Six Degrees of Separation Blogathon

       The latest blogathon by Nostra of My Filmviews has us linking two actors/directors/movies in a maximum of six steps as per the rules of the Six Degrees of Separation theory. I was tagged by my fellow chick with accent, Sofia from Film Flare who challenged me to link Elle Fanning to Rita Hayworth.

      Now the thing is that I have only watched one Hayworth movie in my life which is obviously Gilda. Therefore, my knowledge of her body of work is v. limited and I didn't want to resort to this being a purely IMDb-based answer, so I *may* be cheating here but it's just so much more interesting like this-

Elle Fanning worked with Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Brad Pitt co-starred with Morgan Freeman in Se7en

Morgan Freeman presents Tim Robbins with Rita Hayworth in The Shawshank Redemption

       Taa daa!

       I now pass the baton on to Getter Trumsi of Mettel Ray and I challenge her to link Rita Hayworth to Ewan McGregor simply because I love him and he's the greatest :)

Thoughts

        Helloo all! Question- if you decided to go to a red carpet with a paper bag over your head, what would you write on it?

       Questions like this keep me up at night...

       Anyways, my movie-related thoughts for this week:

1) I have been planning to start on Ben Wheatley's filmography for a while now. Looks like his latest project is going to give me the push I needed. High Rise, based on the novel by J.G. Ballard, is about a doctor who gets involved in the secret world of a high rise built during the Thatcher era in England where the tenants are divided into quarrelling classist factions. And none other than Tom Hiddleston is going to star as the doctor whose name is Robert Laing. Hiddles is doing great things with his career and this whole projects sounds very exciting. Wheatley is also going to direct the first two episodes of Doctor Who series 8 so I'm really pumped to see his work.

2) One of my most anticipated films of 2015, the Fassy-Cotillard starrer-Macbeth, has started filming. While  the Macbeths are as perfect as they come, the rest of the characters are also going to be played by some excellent actors. Paddy Considine is going to be Banquo, Sean Harris is Macduff, and Jack Raynor and Elizabeth Debicki are also in the film. I am guessing that the former will play prince Malcolm and the latter will be Lady Macduff. Eitherways, this is one amazing and rather hot cast. I am currently studying the play in college and I swear, I just keep imagining this film during the lectures. I need it. Justin Kurzel is directing it.

3) Criminally underrated Paul Bettany will star as the Vision in the upcoming The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Bettany is actually one of the original Marvel actors from phase 1, voicing Tony Stark's awesome interface Jarvis. Of course, I am fairly certain this will be addressed in the movie. In the Marvel comic-verse, Vision goes from being a baddie android to a good guy and even marries the Scarlet Witch, who will be played by Elizabeth Olsen in the movie. I guess I should be more skeptical about this film because seriously, where do you go from after The Avengers, but I'm super duper excited about all these developments. It has started filming today in Johannesburg. BIG HULK YESSSSS!!!

4) Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill, easily my favourite on screen couple of 2013, are going to reteam for a drama about the bombing during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Hill will play Richard Jewell, a security guard who was first hailed as a hero for discovering the bomb and helping people to evacuate only to then be suspected as the perpetrator behind the bombing. Leo will play his attorney. After The Wolf of Wall Street, I am ready to watch these two in anything whatsoever and this actually sounds pretty fantastic.

5) Other casting stuff- Ewan McGregor, Tye Sheridan, Ciarin Hinds and Ayelet Zurer will be starring in Rodrigo Garcia's Last Days in the Desert. In it, McGregor will play a double role of a holy man and a demon who journeys through a desert. The synopsis is described as "an encounter with a family struggling to survive in this harsh environment forces the holy man to confront his own fate." McGregor is one of my most favourite actors and this sounds like an interesting plot. Emma Watson will star alongside Ethan Hawke in Alejandro Amenábar's Regression which is about "dealing with one's deepest primal fears". Amenábar directed one of my most favourite horror movies, The Others, so I will be looking forward to this. Johnny Depp and Tom Hardy will co-star in Black Mass about Whitey Bulger, one of America’s Most Wanted men and the leader of the the Winter Hill Gang, and who was also apparent;y an FBI informant. Depp will play Bulger and Hardy will play an FBI agent named John Connolly who was a childhood friend of Bulger's. One of Depp's best performances ever was in Donnie Brasco and it will be great seeing him go down the gangster road again, especially after his recent career choices.

