The Month that was- November

         It's December again -.- Another goddamn year wasted. November wasn't though, at least movie-wise, what with the film festival and Noirvember going on. It's a good thing that I managed to watch as many movies as I did (41 in all) because my exams start in January and I *really* need to study :/

Firsts:

1) Solaris- This put me to sleep... thrice :/

2) Anari- It was really touching. "Kisi Ki Muskurahaton Pe Ho Nisar" is a great song.

3) Two Days, One Night- I loved it so much. I love films that celebrate little victories. The subject matter of this may seem trivial but it *is* important to the characters in the film and it does justice to that, and to them. Marion Cotillard was really fantastic too.

4) Blazing Saddles- So funny. Also, I could have never, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER expected that climax ever. Woahhh.

5) The Lady from Shanghai- Noirvember! I really liked it for most of it but that last 8 minutes or so is fucking insane! WOOOOOAAHHHH!! Also, I heart all of Rita Hayworth's costumes in this.

6) Laura- Noirvember!! I loved it. Yes, it was campy and a bit ridiculous but so much fun!
7) The Big Heat- Noirvember!!! This was a really genius film. You think it is one thing but it ends up being about something else entirely.
8) Big Hero 6- So much fun with a great warmth in it. And it was gorgeous too! I want a Baymax. I also want the older brother who's totes giving Hiccup a run for his money for the Hottest Animated Character of the Year Award.
9) The Killing- Noirvember!!!! It starts out a bit slow and confusing but my mouth literally fell open twice towards the end and not that many movies manage to do that anymore. Excellent!
10) Charlie's Country- Eye-opening but still very slow.
11) Geronimo- My least favourite film of KIFF. What a hot mess.
12) These Are the Rules- One of the most surprisingly good films we saw at KIFF. Incredible handling of death.
13) Pasolini- Eh. Pretty forgettable in spite of super uncomfortable sex scenes.
14) The Search- I was very emotionally invested in this. I liked it quite a bit.
15) Ciudad Delirio- SO cute! Yaay for random salsa romcoms mid-super serious film festivals!
16) Interstellar- I liked it but it's already kind of gone from my head. I remember being annoyed at the end because to me it made no sense. Yeahh.
17) Kaafiron Ki Namaz- Weird, funny, outrageous and super-theatrical. Liked it more than I had expected to.
18) Refugiado- I like simple, effective stories and this was one. The kid in this was very cute too.
19) Omar- The movie where I found my next dream husband. Adam Bakri, you beauty. Also, it was a really good film. 
20) The Two Faces of January- So straightforward and kind of bland. Did anyone else think that Oscar Isaac looked a bit like young Al Pacino in this?
21) The Guest- I loved it. Twisted and fun and hot, mostly because of Dan Stevens. Who knew Matthew Crawley had this in him? And what a soundtrack!
22) Mommy- It literally gave me all of the feels, so much so that I didn't know how to react after it was over. Amazing. One of my favourites of the year.
23) John Wick- This film is a blast. The action scenes were fucking awesome and I loved how the whole crime syndicate was like a dysfunctional family.
24) The Elephant Song- I thought it was trying to be smarter than it was. Dolan was good.
25) Whiplash- What a film. What an experience. Energizes every atom in your body. Love love love!!
26) The Thin Blue Line- So important and still kind of shocking.
27) Breathe In- I liked the performances and the music a lot. Guy Pearce is one hot fucker.
28) 3-Iron- Really weird but I liked it a lot. So romantic though it gets a tad too creepy at one point *shifts uncomfortably*.
29) Waltz with Bashir- Definitely worth the hype. That last part just pierces through you.
30) What We Do in the Shadows- SOOO funny! AND clever. 2014: the year vampires became awesome again.
31) Magic in the Moonlight- Charming but forgettable. Some lines were really lovely though, as was Emma Stone.
32) Gun Crazy- Noirvember!!!!! I really liked this one too. Peggy Cummins was excellent and John Dall was really handsome.
33) Kiss Me Deadly- Noirvember!!!!!! This was probably my least favourite of the noirs I saw. I thought it dragged a bit. The ending was something though.


