The FilmNerds Blog

Matt and Francesca Scalici return with another episode of Cinematrimony. At last, Matt & Francesca take on Stephen Spielberg’s Best Picture-nominated War Horse and Francesca reveals whether her two least favorite things, war and horses, were able to come together and make a great movie. Does this highly-touted award-contender live up to the hype?

DOWNLOAD: Cinematrimony – War Horse

Matt and Francesca are back again with another episode of Cinematrimony. This time they take a look at the silent, black and white film that has taken Hollywood by storm, The Artist. Matt and Francesca discuss whether this film is more than just a gimmick and what the film’s success says about today’s audiences and critics.

DOWNLOAD: Cinematrimony – The Artist

Matt and Francesca Scalici return with another new episode of Cinematrimony. In this episode, our dueling wedded critics take a look at Alexander Payne’s latest effort, the George Clooney-starring, Hawaiian-set drama The Descendants. Matt and Francesca discuss the film’s performances and consider whether this movie changes Francesca’s mind about how much she hates Alexander Payne.

DOWNLOAD: Cinematrimony – The Descendants

Cinematrimony is back with another dose of film discussion spiked with wedded bliss. In this episode Matt and Francesca Scalici discuss the period spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy featuring an all-star cast including Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy and Colin Firth. Listen as Matt and Francesca discuss the performances, the incredibly detailed atmosphere and whether the story might be too difficult for some audiences to follow.

DOWNLOAD: Cinematrimony – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Matt & Francesca Scalici return with another episode of Cinematrimony. This week, they take a look at the latest Diablo Cody-scripted comedy Young Adult starring Charlize Theron. Matt and Francesca discuss Theron’s performance, the darkly comic tone of the film and what it says about the progression of Cody as one of Hollywood’s most talked-about screenwriters.

DOWNLOAD: Cinematrimony – Young Adult

Matt and Francesca Scalici return with another episode of Cinematrimony. In this episode, the wedded critics discuss Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, how the lauded 3D visuals measure up, the performances of the cast and where the film falls in Scorsese’s filmography. Click the link below to download or subscribe to us on iTunes by searching ‘FilmNerds’.

DOWNLOAD: Cinematrimony – Hugo

Matt and Francesca bring you a special advance review of Steven Spielberg’s upcoming holiday release The Adventures of Tintin! This time the team goes light on spoilers so that our listeners can listen in without having to see the film first. Does Spielberg’s motion-capture 3D extravaganza fall flat or break new ground? Listen in and find out.

DOWNLOAD: Cinematrimony – The Adventures of Tintin

This week on Cinematrimony, Matt and Francesca review the Jason Segel-led revamp of The Muppets and whether it may lead to new life for the now Disney-owned franchise. The Scalicis also decided to bring their 3-year-old daughter along to the theater with them for the first time ever and they discuss her reaction to the film and her theatrical experience overall.

DOWNLOAD: Cinematrimony – The Muppets

A film about a silent film actor would, of course, have to be silent.  George is an A-list actor in the late 1920’s, the silent era, and has a face that is made for the silver screen.  The film, The Artist is about this acclaimed actor’s descent into obscurity brought on by the film industry’s transition from Silent to Sound.  George disappears from the lime light just as Peppy, a doe-eyed fan of George’s, is bolstered into stardom by the actor himself just prior to his downfall.  Peppy’s star rises just as George’s plummets.

The Artist is a silent film, yet doesn’t wander into the realm of a “novelty”.  I wasn’t sitting in my seat thinking, “This film is silent.”, and I think that in and of itself is an accomplishment, especially this day in age.  It’s a silent film about a silent film star not willing to do films with sound.  It’s Meta in that the film itself is a representation of the subject.  The transition from silent to sound is somewhat comparable to the transition from 2D to 3D.  Though the movement to sound was quicker and more widespread than the 3D move, critics and actors alike wrote it off as a non-threat.  They scoffed at it as though it were a ridiculous idea and that it would take away from the film experience.  In order to make a successful film about a silent film actor not willing to concede to the sound movement, it’s obvious to me now that the film itself had to be silent.

In George’s refusal to act in a film with sound he, in a way, refuses to live in a world with sound as well.  There’s a great dream sequence where we, the audience, actually hear the sounds in the dream along with George.  In his dream, George lives in a world with only music and no sound effects or dialogue and he is just as surprised to hear these sounds in his dream as an audience would be in the late 20’s having never seen a film with sound.

The Artist makes up for its lack of dialogue with incredible style and, though it’s a simple film, tons of imagery.  The cinematography is a beautifully crisp black and white with some wonderful well-framed shots.

The Artist has all of the feel and charm of a real old timey silent film.  From the mannerisms, movements and reactions of the actors to the scene transitions, The Artist is a true silent film and in no way a gimmick.  But what it represents and the story it tells without dialogue is the real achievement here.  To create such an in depth character study while at the same time telling a delightful love story with no dialogue is a fantastic achievement, indeed.

NOTE: FilmNerds has been fortunate enough to receive an early review of the upcoming film The Muppets from one our readers, Benjamin Self. We are extremely grateful for Benjamin’s contribution and proudly present his advance screening review below:  

There have been a lot of reboots of popular children’s franchises in the past few years, but none as sincere as the new Muppets movie. Jason Segel stars as Gary, big brother to Walter, a new muppet character voiced by Peter Linz. Younger audience members will recognize the voice of Tutter the mouse from Bear in the Big Blue House. Amy Adams plays Mary, a school teacher and Gary’s longtime girlfriend.

As Gary and Walter grow up together in the film’s opening sequence, we see Walter realizing that he’s different from everyone else. He doesn’t grow taller like his older brother, and feels like an outsider among the other children. Then Walter discovers The Muppet Show (1976-1981) and immediately connects.  Walter obsesses over the old Henson characters, watching taped re-runs again and again. When Gary and Mary decide to take a trip to LA to celebrate their 10^th anniversary of going steady, Gary invites Walter to come along and tour the original Muppet Studios.  On a tour of the now derelict studios, a crestfallen Walter decides to sneak into Kermit’s old office to get a closer look. As he’s admiring all the memorabilia from the old show, he’s interrupted and has to hide from cut-throat oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper). Richman lays out a plan to buy up the old Muppet Studios and demolish them in order to drill for oil. However, Kermit’s old “Rich and Famous” contract states that if the Muppets can raise ten million dollars before the contract expires, they can buy back the studio. Armed with this revelation, Walter and the gang set out to reunite the Muppets and raise the money to save the studios.

Make no mistake, this film was made with older audience members in mind. The movie is loaded with cameos from the original Muppet movies and nods to bits from the old shows; even Andy Rooney gets into the act in the opening musical number. And the musical numbers are fantastic. They’re hugely energetic and have no problem holding the attention of younger viewers. Fans of the original show will appreciate the verve and wit they remember from the older films (think A Muppet Christmas Carol).  There’s really nothing original about this Muppets movie, and that’s just fine. Director James Bobin understands all the things that made us fall in love with these characters when we were young, and he’s distilled it down into 100 minutes of nostalgic euphoria. Segel and Adams are earnest and sincere for every minute of screen time, and do a great job of engaging the young children who might not be able to appreciate the tribute.  Chris Cooper is over-the-top and genuinely funny; he even got to ham it up with his own song. This movie has something for everyone but the cynic. It’s just too sweet.