Now Playing: War Horse / The Artist

Catching up quickly on the top nine, yesterday we went to see two more Oscar noms.

War Horse: okay, I'll admit that I didn't take this nomination very seriously.  I mean, a horse movie?  Best pic?  Come on.  But I put prejudice aside and settled in for the longest film on the list.  This is a movie about a boy who falls in love with a horse that isn't his, which fate conspires to become his and which a war takes from him.  The horse, Finders Key, is actually an amazingly trained animal, with many scenes relying on just him to carry it through; I would have never thought I'd be so moved by an animal, and yet...

The plot itself is quite epic, spanning many fronts of WWI, with the horse changing hands from English to German to French back to German and back again to English.  And while the horse-and-boy story is compelling, it's the side stories of Emilie and Gunther and Peter that really stick out. 

Well-acted, -directed and -paced, I can't find too many faults with this family-friendly drama.  It was a bit long and, paradoxically, I found it didn't spend enough time on certain vignettes (Gunther, especially).  And, relative to its running mates, War Horse is a good solid entry in the Best Picture category. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The Artist: I didn't really believe people when they said that this movie was a "silent" film. I should have.  But it isn't at all what I expected.  So, in some neat experiment, this is a movie about the end of silent movies and the beginning of "talkies" and how the great "silent" stars would have to deal with it.  I LOVE that Michael Hazanavicius chooses to do so using silent film as his vehicle; there is sound too, but only in nightmarish scenes of anxiety.  It was simply very clever.  It does take some time to ramp up, I'll admit, with the first 20 minutes or so dragging a little.  And while Jean Dujardin is getting all the accolades, I think it's Bérénice Bejo that steals the film.  Both actors exude charm and charisma; both actors are brilliant in allowing their eyes to do all the talking necessary.  John Goodman, James Cromwell and Missi Pyle deserve honorary mentions for their portrayals as well - one of my favourite moments is watching Constance do Romeo and Juliet.

I liked everything abut this movie: the conventional stuff and the very unconventional methodology.  We should be rewarding film-making that takes risks and pushes envelopes.  Who knows?  Fifty years from now, someone will make a film about the introduction of CGI and the death of real actors. 4.5 out of 5 stars.