The Artist (2012) *****

The words outstandingly superb come to mind after watching something so elegant and heart-wrenching..  Because one word of praise just isn’t enough.

The Artist in question is George Valentin (the phenomenal Jean Dujardin).  He is the fictional super star of the Silent era.  Along with his dog (also brilliant and adorable to boot), they shine the brightest amongst their peers. 

Shot almost entirely as a silent motion picture this is Valentin’s story of tragic decline to almost obscurity (because being recognised just isn’t enough when you were once the brightest of stars) and how the two loves of his life bringing him back from the brink of pretty much everything.  The first is the dog and the second, Berenice Bejo’s Peppy Miller.

You almost believe you’re back in the 1920s and 1930s, save for a few familiar faces… and the ladies figures (nothing anyone can do about that and it has no bearing on the film, but it’s glaringly obvious that the likes of Bejo and Missi Pyle do not belong physically).

So, Peppy Miller is just that – Peppy.  And sometimes you just want to smack her because of that.  She is discovered quite literally by accident by our hero Valentin.  Cue instant sparkage.  From there, she follows in her hero’s footsteps, rising in the ranks of the acting world as Valentin declines.

First he loses his job, courtesy of John Goodman’s pompous producer, who’s decided the new era of talkies needs fresh meat.  As Peppy Miller says, or rather subtitles “the old make way for the new.”  Then Valentin loses his loveless marriage to Penelope Ann-Miller and ultimately his dignity.

Ludovic Bource’s score should be considered a star in its own right.  Beautiful in it’s telling of the emotions to partner the visual aspects.  How else is one to know that the characters aren’t being funny, but are masking their pain in self-mockery?  Something clearly not understood by the audience I watched with.  Reading what the characters are saying without listening or feeling the emotive music will make you miss the true meaning of what they are trying to convey. 

Everything about The Artist is truly masterful – a modern masterpiece paying homage to an art from an era long gone.

Everyone was perfectly cast.  From Goodman’s obnoxious producer, James Cromwell’s loyal chauffeur to Missi Pyle’s ludicrous silent star. 

That all said, I couldn’t help thinking of Gene Kelly throughout.  Jean Dujardin looked exactly like him.  He even acted like him – the mannerisms were uncanny!

Thinking of Dujardin as Gene Kelly ultimately led me down the ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ path.  The stories are very similar.  A silent star almost fades away due to an inability to transition to the talkies.  A woman comes along to the aid of said star (albeit Peppy was much more important.  And together they usher in the wonderful era of the musicals. 

Dujardin’s dancing was impeccable!  If I hadn’t known better, I’d have sworn it was Kelly himself tap-dancing away!  It even had the talentless blonde star along with the showing of her ridiculous transition.

But don’t let the similarities put you off, if you are not a fan of musicals.  The Artist is not a musical.  And has a lot more depth to the characters and what they go through… the despair they feel.

The Artist deserves an Oscar and every accolade imaginable.  I would watch it multiple times, would it not drain my finances… so I’ll just have to wait for the DVD just for that. 

Haywire (2012) ***

Where to begin?  I wish I could say I was bowled over as I had such high expectations.  But alas, not quite.

It wasn’t bad per say, just lacking in terms of direction.  To sum it up, they were trying to be clever, but they couldn’t pull it off.  Maybe, in fact, I know if it had just being a straight forward action film, with no twist and turns, Haywire would have been phenomenal. 

With the likes of Michael Douglas, Antonio Banderas, Ewan McGregor, Bill Paxton, Channing Tatum and the rising star of Michael Fassbender, you’d think Steven Soderbergh would have delivered something exceptional.

Anways, Haywire is a pretty good title and does sum it up in one go.  Gina Carano’s Mallory Kane is a black ops super soldier, who’s betrayed by her employers. 

Mallory works as part of an Independent contractor, under the supervision of Ewan McGregor’s Kenneth who also happens to be a former lover.  Ironically, she’s in demand by her own Government.  Michael Douglas plays the shady government type.  Antonio Banderas is part of this hiring in some way too.

Her team, including Channing Tatum is tasked to retrieve a hostage.  Everything goes swimmingly and Mallory returns home, job well done. 

Then she’s asked by creepy Kenneth to go on a mission to Dublin and all she has to do is be eye-candy, hanging on the arm of the swoon-worthy Michael Fassbender.  After all, he’s doing all the work, right?  Fantastic! Until the ever astute Mallory smells something fishy with old Fassbender. 

