My Movie Year

My Movie Year is a blogathon hosted by Fandango Groovers Movie Blog. In it, we have to select a year which we think is the best movie year and give instances of 5 films to validate that claim. I thought I would be unable to take part in it on account of all the travelling, but I may just have made it in time albeit a bit late.

Now there are many years like 1939, 1976, 1994, 2007 etc. that are known for great movies. But I've decided to go with something very much recent because this was the year that I feel I fully immersed myself in movies and awards and everything. I think every film-lover goes through this and that first year always remains a favourite for them.

My year is 2010. Reasons-

The Social Network (Dir: David Fincher)

Inception (Dir: Christopher Nolan)

Black Swan (Dir: Darren Aronofsky)

Scott Pilgrim vs the World (Dir: Edgar Wright)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 1 (Dir: David Yates)

Hope you liked it :-)

Thoughts

Okay so lots of thoughts:


1) I literally just read this- Amitabh Bachchan will be in Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of The Great Gatsby. WHAAAT?!! What is Baz Luhrmann doing? I keep getting less and less impressed with this film. First of all, and worst of all (oh I'm such a poet!), it is in 3D, which makes no friggin' sense whatsoever. Then there is Leonardo Di Caprio in the titular role. See I have nothing against Leo, but it is a fact that Luhrmann does wonders with a truly romantic looking actors. Leo was like that during Romeo+Juliet times, but not so much anymore. Also, this was the one of the big flaws of Australia *shudders*. After that there is Carey Mulligan. Now I love Carey Mulligan; how can I not? But, I just cannot see her as Daisy. I still think Kirsten Dunst would have been the best choice. Dunst has a dream-like thing about her, which is how Daisy was. Mulligan is amazing, but she, in my opinion, has a sadder face. I mean she's adorable, but in a non-Daisy way. Gah I cannot explain it! I think the best casting choice so far has been Tobey Maguire as Nick Carrow. I, for one, was hot for Nick throughout the book, and I can see Maguire being really effortless with it. I suppose it is all cute that bffs Leo and Tobey are working together, but I don't know. Bachchan actually, now that I am thinking about it, might be good, but we shall see.


2) Eddie Murphy is gonna host the Oscars. Honestly, I am fine with it. Just as long as he doesn't bore us and stand there like a stoned idiot with an I-Phone. *cough*Franco*cough* Or if he must, he shouldn't post a huge number of deceiving promo videos. Also, Hugh Jackman and Neil Patrick Harris should host the Oscars together already. Dunno what they're waiting for. NPH was in Beastly, and is totally legit.


3) So I have a new film that I am dying to see now. Shame by Steve McQueen, starring Michael Fass(y)bender. I just saw Hunger, which was McQueen's directorial debut with Fassy himself. What a disturbing, brutal, no-holds-barred film! Fassy has rocked me to my core now, and I have to seriously start rethinking my favourite performances by an actor list.  Shame promises to be great and everyone in Venice seems to love it, and it might just win the Golden Lion. YESS! Especially with all this non-lovey-dovey-ness towards The Ides of March (O.o) and from what I can understand, little doubts about Carnage, A Dangerous Method and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, I do need a proper "The Social Network" film of the year.


4) Okay good week of Hollywood in Calcutta this week! Well sort of. Contagion and Friends with Benefits has released, neither of which I am remotely stoked to see. But I will, because such an opportunity will not present itself to me very often. I actually think I have become immune to Steven Soderbergh, which is like sacrilegious. I mean I have had it with films about viral infections or whatever, and Haywire doesn't appeal to me except for a very hot Ewan McGregor. Even Fassy dies, so what's the point? Soderbergh, I need an Ocean's Fourteen, I think.


5) Posters!- The Rum Diary has a delightful poster. I come from a family of teetotalers and alcohol just has a strange attraction for me (I hope my mother isn't reading this). I especially like the "Mix Well" part on the poster...rather cheeky. And Johnny Depp + Rum should logically mean brilliance, so... Young Adult has another hilarious poster, which is definitely more unique. I have a feeling that Charlize Theron's character is this is going to become my future role model, along with the dahlin' old Bridget Jones. Jason Reitman is one of my favourite filmmakers, so I definitely excited for this one.


6) Finally..has anyone seen this?

Pretty awesome right? Who would you cast in Inception-of-the-50s? William Holden as Cobb, and then?

Hope I have any thoughts for next week left :P

"Everything ends. But there are always new beginnings."

       
        One thing that the great films of 2010 all have in common is that they justified the highly cliched saying "All's well that ends well". More than well; in fact the endings were brilliant. I have talked about how I love a film /book with good endings and that many a time the last line is all that separates from good to brilliant. So these are my favourite endings and also SPOILER ALERT!!


