The Month that was- May

So May was all right. I blogged even less, and June won't get any better in all probability since it's crucial for my attempt-at-having-a-normal-college-life 2.0. And currently the universe is being a bitch. As usual.
Anyhow I kept my one film a day average for this month too. Yaay for that.


Firsts:

1) Confessions of a Dangerous Mind- As much as I liked Sam Rockwell in it, it was just too frenzied for me.

2) Strictly Ballroom- Oh this was splendid! It's so Bollywood in many aspects. I love the mother.

3) Dirty Harry- Yeah it's not perfect, but it is a lot of fun. Also, I really liked the character of Harry Callahan, much to my own surprise.

4) Volver- It was nice, but all in all, the least impactful Almodóvar that I have seen so far. Penélope Cruz was incredible though.

5) Alice- This film has led to an inspiration behind a blogpost, but more on that later. I loved it. Mia Farrow is such a wonderful actress, and as always, no one understands me better than Woody. Perfectly complimented whatever I was feeling when I watched it.

6) Notorious- Oh those kisses. As much as I am a Bogart and Bergman person, the sheer beauty of Grant and Bergman in each other's arms cannot be denied. I did not exactly expect this film from Hitchcock, but was pleasantly surprised.

7) Naked Lunch- Er... There were elements of it that I liked, especially Peter Weller. But not my cup of tea.

8) The Seventh Seal- So beautiful and thoughtful and engaging. Also, that Dance of Death just kept haunting my thoughts.

9) In the Mood for Love- Oh this film just devastated me. Cried for like hours after this. Not just because it's a beautiful and sad film, but because I could never make anything like it. Must watch again, when I have convalesced.

10) Ronin- Thanks to the Matineecast. I liked it, but my god, I couldn't help but notice all random "civilians" dying around the main characters. So many!! Cool car chases though.

11) Raging Bull- I liked it but a) it's a sports movie; b) yeah no I don't care if it shows other stuff, it has a sport in it, hence making it a sports movie; c) I don't do sports; d) so friggin' loud; e) Taxi Driver is better. De Niro and Pesci were brilliant though, and some of the scenes were just breathtaking.

12) Dark Shadows- So messed up. Apart from the way it looked and the pretty women, there was nothing to it. Depp really tried, and Green was the best part with Pfeiffer and Carter being robbed of proper roles, but then Moretz crazy hooker shit was mental. Burton needs to buck up.

13) Point Break- I love Hot Fuzz even more now. It was a very enjoyable movie all together, albeit a bit ridiculous. There is nothing quite like it. Can't believe a woman made it (hats off to you, Kathryn Bigelow).

14) Suspiria- The colours in this movie are absolutely incredible. Also that music- I could not sleep comfortably for two days after watching it. Yes the ending was a bit underwhelming, but as the poster advertises, the first 92 minutes were wayyy more terrifying than the last 12 minutes.

15) Dead Man- I had a mini Depp-marathon after this post. It looked gorgeous and Depp was ab fab, but I was so bored by the end of it. Westerns, acid or not, are just not for me.

16) Cry-Baby- Haha, Depp was such a pretty boy. It is strange, but rather fun too.

17) Donnie Brasco- I had never seen it completely. It was really brilliant. I mean Depp's performance was excellent, but that last Pacino scene was the most heart-rendering scene ever. What an actor!

18) Fear and Loathing Las Vegas- Ha I remember trying to watch this when I was twelve. Not that I understood all of it this time 'round, but enough to re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-reaffirm my faith in Johnny Depp's acting abilities.

19) Bottle Rocket- Finally finished it! The DVD stopped working midway last time. It was sweet and fun, though the lack of Bill Murray in a Wes Anderson was a weird thing to digest. Loved Owen Wilson.

20) King Kong- This is the Peter Jackson version. I saw it solely for Adrien Brody, because I love him. It was okay-ish. I cannot really approve of a film in which a woman chooses a giant ape over Adrien Brody, you know...

