Not really bad, but against it for best picture.

Rating: 7/10 (5 February 2012)

Usually, I hate these kinds of movies. The kind that people make, knowing the academy and the critics will go crazy over them. This movie was made because the director knows that the academy jerks off to these types of movies. The academy is so predictable. However, I took a look at this because it is nominated for best picture, and it actually, surprisingly was not as bad as I thought. Though not really my type, it was enjoyable enough.
Has a pretty decent story I guess. In the 1920s, silent movie actor George Valentin becomes a dying star when sound comes into cinema, upsetting him and his career. Meanwhile, young mistress Peppy Miller becomes the top star of the generation.
The movie operates like a 1920s film, by using title cards to display what people say throughout. Gets kind of annoying, but some are into that, (espcially the academy and critics) but whatever. Very good acting performances. Since most of the movie is silent, the actors have to act out really spontaneously so the audience can tell what they're feeling, which works really well. Sound is implied on important occasions, some good, some really weird.
So you might be thinking, "what are my reasons for not liking this as much after all this good talk about it?"
I do not want this movie to win best picture,just gonna come out and say it. Not because I don't like it as much, or because it's not my type, but because it's so obvious that it's gonna win. The academy eats out these types of movies that represent old cinema. The director probably purposely made this film because he knew the academy. The academy doesn't care what the better movie is. All they need is a typical mello drama, like the King's Speech. Social Network was 10x better than the King's Speech...too bad Social Network isn't a mello drama. Why did Hurt Locker win and not the better movie, Avatar? Because The Hurt Locker was directed by a girl. So obvious. The academy could not be more predictable. The Artist has best picture written all over it, but for the wrong reasons. It's like there's no purpose for it to exist except to win best picture. The academy needs to be less predictable, for real. The minute I saw the Artist, I said, "best picture winner" and same for The King's Speech.
The movie itself is not that bad, though I still hope it doesn't win best picture. It plays out well, and it has great performances, but it's just not my type, and it's just so obviously fit to be best picture. :/ Performances: 9/10 Screenplay: 7/10 Music: 7/10 Overall: 7/10