"What are these people watching? People like me."- BEST VILLAINS OF 2011

             I think it is common knowledge that I love my villains like none other. 2011 brought with it some particularly nasty and memorable ones. These were the best (or the worst).


Honourable mentions: Rattlesnake Jake from Rango, Lea Seydoux in MI4, Yorick van Wagingen as a particularly icky Nils Bjurman in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, David Lindhagen in Crazy, Stupid, Love.

10.

Melancholia in Melancholia

Both the planet and Justine's problem. However beautiful this film was, it was filled with melancholy and it did leave you feeling depressed as hell. 

9.

Sakharine in The Adventures of Tintin

He is the perfect image of a creepy thin man who is up to no good. Even though Tintin was not quite the hero, Sakharine was a pretty spot-on villain. Daniel Craig did a good job of voicing him.

8.

The virus in Contagion

Yes the virus in itself is scary as hell, because it kills people really really fast. But what is scarier is what it brings out in people- fear, violence, anarchy, apathy.

7.

Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

He is the Dark Lord after all. He is most effective in this film. He goes madder than ever, and makes people really afraid of him. Oh and the way his hissing voice makes people scream...

6.

The bosses in Horrible Bosses

You can't choose one. They were all pretty awful. Never want a boss like any of them.

5.

Bernie Rose in Drive

The perfect mobster. Cruel and heartless, but tries to be the nice guy after all. Albert Brooks was so very good as Bernie.

4.

The 'big gorilla-wolf-motherfuckers' aliens in Attack the Block

No explanation required.

3.

Loki in Thor
I do love supervillains so. Loki is probably one of the best ever, and is the sole reason why Thor is quite good. He adds a dimension to the film that otherwise would have been about a big cocky guy with a hammer, with Natalie Portman of course.


2.

Kevin in We Need to Talk About Kevin

All the Kevins are included in this. He was so sinister. As much as his parents were wrong, Kevin was no angel. He was a disturbed child from the get-go, and when he finally does what he does, we should not be scared as we had been expecting it from the start, but it steals manages to shock and startle us.

1.

Robert Ledgard in The Skin I Live In

The top 2 were neck-in-neck for me as both are ideal representations of what is good in the world- a child and a doctor, but are not in these cases. They are very much the opposite. But I could not shake the feeling of just how wrong Antonio Banderas's character was in this. Doctors and surgeons are entrusted with lives, and his character, a true mad man, tries to play god with them. I won't say what he does, because that has to be experienced, but it is so very disturbing and reprehensible. Frankenstein could not have been this crazy and horrible.

My Supers List

            I was going to make this list earlier, but had given up on it once I thought it was too late to make it or that I will never watch Green Lantern in order to make a legit list. However, that was my in-flight movie from Calcutta to Dubai, and then I bought the October issue of Total Film magazine later, which has a huge and well, gorgeous pic of Andrew Garfield a.k.a. my future husband, as Spiderman on the cover. So now I am without any excuses, and Spidey does look like some sort of a sign.

My Favourite Superhero Films of 2011

Note- I refuse to include films like I am Number Four or Spy Kids 4 or any such film which might have world-saving or supernatural abilities involved. They are weird and I don't like them. Also there are no superheroes. Just wanted to make that clear.

4) Green Lantern and Green Hornet -

The Green superheroes really sucked balls this year. I knew Green Lantern would be terrible from the trailer itself. There was the stupid purple alien, Blake Lively trying to look smart and Peter Sarsgaard with a Mojo Jojo-esque forehead. And it really was that bad. I got really irritated watching it on the flight. For one thing, everytime anyone called Ryan Reynolds "Hal", I went "Holbrook" in my head. It was very strange. And like someone said in Big Bang Theory, why the hell was yellow the colour of fear and green the colour of will? It all just seemed stupid to me. Though I will say this, Reynolds must have tried his hardest to make this not suck as bad as it did, and I applaud him for his efforts. That's the only good thing about this film (don't even get me started on pairing up purple and green together...somethings should best not be filmed).

