John commoner and unorthodox speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush), forms the heart of the film. Directed crisply by Tom Hooper, whose best work previously was the impressive Adams mini-series. Opening locally this weekend. — H. Erstein
Chris Oden and Dennis Creaghan in Freud’s Last Session. Theater: Two towering minds of the 20th century – Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis and a staunch atheist, and C.S. Lewis, a fervent convert to Christianity who would become a religious philosopher and author – meet at Freud’s London consulting room as England is drawn into World War II, and they debate the existence of God, the nature of good and evil and the very meaning of life in Mark St. Germain’s two-character play, Freud’s Last Session. That’s it, virtually no plot, no action, but since the essence of theater is words and ideas, the conversation is enough to grip us over the evening’s brief, but densely packed 70 minutes. Dennis Creaghan disappears completely into the role of Freud, aided by a snowy beard and a Viennese accent, and Chris Oden is his reverent, but verbally combative foil Lewis. Continuing through Feb. 6. Call (561) 514-4042 for tickets. — H. Erstein
VersaEmerge.Music: Most of the music world is taking a breather for the holiday, but there are still some shows around over the weekend if you travel a little. On Sunday night at Fort Lauderdale’s Revolution Live, it’s a show by VersaEmerge, a trio from Port St. Lucie. Led by big-voiced singer Sierra Kusterbeck, the group has a new album, Fixed at Zero, and is on a national tour with bands such as I See Stars and Black Veil Brides. 6:30 p.m. Tickets: $19.30, available through Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com.
Karrie Griffiths.Flutist Karrie Griffiths currently plays in the Fort Lauderdale-based Symphony of the Americas, but she also is the founder of Music in Miami, a chamber music series. This Sunday at Miami’s Trinity Cathedral, Griffiths is joined by violist Modesto Marcano, oboist Marco Navarette, pianist Maria Menendez and classical guitarist Miguel Bonachea for a program of music by Beethoven (Serenade in D, op. 25), Ravel (Habanera), Ibert (Escales), and Holst (Terzett0). Also on the program are pieces by Agustin Barrios, Antonio Lauro and Jose Manuel Lezcano. 6 p.m., Trinity Cathedral. Free admission, but donations accepted. Call 954-309-2424 or visit www.musicinmiami.net for more information.