Review: A cat faces the apocalypse in "Flow"

by Cláudio Alves

Is there a more cinematic animal than the cat? By all accounts, one of the first – if not the first – use of a closeup in film history featured a cat. Yes, dear reader, cat videos harken back to the 1900s, when George Albert Smith's The Sick Kitten proved a delightful diversion. More than a century later, the big screen has seen many felines, from MGM's Leo to Chris Marker's cat-forward experiments, going through a panoply of animated pusses in between. Yet, the seventh art continues its love affair with the cat, finding new ways to celebrate and elevate these natural-born movie stars. 

Just look at Flow, Latvian director Gints Zilbalodis's new film. It premiered on the Croisette before bowing at Annecy, where it won four prizes, including the Audience Award…

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When the Cat's Away...

by Nathaniel

Nat and Cat

Dear readers, I know I've been largely absent from this site I created over 20 years ago. I have reasons... some of them quite boring involving finances / career so I won't bore you with those! In an effort to start writing again I'm opting for a diary like approach for the time being so you know I'm still alive and there's something to read, too. Today I am thinking about cats... which in truth I  think about as often as cinema. My own fuzzy son Nero (who I co-parent with his original owner, my beau of the last 3 years) is in the emergency room getting oxygen and fluid treatment. He took a sudden turn for the worse just before the NYC air turned post-apocalyptic movie looking due to wildfires in Canada apparently. Given the timing it's probably unrelated but it feels emotionally true...

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Too Many Links

We haven't done a link roundup in a several days in a quiet week at the site (apologies - I've been sick) so a few of these you might have already read but they're worth noting in case you haven't!

• Esquire Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows) writes about his coming out journey
• Action Figures was it a good idea to let your cat watch Neil Gaman's Sandman on Netflix?
• Deadline Brendan Fraser (The Whale) getting a tribute at TIFF (the Oscar campaign is already in motion)
• Deadline Elijah Wood and Lauren Ambrose (double-yay) joining the cast of Yellowjackets for season two

A smart project for Jason Momoa, more callousness from HBOMax, season 2 of Feud (six years later), Harry Styles, and more after the jump...

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Tweetweek

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If you play Clue in a hot tub it becomes a j’accuzzi

— Michael Pielocik (@michaelpielocik) July 30, 2022

LOLOLOLOL. More curated tweets for you after the jump...

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Best Shot Picks and Nathaniel's Choice from 'The Godfather'

by Nathaniel R

Our film title this week on Hit Me With Your Best Shot was in honor of the restoration of The Godfather (1972) for its 50th Anniversary. Here are the Best Shot choices from seven participants and my own towards the end of the post. Click on the images that follow to read the corresponding articles. I'll be "talking" inbetween the images about a film I've never written about before (!) as I select my own... 

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