"My songs are just little letters to me." ~ BEST MUSIC VIDEOS

      So I know that this is mainly a film-appreciation blog, but I quite like songs too if you've noticed the playlist at the bottom. Now today I saw a music video and thought it was one of the most beautiful and brilliant things I've ever seen. I love good music videos. There have been many times when I hear a song and imagine how the video would look like...I bet many of us do that actually. I think there can be nothing better to compliment a good song than an equally good video.


      So these are some of my favourite music videos (or the ones I remember right now):


1) Gravity, Sara Bareilles- This was the video I saw today. The use of lights in the video is just incredible. It's like a dream. I can't think if such an effect can realistically be used in a film, but a musical or something, it would just do wonders. It's just transplendent.
Video


2) Dog Days Are Over, Florence + The Machine- I mean the cool, apparently wiccan video and not the awful Avatar-dancer video. I love people going mental in forests...really do. There's something awesome about pagan rituals and Florence Welsh is just gorgeous.
Video


3) Islands, The XX- I love them dancers. This is my personal favourite XX song due to the simplicity of its idea, but the whole backstory with the fantastic dancers makes it so much more.
Video


4)Bones, The Killers- Okay I accept I'm biased when it comes to Tim Burton, but this is an awesome video. It's so expected that he would put skeletons in a love story. The song is genius and I honestly prefer the From Here To Eternity kiss in the video to the real one.
Video


5) You're so Gay, Katy Perry- I love it. I love the fun, cynical Katy Perry. The whole Barbie-Ken twist is superb. Though I like most of her videos, just the amount of insulting and demeaning is plain inspiring.


6) All You Need Is Love, The Beatles- Flower Power! Words cannot describe how much I want to be sitting in the crowd. It's lovely.
Video


7) Thriller, Michael Jackson- I know people would find it a "cliché" but, as I always say, that a cliché is nothing but a hit formula. MJ has made amongst the best videos and Thriller is the epitome- the setting, the make-up, the zombies, the dance, It's a legend.
Video


8) Northern Downpour, Panic At The Disco- Many consider it their best song yet, including me. It's very sad that they disbanded right after this. They had so much potential that it kills me. It's a very cute and Panic-y video.


9) What Goes Around Comes Around, Justin Timberlake- Oh I loved it when JT brought sexy back. And this monumental return got completed by this video. It's super-hot. Scarlett Johannson is gorgeous and JT shows he can be as sassy and mean as Katy Perry. I like the debauched sort-of background, and the fact that it has a storyline.
Video


10) Happy Ending, Mika- I love each and every Mika video. But Happy Ending's just special. Its quite a sad song, I always imagined it in a cemetery. Then I saw the happy and childish video. It is so joyful, and charming.
Video


11) Here It Goes Again, OK Go- I seriously look forward to each of their videos like how I look forward to a Tarantino film. They are just grand. Also the whole tradmill dance became such a sensation. They're not even dancers. It's marvelous!!
Video


12) Knights Of Cydonia, Muse- This actually looks like a cross between a movie that would inspire Tarantino and probably someone like George Lucas. I love the insanity of a karate-obsessed "space cowboy".
 Video


13) Vogue, Madonna- Like Thriller, this is plain legendary. Madonna is dazzling. I love the black and white. I love the dancing. I love love love the cultural references! And...the fact that DAVID FINCHER made it!!!
Video


14) 1234 I Love You, Plain White Ts- It's just the most adorable, puppy love video ever. It spreads joy and love. A sappy me would love to be in the video.
Video


15) A Beautiful Lie, 30 Seconds To Mars- They make extreme, mindblowing videos. But going to the Arctic and shooting this video was just the icing on the cake. The message, the song, Jared Leto's bluest-of-all-blues eyes. Takes your breath away, it really does.
Video


Bonus: A bonus awesome video would be Everybody by Backstreet Boys. This song was the total combined essence of the boyband era of the 90s. I bow down to it.
 Video


      Other videos I really like are Boys Don't Cry by The Cure, all Mika and OK Go videos, Empire State of Mind by Jay Z and Alicia Keys, URA Fever by The Kills,  and Cousins by Vampire Weekend.


      Now amongst the videos I hate  are those which completely ruin the song. For instance Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol and Your Guardian Angel by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. The videos were meant to be as excellent as the song, but they absolutely disappoint. Also I hate many videos and songs together, like California Gurls by Katy Perry. Just want to ask her one thing, What was she thinking?


