Thoughts

          Hello everyone! So guess what? My exams have been postponed for another month which is great news except that they are starting the same day as the new ANTM cycle which is the Guys and Girls cycle AKA my most anticipated thing on TV ever! Gahhhhhhh.
           Don't judge me.

1) Gary Oldman is eyeing Benedict Cumberbatch and Ralph Fiennes for his second directorial feature, Flying Horse. It will be about a photographer who murders a theatre critic who is having an affair with his wife. I think this will be excellent. All of them should definitely act together, even though Oldman has separately costarred with both the actors- with Cumberbatch in Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy and with Fiennes in the Harry Potter movies. Honestly though, if the Harry Potter films were still being made, Cumberbatch would have definitely made it into its gargantuan British cast. He could have been a Death Eater, or maybe a younger version of Snape. Yes! They should actually make a Snape spin-off with Cumberbatch- I will not mind one bit. Anyways, I want Flying Horse now!

2) Speaking of other Hogwarts alumni, Emma Watson is going to reteam with Harry Potter producer David Heyman in Queen of the Tearling, the adaptation of the first book in a trilogy. The story is "set three centuries after an environmental catastrophe when a malevolent Red Queen holds considerable power". People are calling it the Game of Thrones for women, which makes no actual sense if you watch the show- the women are the biggest badasses in Westeros. Like duhhh. Still, I am really happy that Watson is going places, though I don't know if another blockbuster series is a good idea. Having said that, she has already played one of the most inspiring female role models in recent times so she is an apt choice for this.

3) This news came out on the morning of the day Matt Smith announced his retirement which was when my world ended. Anyhoo, Karen Gillan, Smith's ex-costar and companion on Doctor Who, is going to play a lead villain in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie, which is brilliant! She will be a baddie alongside another beautiful tall person, Lee Pace, and Michael Rooker. Rumours suggest that she will play a bounty-hunter named Angela but we will see if that's true or not. The film will also star Chris Pratt, John C. Reily, Zoe Saldana and Glenn Close. So happy for Gillan- redheads FTW!

4) Other casting news- Eddie Redmayne is going to play Stephen Hawking in Theory of Everything. The film will chronicle that period of Hawking's life when he was diagnosed with motor neuron disease and was told he has a couple of years to live, causing him to go into depression and have problems with his to-be wife. It sounds like a very demanding, dramatic role and it will be interesting to see what Redmayne does with it. It will be directed by Man on Wire director, James Marsh. Next, Leonardo DiCaprio is going to play Rasputin and Jason Hall, the screenwriter who wrote the upcoming Steven Spielberg-Bradley Cooper movie American Sniper, is going to pen the script. It's still very much in early development but it sounds cool and weird and I'm glad to see that Leo is still after that Oscar. GIVE HIM THAT OSCAR, YOU BASTARDS! Finally, the dude who did win the Oscar, Christoph Waltz might be starring in Roman Polanski's True Crimes which is based on a New Yorker article about a Polish detective solving a cold case that leads him into Poland's underworld. Waltz has worked with Polanski on the delightful Carnage, where he outshone everyone else, and it would be very cool to see Waltz do something subdued and grim like this.

5) Oh btw, are you guys listening to our podcast? You can click on the page above named "Across the Universe Podcast" to listen :)

6) I am on such a Bollywood music binge right now, all because of Yeh Jawaan Hai Deewani. This song in particular-

Yes I am plugging a song in a language most of you don't understand about a festival most of you don't celebrate but imagine there's no countries, it isn't hard to do etcetera etcetera. THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!

7) Posters- Well, not actual posters but discarded ones in fact. Spike Lee's Oldboy remake starring Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen and Sharlto Copley didn't use these 4 posters but I think they're pretty cool, especially the trunk one.

8) Trailers- Touchy Feely made by Lynn Shelton who direcred the wonderful Your Sister's Sister, looks just as sweet and touching (haha get it?). This too stars Rosemary DeWitt, along with Ellen Page, Scoot McNairy and Allison Janney. Filth has another awesomely disgusting red-band trailer out. I really want to watch this. The Way, Way Back looks very good too. Loving Steve Carell and Sam Rockwell in it. 300: Rise of an Empire looks as over the top as one would expect. It kind of sucks that the main guy isn't hot but hey, Eva Green is one gorgeous lady. The trailer to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has me concerned as it somehow features more Legolas than Bilbo. Also I disapprove of us not hearing Benedict Cumberbatch's voice in it. Thank god for all the Lee Pace though. Pretty elf is pretty. Naomi Watts-starrer Diana has a teaser out and it looks very boring, though I have faith in her. Aside from her exciting new project, Karen Gillan is also the star of Not Another Happy Ending which looks cute albeit predictable but I love her so I will watch it. Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer star in gangster-family-comedy The Family, erstwhile known as the v. exotic Malavita, and I might watch it. Might. The trailer of the week/fortnight is *obviously* Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine. It looks amazing and I'm really loving Cate Blanchett losing her mind and Sally Hawkins being just awesome. Two Oscars please.

9) Finally, how awesome is Hannibal? And Mads Mikkelsen? I give you-

Mads Mikkelsen

Sads Mikkelsen

Glads Mikkelsen

Bads Mikkelsen

Knee-pads Mikkelsen

Rads Mikkelsen

Plaids Mikkelsen

Cool-dads Mikkelsen

Honestly, I just wanted a lot of Mads Mikkelsen on my blog. Muahahahahaa.

Be careful of what or who you are eating. Good bye!

