Thoughts

        Just as I was writing this post, the news of Philip Seymour Hoffman's death came rushing through social media. Hoffman was a truly gifted actor. My first thought was the scene in The Master when he's in the cell next to Joaquin Phoenix and while the latter is going apeshit crazy, Hoffman's just standing there but we're still transfixed by him. Such was his screen presence. And the fact that he was just 46 is devastating. Both my parents are older than that and it's scary. Hoffman made every film he was in better. He will be sorely missed by film fans all over the world. One of the best we ever had. RIP.

          Going back to the trivial. (I'm sorry for the tonal shift)

1) Jesse Eisenberg has been cast as Lex Luthor for the Batmas versus Superman movie. I'm sorry but WHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT?????????!!!!!!! Usually I am all for unconventional casting choices but this is proper Batshit (haha, like Batfleck) crazy. I know everyone's all like oh Luthor and Superman will be the same age and Eisenberg can play a great asshole etc. but that doesn't mean he should play Lex Luthor! I will admit that people trying to explain how Luthor and Mark Zuckerberg are the same person is pretty hilarious. Still, all I can visualise is Eisenberg doing a Dr. Evil. And please, just don't make him bald. His hair is beautiful. It's like real-life hobbit hair! He'll also look like a child in front of Henry Cavill's Superman. I mean, I knew this was going to be a terrible movie but I'm actually scared now. Has Eisenberg been hanging out with Shia LaBeouf? Why would he say yes to this? Is this like a social experiment? I don't understand!!!

2) All this madness has overshadowed an actual inspired casting choice in the same movie. Jeremy Irons will play Alfred. That's kind of awesome but still a big fat no to Eisenberg as Luthor. I'm going to go hug my The Social Network DVD and cry now.

3) Colin Farrell has replaced Jason Clarke in Yorgos Lanthimos's The Lobster. This is pretty exciting because I think Farrell is can be an amazing actor who just doesn't get the right roles that often. He was one of the best things about Saving Mr. Banks too. Rachel Weisz has joined the cast as well, which already includes Lea Seydoux and Ben Whishaw. This is going to be some movie.

4) So JK Rowling has announced that she regrets pairing Hermione with Ron and that she should have been with Harry instead. I love Ron and Hermione, but I feel in the movies especially, Harry and Hermione worked exceptionally well. And well, anything that breaks off the Harry-Ginny pairing is good in my eyes. Eitherways, this could turn into a very interesting drama about betrayal and heartbreak mixed with magic, so that could be cool! The only thing I feel bad about is the whole Ron is always the second-best concept. Fuck you and WEASLEY IS OUR KING!! I hope he ends up with some nice part-Veela.

5) In spite of her claims of wanting to take a break from acting, Jennifer Lawrence may star in yet another David O. Russell film. One of the co-writers of Bridesmaids, Annie Mumulo has written a script about Joy Mangano, the inventor of the Miracle Mop (wtf is that? Someone explain in the comments) and her rags to riches story. I do find the whole concept funny and I think JLaw can pull it off. Anyways, one has to wonder when this film will see the light of day since both JLaw and Russell are busy with other projects. Also, this Mangano lady also invented something called the Huggable Hangers so yaaay, SEQUEL!

6) Everyone is watching and loving True Detective, yes? If not, I don't think we can be friends anymore. That show is going AHMAZING and I think this will be Matthew McConaughey's finest performance ever. The writer of the show, Nic Pizzolatto, is already working on a draft for the second season and at the same time, his first book Galveston is heading for the big screen. I don't think Pizzolatto is writing the screenplay but the synopsis of the book is pretty cool and quite cinematic too. Matthias Schoenaerts is going to star in the movie.

