Friday, September 21, 2012 at 12:15AM My mysteriously morphing flu has been unmasked: it's actually pneumonia. Please exhibit patience whether I blog like a maniac from bed (possible) or just sleep for next few days.
What's on your cinematic mind?
update as of 8:30-9:30 am'ish friday -- in just 110 days we'll be hearing the Oscar noms read out!
Thursday, September 20, 2012 at 8:19PM Hitchcock, which was formerly known by the very expositional title Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho will now open Friday November 23rd says Fox Searchlight. The Oscar game board was already quite crowded but Searchlight isn't exactly a shrinking violet when it comes to their own chess pieces. With The Sessions opening in October, and Hitchcock ideally positioned a month later for Thanksgiving weekend, they're clearly feeling confident.
2012 was already so crowded (particularly in Best Actor!) but what the hell, right? It's not like anyone will have an easier time being invited to Oscar dinner again than Anthony Hopkins if he nails the mimicry. While it's absurd to suggest that an Oscar for someone playing Alfred Hitchcock is like an Oscar for Alfred Hitchcock, who AMPAS is consistently flogged for not honoring properly, but... well you know how people love a proxy.
And the man himself was always particular about timing. If Fox Searchlight, really wanted to go all out with this movie they'd get really fussy about the screenings, too, to further the Psycho for Psycho homaging.
Imagine everyone being forced to sit down before a movie starts in 2012! Although this might constitute cruel and unusual punishment rather than a savvy marketing ploy; in 1960 they didn't play 25 minutes of commercials before movies began. (In 1960 they still understood that 'no commercials' was a major pro for the movies, something TV could never offer you.)
Sacha Gervasi, who previously directed the very winning documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil! helms his first traditional feature but if he can bring the humor and pathos of that documentary to this biographical comic/drama than this might be a winner. The all star cast includes Helen Mirren as Hitchcock's wife and Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh. Toni Collette plays Hitchcock's longtime personal assistant Peggy Robertson. Might we have new Supporting Actress candidates to consider too? Even leads if the story thread about Hitchcock's marriage gets lots of screentime.
Time to update the charts again. I just did and this news and the new Oscar dates have already made them seem so out of date and long ago. And now we've even got a new "live singing!" Les Miz video to enjoy. This Oscar race? It's on.
P.S. My weirdly persistent flu -- which you've seen reflected here in erratic posting -- turns out to actually be pneumonia. Boo. So I am a mess and must stay in bed rather than attend my NYFF screenings.... [weeping]! But perhaps I'll be a blogging maniac as I mend. Laptops were invented for bed rest.
Thursday, September 20, 2012 at 10:01AM 
Beautiful "Francine" poster illustrated by Michael GilletteMichael C. here. If I’m going to write about Francine I need to start by admitting that I’m not what one would call an animal person.
I certainly like animals. I appreciate their beauty and marvel at their grace... but from a respectful distance, preferably involving a high fence or some sort of indestructible leash. In close contact animals and I tend to put each other on edge, and from there it is a tension filled waiting game until claws make an appearance. As a result of this I was easily pulled into Brian M Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky’s Francine much the same way my debilitating fear of heights kept me riveted to Man on Wire. At one point during the film the lead character grabs a kitten in each hand and rubs them over her face like a healing talisman. I found the directness of this moment incredibly moving even though I would no sooner attempt it than I would try to hug the guy on the subway carrying on a heated disagreement with Jesus.
When we meet the title character, played in a nearly silent performance by Melissa Leo, she has just finished lengthy prison sentence for an unspecified crime. She is set free to reenter society like a domesticated animal returned to the wild once all traces of its survival skills have been erased. Francine no longer has the ability - or the interest it seems - to navigate the intricacies of human relationships. She opts instead to seek oblivion at every opportunity, including boozing, headbanging to a local metal band, and anonymous sexual encounters. It’s only when Francine begins taking in pets does she find something approaching peace. Her oasis in the uncomplicated love of the owner/pet relationship is the beating heart of this modest, but effective, character study.
