My friend wants to see as many of the best picture nominees as possible before the Oscars. I went along with her on one of her cinema excursions to see “The Artist“. The only thing I knew about the picture is that it’s a silent film. Typically, I like seeing a movie without too much prior knowledge because to me, a significant part of the enjoyment is the unknown — freshly watching a story as it unfolds. I was unsure if I could tolerate sitting through a silent movie for 1 minute, let alone 100 minutes. Much to my surprise, the acting was great and the storyline was engaging enough to entertain me. With all of the technology we have available today to make movies flashy you would think that a film like this would have little or no appeal. Quite the opposite. I think the daringness to produce a quality silent film in black and white in 2011 is bold and refreshing. I wish them the best on February 26.