In Green Hornet's case, I didn't think it was as awful as Green lantern, but it has to be one of the most disappointing films that I have ever seen. I really thought this one will be super special. Michel Gondry was making it, Seth Rogen was the proper non-superhero-looking superhero, Christoph Waltz was the baddie, Jay Chou looked cool. But then kaput! It was all so pointless and stupid and unnecessary. I just grew sicker and sicker of this film while watching it. It wasn't that funny, Rogen and Chou were annoying, Cameron Diaz was as good as not being there at all, and Waltz tried a bit, but it all just bombed. I thought it would've been like Kick-Ass last year, but it was just a big fat fail.

3) Thor-

I was quite unsure about this one. But it turned out fine. I wrote about it here. As said in my short review, I thought the effects and the story was nice, and what really lifted this film for me was Tom Hiddleston as Loki. I do love supervillains, and Loki was my second favourite this year. It was a fun action movie, an almost perfect summer blockbuster with humour and special effects and a good, relatively simple plot.

2) X-Men: First Class-

That, by the way, was one of the best scenes of the year. I mean not only are James McAvoy, High Jackman and Michael Fassbender sharing the same screen-space, Wolverine just voiced out the thoughts of the many McFassy shippers throughout Tumblr. Anyways, this film was gorgeous. Yes there were too many stories and not everything was tied up properly, but come on, I am a girl and this is a film that makes me think of the quote- "The stuff dreams are made of." The amount of man-candy in this film is preposterous. But even without that, this is an actual good prequel which was able to show the very brilliant relationship between Charles Xaviers and Erik Lehnsherr before they were Professor X and Magneto respectively. It also showed other origin stories of characters like Mystique and Beast before their grown-up blue years. And in case you were wondering, Magneto is my favourite supervillain/more-of-an-anti-hero-really for this year. This has also become my favourite X-Men movie till date, and really truly made me a fan of Matthew Vaughn.

1) Captain America: The First Avenger-

Now I really did not expect to love this film, and the superhero. He was so American and everything, and Hugo Weaving was the bad guy, so I was convinced I cannot possibly root for anyone else. But there was something very earnest and good about the way Chris Evans portrayed Steve Rogers/ Captain America. I think the only superhero I have ever really liked is Ironman, and that too because he is quite a mischievous and fun one. But Steve was such a darling, and so brave and out there to prove himself, without becoming annoying, that my heart went out for him. I thought Captain America was a really good film. The look and the period-setting was spot on, and made very cool with the gadgets and machines and stuff. Also I thought that the 'Star Spangled Man' montage, with the superhero being exploited before he is allowed to go out there and kick Nazi butt, was very novel. And it had enough action for my liking, which was one of the things I thought X-Men lacked. The story was a nice uplifting one and the supporting characters were great. I especially loved Haylee Atwell in this. She was so not a damsel in distress. Rather she was quite sexy and smart and held her own very well. Tommy lee Jones, Stanley Tucci, Sebastian Stan, Dominic Cooper as Papa Stark, and Weaving were all very good too. Ofcourse Evans was the best, and proved my long-standing belief that he was born to play a superhero. It was a thoroughly enjoyable film, and as it surpassed my expectations by a huge margin, I think it really deserves the top spot in this little super list of mine.

         So there you have it. I wish there would have been ten more superhero films this year to truly show how much I hated Green Lantern and Green Hornet, but that's not really a good thing, is it? What do you think about my list? Anything you'd like to be different? How much are you looking forward to next year's superhero flicks (The Amazing Spiderman, Man of Steel, The Dark Knight Rises, Ghost Rider 2 *snort*)? Do you even like superheroes?

New Reviews- POC4, Thor, Hanna

       So apparently the world was supposed to end yesterday...and I had this review in mind for a very appropriate film, i.e. Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men. But it seems my laziness is way past apocalyptic urgency. Still seeing that Harold Camping has been very wrong, and "the real end of the world" is still 19 months away, I do have the opportunity to post my review! Soon that is...