7) Other casting stuff- Kyle Chandler, who was awesome in The Wolf of Wall Street, has joined the ever-impressive cast of Todd Haynes' Carol. Daniel Radcliffe and Dane DeHaan will reunite for College Republicans which tells the true story of the College Republican Chairman campaign of 1973. The film will be directed by their Kill Your Darlings director, John Krokidas. I like this pairing too much. In spite of all the dirty politics, the story is apparently something of a buddy comedy which sounds intriguing. Brie Larson will star in The Good Luck of Right Now, based on the book of the same name written by Matthew Quick, who also wrote Silver Linings Playbook, and will be directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who directed Little Miss Sunshine and Ruby Sparks. To this I say, FUCK YEAH!!!! Larson was one of the biggest surprises of 2013 for me and everyone else involved in this project is awesome. Benedict Cumberbatch will star in Blood Mountain, which follows a private military contractor who has to escort a very dangerous terrorist through a hostile region to bring him to justice. The film sounds pretty gritty and being a Cumberbitch, I am excited to see what Cumberbatch does with it. I am also a Pinenut and Chris Pine is going to play the protagonist in David Gordon Green's The Line, a thriller about a lonely patrol agent who has to protect a 10 year old child orphaned after a cartel shootout from people from both sides of the law. Again, this sounds exciting and I really want Pine to get a proper break because I think he's really talented. Felicity Jones will play Romeo's ex-lover Rosaline in Rosaline, written by the the people behind (500) Days of Summer. I think this can be a really funny story because as we all know, Rome and Juliet were idiots. Adrien Brody will star in Manhattan Nocturne about "a devoted husband and accomplished journalist who is asked by a seductive stranger to dig into the unsolved murder of her husband." I am forever waiting for Brody's next great performance so count me in! Finally, Liam Neeson has joined Martin Scorsese's next, Silence, about a Jesuit priest's journey to Japan and his encounter with religious persecution. The film also stars Andrew Garfield and Ken Watanabe. I want this movie now!

8) Coming back to TV, none other than Michael Pitt has joined the cast of the eagerly anticipated season 2 of Hannibal. He will be playing Mason Verger, the character played by Gary Oldman in the movie Hannibal. Few of us can ever forget Verger's mutilated face in the movie and it really is a scrumptious role (adjective keeping in theme with the show of course) as he is one of Hannibal Lecter's most brutal nemeses. Still, one would hope that we get to see Pitt's gorgeous face before Mads Mikkelsen's Hannibal has his way with him.

9) Links- Stevee lists down the Practical Reasons Why Leo DiCaprio Doesn't/Shouldn't Have an Oscar Yet, Tumblr. It's pretty accurate and everyone should read it. Margaret talks about the aforementioned newest bestest show ever, True Detective. This weekend has seen a lot of talk about Dylan Farrow and Woody Allen and since I am such a fan of the latter's work, the weeks since the Golden Globes fiasco have been a sort of reassessment for me about what I believe in when it comes to things like this. The closest thing to what I feel and think is this fantastic article by Nathaniel R. of The Film Experience. Lastly, there have been wonderful articles all across the web about Philip Seymour Hoffman and there's no point linking to just a few. Check them all out.