"I see a rhinoceros!"- FAVOURITE PERFORMANCES AND ENSEMBLES OF 2011

       FAVOURITE PERFORMANCES

          This year had a few major breakthroughs, the most notable being Jessica Chastain. La Chastain is beautiful and lovely and on her way to becoming a great actress. Anyways, here's my list-


Honourable Mentions- Ezra Miller in We Need to Talk About Kevin, Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis in The Help, Mia Wasikowska in Jane Eyre, Craig Roberts in Submarine, Hunter McCracken in The Tree of Life, Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter 8.

Special Mention- Michael Fassbender

I haven't seen Shame yet. If I had seen it, I am pretty sure Fassy would have been in this list. The trailers make me go crazy.

20.

Jessica Chastain in EVERYTHING

I cannot choose. She was a darling in her Oscar-nominated role in The Help, the face of grace itself in The Tree of Life and the strength behind Michael Shannon's character in Take Shelter. I haven't seen The Debt, but I am sure I would have liked her in that too. I think this is only the beginning for her, and she will give even better performances in the future.

19.

Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids

I have loved her ever since Gilmore Girls. People think she's a comedian and she's just being funny here, but it's such a different kind of funny. She's adorable, but Megan verges on being scary. In a way it is almost as no-holds-barred a performance as Rooney Mara's was in Dragon Tattoo. But comedy is given such less attention. I'm so happy she got her Oscar nomination for this (my pick if they would only listen).

18.

Christopher Plummer in Beginners

He is such a darling in this film. A breath of freshness even though he is an old man. I think everyone would love a dad or a granddad or a friend like Hal, and that's only because Plummer plays him with so much care and affection .

17.

Albert Brooks in Drive

Oh cruel Oscar snubbery. This was such a creepy role, played with so much ease. He was a great villain. Something about the way he talked was so brilliant; I can hear that voice whenever I think about him and it is so sinister. That is how awesome he was.

16.

Joel Courtney in Super 8

I have written about this before. He was natural and sweet and just a real kid. I love his performance because it makes me feel all warm inside.

15.

Shailene Woodley in The Descendants

She was the best friggin' part of this film. Like Joel Courtney, it was such a naturalistic performance. And she is sassy and funny and beautifully emotional (that pool scene) and holds her own against a massive star like George Clooney with the utmost ease. Kudos.

14.

Michael Shannon in Take Shelter

With his imposing height and that weirdly fantastic face, Shannon often plays the half-crazed guy. But the sadness and despair in his performance in this film, along with the impending insanity, is something else. It is quite a heart-breaking performance, and he does it excellently.

13.

Ewan McGregor in Beginners

*Sigh* When will the world just accept the brilliance of Ewan McGregor? He delivers one fantastic performance one after the other, and no one notices. Oliver is exactly like that. Subtle, sad, quirky, sweet- he is so lovely in this film. Even though all three leads + dog are all fantastic, I am most blown away by the simplicity of McGregor's acting.

12.

Brad Pitt in The Tree of Life

Yes the first time I saw this film, I was extremely annoyed with his character. He seemed plain awful. But on the second viewing, I understood him so much better. He is strict, yes, but he is also loving in his own way. He was actually the most multi-faceted character in the film. It was a simple role in which Pitt gave his better performance of the year.

11.

Elizabeth Olsen in Martha Marcy May Marlene

I loved her in this. Most of the film focuses on her face, as we try to understand what is she thinking. Though she seems aloof, she is mostly scared or confused of what is happening to her and seemingly around her. It is a complicated performance, one that could have been boring or overly-dramatic, but she does it absolutely with the expertise of a veteran, even though this is her big screen debut.

10.

Owen Wilson in Midnight in Paris

Even though he is the Woody-doppelganger in this, Wilson makes this role his own in every way. His natural comedic talent makes his performance so genuine. We don't only want to be him because of all the wonderful things that happen to him, we want to be him because he is a really good, smart and fun guy. 

9.

Alan Rickman in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Yes I did take all the films into consideration, but mainly this one. He is so heart-breaking in this film. A great character portrayed by one of the best actors working today. No one could have played Snape. Ever. I salute you Alan Rickman.

8.

Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn

I thought she was spectacular in this. We all have our ideas about who Marilyn Monroe really was, and I think Williams captured mine almost perfectly. I love the mystery behind Monroe's onscreen glee. Williams was incredible in both her happy parts and her sad parts, and it will be a performance I won't stop thinking about anytime soon.

7.

Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia

I love how soul-sucking she is in this, but what is magnificent is that how her own soul suffers first. It is a brave performance, though an almost uncomfortable one to watch. I love Dunst and how usually bubbly she is, but Justine is very much the opposite. And she plays her superbly.

6.

Tilda Swinton in We Need to Talk About Kevin

This woman constantly amazes me more and more. Her despair and horror and occasional awfulness in this film is so harrowing. Even though we don't want to put ourselves in her position and understand what she is going through, Swinton's performance makes us do that. It is unnerving.

5.

Jean Dujardin in The Artist

In a year in which had all the Hollywood heartthrobs starring in films, an unknown French man in a black and white silent movie ends up being the one that charms us the most. That is artistry.

4.

Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

It must be difficult to take such a beloved character, that has already been portrayed once and to much acclaim, and make it her own. But Mara manages to do this perfectly. Her quirky and mad Lisbeth is unique and brilliant and it is a bloody ballsy performance that no one will be able to forget in a long time.

3.

Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

When in The Hollywood Reporter actors' roundtable Christopher Plummer was asked what makes a great actor, he answered that it was the great rage which is something Gary Oldman possesses. His words, not mine. Of course I agree completely, and this is what makes George Smiley exceptional because he is so restrained and collected. He seems to be doing nothing, but you understand that a great mind is at work. It is an astonishing performance, one which has been thankfully rewarded by many.

2.