6) If you weren't aware of it already, my fellow chick with accent from German/Danish-land, Mette has started a Youtube channel with her sister and it is awesome. Check out their second video-

7) Posters- Under the Skin's poster is a thing of beauty. I am kind of skeptical about the film because it really does not seem the kind I will like, but the poster is definitely gorgeous. The Transcendence poster is a bit creepy and not in a good way. It makes me feel gross for some reason. However, The Poster Of The Millenium, THE Poster To End All Posters is THIS ONE. It's from a Bengali movie called Obhishopto Nighty which roughly translates to 'haunted nightgown'. This poster is literally everywhere in my city. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. #onlyinIndia

8) Trailers- Not really a trailer but here's a 15 minute long "foreshadowing" of the upcoming season 4 of Game of Thrones, with bigger dragons and more Hodor (everyone say "HODOR!"). I can't wait. I have my Red Wedding t-shirt ready for the season premiere. The Two Faces of January's trailer is really thrilling and the film looks gorgeous. Pretty impressive people involved too. The second trailer of Hannibal is even more stunning than the first. Ugh! Finally, the trailer of the week is the latest one of Richard Ayoade's The Double. It looks crazy and creepy and cool and I still love Jesse Eisenberg in spite of how much picturing him as a tattooed Lex Luthor makes me anxious.

9) Finally, I adore the "Celebrities Read Mean Tweets" feature on Jimmy Kimmel. Benedict Cumberbatch's was one of the best-

His cheekbones though.

Toodles!

MEN WHO DON'T HAVE TO ASK

  So again I find myself thoughtless. And HP Month has taken over my life, and I haven't watched many films this week. Hence I thought, why not have a special uber-girlie thoughts post? The title of the post was something I saw on my dashboard, and I liked it.


    For grammatical reasons, I am only considering actors who are alive. Honourable mentions would be Johnny Depp- 'cuz this is a list for men, and he is GOD, and Robert Downey Jr.- because he is really really happily married, and he won't ask at all.

THESE MEN DO NOT HAVE TO ASK, AT ALL

Richard Gere

 Yes he's happily married too, but generations of women have loved this man (including me and my mum :P).

Jon Hamm

I don't even watch Mad Men and I can't get enough of Don Draper. And man, can he rock a suit?

Ewan McGregor

SO FUCKIN' UNDER-APPRECIATED!! This guy has played every damn sort of role, and he's so convincing, and so attractive in all of them.

Ryan Gosling

This man. Got the title from a picture about him. Made perfect sense. Trying to write coherently. Mindlkdfghgihfj.

Michael Fassbender

Hubba Hubba! My favouirte hot commodity ever! Him with his shark teeth and strange accent, oodles of talent and one bright sun-shiney career ahead...gah I love him so.

Matt Lewis

If you would have told me...um, one month back that the world, including me, is gonna go gaga at Matt Lewis's looks, I would have thought you were crazy. But it has happened. It's like he was some big Warner Bros secret. I mean he looked fine before, but now he's really faaaaaiiiiiinnneee. Mhmm. *snap snap*

     These are my men...what about you (man-crushes allowed)?

"You may see me only as a drunken, vice-ridden gnome whose friends are just pimps and girls from the brothels. But I know about art and love, if only because I long for it with every fiber of my being."

It has been a good five or six years since I first saw Baz Luhrmann's musical romance Moulin Rouge!. It was one of those experiences that change our lives forever- we think different, see things in a new light, understand ourselves better. You may think that I am over-exaggerating, but I was (am) young and impressionable...and boy that film impressed me! I felt right at home with the revolutionary Bohemians of the Moulin Rouge, and found kind of soulmate in Christian- a Romantic to the core who, without any influence as such, just naturally believes in truth, beauty, freedom and above all things, love. However, when I was watching it today for The Film Experience's Hit Me With Your Best Shot, I also found myself identifying with Satine... "Why live life from dream to dream, and dread the day the dreaming ends".


Therefore you see how this film that often tells me more about myself than almost anything else. So it was a real dilemma to chose my favourite shot, there are just so many things to love in this film. For instance:


1) The sublime beauty of Nicole Kidman as Satine.

2) The humour (just had to put that).

3) Obviously the absolutely gorgeous El Tango de Roxanne, which has everyone screaming at some point, deserves to be shown.

While all these are fantastic, I am now left with two finalists. One is an actual shot within the film, another is a set of six shots that come in the end of the credits.