Rewatched:

1) Gone Girl- In India this time. They censored "cunt" and "pussy" but left "cum-on-me tits" in there. I don't understand.
2) Out of Sight- For our Neo-Noirvember (!!!!!!!) episode. I was probably asexual when I first saw it because how the fuck did my ovaries not explode then? Anyways, they're gone now, all thanks to Clooney in the fucking bathtub.
3) Lolita- First film of KIFF. I forgot how excellent Shelley Winters was in this.
4) 2001: A Space Odyssey- Honestly, the whole fest would have been worth it just to see this on a big screen. Gorgeosity itself.
5) Nymphomaniac vol. 1- With added uncensored stuff. I still love this film. It makes me laugh. Bite me.
6) Dr. Strangelove- Is there anything funnier than listening to General Ripper talk about bodily fluids?
7) Obvious Child- For our podcast. I seriously love this film to bits. More films like this, please and thank you.

8) Guardians of the Galaxy- Watched it as soon as the DVD arrived. It's brilliant and I don't care if you agree or not *finger on the throat means death*.


TV shows:

Doctor Who, series 8- An excellent, excellent series and great work from Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman. I have a post on this half-ready and I will finish it very soon.


Final tally:
                                            Firsts- 206                                            Rewatched- 64
                                                                         Total- 270


            That's all for now. I will definitely post some stuff in December + this blog turns 5 if you can believe it. How time flies etc. Bye!

KIFF- Day 7

       KIFF 2014 is now over. The last day was interesting. I went for the super expensive screening of John Wick first thing in the morning and then followed it with film festival movies. I saw one of the best films of the festival today too. It was so good that my friends and I took the collective decision to skip our last planned film so as to not ruin our moods in any way.


Day 7:
1) Elephant Song (Charles Biname, 2014)- After yesterday's Mommy we chose to watch a film that starred Xavier Dolan. I s'pose Dolan is the king of this fest. He was really good in this. I thought the film was okay overall. It was trying to be too clever at times and I felt like I had seen the story somewhere before.

2) Whiplash (Damien Chazelle, 2014)- Holy moly, you guys! This was the last of the holy trinity that I HAD to watch in the film fesitval and like 2001 and Mommy I was right to anticipate it so much. I had read about how its final act is incredible but never ever ever ever ever did I see that last scene coming. I still feel completely shaken up, but in a good way, by it. People clapped many times, even at really wrong moments, but gosh this film leaves you at a high. I have loved the use of music in many of the films this year but I really think Whiplash takes the cake. Like woahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Also, I need drumming lessons like RIGHT NOW!!

Total no. of films watched = 17

Total no. of films walked out of- 5

Best film watched- Mommy

Worst film watched- Geronimo

Best cinematic experience- 2001: A Space Odyssey and Mommy

             I hope you guys liked this mini series of posts. I don't know when I'll get to attend a film festival next, or where, but I hope to do something like this again. Check out the rest of my KIFF experience here.

KIFF- Days 4, 5 and 6

        Yeah I was tired and I didn't feel like typing. Days 4-6 of KIFF were good enough with two highlights. I saw Interstellar and The Guest in between too. One I liked, one I really liked- guess which is which? I also walked out one screening but that doesn't count because they were playing a different movie than the one I had intended to watch and I barely sat for like half a minute.


Day 4:
1) Kaafiron ki Namaz (Ram Ramesh Sharma, 2013)- This movie belongs on a stage. So theatrical and wordy. It was like the worst of humanity gathered for a pointless discussion that was nevertheless fascinating. Sometimes it was too much to handle but it was also acerbically hilarious. The songs in it were kinda awful though.