Charlize Theron in Young Adult

I deemed Mavis Gary as one of my role models as soon as I saw the film. It was because she was awesome and kind of crazy, but as time has passed, I have really grown to appreciate the performance, and Charlize Theron's guts for doing it such great justice. I mean, Mavis is a total bitch, and no one should like her at all. But we still get her, and even feel sorry for her at times, however reluctantly. It is not easy to be someone that realistically unlikable, and Theron is just so spot-on with it. She has made me a real fan after this.

1.

Ryan Gosling in Drive

Uh duh. It was the Year of the Gos people, who else could you expect to be number 1? The Driver is just fantastic. The control, the silence, the loneliness, the smiles, the anger, the violence. It is a film that will be spoken about for ages, and Gosling as the Driver will be remembered forever.

FAVOURITE ENSEMBLES

         Since we are talking about best performances, I thought best ensembles are also in order. It is difficult to have one great performance in a film, and when everyone in the film is amazing, that's quite something else. These are my picks.

Honourable mentions: The men of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the women of Bridesmaids, and the men and women of Carnage.

5.

Super 8

All these kids were fantastic. J.J. Abrams wanted to make one of those old Spileberg films with kids, and he got the perfect cast of child actors. 

4.

A Separation

A most affecting film, mostly because the honest performances by everyone in it. My heart breaks most for the children of course, and they too were incredible in it.

3.

Beginners

The three leads are adorable. That dog makes me reevaluate my overwhelming fear of his species. Also Mary Page Keller, who has minor role as Oliver's mother, is quite brilliant. A great cast altogether.

2.

Midnight in Paris

What is this film without its million superb characters from a different and magical era? Fitzgeralds, Hemingway, surrealists (Adrien Brody is my favourite cameo of the year) and of course Owen Wilson as Gil and  Marion Cotillard as Adrianna. And the awful people from today, and the first lady of France. It is quite a dream of an ensemble.

1.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

This series employed the majority of the British film industry for the last decade. I mean when in BAFTAs the reporters were talking about TTSS being an outstanding British film which has many of its members, I wanted to throw a Grawp at them. Come on! Everyone in this is awesome. They are a part of my childhood. I will never forget anyone and love them for all eternity.

OSCAR NOMS ARE OUT!

One question- what is Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close?
            This film has been absent from almost every awards or awards discussion that I have seen or read. And here it is, as one of the nine Best Film nominees. I mean they must really love Stephen Daldry (I shouldn't be one to talk- literally just finished The Hours and yes the film was tad bit better). Also Max von Sydow (who?) bagged the Best Supporting Actor nomination over the likes of Albert Brooks (whaaaaaat- grumblegrumblegrumble).


         Obviously Harry Potter didn't get much love (why oh why?), but the best thing EVER happened with Gary Oldman FINALLY getting nominated for his brilliant performance in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Potterheads and Sex Pistols fans are proud of you, Mr. Oldman. 


         I'm almost as excited for Rooney Mara as and in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids and Jessica Chastain in The Help. What I'm not happy about is the exclusion of the brilliant The Adventures of Tintin from the Best Animated film category and the overwhelming love for the sap-fest that is War Horse.


Okay so my Expectations vs Reality is as follows-


Best Film: 7 out of 9- I thought the Oscars was better than War Horse and again, what is Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close?


Best Director: 5 out of 5- Yes dreaming about Refn getting nominated was a bit of an overshoot, but yaay for Malick!


Best Actress: 5 out of 5- I did predict all 5, but I am saddened by the exclusion of Tilda Swinton and Kirsten Dunst, and the inclusion of Glenn Close. However, having seen The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo just yesterday itself, I am completely won over by Mara.


Best Actor: 4 out of 5- Demian Bichir got a nomination. No Golsing or Fassy, but Oldman is there, so yaay!


Best Supporting Actress: 5 out of 5- But what, no Shailene Woodley?! She was the best part of The Descendants! So happy for Melissa McCarthy.


Best Supporting Actor: 3 out of 5- Nick Nolte and Max von Sydow were not in my list, which is still wayyy better than this little Oscar thing.


Best Original Screenplay: 4 out of 5- Even though I do not like Bridesmaids so much and think Mean Girls was a far more superior film, it gives me joy to think of Kristen Wiig as an Oscar nominee. No Margin Call in my list, but good for the Oscars for nominating Asghar Farhadi for that beautiful script of A Separation.


Best Adapted Screenpaly: 4 out of 5- I did not even think about The Ides of March but yaay for TTSS!


Other ideas-
- Yaay for Jane Eyre and its nomination for Costume Design.
- Yaay for Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall for getting nominated again!
- Ugh that score for War Horse got nominated. I ask you- did you not expect the Von Trapp children to start singing suddenly from among the mountains whenever it played? And then they didn't even show up! Grumblegrumblegrumblegrumble.
- That song from Rio got nominated in which everyone sang, Including Jesse Eisenberg. Yaay for him!
-Hugo's 11 nominations!!
- I am sort of happy, and sort of pissed. The Academy has done its job. Yaaaayy! Now we wait for 26th February, and go a bit insane in the process.

HELLO OSCAR NOMS!

       Oscar nominations will be announced in less than 2 days. Yaay! I still haven't seen 3 films that I think can score big here- Shame, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and My Week with Marilyn. Still, the following are my wish-lists/predictions for the Big 5 and the Supporting categories.


Best Film- Trickiest category because no one knows how many there will be.


Mine:  1) The Artist
2) Midnight in Paris
3) Hugo
4) Drive
5) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
6) The Tree of Life
7) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
8) A Separation


Theirs: Them heartless voters will kick poor Harry out, and have The Descendants in its place. Then probably Moneyball in place of Drive, The Help in place of The Tree of Life and maybe Bridesmaids in place of Dragon Tattoo. A Separation won't be nominated here.