The Best Shot- This really shows the magic of the film. Here are two people standing on clouds, with an umbrella, the Eiffel Tower and the moon with a face on it in the background. The scene happens when Christian, played by the wonderful Ewan McGregor, is wooing Satine by "Your Song". A melody sung from his heart, for hers, and she is swept away so much so that she imagines a completely unrealistic, yet dreamy place where both of them belong together. I think the background pays homage to the great musicals of yesteryears...the umbrella from Singin' in the Rain, rooftop from Mary Poppins, the Eiffel Tower for An American in Paris, and well the singing moon. I love films which transport us to places, and this singular shot takes me to a wonderland of romance and delight.

The Best Shots- Seriously, this is the favourite part of the film for me. I especially wait for credits to end everytime I watch Moulin Rouge!, because it is incomplete for me until I see these final six shots. I weep, I smile, I feel warm- why? Because these shots reaffirm my belief in the world. The fact that what these wild Bohemians believed in is not something the world has forgotten. We sing the songs that they sing- from Bowie to Kiss to Madonna. Their anthems are our anthems now; art and beauty and freedom and love prospers. It is a little hard to notice with all these Dukes lying around, but come what may, everything the film and its characters holds so dear still exists. That is what the story is all about, and I ardently love it.

Moulin Rouge! is 10 years old now, and I do hope it goes down in cinematic history as the beautiful love story with a Bohemian Can Can twist and a total tribute to the great songs of the 20th century. I mean honestly as lovely as the shots are, the film is nothing without its songs. Do watch and listen!

My Top Ten Films of 2010, Somewhat.

    
       Oh another year has gone by and I feel as if I've done nothing substantial. Nonetheless, I did watch a few good films. And when I say few, I mean 2010 films. I think I've watched 10 (get the connection? No. Ofcourse). However, being the list-fiend I am, I'm still gonna make a Top-Ten Films of 2010 List!! Enjoy.

NOTE: I haven't seen 127 Hours, The Kids are All Right, Blue Valentine, The King's Speech, Winter's Bone, True Grit, I Am Love etc. And yes, I do know I should jump off a cliff before calling myself a film critic again.

1) The Social Network- What is left to say that I haven't said before? This film just gives me so much joy everytime I see it. Also, I realised today it was the funniest film I've seen this year. Also, Andrew Garfield stole my heart.

2) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1- Never thought a Harry Potter film can surprise me like this. But HP7 just shook me, in a very very good way. Yes, most critics would kill me for alone putting this film on the list, and even more for putting it before the numbers 3 and 5, but the dance scene and the Deathly Hallows scene can stand up to any such animosity.

3) Inception- This is probably the coolest film of the year, or the decade. The whole concept is nothing short of revolutionary and the film might just become the uber-talented Christopher Nolan's magnum opus. Add to that a fantastic cast, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt stealing the show from Leo DiCaprio big time.

4) Easy A- I just love a good chick flick. And this one's pretty much on top this year. Emma Stone's brilliant breakthrough performance with a hilarious support cast and a really smart take on a beloved classic, Easy A is easily one of the year's best.

5) Black Swan- Darren Aronofsky's frightening and beautiful and melodramatic spin on the Swan Lake tale, with the excruciatingly stunning and talented Natalie Portman is a fantastic drama. Ah this film and it's dazzling look and feel, and the shock-factor. Quite perfect.

6) Toy Story 3- I saw this yesterday. I am very sorry for the late viewing, but still this film was just awesome!! I love Woody and Buzz and Andy! It's funny, magical and so touching at the same time. Best Animated Film his year by a mile.

7) Never Let Me Go- *wipes a tear off my face* God I loved this film. It just touched my heart so much. The story, the metaphor, Andrew and Carey. New Year Resolution- read the book.

8) Scott Pilgrim Vs the World- One might find it odd, but Michael Cera is amongst my most favourite leading men. And as the cute, confused, base-playing, ass-kicking Canadian Scott Pilgrim, he's too cool. The whole idea of the film, the way it's been made, the total lack of explanation for Scott's and Ramona's and her seven evil exes' superhuman fighting ability, and the whole comic book feel is so very novel. And I just love Kieran Culkin, and Wallace Wells is friggin' magnificent. Allison Pill, Anna Kendrick and Jason Schwartzman are superb too. I just saw that it's tagline is "An Epic of Epic Epicnes". Mindblasted.

