The Internship

COMEDY

Technical Sales

7.75 out of 10 | Matinee or DVD

---

Rated: PG-13  Partying, language, sexuality and some crude humor
Release Date: June 7, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 59 minutes

---

Director: Shawn Levy
Writers: Vince Vaugh, Jared Stern
Cast: Vince Vaugh, Owen Wilson, Rose Byrne, John Goodman, B.J. Novak, Aasif Amato, Dylan O'Brien, Tiya Sircar, Josh Brener, Tobit Raphael

---

Watch Trailer

SYNOPSIS: Two salesmen whose careers have been torpedoed by the digital age find their way into a coveted internship at Google, where they must compete with a group of young, tech-savvy geniuses for a shot at employment.

REVIEW: Real Steel and Date Night director Shawn Levy has run the gamut of action/adventure and comedy. With the Vince Vaughn and the Jared Stern (The Watch) written film, The Internship takes on generational differences, the dwindling economic climate, and the high risk/high reward internship game at one of the leading technology firms, the film tries to be both funny and relevant.

Bill (Vince Vaughn, The Watch) and Nick (Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris) are watch salesman. During a business dinner, the client informs the two of them that their business has folded. 20 years footsoldier and daily "grinders", they realize that they need to figure out what to do next. With bills piling up and disgruntled girlfriends, Bill has a crazy plan for him and Nick to go after an internship program at Google. When they arrive for orientation, the duo discover that not only are they twice as old as everyone else, they have no technical skills, and are way out of touch with how the current world works. When nobody wants to pair with them for the summer and the schedule of challenges that will decide what interning team will be guaranteed a job at Google, Bill and Nick are put together with the "outlanders" also couldn't get partnered up. Under the tutelage of four year veteran Lile (Josh Brener) Nick and Bill team up with Neha (Tiya Sircar, Friends with Benefits), Stuart (Dylan O'Brien, The First Time), and Yo-Yo (Tobit Raphael), three Nooglers who are is just as much of misfits as they are, but in different ways. Billy struggles to learn something other than "beat the street" sales, Nick struggles to find a little bit of love with Googler Dana (Rose Byrne, The Place Beyond the Pines). They struggle to get along with a team that knows they have no marketable skills to help them in challenges, and knows that their prospects of getting the jobs given to the top team at the end of the summer get dimmer and dimmer. Can these misfits come together and actually act like a team, or is the entire group destined to not get in at this from your company called Google?

Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson re-team for this adventure in job hunting. Vince Vaughn has worked with both the Wilson brothers, and has a perfect chemistry with Owen as was evident in their performances in Wedding Crashers. Wilson continues with his 'ah shucks', 'the world is still a bright place' mentality, infusing his character with an infectious endless optimism. Vince Vaughn, the work horse, has plenty of enthusiasm – given sometimes his enthusiasm is ineffective – to bring his team together. Their characters face two nemesis. The first is senior manager Mr. Chetty (Aasif Mandvi, Premium Rush) who seems to have it in for the Billy and Nick as soon as he sees them. The second is a rival team leader (Max Minghella, The Darkest Hour) who chooses the best of the intern pool in order to guarantee his place at the company. Nick and Bill's team is filled with the typical quirky members – including slacker Stuart doesn't seem to care about anyone or anything, a homeschooled Asian teenager Yo-Yo who pinches his eyebrow whenever he feels inferior, and a sexually charged, boisterous Neha who seems to gravitate towards the crude. Vaughn's Billy and Wilson's Nick have a heckuva time trying to persuade these misfits to work together long enough to possibly win the summer intern program.

As expected, The Internship is cute and funny. It's what you would expect from a Vince Vaughn/Owen Wilson collaboration comedy, without all of the Wedding Crashers-esque sex and language. There still is a little bit of sex and language, but toned down a little bit you for sake of the kids. The best parts of the film, in terms of comedy, is watching Billy and Nick swim in the pool where they know nothing about technology, how search engines work, how to program, and how to deal with young kids who in a different generation who have not grown up on the "hard work equals success" mentality.