Winner: It has become a The Artist vs The Descendants race, but the best part of this award season is still how relatively flexible it is. Between those two, The Artist has my vote. Otherwise I think A Separation is the most flawless film I've seen all year, and Drive is insanely cool.




Best Director- Oh happy happy year. Something old and something new, and everything is just amazing.


Mine: 1)Martin Scorsese, Hugo
2) Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
3) Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
4) Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
5) Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life


Theirs: Either Refn or Malick will be replaced by Alexander Payne for The Descendants. David Fincher is being showered with love for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, so who knows what that will bring. Steven Spielberg is being considered for War Horse, though personally I would prefer if he were nominated for Tintin.


Winner: Scorsese or Refn, in my eyes. But my gut says Hazanavicius.




Best Actress- This was difficult, and also I haven't seen 3 of the performances that will probably make the cut.


Mine: 1) Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
2) Kirsten Dunst, Melancholia
3) Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene
4) Viola Davis, The Help
5) Charlize Theron, Young Adult


Theirs: Olsen isn't getting any love, most unfortunately. We can all count Meryl Streep in, for her role in The Iron Lady. Theron will also be substituted by Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn. Glenn Close will replace poor Kiki for that awful Albert Nobbs and Tilda, the Goddess, may find herself kicked out in favour of Rooney Mara, for Dragon Tattoo.


Winner- Among the ones I have seen, I think Tilda Swinton was just incredible. But it may become a Meryl vs Viola thing this year, and I can't help but be pro-Meryl, because she IS Meryl "Fuckin" Streep!




Best Actor- Ooh. What a year. Beauties, all of them.


Mine: 1) Ryan Gosling, Drive
2) Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
3) Jean Dujardin, The Artist
4) Ewan McGregor, Beginners
5) George Clooney, The Descendants


Special wish: Daniel Radcliffe- because they had a FYC for him and this was his best performance as Harry Potter ever, and because he IS Harry Potter.


Theirs: They will never nominate McGregor because they are all bastards and do not appreciate that man. Gosling won't get nominated either and if that does happen, it will be for his performance in The Ides of March, who we all know was someone the Driver could kill in a lift at any point of time. Brad Pitt will be nominated for Moneyball. Michael Fassbender might be nominated for Shame though it still might be too racy a role for them. Michael Shannon for Take Shelter (haven't seen that one either). Also maybe Leo for J.Edgar because they love him so.


Winner- Oldman is just so very very good. It's about time Academy recognises this. But it maybe a Ocean's/two-time Sexiest Men Alive face-off with Brad and George fighting for the top prize. Or everyone could have been completely charmed by Dujardin and give him the award.




Best Supporting Actress- This was the category I was least passionate about for some reason.


Mine: 1) Shailene Woodley, The Descendants
2) Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
3) Octavia Spencer, The Help
4) Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
5) Jessica Chastain, The Help/The Tree of Life


Theirs: I have a feeling this might be it. Chastain was apparently the best in Take Shelter so I don't know, but this WAS her year. Carey Mulligan may be nominated for Shame or Janet McTeer for Albert Nobbs.


Winner: I was really impressed with Woodley and McCarthy (yaay Gilmore Girls!). But Spencer is in the lead, and she was good enough.




Best Supporting Actor- I am proud of this one.


Mine: 1) Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 2 as Professor Severus Snape (I HAD to do that)
2) Albert Brooks, Drive
3) Christopher Plummer, Beginners
4) Hunter McCracken/Brad Pitt, The Tree of Life
5) Ezra Miller, We Need to Talk About Kevin


Theirs- Those bitches will never reward Rickman either. But I shall love him, always. Pitt will get nominated in the Actor category, but he was just better in this role. Jonah Hill was very good in Moneyball. Kenneth Branagh will be nominated for My Week with Marilyn. There is also chances for Viggo Mortensen for A Dangerous Method and all the people from The Ides of March. Whatever- my list rules all.


Winner- Plummer is the front-runner, though I still think Brooks was better. They're it really.




Best Original Screenplay- This is a good year for this category.


Mine: 1) Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
2) Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
3) Asghar Farhadi, A Separation
4) Mike Mills, Beginners
5) Diablo Cody, Young Adult


Theirs: I don't think Farhadi will get nominated. There are films like Bridesmaids, 50-50, Take Shelter, Shame and maybe even The Iron Lady (it's the power of the Streep) who can take the place.


Winner- Woody. I shall hear no more of this.




Best Adapted Screenplay- Honest question: how does someone decide this without having read the source material?


Mine: 1) Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
2) John Logan, Hugo
3) Moira Buffini, Jane Eyre
4) Yasmina Reza and Roman Polanski, Carnage
5) Steven Zaillian, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo


Theirs: The Help and The Descendants is a lock. Maybe even Moneyball. From my list, I think only Hugo and maybe Dragon Tattoo will make it through.


Winner: TTSS really impressed me, but they love The Descendants.




My winners are sort of preliminary, but I don't think my final decisions will be all that different.
And now we wait...

Thoughts

Yaay January is upon us! This is the first Thoughts post of the new year, and my thoughts are thus:


1) First of all, I made a Facebook page for this blog. It was something made out of curiosity. The app for it is on the side of this page. Please like it if you want to :)


2) So Golden Globes is round the corner. Honestly the biggest reason I'm waiting for this is to see Ryan Gosling in a suit. But they are fun, as one expects them to be. They are doing their job, unlike the BAFTAs. That treacherous awards show- WHY IS HARRY POTTER SHORTLISTED FOR ONLY 3 CATEGORIES?! AND NOT EVEN FOR BEST PICTURE! It only just employed the majority of the British film industry for the last 10 years or so!!!!!!! So what if they gave a special contribution award last year. They should also consider it in the best picture race. If they don't consider it the best, how will they ever hope for it to get any recognition elsewhere?! I mean GO PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS!! I am proud of the people, yes I am! Also Daniel Radcliffe said that he would be bummed if Alan Rickman doesn't even get nominated. He's Harry Potter- Listen To Him! And I swear if they do not get the Harry Potter people to present in the Oscars this year, the AMPAS will get hate mail every week for the rest of my life. Everyone from Twilight has presented, including Taylor Lautner (I'm sorry but I just do not understand how he gets to act in movies). And Miley Cyrus. And Katherine Heigl. 


