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I grew up consuming absolutely anything that flowed out of Isaac Asimov's typewriter. One less known subcategory of his output were short stories that were essentially longform puns. 5000 words just to set up a pun. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it really didn't.
I was reminded of that today seeing The Artist. You've probably heard about it, it is a French-made silent (almost completely) movie starring foreign (to us) leads with Americans in the supporting roles. Not exactly in the mainstream.
But it is really, really good. Until it turns out that the entire movie was a set up for a really lame gag in the final couple minutes. Well, I'm sure the makers didn't see it that way but it was such a misstep in my opinion that it kind of ruined everything that came before. I know I'm being too harsh, but stupidity must be punished.
Otherwise, it has been a slow quarter of movie going but I am starting to get some of the award bait under my belt. Of the Golden Globe noms:
The Descentants - Really liked it, good performances, quiet direction. Really happy to see a somewhat real life presentation of Hawaii (even if from the perspective of the Punahou class).
Hugo - Underwhelmed. Not enough connection between the before and after on the genre shift and while the film history was interesting the journey wasn't particularly. Very pretty though.
The Ides of March - Well done political thriller. But not really award-worthy to any great extent.
Moneyball - Complete love. Don't need to be a baseball fan but it probably will help. If familiar with the A's of the period you'll have to forget a fair amount of what you know and will notice some glaring contributions to their success that go unmentioned. But taken on its own, good stuff.
50/50 - Liked it well enough but didn't think it was particularly revelatory. Also, just because funny things are said does not mean it was a comedy. But having this in the category is nowhere near as odd as My Week with Marilyn being in the category.
The Artist - See above.
Bridesmaids - Best pure comedy I've seen this year. But it didn't have a lot of competition.
Midnight in Paris - I really liked it, though I can see the view of those who consider it overpraised. I didn't think Owen Wilson had it in him, but I couldn't help feeling there were plenty of leading men who would have done it better.
Young Adult - Just a bit too depressing without much being revealed. As an essay on the manic phase of an untreated depressive it was interesting. But knowing it would repeat in some sense kind of undercut the story.
The Guard - Wonderful little movie that about 9 people saw. Brendan Gleason as a crap (or is he) constable in small town Wales.
Crazy, Stupid, Love - A little too pat in the end but this was a better Ryan Gosling performance than Ides of March. Continue to really like Emma Stone and Steve Carrell is better at dramedy than comedy.
Cars 2 - Sadly, that was the first negative Pixar movie review I had to write.
Puss in Boots - Suprirsingly fun.
Rango - My pick for the animated nominees. Surreal in the good way. Started slow for me but had me by the halfway point.
Drive - Pretty good. Almost comatose but that serves to make you feel the violence in a way hard to get across any more. Albert Brooks is really good. Ryan Gosling again makes a good appearance. Brian Cranston continues to make me wish I had watched Malcolm in the Middle just to see if I could spot what he is capable of.
Gnomeo & Juliet - At least for once I got lambasted for writing a good review. I liked it. Hardly anybody else did.
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