       However, without these slight glitches, all the videos are exquisite. Watch!!

I always liked strange characters~ Tim Burton

The sheer brilliance of their friendship and chemistry just amazes me. Love them both!

I pretty much try to stay in a constant state of confusion just because of the expression it leaves on my face - Johnny Depp

      Between Johnny Depp's birthday last year and his birthday today, a miraculous thing has happened. My mother, who used to cringe at his face and never remember his name and could not, for the life of her, understand why I love him so much- she almost screams out his name when he comes on TV, with obvious appreciation and delight in her voice. This is not because I have bombarded the house with his pictures, because I haven't (yet). It is also not because she's been watching any of his films, because she hasn't (she's into Hindi soap operas). It is simply because he is such a fantastic actor that watching mere minutes of him at his art makes you a fan. And I have seen 25 of his films (he's made 40+. I am depressed).


      John Christopher Depp II was born on 9th June, 1963 to a waitress and a civil engineer. With a childhood of constant shifting and family tension, an adolescence of rock 'n' roll and struggling in L.A. in his late teens and early 20s, including a job as a telemarketer for fountain pens- today, on his 47th birthday (and he looks gorgeous as ever) Johnny Depp is one of the biggest stars of Hollywood and also amongst its most critically acclaimed actors. But this is almost copied from Wikipedia.  So what is it that makes me love him so very much, and call him my most favourite actor ever?

      Though it sounds terribly clichéd, but it is his choice of characters and roles and the way that he enacts them perfectly, to the point of becoming the character itself for everyone. He is a chameleon actor, and so very apt at choosing such different roles that you never know what he is going to do next. But it isn't the choice alone. I mean people like Taylor Lautner who go from being part fish in one film to part dog in another, that science and nature would fall at their feet! However Johnny Depp, who indeed plays characters that are poles apart, but he puts his soul and thoughts and feelings into it, and creates a character that is so very different than what must have been written in the script, though infinitely better of course. He himself has said, "With any part you play, there is a certain amount of yourself in it. There has to be, otherwise it's just not acting. It's lying." This has to be my most favourite quote on acting, because there is truth in it. I have always thought that the best of actors are those who are able to do a variety of roles, but their own identity is never lost it. I'm digressing here but Meryl Streep, who is considered to be the greatest actor of today, can play a Holocaust survivor, a writer obsessed with orchids, a selfish actress with an obsession with beauty, a paranoid aunt, a fashionista from hell (clichéd again), a formidable nun and a beloved cook brilliantly, and still be Meryl Streep. It is absolutely amazing!

     So this is my tribute to my greatest actor, Johnny Depp. As it is his roles which I love the most, I would like to talk a bit about my favourite ones.

1. Edward Scissorhands- The very first film I remember seeing of JD is that in which he plays a man created by a scientist, who dies before giving him a real pair of hands. Instead he has 'scissorhands'. JD started gaining popularity because of this role, and that is because it was played to such a perfection. This character is so dearly beloved. Edward has the epitome of unrequited love that can be felt by anyone, a real man or a man-made one. JD as Edward was adorable and tragic at the same time. My heart cries out for his naivety and innocence, which is so unscrupulously exploited first and then punished by the wicked, wicked world. I don't think that a very gentle person with such hazardous characteristics and absurd background like Edward has been portrayed before on the silver screen. And of course, his love for Kim is so pure and untouched, a love that was even true in real life- JD and Winona Ryder were, are and always will be one of my favourite couples ever *sob*. Edward really makes one realise that it isn't important to be 'normal' to love and be loved. I think this is a JD trait too. Edward embraces the weird and darkness and all he gives is love and hope. He is a beautiful person and my favourite JD character.