3) But on the bright side, an Indian film- Dhobi Ghat (which I haven't seen yet but really do want to see as it's an Aamir Khan production) is short-listed in the non-English film category. Obviously A Separation should win this without a glitch, but it is nice to see that an Indian film at least stood a chance at some point.


4) I was randomly watching the 79th Academy Awards today on Youtube. I really liked Ellen Degeneres as the host- I hope she comes back some day. Also, this was the year Gosling got nominated, so I was happy to see him. Plus The Devil Wears Prada brilliance.


5) Trailers: Silent House starring Elizabeth Olsen. It's a horror film set in real time. I don't think I have ever seen a real time film so this does look interesting, though I would like to see her do something a little different from the paranoia thing in the future. Friends with Kids, in which four of the cast members are from Bridesmaids, and the two that aren't are the protagonists. I'm only watching this for Chris O' Dowd and Jon Hamm (did I mention I started Mad Men this week?- He's too good-looking to be true). This trailer probably came out a while back but I have somehow ignored all news about this film- The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I saw the Top Gear India special, and it is really hilarious to see the modern outlook of Brits towards India. I quite love the cast, especially Judy Dench, Maggie Smith and Bill Nighy, and it will be interesting. I like how other countries always look more colourful, though India really is very very orange. The last trailer is the most amazing thing ever that just released and I had almost published this post without it- Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom. Oh the happiness and quirkiness and epicness of Wes Anderson films! Cannot wait for this!! Finally, the studios have released the opening sequence of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It's magnificent; I nearly cried out of joy, love, awesomeness and anticipation. It is very Bond-esque, but in a much more darker, visceral, black way. It's probably banned in UAE, so I do not know when I will get to see it. Curses.


6) Awards talk: Continuing from above, Dragon Tattoo has been nominated for the PGA, DGA and WGA. I did not expect this. The reviews have not been that amazing, and though I'm pretty sure I will love it, I didn't think it will become such a critical darling out of nowhere. This is what I think happened- everyone just woke up from the nightmare that they have given The King's Speech all the awards over The Social Network, only to realise that they really had done so in some drunken stupour, and are now trying to make amends with Dragon Tattoo. Such madness! Also, the "award worthy" films that I have seen in the last two weeks are- first, Midnight in Paris, which was how I started 2012. As I said I was watching the Oscars, and this was when Scorsese finally won for The Departed- wouldn't it be great if Woody Allen gets recognised like this also? People forget because of his film making-speed that it has been a while for him since he has won any awards. I am harbouring hope for the Best Original Screenplay category. I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 2. I will speak about this on a separate post, though you have gotten a preview above. Then there was Young Adult- I really loved Charlize Theron in it, and even though I haven't seen My Week with Marilyn yet, I am wishing that she bags the Best Actress Comedy in the Globes. Mavis Gary is my new role model. Patton Oswalt was adorable, but Rickman > Oswalt. Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy, for which Gary Oldman must get nominated at least. It's masterful acting that he does here- so reserved, so internalised, but so very excellent too. Added to this, I think Art Direction is fantastic, and so is Sound Mixing/Editing (I forget the difference). Carnage, which everyone forgot about but the Globes (point for Globes!). I had a lot of fun watching it. I don't think I was really that drawn to any of the performances individually except that of Christoph Waltz's, but that's mostly because his character was so delicious, but collectively it was a very enjoyable film. Lastly I saw War Horse. I did not like it- wayyy too much cheese on my plate if you know what I mean. I do not want it to get nominated for anything- more on this later on as well. Also, Jeremy Irvine is adorable and I hate the lack of info on him on the usually omniscient (or atleast that's what I think) internet . Plus, I could not stop giggling in, and after, the Tom Hiddleston scenes- he was the exact image of my gorgeous-and-earnest-soldier-man fantasy. I hope he wins the presently misogynistic Orange Rising Star award in BAFTAs.


7) Finally- since I spoke of BAFTAs so much, and the next (and last *sniff*) episode of this season of Sherlock comes out this week, and I'm still Mrs. Dent Watson Baggins Freeman, I present to you my Fake Husband Prime-

'Nuff said.

Toodles!

Evil is as Evil does

Video- Cinematic Villains

NYTimes did the classic silent movie types last year, and this year they are back with Touch of Evil, showing the 13 actors who have given some of the best performances of 2011 as famous cinematic villain types. I love this! Seeing that one of the biggest films this year has ended up being The Artist, maybe unintentionally this will start some sort of trend. And this would be very cool because I adore villains (MUHAHAHAHAHAHAAA). So as my limited film knowledge is failing me yet again (I haven't even seen Touch of Evil), like last year, I will just give my thoughts on the actors and their little skits-

* The ones who I don't know.

1) Brad Pitt- Henry Spencer in Eraserhead (he sort of looks like Gollum in the end) .

2) Rooney Mara-Alex Delarge in A Clockwork Orange (gorgeousity).

3) Gary Oldman- Fats in Magic (He disturbingly resembles one very famous Indian actor-director Raj Kapoor in this. Good).

