Silent films making a comeback?

This Sunday I went with a friend who also enjoys random indie flicks to see "The Artist," a silent film that's getting a lot of buzz. It's currently nominated for 6 Golden Globes this year and 3 SAG Awards. The leading man, Jean Dujardin, won Best Actor at Cannes last year. This seems to be a polarizing movie, with people either loving it or hating. Hoping to not incite to many folks, I have to say I just liked it. I wish I hadn't read all of the glowing reviews because I went in with high expectations. On the positive side, the dog in the movie is adorable, amazingly well-trained and should be up for Best Actor. Both the lead actor (Dujardin) and actress (Berenice Bejo) deserve the praise they're getting, as it has to be hard to act with no words and they do a great job of showing emotion. Even though it's silent, there are a couple moments where you chuckle out loud, which is impressive. And the music does well and fitting the mood of each scene. This leads me to the cons of the film. The music isn't at a movie theater-loud level, so you can hear every move by everyone else in the theater, which is weird. I know they were trying to pay homage to the simple classic romantic comedies of the 1920s, but a predictable plot gets old for today's viewers. Also, I thought since it was a silent movie, it would be a little shorter than the average blockbuster but it's still 1 hour and 40 minutes. Overall, it was a nice change of pace from today's CG-animated films but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's the best movie of the 2011-2012 award season. It's probably a good one to see with the grandparents...