"Fuck. Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck and fuck! Fuck, fuck and bugger! Bugger, bugger, buggerty buggerty buggerty, fuck, fuck, arse! Balls, balls...fuckity, shit, shit, fuck and willy. Willy, shit and fuck and... tits."

"Love is too weak a word for what I feel - I luuurve you, you know, I loave you, I luff you, two F's, yes I have to invent, of course I - I do, don't you think I do?"

There is no other way to describe how much I love, luurve, loave and luff these two.

Aren't you excited??



“In a world where social structure was everything, that was THE thing.” ~FINAL WORDS ON MY BELOVED: THE SOCIAL NETWORK

        

Taken from The Film Experience Blog  

        I know...I really hope this is my last The Social Network themed post too. Not that my love for it has reduced, rather it has only been growing exponentially. But because there are only so many months you

should spend obsessing over a movie lest everyone looks at you as a crazy person (and they are now).


       So Oscars are 3 days away now and the big question arises- who will win Best Picture. My vote, as posted earlier, goes to The Social Network. But along with that, I want the film to win in almost all the other seven categories it has been nominated for (not cinematography so much- Roger Deakins for True Grit FTW). Award and Reasons:




        1) Editing- The editting in this film is mindblowing. Fincher (who I shall talk about below) is famous, or rather infamous for the many many takes he does on every scene. There is a reason for this, as only the best takes, angles, etc are chosen. This film was all over the place- dorm rooms, bars, lakes, offices, courtrooms, etc. The beauty of the film comes when it skips from one place to another, one person to another and that too at the precise point where as to create maximum interest. My favourite part- just watch the hacking scene.
       The Social Network is an almost lock for this, for all I have read. If not this, then 127 Hours as Danny Boyle films can never be as fantastic without the expert editing done. Also Black Swan would be a good choice. I really hope The King's Speech(bloody fools!)  does not unfairly win for this.

       2) Sound Mixing- The clatter at the bars, the clicking of the keys of the laptop, and the Mark's voice that emerges out. The first scene at the bar with Erica was done 99 times, so that the right mixture of noise and the converstation between her and Mark is shown. And we all know what an impact the scene had.
       I think The Social Network's biggest competitor for this is the equally deserving Inception. The cities being created, the water flooding in, the buildings crumbling down- what a beauty. Apparently Salt has a very good chance in this category, but I haven't seen it so I can't comment.




        3) Score- Oh Trent and Atticus....I love you for what you did with the film. I was watching a bit of voice-over commentary in my The Social Network DVD, and Aaron Sorkin (will talk about him next) was talking about how he wanted a really loud and sort of angry/cocky song to play when Mark walks from the bar to his dorm room at Kirkland House. Instead, Fincher got these two to write the poignant and chilling Hand Covers Bruise that comes thrice in the film to play. And that did the trick. An incredible score full of all sorts of instruments making just wonderful music is innovative and untraditional as hell- my favourite being A Familiar Taste that plays when www.facemash.com takes over.
       Again, only Hans Zimmers' ground-breaking score for Inception can give this competition. Why- because one will remember them as much as the films they're from. Alexandre Desplat is fantastic, but hardly deserving for The King's Speech(bollocks!).

         4) Screenplay- Whatever little I have seen of West Wing, the way the characters spoke always stood out for me. And now Aaron Sorkin wrote this absolute gem of a screenplay (which I am reading right now, and needless to say is simply superb). Just basing it on Ben Mezrich's Accidental Billionaires was not enough. So he investigated the whole backstory of the "inception" of Facebook, and created this whole Rashomon-type of script where no-one's a hero and no-ones a villain but just these absolutely unforgettable characters and the relationships they have with each other. The best- the courtroom scenes: "Did I adequately answer your condescending question?"
        No one other than Sorkin deserves this- just watch the film and read the script. Also- did anyone notice Sorkin playing the Ad exec. irritated with Mark's "glottal stops".

       5) Actor- So Andrew Garfield got snubbed. If not for anything then they should give Jesse Eisenberg an Oscar just to make up for this. Except, in retrospect, I realise now that he is the most deserving of the Best Actor accolade. The way he delivers the lines, the way he hardly shows emotions, but we feel everything that he does. His Mark ended up being the biggest mystery of the year- forget the Limbo and Nina's death. Why did he do everything that he did? How does he feel about Eduardo? And so on...we are just completely  enticed by an actor who has been typecast as a nerd, but by playing possibly the world's most famous and complex nerd, has broken all of his boundaries and has emerged as one of the best of his generation.
      Keeping Jesse aside, the whole film was full of these incredible young actors playing these extraordinary young people. I mean talk about ideal casting for a movie which is showing a generation and a future for the world being played by people who are exactly like this.
       Yes, Colin Firth has this 99.99% in the bag for his mesmerising role in The King's Speech (horseshit), but it will be something to see a surprise win for Jesse and what his speech could be like. (And the joy on bff Andrew's face).