The film is timely in that kids coming out of college today are not guaranteed a job and long career veterans are being laid off and high numbers. Two separate generations find themselves in the same situation. Nick and Bill think they could just persevere and show sheer willpower and sweat equity. The younger generation, as smart and enthusiastic as they are, find themselves with few prospects and fewer job opportunities. It's a relevant statement to how today's society and economy looks, but Vaughn, Wilson, and crew do a good job of making it humorous anyway. Some of the situations are hysterical, including a challenge of Quidditch where athletic, but mismatched Nick and Bill have no clue how to play the game.

There are a couple missed opportunities. To keeping the story moving along, some of the angst that Neha, Lile, Stuart, and Yo-Yo is overcome a little too quickly and efficiently. The rival Noogler, played by Max Minghella, is altogether snarky, self-centered, egoticical douche but he seems to be an afterthought at times. Even Nick's sweet pursuit of Dana is a little too light and too sweet to be fulfilling.

Thank you comedy, The Internship will make you laugh as well as give you a taste of an economic message that we can all relate to in someway. Vaughn and Wilson are a great comedic team, with a familiar and solid chemistry infections enough to make you want to go check the film out. Feeling lucky?

---

Flight

Grounded

★ ★ ★ out of 5 buckets | Rental

---

Rated: R  Intense Action Sequence, Drug and Alcohol Abuse, Language and Sexuality/Nudity

Release Date: November 2, 2012

Runtime: 2 hours 18 minutes

---

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: John Gatins
Cast: Denzel Washington, Nadine Velazquez, Tamara Tunie, brian Geraghty, Bruce Greenwood, John Goodman, Don Cheadle, Kelly Reilly

---

Watch Trailer

SYNOPSIS:  After a veteran airline pilot saves a flight from crashing, an investigation into the malfunctions reveals that he may have been at fault.

REVIEW: Robert Zemeckis, one of Steven Spielberg's favored directors, has made a name for himself with the Back to the Future trilogy, special effect spectacles like A Christmas Carol, Beowulf, and The Polar Express, and dramatic triumphs like Cast Away. Real Steel and Coach Carter writer John Gatins takes to the skies with his script as Zemeckis returns to live action for a more grounded film involving a veteran pilot who becomes both a man of heroics and his share of secrets and struggles.

Captain Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington, Safe House) and flight attendant Katerina Marquez (Nadine Velazquez, War) take in a booze- and drug-filled three days sabbatical before returning to active duty on a flight pushing away from a Miami terminal. Joined on the flight crew are lead flight attendant Margaret Thomason (Tamara Tunie, Missed Connections), new co-pilot Ken Evans (Brian Geraghty, ATM), and co-flight attendant Camelia Satou (Boni Yanagisawa, Bare Knuckles). When the Captain diverts the flightplan due to severe turbulence, he managed to find some calm air and let the co-pilot take over for the majority of the flight while he gets some shut-eye. When the plane starts shuttering, the tail elevator freezes, and the planes goes into a nose-dive, Captain Whitaker does the unthinkable and rolls the plane onto its back, rights it again out of the dive, and glides the bird into an open field for a crash landing that most of the passengers and crew survive. Taken to the hospital with a concussion and bruising, Captain Whip becomes an instant celebrity and hero. But as the investigation starts, the Captain's flight fitness is called into question as a select few find out about his blood alcohol level. Whitaker takes to his father's old farm to get away from the spotlight, desperate to change his ways and gain a grip on sobriety. In his corner are pilots' union rep Charlie Anderson (Bruce Greenwood, Super 8), high-powered attorney Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle, Iron-Man 2), drug peddler Harling Mays (John Goodman, Trouble with the Curve), and a just-recovering heroin addict Nicole (Kelly Reilly, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) who seems more serious about recovery than Captain Whitaker.

Flight has been touted by most of the critic as 'terrific', 'riveting', and 'inspiring'. The visuals from the trailer of the daring save of the full flight, and the aftermath of a man who risked trusting his instincts to pull off the nigh-impossible save and suffers with his own share of secrets with the risk of exposure to the world media, would seem to make for a superior dramatic film worthy of Denzel Washington's stature and caliber of acting. I thought this could be the next Leaving Las Vegas. And in some ways, it is.

