Movie Review: The Artist

No you aren't crazy. The Artist is in black and white. It's also a silent film with printed dialogue. Crazy? Sure. Kinda cool? Yeah. Up for tons of Oscar nominations? Absolutely. This film harkens back to the golden days of Hollywood when boy meets girls, boy falls for girl, boy's the big star, girl's the peppy young ingenue who surpasses his dreams and becomes a huge star. Meanwhile, boy's star plummets into disgrace. It's an olden goldie tale and it works in 2011-2012.

Jean Dujardin is our silent hero, George Valentin. Think Douglas Fairbanks - swashbuckling, matinee idol good looks, with an expansive smile, and over emoting - perfect for the silent film heyday. Berenice Bejo is Peppy Miller - our cute heroine, with large expressive eyes, a smile that doesn't end, and dancer legs. Plus she's ready to talk, sing, and go far in this new world of talkies. George refuses to change, thinking the talkies are a fad. Soon only his dog, played by a terrier named Uggie, stands by George. (Uggie steals the show!)

The 1929 stock market crash hits, wiping George's fortune. Folks still flock to movies, but only the talkies. He spends his own fortune to make a film, but silence is not golden anymore. Part comedy, part drama, part love story - The Artist is charming, entertaining, and rich in its black & white & shades of gray. The film score is luscious, and it's nice to enjoy an old fashioned film. Buy a tub of popcorn, treat yourself to a soda, and don't make a sound. Ssshhh!

Oscar Dreams

One quick followup to my Oscar post. I'm very pleased with all of The King's Speech victories. They helped my Oscar ballot with 17 of 24 correct. Hurrah!

I loved David Seidler's acceptance speech. He won for Best Original Screenplay. Elderly white haired gentleman who overcame a stutter - this award obviously meant the world. He began by saying that his father always said he'd be a "late bloomer". Classy and understated. Wow!

Kudos to him.

I love the movies. This year's Academy Awards show was a tad boring, trying too hard to be hip and cool. And yet, when it came down to the actual victors - they gave really heartfelt speeches, they are true to their craft, and they epitomize acting star quality. It was worth paying my $$$ and sitting in the dark and spending precious time to enjoy their performances.

Hooray for Hollywood and here's to the David Seidler's of the world. Write, write, write, create, and dream.

Oscar awaits

Oscar Picks

A year's worth of sitting in the dark, and it comes down to Sunday, February 27th. Academy Awards time. Who shall win Oscar?

I look back at 2010 as a so-so year for movies, and yet when I look at the nominations, I think, "Wow. That one was great. Or such a superb performance. Or I could watch that one again." So, I think 2010 was a good year for a small number of really fine films. It was "eh!" for the medium grade - entertaining and worth your money, but not awesome. There's been a whole lot of crap made and I think films are being cranked out to fill the DVD and instant viewing pipeline. With that said, let me give an opinion on key categories.

Ballot courtesy of Entertainment Weekly.

Best Picture: All worthy contenders. I think The King's Speech will win - it fits the Oscar sensibility. Well filmed, well acted, and British accents. As far as innovation - Inception or Black Swan should take the statue. And for sheer joy to watch again and again - Toy Story 3.

Best Actor: Colin Firth, hands down. Jeff Bridges won last year and gets better and better. Jesse and James - young brilliant actors who shall build great careers. Javier - sorry, didn't see you. But I bet you were good.

Best Actress: Natalie Portman has grown through the years and I think she was excellent in her ballerina breakdown. I give her the statue, but I'm fine if Annette Bening wins. She's so dynamic on the screen.

Best Supporting Actress: This is so tough. Melissa Leo started out ahead, but I think Hailee Steinfeld might just pull the final punch. I'd award the whole lot of 'em. (Jacki Weaver is a surprise gem in a wee Aussie film - whew!)

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale went full tilt into his role and came up a winner. But Geoffrey Rush could ride that King's Speech momentum and he was awfully key to Colin's performance.

Best Director - David Fincher - Social Network. The old split the award from picture trick and I think that's okay. We'll see.

Best Original Screenplay - either King's Speech or Inception (that was darn good creative writing)

Best Adapted Screenplay - Aaron Sorkin knocked it out with Social Network. This movie captures 2010 with his language and pacing.

Just working on this post makes me want to re-watch these movies and performances. Hollywood is still alive and brings magic to the darkness.

Roll film...............