         For now, I think it's makes sense to write about the new Pirates film, which follows At World's End (see what I did there?!) And also the other two recent releases I saw- Thor and Hanna. Here it goes:

1) Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides- This film for me picked up where the Curse of the Black Pearl left off. I mean I love Johnny Depp and I love Captain Jack Sparrow but Dead Man's Chest and At World's End were a bit of a mess, especially the latter. It had gotten too confusing, I admit. So I was little skeptical about On Stranger Tides...but it delivers beautifully. In this one, we see Capt. Jack, Barbossa, and Gibbs are on the search for the treasured Fountain of Youth, along with Jack's ex-flame Angelica (Penelope Cruz), the dreaded pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), the British, the Spaniards, etc. 


         There's a lot of swashbuckling involved, along with mermaids and obviously Capt. Jack escape-specials. The story was much more simpler, focussed on a few things and the logic behind all that was clear. The witty dialogues were there, with good action scenes, and a great chemistry between Depp and Cruz (unlike that which he had with a certain Miss Jolie), all of which fueled the film. There was the "new" Will and Elizabeth in the form of a clergyman Phillip and a very Brooke Shield-y mermaid Syrena. They were okay, only mildly annoying but no where near the heights of super-painfulness that Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley achieved. They were played by Sam Claflin (who will forever now be known as "Cheekbones") and Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey. Though I missed the grand Black Pearl and the gorgeous locations throughout most of the film, this Rob Marshall piece looked fine enough, with the scary-looking Queen Anne's Revenge and the darker atmosphere. My favourite things were the cameos- from the truly enchanting Gemma Ward as a vicious mermaid, to Capt. Jack's father and inspiration Capt. Teague played by the legendary Keith Richards, to the always grand Richard Griffiths and one very special royal dame whose completely unexpected appearance made me squeal with joy!


           All I can say was that this was a decent effort, and I am very glad for the focus being brought back to the man who started it all and is the very soul of the franchise- Mr. Johnny Depp. I mean every expression, every move, everything he says is brilliance! I will always love the hero that Capt. Jack is and his tenacity towards life. Though he is a rogue and often dishonest, he is often more right than anyone else ever. I have started to, mildly, feel bad about how predictable Mr. Depp's unpredictable career choices have become, but I guess if he continues to perform the way he does (save The Tourist!), I will still be very proud to be his number one fan. I mean I was watching Secret Window this very morning, and there's a jiffy towards the end when he makes this freaky mouth movement, and it makes soooo much sense in context with the film. These tiny details, that Capt. Jack is full of and Depp can perform perfectly, almost unconsciously, is what makes him...them great.


           Favourite Scene- The beautiful mermaids attacking Blackbeard's crew. Reminded me of the all-jazzed-up ladies from another Rob Marshall feature.


           Rating- 9 out of 10- for a relatively simple and exciting action adventure, one which caused the cinema hall where I was watching to repeatedly clap out loud (very enjoyable experience I must say). The place where it lacked was to show off the fabulous Penelope Cruz more, along with leaving certain loose ends. And Capt. Jack rules ofcourse.

2) Thor- It was fun. I had very less expectations for it, not understanding how in the world could Kenneth Branagh direct an action flick. The tale is about the Thor, the Norse God of Thunder, the son of Odin who is the ruler of Asgard...who in his childish and brawnish recklessness decides to provoke the Frost Giants, inhabitants of Jotunheim, who have been in a very volatile truce with Asgard. As a punishment Odin strips him of his powers and exiles him to Earth, where who should he find but Natalie Portman, or rather scientist Jane Foster and her skeptical team. At the same time, in Asgard, Odin has fallen sick and the throne is passed on to his younger son, the mischievous Loki. Along with Thor, his legendary weapon Mjolnir has also been sent to Earth, where only he who is can possess it and Thor's powers. And who should be after it but Agent Coulson from S.H.I.E.L.D. (something which I remembered only after the film had ended- sorry Ironman 2 didn't really leave an impact on me). That's about the premise of the story. 


          Chris Hemsworth plays the banished Norse God/Superhero. My god he is biiiiiiig. He was good, having the over-confident look about him that a spoilt and proud prince is expected to have. He handled the action scenes well, and it was believable when he threw his hammer around. Honestly the only person I really liked was Tom Hiddleston, who played Loki. Now everyone knows about my affinity towards villains, especially super-villains, and this was no different. I liked his character, the things he did and the reasons behind them. Hiddleston plays's him with the subtlety I always imagined a character like Loki to have. I was totally rooting for him.