21) What Ever Happened to Baby Jane- I love the fact that after watching it, it made me really think about who was the actual villain in the story. Bette Davis was just sensational.

22) This Means War- Which led to this gorgeous post. I have been watching random scenes ever since- especially those with Chris Pine shirtless and stuff.

Rewatched:

1) Moulin Rouge!- My most favourite film of all time. This time around it was Nicole Kidman who blew me away the most. It was always a Ewan McGregor fest for me, but it has taken time for me to truly appreciate Kidman's performance in this.

2) William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet- Okay I love the leads and the soundtrack and what Luhrmann did with the film etc. But honestly- what a stupid story. 

3) The Breakfast Club- Due to The Extraterrestrial Blogathon. After talking about it so much, I just needed to watch it again. I really think that no film could ever represent youth better. You cry, you laugh, you feel- brilliance!

4) The Muppets- "Life's A Happy Song!" Oh this film and the joy it brings :D

5) Edward Scissorhands- I know I had rewatched it only a while back, but it had to be done for this post.

6) Easy A- It had been too long. I needed some Stone-Clarkson-Tucci awesomeness to brighten up my life.

7) Dog Day Afternoon- I don't know what I had not rewatched it in soo long. I mean this film just needs to go on my top 100 and Pacino's performance in my top 5 or 10 or whatever. Basically, it is mindblowing!

8) Ed Wood- To think Tim Burton and Johnny Depp once made films like this. It is such a lovely film.

9 The Departed- Man, this film for me is all about how awesome Mark Wahlberg is. Which is a lot!

10) Red Dragon- The cast in this- Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson, Harvey Keitel, Philip Seymour Hoffman- wowsers! I have always really enjoyed this film and consider this the true sequel/prequel to The Silence of the Lambs.

Shorts-

Lick the Star- I had to rewatch it for the Sofia Coppola list. It's weird and alluring and I love how the protagonist is introduced. 

TV Shows:

So I didn't actually watch anything separately, but many of my shows did end. I'll just talk a bit about them-

1) Vampire Diaries (Season 3)- Yes I watch this, sue me! Anyways this season went on for like a year with all their breaks, but it wasn't that terrible. Okay so a) Favourite Episode- The Departed, which was the season finale and was a lot of fun; b) MVP- Ian Somerhalder as Damon of course, the sole reason I watch this show, more or less (look above); c) Favourite Quote- Damon: [doing a Stefan impression] "Dear diary, a chipmunk asked me my name today. I told him it was Joe. That lie will haunt me forever."

2) Parks and Recreation (Season 4)- I cried when this got over, but that was because fulfilled dreams make me happy and weepy. I didn't realise that it was over until the next week. a) Favourite Episode- The Trial of Leslie Knope, which was all sorts of funny and adorableness; b) MVP- Amy Poehler as Leslie and Rob Lowe as Chris because as much as I love everyone else, these two really shone for me this season; c) Favourite Quote- Chris: "If I had to have anybody tell me that I have cancer, I would want it to be me."

3) New Girl (Season 1)- This started out slightly painful, but actually became rather fun. a) Favourite Episode- Jess and Julie, because people who don't like desserts freak me out too; b) MVP- Max Greenfield as Schmidt, because nice douches are actually really nice; c) Favourite Quote- Jess: "Rich people are always giving you their cars. It’s like, ‘Let them eat cars.’”

Books:

1) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins- I finally read it! And rather liked it too. A lot of things made more sense to me in this.

2) Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins- I liked it better than the first, though it may be because I knew nothing about this at all. I must say one thing though- these books don't end very well. Still, I love Finnick and am a Peeta person- confirmed!

3) An Abundance of Katherines by John Green- It's hard to believe that for a Looking for Alaska lover like me, this was my second John Green book. I really liked it, though didn't love it as much as Alaska.

Final tally:

                                     Firsts- 136             Rewatched- 62           Shorts- 4

                                                                     Total- 202

Bye all.