OSS 117: Le Caire Nid d'Espions (OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies) (2006)

How's the veal stew?
French secret agent OSS 117 is dispatched to Cairo to investigate the murder of his colleague.  His local contact, Larmina aids his investigation.  A tale of covert ops and counter intel, this is a spoof of the spy film genre, in the vein of Austin Powers.  Created by the same team that brought us the Oscar winning The Artist, this film is good clean fun at its best (I had this on my Netflix queue for awhile before I figured out the connection between it and the aforementioned Oscar winner).  However, far from being left in the shadow of that other film, OSS 117 stands up well on its own.  And unlike so many spoof movies, this one is actually funny.  Not just amusing either, but laugh out loud funny. 

OSS 117 gets 4 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Writer:  Jean-François Halin, Michel Hazanavicius
Starring: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, François Damiens, and Aure Atika
Rotten Tomatoes: 76%
Metacritic: 62 out of 100

The Artist (2011)

When you say nothing at all...In the era of silent films, George Valentin is a superstar.  When 'talkies' become all the rage, he scoffs at them as a passing fad.  He watches other actors gaining stardom while he loses everything.  This film is a tribute to silent films and save for the last couple of minutes, has no dialogue at all, only music.   Superbly acted and
beautifully shot, this is a great film.  And by great I don't just mean 'good'; I mean Great, as in one of the greatest films this year.  It is a film that is a close to perfect as a film can be - the story, the acting, the painstaking recreation of the silent film era - and I've got nothing but love for this one.

The Artist gets 5 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: Michel Hazanavicius
Writer: Michel Hazanavicius
Starring: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo and John Goodman
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Metacritic: 89 out of 100