Thoughts

Hellooo people! What do you think of the new banner? ^^ Anyways, thoughts for this week-

1) So apparently Johnny Depp was never going to be in the next Wes Anderson film, named The Grand Budapest Hotel. Sorry Johnny! Anyways you know who is? Saoirse Ronan, who I love. And she's going to be the lead. Also Anderson has reported that the film will be set 85 years ago in a Hungarian Hotel and has been inspired by the works of Billy Wilder and Ernst Luitsch. How insanely awesome is that? Ronan is insanely talented, and she will be starring alongside Ralph Fiennes and Anderson regulars like Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman.

2) That's only the first of the many excellent casting announcements from the past week or so. Benedict Cumberbatch will be playing The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein in an upcoming biopic directed by Wicker Park and Sherlock director, Paul McGuigan. Then uber-talented heartthrobs Colin Firth and Michael Fassbender will be starring in a film called Genius abut Thomas Wolfe and Max Perkins, a publisher to the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. It will be written by John Logan, who has written things like Hugo and Skyfall. Juliet Binoche and Clive Owen will be starring in a romantic drama together called Words and Pictures about a relationship between two teachers in a school. I can just imagine how great both of them will be together.

3) In TV world, Daniel Radcliffe and Jon Hamm are going to star together in a British series called A Young Doctor's Notebook in which both play the same character in different stages of his life. It is based on the semi-autobiographical short stories of Mikhail Bulgakov chronicling his work as a doctor during the Russian Revolution. I love everything that Radcliffe is doing post-Harry Potter and this seems like another excellent project. Also speaking of Harry Potter, David Yates is making the new Tarzan movie. Like why? Do we need a new Tarzan movie? And apparently the studios are considering people like Alexander Skarsgard, Tom Hardy and Henry Cavill. Hot men, but once again, why?

4) Oh Disney bought Lucasfilm and all and there's going to be a Star Wars Episode VII and Harrison Ford wants to reprsise his role as Han Solo. Obligatory big movie news update over.

5) Apparently Channing Tatum is this year's Sexiest Man Alive. 'Cuz of that male stripper movie and all. This is all I have to say to that. Miranda Kerr is the Sexiest Woman Alive. 10 happy Legolases for her.

6) Trailers- I don't really have any trailers. Let's watch The Amazing Spider-Man's Honest trailer instead.

7) Happy 2nd blog birthday to Lime Reviews and Strawberry Confessions run by the wonderful Mette. This post is a must read! Anna from Defiant Success has written two brilliant posts- enumerating her favourite British actors, and book vs movie: Fight Club. I love Fight Club in all its forms obviously.

8) Finally, I want to marry this poster-

The details! :O :O

Bye guys!

"I always thought it is way more important to be funny or to be honest than to look a certain way."

Emily Jean Stone made a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation when she was 15 for her parents to try and convince them to let her move to Hollywood to become an actress. She put Madonna's "Hollywood" as the background music to it.

This is one of the many things that make Emma Stone such a charming and awesome person, and she is also a wonderful actress and charismatic comedian. I absolutely adore her, and think she is, like the MTV Award given to her, a true trailblazer. Also she is absolutely gorgeous and has my dream voice.

A VERY 24TH HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FAKE BFF, EMMA STONE!!!

The Month that was- October

         This post was supposed to be published yesterday, but goddamn Breaking Bad! I couldn't stop watching it. So good.
         Anyways October started out with me falling very sick and then I came to Dubai for vacations, where I still am. Movie-wise, it was a good-ish month. I saw 40 films, which means I have crossed 365 films this year so yaaay for me. One film per day average reached! I have two more months but November is exam month and god knows how that is going to go.

Firsts:

1) Husbands and Wives- This perhaps is the first Woody Allen film that I felt was too old for me. Still, loved Judy Davis.

2) Eyes Wide Shut- A very interesting film. Didn't know what to expect but I did like it a lot. 

3) People Like Us- Saw it in the flight. It was timepass-worthy but the film was just sappy, and not even good sappy.

4) Safety Not Guaranteed- Oh this was a quirky little indie gem. Loved Audrey Plaza and Mark Duplass in it.

5) Bright Star- Though this film did not quite deliver, what with my sky-high expectations, it looked beautiful and Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish were excellent.

6) On the Road- Again, this was beautiful to look at and brilliant performances from Tom Sturridge (yaay!) and Garrett Hedlund, but it was not anywhere near as impressive as I had hoped it would be. Plus the 2 years of waiting and not getting what I wanted was kind of supremely disappointing.

