I just saw The Artist. I thought it was a good movie. I enjoyed it, I had fun, mostly because a lot of people were there in the theater, and to me, more people = more fun at the movies. The fact that it's silent means you actually have to PAY ATTENTION to it, unlike other movies in which you're required to turn off your brain to enjoy it. I like the various gags they had, including the one with the dog playing dead, and the clever sound effects gag near the end, like what MovieBob said in his review here:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escape-to-the-movies/5192-The-Artist
Hell, even the ending was pretty clever. All around a good movie!
Oscar worthy? Well, since I only saw this and Hugo, I can't be too sure... I enjoyed it, yeah, but I don't know if it truly deserves to win an Oscar, either.