"The Artist" ? The best validation for the nostalgia of "The Artist" is the film, itself. A silent movie in tribute to silent movies, it puts its money where its mouth is, so to speak ? or not. Michel Hazanavicius' black-and-white, near-wordless film is a loving, irresistibly charming ode to a long-ago movie era that not only summons the dormant conventions of silent moviemaking, but makes them dance again. Jean Dujardin stars as silent film star George Valentin, a kind of Douglas Fairbanks, swashbuckling matinee idol. He (along with his on- and off-screen sidekick Jack Russell terrier) is the toast of Hollywood, but the good times are soon to end: The Talkies are coming. Kinograph Studios head Al Zimmer (John Goodman) transitions to sound films with new, talking stars. Among them is Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), whose ascent mirrors Valentin's fall. Though the film is remarkably true in style and production to the old silents, it doesn't bear the visual flair that it should. Instead, it's propelled by its performances, particularly Dujardin's. He has an exquisite elegance, and builds a whole movie with only his gestures. It's the film's romance for the movies ? and the melancholy wistfulness for the silent era ? that makes it affecting, urging us to remember the simple, captivating beauty of moving images in a theater. PG-13 for a disturbing image and a crude gesture. 100 minutes. Three stars out of four.
? Jake Coyle, AP Entertainment Writer
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"A Dangerous Method"_ Spitting and stammering, clawing and convulsing, her jaw jutting forward and her eyes popping out of her head, Keira Knightley is a frightening force of nature. And this is only at the film's start. It's a brazenly over-the-top performance, a huge gamble in depicting her character's mania and self-loathing in such intentionally off-putting fashion. But eventually it pays off as it makes sense in context, and especially as this woman evolves. For this is a David Cronenberg film ? although the pristine, cultured trappings might suggest otherwise ? and this time, Knightley is his monster. Set in the early 20th century in Zurich and Vienna, "A Dangerous Method" follows the relationship between two of the leading voices in the development of psychoanalysis: Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen, a Cronenberg regular of late). Knightley plays Sabina Spielrein, the wealthy Russian who is as beautiful as she is tormented, and who ultimately comes between these two men. Sabina goes to Jung as his patient, not only shaking up his dull, structured life but also providing him a bountiful source of research for the new "talking cure" he's crafting. She's as screwed-up as she is because of spankings her father gave her starting in early childhood, punishment she didn't just endure but actually began to welcome and find sexually stimulating. Fassbender, with his proper dress and carriage, quietly conveys Jung's inner conflict, his percolating desire. Freud, of course, thinks every symptom is a manifestation of some sort of subconscious sexual impulse, so Sabina's case gives these two much to chew on. Mortensen dials down his masculinity for a performance that's dryly humorous, full of snarky vanity and droll little digs. R for sexual content and brief language. 99 minutes. Three stars out of four.
? Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic
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"Hugo" ? Having been revered as a master for decades and functioning at the top of his game as he approaches 70, Martin Scorsese would seem to have nothing else to prove. So it's thrilling to see him make a bold, creative leap with "Hugo," which is not only an unusual family film from him but also his first movie in 3-D. Scorsese doesn't just tinker with this newfangled technology, he embraces it fully. This is the most dazzling use of 3-D yet ? more so than the vaunted "Avatar." Scorsese has completely realized the production with a third dimension in mind and maximized it for its immersive qualities, a joy to behold at a time when so many films are shot in 2-D and shoddily converted to 3-D afterward. All the flawless production values you'd expect from a Scorsese film are in place, with the director reuniting with so many members of the creative team with whom he's worked over the years. Based on the Brian Selznick children's book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," "Hugo" takes place at a train station in 1930s Paris, where the title character, a wide-eyed orphan played by Asa Butterfield, secretly lives in the walls and keeps all the clocks running on time. Chloe Grace Moretz is radiant as the inquisitive girl who helps him unlock the secrets of his past, which have something to do with the mean old man who runs the train station toy shop (Ben Kingsley). The film takes a little while to find its narrative footing, but eventually morphs from a children's adventure into a lesson in the need for film preservation. PG for mild thematic material, some action/peril and smoking. 127 minutes. Three stars out of four.
? Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic
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"My Week With Marilyn" ? The breathy voice, the girlish cadence, the flirty demeanor, even the slightest facial gestures: Michelle Williams gets many of the details right and gives a thoroughly committed performance as Marilyn Monroe. But as good as Williams is ? as good as she always is ? and as devoted as she clearly was to embodying this woman fully, you never truly forget that you're watching an extended impression of the pop culture icon. Much of that has to do with the fact that this is indeed a legend she's playing, and it's difficult to take mythology and turn it into something tangible and true. But the script from Adrian Hodges, based on memoirs by Colin Clark, doesn't offer Williams much substance or subtlety with which to work. The Monroe she's given functions in only two gears: Either she's the dazzling, charismatic sex symbol of lore, or she's stoned, insecure and in constant need of coddling. Surely there was more complexity to this woman who continues to fascinate us nearly four decades after her untimely death, but you won't find it here. That kind of reductive approach unfortunately prevails throughout from director Simon Curtis, a British television veteran making his feature filmmaking debut. "Marilyn" takes place during the shooting of "The Prince and the Showgirl" in 1956 England, with Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) serving as her director and co-star. Eddie Redmayne plays Colin Clark himself, a young, star-struck and personality-free assistant from whom Monroe inexplicably sought comfort and support. R for language. 101 minutes. Two stars out of four.
? Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic
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