Thoughts

Helloo one and all! I know I'm late but I was internet-less for the past few days. I had declared my "blogging hiatus" on Twitter before this, but then I figured that's just my own blogging pattern.

1) So the reason I was internet-less was because I had gone to New Delhi to give an entrance exam which must be a foreign concept for most of you, but yeah- Indian education system is gaga. But then one of the GK questions was:
Which of the following is not a cult film- a) Hugo; b) Enter the Dragon; c) Star Wars; d) The Godfather
AKA- Best. Question. In. An. Academic. Exam. Ever.
Yes the answer is pretty obvious for someone with the most basic amount of film knowledge, but still, the little evil film nerd in me did do a secret maniacal laugh for all those who wouldn't get this :D Oh joys.

2) Even though I was away for 3 days, my dashboard is full of amazing blogposts. Here are my three most favourite- Southern Vision's 25 Most Important Films of the Last 25 Years, Eternity of Dream's Paris in Genres and Cinematic Paradox's 100 Films Facts about Stevee.

3) I am pretty sure that if I were to write a 100 Film Facts About Me list, 95 of those facts will focus on Johnny Depp and Ryan Gosling. Just today, during my flight when I was going through my usual Fight Club-esque "mid-air collision" fantasies, I started thinking about what would be my last thought before my brain explodes or whatever and I first decided on "Ryan Gosling" but then I thought that would be wayy to shallow so then my thought process was like "Films- Woody Allen- New York- Buildings- The Tree of Life- Emmanuel Lubezki- okay no I don't want my dying thought to be Emmanuel Lubezki. Ryan Gosling it is!" So sad, but true. Imagine if I actually articulate this thought (unlike you know, all of this), and "Ryan Gosling" will become my last words and if I'm a nobody then, it's sort of fine though v. odd, but if I do get famous somehow, this is what will be on my IMDb Trivia page and what authors like John Green would know. Gah I really need to borrow someone's brain!

4) I am sorry if I am making no sense. Which I probably am not. I just really need to blog all of a sudden!

5) So the MTV Movie Awards happened. It has officially become my most favourite award show ever because it gave Johnny Depp the Generation Award, after which he played with The Black Keys. FUCK YEAH!! Other things I liked: Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield presenting- they are oh so cute, Jennifer Lawrence's acceptance speech- [referring to the popcorn shaped statuette] "I can't eat this", Joseph Gordon-Levitt fangirling over Gary Oldman and Christian Bale, Bale remembering Heath Ledger, Fasstheron and all the Fassdong jokes which will NEVER get old, Shailene Woodley winning Best Newcomer, Harry Potter winning Best Cast because obviously *in an Alan Rickman voice*, and finally Emma Stone winning The Trailblazer Award. The presentation video was hilarious but then Stone's heartfelt acceptance speech was absolutely lovely and makes me hungry for her Oscar speech, whenever that will happen. What wasn't so lovely was Russel Brand, Twilight still winning everything and Kristen Stewart's desperate attempts at being funny.

6) Logan Lerman and Douglas Booth are joining the Darren Aronofsky Noah project, and Emma Watson is also in talks. Apart from the lead, my anti-Depp, Russel Crowe, I love everyone else connected with this film. And my god- what a role for Watson if she joins the cast! Definitely watching this now (ah damnit!).

7) So I had considered doing a separate post on this, but as soon as the Django Unchained trailer came out, my dash was full of posts about it and then I became lazy. As usual. But OHMYGAWDIAMSOFRIGGINEXCITEDICOULDDIE!!! It is so fucking amazing! Quentin Tarantino is one of my most favourite film makers ever and the first one in whose mind I'd like to go all "Being John Malkovich" if I could because it is a wondrous place. CLEARLY! I love the music and Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz and the look and the guns and the slavery and the "D is silent" and everything. I especially love Leonardo Di Caprio with his southern drawl and yellow teeth and kooky smile. I really especially love the blood on the cotton plant. So pretty! Oh this film cannot come soon enough!!

8) Other less important and infinitely less awesome trailers- The Bourne Legacy. It looks fun, though I really need to get cracking with the other two sequels. Edward Norton is going to be the baddie! Flight, which looks really random. It is made by Robert Zemeckis and stars Denzel Washington, but I don't know. Not really sold on the trailer, though I do love it when people play "Gimme Shelter" in films. Wreck It Ralph, which looks really sweet and fun. Unfortunately I am the furthest thing from a gaming nerd on this planet, so I am not geeking out on it like everyone else. The Perks of Being a Wallflower has my second most favourite trailer of this week. I don't know whether it's the upcoming big 2-0 birthday or what, but I'm suddenly obsessed with teenage angst and stuff. So this is perfect. I really like Logan Lerman, and Watson looks really pretty and quite alright. Ezra Miller has made me a fan ever since last year's We Need to Talk About Kevin, so I really like him too. A great trailer, all in all.

