Movie Review – The Artist

Last year, I managed to see all 10 movies nominated for the Best Movie Oscar.  Somehow that doesn’t sound quite right, and I show myself as a newbie to the fold for not knowinng the exact title of the award.  This year, I’m looking for a repeat, and, to that end, I saw The Artist today with my friend Lisa P.

I was a little apprehensive about seeing a silent film…because what else can you really do?  But, I prepared myself to watch a Film, capital F very much on purpose.  I was advised by my friend and movie critic Arlene that wearing a monocle might help, but it was not entirely necessary to appreciate it. 

I did appreciate it.  First, the movie wasn’t entirely silent.  There was the most amazing musical score going almost the entire time, and rarely has the music played so much into the message of the film.  I’m sure this was due to scant dialogue.  I was not at all surprised that the score won at last night’s Golden Globes.

The casting was great, though I admit that I was surprised to learn that the slightly paunchy “aging” actor [Jean Dujardin]  is just one month younger than I am.  (P90X, people!  Let’s keep that aging at bay!)  Actually, the lead actress [Berenice Bejo] is only 4 years younger than I am, and she is lovely, and easily plays a role that I assume is aged in her early 20s.  (I should look up both these folks’ names, but I am afraid I’ll lose my writing momentum.)  John Goodman is hilarious and wonderful as the director, and I am glad to see that – oh, heck, I need to look up their names – see, I inserted them in brackets – anyhow, James Cromwell is not playing a criminal or some equally unappetizing character.  (His portrayal of Prince Phillip in The Queen may be accurate, but I still want him to be nicer than that in real life.) 

Overall, it was a fun movie, and, as Lisa pointed out, we also had a really good audience who remained quiet throughout the film, and laughed in the right places, and sighed in the right places.  If we were to go purely on storyline, I’d say it wouldn’t get an Oscar – perhaps wouldn’t even get an Oscar nod.  On the other hand, it is rather a history of this era of movies told in a really creative way, and for that I give them a hand.  Last night it won for best comedy or musical, and The Descendants won for Best Drama.  I figure these two will be the leading contenders on Oscar night, and I’m pulling for The Artist  for sheer quirkiness and originality.

On a related note, I feel that this years slate of potential Oscar candidates is just not up to the calibre of last year.  Last year, I was AFRAID to see some of these movies…127 Hours!  Black Swan!  Not that I particularly care for movies that make me cringe, but I do want to feel a little uncomfortable or torn or weepy or something…this year,  I’ve been entertained plenty, but nothing has really had that “wow” factor yet.  I thoroughly enjoyed Moneyball and have been singing it’s praises far and wide.  I’d even consider buying it in this age of streaming Netflix and amazon.  But still, at the end of the day, it’s just a really entertaining sports movie. 

Left on my list, however, are War Horse, Hugo, and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (the American version).   We’ll see.  And, of course, these are just predictions I read somewhere a few weeks ago.  Guess I’ll have to wait until the nominations come out.  Then maybe I’ll branch into the Leading Actress and/or Actor categories! 

In the meantime, I have 150+ pages of a 400 page book to read before next Wednesday the 25th, and then a 500+ page book to read before the 31st.  I really need to stop my How I Met Your Mother  marathons on Netflix…

 

Movie Review – The Descendants

It’s almost Oscar season, but we are in that limbo time before the actual nominations are made.  So now I have to try and predict which movies will be nominated, because if I wait until the actual nominations are out and THEN try to watch everything, well…that’s a lot of movies.  The Descendants has been nominated for a Golden Globe, so I figure there’s at least a good chance for a Best Picture nomination.

Sunday afternoon Husband and I went to see The Descendants, starring George Clooney.  George plays Mike King, who lives on Hawaii with his wife and two daughters.   He is the “back-up parent.”  The main gist is that his wife is in a boating accident and is in a coma, and that he finds out through his older daughter that his wife was cheating on him immediately prior to the accident.  Mike begins his journey of reconciling his feelings for his wife and trying to build a relationship with his daughters. 

This movie had many beautiful scenes of Hawaii, but overall, I found it rather “meh.”  There is a lot of wry humor and some wrenching moments (or perhaps they SHOULD be wrenching, but don’t quite make it).   Worth seeing, and possibly worth a Best Picture nomination, but I don’t see it winning. 

On a more personal note, Mike’s wife is in a coma throughout the entire movie, and they do present it pretty well.  She is not beautful, and her lips are dry, and her hair is greasy, and they have her clutching rolled up towels so her hands won’t clutch.  I’m usually a big crybaby in movies.  Strange, I held it together really easily throughout this movie.  Perhaps since I’ve gone through that with family on a personal level, I’ve got no tears left to shed, or I don’t find it romantic.  (Does that sound strange?  I mean romantic in the picture of the loved ones crying over the sick  person.)  I guess I’ve been there, and there is no romance there.  It is very, very sad to see a loved one in that condition and barely be able to recognize them as the person you know. 

This woman caused a lot of pain and hurt, and more than one character is very angry at her.  Sometimes they yell at her.  I admit those parts made me cringe, becuase she’s helpless and can’t defend herself.  That’s the reality of the situation, I suppose, and that is certainly entirely different from my experience.

Elementary, My Dear Watson

Good afternoon, sports fans!  Today’s post may inadvertently contain spoilers for Sherlock Holmes :  A Game of Shadows .  Stop reading now if this will impact your life!

Is it perhaps not a good idea to tell readers (all 2 of you, and 1 is me) to stop reading one’s blog on the second day of posting?  I will be careful.

So, almost saw Sherlock before Christmas, but decided not based on lukewarm reviews from www.rottentomatoes.com and the Las Vegas Weekly.  We saw Mission Impossible IV, instead, and a good time was had by all.

Still, I remained intrigued with Sherlock, and also had a $25.00 gift certificate, so off we went today, on this last day of vacation.  Again, a good time was had by all.  One early aspect was Jason Bourne-esque (I won’t tell you what), and my husband impressed the heck out of me by placing one of the main characters as an actor from one of my favorite shows (I won’t tell you that, either).  (See – trying to keep spoilers to a bare minimum!)

But why, I wonder, was MI rated so highly, and Sherlock is not?  They are both riotous romps, and, truth be told, I enjoyed Sherlock a bit more.  I’ve been reading a series by Laurie R. King where Sherlock is a supporting, though constant, character, as are Ms. Hudson, Mycroft, Watson of course, and Inspector LeStrade.  So this time around, I’m a bit more well-versed to the ways of the Sherlockverse.

However, I think my higher enjoyment of Sherlock comes at a much simpler level:  I’m on Team Robert rather than Team Tom.   I’ve enjoyed many Tom Cruise movies – I watch A Few Good Men every single time it comes on television – but all in all, Robert is just more fun.  I think that’s the crux of it.  Tom shows some humor in his movies, but they are more of the “aren’t I a cocky capable son of a gun” jokes.  Robert Downey, Jr., in almost every role I’ve ever seen him play, seems to be laughing at everyone around him, himself most of all.  Not that sort of mean laughing at…you know when you laugh at someone you love, and you say, “I’m not laughing AT you…I’m laughing WITH you.”  That kind of laughter.  Sherlock certainly looks at the world wryly, whereas Ethan is, at the heart of it, just so SERIOUS.

So, two thumbs up from me on Sherlock Holmes :  A Game of Shadows .   Look for my revew later this week of A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King, which I just finished last night.  Nearly 60 year old Sherlock Holmes as object of desire?  Who’d have thought it possible?