2. Captain Jack Sparrow- Actually, I might have never put this character up in this list, because it is my favourite character of all time. But as a JD character, it would be my second favourite. I know that didn't make any sense, but what I mean is that Capt. Jack Sparrow is not JD, he is a person himself. What JD has managed to do with this character is that he has literally breathed life into it. Talking about JD and talking about Capt. Jack are two very different things. Call me a crazy fan, but there must be people who agree with me. Yes Capt. Jack is based on Keith Richards; yes none but JD could have played him so mesmerisingly; yes it is a desecration for anyone who assumes the identity of Capt. Jack except JD, but Capt. Jack is not just a character. He is the ultimate cult hero- a pirate, a drunk, a warrior, a genius. The fact that JD played him just adds to his character. And thus being not a character, Capt. Jack Sparrow as a character, is JD's second best yet. Capt. Jack is a hilarious, ingenuous pirate who can get out of any situation using his wit, sword and conversation skills. He is to be revered for his love of freedom and rum. JD got his first and very-eagerly anticipated Oscar nomination as Capt. Jack, and also the superstar status he has, and not necessarily enjoys, today.
3. J.M. Barrie- Oh this role and this film! JD's most poignant and touching role to date. As the reclusive playwright with the imagination of a child, JD plays J.M. Barrie when he had met the Davies family and wrote the play that is as everlasting as the boy himself, Peter Pan. I had always loved the children's tale, but when I saw this film and how Barrie was enchanted by the everyday games and plays of the Davies boys, which led him to write it, I grew to love it so much more. It is Barrie's Neverland that we see in the play, and it is JD's Barrie who shows us the Neverland and its humble beginnings in the film. His love for the children and their mother, who is played by another favourite of mine- Kate Winslet, his indifference and ignorance of the real world, his gentle manliness, his kiddish delight; all of which led to JD's second Oscar nomination, is a nothing but sheer pleasure to watch.
4. Sam- I have already written about this role in Benny and Joon and how it should have been Sam and Joon instead because JD is simply superb in this role. He plays an eccentric young man, who can make bread rolls dance and toast bread using the iron and also swing by windows. I love characters like these- old-school, funny and sweet. And JD was just that.
5. Ed Wood- Even though JD has played nothing but eccentric and abnormal characters in Tim Burton films, I personally think nothing comes close to Ed Wood. Ed Wood is based on the real life cross-dressing, terrible director of the 50s, whose films now have a cult status. He is blindly optimistic, filled with weird ideas that always manage to fail. His creepy vision and deplorable effects, and affection to equally insane characters like Béla Lugosi and Vampira- the character is spot-on crazy genius! JD is genuine and funny and light-hearted and stunning in black and white, even in a dress. His ability to just morph into the role of the nutty filmmaker is extremely commendable.

I also love every other character he has played, notable mentions to all those in Burton films, Roux in Chocolat, Sands in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Don Juan in Don Juan De Marco, Inspector Abberline in From Hell, Mort Rainey in Secret Window and John Dillinger in Public Enemies.

      I am reiterating by saying how much I love him. All I want is for him to win that Oscar he so truly deserves. I can't think of what else to write, so I am going to conclude by putting some of my favourite quotes by His Greatness, Johnny Depp Himself...

"If there's any message to my work, it is ultimately that it's OK to be different, that it's good to be different, that we should question ourselves before we pass judgment on someone who looks different, behaves different, talks different, is a different color."

"Am I a romantic? I've seen Wuthering Heights ten times. I'm a romantic."

"People say I make strange choices, but they're not strange for me. My sickness is that I'm fascinated by human behavior, by what's underneath the surface, by the worlds inside people."

"The only gossip I'm interested in is things from the Weekly World News - 'Woman's bra bursts, 11 injured'. That kind of thing."

"There's a drive in me that won't allow me to do certain things that are easy."

"The term 'serious actor' is kind of an oxymoron, isn't it? Like 'Republican party' or 'airplane food.'"

"There are four questions of value in life... What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHNNY DEPP! (from your adoring crazy fan)

ALICE IN BURTONLAND

  

     "There is a place. Like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger! Some say to survive it: You need to be as mad as a hatter." - The Mad Hatter


    It is true...and only on man can bring such a place to life...the one and only...as mad as a hatter- the wonderful Tim Burton. Watching his Alice in Wonderland is a mesmerizing experience.


    This Alice In Wonderland proves that I was not a weird kid for not liking the book in 2nd grade. I mean the Alice with bags under her eyes, the Mad Hatter and his crazy friends and the barbaric Red Queen are hardly child-friendly people. What Burton has done in this movie is that he embraced these facts with open arms and using that made an epic for both children and grown-ups.


    Alice in this film is 19 years old. So basically, we are seeing her story at the time of Through The Looking Glass, the Alice In Wonderland sequel. She is being married to and ugly git called Hamish and she does not want to as he lacks her enormous imagination and humility, and is quite annoyingly proper- like everyone else around her. Her only friend was her imaginative father who had passed away. On the day of her engagement to Hamish, Alice overwhelmed by the whole situation, runs away for a moment only to find the White Rabbit and fall down the hole to Wonderland.