2) Nymphomaniac vol. 1(Lars von Trier, 2014)- I kind of love this film. I don't know what kind of pervert that makes me but it is what it is. Most of all, I love its humour. We saw this in the biggest theatre and just like in Blue is the Warmest Colour, an audience that is otherwise more than ready to break out into fights watched all the sex scenes with complete silence and an almost reverence. It was hilarious to see some people shift in their seats in certain scenes. Btw, this was the "uncensored" director's cut and I'm super glad we didn't go for vol. 2 because we've heard some horror stories about what happens in that. LVT is a wackjob.


Day 5:
1) Refugiado (Diego Lerman, 2014)- This was a nice movie. It's about a kid and his mother who are on the run from his abusive father. It is a real human drama and it's filmed like that. There's no sentimentality but there is a gentleness about the characters which I really liked. The kid was v. good.

2) Omar (Hany Abu Assad, 2013)- I thought it was an excellent film. I thought I had it figured out but I was constantly surprised by it. Also, I am in love with it's lead actor now. Adam Bakri is fucking gorgeous and he was really, really, REALLY good! My friend and I were totally fawning over him the entire time. I don't understand how he can like walk anywhere without people trying to kiss him all the time. This was also one of the funniest/most annoying experiences as far as audiences go. The first 10 minutes people was just hurling hilarious insults at each other across the hall.

3) Two Faces of January (Hossein Amini, 2014)- It was okay. It certainly looked v. pretty and I was attracted to both Viggo Mortensen and Oscar Isaac at different points in the movie. But I don't understand anyone who's comparing it to The Talented Mr. Ripley except in the looks department. It was almost too straightforward if that's a thing, like annoyingly so. It lacked any complexity whatsoever and Ripley is complex as fuck.


Day 6:
1) Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)- I think I first saw this film 6 years ago and I hadn't rewatched it since. I forgot just how great its satire is. Also, I don't think I had recognized George C. Scott's brilliance in this the first time 'round. Peter Sellers is obviously to die for as always. I did remember its ending clearly and god, I love it! Most of my friends went to watch some movie about a dog instead but I much prefer nuclear war and violence in the name of peace to that :)

2) Mommy (Xavier Dolan, 2014)- This was the movie I had shrieked so loudly about when I found out it is screening in the film festival, that I woke my grandma up in a fright. So yeah, it was kinda my #1 movie to watch in the fest and holy shit, it did not disappoint. Like I am so glad I watched it on a big screen because a movie THIS big needed that. I can't call it a perfect film mostly because it's more of a living, breathing, dynamic force than a film. It was so intense that after it got over, my friends and I barely spoke a word to each other and just sat silently throughout our bus journey. I felt like every emotion at the end and I didn't/still don't know how to fully react to it. Speaking in technical terms, it was fucking stunning to begin with. There is this thing that happens with its aspect ratio that made me go "Oh fuck" out loud. It's still giving me shivers thinking about it. The soundtrack is freaking perfect. The performances were out of this world. It's a blshame that Anne Dorval will almost definitely be overlooked during awards season. She's SOOOOO GOOD!!! And I don't know where Dolan found Antoine-Olivier Pilon but that kid has one of the most beautiful and cinematic faces ever. I could keep looking at it, at him, all day long, especially through Dolan's lense. Dolan himself continues to baffle me with his talent. How the fuck is a 25 year old this good? I have loved all 5 of his films and I can't wait for what he does next.


          We were supposed to watch Clouds of Sils Maria but there was a huge line + it was screening way past its allotted time + we were too full of Mommy emotions and so we skipped it.

          Tomorrow is the last day of the festival. Whiplash is another biggy that I hope to catch. I'm also going to go watch John Wick 'cuz why not. 

KIFF- Day 3

         Oh my god, am I really posting two days in a row?! Shocking, right? This is just to show how dedicated I am to my blog and all that. To recap, this is a series of posts I'm going to do about attending the 20th Kolkata International Film Festival and I will be writing them sleep-deprived/practically drunk and blah. Okay here we go-


Day 3:
1) Pasolini (Abel Ferrara, 2014)- This was a very confused movie. I felt like I needed to know more about the man to get some of the references. Also, it's been a while since I saw sex scenes in a movie being *that* pornographic. They made me pretty uncomfortable :/ The death scene is quite impactful though.