          Honourary Mentions- The King's Speech (Damn It- read note below) with Geoffrey Rush's face being the last shot, Never Let Me Go which is just so sad and beautiful, and Scott Pilgrim vs The World- classic example on how the ending somewhat ruins the film (except it's too epic to be possibly ruined).


Best Endings of 2010-


Those which can best be described by the following quote from the lovely Lewis Caroll- "Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop."


        127 Hours- the last shot of James Franco's divine face as he looks on at the real Aron Ralston and his family, and the moral of the story of course "Never leave home without a note about where you are going" and we are made intensely happy at the thought that this man, with such an extreme tenacity for life, has not let his handicap come in the way of doing what he loves. It's the most uplifting ending of the year.


        I Love You Phillip Morris- The clouds, Jim Carrey's contentful smile and Ewan McGregor's loving look, and ofcourse the undying spirit of the conman and escape artist that is Steven Russel as he tries to breakout of prison yet again- all this comes together as the happiest ending because you know how Steven will never give up till he is with Phillip again.


         Toy Story 3- This was there in my favourite scenes list. The title of this post is totally apt for the ending of one of the best cinematic trilogies ever made. Our heart weeps (along with our eyes but you know what I mean) when two of the closest friends in the world- Andy and Woody bid farewell, but at the same time we know that there could possibly be no better ending. Those geniuses in Pixar really now how to surprise the public in the most wonderful and touching way, and Toy Story 3 is yet another proof of that.




And now those which totally express this quote by the uber-talented Bernardo Bertolucci- "I left the ending ambiguous, because that is the way life is."

         The Social Network- It is the ending that everyone is talking about, because in reality the story is far from over. The last scene of the film shows the amazing Jesse Eisenberg, who plays Facebook founder Mar Zuckerberg, refreshing the Facebook profile of the girl who started it all- Erica Albright and waiting for her to add him back. It shows us that the cocky yet insecure Mark is finally going to stop "pretending to be an asshole" and will "refresh" his life also, and he does so exactly as explained through the info being shown simultaneously. And accept it- we love it.


        Black Swan- "I was perfect." Sure Nina, played by the exquisite Natalie Portman, was but the ending is deadly confusing. I actually do not think she died at all because if one watches properly (as I just did again), the mirror piece must have gone into her stomach atleast two dance sequences before and there is no way in hell she could have "controlled" it. Yet many do think Nina died, while if you are like me, you think it was only the death of the white swan in her, who as Thomas played by sex-god Vincent Cassel had foreshadowed early on- "...in death finds freedom."


         Inception- This is a whole psychological battle and that total fucking Einstein of a man- Christopher Nolan, has his lips sealed. Limbo or Reality? Cobb's dream or Mal's? And most important ofcourse- did the top stop spinning??????? I, for one, thinks it didn't and that it is Mal's dream, played by the deadly gorgeous Marion Cottilard, and Cobb, the fantastic Leo Di Caprio character, is the one stuck in limbo...and the children are only figments of his subconscious. This ending will be discussed for ages, and believe me many many many will fight over it.


      So keeping up with the theme, I will NOT end by asing what were your favourite endings?

 

       Oh the NOTE- I liked The King's Speech(Screw You!) but not anymore due to the absolutely uncalled-for attention it is receiving. A film like this releases every year and a year like this, when so many groundbreaking films released, something as generic as The King's Speech(Burn in Hell) barely deserves anything. The only saving grace of the film is it's cast though, but being the faithful biased person I am, that appreciation will slowly fade away. So from now on, to show my complete loathing of the film, I will add a little obscene term in front of it.

"No toy gets left behind" ~ BEST PICTURE OSCAR NOMINATIONS, 2011- LEGO STYLE

       While the Oscar nominations have, as usual, pissed me off this year due to snubbings of Andrew Garfield, Ryan Gosling, Barbara Hershey, costume and make-up for Black Swan etc, I found the most adorable thing today on the Best Picture Nominations- Lego versions of all of them!!
      'Tis what I think:

True Grit (fun, but not that deserving- definitely not Best Actor material for Jeff Bridges)

Black Swan (deserving but perhaps a bit too ambiguous)

The King's Speech (If this wins...death)

The Social Network (most deserving)

127 Hours (really brilliant, but buzz-less)

The Fighter (good, but not the best)

The Kids Are All Right (same as above)

The Winter's Bone (strong leading performance but seriously boring as hell, and can only win if AMPAs decide to go uber small-scale)

Toy Story 3 (love! won't win though)

Inception (brilliance...if only AMPAs would go super cool and give this the statuette instead of a generic period drama)

      127 Hours win the Lego Oscars definitely!!


      
      Sorta looking deadly forward to and totally dreading Feb 27th (Feb 28th here), aka, THE OSCAR CEREMONY CUM BOARD EXAMS DAY!!
      
      Fingers crossed again!!!

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!!