    After this we all know what happens more or less. She shrinks and grows a number of times and gets to meet all the Wonderland residents- Tweedledee, Tweedledum, Dormouse, Absulum-the Blue Caterpillar, March Hare, Cheshire Cat, Bayard, Stayne, Red Queen, White Queen and of course the Mad Hatter. They all expect her to slay the evil Red Queen's monster Jabberwocky and bring peace back to Wonderland as then the fair White Queen will become the ruler again.


    The best feature of this film was it's amazing cast. Any film which has Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Stephen Fry, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Crispin Grover, Michael Sheen and Christopher Lee together is bound to be brilliant. However, what I liked  most was that the newcomer, Mia Wasikowska, who played Alice was given the most importance as obviously; it was her film. And she did brilliantly. She was actually one of my favourite characters in the film. The others and how I rank them and what I thought of the is as follows:

    1) The Mad Hatter- Was there ever any doubt that Johnny Depp wouldn't play this role to perfection? I think not. Sure his face was plastered with make up and he had the most ridiculous outfit on(which I do want), his performance breaks out from all of them and stands in a league of it's on. He is absolutely genius in this film. Who can act as mad as a hatter and still manage to woo everyone but him? I mean he still has the Edward Scissorhands quirkiness mixed with Benny and Joon innocence and a hint of Sweeney Todd madness- which makes him a perfect fit for this role.

    2) Alice- It is true, I actually did love her this much. She was sweet, innocent, whimsical and beautiful. I loved her as Alice. I admired her for her ability to stand out amongst the absolute stellar cast of this film. I especially loved all her crazy outfits in the film. Mia Wasikowska has a long and prosperous career ahead of her and with Alice as a first, I can't even start to imagine her future film roles.

    3) The Red Queen- Helena Bonham Carter should get more credit for her acting genius. Thank god for her boyfriend Tim Burton who never manages to fail in giving her the perfect roles, which range from a futuristically primitive ape, a poor mother, a corpse bride, a human-flesh meat pies baker and a dreaded childhood fantasy queen in this case. She was kick-arse as the Red Queen. She can play the evil, barbaric and yet lovesick and easily amused monarch any day. And also say the phrase, "Off with their heads!" perfectly. Burton excellently Supersizes her head to imply her hatred of heads; and ofcourse, I don't think anyone could have pulled off a head so big with a performance so matched as Helena Bonham Carter.

    4) Cheshire Cat- Stephen Fry!!!! How amazing is this guy and how brilliant is his voice. I think, if a poll was to be taken everyone will choose the Cheshire Cat as their favourite character, after Mad Hatter obviously. We love the elusive cat and can't get enough of his enchanting voice.

    5) The White Queen- She was I think the biggest surprise. I always thought of the White Queen to be like those awful fairy princessy characters we see in films. But rather, she was an emo-looking monarch with a twisted head for potion-making and weird hand posture. Then again, Burton had put the lovely Anne Hathaway for the role and I have always known that she can do anything. Though I prefer her fresh and dainty, I like this gothic white face, dark lipstick and hollow eyes look too. And I liked how she made her voice seem much older than she is. I really enjoyed her character in th film.

    6) Blue Caterpillar- Alan Rickman's voice is I think the most iconic British voice ever. It signifies a deep wisdom, caring and undermining at the same time, with a bit a magic. and that's exactly what we needed for the opium(?) smoking Blue Caterpillar. I am so happy that he is also becoming a recurring person in Burton films.


    The others were good too but I loved the above mentioned best.


    Now what is the point of all this if I do not talk about the brilliant visionary and filmmaker who brings such fantasies to life. I called it Burtonland because Tim Burton managed to mix his twisted vision with the story wonderfully. The topiary animals, the twisted trees, the heads in the moat, the make-up and the costumes, the care of making sure that a character is never left out and all the magic in it- only Burton can do it. I have loved him and his movies for a long time. I love his nightmares and towns and characters and Johnny Depp-loveness. And because we share the same birthday. The best thing I love about him though is that he is such a Romantic beneath all that gore. The end of the film sees a blue butterfly flying away, showing Alice's freedom and her Wonderland going with her as that is the metamorphosed Absulum. Lovely.


    Though I loved the film, I cannot deny the fact that it could have been a bit better, especially the ending as it reminded me of a lot of fantasy films like Harry Potter and Lord Of The Rings. I would give it an 8.5 if I were to rate it, but I think I am too trivial to do such a thing.

    May the Depp-Burton relationship last forever!

BEST ROMANTIC FILMS EVER

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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