1.5) Labour of Love (Aditya Vikram Sengupta, 2014)- Okay! Okay! I walked out of a screening AGAIN and this time it's not the film's fault, not completely at least. The thing is, my friend and I went for this film to sleep in comfy reclining seats in the AC before standing in line for the next movie. To be fair, after the director introduced it, I really wanted to watch it. HOWever, I had had a really big lunch before it and that always makes me incredibly sleepy plus the film had no dialogue, at least till the point we saw/slept through it. Whatever I saw mid-siestas, I did appreciate because the film looked gorgeous. Maybe I will really like it when I watch it in my own time. So yes, I am the asshole in this case.

2) The Search (Michel Hazanavicius, 2014)- I have written about my sorta irrational issue with watching kids die in movies. It causes me too much distress. And The Search literally starts with two adorable little kids mid-warzone and it only gets more tense from there on. No, it's not a perfect movie, but goddamnit, I have not been this emotionally invested in a character's well-being in a long, long time! I squirmed in my seat, clapped, covered my eyes, covered my face and cried in this movie. I don't do any of these usually. The character in question, Hadji, is played with such sad innocence by Abdul Khalim Mamutsiev that it broke my heart. The other performances were good too. The film is an interesting exploration of the different ways war devastate lives, especially of children and young adults, and human connection in all of that. I felt that the film's title is quite misleading in that way. There is a lot going on in this film that is more than a search (unless I have totally missed some metaphorical point behind the name which is a possibility). It's also intriguing to see such a film made by the director of The Artist and I look forward to his future projects.

3) Ciudad Delirio (Chus Gutierrez, 2014)- We sat on the second row in front for this though it wasn't completely terrible thanks to the comfy reclining seats (I really love them). Still, it could have been painful were the film a bore and it was anything but that. I didn't know what it was about and I was pleasantly shocked to realize that in the middle of all these artsy fartsy serious stuff that we've been watching, which I don't have anything against as long as they don't go overboard, we had here a romcom with a salsa dance competition plot line. And it was sooooooo much fun! No, this was not an original movie by any stretch of imagination- it's literally a dance movie and a romcom put together, competition tryouts and crucial-run-to-the-airport and all, but I enjoyed myself. I wanted to, and still do actually, go dancing somewhere after watching it. It's just nice to have these light breaks in film-watching once in a while. I liked it.


            That's a wrap on today. Tomorrow, I'm going to take a teeny tiny break from the festival and finally watch Interstellar. Yaayy!!

KIFF- Days 1 and 2

      

          Hallooo my amigos! (I don't know why I wrote that... I'm really sleepy) Since there is something film-related going on in my life right now, I have decided to blog about it like all good bloggers do. So KIFF, or the Kolkata International Film Festival has begun. It's the 20th year of the festival and this is the 3rd one I'm attending. My first year, I saw 3 movies. Last year, I managed to watch 26 films over the week. I don't know how many I will watch this year because I kinda keep walking out of them, as I have elucidated below.

      These posts will be like a bigger version of my end-of-the-month posts and smaller than my mini reviews. I am/will be writing these after a full day spent going from theatre to theatre and attending college lectures so I am/will be obviously very tired. The downside of this is that I probably won't write these posts every day of the week and I will club the days together like in this post. The plus side of my sleepy self writing is that my thoughts will come uncensored and I'm probably not even going to edit the post before posting it so yeah, HAVE FUN WITH THAT! TYPOS FOREVER BITCHES!!!!!

Day 1:

1) Lolita (Stanley Kubrick, 1962)- Yaay great start! KIFF focuses on a master filmmaker every year. Last year, it was Billy Wilder and this year, it's Kubrick, both of whom I adore. Coming to Lolita, I had forgotten just how funny it was. I did remember being blown away by Peter Sellers, and he *really* is incredible in this, but this time 'round I was also struck by Shelley Winters. She's so tragic and so brave in this. 