The story tracks Francine’s metamorphosis into a Crazy Cat Lady. Her tiny house is soon overrun with pets of all species and Francine is dumping dog food directly onto floors covered layers deep with foul newspaper. But unlike those reality shows which hold up shut-ins for our judgment and ridicule, the filmmakers here ask for understanding and empathy, not shock and pity. We root for Francine to find some small measure of happiness even as her unbalanced behavior clearly approaches a tipping point.
It might take a few scenes for fans of Melissa Leo to adjust to her in this role. Her trademark has always been outspoken toughness, but as Francine she is downright mousy. We catch hints of the familiar brash Leo persona peeking through but we sense that if that used to be part of this character it was beaten out of her long ago. Jean DuJardin recently won an Oscar for his wickedly charming riff on silent acting but if you want to experience real silent acting, straight up, check out Leo’s work here.
I wish I could report that the directing team of Cassidy and Shatzky were up to the level of their star. It’s not that they fail Leo, so much as they fail to completely connect the audience to Leo's performance. They set out to tell the story visually with minimal dialogue, but in that case the images need to carry more weight than they do here. The indifferent shooting style and slack pacing keep the viewer too far removed from the main character. To their credit, the directors do have a sharp eye for observing character detail, and when all is said and done providing Leo with such a solid showcase certainly outweights any shortcomings. Francine is a moving little sleeper of a film.
(Warning: There is a very convincing sequence involving a dog being put down that will surely be excruciating for pet lovers to watch. Rest assured - it's not real.)
Francine, Melissa Leo, Reviews, cats, dogs Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 8:26PM 
It's Emmy Week so the small screen is naturally on my mind. This time of year I'll usually try out a show or two and roll my eyes in disgust. Revolution was SO terrible: generic actors, pandering action sequences, and terrible authenticity problems. I should elaborate so here's just one example. If there's no electricity and there hasn't been for 15 years why have men's hairstyles not evolved into something manageable that doesn't require the weekly use of electric razors or blowdryers or what have you to maintain??? All the actors looked so freshly scrubbed clean, perfectly coiffed, and flawlessly made-up like they've never spent even one minute away from their huge hair and makeup team in a nearby trailer, let alone been without luxury beautification for 15 years!
Despite the easy-to-ignore mediocrity of the TV landscape (easy to ignore given that the highs are so very high and you're reminded of them weekly while the dross you only have to see once!) I do watch my share of TV.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012 at 11:30AM Pajiba wonders if The Master's insane per screen average this weekend will finally translate into mainstream box office dollars. (No P.T. picture has ever grossed more than $40 million in US theaters)
First Showing Melissa Leo prepping for a busy 2013. So many films, one of them (Prisoners) is with Hugh Jackman from the director of Incendies.
Cinema Blend Gong Li may become The Last Empress... but she needs a director first
The Guardian on Mitt Romney and his choice of favorite film O Brother Where Art Thou?
Geekologie impressive fan sculpture of He-Man
Pajiba on the casual barely-trying success of the Resident Evil and Underworld franchises
Coming Soon has an exclusive with Oscar Isaac (Drive) singing songs from two new films 10 Years (it's a song he co-wrote) and the Coen Bros Inside Llweyn Davis. Here's the oft-covered "Dink's Song" from that forthcoming Coen Bros picture...
...and we end with a little tangentially 007 related business (we'll have a Bond series soon with guest star Deborah Lipp of "Basket of Kisses" and "The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book" fame)
Press Play Matt Zoller Seitz on From Russia With Love and Singin' in the Rain and "unsophisticated" audiences...
Monkey See responds to this article with more on the problem of contemporary audience's "ironic distancing" from older films. Very worthy topic o' discussion
Movie|Line a tale of two posters for Skyfall