4) Mia Wasikowska*- The Homewrecker (plain love... kind of reminds me of Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity.)

5) Ryan Gosling- The Invisible Man (ugh, he should totally play this...).

6) George Clooney- Captain Bligh in Mutiny on the Bounty (I'm sorry, but bahaha for the eyebrows).

7) Viola Davis- Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (scary shit...no idea where the bugs came from).

8) Kirsten Dunst- Carol in Repulsion (there's a reason why she sort of invented the manic pixie girl ideal... so much allure, and then just stuff of nightmares).

9) Michael Shannon- Gordon Gekko from Wall Street (the papers were too distracting and unnatural).

10) Jessica Chastain*- The Firestarter (and this is why the whole world wants her- superb).

11) Jean Dujardin*- It's apparently from Green Street Hooligans (very energetic... not that malevolent).

12) Adepero Oduye- Bonnie Parker from Bonnie and Clyde (how is this villainous? It's sad, and melodramatic like Jennifer Lawrence last year).

13) Glenn Close*- The Vamp (sort of in the style of Norma Desmond... her icy cold eyes that have made her so famous help her immensely).

My favourites- women rule with Mara, Wasikowska, Dunst, Davis, Chastain and Close all being absolutely spot on. In the men, it's the Year of the Goz, so how can he not be bloody brilliant? I sort of liked the minimalistic monochrome of last year's better, but with ones like Gosling's, Mara's, Wasikowska's and Chastain's, it sort of makes sense why they went for the spectacular sets and effects. 

Enjoy :D

"Gryffindor House. Where dwell the brave at heart" ~ FAVOURITE HP CHARACTERS, PART 1

           One of the most unique and loved things about the Harry Potter films was its vast cast. Almost everyone in the British theatre/film scene was there in the films. I just love finding connections in other films with respect to Harry Potter. Like if Rufus Scrimgeour and Xenophilius Lovegood were pirate radio jockeys in the 60s, they would have been groovy awesome, and if Professor Slughorn and Madam Pomfrey got married, their daughter would be Bridget Jones (ie. my 30-something cinematic counterpart).


          There are just so many brilliant characters in the films and such fantastic actors playing them, young or old. In order for me to make a favourite characters list, I have to do it in a sort of tier-y way. This is because the depth with which certain characters have been explored in the films. Some major characters have very less said about them, and just movie-wise, they do not hold the same ground, for me, as the other ones who I can basically write theses on (whether I actually do, is a whole another thing).


       So this list today is of the characters that unfortunately got too little screentime, but were excellent nonetheless.

1) Professor Minerva McGonagall, played by Dame Maggie Smith- I would imagine RESPECT playing in the background for her, but I don't think she would have approved of it...at least not in public. McGonagall ended up being one of the sassiest, strongest and most exceptional characters in the films. And who could have played her but Maggie Smith? From the books, we always knew her "stern" face, but the silent humour in her orders, and the little smiles that she gave when required made her so much more. A friend of Dumbledore since the beginning, and a pillar of Hogwarts, and obviously- one helluva House-mistress, McGonagall's very just rod of discipline spared no one. Having two teachers for parents, and growing up with teachers always around, McGonagall would have been a dream professor for me. The stern-ness is only the outer layer for all the strength within, and a fierce loyalty. The crowning moment for her was in Deathly Hallows, part 2 ofcourse- from fighting off Snape to spectacularly to bringing to life the statues of Hogwarts, like she always wanted to! Also "Babbling bumbling band of baboons" - I honestly think that that was improv.

2) Sirius Black, played by Gary Oldman- People often name Prisoner of Azkaban as their favourite HP film. I too think it is one of the best, and possibly the biggest reason why is the mind-blastingly genius idea of casting Gary Oldman as the mysterious and allegedly mental Sirius Black. He's perfect! Firstly there's the madness- who can forget that um..mugshot of the raving lunatic screaming the most horrifying scream, even if we don't hear it. Then there is the compassionate and brave Sirius, who can punch and win from any Malfoy any day. Most importantly, there was the relationship between him and Harry, that save that with Hermione, and maybe Ron, was the most genuine one in the films. The relationship was the direct outcome of the chemistry between Oldman and Daniel Radcliffe, the latter being an ardent admirer of former's work, and the former then inadvertently becoming the coolest possible mentor to the latter. I love every frame of theirs together. Sirius, like McGonagall was never explored in the books. He certainly rates high in my curiosity department because I cannot, for the life of me, understand why he had no romantic history that was even hinted at. Sirius was said to be one of the best looking characters ever, and Oldman with his Vicious-y past and Russian prisoner tattoos could have really really exploited that, but nothing. Still, it was a joy to see him. His death was very sad, but the expression on his face was more sorrowful than anything else...a smile to show that he had gone back to his friends.

3) Headmaster Professor Albus Dumbledore, played by the late Richard Harris and Michael Gambon- What? Did I just? Did I just dare to put down the greatest sorcerer in all of the world as someone I didn't know enough? Yes I did. Now if I had been talking about the books, Dumbledore would have been in my top three. However the films did not do justice to his character. We didn't find out his back story, and the only time he seemed gay was with his knitting patterns-magazine. I personally liked Richard Harris as Dumbledore better. He was wiser, calmer, subtler...Dumbledorier. Gambon was more eccentric and, well, excited. I mean in Goblet of Fire, he practically strangled poor Harry after his name had come out from the Goblet...Dumbledore would never! In the Half-Blood Prince, we do see Dumbledore as his wise old self again...but a little too late. I just wish Sir Ian McKellen would have said yes! Then LOTR and HP could have been like really super rich and Oscar-amassing brothers. However, as Harris as Dumbledore said originally, "It does not do to dwell upon dreams," Dumbledore, even without his backstory and a more rightful portrayal, ended up being iconic and funny and reassuring. He will always be one of the things I will think about when I think of the word home- safe, crazy, warm and always there. His relationship with Harry is better in the books, but still, it is evident that he really loved Harry as a son and a friend throughout.