2) Charlie's Country (Rolf de Heer, 2014)- This was really v. slow. I don't know why but I am already really tired during this year's fest, probably due to last year of college or old age or whatever. So anyways, it was extremely hard to stay awake at points but it is a quietly powerful film at times. The lead performance by David Gulpilil is really wonderful. There was this point in the film where he makes eye contact with the camera for about a minute, maybe even more, and it will haunt me for a long time. There were issues about aboriginals in Australia that I was not aware of at all that the film explored and I really liked that. I just wish the pace was slightly faster.

2.5) Thanga Meenkal (Ram, 2013)- So, after watching a film which seemed devoid of any drama, we went for this which was overly dramatic. There was a sweet story at its core about a misunderstood pair of father and daughter but my friends and I were far too hungry to sit for the whole thing while also being bombarded with ALL OF THE FEELS! So yeah, we walked out halfway which was smart of us, sorta, 'cuz we ate some really good sandwiches and then stood in the line for the next film which, and this is not an exaggeration, had about 200+ people already in front of us. I know what you're thinking, India needs to sort out its population problem -.- -.-

3) Geronimo (Tony Gatlif, 2014)- As I wrote above, we had walked out of a film for being too dramatic. Little did we know that the film we were walking into next made the previous one seem like a subtle, solemn affair. The movie started out well enough, with lots of spunk and cool music and whatnot. But god, then it just went nuts. It was a bit like West Side Story + City of God + Short Term 12 - ALL of their brilliance. At times, I really did feel that it will turn into a musical but then it got serious with this really committed social worker trying to save these two teenage lovers from their insane families. And god, the couple in this were total idiotic assholes. Not worth ANY of the drama at all.

Day 2:

1) 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968)- So in this entire film festival, there are 3 films that I HAVE to watch no matter what. Two are yet to come but this is definitely one of them. Watching 2001 on a 70mm screen has been on my bucket list ever since I saw it for the first time and I guess I can die partly happy now :) Yaay?! Gosh, it was so stunning! It's not my favourite Kubrick movie by a mile but it has to be one of the greatest cinema theatre movies ever.

1.5) Tsili (Amos Gitai, 2014)- This has to be one of the most boring movies ever made. I fell asleep 15 minutes into the film and woke up half an hour later. Upon asking my friend what had happened, she said nothing. Good fucking lord! I tried watching some more but it wasn't gonna happen. Also, there were constantly bombs being dropped in this (apparently it was set during World War 2 or something) and the sound of that gave me headache. So we left this too. According to a friend of a friend, nothing happens till the end. Good call on our part.

1.5) Force of Destiny (Paul Cox, 2014)- For this film, there was 6 of us and we got good seats right in the middle. Btw, this hall is a big one with a seating capacity of 931 persons according to its Wikipedia page. This is important information because by the time the director had stopped introducing it, there were people sitting on the stairs and standing on the sides- basically, the place was overflowing with people and they were getting pissed. Again, this is crucial because once the film started, we immediately understood that it is not a good one. It had the guy who played Faramir in the Lord of the Rings movies and spoiler alert: he has not aged well. Also, I don't think he can act, like everyone else in this film. The script was poor too. It was about a man with liver cancer awaiting organ transplant who falls in love with this Indian woman. The whole image of an Indian woman in this, at least till the point we watched (spoiler alert again!), was so, ugh, colonial? She was like an exotic manic pixie girl just waiting to give the white male a fresh outlook in whatever life he has left. Anyways, we HAD to leave, and that was one of the most awkward things I have ever done. There is this belief about Bengali people being really sweet but the fact is that they are quite bitchy when they want to be. Walking between people sitting on stairs who refused to budge an inch even though I'm here trying to not step on their hands and feet and getting cursed at by women who were oh so engrossed in this ahmazingly awful movie was a real highlight of the festival for me.