The first act is about the luxury and status that veteran airline pilots enjoy as commanders of their own vessels. Although divorced with a son, Whitaker enjoys copious amounts of booze, hard drugs, and the affections of a beautiful flight attendant. Even so, his experience and calm in flight saves the day and most of the crew and passengers. The visuals are stunning and the minutes leading up to the crash are intense. The rest of the film centers around Denzel's Captain Whitaker recovery, the atfermath of the crash and the ensuing investigation, and the decisions Whitaker must come to grips with concerning his own mortality and sobriety. Can he give up abusing legal and illegal substances for good - or at least as long as the investigation hearing?


With roaring rhythms of The Rolling Stones, Denzel Washington's Whitaker swaggers onto the jetways and tarmacs, exuding the confidence that only the indestructible can have. Even after the crash, his survival just reinforces the fact of his own immortality. Also notable in the film is Kelly Reilly's Nicole as the recovering addict who befriends Whitaker at his worst moments at risk to herself. Don Cheadle and John Goodman steal every scene they touch, whether sharing screen-time with Denzel or not. Cheadle is amazing as the reserved attorney with as much confidence as Denzel's Whitaker. Goodman's turn as Whitaker's drug contact is both hilarious and inspired. Taking a page out of the book of The Big Lebowski, Goodman switches from Walter Sobchak directly to The Dude.

With high hopes for Flight, I was somewhat disappointed. I will never say that Denzel, Reilly, Goodman, and Cheadle are not superior craftsman. They are always brilliant! Their performances are what get this story off the ground. But after the plane crash, the intensity of the story nose-dives into something more akin to a Lifetime Movie of the Week. Zemeckis has proven he has the directing talent with Cast Away and Forrest Gump, but something in Flight is missing that keeps it from completely pushing back from the narrative terminal.

Flight may be touted as a phenomenal film by others, but there is something missing from the flight plan to may it truly soar from beginning to end. A solid film, Flight will win on performances but may end up as memorable a tale as an in-flight movie.

Argo

Turnaround

★ ★ ★ 1/2 out of 5 buckets | DVD

---

Rated: R Language and some violent images

Release Date: October 12, 2012

Runtime: 2 hours 0 minutes

---

Director: Ben Affleck
Writers: Chris Terrio, based on an article by Joshuah Bearman
Cast: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan, Clea DuVall, Scoot McNairy, Rory Cochrane, Christopher Denham, Kerry Bishe, Kyle Chandler, Titus Welliver

---

Watch Trailer

SYNOPSIS: As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA 'exfiltration' specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador.

REVIEW: Director Ben Affleck, director of The Town and Gone Baby Gone, helms and stars in a factual fiction of the 1980 Iran hostage crisis and a secret CIA-run declassified exfiltration using a fake movie production as cover. Santa Fe Film Festival Luminaria Award winner for Best Short Book of Kings Chris Terrio writes a script based on an article "Escape from Tehran" written by Joshuah Bearman.

In 1980, the Ayatollah Khomeini was failing in health and was given refuse in the United States. As a result, angry protesters started to gather at the United States embassy in Tehran. As the protectors grew in size and fervor, they actually invaded the sovereign soil of the United States and took all of the foreign affairs officers and staff hostage. As the invasion was happening, six of the foreign affairs staff, Bob Anders (Tate Donovan, Wild About Harry), Cora Lijek (Clea DuVall, American Horror Story) Joe Stafford (Scoot McNairy, Killing Them Softly), Lee Schatz (Rory Cochane, A Scanner Darkly), Mark Lijek (Christopher Denham, Shutter Island), and Kathy Stafford (Kerry Bishe, Red State) escaped from the embassy and to the residence of the Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor (Victor Garber, You Again). The CiA and Department of Defense, finding out about the escaped staffers, try to come up with a plan to extract them before the Iranian Revolutionary Guardsmen find them and execute them as spies. The CIAs Jack O'Donnell (Bryan Cranston, Red Tails) and expert ex/fil professional Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck, The Town) take a meting with the Department of Defense to consult on the plans that the DoD had come up with - supply the staffers bicycles and have them ride over 300 miles to the Turkish border. Unwilling to go along with such a ludicris idea, Tony comes up with a almost more far-fetched idea to create a cover that the six staffers are part of a film scouting crew looking at locations in Tehran. Tony must enlist the help of make-up effects professional John Chambers (John Goodman, Trouble With The Curve) and director Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin, The Change-up) to start a production company, option a script, and make the world believe that the film known as Argo would soon be in production. Once all of the mechanics are in place, Tony still has to travel to Tehran, brief each staffer on their cover ID, and try to get them out of the country before the ruse is found out. 

