Saturday 17 January 2015

The Month that was December and the Year that was 2014

       Okay so half of January is over and everyone has already forgotten 2014 but I need to close the book on it in this blog. SO HERE WE ARE! I'm sorry guys, I had exams + had to recuperate from those exams. Life of an Indian student and all, ya know? But better late than never and this post is fucking late already.

         First up, December! I watched quite a few movies in December. I just really wanted to end up with a final tally of 300 movies watched over the year and I did that :) Yayy!

Firsts:
1) Bird People- What a stupid movie. Would have definitely walked out of it if I had managed to catch it in the film festival.
2) Mr. Turner- This was my first Mike Leigh film ever (and yes, I do know I suck at being a cinephile) and I really liked it. It was very beautiful and Timothy Spall was excellent.
3) I Origins- I liked it up to a point but then I found the big climax really strange and it didn't really recover for me. I love Michael Pitt though.
4) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, part 1- I really liked it. Natalie Dormer!
5) Nightcrawler- Oof this was dirty and I loved it so! Amazing performance by Jake Gyllenhaal. Didn't expect to laugh as much as I did.
6) The Skeleton Twins- Aww this was lovely. I adore films about funny, sad, fucked up people. I'm still listening to "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" btw.
7) Palo Alto- I couldn't care less about what was happening in this film. Emma Roberts was good though.
8) The Theory of Everything- I was surprised at how much I liked it. It was mostly because of how heartbreakingly good Felicity Jones is in this film. For me, the film was all about her character and her love story.
9) The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them- I liked it but it had potential to be even better, which is why I *really* need to watch the Her and His versions.
10) The Way He Looks- Awwwwwww so cute!!
11) The Trip to Italy- It was more of the same thing as the first The Trip movie but god, Italy is gorgeous!
12) The Tale of Princess Kaguya- Very beautiful and sad.
13) St. Vincent- I didn't really care for it. Seemed manipulative and kind of bland.
14) Horrible Bosses 2- The shit I watch for Chris Pine. To be fair, I did like the first one but this one was terrible.
15) PK- SO GOOD! I loved it. Tackles important issues with a great deal of heart and humour.
16) A Star is Born- My last Blind Spot entry of 2014. I had problems with it but Judy Garland made them go away.
17) A Field in England- Easily one of the trippiest films I have ever seen. Still not sure what to make of it. Looked stunning though.
18) Pride- AWWWWWWWWWWWW!! But it wasn't just cute and happy but also heartfelt and human and sad and lovely and it's the best "based on a true story" film of the year by a mile.
19) '71- Pretty fantastic. Loved the way it was shot. Jack O'Connell was amazeballs too, obviously.
20) The Interview- My Christmas movie, duhhhsssss. It started out really funny but it kind of sags towards the end. Still, I had a blast.
21) Land Ho- I really liked it. It was like a less intellectual and more heartfelt version of The Trip. Gave me hope, it did.
22) The Book of Life- How can someone that looks so good be so meh?
23) This is Where I Leave You- It was okay but I thought it would never end.
24) Foxcatcher- Becomes better and better the more I think about it, but I did have to be really patient while watching it. Excellent, surprising performances.
25) Clouds of Sils Maria- It was v. different than what I had thought it would. Really interesting and engaging still.
26) Force Majeure- My last movie of 2014 and what a bang (pun intended) to go out with. Loved it. Never ever ever ever ever ever have I laughed so much at someone crying.


Rewatched:
1) Dev D- For our Bollywood podcast. Never noticed that it was Nawazuddin Siddiqui singing "Emosanal Atyachar"
2) Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge- Bollywood podcast. Best Bollywood movie ever.
3) Lagaan- Bollywood podcast. I always forget how good it is. Bloody long though.
4) Calvary- Still one of the best films from 2014.
5) God Help the Girl- I'm still listening to "I'll Have To Dance With Cassie".
6) How to Train Your Dragon 2- I loved it even more this time. Hiccup is a hottie.
7) My Fair Lady- I kept falling asleep while studying Pygmalion so I HAD to put this on. You know, for studying purposes. Obviously. Totes.

TV shows:
1) The Fall, series 2- Oh what a wonderful, twisted show. I never know what to expect even though I keep thinking that I've finally got it figured out. This series ended in a most tantalizing way and I really hope there is more. a) Favourite episode: "In Summation". Just the interrogation scene alone secured it this spot. b) MVP- Cannot possibly choose between Jamie Dornan's Paul Spector and Gillian Anderson's Stella Gibson. They're both incredible in this show.
2) Selfie (RIP)- I'm still so sad that this show was cancelled. It had sooooo much potential! It was wacky but cute. I really enjoyed it, especially Karen Gillan's and John Cho's natural chemistry. a) Favourite episode- "Imperfect Harmony" Never expected an episode like this. Funny and heartbreaking. b) MVP- I love Cho's Henry but Gillan's Eliza really owned this show. She was so funny and brave and ditzy and I loved her accent.

Note: I couldn't find favourite quotes for The Fall and couldn't decide on any for Selfie (RIP) though I must mention the genius in coming up with something like "The Urineversity of Southern Bladderfornia".