       6) Director- Fincher, Fincher, Fincher...how I love thee. EW just released a list of Greatest Living Directors and David Fincher tops the list. Why? Seven, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and yes, The Social Network. I don't care how many shots he takes, because his end results are somewhat of what one would call cinematic power-packs. As said in LAMB Devours Oscars- The Social Network, "David Fincher ended the nineteen-nineties by producing one of its most important films; with The Social Network, he has started the twenty-tens in a similar fashion." The only reason I had gone berserk about this film since the beginning was because this absolutely divine film maker was making it. And it has been one of the best of his bejewelled career. In my own review I had talked about how different it was from his other films. After seeing the film for the fifth time yesterday, I realise how wrong I was. True it did not deal with serial killers, but the dark, gritty feel remains...even sort of scarier this time round because this film uses weapons of a whole another kind. Instead of John Doe's "artillery" this film explores courtrooms and the un-chartered territories of the World Wide Web. And only Fincher could've done with it and the actors and script in order to make it the modern-day classic t is.
       Fincher should be the one winning the gold. If he doesn't (and this will lead to some sort of violence on my part), and as Christopher Nolan was snubbed, the only other deserving director is weird-and-brilliant Darren Aronfsky for Black Swan. TOM HOOPER MUST NOT WIN THIS.

      And finally, BEST FILM- I can't explain enough why I love this film so much. Nathaniel R of The Film Experience describes the film in a splendiferous way: 
'Not many movies feel like new classics whileyou're watching them. And as early as the first scene, too. Most need time to settle. Not so withThe Social Network which just speeds through, all synapses firing with rich performances (Jesse's best) inspired direction (Fincher's best) and handsome production values (many people's best?), until... "wait, it's over?" When that ending comes (spoilers: Mark Zuckerberg invented Facebook, got sued, is a gajillionaire) you want to click "refresh" yourself. Project that bad boy again! Here's why I know it's a new classic: second viewing, ending comes "wait, it's over? Refresh!"; third viewing, ending comes "wait, it's over? Refresh!"; Fourth viewing, ending comes "wait, it's over? Refresh!"'
        I've had proper arguments with people over why The Social Network deserves to win. One of my biggest reasons is that films like Black Swan and Inception could have been made 5-10 years from now and still would have the same effect; The King's Speech(stupid fools) is a period drama about royals during World War 2 and could've been made anytime *generic* and so on. However, The Social Network is about us NOW. It deserves to win NOW. And also it won't ever become obsolete as this film will define our generation forever.
       If *God forbid* The Social Network doesn't win this this then - Black Swan, Inception, Toy Story 3 or 127 Hours.
JUST WIN ALREADY!!!!!

       That's it. Last words on it. I really hope and pray it wins as this will somehow become a personal victory for me. A few links I found on this splendid splendid film:


Observations on Film Art
The Sorkin Network

-Love, Mrs. Garfield

"It seems that envy is my sin." ~ Kevin Spacey as John Doe

       To be honest, though I was dying to see The Social Network back when...and was pretty sure that it will be amazing (and it is), the moment the words- "Executive Producer Kevin Spacey" came onscreen, my belief was complete. Looking at his filmography now, I notice I haven't seen that many films of his (L.A. Confidential included- my bad), but the ones I have seen have left an indelible impression on me- mostly because he has played some of my favourite anti-heroes and villains.

A look back...

John Williamson: You've got a big mouth... now I'm gonna show you an even bigger one.

John Doe: Wanting people to listen, you can't just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them with a sledgehammer, and then you'll notice you've got their strict attention.

'Verbal' Kint/ Keyser Soze: After that my guess is that you will never hear from him again. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist. And like that... he is gone.

Lex Luthor:  Gods are selfish beings who fly around in little red capes and don't share their power with mankind. No, I don't want to be a *god*. I just want to bring fire to the people. And... I want my cut.

And finally...

Lester Burnham: My name is Lester Burnham. This is my neighborhood; this is my street; this is my life. I am 42 years old; in less than a year I will be dead. Of course I don't know that yet, and in a way, I am dead already.

This was part 2 of Favourite Actors who play Villains/Anti-heroes.