9) Finally, I swear I snorted really loudly when I saw this-

Obviously

Byeee!!!

So it's International Whores Day...

Um I don't know what to say anymore.

I will say that my favourite cinematic hooker (using the semantics as used in the film) is Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman, played by the effervescent Julia Roberts.

Also, possibly my most favourite movie quote of all time-

Well this post is a bit of an inside joke with a friend of mine, but I hope you enjoyed it (?) nonetheless.

The Month that was- May

So May was all right. I blogged even less, and June won't get any better in all probability since it's crucial for my attempt-at-having-a-normal-college-life 2.0. And currently the universe is being a bitch. As usual.
Anyhow I kept my one film a day average for this month too. Yaay for that.


Firsts:

1) Confessions of a Dangerous Mind- As much as I liked Sam Rockwell in it, it was just too frenzied for me.

2) Strictly Ballroom- Oh this was splendid! It's so Bollywood in many aspects. I love the mother.

3) Dirty Harry- Yeah it's not perfect, but it is a lot of fun. Also, I really liked the character of Harry Callahan, much to my own surprise.

4) Volver- It was nice, but all in all, the least impactful Almodóvar that I have seen so far. Penélope Cruz was incredible though.

5) Alice- This film has led to an inspiration behind a blogpost, but more on that later. I loved it. Mia Farrow is such a wonderful actress, and as always, no one understands me better than Woody. Perfectly complimented whatever I was feeling when I watched it.

6) Notorious- Oh those kisses. As much as I am a Bogart and Bergman person, the sheer beauty of Grant and Bergman in each other's arms cannot be denied. I did not exactly expect this film from Hitchcock, but was pleasantly surprised.

7) Naked Lunch- Er... There were elements of it that I liked, especially Peter Weller. But not my cup of tea.

8) The Seventh Seal- So beautiful and thoughtful and engaging. Also, that Dance of Death just kept haunting my thoughts.

9) In the Mood for Love- Oh this film just devastated me. Cried for like hours after this. Not just because it's a beautiful and sad film, but because I could never make anything like it. Must watch again, when I have convalesced.

10) Ronin- Thanks to the Matineecast. I liked it, but my god, I couldn't help but notice all random "civilians" dying around the main characters. So many!! Cool car chases though.

11) Raging Bull- I liked it but a) it's a sports movie; b) yeah no I don't care if it shows other stuff, it has a sport in it, hence making it a sports movie; c) I don't do sports; d) so friggin' loud; e) Taxi Driver is better. De Niro and Pesci were brilliant though, and some of the scenes were just breathtaking.

12) Dark Shadows- So messed up. Apart from the way it looked and the pretty women, there was nothing to it. Depp really tried, and Green was the best part with Pfeiffer and Carter being robbed of proper roles, but then Moretz crazy hooker shit was mental. Burton needs to buck up.

13) Point Break- I love Hot Fuzz even more now. It was a very enjoyable movie all together, albeit a bit ridiculous. There is nothing quite like it. Can't believe a woman made it (hats off to you, Kathryn Bigelow).

14) Suspiria- The colours in this movie are absolutely incredible. Also that music- I could not sleep comfortably for two days after watching it. Yes the ending was a bit underwhelming, but as the poster advertises, the first 92 minutes were wayyy more terrifying than the last 12 minutes.

15) Dead Man- I had a mini Depp-marathon after this post. It looked gorgeous and Depp was ab fab, but I was so bored by the end of it. Westerns, acid or not, are just not for me.

16) Cry-Baby- Haha, Depp was such a pretty boy. It is strange, but rather fun too.

17) Donnie Brasco- I had never seen it completely. It was really brilliant. I mean Depp's performance was excellent, but that last Pacino scene was the most heart-rendering scene ever. What an actor!

18) Fear and Loathing Las Vegas- Ha I remember trying to watch this when I was twelve. Not that I understood all of it this time 'round, but enough to re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-re-reaffirm my faith in Johnny Depp's acting abilities.

19) Bottle Rocket- Finally finished it! The DVD stopped working midway last time. It was sweet and fun, though the lack of Bill Murray in a Wes Anderson was a weird thing to digest. Loved Owen Wilson.

