Dennis D. McDonald (ddmcd@ddmcd.com)consults from Alexandria Virginia. His services include writing & research, proposal development, and project management.
As a parent of two twenty-somethings I watched this film with a growing sense of horror and wanted to reach out and slap some sense into the main character.
Exuberant, charming, and immensely entertaining, THE ARTIST tells ths story of a silent movie star in Hollywood whose career topples when talkies come along.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The characters are engaging, the story is clever, and the animation is absolutely positively gorgeous, at times almost breathtaking in its use of glowing color.
Roger Ebert in his review of this movie says “There is nothing to dislike about it.” If you read his whole review there’s clearly much to like about it, despite a rocky start.
What an extraordinary film this is. Visually it’s a feast; colors and clever framing delight the eye. The plot twists and turns. And Penélope Cruz positively glows in scene after scene.
In this 1969 film an ageing and bored successful artist leaves New York for a sun-filled respite on a beautiful but sparsely populated Australian island. There he runs into a teenager who serves as his model. In the process his creative juices start flowing again.
My biggest complaint about this feature length “adult” cartoon is not about gratuitous sex and violence — that’s Rob Zombie’s whole point — it’s one very simple but unmistakable fact:
I was mesmerized and entertained by this animated film. Paley intertwines the classic Ramayana with a modern love story, old blues songs, and lively comments on Indian culture by talking shadow puppets.
Japanese school girl goes on rampage to wreak revenge on the murderers of her little brother, gets fitted with prosthetic arm/machine gun, ensuing action consumes more artificial blood and gore than any film in recent memory.
This is a very funny and beautifully prouduced piece of whimsy. The characters are interesting, the story is clever, the dialog is witty, and the voice performances are superb.
I’ve seen this movie twice so far. I’d like to see it again in the theater before it leaves. Why? I just enjoyed it so much. It’s funny, touching, exciting, screwball, warm, lovely, and just plain entertaining.