4) Professor Remus Lupin, played by David Thewlis- Being an eternal Ewan McGregor fan, I cannot help but keep wishing that he would have taken this role. Still, Thewlis was very very good. He possibly gave one of the most understated performances in the films. Since I saw all the films before watching the last one, I took a lot of notes about various things. One of the things I noticed was that in the latter films, whenever there was Lupin there, and he said like one or two lines, I instantly believed them because they were said by him. He was a really good man. I mean there were a lot of good men in the HP series, but they each had something else going for them- Harry had his history, Dumbledore had his genius, Snape had his love; but Lupin was just a very good person, and that's fine. True Lupin was a werewolf and fought that all his life, but for me atleast, that never came into the equation. He was a great professor, a loyal friend, a brave soldier, and it was these simple things that made him so fantastic. His whole tryst with Tonks was not really talked about in the films and they didn't even really mention his son Teddy, and his apprehensions regarding that. In the third film, he is a real mentor to Harry, and the time when there is him and Oldman and Alan Rickman in one frame *sigh*. Many people had felt really terrible when he died, but I think it was one of the most justified deaths because he was so lonely without his friends. The film didn't really show that either, but still Thewlis was an impressive Lupin throughout.


           I loved a great many other characters too, in particular Fred and George, played by Oliver and James Phelps, who were just robbed of their roles in the last film! I already spoke of Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes and Imelda Staunton in my Favourite HP Villains post, and they too were great roles. There are seven more characters to come after this, so stay tuned I guess.

My First Ever Terrible Movie Review- Red Riding Hood

Five words to describe Catherine Hardwicke's Red Riding Hood- A Homage to Jacob Fans.

           So the film starts with Valerie, the protagonist talking about her childhood, when she had befriended the woodcutter kid Peter, you know the one with the black clothes and spiky hair and coolio attitude, and she killed rabbits with him because she was oh so dark and unnatural. They lived in this ridiculous-looking medieval town where a werewolf had terrorised the villagers for a long time. Then she grows up, becoming Amanda Seyfried, and all the boys in the village want her. Her parents have gotten her engaged to the wealthy blacksmith's son Henry, but Valerie only has eyes for Peter. Obviously Henry and Peter are tall, fit, chiselled-jawed, pretty boys without whom no tale (or fairytale in this case) of teenage angst is remotely possible. One day, when she's out doing her "dark" stuff with Peter, the warning sirens start ringing, and going back into the village she finds out that the previous night the werewolf had killed her sister Lucie. This ends the truce between the villagers and the werewolf and they decide to hunt it down. In this Henry's father gets killed and they come with the head of a wolf, believing it's the wearwolf. But then a fanatical priest/werewolf-killer Father Solomon comes to the village, with his band of black men and a big metal elephant. He shows them the paw of a werewolf he had once hacked, which he carried in a box with him, and how it had changed back into a human hand when removed from the wolf. Thus the head was of a common grey wolf and not of the werewolf. But the villagers do not pay any heed to his comments and plan a celebration for their victory.


        What follows is the weirdest party ever. Peter is told by Valerie's mother to stay away for Valerie's happiness, and so he tries to convey this to her by dancing with some other girl...very sexily. And then Valerie starts dancing with a girl too, even more sexily (some medieval setting) and then she and Peter have a romantic tryst in the barn, which Henry sees. The party is then interrupted by the real werewolf, who attacks some of the villagers and Solomon's "trained assassins" who fail to capture it. Then Valerie and her friend Rovanne get cornered by the werewolf, whose growls can be understood by Valerie. He tells her that they will go away together and that's the only way he will not harm the other villagers. Valerie also notices that it has dark brown eyes. She tells Roxanne not to tell anyone otherwise she will be called a witch. One of Solomon's men gets bitten by the werewolf, and as it is the time of the Blood Moon, it will turn him into a werewolf. So Solomon, quite apathetically kills him, not heeding the man's brother's plees.


          Roxanne's autistic brother Claude is missing, and when the villagers find him, Solomon accuses him of practicing witchcraft and locks him in the metal elephant, which apparently is a torture device. Valerie meanwhile starts suspecting everyone- Peter, her red hood-giving grandmother, her friends, the village priest, Henry etc. She had found out that her mother had had an affair with Henry's father and Lucie was infact their love child, something unknown to her father, Cesaire. The werewolf had scratched her and Valerie's grandmother was taking care of her. Henry confronts Valerie about her relationship with Peter and they break off their engagement. Roxanen goes to ask Solomon to free Claude, offering him first money then her body, and finally as a last desperate resort, the knowledge of Valerie being a witch. She gets imprisoned and Peter and Henry plan to rescue her with the help of Cesaire. Valerie's grandma suspects that Henry was the werewolf and had lured Lucie, who was infatuated with him, outside the village and killed her. She goes to tell him that, but instead Henry starts blaming her, calling her the werewolf because of her smell, the same one he had smelt the day his father was killed.


         Valerie is made to wear a wolf-mask and her red hooded cloak and sit in the town square where the wolf will attack her. Instead Henry and Peter rescue her and when Henry tries to bring her into the church, for her protection, Solomon condemns her for being a witch. The werewolf then comes, and attacks more people, and bites off Solomon's hand. Valerie goes inside the holy ground and when the werewolf calls her out to go with him and save her village, she agrees. But all of the villagers make a wall between them and refuse to let Valerie sacrifice herself. The werewolf goes away as he cannot enter the holy ground. Enraged Solomon tries to harm Valerie, but one of his men, the same one with the dead brother, kills him as he had been bitten. Valerie that night has a dream in which her grandma is the wolf in the very true fairytale fashion. The next day Henry informs Valerie that he and some of the men are going after the werewolf and that Peter is still missing. 