20) King Kong- This is the Peter Jackson version. I saw it solely for Adrien Brody, because I love him. It was okay-ish. I cannot really approve of a film in which a woman chooses a giant ape over Adrien Brody, you know...

21) What Ever Happened to Baby Jane- I love the fact that after watching it, it made me really think about who was the actual villain in the story. Bette Davis was just sensational.

22) This Means War- Which led to this gorgeous post. I have been watching random scenes ever since- especially those with Chris Pine shirtless and stuff.

Rewatched:

1) Moulin Rouge!- My most favourite film of all time. This time around it was Nicole Kidman who blew me away the most. It was always a Ewan McGregor fest for me, but it has taken time for me to truly appreciate Kidman's performance in this.

2) William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet- Okay I love the leads and the soundtrack and what Luhrmann did with the film etc. But honestly- what a stupid story. 

3) The Breakfast Club- Due to The Extraterrestrial Blogathon. After talking about it so much, I just needed to watch it again. I really think that no film could ever represent youth better. You cry, you laugh, you feel- brilliance!

4) The Muppets- "Life's A Happy Song!" Oh this film and the joy it brings :D

5) Edward Scissorhands- I know I had rewatched it only a while back, but it had to be done for this post.

6) Easy A- It had been too long. I needed some Stone-Clarkson-Tucci awesomeness to brighten up my life.

7) Dog Day Afternoon- I don't know what I had not rewatched it in soo long. I mean this film just needs to go on my top 100 and Pacino's performance in my top 5 or 10 or whatever. Basically, it is mindblowing!

8) Ed Wood- To think Tim Burton and Johnny Depp once made films like this. It is such a lovely film.

9 The Departed- Man, this film for me is all about how awesome Mark Wahlberg is. Which is a lot!

10) Red Dragon- The cast in this- Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Emily Watson, Harvey Keitel, Philip Seymour Hoffman- wowsers! I have always really enjoyed this film and consider this the true sequel/prequel to The Silence of the Lambs.

Shorts-

Lick the Star- I had to rewatch it for the Sofia Coppola list. It's weird and alluring and I love how the protagonist is introduced. 

TV Shows:

So I didn't actually watch anything separately, but many of my shows did end. I'll just talk a bit about them-

1) Vampire Diaries (Season 3)- Yes I watch this, sue me! Anyways this season went on for like a year with all their breaks, but it wasn't that terrible. Okay so a) Favourite Episode- The Departed, which was the season finale and was a lot of fun; b) MVP- Ian Somerhalder as Damon of course, the sole reason I watch this show, more or less (look above); c) Favourite Quote- Damon: [doing a Stefan impression] "Dear diary, a chipmunk asked me my name today. I told him it was Joe. That lie will haunt me forever."

2) Parks and Recreation (Season 4)- I cried when this got over, but that was because fulfilled dreams make me happy and weepy. I didn't realise that it was over until the next week. a) Favourite Episode- The Trial of Leslie Knope, which was all sorts of funny and adorableness; b) MVP- Amy Poehler as Leslie and Rob Lowe as Chris because as much as I love everyone else, these two really shone for me this season; c) Favourite Quote- Chris: "If I had to have anybody tell me that I have cancer, I would want it to be me."

3) New Girl (Season 1)- This started out slightly painful, but actually became rather fun. a) Favourite Episode- Jess and Julie, because people who don't like desserts freak me out too; b) MVP- Max Greenfield as Schmidt, because nice douches are actually really nice; c) Favourite Quote- Jess: "Rich people are always giving you their cars. It’s like, ‘Let them eat cars.’”

Books:

1) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins- I finally read it! And rather liked it too. A lot of things made more sense to me in this.

2) Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins- I liked it better than the first, though it may be because I knew nothing about this at all. I must say one thing though- these books don't end very well. Still, I love Finnick and am a Peeta person- confirmed!

3) An Abundance of Katherines by John Green- It's hard to believe that for a Looking for Alaska lover like me, this was my second John Green book. I really liked it, though didn't love it as much as Alaska.

Final tally:

                                     Firsts- 136             Rewatched- 62           Shorts- 4

                                                                     Total- 202

Bye all.