2) These Are the Rules (Ognjen Svilicic, 2014)- After walking out of two movies in one day, my friends and I were beginning to despair about this entire festival experience. Were we being too critical? Everyone else seemed happy :/ So a lot was hanging on this film to improve our moods and strengthen our faith. Thankfully, it delivered. Oh god, it delivered. For fans of Buffy out there, this is the best fictional portrayal of death that I have seen since "The Body". This film was simple, shatteringly realistic and powerful. Great performances too. I really liked it.

     And that's it for now. Tomorrow they will screen A Clockwork Orange but I will be attending a lecture on something called Legal Awareness because my life is a burning bag of shit. There are a few other movies planned too (which I might or might not walk out of) and I will hopefully update y'all if I am awake enough.

Thoughts

Helloo people! I know I haven’t written in for forever, but I have honestly, truthfully, pinky-swearingly been very busy. I came back to India, went back to college, spent an entire week running to and from theatres because of the film festival, and now I’m sick.

1) The film festival was great. It was my first fully immersed festival experience and I did make the most of it. I saw 26 films. My favourite new film was Blue is the Warmest Colour. It really is an excellent movie and Adele Exarchopoulos (I will learn the spelling before Oscars. Yep) is by far my favourite performer of the year. Lea Seydoux is great too. And yes, the 7 minute lesbian sex scene can get a little awkward but do what I did- stare at every middle aged man in the room (and there were so many!!) and see their reactions. It’s hilarious. I saw some other great movies too. Don Jon was awesomesauce and Scarlett Johansson was on fire. Other first timers I really liked were Blancanieves, Paradise: Faith, Pieta, Touch of the Light and The Past. Also, if you are a Louis Garrel fan, watch Jealousy which is in black and white and therefore Garrel is in black and white and then your ovaries die. The films I wasn’t such a big fan of were Bastards, Of Good Report and Night Train to Lisbon. The first was just generally an awful movie going experience which might have made me dislike the film more than I ought to, the second was just boring and creepy and the last one was painfully mediocre. It had Jack Huston (who is American), August Diehl (who is German) and Melanie Laurent (who is French), all playing Portugese people. What? My absolute favourite thing about the festival however was the chance to see classic movies on big screen. I saw Elmer Gantry, Gone with the Wind, Sabrina and The Apartment (YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS) and really enjoyed myself. The fact that a lot of the people who seemed to be so grumpy throughout the festival just started clapping during the Wilder movies kind of restores my faith in humanity a little bit.

My KIFF experience :P 

The Louis Garrel comment on the right is by my friend Alliya and I agree whole-heartedly.

2) Adam Levine has been voted the Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine. The people at People
Magazine need to fill up the biggest douchebag jar they can find for making this decision. My choice? Duh.

Actually, any one of them will do too-

Yum.

3) The Honourary Oscars were given out recently and Steve Martin, Angela Lansbury, Angelina Jolie and Piero Tossi. I really loved Jolie’s acceptance speech. I am one of those saps who cries watching acceptance speeches (I even cried in Emma Stone’s MTV Award speech), and I thought Jolie’s was really beautiful and heartfelt. And goooo Steve Martin!!!

4) So guess what’s happening this Saturday? Only something I have been waiting forever for. Or, well, since April or something. Anyways, the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary is nearly here! (Isn't my banner awesome?) I already went nuts over the official trailers, though I am cautiously avoiding all other clips since I want a complete experience watching “The Day of the Doctor”. My entire plan of rewatching all of Nu Who and then ranking my favourite episodes before “The Day of the Doctor” *obviously* went kaput since my planning skills suck, but I promise to do one before series 8 next year. Anyways, it seems our dearly departing Doctor, Matt Smith, is in talks to star in Star Wars Episode VII. Of course it is all rumours at present, but if it comes to pass, this will be a massive opportunity for Smith. I just hope he doesn't end up in some ridiculous alien make-up. Especially now that his hair is growing all nicely.