Total Perspective Vortex

'When you are put into the Vortex you are given just one momentary glimpse of the entire unimaginable infinity of creation, and somewhere in it a tiny little mark, a microscopic dot on a microscopic dot, which says, "You are here."'

-The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Doesn't the picture remind you of it? And Zaphod Beeblebrox ofcourse.

"It just told me what I knew all the time. I'm a really terrific and great guy. Didn't I tell you, baby, I'm Zaphod Beeblebrox!"

"Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate."- Hugo Weaving as V

      Don't you just love this man? And his voice! Maybe it's because I can't help but love villains and anti-heroes but secretly I have always wanted the Hugo Weaving character to win. 

A look back...

Rex the Male Sheepdog- You and I are descended from the great sheepdogs. We carry the bloodline of the ancient Bahou. We stand for something! And today I watched in shame as all that was betrayed.

Elrond: Strangers from distant lands, friends of old you have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle Earth stands upon the brink of destruction, none can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom. Bring forth the ring, Frodo.

Megatron: I smell you, boy...! MAGGOT!

Noah the Elder: So, you dare come back? 

V: Who? Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a man in a mask. 

And finally...

Agent Smith: Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting? Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more than your survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it freedom? Or truth? Perhaps peace? Yes? No? Could it be for love? Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. The temporary constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although only a human mind could invent something as insipid as love. You must be able to see it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you persist?

And what is to come...

The Red Skull in Captain America.

      Okay so Elrond isn't really a "bad guy" but he did keep Aragorn and Arwen apart.




      Now I have been meaning to make a favourite villain/ant-hero playing actors list. It was meant to be just a list, but I think this way is better. Little heads up- 3 of the actors are in the Harry Potter series.

"Everything ends. But there are always new beginnings."

       
        One thing that the great films of 2010 all have in common is that they justified the highly cliched saying "All's well that ends well". More than well; in fact the endings were brilliant. I have talked about how I love a film /book with good endings and that many a time the last line is all that separates from good to brilliant. So these are my favourite endings and also SPOILER ALERT!!


          Honourary Mentions- The King's Speech (Damn It- read note below) with Geoffrey Rush's face being the last shot, Never Let Me Go which is just so sad and beautiful, and Scott Pilgrim vs The World- classic example on how the ending somewhat ruins the film (except it's too epic to be possibly ruined).


Best Endings of 2010-


Those which can best be described by the following quote from the lovely Lewis Caroll- "Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop."


        127 Hours- the last shot of James Franco's divine face as he looks on at the real Aron Ralston and his family, and the moral of the story of course "Never leave home without a note about where you are going" and we are made intensely happy at the thought that this man, with such an extreme tenacity for life, has not let his handicap come in the way of doing what he loves. It's the most uplifting ending of the year.


        I Love You Phillip Morris- The clouds, Jim Carrey's contentful smile and Ewan McGregor's loving look, and ofcourse the undying spirit of the conman and escape artist that is Steven Russel as he tries to breakout of prison yet again- all this comes together as the happiest ending because you know how Steven will never give up till he is with Phillip again.


         Toy Story 3- This was there in my favourite scenes list. The title of this post is totally apt for the ending of one of the best cinematic trilogies ever made. Our heart weeps (along with our eyes but you know what I mean) when two of the closest friends in the world- Andy and Woody bid farewell, but at the same time we know that there could possibly be no better ending. Those geniuses in Pixar really now how to surprise the public in the most wonderful and touching way, and Toy Story 3 is yet another proof of that.




And now those which totally express this quote by the uber-talented Bernardo Bertolucci- "I left the ending ambiguous, because that is the way life is."

         The Social Network- It is the ending that everyone is talking about, because in reality the story is far from over. The last scene of the film shows the amazing Jesse Eisenberg, who plays Facebook founder Mar Zuckerberg, refreshing the Facebook profile of the girl who started it all- Erica Albright and waiting for her to add him back. It shows us that the cocky yet insecure Mark is finally going to stop "pretending to be an asshole" and will "refresh" his life also, and he does so exactly as explained through the info being shown simultaneously. And accept it- we love it.


        Black Swan- "I was perfect." Sure Nina, played by the exquisite Natalie Portman, was but the ending is deadly confusing. I actually do not think she died at all because if one watches properly (as I just did again), the mirror piece must have gone into her stomach atleast two dance sequences before and there is no way in hell she could have "controlled" it. Yet many do think Nina died, while if you are like me, you think it was only the death of the white swan in her, who as Thomas played by sex-god Vincent Cassel had foreshadowed early on- "...in death finds freedom."