10) Trailers- The first trailer of The Fault in Our Stars, which is based on John Green's fantastic love story about two teenagers with cancer, is out. People are going nuts about it. I admit that I got weepy while watching it too but I'm a bit concerned about how the trailer makes the story look almost sappy. One of my favourite things about the book and Green's writing in general is the sense of humour of his characters, which is what makes them so real. The trailer does show that Shailene Woodley is definitely the perfect Hazel though Ansel Elgort is still no Gus. The Rover looks quite bleak and though I haven't seen Animal Kingdom yet, I think I will like it. Love Guy Pearce and I think RPatz will be good in this. The trailer of Nymphomaniac part 2 keeps me as intrigued as always. Love the music. I liked Prince Avalanche a lot and its director David Gordon Green's new movie Joe has a trailer now. It stars Nicolas Cage and Tye Sheridan. It's great to see Cage doing something serious instead of stealing government documents or whatever, and Sheridan is still one of my most favourite performers of last year for his work in Mud, so I'm excited to see what he does too. I think I am one of the only people who found the trailer of Seth MacFarlaine's A Million Ways to Die in the West really funny. The "Mila Kunis" part killed me. One of my most favourite movies of last year, The Lunchbox has a US trailer out. Everyone should watch it. The latest trailer of Maleficent is the best one yet, thanks to Lana Del Rey's creepy rendition of "Once Upon A Dream" and Angelina Jolie's smile. I love it. Terry Gilliam is back with The Zero Theorem which has Christoph Waltz in the lead role, along with David Thewlis, Tilda Swinton and Ben Whishaw. It looks really weird and surreal, which is expected from Gilliam. It can either be something really fantastic or a total fail. I'm hoping for the former. A Long Way Down which based on a Nick Hornby book and stars Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, Aaron Paul, Imogen Poots and Rosamund Pike, looks very sweet and heartwarming. While watching the Super Bowl trailer of Transformers: Age of Extinction, all I could think of was how much I wanted to rewatch Pacific Rim. Still, I am willing to give Michael Bay and Mark Wahlberg a chance after Pain and Gain. The jokes in the latest trailer of The Amazing Shit-Man 2 fall so flat that I don't get why they're trying at all. As it is the idea of a 30 year old teenage Peter Parker, Electro's look, Oscorp's abysmal security and an actual metal rhino are going to provide enough comic relief. I am only going to watch this film for Dane DeHaan because I already know that it will waste the talents of Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone once again. DeHaan might make something meaty out of his role, and I like his face. It's nice. One only has to look at the trailer of Captain America: The Winter Soldier to see what all the Amazing Shit-Man team are doing wrong. The action looks great, there's proper intrigue in the trailer, the set pieces and the effects feel cinematic and the little joke at the end is actually funny because people aren't trying so hard. My two favourite trailers of last week are those of Beauty and the Beast and Enemy. The first looks so beautiful and I love the idea of Lea Seydoux and Vincent Cassel playing Belle and the Beast respectively. The latter looks like a most interesting psychological thriller and I adored Jake Gyllenhaal in Prisoners, which was his previous collaboration with Denis Villeneuve, the director of Enemy. I'm really stoked for both these films.

11) Finally, the Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue has a non-whitewashed cover and it looks pretty great-

Who wants to be Julia Roberts? Raise your hands!! The women look gorgeous.

12) Really properly *finally*, I was going to post only this before but then the Vanity Fair cover released. Still, I feel that I need this on my blog on, like, principle-

Fuck off, Tom!

Have you guys read the Elle UK interview? The fangirlness is seeping from every letter. It would be hilarious if it wasn't so damn true.

Byeeeee!

"And like all lovers, I am a poet."

Helloo people! After being buried in my books for about a month, I have resurfaced albeit momentarily, although the days of freedom are not far behind. The only reason I am writing this post is because I cannot stop watching the Kill Your Darlings trailer and I'm wasting time on it anyways so it kind of makes sense.

I am really excited for this movie. Earlier it was mostly because of my undying love for Daniel Radcliffe, then for the cool and talented cast of up-and-coming actors, but after watching the trailer, my interest has properly been piqued because the film looks fun and interesting and dark. I think it is a really good trailer that does not give much away and gives a proper little taste of the kind of film Kill Your Darlings may be. Of course I am a little apprehensive after last year's On the Road (which wasn't bad but just disappointing), but I am going to hope for the best.

Things I loved in the trailer-

DanRad and his curly hair.

I don't think I've ever been more attracted to him which is weird because I've wanted to marry the guy since I was 9. Also, I think he's going to kill it as Ginsberg so yaay!

The rest of the cast.

Doesn't Dane DeHaan look particularly shiny? I love this cast.

Dan and Dane.

I'm like puking rainbows looking at them. So cute.

This shot.

I see a future banner.

