Monty Is All In For "Hitchcock"

Monty, the web's original feline Oscar pundit, has been known to ruthlessly ignore Oscar contenders, yawn in their general direction or use them as sedatives. But -- BREAKING!!! -- he has taken an immediate unmistakable liking to Hitchcock.

Swag or screeners have arrived recently for Rise of the Guardians (completely ignored but for the box it came in) Amour (ignored) and various indie contenders (ignored x 3). The second Hitchcock's silver cannister was opened he literally came running.

He circled the container. He smelled everything. He wanted to snuggle with the t-shirt. He was all about Hitchcock. (But then, he is also prone to hang outside shower curtains all silhouetted and staring and it's not hard to imagine Bernard Hermann's ♩ reeeee ♩reeeee ♩reeeeee  accompanying every claw swipe when he gets feisty.)

Will Oscar voters feel as instantaneously curious about and attached to the movie? I'm thinking yes.... at least with the former but can Fox Searchlight turn the curiousity into attachment? (I recently heard from an acting branch member who is totally in for Helen, Anthony and the movie on their ballot.) Will Monty prove prescient again? What's your guess? 

Horror Movies For Pets

Monty, my reluctant feline Oscar pundit, is usually bored by movies but these would absolutely terrify him!

More Horror Movies For Pets at Pleated Jeans. Funny stuff.

007 Favorite 007 Films

Deborah Lipp, the Ultimate James Bond Fan, is listing 007 of her favorite things as we count down to Skyfall

I spent a couple of years compiling lists made by James Bond fans; primarily favorite movies, least-favorites, and  ranked lists of the whole series. The fun thing to discover is, when it comes to James Bond, everyone's an outlier. Every single movie appeared on someone's favorites and someone's least-favorites. Plus, everyone's list had a unique feature, an eyebrow-raiser. I bet if we did a poll here -- should we do a poll here? -- the same thing would happen.

So, eyebrow-raiser and all, here's my top 007 Bond films...

001 From Russia With Love (1963)
To me, the second Bond movie is the greatest of them all. It's the perfect blend of Bond ingredients: Action, adventure, exotic locations, sex, mystery, espionage, music, humor, visual impact, and an outstanding cast. Beyond Sean Connery and the other regulars (including the introduction of Desmond Llewellyn into the series), there's Robert Shaw, Lotte Lenya, and Pedro  Armendáriz in his final role.  Eunice Gayson returns from Dr. No: a rare recurring character role. Plus, this is the movie that introduces Blofeld as a hand petting a white cat. Underground catacombs in Istanbul! Gypsy mud wrestling! Daniela Bianchi wearing nothing but a ribbon around her neck! All that and a North by Northwest homage too. It's perfect.

002 Goldeneye (1995)
Restart the series after a six year hiatus, during which the audience went from anticipatory to disinterested. Introduce a new Bond to a new generation. Make Bond modern in a post-Cold War era without throwing away tradition: Goldeneye succeeds on every level. Hey, this is the movie that introduced Judi Dench as M, and wasn't *that* a great idea? The cast is incredible—in addition to being Pierce Brosnan's first outing, we have Sean Bean, Samantha Bond, Famke Janssen, Izabella Scorupco, Robbie Coltraine, and Joe Don Baker. The stunts are mind-blowing (the dam jump? Holy wow!), and the deft mixture of action, drama, humor, and globetrotting is out of this world. I'm happy every time I pop this one into the DVD player.

Daniel Craig, Roger Moore, and... Timothy Dalton (?!?) after the jump.

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Monty, The Reluctant Pundit, Meets "Bernie"

Everyone knows that cats are psychic. Their mysterious moods including strange swerves from autonomy to neediness, and sudden flights of whimsy and imagination at war with narcolepsy suggest as much! Each year as longtime readers know I consult my beloved Monty on the Oscars. Last year he pretended not to care about Bridesmaids, a cryptic response that did little to help us determine the film's Oscar future (it ended the season with two Oscar nominations for Supporting Actress and Screenplay) but in 2010 he was absolutely prescient when it came to Fox Searchlight's 2010 collection: Yes to 127 Hours, Hell No on Conviction and zzzz to Never Let Me Go.

So I couldn't resist presenting him with the season's first tea leaves if you will. The For Your Consideration DVD of Richard Linklater's Bernie arrived on Saturday and straight to my fuzzy boy it went.

Oh no, NOT THIS AGAIN, DADDY.

At first he refused to look. I rearranged the film's FYC postcard and DVD to see if he would deign to comment.

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Francine

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.)