The Artist (2011)

As it's the Oscars tomorrow, we decided to watch The Artist. I think it's still the frontrunner for the major awards, so it seems appropriate. And this year I'm really excited, as it's the first time I'll be able to watch the Academy Awards LIVE! (I'm a dork, I know.)

It was pretty awesome, I must say. At first the lack of dialogue was (weirdly enough) distracting, but I soon got into it. The two leads are adorable, as is the dog. I want to own that dog. The music was great (I guess you have to have pretty awesome music if you're going to make a silent film...).

There was one thing I found annoying, and it's a bit of a spoiler, so... spoiler warning! It was the very end. Firstly, I thought leaving it at "Cut!" would have been a cleaner finish. Secondly, hearing Dujardin say "with pleasure!" in his super-French accent was weird. I was watching the film not imagining him to be French and... I dunno, for me it broke the illusion. Of course, it doesn't matter that he's French. It was just jarring. OK, spoilers over.

It's a great choice for Best Picture tomorrow. It's got the nostalgia, the appreciation for film as an art-form, and a crowd-pleasing storyline.

In fact, it makes me happy I enjoyed it so much. When the nominees for this year's Oscars were announced, I was seriously disappointed. One measly mention each for Drive (Best Sound Editing) and The Ides of March (Best Adapted Screenplay). No major awards for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (bar the Best Actress nod). Admittedly, I've only seen three of the Best Picture nominees (Hugo, Moneyball and now The Artist) - but two of them I didn't like. So liking The Artist at least gives me a film to root for. (I'd still like Gary Oldman to win for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, though.)

That's all for now. I'll probably post something after the awards tomorrow, with my disdain for the winners...