"I want my life to be like an 80s movie, preferably with one a really awesome musical number, for no apparent reason."- Olive Penderghast, Easy A

       Reason or no reason, we all love it when actors in films burst out into songs. It's sooo much fun. So this list is dedicated to those fantastic cinema moments.

Note: It's only one song in the films. This is not about musicals.

Marty McFly from Back To The Future is a legend, especially when he starts singing Chuck Berry's classic Johnny B Goode.

"I guess you guys aren't ready for that, yet. But your kids are gonna love it."

I Say A Little Prayer from My Best Friend's Wedding. Rupert Everett is so awesome!!

So technically this is lip syncing, but this scene in Bridget Jones's Diary is as epic as they come. True Renee Zelweger sang brilliantly as Roxie Hart, but All By Myself is a whole another level.

Moon River by Audrey Hepburn/ Holly Golightly. This song is so poignant, and it explains the loneliness that Holly felt, and how Paul saw her.

Can't Take My Eyes Off You by Heath Ledger/ Patrick Verona. If you are a girl, you have and dont deny it, dreamed of this happening to you.

Yes I could have put Knock On Wood- the song she actually sings in the film, but Pocket Full Of Sunshine and Olive Penderghast from now on go hand in hand. I need that damn card.

Oh Annette! God I love her, and her character Nick in The Kids Are All Right. If any actress deserves the Best Actress Oscar this year, except Natalie Portman, it's this screen goddess. Joni Mitchell would be happy.

Jingle Bell Rock from Mean Girls. Every girl knows this song. Period.

It Seems Like Old Times by Diane Keaton/Annie Hall. The character and the film are unforgettable. One of the reasoms we and Alvey Singer/ Woody Allen love Annie so much is because she is an absolute divine singer.

 Baby It's Cold Outside by Zooey Deschanel and Will Ferrel. I love this song and this movie and this situation. I love how their voices compliment each other, and how in the end he bangs into the lockers.

Don't Rain on My Parade by Annette Bening/ Caroline Burnham. This just shows how much I love this woman, and she deserves it completely.

It was only fair to put this after All By Myself. Chris O' Dowd brings sorrow and humour together in his superbly lip synced Stay With Me Baby by Lorraine Ellison.

 A Waltz for a Night by Julie Delpy/ Celine. Oh how I love this film and her and this song. Simply gorgeous.

Twist and Shout by Ferris Beuller. You know how mindblastingly uber famous this song and this scene is. I worship it.

Other musical numbers I wanted to put, but could not find videos of are- the french song Kirsten Dunst sings in Marie Antoinette, Here Comes Your Man and Sugar Daddy from (500) Days of Summer, Killing Me Softly with His Song from About A Boy, Can't Take My Eyes of You from Drop Dead Gorgeous and ofcourse Christmas is All Around from Love Actually.

2011 Films!

It's 2011. And that means a whole new year with lots and lots and lots of films to watch. So here is my list of the announced titles I found interesting. Enjoy.


Will be good, no matter what-



1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2- It’s ending *a happy sniff*. The series which made me who I am, and defined my whole generation comes to an end this year. Biggest cinematic event ever.

2. The Green Hornet- Seth Rogen, Christoph Waltz and Jay Chou in a Michel Gondry film. And have you seen the trailer? It’s epic!!
3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- David Fincher <3. Rooney Mara in one of the most coveted roles in recent cinematic history, and Daniel Craig too. Let’s hope the credits would say- from the Oscar-winning director of The Social Network.

4. The Ides of March- George Clooney’s political Drama, starring Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Pine, Paul Giamatti and Marisa Tomei. *shudders with joy*

5. X Men: First Class- Starring the two men who I predict will rule the film charts this year- James McAvoy as young Proffesor X and Michael Fassbender as young Magneto.

6. Fright Night- Anton Yelchin starring as a popular high school boy whose new neighbor is a vampire, played by Colin Farrell. Cool or what? It also stars Doctor Who’s David Tennant and Mclovin!

7. Your Highness- From the creators of Pineapple Express, stars James Franco and Natalie Portman. ‘Nuff said.

8. A Dangerous Method- A story about Sigmund Fred and Carl Jung. Starring Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley and Vincent Cassel. Such a good feeling about this film!