         There are other people too- Odin is played by god of all gods- Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jane played by the absolutely stunning Portman ofcourse, her assistant Darcy was played by the always delightful Kat Dennings, her mentor Erik was the nice and supporting Stellan Skarsgard; Clark Gegg reprised his role as Agent Coulson. They were all fine, but I think completely unnecessary. Everyone was pretty much unnecessary. But the action sequences were good, and Asgard was very cool-looking. I thought that the coming of Thor on Earth could have been shown better, it all seemed too easy for a God being able to adapt amongst humans. And the action sequence with the Destroyer was terrible... it made no sense to me at all.


            Favourite scene- The first time Thor and his friends go to Jotunheim to fight the Frost Giants. Thor's superior fighting skills, done with utmost ease, along with the fighting styles of all his friends is shown properly here.


            Rating- 7 out of 10- for a proper beginning of the much-awaited superheroes season (no I don't count Green Hornett...or Green Lantern for that matter, but more on that later). The action sequences were cool, the super-villain was just perfect, and there was enough going on to keep the film from slowing down. On the downside, almost everyone was a prop, and the possibilities of Thor's exile were not exploited properly.

3) Hanna- Slick, cool, gorgeous. I've always admired Joe Wright's films visually, and this one does not disappoint. Ofcourse this is very different from his previous enterprises, but just as fruitful (I haven't seen The Soloist though). Hanna starts in the Arctic Circle, where we meet Erik and his daughter Hanna, who have been training all her life for a special cause. And that is to kill CIA agent Marissa Wiegler. When Hanna thinks she is ready, Erik goes into hiding and Hanna is brought to Marissa. But the devious Wiegler is suspicious about this innocent-looking young girl and sends in another woman, and she watches in horror and amazement as Hanna turns into this adept and ruthless killer who kills her double and escapes unscathed. Out in the real world for the first time, Hanna must find her father, the truth about her own self, the cause of her enmity with Wiegler and what it is to be normal.


         Hanna is played by the very alluring and devastatingly talented Saoirse Ronan, Erik by the cavalier and awesome Eric Bana and Wiegler by the sublime (Queen) Cate Blachett. Very much like Atonement, Ronan truly shines the most in this film. She has a German accent throughout, speaks many languages, is focussed and ruthless, yet full of wonder. Something like electricity amazes her more than I think anything can amaze me. I loved how childish she was, but still deadly enough to scare many grown-ups. She meets a travelling English family and befriends their daughter Sophie, who is about the same age as her. The contrast between them is both amusing and upsetting. Hanna's innocence- sexually and generally, reminds me of a Mean Girls quote, "I love her. She's like a Martian!" I bet Sophie thinks this...especially when both of her go on an outing with two boys. Jessica Bardem played her and she was very funny. 


         Bana and Blanchett were very good too. I do love it when she plays the baddie (one of the few saving graces of the slightly absurd Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), and Hanna did in many ways found her match in her. Except that's where the film also lacks for me because I do not understand why noone else cares about finding her. Her secret is a big one, and the fact that only Wiegler knew about it and the government particularly didn't do anything when a lethal, albeit tiny assassin kills people in their premises. I also thought the big reveal and climactic fight was too short, and well anti-climactic. As said earlier, the look of the film was fantastic, with the Arctic wilderness, the Moroccan and Spanish backdrop and the supercool CIA safehouse. The Chemical Brothers provided the music and it worked beautifully in the action sequences.


        Favourite scene- The escape from the Moroccan safehouse. The music, the lights, the action, Saoirse's eyes... pure cinematic magic. I was jumping up and down my seat, I do not kid you. 


        Rating- 9.5 out of 10- An almost perfect thriller. Stellar performance from Saoirse Ronan and the supporting cast was very good as well. Girl Power!!! The ending could have been better, and that was the only flaw. A superb effort by director and co-writer Joe Wright!




Random observation- I think if few elements of Hanna and Thor were interchanged- more of the real world in Thor and more of action in Hanna, they would've been considerably better.


        So I hope people watch these films... The Hangover 2 is out next week and I have seen the very desperately anticipated X Men: First Class. I do wish they are very good as well. What about you??