The Artist - I'm torn. Maybe this film has to be seen in a big theater to get the full effect, as opposed to, say, a screener DVD. Part of the achievement is that, yes, it is an authentic silent film in the old style, but they allow the silent acting to be a little more nuanced between the two leads (or at least, from the leading lady) so that we don't decide mid-movie that the whole thing is just a cutesy novelty, and give up on it. But as the film entered the third reel, I did start getting a little impatient with it, because the story was still going in a predictable direction, so I started wondering "when's the twist?" In my mind, no big twist ever came, save for the little coda at the end where the walls break down. Maybe if they'd broken down the walls earlier in the film I would have been more impressed while watching it all unfold. Overall, it's still a fine achievement, but SNL has done more than one short film like this in its history to similar effect -- I'm still wondering what the "something extra" is that makes this film transcendent enough to be a Best Picture. B+
The Descendents - A blatant vehicle for George Clooney, seemingly to remold him as the new indie-era Bill Murray. I kind of wish they'd used Bill instead. The script's deck is so stacked in terms of setup and devices that we are forced to begrudgingly sympathize with Clooney's character while he continues in his emotional paralysis throughout the story. But the deck is overstacked in terms of the characters that he has to react to -- is the idea that his entire world is populated with selfish pigs BECAUSE he's such a doormat, or are they all selfish pigs because that's just how Alexander Payne thinks most people are, and we're supposed to cheer when Clooney starts fighting back in his own meager way. There's a lot of really good acting, and the Hawaiian scenery is gorgeous, but there's a lack of dimension to this film that I couldn't help notice, which disappointed me. B
The Help - It didn't manage to completely wrestle itself free from the typical chick-flick mold. The powerful acting from the A-list cast is what makes this a film instead of a Lifetime TV movie with a bigger budget. But we've learned this lesson a whole bunch of times before on film, and the better films among these work because we get completely sucked into the characters and story and forget we're being taught a lesson. This film didn't quite manage to leave the classroom. B
Midnight in Paris - A return to form for Woody Allen, but ultimately that just makes it a good late-era Allen comedy. It doesn't break down any walls to live outside the Allenverse like Match Point did. This is another light comedy about a blocked artist that could have just as easily existed as a short story in The New Yorker. What elevates it is the cast; Owen Wilson makes a better Allen substitute than many before him. Also there's a vibrancy to Allen's directing, and to the look of the film, that keeps you from getting impatient with the usual Allen trappings, mainly the stiff, mannered dialogue and general glazed looks from actors who are worried if they are pleasing a director who isn't giving them any feedback. Overall, an enjoyable trifle. B+