Ben Affleck continues to prove that he has the right stuff as a director with this follow-up to The Town. Way back in the day, when he and Matt Damon came up with, wrote, and won the Academy Award for Good Will Hunting, many saw that achievement as a fluke, farce, or outright lie. Now, when several well-received films as an actor and, now, as a director, Affleck cannot be dismissed as a just a lucky man. Forget Gigli... Affleck's body of work has grown in all of the right ways. Argo starts off with actual storyboards that outline the rise of the Iranian state from its Persian roots. Then we get a brief summary of the political state of the nation up to the morning that the irate citizens climb the fences of the United States embassy perimeter and take over 100 US citizens hostage, demanding the return of their former leader, the Ayatollah Khomeini, for judgement and execution. As the outrage of the protesters grow, the intensity of the film heightens. The sounds, the camera work, the pacing, all suit an atmosphere that breeds uncertainty, worry, and need for self-preservation. Affleck directs the opening sequence with a visual aesthetic close to what the raw footage depicted in 1980 in Tehran. As the crowds grow more restless, the audience can feel that tension, as if on site at the embassy on that day. Throughout the film, the direction, pace, and suspense are certain... even if the fates of the escapees are not.

As an actor, Affleck is center stage, but he is not. He is surrounded by a stellar cast that includes the always versatile Bryan Cranston, Kyle Chandler (Super 8) as Chief of Staff Hamilton Jordan, Titus Welliver (Man on a Ledge) as one of the other Embassy employees, the actors and actresses who play the escaped staffers to a physical and emotional tee, and a cast of dozens more who make the film so gripping.

Affleck makes Argo feel like 1980, from the period correct Warner Bros. logo fly-in to a slight washed out grainy visual feel of the cinematography. The backgrounds, cars, feathered hair styles, big mustaches and glasses, actual newscasts - all make make for a perfect set for an imperfect and impossible situation. I am sure that the fact to fiction ratio will not be please everyone, but the production designers, story writers, and set designers should be consideration come Oscar time.

Argo starts off with a bang, and really does not slow down. Sure, there are scenes where there is little action, but the political closed-room discussions between the CIA and Department of Defense add as much tension to the tale as the Iranians storming the United States Embassy. And for much tension as the story conveys, there is also light and humorous moments. With John Goodman and Alan Arkin on board trying to make a fake movie on Affleck's behalf, the sheer audacity of the concept is fodder for a few laughs (while still being dramatic).

Argo tells the tale of a science fiction adventure with heroes, villains, and innocents in jeopardy. Although a script in turnaround, it mirrors on paper the real world international crisis that swept the world's attention in 1980 and 1981. Those who remembered the events know how the crisis ends, for others who were too young and growing up it is a reminder of the political and international turmoil that continues to haunt us to this day.

---

Trouble with the Curve

Low and Inside

★ ★ ★ ★ out of 5 buckets | Matinee and DVD

---

Rated: PG-13 Language, sexual references, some thematic material and smoking

Release Date: September 21, 2012
Runtime: 1 hour 51 minutes

---

Director: Robert Lorenz
Writers: Randy Brown
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, Joe Massingill, Matthew Lillard, Robert Patrick, John Goodman

---

Watch Trailer

SYNOPSIS: An ailing baseball scout in his twilight years takes his daughter along for one last recruiting trip. 

REVIEW: Robert Lorenz, longtime producing partner of Clint Eastwood and first assistant director on such films as Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, and Space Cowboys, moves into the director's chair for the first time to direct favorite actor Clint Eastwood as an aging and ailing baseball scout. Based on a story by new scribe Randy Brown, Lorenz continues with Eastwood's late career as the gristled old man with regrets and something still to prove. 