9. Restless- Gus Van Sant’s romantic drama that looks an awful lot like Harold and Maude.

10. Sherlock Holmes 2- RDJ, Jude Law, Stephen Fry, Rachael McAdams and Guy Ritchie. Gah, the awesomeness!

11. Hop- Russel Brand playing an animated rabbit!! I just died of excitement.

12. Rango- Johnny Depp playing an animated chameleon, directed by Gore Verbinsky. Same reaction as above.

13. The Tree of Life- The trailer is just beautiful. Terrence Mallick’s drama starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn.

14. Super 8- The damned teaser trailer had me at the edge of my seat. All I know is that it has Elle Fanning and made by J.J. Abrams.

15. Beginners- The plot summary had me rolling with excitement. Starring the lovely Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer and Melanie “Shosanna” Laurent.

16. Hesher- Joseph Gordon-Levitt looking like a bum, and Natalie Portman. Oooh.

17. Crazy, Stupid, Love- Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in one film!

18. The Three Musketeers- Oh just the cast is making me earthquake. Logan Lerman, Matthew Mcfayden, Orlando Bloom and best of all, Christoph Waltz.

19. Arthur Christmas- Animated film about Santa’s misfit son with voices of James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Bill Nighy and Jim Broadbent.

20. The Rum Diary- Johnny Depp’s much anticipated role.






Really hope that they’ll be good, but have a bad feeling that they might suck-


1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides- I don’t know. I can’t help it. The trailer looks too much and Rob Marshall is a bit dramatic.

2. Hangover 2- It’s just so hard to match up to the first part, especially because it is a comedy. I think they’re gonna fail.

3. The Beaver- It looks interesting and I love Jodie Foster, but Mel Gibson’s kinda nuts.

4. On The Road- Adapting a book like this, with so much cultural influence, seems pretty impossible. And I just cannot see Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart as Dean Moriarty and Marylou.

5. Transformers: Dark of the Moon- The teaser trailer was plain awful. The new female lead seems dismal. I don’t know how Michael Bay and Shia Labeouf are going to pick it up from the slightly bad Transformers 2.

6. Paul- I really want this to rock, especially because of the Shaun of the Dead team and Greg Mottola of Superbad and Adventureland, but the trailer looks really random.

7. Jane Eyre- Again, adapting a book like this, and that too in a two-hour film. It has Michael Fassbender, Mia Wasikowska, Jamie Bell and Dame Judy Dench though.

8. Captain America: The First Avenger- I don’t like the superhero. But I have faith in Chris Evans.

9. Water for Elephants- The trailer looks boring, but I know the plot, which is infinitely interesting. This film is resting on my faith in Christoph Waltz.

10. Bel Ami- Again, I have very less faith in Robert Pattinson, and Uma Thurman out of Tarantino films. But the plot’s super sexy.

11. The Wolverine- Darren Aronofsky is going to make it. It’s definitely gonna be a love-it-or-hate-it film.

12. Thor- Once again I don’t like the superhero or Chris Hemsworth. Natalie Portman might save it.

13. Red Riding Hood- It looks cool and has Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman and a couple of really hot guys, but it’s made by the director of Twilight and may suck, big time.






Films that I’m pretty sure will suck so bad, that it’ll become a necessity to see them-


1. Sucker Punch- What is going on in Zach Snyder’s head? The trailer looks retarded.

2. Green Lantern- Oh look, Ryan Reynolds is Ben 10!

3. I Am Number Four- See below.

4. Beastly- Alex Pettyfer is the oddest leading man in Hollywood. He cannot act, has never delivered a hit film, but keeps getting roles, just because he is smoking hot. Kind of excited about Diana Argon, NPH and Mary-Kate Olsen though. ( Considering both films)

5. Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World- What? Why? Stop!

6. Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn- No comments

7. Cowboys and Aliens- It looks mental, but it has cult hit written all over.

8. Season of the Witch- Nicholas Cage- what happened to your Adaptation days?

9. The Apparition- It has some dumb plot, but it also has Tom “Malfoy” Felton.

10. From Prada to Nada- HAHAHAHA…look at the name.

 

Other films I am looking forward to- (I’m just going to comment on a few)