7) Little Shop of Horrors- Haha this was fun. I do like a good musical now and then.

8) Revolutionary Road- Wow I have wanted to watch this forever, and this one definitely delivered. It might have my favourite Leonardo Di Caprio performance. Lovely and sad.

9) Forgetting Sarah Marshall- This was really funny. Jason Segel is oddly attractive.

10) Shortbus- Remember the scene in (500) Days of Summer when Tom and Summer scream out  "Penis!" repeatedly in a park. Wouldn't be surprised if this film was the inspiration for that. Shit that was graphic.

11) Ruby Sparks- Presently my favourite film of this year, tied with The Avengers. So cute and smart and Paul Dano is adorbs.

12) Malcolm X- I did have issues with the story, or maybe the man himself, but this was a pretty amazing biopic and Denzel Washington was incredible.

13) Your Sister's Sister- As simple and wonderful as they come.

14) Side by Side- Very informative and interesting. Fincher is king!

15) Festen- Fucked up families FTW! Possibly my favourite first watch of the month.

16) Looper- I caught myself gaping many times during this film. Very cool.

17) The Umbrellas of Cherbourg- It looked pretty and the story was nice but good lord, so much friggin' singing! I mean all my years of Bollywood movie watching failed me in this film.

18) The Girl- Yes, I liked it more than you. Creepy Hitchcock was kind of fun.

19) Marnie- Had to watch this. Really liked it.

20) Misery- That wasn't scary at all. LOLjk, Annie Wilkes haunts my nightmares.

21) The Lost Boys- What the hell was that? It was so ridiculous and fun at the same time, but more ridiculous than fun.

22) Skyfall- I repeat- Best. Bond. Ever.

23) Manhunter- I did not like this at all. From William Petersen talking to himself to that awful soundtrack to Brian Cox's slightly boring Hannibal- couldn't care about it at all.

24) The Trip- This was so funny. I'm so working on my Woody Allen and Michael Caine impressions from now on!

25) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter- Same reaction as The Lost Boys except this was more fun than ridiculous.

26) Halloween- That really wasn't scary at all. Moral of the story- do not have sex while babysitting on Halloween, kids.

 Rewatched:

1) Rushmore- Yep, it continues its reign as my favourite Wes Anderson film. Olivia Williams is so beautiful in this.

2) The Social Network- Damnit Andrew Garfield deserved more attention!

3) The Royal Tenenbaums- Yeah I still don't like it that much other than its look, music and Margot.

4) Mean Girls- I'm still naming my band You Go Glen Coco!

5) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2- I was sick and suddenly started really craving this film. It's so good! Why would Oscars choose War Horse over it, why why why? (Okay I know why. The answer starts with Steven and ends with Spielberg).

6) Brave- Saw it in the flight. It was a less rewarding experience this time, but Merida and her hair are awesomeness themselves.

7) Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind- This might be the greatest modern day romance film there is.

8) The Brothers Bloom- Though Looper is a better film, this is my favourite Rian Johnson film. Bang Bang rules!

9) Reservoir Dogs- For its 20th anniversary. No one killed Nice Guy Eddie people!

10) Inglourious Basterds- Showing my little brother some essential films. He loved it. "That's a bingo!"

11) The Truman Show- Also showed it to my brother and same reaction. If we lived in a fair world, Jim Carrey would have an Oscar nomination for this role.

12) Blue Valentine- I could not connect with it so much the first time I saw it. This time though, I was very much affected. I didn't cry or anything, but this film has scared me to my inner romantic core. Ryan Gosling deserves all the awards and OHMYGODHEISSOSEXYITKILLSME!

13) The Silence of the Lambs- Brother. He loved it, especially Hannibal's violent escape. Had to cover his eyes for Buffalo Bill's "transformation" though.

14) Skyfall- Saw it again, with a friend this time. Daniel Craig gorgeousity :)

Books:

The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling- She really did not want anyone to think she was the same person who wrote those Harry Potter books, did she? To be honest, it really was not that good. Too many characters, too much going on, and the ending is plain depressing.

 Final tally:

                                 Firsts- 237                        Rewatched- 114                      Shorts- 16

                                                                            Total- 367

Shit November's here! So failing my exams. 