Thoughts

1) First of all, congrats to everyone nominated for The Lammys! You guys rock :D


2) Cannes Film Festival got over this week. I was watching some show in which this Indian chick got to go and interview people like Wes Anderson and Edward Norton. Gah I hate her!! I want to talk to Ed Norton :( Anyways the Palme d'Or went to Michael Haneke's Amour. Haneke's previous film The White Ribbon was also a Palme d'Or winner. I didn't like that one much, but The Piano Teacher which one the Grand Prix back in 2001 has become a recent favourite of mine. I am very much looking forward to seeing Amour. This year the Grand Prix went to Reality. Mads Mikkelsen won Best Actor for his performance in Jagten (The Hunt) and Best Actress went to Cristina Flutur & Cosmina Stratan for their performances in Beyond the Hills. I must admit I haven't heard of many of the other films that won other prizes. The Caméra d'Or or Best First Feature Film did go to Beasts of the Southern Wild, which had also won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance and which many of the critics are already calling one of the best films of the year so far. I am looking forward to seeing as many of these films as I can.


3) The Television BAFTAs took place this week as well. Benedict Cumberbatch lost again! I smell a Sherlock-hating rat with a pip-squeaky voice. What the hell people! Still, the best part of the show was when he, along with my soulmate and the current Doctor Who- Matt Smith, presented the Special Award to Steven Moffat, the headwriter for both their shows. The quirky sexy duo were just perfect. Also, Andrew Scott won the Best Supporting Actor for his chillingly brilliant performance of Jim Moriarty, which was awesome! Last year, this award was won by the fantastic Martin Freeman, who plays Doctor Watson and had been nominated again this year. So basically everyone has won except Cumberbatch. Curses! Also regarding season 3 of Sherlock, this is what Moffat had to say- "We’re trying to schedule everything around everything. Obviously, Sherlock Holmes is off battling Captain Kirk, and Dr Watson is helping Gandalf, and I’m in the TARDIS." Lovely bloke.


4) Oh Game of Thrones watchers- how bloody awesome was Blackwater?!! Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey are like my favourite TV actors at present. Also you must read this- A-Z of Game of Thrones. Go to J!!


5) Pictures- Bling Ring is on! Just from this one picture, it looks very different from what we have come to expect from Sofia Coppola. True she focuses on the bored privileged people a lot, but there is something very beautiful about that. This just looks, to borrow a word from Ferris Bueller's Day Off, very snooty. Also I am starting to get the feeling that Emma Watson may be the lead, though a huge part of me thinks otherwise. This poster for Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises hits the note in every single way. It's my favourite so far, and it is exactly what I would expect from Catwoman. I hope Anne Hathaway does justice to the role. Also, my most anticipated film of the year, Django Unchained, has released some new gorgeous shots and increased my anticipation even more. A teaser is coming out soon- YESSSS!!


6) Trailers- The aforementioned Amour's subtitled trailer is out. It has Isabelle Huppert in it, which is enough to make me want to watch the film. Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter has a third trailer out. Theoretically, I like the idea of this film. However, now having watched Dark Shadows and seeing how writer Seth Grahame-Smith adapts movie scripts, I'm a bit scared. Still, the comments below the video are pretty hilarious. There is apparently some Tom Felton movie coming out called The Apparition. It also has Twilight's Ashley Greene and Captain America's Sebastian Stan. Yeah I don't really care, but I am a Harry Potter loyalist so I am obliged to post about it, despite Felton's hairstyle in this movie. The biggest teaser of this week is of Tom Hooper's adaptation of the musical Les Misérables. It honestly does nothing for someone like me, who is ignorant of the source material and who isn't brought to tears by the idea of a period musical, except of course for the high profile cast and Anne Hathaway's lovely singing (just give her the Oscar already!). For me personally, Hugh Jackman singing would have been a bigger draw. Still, I will wait for the trailer and hope that it changes my mind. 


7) Finally, this week I decided to go for some someecards humour for us film nerds-

Genius.

Ciao.

The Critical Eye VS Eye Candy

How Do You Rate A Film Like This Means War? (sung to the tune of "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?")

               Ever since I had heard about this film on my regular IMDb rounds, I was really pumped to see a film in which Chris Pine and Tom Hardy fight over Reese Witherspoon. Partly because it sounded fun and the fact that these are good actors that I usually like, but mostly because I am one of those neanderthal women who gets a real kick out of watching two hot guys fight. Especially over a girl. Seriously. I mean I am uncontrollable during the goofy fight scene between Colin Firth and Hugh Grant in Bridget Jones's Diary. I hoot and cheer and well, act crazy, so you can imagine me during the trailer when Pine and Hardy, who are definitely the more badass opponents in every way, fighting with guns and tables and what not.