Atlanta Braves' veteran talent scout Gus Lobel (Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven) fights against the tide of modern technology to try and find baseball talent the old fashioned way - with decades of firsthand experience. But with a contract nearing its end and his eyesight failing, Gus must travel to North Carolina to scout out new prospect Bo Gentry (Joe Massingill, Glee) as a possible first round draft pick, keeping his failing eyesight a secret. Longtime friend and co-worker Peter Klein (John Goodman, ParaNorman), worried about Gus, asks Gus' daughter Mickey (Amy Adams, The Fighter) to meet her father on the road to help him with his work. A hard working lawyer on a fast-track to a firm partnership, Mickey puts her work partially on hold to help her father and to try to repair their fragile relationship. Back in Atlanta talent scout Phillip Sanderson (Matt Lillard, The Descendants) looks to undermind Gus' work and help push him into retirement with the help of computer models and statistical protection reports. Sitting on the bleachers with the other scouts is Johnny 'The Flame' Flannigan, a promising pitcher who was worked too hard, too fast on the way to a torn rotater cuff and a forced switch in careers, takes a shine to the man who originally signed him and a shine to the daughter who knows too much about baseball to be a lawyer.

Trouble With the Curve marks another in a long line of films by veteran actor Clint Eastwood. From the Sergio Leone spaghetti westerns where he played 'The Man With No Name', to the iconic Dirty Harry with his .44 Magnum, to a couple stints with an orangutan, to a later prolific career as a boxing coach and a retired Korean War vet, Clint Eastwood's career has been varied and successful. His latest effort simply adds to his canon of quality films.

Like Gran Torino and Million Dollar Baby before it, Trouble with the Curve continues with Eastwood's gristled old man character just trying to deal with the concept of getting old while still being relevant. Eastwood's Gus Lobel realizes that his way of doing things, although a perfect mix of experience and historical significance, finds that he is becoming a relic in the new world of computers and statistical projection programs. But its not only the age of technology that is the problem. It is also the younger scouts with an reliance on those computer models without the 'feel' for the game. Sure, a computer can project whether a player can hit against left handers, but can it pick up the nuances of how a player fares and picks himself up after going 0 for 4 in the game the night before. Lobel considers the personal connection to the players and the game to be the pure experience.

Clint Eastwood is pure Eastwood. With a gravely voice and dialogue that barely registers over a whisper at times, Eastwood's Lobel says the most with his steely gray eyes and a rumbling growl. Amy Adams, Oscar nominated for The Fighter, continues to prove that she is a quality actress with talent beyond the crazy senator's daughter from Wedding Crashers. As a woman with a 'dysfunctional sense of taking care' of her father, Mickey just wants to reconnect with her father and expel the feelings of abandonment from her youth. John Goodman as Pete Klein anchors the film as Gus' gentle and concerned front office friend, ready to go to bat for Gus a moment's notice. Justin Timberlake, as the former superstar in the making turned talent scout turned possible future broadcaster Johnny 'The Flame' Flannigan, brings a hope and lightness to the film that balances Gus' harder edge. Both have an appreciation of the game and it history of the sport, while representing the polar ends of their careers. Rounding out the cast are Matt Lillard as Gus' main Braves scout nemesis who feels technology is the ultimate replacement for the old-timers traveling in the field. And the focal point of the film, first round draft prospect Bo Gentry, shows that the allure of the majors is sometimes less about the purity and love of the game and more about possible endorsements and all that comes with a superstar status.

Trouble With The Curve is a warm-hearted, bitter-sweet tale of aging, the regrets we endure for the semblance of the greater good, the fight for relevance, and the love for the purely American game of baseball. The story does have a few moments of predictability, but a stellar case hits this story out of the park. Eastwood may growl at the rest of the world, but he still loves the roar of the crowd. 

---

Paranorman 3D

Nowhere Near Normal

---

Rated: PG  Scary action and images, thematic elements, some rude humor and language
Release Date: August 17, 2012
Runtime:  1 hour 36 minutes

---

Director: Chris Butler, Sam Fell
Writers: Chris Butler
Cast:  Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tucker Albrizzi, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, Elaine Stritch, Bernard Hill, Tempestt Bledsoe, John Goodman

---

---

SYNOPSIS: Norman has a strange gift, he can talk to the dead. Even though he is bullied and misunderstood, Norman digs deep to take on ghosts, zombies, and the town's grown-ups to protect his town from an ancient witch's curse.