I must say, it takes an awfully cool person to make me cheer on someone who kicks Fassbender around like that (I’ve been following him for the better part of ten years).  And he does get smacked around quite a bit… and then killed (he started it!).  And that is the start of Mallory’s headache.  Because she’s framed for a number of killings – most of them in self-defence. 

This would’ve been the perfect time for a continuous display of her action prowess.  Because to put it frankly, she’s quite awesome.  A perfect opportunity missed.

Her kidnapping of her knight in shining armour though, provides some amusement (Michael Angarano – remember him from Sky High?).  Though in the end, it really wasn’t necessary. 

Michael Douglas seems to be playing both sides.  No one’s quite sure which side he’s on until the end.  Like most Government officials, he’s on his own side.

Antonio Banderas confused me.  Though he did make for an excellent sleezebag. 

Channing Tatum in my opinion, was just man-candy, though he did have a cool action scene with Gina Carano. 

And Bill Paxton was adequate as Mallory’s father.  Another missed opportunity for fleshing out an important character.

Now for Carano.  She’s not a bad actress, not bad to look at either.  And it’s really not her fault her talents weren’t utilised constructively.  Perhaps if Sylvester Stallone had directed… Obviously, he knows the action business better than anyone.  And he’s proved to be quite competent in his field.  I know one thing, he would’ve definitely delivered a better ending.  One that didn’t look like it was shot in five minutes.

Either way, Carano is an action star to look forward to.  She not only looks the part, but delivers.  A rarity… can you think of a woman on the same level as the likes of Sly himself, Schwarzenegger or Jason Statham?  That looks good too?

How about a part for her in Expendable 3?

One last thing.  It was nice to see J.J. Perry again.  I recognised his work (he’s the fight choreographer), but unfortunately after 14 years of not seeing him anywhere, did not recognise him in his fleeting combat scene.  One can only fantasise about what could happen if he went up against Carano in a less restrained environment.  Total Carnage! 

By the way, if you’re wondering why I’m focusing on the fight choreographer, it’s because he's awesome… and he was Sub Zero in Mortal Kombat: Conquest.

So folks, to conclude.  The fight scenes were awesome.  The film was a little confusing.  Gina Carano could kill you with that death stare of hers and wait for a t.v. showing of this.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

First off, I would just like to say that I have not seen the original version of this film.  And I'm glad I did not because I would never have thought as highly of this version as I would the original had I done so.  I made the mistake of seeing 'Let the Right One In' a few months ago, which solidified my decision on never watching an original before a remake.

With that out of the way, I'd like to say that this version was brilliant.  There was never a dull moment.  A few squeamish ones... but those were necessary for the development of the characters involved.

We begin with disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) being hired by Christopher Plummer's Henrik Vanger to investigate the murder of his beloved grand-niece Harriet.  Harriet mysteriously vanished 40 years ago.

Craig is perfect in his role as a (in my opinion) slightly weak but intelligent and occasionally funny investigator.
Plummer's Vanger, though seems to have the best lines.  He gives Blomkvist a who's who of the Vanger family along with their history - which is not pretty.  We discover through him that they all live on this same island.  None of them really talk to each other.  And they all live a stone's throw away from each other.  We also discover that they had / have not one, but two Nazis.  The discovery should be sobering, but Vanger's matter of fact description of the vulgar men will leave you sniggering.  In his own words Blomkvist will discover "the most detestable people... and they're all my family."  Plummer is hilarious in a sad, perpetually troubled and broken way, living only to discover what really happened.  And he's sure one of his clan is responsible.

Soon Blomkvist realises that he can't actually solve a 40-year old mystery on his own.  And so, he is aided by "The girl with the Dragon Tatto" - Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara).  Lisbeth is a heartbreakingly damaged soul - one covered with piercings and tattoos.  She also happens to be highly intelligent and a computer hacker.  She is also a ward of the state.  Lisbeth's life is unbearably miserable with what she has to do to get financial support though the money is rightfully hers.

The scenes in this film are brutal and not for the faint-hearted.  They are however necessary to show how Lisbeth gets to where she is later in the story.  And she does exact her own brutal revenge.

It does feel like there there is a lot of emphasis on rape.  Extremely disturbing though it is, I guess the only way to look at it is to go with why it's there - a spotlight on the vulnerable who will not or think they will not be believed.  And it does happen.

However, I'll still say it's a brilliant movie aided by the likes of the brilliant Stellan Skarsgard, Joely Richardson, Robin Wright, Geraldine James and Goran Visnjic.  You won't see any of it coming!  Unless, of course you've read the books and / or seen the original trilogy.

I do have one more petty item that very few will agree on, but I'm going to say it anyway.  What on Earth have they done to the superb Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song?!

Still a fantastic movie though...