                And today, I watched the movie. Let me tell you that my cheeks are paining right now due to all the smiling I did throughout the movie. And I smiled a lot, and really big smiles too. I enjoyed every stupid element in it, just because they were being done by two unbelievably gorgeous men. And they were gorgeous! Especially Chris Pine with his sparkly blue eyes... okay I'm digressing. Anyways, all that was fine until I sat down to rate it. This is the thing- I don't know how. How can I think about a film like this in the same way I think about other films, since my brain was pretty much the last organ I was using while watching it. I was using even my facial muscles more, you know.


                So here's my question- should one always watch a film with a critical eye, or can we occasionally sit back and let the raging hormones and all that do the work and just enjoy all the eye candy? 

Look at that swag (can't believe I just wrote that).

Thoughts

1) Look at the banner people! Granted it's pre-2011, but so much joys.

2) So one of my most anticipated movies of this year, Alfonso Cuarón's space epic Gravity has been pushed back to 2013. Gahh. It sounds so mindblowingly amazing. Already I have an ever-growing list of films that I must watch next year- Sofia Coppola's Bling Ring, Daniel Radcliffe-starrer Kill Your Darlings, the sequel to Star Trek, the very strange sounding Pacific Rim by Guillermo Del Toro, some other 100 sequels.

3) Joel Edgerton has dropped out of double feature The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby and has been replaced the James "BLUEEE-EYES" McAvoy. Yaay. I mean I will pay good money to watch just one movie with McAvoy and Jessica Chastain, and these are two different movies- His and Hers, which in itself sound very intriguing. Edgerton frightens me a little bit, and I absolutely adore McAvoy, so I'm very happy with this casting choice.

4) Speaking of happy casting choices, Cate Blanchett and Mia Wasikowska will star in the movie adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's The Price of Salt, which will be called Carol. It is a romantic story, about an up-and-comer, played by Wasikowska, who falls for a middle-aged housewife, played by Blanchett, in New York in the 1950s, who then set out across the United States with a private investigator in their trail. I read somewhere this will almost be like Brokeback Mountain for lesbians since it's a great emotional story. The two Aussie actresses are absolutely lovely and I am very excited for this project. Also it will be co-written and directed by John Crowley, who made the brilliant yet underrated Boy A.

5) Trailers and Teasers and Clips, Oh My - Hyde Park on Hudson which has Bill Murray playing FDR. It can be a charming movie, but the trailer is all over the place. Love the cast- especially Murray and Laura Linney. Magic Mike's second trailer is much more about objectifying men than custom furniture, as it should be. It does look interesting, but gahh Channing Tatum. The Watch which looks insane. Like a wannabe Edgar Wright movie, but I do think that the people in it are all right. Won't Back Down which isn't a sequel to Never Back Down. In fact it stars Oscar nominees Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal. The trailer is awful, but the film might just be good-ish. Now on to Cannes- Holy Motors which everyone seems to love because of its craziness has an equally mundane yet captivating trailer. The Paperboy, which everyone hates because Nicole Kidman looked so wonderfully trashy, like seen in the clip. Killing Them Softly which has some totally random clip not even with Brad Pitt, but people seem to really like this film. The new Bond film Skyfall has a cracker of a teaser out. It looks absolutely incredible and cool, and I'm properly excited for this film now. It's just how a teaser should be made, and the same goes for P.T. Anderson's The Master (and with that all the film nerds died and went to heaven). This too looks awesome and weird and Joaquin Phoenix is back on his A-game. Finally, my king of trailers, one that I have seen about 30 times already- Baz Luhrmann's gorgeous and wonderfully OTT adaptation of The Great Gatsby. I love how it looks, and we can already see the many details from the beloved novel like the gigantic bespectacled eyes that have literally been haunting me, the beautiful shirts scene, the swimming pool etc. I love how pretty Leo looks, and Mulligan too (still not Daisy, sorry). I loved how sexy Jordan was in the book, and newcomer Elizabeth Debicki nails it. Joel Edgerton looks totally repulsive, how Tom was. Also Amitabh Bachchan, who is one of the biggest Bollywood stars, makes his Hollywood debut in this. The only thing lacking in the trailer was Tobey Maguire, and I hope they don't reduce his role because I love Nick as I love all narrators. All of this, perfectly complimented by that controversial Jay Z- Kanye West track in the opening and then the amazing Jack White cover of "Love is Blindness" later on. LOVE IT!!

6) Someone buy me this. Please.

7) Finally, I'm sorry I have nothing so I'm going to leave you with this-

Bye. Keep twirling :D