         Here I leave you. Just know that the identity of the werewolf is revealed, there's another severed hand, there is mountain climbing of some sort, and Valerie and Peter filling someone with stones and throwing them in a random river, and the last shot of the film which literally made me think the line "Oh God, Sodomy."

        I gave the film a 3 out of 10. 1 point was for daring to do an "edgy" take on fairytales. First of all, what the hell does edgy mean? When I think of the word, I get images of haircuts in America's Next Top Model. I have never in my life seen anything, in films or outside, which has made me go "Now that's what I call edgy!" No, never. It is true that Little Red Riding Hood was a story used to tell children not to venture alone or trust strangers and there are versions which say that Red Riding Hood was in fact raped by the woodcutter disguised as the wolf or that the wolf ate everyone etcetra. I'm sure things like that have sinister origins, but the film does not explore it properly. My point is for the daring, not the take. The take is the annoying and overused formula of 'I'm a troubled teenager and my only salvation is to fall in love with something totally supernatural' and other things like suppressed sexual desires and whatnot. The story definitely had potential and if they would have been a bit more challenging and opted for a proper dark tale, instead of filling it up with failed innuendos and half-dreamy shots of love-making, maybe it could have been saved. They even had the whole witchcraft thing, but we were subjected to the idiotic metal elephant.


          The other point was for the look of the film. It is a very pretty looking film, but what is the point of it? Yes the red hooded-cloak against the snowy background looks very striking, yes the mountains and the conifers are lovely, but who the hell cares? The village looked ridiculous though. Now I generally don't do this, but I could not understand the geography of it. Or the history. What was that dance? I mean I'm pretty sure they would've burnt you at stake during those times just for dancing like that.


       The last point was for the nice looking cast. Well only Max Irons, but whatever. He was the reason I watched the film after having read the scathing reviews. He's pretty. I have to give a point for that.

        Now for the not so good points. Amanda Seyfried has made a career of strange sexual roles. In Mean Girls, she was the dumb slut and in Jennifer's Body, she was kind of a lesbian, then there was Chloe and um...Mamma Mia, but lets not go there. In this she's okay, but nothing apart from her looks and her red cloak stand out for me. Then there are the pretty boys- Shiloh Fernandez and Max Irons. Fernandez is our Jacob- Woo Hoo! Yeah, I don't think it's gonna get bigger for him. He'll probably end up on some teen drama show next and the rest shall follow. Now Irons's is interesting. He is Jeremy Irons's son, and even his mother is an award-winning stage actress. So logically, he should be endowed with incredible acting skills; he's already got amazing looks. So I don't know if he will walk the Robert Pattinson path or really act some great parts. This film didn't really show off any of his acting genes and I think his looks overshadowed any acting (or anything else in the film). Also the chemistry between all three of them, in any form, was forced and unnatural. Irons and Fernandez didn't even stare each other down properly.


       The rest of the cast was pretty disappointing. Gary Oldman was Father Solomon. I love Oldman, but he can sometimes go so very wrong in his choice of roles. His character could have been more interesting, but it was stereoptyped, and the metal elephant got in the way too. Virginia Madsen was Valerie's mother. She was so pretty in Sideways, but in this, I just kept thinking 'Botox' everytime she had a scene. Valerie's dad was Bella's dad Charlie, or as Wikipedia says, Billy Burke...pah Charlie it is. Again, his character could have been more developed...he was boring. Charlie as Charlie is better; he has funny lines. Julie Christie was the grandmother. She seemed frigid to me. I only liked her in the dream scene, but I think computer graphics are to thank. And lastly, poor Lukas Haas. I used to be in love with him after I had watched the movie Boys. I mean it was a phase, but I really thought he'll do more. Guess not.


          Catherine Hardwicke directed Red Riding Hood. She was also the director of the first Twilight film. I haven't seen any other of her films, but she does like the cold and trees and whiny female leads and boring supernatural male ones. Still I had liked Twilight. The action sequence in Red Riding Hood, like Twilight though, left much to be desired. And I already wrote about the actors and their non-acting. Or maybe I was just disturbed by the weird looking village. Oh as we are on the Twilight topic, the second one, New Moon, was a laughter riot. It was so terrible and had so many hilarious idiocies. Red Riding Hood couldn't even do that. The only time I laughed in this film was when the Peter guy called the metal elephant a 'brazen beast'. 

        My main problem with the film, and with most of such films, is the whole misconception of the idea of darkness within people. The werewolf calls Valerie a killer because she killed rabbits. People don't become dark or unfeminine if they kill rabbits. It's a bit weird, but whatever. Jennifer Lawrence skinned a squirrel... so what? We all have both light and dark in us, and these stories glorify the darkness, but at the same time, stick to the prudish attitude of society and PG the shit out of it. It all annoys me so much. Eating the forbidden apple and dating a sparkly vampire or a computer-generated werewolf and all the teenage angst- GET OVER YOURSELF, STUPID SILLY GIRLS!


           As I said in the beginning, this film is only for the satisfaction of those Team Jacob people so that they don't riot or something. The werewolf gets all the female attention- yaaay for that! Also the film looked good. A quote from The Little Prince can  describe it- "You are beautiful, but you are empty. One could not die for you." The film is beautiful but it has nothing else to offer- no story, no humour, no magic. If I was in need for a fairytale with a twist, I would watch the first two Shrek films, and the Princess-escape scene from the third one. Not this.