And all of these.

I think the settings and costumes look gorgeous.

Watch the trailer here.

Boys just wanna have fun.

        After watching Chronicle, one of the many things I said to a friend about it was "Despite being really stupid, teenage boys are such geniuses." I mean as disgusted and sensible I tried to be at the beginning of the film, I could not deny the fact that the three adolescent protagonists, who suddenly find themselves with superhuman powers, were having way too much fun and I could probably not think of half the stuff they did. The most creative thing I came up with (before becoming a superhero obviously) was to spy on my favourite actors in filming locations. Well, that is me, and this is my review of Chronicle.

       Shy and lonely Andrew, who has a sick mother and an alcoholic abusive father, decides to buy a video camera to record his daily life. He goes with his cousin Matt, who is amiable albeit a bit pretentious, to a high school party where popular student Steve tells him that he and Matt have found something and they need it on tape. Whatever this thing is, it provides them with telekinetic powers that grow stronger upon constant use. What first starts out as three teenage boys having fun with their new-found abilities soon turns into something much more sinister than what they bargained for.


            I must admit that I had brushed off this film and any thing related to it. I hadn't even seen the trailer before watching the film, but all that has paid off extremely well in my opinion. It was a superhero film (sort of) unlike anything that I have seen before. The entire film is shot in a "found footage" sort of way though it is never made clear who would look for such footage- one of the few dodgier aspects of the film, but I overlooked all of that on account of all the fun I was having watching this.

             The majority of the film deals with how these three guys learn to use their powers, not in a Spiderman "with great power comes great responsibility" way, but rather in the only way they know- scaring little kids with flying soft toys and blowing up skirts of girls. As it is all shot on video, per se, their reactions are often stupid and funny and so very convincing that I couldn't stop grinning. It somewhat follows the same sensibility of a reality tv show for me because it's ridiculous, yet hilarious. As the powers increase, so do their tricks and they are quite cool. Even though I feel the end becomes too special effects-gimmicky and it could have been a bit longer to make it seem less out of control, I like the descent into darkness and the obvious repercussions of fiddling with things that are unknown to us.


          If you would look to your right, I gave the film a 10 out of 10 rating. The reason is simple- it is a bloody ballsy film to make, and that too by mostly first-timers. The director Josh Tank and the writer Max Landis are both 26 years old, which is amazing. The script may have had elements of a lot of different films like Blair Witch Project or Spiderman or even something like Superbad, all together it is quite original and even the contrived parts became compelling due to the genuine performances by the leads. Tank does interesting work here by taking the "found-footage" concept and not giving us something we have grown to expect. I mean for a first-time director it must be extremely tempting to use all the various techniques shown in films and to stay true to this form of film-making, which must be very difficult on a creative level, I thought was quite commendable.

         The cast is made up of relatively-unknown actors with Dane DeHaan as Andrew, Alex Russel as Matt and Michael B. Jordan as Steve. A massive reason why this film works so well is because of their honest portrayal of the three boys. The whole film could have been about the "found-footage" craft, the reason why I usually ignore such films, but instead it focuses on three very different and very realistic characters. While DeHaan has the more weighty role as Andrew is the sad and disturbed member of the trio who is more affected by his power, I think it could not have worked without the slightly pathetic though inherently good Matt and the popular and sincerely nice Steve. The latter part of the film did depend on Andrew the most, but I enjoyed the first part more when all three of them are filled with unadulterated glee and mischief because of their kick-ass abilities. Which is why that even the unbelievable sci-fi aspects of the film end up looking like this may have been real life, for how else would boys react?


        It is interesting to note that my first film of 2011 was also a unlikely superhero film- Green Hornet. Yes that was majorly disappointing, but with the exception of The Dark Knight Rises, I think Chronicle has definitely set the bar for superhero films for me this year. Yes no one really is a superhero in this film, and that is why it is unique because what else do you do with superpowers? The teenage boys know.