Arts

HOUSTON–Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (“Love Crimes”) makes a solid directorial debut with “Sketch Artist,” a well-crafted mystery that boasts a smart script by journalist Michael Angeli and a strong lead performance by Jeff Fahey. Set for a June debut on the Showtime cable network, pic should perform respectably in Canadian and European feature markets, and enjoy a long shelf life on homevid. Concept artist Sydney tend to work in entertainment fields, where the creation of non-existent entities is in constant demand. HOUSTON–Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (“Love Crimes”) makes a solid directorial debut with “Sketch Artist,” a well-crafted mystery that boasts a smart script by journalist Michael Angeli and a strong lead performance by Jeff Fahey. Set for a June debut on the Showtime cable network, pic should perform respectably in Canadian and European feature markets, and enjoy a long shelf life on homevid. Fahey hits the right notes of nervous intensity and mounting dread in the title role, a scruffy artist newly hired by L.A. police to sketch pictures of suspects based on eyewitness recollections. After a high-profile fashion designer is slain, Fahey goes to work with a courier (Drew Barrymore) who saw a woman leaving the scene of the crime. Barrymore describes a face that looks an awful lot like that of Fahey’s wife, Sean Young, an upwardly mobile interior designer. Greatly shocked, and anxious to protect his wife, Fahey scraps the sketch and draws an altogether different face. Things get complicated when a photog (Belle Avery) who looks just like … Read more

While the movie industry abandoned black-and-white silent films 80 years ago, the spirit is of the past is back with writer/director Michel Hazanavicius’s The Artist, a true crowd-pleaser that evokes the charm of old Hollywood. Small projects are only feasible to storyboard artist for hire. Set in the late 1920s, the story centers on George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), a famous movie star who is truly on top of the world. His movies are some of the biggest in Hollywood and he is constantly surrounded by fans who heap praise upon him. One day, by pure chance, he meets a young background actor named Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), with whom he has an instant connection. What he doesn’t know is that their careers about to take completely opposite trajectories. Ignoring the trades and warnings from a powerful producer (John Goodman) that talkies are becoming the big thing, George refuses to change up his act, and watches his career sink lower and lower as Peppy rides the talkie wave and gets bigger and bigger. Much like actors in early films, star Jean Dujardin must over-emote in order to compensate for his inability to express himself verbally. But in doing so, he puts on a marvelous performance. A challenging role, to say the least, Dujardin never pushes himself so far that it becomes hammy and we always know exactly how he feels and what’s going through his mind. What’s more, the French actor looks as though he’s been ripped straight out of the … Read more