Thoughts

It is the strange feeling writing a post on a tab but my brother has hijacked well, his own laptop. And now I am reduced to this silly piece of technology. Ah, c'est la vie.

1. So apparently Johnny Depp dropped out of Wes Anderson's next, The Grand Budapest Hotel and has been replaced by Ralph Fiennes. If you remember, I was overjoyed when the news had first come out of his casting because I had been praying for him to get a non-absurd money-accumulating role, but nooooo! He really knows how to test my loyalty. I was actually depressed when I found out that he had dropped out. But it seems that all hope is not lost and cinematographer Wally Pfister wants him as lead in his directorial debut Transcendence. Please please please let this be good. I miss the time when Johnny Depp's career did not make me cry. Pfister also wants Christian Bale as co-lead so we may be looking at a Public Enemies cast reunion. Big Yes!!

2. Oh by the way, I hope everyone is safe from Hurricane Sandy. I would comment on calling a scary hurricane Sandy, but as learnt from sitting in a quiz once, hurricanes are usually given the names of women or um, pets (?) in this case because people hope that they will be as calm and nondestructive as the things they usually name. So yes, I hope Hurricane Sandy ends up being as harmless as it sounds. And that was all for the general knowledge segment of this post. Moving right along.

3. Loads of links- This post was supposed to come ages ago, back when the awesome Cinematic Paradox run by Stevee Taylor aka my blogging soulsister turned 3! She also updated her top 100 movies out of which I have seen 93. How many have you seen? Andy Buckle of The Film Emporium got to interview friggin' Paul Thomas Anderson! So cool! Since Halloween is tomorrow, a couple of Halloween-themed links- Sati's 7 Days of Halloween and Alex's Top 10 Horror Films. I posted my own Top 10 last year. I am still happy with my list, but I would put Suspiria somewhere in there if I had made it this year.

4. Hey did you guys notice that I have tweaked the blog's design a bit! How do you like it? Also I changed my about page a bit, if you're interested in that sort of thing... you know like getting to know people etc.

5) Two superhero teaser posters- Iron Man 3 which shows the various versions of the Iron suit and Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark in their midst. It is intriguing enough, especially if you love the awesome Iron suit as I do. The Wolverine does have a pretty rad poster but after the utter disappointment of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, I am still not too buzzed about it.

6) Trailer- Iron Man 3 has a cool and sort of dark trailer out. Something has happened that is making Tony Stark reflect back on his life. Also his suits might have gone nuts and there's a new baddie in the form of Mandarin, played by Sir Ben Kingsley. I do like it a lot and am already dying to watch it, as Iron Man is my favourite superhero, but the lack of zingy one-liners in the trailer is slightly worrying. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters has another ridiculous trailer out. This film is going to be such shit. Also why is Hansel American and Gretel British???? 

7) Living with a cinephile must be very affecting. My twelve year old brother has made his top 25 films list, which both of us would like to share with you- (25) The Hangover, (24) The Social Network, (23) The Silence of the Lambs, (22) Star Trek, (21) Scott Pilgrim vs The World, (20) Kill Bill Vol. 2, (19) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, (18) Ghostbusters, (17) Inglourious Basterds, (16) How to Train Your Dragon, (15) Shaun of the Dead, (14) Wall-E, (13) Transformers, (12) Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, (11) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, (10) Hot Fuzz, (9) Kill Bill Vol. 1, (8) Spider-man, (7) The Toy Story trilogy, (6) Up, (5) The Dark Knight Rises, (4) Ratatouille, (3) Iron Man, (2) The Dark Knight, (1) The Avengers.

8) Finally, Halloween is tomorrow and as usual I am in a place which doesn't really celebrate it and I am left to wishing that I was somewhere that does. Given the chance, I would dress as one of my many role models, Wednesday Addams-

"What are you, darling? Where’s your costume?"

Still, my best friend might be going as her, so yaay(?)!

Happy Halloween everyone! Stay safe. Byee.

"Hello, I'm Matt Smith, and I'm wearing a fez!"

For those of you who have been following this blog for the last year or so must know of my celebrity crush on this guy. He kind of has all the features I find attractive in a male human person. Also he is an ab fab actor and plays my favourite incarnation of possibly my favourite television character. And he's turning 30 today, so a very happy birthday to you, sir. You are infinitely cool and adorable and awesome.

(This was the picture that started it all actually).

A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MATTHEW ROBERT SMITH!

"She sent you after me, knowing you're not ready, knowing you would likely die. Mommy was very bad."