1. No Strings Attached- Super-duper hot.

2. Waiting For Forever- It’s finally going to come out.

3. The Rite

4. The Way Back

5. London Boulevard

6. The Eagle

7. Limitless

8. The Smurfs- One of my most favourite cartoons of all time.

9. Friends with Benefits

10. Zookeeper

11. 30 Minutes or Less

12. The Conspirator

13. The Dilemma

14. The Help

15. Drive- Can’t wait. Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan.

16. Anonymous- Fantastic concept about a man who actually wrote all of Shakespeare’s stuff. Starring Rhys Ifans.

17. Dream House

18. Contagion- What a cast- Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Lawrence Fishburn.

19. Wanderlust

20. Puss in Boots- Better be good. Shrek Forevere After left a bad taste in my mouth.

21. Happy Feet 2- Yaaay! And it has Brad Pitt. I do not approve of the 3-D thing though.

22. Gnomeo and Juliet- James McAvoy, in another animated film which is about rival garden gnomes.

23. The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made

24. Hugo Cabret- Martin Scorcese’s next.

25. Rio

26. Hanna

27. Haywire

28. What’s Your Number?

29. Rise of the Apes

30. Cars 2

31. Kung Fu Panda 2

32. One Day- I swear I’d thought of this story atleast 3 years ago.

33. This Means War- Oh so epic- Chris Pine and Tom Hardy fighting over Reese Witherspoon.

34. My Week with Marilyn- Emma Watson’s new flick, with Michelle Williams as the gorgeous Marilyn Monroe.

35. My Idiot Brother- Paul Rudd starrer, have a really good feeling about it.

36. We Bought a Zoo

37. Midnight in Paris- Woody Allen’s next with Marion Cotillard, Michael Sheen and Rachel McAdams.

38. Arthur- Russel Brand and Helen Mirren in one film!

39. Melancholia

40. Mars Needs Moms


Films I might watch, but no pressure really-


1. Immortals- Sounds an awful lot like the terrible Clash of the Titans.

2. New Year’s Eve- As much as I love him, Garry Marshall should learn from his previous mistakes (Valentine’s Day)

3. Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol- What a gay name. Why is Brad Bird making it?

4. Just Go With It- Stolen from a Hindi film.

5. Perks of Being a Wallflower- Whatever happened to it starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson. I fail you.

6. Wanted 2- The first one was way too OTT.

7. Scream 4- Bleh.

8. Fast Five- Seriously STOP.

9. Big Momma’s: Like Father like Son- *gagging from the bile rising in my throat*

10. Source Code- Again bleh, even though it stars Jake Gyllenhaal.

11. Final Destination 5- The summary reads, “The fifth installment of the franchise in which teens escape a deadly accident only to later discover that death is hunting them down.” We’ve already seen this for the first 500 installments. Enough is enough.






What films are you excited about?

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!!

Who Loves the Sun?

Who loves the rain

Who cares that it makes flowers

Who cares that it makes showers

Since you broke my heart
-Who Loves the Sun, The Velvet Underground





      It rained today, and yes I am a sap who cares about rain. That is because I live in a bloody desert, where it never rains. Some of my favourite rain scenes...

BLACK SWAN

      Now in order to review Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, I must talk about four things- its trailer, its posters, its cast and the film itself.

1) The Trailer

      The official trailer of Black Swan is one of the best ever. I remember seeing it for the first time and being absolutely mesmerised. It does everything a trailer should do- look good, create interest, leave the viewer wanting more, leave the viewer wanting to watch the film and also become unforgettable. There are barely any trailers that I've seen, not only this year but ever that match up to the beauty and the mystery of Black Swan's trailer.

2) The Posters

        The first time I found out about this movie was through a poster in my Tumblr dashboard. The colours of white, red and black stood out immediately. This is very important because the whole film is about these colours. The virginal white Nina has to become the visceral black swan and this transformation is assisted by deadly red blood. It's quite fantastic.

3) The cast



      Natalie Portman delivers the performance of a lifetime in Black Swan. Her Nina is this beautiful, scared, ephemeral, pure woman who has to embrace her darker side. She is a top-class ballerina who, after a lifetime of dedicated perfectionism, gets the lead in her ballet company's new production of Swan Lake. However she is only ideal for the white swan side, and has trouble embracing the black swan side of her character. Add to that she is being constantly ridiculed and seduced by director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel), is facing competition from free-spirited Lily (Mila Kunis), and her overprotective mother Erica (Barbara Hershey). All this soon starts to affect her mind and her grip on reality as the story of Swan Lake takes over her life. Portman portrays all aspects of Nina- her reservations, her desires, her fears, her insanity, her malevolence; such that her last line "I was perfect" becomes a fact. And a damn good one at that. Her hard work into getting into the shape and mindset of a professional ballerina reminds me of Adrien Brody in The Pianist, who lost a great amount of weight and learned to play Chopin and hence won the Oscar for his portrayal of Wladyslaw Szpilman.