         Inception- This is a whole psychological battle and that total fucking Einstein of a man- Christopher Nolan, has his lips sealed. Limbo or Reality? Cobb's dream or Mal's? And most important ofcourse- did the top stop spinning??????? I, for one, thinks it didn't and that it is Mal's dream, played by the deadly gorgeous Marion Cottilard, and Cobb, the fantastic Leo Di Caprio character, is the one stuck in limbo...and the children are only figments of his subconscious. This ending will be discussed for ages, and believe me many many many will fight over it.


      So keeping up with the theme, I will NOT end by asing what were your favourite endings?

 

       Oh the NOTE- I liked The King's Speech(Screw You!) but not anymore due to the absolutely uncalled-for attention it is receiving. A film like this releases every year and a year like this, when so many groundbreaking films released, something as generic as The King's Speech(Burn in Hell) barely deserves anything. The only saving grace of the film is it's cast though, but being the faithful biased person I am, that appreciation will slowly fade away. So from now on, to show my complete loathing of the film, I will add a little obscene term in front of it.

The Eternal Romantic

Okay...so I had an angry breakout. My plan was to post my favourite romcom list today but as it takes ages to type and I really have to concentrate on my studies, I will post it sometime later this month. I'll also try and post a favourite male characters list.

Valentine's Day for me is just really good-looking sweet-stuff. The day it means more...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

-Love, Mrs. Andrew Garfield

"The only greatness for man is immortality" ~James Dean

"James Dean made just three pictures, but even if he had made only one he would still be the greatest male star of the ’50s. The pictures are East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, Giant. Just the titles evoke epic visions, and all three films live up to their titles, constituting a three part heroic poem on atomic age youth, its beauties and its obsessions…James Dean was the perfect embodiment of an eternal struggle. It might be innocence struggling with experience, youth with age, or man with his image. But in every aspect his struggle was a mirror to a generation of rebels without a cause. His anguish was exquisitely genuine on and off the screen; his moments of joy were rare and precious. He is not our hero because he was perfect, but because he perfectly represented the damaged but beautiful soul of our time.”

- Andy Warhol

Happy Belated Birthday James Dean.

You be you and I’ll be me, today and today and today, and let’s trust the future to tommorrow. Let the stars keep track of us. Let us ride our own orbits and trust that they will meet.

       So yesterday was my graduation from school, despite it not technically being over till after the dreaded board exams. There was a whole lot of talk about the future, which for me is my reality. I got the loveliest citation in which my love for films has been acknowledged. Also the goodbye notes from my friends, in which they talk about films and me, has made me feel really warm and happy.
      I see my future everyday, and with our without Jack, it is somewhere with the stars. :)

INTERVIEWS FOR LIFE! ~First Installment.

      So I have this potentially destructive habit of watching celebrity interviews on Youtube. I love them and am addicted to them so much that I thought why not make it regular feature on this blog.
      I mostly only like the really hilarious ones. In fact my philosophy about them is that if you're (the celebrity) not funny, don't give interviews.
      I found this interview today of Jesse Eisenberg promoting The Social Network on Conan...and for obvious reasons I cried laughing. He's so brilliant!
      
      Enjoy!

"No toy gets left behind" ~ BEST PICTURE OSCAR NOMINATIONS, 2011- LEGO STYLE

       While the Oscar nominations have, as usual, pissed me off this year due to snubbings of Andrew Garfield, Ryan Gosling, Barbara Hershey, costume and make-up for Black Swan etc, I found the most adorable thing today on the Best Picture Nominations- Lego versions of all of them!!
      'Tis what I think:

True Grit (fun, but not that deserving- definitely not Best Actor material for Jeff Bridges)

Black Swan (deserving but perhaps a bit too ambiguous)

The King's Speech (If this wins...death)

The Social Network (most deserving)

127 Hours (really brilliant, but buzz-less)

The Fighter (good, but not the best)

The Kids Are All Right (same as above)

The Winter's Bone (strong leading performance but seriously boring as hell, and can only win if AMPAs decide to go uber small-scale)

Toy Story 3 (love! won't win though)

Inception (brilliance...if only AMPAs would go super cool and give this the statuette instead of a generic period drama)

      127 Hours win the Lego Oscars definitely!!


      
      Sorta looking deadly forward to and totally dreading Feb 27th (Feb 28th here), aka, THE OSCAR CEREMONY CUM BOARD EXAMS DAY!!
      
      Fingers crossed again!!!