        Since I have watched relatively few James Bond movies, I cannot think of some cracking classic James Bond reference as an opener to this review. I am just going to give it to you straight- Skyfall is the best James Bond movie I have ever seen.

         The film starts with a little outburst of the James Bond theme and immediately we are immersed into one of the most thrilling pre-credits sequences I have seen. Bond is chasing a man in Istanbul who has stolen a hard drive containing all the real identities of undercover MI6 agents when his boss M tells another agent, Eve to take a shot at the man, but she misses and hits Bond instead, leading everyone to believe that he has died. Bond has in fact survived and gone in a kind of emotional and physical retreat and only returns when M and MI6 get targeted by whoever has the hard drive. Though not at his topmost form, Bond goes after this man, who he then finds out is someone from M's past.

         This is the vaguest, most non-spoiler-y synopsis I can manage. Although it is very cool to get to watch a movie two weeks before North America (go UAE!), it is very obviously a marketing technique for the place itself (hello The Avengers!)  and I would like to keep the suspense alive for the audience as that makes the experience better.

        I am just going to enumerate all the things that I loved about Skyfall and talk about them. The most striking aspect of Bond 23 was its look. Legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins has helped it to become one of the most stunning looking films of the year and possibly ever in Bond history. From the ultra-modern setting of Shanghai to the dreary wilderness of Scotland, everything is shot so beautifully and expertly. My favourite action sequence of the film took place on a high-rise Shanghai building with the backdrop of a gigantic neon advertising screen and the all the fighting is done in shadows with the occasional light coming only when the gun gets fired. I sat throughout that part literally gaping, marveling at the mastery of how it was shot. I remember thinking this is the best use of lighting and shadows I have seen since my recent viewing of The Third Man, and then I swear there is a little nod to the film later on in Skyfall. I loved all the settings, from the oriental Macau to the busy London Underground, and both Deakins and production designer Dennis Gassner have done a mind-blowing job with the look of this film. I must also say that the focus on the blueness of Daniel Craig's eyes almost feel like a special effect in itself.

          Nowadays I actively avoid reviews of the films I am excited about except the occasional skimming, but in all my um, light research about Skyfall before seeing it, I kept coming across people saying that it is the "best acted Bond film ever". I can believe that. No one truly watches James Bond for its acting talent, and that is fine. As soon as the film started I could not help but wish I was someone like Bond because that would be so cool! But I was pleasantly surprised at how good the performances were. Daniel Craig, our Bond, and Dame Judy Dench as M shine the most, though baddie Javier Bardem is not far behind. Ever since Casino Royale, Craig has shown that his rendition of the famous British spy is more realistically badass and has a silent power about him. His third outing as Bond is definitely his best, when this aspect is maintained but there is also hurt and confusion and just about a hint of actual humanity in him, and he is not just the slick and suave espionage man, though he can be that too. We see him physically and mentally scarred and tired, and though Craig's Bond doesn't say anything, it is evident that he is reflecting back on this life of his. This film is Bond going back to his roots and re-realising his purpose and with that he has finally sort of become the real hero in this very made-up world. And holy moly, can he pull off a suit! Dench, who I have always loved as the snarky yet concerned M, finally got the chance to flesh out this character in the movie. As many are calling her, she is the true Bond girl of the movie and perhaps of James's life so far, the only person left he cares for and vice versa for her. Skyfall explores her relationship with him, her decisions and way of thinking and Dench delivers it all with the same wit and a quiet, emotional touch. Bardem, who plays Silva, someone from M's past and has a lot in common with Bond, though he is nothing like him, is really good as well. I did at first think he was going a bit over the top with the flamboyance, but by the end of it he was a very memorable and in some ways tragic villain. With his weird way of lip-smacking and questionable sexuality, he does make one laugh in a nervous way, but he is also scary, as one would expect from the man who played Anton Chigurh.

         The other actors are quite good too. Ben Whishaw is rather excellent as the new hip and young Q, though he is just as arrogantly brilliant and shut-in as one would imagine a genius of such less years to be. Naomi Harris is very cool as Eve and I love her flirting with Craig's Bond. The other Bond girl, Sévérine is played by the gorgeous Bérénice Marlohe though she sort of fades in comparison to Harris and obviously Dench. Finally there is Ralph Fiennes who does not have a huge part in the film but is great as the "good beaurocrat".

