bluetoast

Yeah man, the other movie I saw there was last year's 70 mm presentation of West Side Story. That was fun. It's kind of a drive to go there, so I try to go for something that feels like an event. In 2010 the entire year they ran through most of Kurosawa's films, I am still kicking myself for missing that.


Oh man, which did you check out? E Street and West End?

Solid Snake

OMFG. I would've gone nuts to a Kurosawa film in a theater. Man, I'd be kicking myself too.

Sondheim

I have family in the area that I visit fairly frequently, so I've been to a number of the theaters. I don't remember specifics about some of them - I know I've been to both the Landmark theaters in the area, but I don't think I've been to the West End cinema. The only one I specifically remember not being very nice was the one in Fairfax.

Unfortunately, even though I plan to every time I go, I still haven't been to the AFI Silver.

I'm currently looking for a job in the area, and I have to admit that one of the biggest draws (besides the family) is the far better arthouse options.

davidh777

Saw it and loved it. Yes, it was a lot like Singin' in the Rain, but it really was a love letter to movies. I found it very interesting what dialogue they chose to "caption," what we were expected to figure out, and what we were expected not to know. And

Bejo is completely charming.

The Vertigo controversy--I've seen Vertigo multiple times but the music didn't jump out at me so that was a non-issue for me.

Wonder if they'll do a "clean" version of the print on the BD like they did for Planet Terror.

brayzie

I hope this movie is still out in my area. I saw Shame and thought it wasn't very good, so hopefully this film makes up for that.

The trailer looks really good!

Is the music from the trailer in the actual film?

Mr. Salty

davidh777

Yeah, I agree the intent is clear. It just made me go through the thought process of "OK, they could have done ____, but they did ___ for ____ reason."

Hokeyboy

All hype aside... this is really an incredibly warm and deeply entertaining movie.

Definitely Top 5 of the year, maybe Top 3... #1? Hmm...

riotinmyskull

saw this about a week ago and really enjoyed it. couldn't wipe the grin off my face for the first 30 minutes or so. just really well done and a heartwarming story that wasn't afraid to get a little dark. Dujardin certainly has a Gene Kelly quality to him and Bérénice Bejo was very cute and captivating. i can see the academy eating this up and it winning best picture but it won't crack my top 10 of the year. i liked it enough that i'll pick it up on blu-ray eventually however.

Shannon Nutt

I'm in the same boat as you...enjoyed it, but far from my favorite film of 2011. I don't even think I'll buy the Blu-ray...it's not the type of movie I'm likely to watch again and again (if even a second time).

sauce07

Finally caught this last night, thought it was very good but I don't see why it is going to win Best Pic. I loved the joke in the opening sequence at the premier when you can't hear the crowd applauding. Bérénice Bejo should have a big career bump, she was great in her role and smoking hot too.

I did have a few problems, George is a major alcoholic for two years, yet still looks like a movie star. I didn't like some of the music used in the movie, the Vertigo score took me out of the end sequence and having lyrics in Pennies in Heaven didn't fit the rest of the music.

sharkstank

Yea, I agree with you and riotinmyskull. Just saw this to complete the nine Best Picture nominees, And like riot I had a big smile on my face during the first 30 or so minutes of the movie. Jean Dujardin is a great leading man, and Bejo lights up the screen and is completely gorgeous. Not to mention the dog was awesome.

While it was a good movie that I enjoyed, it was really paint by the numbers. After the hour mark the movie started to drag for me, and some of the charm/novelty lost its shine. Seems that it is a foregone conclusion that it'll win Best Picture, but I thought it was a good movie that was just..fluffy, I guess.

***/****

Also after scrolling through previous posts, might be one of the few times I've seen Patman go higher than *** stars ha.

islandclaws

I got lucky on Sat night because my gf got an Academy screener for this film, so we got to watch it before the big show.

I loved it. Fantastic cast, great score... just a wonderful film all around. Dujardin really earned that Oscar because, even though he only spoke two words, he had to really act with his face and body, to convey that emotion, and he was spectacular. Bernice Berjo is a smokin' piece of ass. Loved the scene where she's in his dressing room. I was happy to see Malcolm McDowell and Ed Lauter pop up in minor roles as well.

I'm sure this will turn into a popular film to hate on, but that's mostly going to be people who haven't seen it and think it's pretentious Hollywood garbage. It's actually one of the best Best Picture winners of the last decade.

davidh777

Too late--it's already happened

fumanstan

I happened to watch it Saturday before the Academy Awards too. I thought it was just ok. It being a silent film matched the theme of the movie pretty well, but having the movie in black and white and the aspect ratio made it feel like they were trying awfully hard to appeal to nostalgia. It was a good story, but I never felt like the events that comprise it were ever anything special, although Uggie the dog and Bejo really stood out to me more then the lead actor.

I don't mind it winning best picture though, which I guess is more a testament to how weak the entire field was.

islandclaws

I felt the choice of b&w and "Academy flat" ratio were homage, not an attempt at trying too hard. If you're going to make a film in the style of silent classics, might as well do it as they did.

kefrank

Agreed. I actually think a silent film that was color and scope ratio would have felt felt much more gimmicky.

Dr. DVD

I caught this a while back, just never made it around to posting (or maybe I did). This is a charming movie and worthy of the awards it received. I was kind of disappointed Bejo didn't win, as she was a complete doll and stood out really well. Also kind of disappointed they didn't give Uggie some kind of special achievment award. Is the only reason this movie got PG-13 due to the obscene gesture Missi Pyle's character makes at the beginning? I didn't see any reason this couldn't have been PG or even G for that matter. It's very tame and in the vein of old movies.
I hope Dujardin gets some more roles, but it seems all an Oscar gets you in Hollywood if you're a foreign actor are roles of villains. (Christoph Waltz, Geofferey Rush, and Jeremy Irons to name a few examples).

kefrank

According to IMDB: "Rated PG-13 for a disturbing image and a crude gesture"

I assume the disturbing image was the gun in the mouth.

AvantGardner

Yes, that is one of the scenes. I believe the other is towards the very beginning, where Jean Dujardin's character is going back out onto the audience and accepting the applause from the people. There is one of his co-stars who takes offense, for his constantly going back out, and not giving them an opportunity to accept the crowd's applause. So, she who flips him off. Blink and you miss it, but that 'gesture', along with the smoking and the gun in his mouth towards the end, is what garnered the PG-13. Personally, I think a PG rating for this film, is what should have been given.

Dr. DVD

^ Agree. Aside from the gesture, this was the same level of stuff I used to watch in old Chaplin silents they aired on Disney when I was a kid. The only difference is they used guns and smoking for comedic purposes.

milo bloom

Saw it over the weekend with an older crowd. No walkouts, good amount of laughter at the right parts. This was a wonderful film and an absolute love letter to it's own craft. Now, I haven't seen a lot of last year's movies, so I'm hesitant to say this, but I'm not sure if I would call this a "Best Picture".

Still, damn good, and well worth watching.

bluetoast

I just thought....if Robert Rodriguez directed this he would probably try to make 3 spin offs based on the movies that Valentin does in the movie.

milo bloom

I have to admit, while watching this movie, I was so caught up in the "meta-ness" of it all, that I was trying to guess the titles of the movies that Peppy got her start in as a bit player.

davidh777

I don't know if Danny Trejo does that period, though