        The next best role was that of Barbara Hershey as the mother/the Queen. She channeled Margaret White and a certain Mrs. Bates for this role. Even a bit of Michele Pfeiffer from White Oleander. She was creepy as hell. She tries to control Nina's life to the extreme and treats her as a little girl, her "sweet girl"  so much so that she even dresses her, and cuts her nails and regulates her going in and out. Her paintings are just as weird, and the fact that she cries while she paints them does help her creep factor quite a bit. She is a failed ballerina, and despite the fake frigid smile on her face while wishing good luck, she wants Nina to be one too. It's quite a brilliant and chilling performance.

       Vincent Cassel is a sexgod and his Thomas is one too. I love the way he seduces Nina to bring out the black swan in her. He is the only one who sees this side of her, and if it wasn't for his advances, the quite virtuous Nina would not have broken into the new characater, or side. Mila Kunis is very good too. She, like Portman, practiced for months before to become a ballerina onscreen. She embodies the black swan in her role, and the stark contrast to Nina is commendable. Their sexual "encounter" is very graphic, but quite necessary. Winona Ryder is also there as the ex-queen ballerina Beth, who gets replaced by Nina. I love Winona Ryder to bits and hope that this excellent albeit tiny role would get her into the game again.

4) The Film

       Oh what a film! Aronofsky has delivered a cinematic melodramatic gem that will be loved for many many years to come. The entire concept, of taking a overly-secured ballerina, with a prolonged childhood and mixing in it the elixir of Swan Lake...genius!! It is visually stunning masterpiece. Everything from the beauty of ballerinas and their outfits, to the effects that show Nina's degarding mind is excellent. The music of Tchaikovsky adds immensely to the drama and the splendour of the film. The themes of light and dark, of sexuality and parental control, of control and release, of love and lust, of life and death is what the film consists of. All the characters show this, but especially Nina. I personally thought the ending was brilliant, but it still confused me a bit. As did the whole film. I can't help it but a part of me thinks that all of it was Nina's imagination, or maybe that she was Beth herself. It raises many questions on psychology, most importantly on those peole who have been performers all their lives and how that affects them. The details are minute and expertly put. The choreography is just beautiful and touching and shocking.

      This film hits you over and over again, but in a good way. Aronofsky can show the degradation of human mind expertly, like how he did in Requiem for a Dream, but he has really polished his craft in this film.

      Oscar predictions- I think Natalie Portman has the the Best Actress Oscar in the bag. The film, Aronofsky, score, editting, costume and Hershey for Supporting Actress should get nominated.

She's making a list, and checking it twice- FAVOURITE CHRISTMAS FILMS!!

      Ho Ho Ho...it's that time of the year again!! While due to the many insignificant complications of my life, I haven't had a Christmas tree or anything Christmas-related this year, my favourite Christmas films do not fail me. I love Christmas films and it is absolutely essential for me to watch them on Christmas Eve/Christmas.
Now unlike the other lists I put up, these are ranked in order of my preference. Also I must add that if anyone has noticed, there is a "Recently Watched/Rewatched Films" list to the right of the page and those have been given ratings. These ratings directly refer to my love of the films and there is a great chance that they might not be "critically acclaimed" or "commercially successful" or both (a rare occurrence indeed), but I do love them if given a high rating or vice versa.


      Anyways, here are my most favourite Christmas films, in reverse order:

8) Elf- This is an adorable film about how a human baby crawls into Santa's bag of presents and grows up in the North Pole as an elf only to find out his "true nature" when he grows up. He then embarks upon a journey to New York to find his father, only to see that he has been in the "naughty list". Will Ferrel plays Buddy, the  human-elf who has to experience the greedy and often unkind world, that he changes with his true love for Christmas. The films also stars James Caan as Buddy's "naughty" father and Zooey Descahnel as his musical love-interest. 

7) Love Actually- This film shows us that during Christmas "love actually is all around". Of all the romcoms made on Christmas, Love Actually stands distinct. I love this film and it's enormous and fantastic cast. Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Emma Thompson, Martin Freeman, Rodrgo Santoro, Rowan Atkinson etc. The list goes on and on. I love Richard Curtis films because they end up leaving one feeling all warm inside, and that's exactly the feeling a Christmas film should leave behind. There are a whole bunch of intertwined stories in this film and all are set during Christmas time and all have some connection with love, whether it's young love, trans-lingual love, trans-Atlantic love, sort of nudist love, love between friends, love between the British Prime Minister and his worker, unrequited love, love between an old couple facing problems etc. (By the way, this paragraph contains 14 "loves" just in case you are wondering).