         Now I will come to the directing. When I first heard that Sam Mendes is directing a Bond movie, I snorted and went "That guy? The one who makes all the dramatic films? Him? LOL. This will suck more than Quantum of Solace." It must be noted here that I had a similar reaction to David Fincher directing The Social Network. So yes, the conclusion of all that useless information was that I am a big fat idiot and that great directors can make incredible movies, no matter what genre. Mendes directed both the action scenes and the sentimental ones equally well. This film is both a look back and forward for Bond, and aspects of his past are dealt with very well in the film, and Mendes is to thank for that as well as the acting that I spoke of earlier. I don't think most directors chosen for the job would have focused on the performances so much, but Mendes, being the dramatic director he is, did and that is what makes the film this good. And he takes risks with this film too. Towards the end Bond and M take a certain step and go somewhere, and I have never seen anything like that in a Bond movie ever. The film actually slows down to focus on that part, which though I wasn't a 100% sure of while watching it, am now more and more impressed by it when thinking back. Like yes it is a cool action movie, but there is so much more to it. Writers John Logan (who has written films like Gladiator, The Aviator, Hugo etc), Neal Purvis and Robert Wade (both of whom have worked on previous Bond scripts together) have penned a smart, witty, emotional and thrilling film together. The dialogues between M and Bond or Eve and Bond are especially funny, and Silva's big speeches are eerie and impactful. The ending too, I felt, was quite brilliant in the way it was written, acted and directed and I really appreciate its place in the whole story of Bond.

          Now as many would know, Skyfall marks the 50th anniversary of the Bond films franchise. The first James Bond film, Dr. No was released in 1962. The filmmakers have really tried to showcase this famous icon and his many iconic traits and associations in Skyfall. As I said, I am not that well-versed in Bond-lore, but from whatever I have seen, I found little winks to the many Bond-related things from the previous films of the franchise which I thought were splendid. I loved this whole circle of life thing that the writers tried to show in Skyfall. We go back to Bond's past and we also see a whole new future being set for him. Casino Royale was the beginning of a reintroduction of Bond, and with Skyfall and the fifty years of history behind it, the new Bond has finally been completely formed for our age that I actually think does need more than just a guy chasing a couple of other guys in fancy cars while sleeping with a few girls on the way. And I like this Bond, even though he does sleep with a few/lot of girls on the way.

        I have to talk about Adele's opening credits song, aptly titled "Skyfall". I have been listening to it pretty extensively since it was released and it works really well in this old-new Bond film. The credits are very cool too. But Adele's voice is to die for. Funny thing happened when I was went to watch the movie in a cinema hall. Nearly half-way through the movie the sound went, and the film kept rolling and then the projectionist decided to rewind it back to almost the beginning. Of course the whole audience got pissed etc., but after the credits and Adele's song got over, the film was fast-forwarded back to where we had lost the sound. Coincidence? I think not.

        Daily Mail has gone a bit over the moon (duh) with Skyfall and has started demanding Oscar attention for, I think, everything in it. But seeing as it does have one of the most Oscar-friendly cast and crew in probably ever, I too would like to speculate a bit. Sorry for whoever wants Judy Dench to get nominated- that's a tad too much. I think we can safely rule out the acting and the directing categories. What I do hope happens in awards season is that Deakins's perfect cinematography gets the attention it deserves. It is about time he won actually, and along with Moonrise Kingdom, I do think that Skyfall is the best looking film I have seen this year so far, so fingers crossed! Also Adele's "Skyfall" should be more officially adored, though this is probably just wishful thinking on my part.

       Skyfall was given a 15+ rating where I am, which was rather unfortunate for my twelve-year-old brother who really wanted to watch it. Honestly, he really could have seen it as there was nothing in it that warranted the rating. And I really wish he did. My dad missed it as well as he then had to take my brother home while my mother and I gazed upon some Daniel Craig, and I wish he was there too. Not because I am some strange family-loving girl but because I do believe that both of them would have loved it. My brother who has little to no knowledge of Bond and my dad who is just the opposite, Skyfall is the film for both of them, and for me. Mendes and Craig and the rest of the gang have made something really spectacular here that should be loved and admired by Bond fans and non-Bond fans alike.

         Till now my favourite Bond film was Tomorrow Never Dies because I actually believed that Pierce Brosnan *was* James Bond as a child and I really enjoyed this film. I still do. But maybe it is time to move on... Skyfall is the way.