9) The Ghost Writer- I love Roman Polanski to bits (well, I have a little crush on him actually). This was such a well-made film. Yes the whole CIA-is-the-Thought-Police-thing annoys me, but with the very subtle yet intriguing plot, and to-die-for cast, consisting of the always amazing Ewan McGregor, Pierce "James Bond" Brosnan, the very talented Olivia Williams and Kim "Samantha-fucking-Jones" Cattral; the films a hell of a thriller.

10) Kick-Ass- I just love superhero noir. Chloe Mortez as Hit Girl has easily become one of my most favourite female characters. This film was cruel, blunt and mindblowing!

      Okay, now thinking back, I did see more than 10 films, but these were the cream.

      New Year Resolution- I'll watch EVERYTHING in 2011.

HAPPY NEW YEAR PEOPLE!!

He looked like the love thoughts of women

So, the Sexiest Man Alive thing is out again, coinciding with this rather wonderful quote I found and put as the title. This is my own little list of faaaiiiinnneee men (actors only). I made it under 40...just so that I put pics of people other than Johnny Depp..
Enjoy!

Tom Sturridge- though he is practically a beggar, god does he look good....

Ryan Gosling- My earthquake man, I can never get enough...

Andrew Garfield- Pretty darn perfect

Daniel Radcliffe- 'Cuz being funny does matter.

Ian Somerhalder- Them eyes...

Joseph Gordon-Levitt- adorable till the end of days. Love his smile!

Matthew Goode- Brits make me go high

Leonard Di Caprio- He is my Jack and my Romeo

Jensen Ackles- I like manly men...sometimes

James McAvoy- The accent kills me.

Ewan Mcgregor- He's brilliant!

Jesse Eisenberg- I love Nerds



Of course I missed out someone...who??

BEST ROMANTIC FILMS EVER

I’ve been meaning to put up such a list for quite some time now. Unfortunately I really believe I’ll forget if I don’t put it up now-in the disgustingly auspicious occasion of Valentine’s Day- proof that man has finally put a price on love. 

I have always aspired to be film critic, though now I prefer the profession of a filmmaker. Nevertheless, being raised up in a purely Bollywood environment, the most impactful genre in my life has been that of romance. Love makes the world go round, films seem more magical and Valentine’s Days more painful.

This is my list of the best romance films ever (in no particular order as I am incapable of choosing a best movie):

     ©     Titanic- Lets start with the obvious. The Epic Movie. I refuse to find Avatar better than this. To find love in one of the greatest tragedies that the world has known is incredible. This film covers the star-crossed lovers theme and brings to us two absolutely unforgettable performances- Kate Winslet is divine as Rose, the rich girl who hates her life, and of course, one of the greatest male characters of all time the gorgeous, protective, artistic and just sublimely human in every way-Jack Dawson played to perfection by Leonardo Di Caprio. This film was the biggest rage ever. The flying scene, the “I’m the king of the world”, the old Rose, the ship, the effects, the emotions, the sinking scene, the villain, all the characters, the ambiguous ending and of course Celine Dion’s ballad My Heart Will Go On cannot be but remembered forever. Jack and Rose’s love is one which will be remembered forever.

 ©     Wicker Park- True I watched this in my Josh Hartnett obsession period, but it has ended up becoming one of my favourites. This movie is more of an obsession-based movie than a love-based one, but in view of my obsession with love, I do not wish to differ. This is the story of a man whose greatest love in life leaves him without telling him anything. But two years, down the line, he sees her again and seeks to find an answer and their love again, despite being on the brink of an engagement to another woman. Josh Hartnett is simply superb in this film. One can feel his obsession, his love, his loss, his anguish and his happiness as one’s own. Diane Kruger is like a mystical creature in the movie, with whom one cannot help but fall in love with. Matthew Lillard is absolutely adorable as Josh’s best friend and the only unfortunate character in the movie. And obviously Rose Byrne is excellent as the obsessed, envious and desperate tragic villain, a character I strongly suspect I’m going to resemble later on in life. The music is amazing and the ending unforgettable.

©     Moulin Rouge- “To believe in Truth, Beauty, Freedom, and above all things, Love.” Need I say more? As I said earlier, I am incapable of choosing a favourite movie but if my life depended on it, Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge would be my answer. In the future I might be like Rose Byrne, but if I lived in the 19^th century, and was a man, who could sing- I would have been Ewan McGregor’s character Christian. I, the penniless, hopeless romantic who had to fall for the most beautiful woman in the world- Satine. Nicole Kidman’s Oscar-nominated role as a Parisian courtesan is the ephemeral object of every man’s desire. The diabolical Duke is your everyday villain who sings Just Like A Virgin. Add a whole lot of crazy, eccentric characters and popular 20^th century songs and viola, you get Moulin Rouge. Seems easy to describe but it really isn’t. Even after watching it for like 50 times. Everything, and I mean everything in this movie moves me to such an extent. The idea, the setting, the songs, the characters, the filming style- everything. This film made the world a simpler and more beautiful place for me as I truly understood what it meant to be a Romantic. After all,

           “The Greatest Thing you’ll Ever Learn, is Just to Love and Be Loved in Return.”