6) The Santa Clause- What happens if Santa falls of your roof and dies/disappears? Why, you take his place of course. This is exactly what happens to Scott. Obviously he isn't very keen on it, especially since he is facing problems with son Charlie and custody rights. Add to that, he starts growing this enormous white beard and gets a Christmas goodies-fetish. This film is sort of similar to Elf in showing how people do not care much about Christmas, but they need to be reminded of its magic. I love Tim Allen as Santa and the elves and his son are plain adorable.

5) Jingle All the Way- I love funny Arnold Schwarzenegger films!! While the best is Kindergarten Cop, Jingle All the Way is quite precious too. He plays a workaholic father, Howard Langston, who has to get the perfect action figure present, Turbo-Man, for his son on Christmas. Except, he forgets and goes to all extremes to buy it last minute. This is a hilarious films and one of my original favourites. Also, I like how it deviates from the whole "Christmas is not about presents" ideal. Damn right it is, and you know it!





4) The Nightmare Before Christmas- From this point on, all the films are technically on the same level but for rankings' sake... Tim Burton's and Henry Selick's animated Christmas feature has become on of the biggest and greatest cult classics ever. The story of Halloween Town and Christmas Town and Jack Skellington and Sally and all the weird Burton-esque characters is just brilliant. The idea that Christmas can be taken over by the most horrific festival- Halloween and what the outcome of it would be, how Santa Clause becomes Sandy Claws, and a blossoming love in all of this just shows the true friggin genius of Tim Burton! Oogie Boogie people!!!

3)  How The Grinch Stole Christmas- This can also be called How Jim Carrey and Dr. Seuss Go Together. They really do. I love the story of a green and hairy Scrooge-ish Grinch who hates Christams and the Christmas-loving Whoville. He has shunned Christmas like how the people of Whoville have shunned him. It suits both of them fine until a young Who called Cindy Lou decides to vote him as the recipient of Whobilation, a great tradition and honour in the little town. At first Grinch is hesitant, but he does come to join in the celebrations, only to be then insulted by the Mayor Augustus May Who. After creating much havoc, he decides to ruin Christmas by stealing all the presents, disguising himself as Santa and his dog Max as a reindeer. Even though his masterplan at first seems successful, he then realises that Christmas is about more than material gifts. A change comes over him, his heart grows three times its original choice and he decides to make Amends. This is the highest grossing Christmas film of all-time (in your face Avatar!), and it comes from the highly acclaimed and very cool producer-director pair of Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. This is one of Jim Carrey's best roles, second only to probably Count Olaf in Lemony Snickets: A Series of Unfortunate Events. His Grinch is funny and tragic at the same time and we love him for that.

2) Home Alone 1 & 2- Kevin McCallister's epic survival tales take place during the lovely snowy time of Christmas. These are amongst the most loved children and holiday films of all time. This is because of the fantastic story of how a young boy left home alone, and alone in New York survives and protects himself from two of the funniest baddies ever- Harry and Marv. Macaulay Culkin's legendary role made him amongst the most famous child stars ever. Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern and Catherine O'Hara are also part of the great cast. Chris Columbus has a gift of making evergreen and lovely children films (see Harry Potter) and these are amongst his best.

1) The Polar Express- Only animation can truly achieve feats that live-action cinema can only dream of. And I think Robert Zemeckis's The Polar Express is a testament to that. I absolutely love this film. True, not may paragraphs ago I said that Christmas is about presents. But it is also about believing in the good and the naughty and the magic in the world. The film is about a boy who is starting to think that Santa Clause and North Pole and everything is made up, and then he is visited by a magical train that takes him to North Pole on Christmas Eve. It is fantastically made film, slightly dark but heart-warming nonetheless. It is number one because while it does apply many of the Chistmas movie rules to it, the total effect of it, with the story, the images, the music, the characters, the mystery, the aura, the Christmas spirit make it absolutely unique and unforgettable. I love Tom Hanks with all my heart. The review is here. 


       A special mention to It's a Wonderful Life, which was quite lovely too, but not that Christmas-y for me. Also Robert Zemeckis's Jim Carrey-starrer A Christmas Carol. I haven't seen the other adaptations of Charles Dickens' classic, neither have I seen Scrooged or Miracle on 34th Street. I don't want to watch Santa Clause 3 or Four Christmases. I really do not want to see Bad Santa as it might scar me forever.


        So as the carol goes, "Tis the season to be jolly," have a great time on Christmas watching these films, if you would like.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!