REVIEW: Director Chris Butler, art department artist on Corpse Bride and supervisor on Coraline, is joined by co-director Sam Fell, writer and director of Flushed Away, in a stop-action action adventure tale on a subject that is regaining in popularity in the last few years - zombies! 

Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee, Let Me In) is the same as every other kid in town. He goes to school, takes out the trash, annoys his sister - and speaks to the dead! The subject of ridicule from the other kids and adults in town because of his perchance to speak to no one they can see, Norman is shunned, talked about behind his back, and called a freak. Even his father is afraid for what people may think of his son and what Norman is capable of. Although the townsfolk consider Norman strange, they do revel in the legend that a woman was executed as a witch hundreds of years ago by a judge and six of her peers. Before her execution, she set a curse on the seven who sentenced her to death, vowing that they would come back from the dead on the eve of the date of her death. When a strange hermit uncle tries to tell Norman that the curse is true and that Norman is the only one that can stop her and the undead that will rise, Norman realizes that he must try to stop the curse from coming to light. Paired off with new chubby friend Neal (Tucker Albrizzi, Spooky Buddies), Norman heads off to stop the curse, Norman must contend with his annoying sister Courtney (Anna Kendrick, 50/50), a school bully named Alvin (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, How to Train Your Dragon), a dumb jock named Mitch (Casey Affleck, Tower Heist), an angry mob of adults, relentless zombies, and a powerful witch spirit that cannot be reasoned with.

Sam Fell and Chris Butler create a detailed world in ParaNorman that seems to have become a lost art. Except for a myriad of Tim Burton stop-motion movies, most studios seemed to have moved to a more full-CGI production of animation. ParaNorman is fresh and cool, at times tricking the brain that the film is CGI like the rest. But the few stuttering, tick-ticky movements in the film make you realize just how good and how much pain-staking work went into it. Add in great CGI effects on top of the stop-motion photography makes for a classic silly fright fest.

Most likely returning to their roots, Butler and Fell start the film with a schlocky tribute to bad 70s horror films everywhere. Norman eats up - no pun intended - all thing zombie and undead, from local late night shockers to a room filled with zombie memorabilia and posters. Why? Because he talks to the dead and has no fear of the unknown of death. It's the living that Norman has more trouble contending with. And with any zombie movie, its always the living you need to worry about for than the walking dead.

Although some of the voice talent is under age, they make the story pitch perfect. Kodi Smit-McPhee and Tucker Albrizzi play Norman and Neal perfectly. Anna Kendrick strikes all of the right snarky, disgusted cords as the older sister Courtney. Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Casey Affleck are nearly unrecognizable as Alvin and Mitch, their ability to meld their voice-over talents to the character in the best way. Leslie Mann (The Change-Up) as Norman's mom Sandra, Jeff Garlin (Wall-E) as dad Perry, and Elaine Stritch (Monster-in-Law) as Grandma just add richness to a already solid voice cast. Rounding out the talent are cameo characters Bernard Hill (Wimbleton) as the walking dead Judge, Tempestt Bledsoe (N-Secure) as Sheriff Hooper, Alex Borstein (Ted) as teacher and school play director Mrs. Henscher, and John Goodman (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) as the creepy uncle known as Mr. Prenderghast.

ParaNorman is an example of quality craftsmanship, attention to detail, use of multiple visual media, rolled up into a funny, scary and great story perfect for pre-teens, teens, and adults alike. The story starts out strong with its homage to the horror fests of the past, and ratchets up the story, humor and action steadily until the final climatic sequence. Fell and Bulter turn some of the horror zombie conventions on its dismembered head, while keeping great classic elements in place. The 3D doesn't employ the obvious 'in your face' techniques, but adds an additional level of richness to the visuals.

ParaNorman is the tip of the fall season spear of horror films in all of its forms. Funny and filled with spills and silly chills, ParaNorman will be appealing to a wide audience. Some of the characters may be undead, but with Norman at the center of the story, the film definitely has heart.

