The Artist (2011) - 2 Stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: This silent film tells the story of a 1920s silent film star watching helplessly as the movie world embraces sound.

Cast: Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell

Best of: There are plenty of cute moments that work well among the many "look how cute we are, we made a silent film" moments.

Worst of: Ultimately, it is a very gimmicky flick. The emotional highlights fall flat.  It should take more than cute to win an academy award.

Notable quote: "          "

The King's Speech (2010) - 4 Stars

One Sentence Plot Summary: King George VI struggles to overcome a strong stutter with the help of a quirky speech therapist.

Cast: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter.

Best of: Rush and Firth are thrilling to watch with fantastic chemistry.

Worst of: Helena Bonham Carter has never done much for me and that doesn't change with this role.

Notable: The writer of the screenplay, David Seidler, suffered from a stammer as a child.

Also nominated: Inception, The Social Network.