Friday, March 16, 2007

Camera Obscura - My Cat Does The Reviews Today


I can hear the cat snoring rather loudly as she sleeps away this cool afternoon and I sit here pecking away at the keyboard. The sound is most seductive, though oddly loud for such a wee critter. I have never, ever heard a cat snore prior to this cat. What might a cat dream about? I'm going to guess the dreams are about movies, spy movies in fact. Sneaky-peteing about on soft cat feet, intense focus, and a cold-blooded detachment seem exactly right for cat and spy.

This week the cat and I watched the latest James Bond film, "Casino Royale." We both agreed that it was the best Bond movie since Sean Connery played the British agent and was a fine adaptation of Ian Fleming's book and his dark-hearted hero.

In the books, and in the first few films with Connery, Bond is not a nice person. He's deceptive and cruel, a bit hedonistic and given to petty acts of revenge. And he enjoys that whole "license to kill" aspect of his job. All those elements are expertly played by Daniel Craig, who was born in 1968, long after Connery broke out in a series of hit movies.

One slightly funny thing the cat and I noticed about this new Bond movie -- a lack of high-tech gadgets in this movie (thank god for that) with one exception. There's a scene about two-thirds through the movie where Bond has to dash to his car and hook himself up to a defibrillator. I think that is most appropriate for a character some 50-plus years old.

There was no snoring from the cat during this movie, which we both recommend for viewing. And while I have mentioned it before, I'm going to mention it again. A movie worth seeking out which also stars Craig is "Layer Cake." He plays a criminal who is caught in a maze of low-rent thugs and twisted schemes, and shows off the acting chops he used with great success as Bond.

On the other hand, the cat DID snore through two pitiful movies I watched on cable this week. The horror movie "Stay Alive" and the new Steve Martin version of "The Pink Panther." Both were just awful. However the cat did wake up for one scene in the new Panther movie, where Martin is attempting to take lessons from a dialect coach so he can speak English. The phrase "I would like to buy a hamburger" has never been funnier.

Large amounts of cat-hisses are evident if by some error the Fox network is onscreen when "American Idol" airs. Catty and sneaky behavior, however, are evident at the web site "Vote For The Worst," which has for the last few years urged readers to call in and vote for the worst Idol contestants. This week, they claimed they were responsible for keeping the untalented competitor named Sanjaya on the show.

I will place a phone at the cat's disposal next week when voting is offered should she wish to dial in and vote for the worst contestant. Well, I may help her dial just a little bit.

5 comments:

  1. Joe - you need to get out of the house! You've become crazy cat lady. Put down the kibble and step away from the scratching post.

    (I say this while a certain furry friend grooms himself with his sandpaper tongue to my right.)

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  2. Anonymous8:46 PM

    Yes,they do snore,we have a 24 pounder who snores all the timeand sounds like a herd of buffalo going down the steps.His brother is is ultra quiet.The new additionwhom we've had about 8 months,we should have named"HOLY TERROR".We are but their humble servants.Also I think cats are very harsh movie critics.

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  3. Kelvis - crazy cat lady would mean ownership of more than one and not less than 20 cats. don't think my nose can handle more than one!!

    James - they are harsh critics because they have a high boredom level. unlike myself, with a very very low boredom level. and wow, 24 lbs of cat sounds kinda scary to me!!

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  4. Anonymous11:30 AM

    meow.

    Meow meow meow meow meow (meow meow meow, lol meow).

    Meow meow meow meow meow, meow meow meow meow.

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  5. Thanks for this post. I will share parts of it with a class I teach.

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