---

WORTH:  Matinee or DVD

The Artist

The Booming of a Feather

---

Rated: PG-13 A disturbing image and a crude gesture.
Release Date: October 12, 2011
Runtime: 1 hr 40 min

---

Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Writers: Michel Hazanavicius
Cast: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman, James Crowwell

---

---

SYNOPSIS: In 1927 Hollywood, silent film star George Valentin worries that the advent of the 'talking pictures' will make him obsolete. Hanging onto stubborn pride, he does become a has-been, paving the way for fresh faces like up-and-comer Peppy Miller.

---

REVIEW: French writer/director/filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius makes an artistic splash with an independent film import originally released in Belgium and France. Nominated for Palme d'Or and winner for Best Actor (Jean Dujardin) at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, The Artist has seen limited, but expanding, screenings in America, especially since the 2011 Golden Globes recently announced the film with six nominations.

In 1927 Hollywood, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin, OSS 117: Cairo: Nest of Spies) sits on top of the film world with a successful silent film career, starring in smash hits like 'The Russian Affair' and the upcoming 'The German Affair'. After the premier of 'The Russian Affair', Basking in and hogging the audiences' adoration, Valentin bumps into gushing onlooker and wannabe actress Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo, A Knight's Tale) who becomes an overnight tabloid sensation. Valentin struts onto the Kinograph studios production lot with the knowledge that he is on top, but when studio head Al Zimmer (John Goodman, Red State) shows Valentin a screen test that includes a sound test with 'A Russian Affair' co-star Constance (Missy Pyle), Valentin laughs off the new technology as a destined-to-fail fad. Soon, though, Kinograph halts all production of silent films, including Valentin's, in favor of 'talking pictures' and a stable of young fresh faces with Peppy Miller as their main up-and-comer.

In a season of holiday favorites such as Jimmy Stewart's It's a Wonderful Life and A Miracle of 34th Street, it is refreshing to see another black and white film brought to screen with such care and craft. Although released domestically to limited theaters in October, Oscar and Golden Globes buzz has opened the film up to additional markets, allowing more of the movie-going masses access to it. Michel Hazanavicius brings to the silver screen such a nostalgic and inspired event that it is difficult to find fault in it.

Set in Hollywoodland in 1927, Dujardin's George Valentin is reminiscent of the silent film leading men greats, Rudolph Valentino and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. among them. Suave, debonair, and handsome, Valentin has it all. Fame, adoration and mass appeal all rest squarely on Valentin's square jaw and pencil thin moustache. New on the scene, Bérénice Bejo's Peppy Miller is a dame with a great pair of gams, music in her heart and a song in her steps. Her smile sets Valentin's heart aflutter. But as the demand for 'talking pictures' takes Al Zimmer and the Kinograph Studios in a new direction, Valentin's pride keeps him from adapting to the future of cinema while Peppy becomes the poster child for the first talkie for the studio. They say more with their facial impressions and body language than many professionals do with heaps of speaking parts. James Cromwell as Valentin's butler Clifton speaks volumes with his grim face as his stands by his employer without the mansion or a salary. And Valentin's dog Jack should be given special note for his riveting performance as a silent film actor's best friend.

Some movie-goers, though, will need to be reminded that the entire film has no audible dialogue, just like any silent film of the era. Be prepared for title cards between characters for dialogue. As Valentin becomes part of the dying breed of actors fluent in pantomime and muted gestures, Peggy, in a interview with a radio station promoting her new talkie film, accuses him and his kind of being only able to mug for the camera and that they need to make room for the young. We ironically learn this through her own muted gestures and title cards. Music does accompany the film and it is tremendous and pitch perfect. Subtle when suitable, powerful when needed, the music assists the film and the characters with emotion and elegance.

Dujardin and Bejo make a perfect pair, with or without sound. The story is simple but straightforward - funny, sad, and endearing. Hazanavicius even uses the title cards to great effect. The Artist is a classic romance and a statement of a man's pride and fear of change and the future. The film also speaks of the lost art of motion and the nuances of expression. I advise the cinephiles to get into motion to express a want to have this hidden gem of a film come to a theater near you.

---

WORTH: Matinee or DVD