Movie Review Monday: The Artist

Honestly, The Artist looked a bit dull to me, and I probably wouldn't have considered watching it if it hadn't won the Academy Award this year. However, since I am married to an actor, love films, and it did win the Academy Award, I was practically required to see it. I grabbed it from the Redbox on Thursday, and Jeff and I watched it that evening.

It was delightful.

Thoughts:

1. There was almost zero speaking. There were almost zero sound effects. Yet I was engrossed in the story the whole time.
2. The girl who played Peppy Miller was enchanting, and that is not a word I throw around lightly. She somehow made a whistle, a blown kiss, and a wink adorable when it should have been obnoxious. Plus she made me wish I lived in the 20s because I loved her wardrobe.

Photo borrowed from filmjabber.com

3. My initial reaction was that the film showed the fleeting nature of fame. Jeff's initial reaction was that the film showed the history of the demise of silent films. I like it when there are multiple clear themes in a movie. It could also be argued that this is a love story between a man and a woman, a story of loyalty between a man and his dog or a man and his valet (played by James Cromwell who I cannot separate from Babe, and I always always always imagine will say "That'll do" at some point in all of his performances), the story of a woman's rise to fame, the story of the rise of talkies. Pick one, they're all in here.
4. Jean Dujardin won the Best Actor Oscar for this role. At the beginning of the film, I didn't get it. Sure, he's charismatic, and there's something to be said for a current actor mastering the style of a silent film actor, yet I was unimpressed. But as the film plodded on, he showed more and more range. By the end, I was thoroughly impressed and decided that maybe the Academy knew what they were doing this year. I mean, they could have just given it to him for his ability to pull off the caterpillar 'stache. That alone is impressive.

Bravo, good sir. Photo borrowed from billdesowitz.com.

5. Puppy!

I make a very good point here. Photo borrowed from The Telegraph.

In conclusion, two silent yet enthusiastic claws up! Thanks for calling this to my attention, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Movie Review Monday #48: Moneyball

Jeff and I used to try to watch the majority of the Oscar-nominated films before the awards ceremony. Of course, that changed after Eiley was born since it became harder for us to randomly go to the movies, so this year we had only seen two (The Help and Midnight in Paris). Last night we rented a third: Moneyball. Moneyball is the story of the General Manager of the Oakland A's using a new (at the time, which was in 2001) method of statistical analysis to choose the best team with the smallest amount of money. It's a true story, which always makes things more interesting, and it stars Brad Pitt, which always makes things more attractive. Observations:


1. I am not a baseball fan, so I'm certain I missed out on some of the appeal of this film, but it was still extremely accessible. You really don't have to be a baseball fan to understand the thought process behind their statistical theory. And obviously you don't have to be a baseball fan to appreciate the character development of Billy Beane, played by Pitt.
2. Even without being a baseball fan, the film editors certainly evoked emotion from me. After a particularly inspiring moment, Pitt says "How can you not get romantic about baseball?" and I very nearly agreed with him.
3. This film was slow at times, but in such a realistic way. It had slow moments like life has slow moments. It had slow moments like a good baseball game has slow moments.
4. Pitt's performance was impressive. I forgot at times that I was watching Brad Pitt. His character was at times angry, superstitious, sad, passionate, insecure, overly confident. What I'm getting at is that the dude has range in addition to his good looks. Whatever.
5. Chris Pratt was also in this. I have to admit that I thought he was 100% like his character on Parks and Rec (though maybe not quite that dumb), so I was surprised to see him in a completely different role. I don't know why I assumed he was a man-child in real life.

He doesn't even look like the same person.
It looks like there are thoughts running through his head here.

In conclusion, two claws up, though I recommend watching when you are not tired in the least, otherwise it might be too slow to keep your eyelids up.