Final Tally of 2014:

Firsts: 232
Rewatched: 71
Total: 303

Number of Television Show Seasons Watched: 30 (from 24 shows)


         Now for all of 2014: I think it was mostly a meh-bordering-on-shitty year. But yes, film-wise, it was excellent. I watched more movies than I did in 2013. I took part in the Blind spot series even though I wasn't the best at it. I didn't really review anything apart from these films but I hope to change that this year.
I will soon start my "Best of 2014" lists but here are my 10 best first watches among films not from 2014, in order of preference:


Full Metal Jacket
Judgment at Nuremberg (Blind spot)
Gangs of Wasseypur
The Killing
Teeth
The Secret in their Eyes
Blue Velvet (Blind spot)
Cabaret
Blow Out
Stranger than Fiction


        As far as the TV shows are concerned, this was a great year too. I started Buffy (and I will finish it soon, I promise!) and was blown away by its awesomosity. True Blood came to an end and I was with it all the way, unfortunately. New shows like Broad City, The Fall, Jane the Virgin, Fargo and Selfie (RIP) were some of my favourites of the year. I will do a post on these shows soon because I do watch A LOT of TV now.

          Uh, musically, I was kind of a cave person most of the year unless you count soundtracks. There were some really amazing soundtracks this year which I'm still listening to tbh. Still, I need to be more musically aware in 2015. #MidJanuaryNewYearResolution


         And that's it, I think. Here's to 2015, fo' realz!

21 comments:

  1. Wow, I'm struggling to have 50 movies watched last year for the first time :/ And it's not even that I read books and that's why I don't watch more, it's all because of work. I really don't think I'll ever find the time to see The Fall.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I understand completely. I barely read anything last year (therefore no mention of that anywhere). And Idk how long I can keep even this much watching. Also, I barely blog whereas you blog a lot and all of your posts have so much effort put in them.

      Delete
    2. I recently only blogged 2 a week but the award season is the exception :) I usually use whatever less insane week I have to write a bunch of stuff in draft, shit I have a year old Return of the King review in there just in case I have nothing to post :)

      Delete
    3. But that's a good system :)

      Delete
  2. I watched 139 movies all together in 2014.. that includes the rewatching and stuff which I usually do when there's a dry spell in the movie world. I haven't clocked in as many movies this January as I want to because I'm gonna focus on reading this year which means the number of movies I'll watch will be even smaller.

    The Fall though.. man.. such strong feelings about that interrogation scene!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think my numbers will be smaller too. Must read more.

      Hi5! re: strong feelings about that interrogation scene.

      Delete
  3. I don't understand how someone can watch 303 movies a year. I barely have time, with all of my exams and assessments (granted, they're probably not as challenging as the ones you have). Last year I watched 85 movies or so, that's probably the closest I've come to 100.

    I really enjoyed your Bollywood podcast! DDLJ is the quintessential Bollywood film, in my opinion. Though, I do have a soft spot for Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham :P Dev.D is also criminally underrated. Kalki Koechlin is one of the best actresses working today, and I cannot wait for Margarita with a Straw.

    I didn't know that Mr. Turner was your first Mike Leigh film! If you liked that, then I think you'll definitely like his other films. He's one of the few directors who can handle comedy and drama so well, sometimes even in the same moment in a film!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The trick is not to study for your exams and assessments and watch movies instead ;) God, I'll be such a terrible mother.

      Glad you liked the Bollywood podcast. I love K3G too. I'm v. excited about Margarita with a Straw as well.

      Yes, I will definitely become better versed in Leigh's films this year.

      Delete
  4. Happy New Year again ! :D
    Wow, I totally didn't catch that you saw Full Metal Jacket for the first time this year. It's great, right? I just remember being totally hypnotized by it. Also, wow that's a lot of TV. I'm STILL not done with SPN and it'll take even longer now because of award season :/

    My favorite non-2014 first watches last year were The Lunchbox, Shaun of the Dead, The Muppets, Lootera, Mary Poppins, Harvey, Stories We Tell, Enough Said, City of God (Blind Spot), Zodiac and Carrie.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh and of course American History X (Blind Spot)

      Delete
    2. You too!
      FMJ is amazeballs.
      I just haven't watched Lootera and Harvey from those films but god I love the others!!

      Delete
  5. I really want to watch Judgment At Nuremberg and A Field In England.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The first one is great and the second one is weird as fuck :P

      Delete
  6. WOW, another person that watched Bird People!

    I kind of liked it though. Or rather, I liked parts of it. Like some bits with her as a bird (at first it was my biggest WTF moment of 2014, but after a while I got into it), certain mirror moments between Gary and Audrey, when he felt sick in the middle of the night... Oh and that horror-ish sequence just before she turns into a bird, I liked that a lot. But other stuff just didn't work for me, like that argument that went on and on and on... and the ending. And the overall lack of rhythm.

    It was a bit disappointing. Also because I was looking forward to this movie, for some reason.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a huge wtf moment but like, I couldn't understand why I was basically watching a goddamn bird flying around for like half the film. I just did not give a damn. And that argument started good but it just didn't end either.

      A friend of a friend had highly recommended it so I was disappointed too.

      Delete
  7. WOW! You did great this year. I'm jealous!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha thanks! Well you did awesome blogger stuff this year so I'm jealous too :)

      Delete
  8. Wow, three hundred movies, that's a lot. This year I was a bit lazy, I only watched around sixty films. Though, I've seen alot shows.

    Glad that you liked How to Train Your Dragon 2, one of my favorites this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You DO watch a lot of shows! Aww HTTYD2 is adorbs!!

      Delete
  9. Oh, The Skeleton Twins was wonderful. Definitely check out the Him/Her versions of The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby if you still haven't seen them yet. (Watch Her first.) Can't wait to see films like '71 and Clouds of Sils Maria!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I saw Him first but I liked that order. I hope you like them!

      Delete