©     Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind- The name is from the poem, as posted earlier, Eloisa to Abelard in which Eloisa prays to God to remove the memories of her lost love Abelard from her heart. In the movie however, Clementine removes the memories of her love-hate relationship with her present boyfriend Joel from her brain using a new technology on an impulse. The shocked and heartbroken Joel decides to do the same with her. Easy and scientific one might say. Except matters of the heart cannot be removed by destroying certain brain cells. This is an absolutely spectacular movie about love, hate, memories and the labyrinth that is life. Clementine is the brilliant Kate Winslet again- a blue/orange haired impulsive woman. Joel is played by funny man Jim Carrey who embraces the very different role of lovelorn and confused Joel. Their love is tumulous, cute and so weird and different, just like the movie, that it is completely believable. The cinematography is ground-breaking and the ending is one of the best and most realistic ever.

©     Edward Scissorhands- Tim Burton + Johnny Depp + Winona Ryder + Scissorhands = Pure Movie Magic. This absolutely incredible tale of a robotic social outcast with scissors for hands, who finds home and love in a colour-coordinated little sunny town because of a makeup sales-woman, is one of the best ever. This film made huge careers for Tim Burton and Johnny Depp. My personal favourite Depp character, Edward Scissorhands is an incredible man whose innocence, talent and love for the beautiful Kim moves one and all. One of my favourite moments in the film is when he makes the snow figure for her and how she dances in the snow. I also love the way Winona Ryder narrates in the end, “Sometimes you can still catch me dancing in the snow.” I just love this film for all that it is- dark, magical and lovely.

©     Forrest Gump- Though most people do not consider it a romantic movie, I seriously consider this Robert Zemeckis-Tom Hanks classic one. The narration, the brilliant cultural references, the storyline, everything is just to help progress the simple story of lifelong love. Forrest loved his Jenny and did everything for her. Though he has mental defects and doesn’t see life the way most of us do, but his devotion to the most important and necessary thing in life is extraordinary- love. His simplicity in absurd conditions and situations is the supposed idea, but it is only through his true love for Jenny and later their son Forrest, which makes us see that he understood all and felt all. I love Tom Hanks in this role and I love Robin Wright Penn as Jenny. This is an extraordinary film about love and thus I consider it as one of my favourites.

©     Pride and Prejudice- I strongly refer to the 2005 one with Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet and Matthew Macfadyen as Fitzwilliam Darcy. True there are other adaptations of the best-known Jane Austen novel, but nothing comes as close to the wonderful text as this one. The historic battle for pride, prejudice, and love has been read and re-read for ages. Keira Knightley’s Lizzy is sweet, caring, unconventional, and full of personal pride. Mr. Darcy is rich, cold, and handsome yet loving. This is the only truly brilliant Austen novel and watching t played out on screen is just brilliant!

©     Casablanca- For many, this will be considered as saving the best for last. Lets face it- this movie is just AWESOME! Forget Jack and Rose and Clementine and Joel and Christian and Satine and Forrest and Jenny- it was always Rick and Ilsa, i.e. Bogart and Bergman. This is the classic of all classics. Even as time goes by, we will never forget this film. The true origin of love lost and found comes from here. Set in Casablanca, Morocco, with the backdrop of the Second World War, we are instantly drawn to the aloof and charming owner of Rick’s Americano played by the legend Humphrey Bogart. While we are in awe of our hero, we are mesmerized by the introduction of the heroine- the goddess, Ingrid Bergman. Their love is legendary. This film is EPIC! And the line “Here’s looking at you kid” blows Gone With The Wind out of the friggin universe.

With that quite informal summary, I have come to an end of my list. Other notable mentions would be Memoirs of a Geisha, Unfaithful, and Vicky Christina Barcelona. One may notice that most of the movies, 5 out of 8 to be exact don’t have a conventional happy ending. Well, I love my tragic endings because for me, they make the movie so much more real.