5) Imogen Poots (I love her name so much), might be starring in Todd Field's next film, Beautiful Ruins. It is apparently his most ambitious project yet and it will span over a number of decades, from the 60s onwards. It is about three characters and their lives that is altered by an incident that takes place during the shooting of Cleopatra. I recently watched Little Children and loved it, and this is Field's first movie since then. I think Poots is really pretty and it will be interesting to see her take on such a role.

6) Joe Wright is going to make a film about the origins of Peter Pan called Pan. Generally, I would be against it because I think we *have* had enough of fairytale movies for a decade, but I have really loved everything Wright has made so far (except The Soloist, which I haven't seen). I have full trust in his vision. Javier Bardem is being considered for Captain Hook, according to rumours.

7) ScarJo is on a career-rise again. She kicked ass in Don Jon, but it is her work in Her that is getting awards attention. This is very unusual because she herself, i.e. er perfect sexy human self, is not in the movie, but her voice instead. But it's great to see actors getting recognition for their voice-work. She just got an award at the Rome Film Festival.

8) Fassy is going to star in a gangster film called Trespass Against Us. It will be directed by UK director Adam Smith, who has worked for things like Doctor Who and Skins, and the score will be created by The Chemical Brothers. The movie is "set across three generations of the rowdy Cutler family, who live as outlaws — hunting hares, ram-raiding stately homes and taunting the police. The family have always lived this way but, defying the expectations of his father, Chad Cutler is looking for a way out of the criminal life." Fassy will play Chad and I think will do a really good job. I'm kind of surprised he hasn't done more films like this tbh.

9) Robert Pattinson and Benedict Cumberbatch are going to star in Lost City of Z. The film is based on New Yorker science writer David Grann's book of the same name. Cumberbatch plays Lt. Colonel Percy Fawcett, a British archeologist and explorer who went missing in South America while hunting for the lost city of Z. The book follows the Fawcett expedition and tries to piece together what exactly happened to him and his team, which included Fawcett's son Jack and one of Jack's friends. RPatz will probably play Jack. It sounds like an intriguing project (Brad Pitt's name was attached to it formerly. Now he's producing). The Brit duo is also unique and I'm curious to see how they gel together.

10) Wes Anderson made a short film for Prada starring Jason Schwartzman!

Don't you want to live in a Wes Anderson film?

11) Alex has some awesome news!

12) Trailers- The Maleficient teaser looks a little half-baked, although it does give us it's two most important aspects of the film-Angelina Jolie as the titular character and Elle Fanning as Aurora. Jolie looks and sounds amazeballs, and if anyone can make me not hate Aurora, it's Fanning. The Wind Rises has a very pretty trailer out and I am really looking forward to it. It looks as lovely and poignant as all the Miyazaki that I have seen. The Devil's Knot looks quite intriguing. I have only seen the first half of the first Paradise: Lost documentary, so it will be interesting to see how the material is treated in this film. Plus, good cast. Speaking of, Muppets Most Wanted looks awesome! I SPOT HIDDLES! I'm really excited about this one. I absolutely adored the first film. Oh God, Noah :/ :/ (See what I did there). But seriously, I don't know how to feel about this film. On one hand, I want to trust Aronofsky and his vision, but on the other hand, there is Russel Crowe and his face that makes me sick for whatever reason. And the material and the way the trailer seems to be treating it does not pique my interest at all. Divergent trailer is meh. I'm just all-round meh about this film. Mehhh. There are two trailers I really loved and are my king of trailers in this post. One is Nymphomaniac. This will be some batshit crazy stuff but lord help me, I'm intrigued. The second is the teaser to The Raid 2: Berandal. THAT'S HOW YOU MAKE A TEASER, PEOPLE!! So fucking awesome.

13) Finally, with "The Day of the Doctor" almost upon us, let's all listen to Sir Ian McKellen's words of wisdom about the show-

Re: Matt Smith- Never knew Sir Ian and I would have so much in common.

DO WEE DOOOOOOOOOO! HAPPY DOCTOR WHO 50TH EVERYONE! ALLONS-Y FOR NOW!