Well, dear readers, occasionally a motion picture comes along that simply takes you by surprise, enchants you, and does its job perfectly. Last night, I saw such a movie – it was entitled The Artist. I knew only that it was in black-and-white and silent. It is a movie about movies but avoids all the pitfalls that Hugo fell in, at least for me. There is no unnecessary plot contrivance like the Sasha Baron Cohen character from Hugo, which singlehandedly almost did that film in for me. But Mr. Scorsese’s frantic and trendy direction also almost did the film in for me – in the end, I enjoyed it because of several performances and when it finally settles down towards the end and just presents the magic of the movies. The Artist has the simplest of plots (think Singin’ In The Rain and A Star Is Born), yet it seems fresh because the director has such obvious love for cinema. There is not a jot of irony or winky-winky from today’s perspective – instead we get a loving homage to movies. I’m no fan of irony – I remember one review of the NYMF Brain From Planet X and criticized my score and especially Here On Earth because it lacked irony. Unfortunately for the reviewer, I took that as high praise. Heaven forbid I didn’t put quote marks around the characters and the songs – no, I had the temerity to like them and believe in them. Yes, it’s a silly little show, but heaping irony and winks onto it would have been deadly. The Artist is a sweet, charming, funny, touching film in which every part works to create a beguiling whole. The performances are wonderful (including the dog), the direction looks effortless but is extremely artful in its simplicity, and the musical score brings it all together with by-god melody and gorgeous orchestrations. Already, one can read on the Blu and Ray boards people posting that they don’t want to see it and certainly have no interest in buying it. Why? Because it’s in black-and-white, Academy ratio (1.33), and silent. That’s three strikes for these people because they cannot see past the end of their noses. Happily, more enlightened folks have not only found the film but have turned it into a success. I’m really glad I didn’t read about it or hear any hype, so I came to it fresh. I’ve actually seen quite a few films of 2011 and The Artist is now my favorite. I hope they give it every award. Highly recommended by the likes of me.
Prior to watching The Artist, I judged the finals of a six-week long singing contest. When I arrived, my first question was were we really going to finish at two-thirty as promised, because I had to be home by two forty-five. I was assured we would be. The show was to begin at eleven-thirty. By noon it still hadn’t begun. At that point, the judges were told we wouldn’t be speaking after ever singer. That was good news. They finally began at 12:15 but there were twenty singers singing songs that were at least four minutes each. That part ended at 1:45, at which point we took a ten-minute break. Since there would then be five finalists singing one song each, I knew I could be home in time. However, the ten-minute break stretched into forty-five minutes and the finalists didn’t begin until two-thirty. I watched two of them, then left. I was told they were going to average in my scores from the first round. I later found out my choice for winner did indeed win.
I met the broker at the house and she looked around very quickly and was impressed by how clean everything was and how nice I keep everything. She also assured me they have no intention of selling – this is purely a refinance to get the MUCH lower interest rates of today. So, I can rest easy that I can stay put, which makes me very happy. After that, I met the family Hollis at Federal for dinner. I can’t go into why we wanted to try it, but will at a later date. Father Hollis had a burger, which he said was excellent. Mother Hollis had a large beet salad, which she liked. Daughter Hollis had a grilled artichoke, which she loved (she’d previously eaten four Krispy Kreme donuts so didn’t have a huge appetite). And I had three appetizers – the artichoke, which was indeed excellent, an appetizer of pulled pork on toast, which was pretty bad, and mac-and-cheese, which was average and weird (they used a smoky-flavored cheese). So, very hit and miss. However, a direct bulls eye went to the dessert – peanut butter pie.
After that, I came home, watched the motion picture, and then answered e-mails and did some work on the computer. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must try and get these weary bones into bed for some beauty sleep.
Today, I shall possibly jog, I shall have a lunch with Miss Joan Ryan, I shall hopefully pick up some packages, I shall hopefully have word that The Molly Maguires and Invasion USA will be arriving tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest, I shall do some casting and some writing and then I shall watch a motion picture of some sort. I’m told I won’t have proofer three’s fixes until Tuesday or Wednesday, which is actually very irritating as she’s had the book the longest. She’s on page 363 so has 160 or so pages to go. I really want to have this to Grant by Thursday, but if I don’t get it until Wednesday, I don’t know if that will be possible.
Tomorrow and the rest of the week will be casting, meetings, and lots of other stuff. I haven’t heard from the East Coast singer so I’m presuming I will not go to Washington, and that’s fine by me.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, possibly jog, I must have lunch, I must hopefully pick up packages, I must cast and write. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite silent films, and if you’ve never seen any, what are your favorite films of the 30s? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall dream in black-and-white and with just musical accompaniment and no dialogue.