Making the Case for The Perks of Being a Wallflower

        
           So I know that I already made a post for Stevee Taylor's blogathon but the gracious Screen Actor's Guild awards and the AMAZING Amazing Spider-Man have already made it redundant. I am almost scared to write this post because clearly my favourites go nowhere, but once again, it has to be done.

       One of my most eagerly anticipated films of this year was The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and what a joy it is when the film meets all of your expectations head-on. I know Stevee wants singular aspects to be championed in this blogathon, but I have to focus on three things I absolutely loved in this movie, that I think are Golden Globe nomination-worthy at least.

Steven Chbosky wrote the famous coming-of-age book more than ten years ago and then he adapted and directed it himself. What more can one want? I love that the writer of the book wrote the film. He obviously knows the story more than even the most pious readers, and it was him who brought it to us. I read the book last month and I can safely say that the movie is better than it. I find it very hard to imagine epistolary novels into movies, and I am not particularly fond of them either. But The Perks of Being a Wallflower does away with that, while still keeping the essence of it.

Logan Lerman captures Charlie so beautifully in this movie. The outsider-ness, loneliness, friendliness, confusion, love that one would associate with Charlie is brought to life by him. He is both heartbreaking and incredibly relateable in this film. As my friend pointed out, it is a little hard to accept that someone who looks like Logan Lerman would be a loner, but he makes us believe that. One of the best roles that can be given to a young actor, and Lerman does full justice to it.

Now for this, I demand Oscar attention, like I did for Ezra Miller's equally brilliant performance in last year's We Need to Talk About Kevin. In that, he played the teenager none of us want to meet. In Perks, he might just be the teenage best friend of my dreams. As amazing as Miller is when he is being the outrageous and loud Patrick (that Dr. Frank-N-Furter routine!), he is just as incredible when he delves into the deeper and darker aspects of this glorious teen. I honestly think that he is one of the most exquisite young talents we have today, and Miller proves that yet again in Perks. I doubt I will see a better supporting performance this year.

        There you have it. Be infinite award voters! Give this truly excellent film what it deserves.

Thoughts

         Hello folks. It's 12/12/12 today which really does not have any significance but everyone seems to be going crazy about it. There are pregnant women who have scheduled their deliveries for today. Like how messed up is this world? Anyways, I know I have been too lazy to write this post for the past two weeks but I will make amends now. My thoughts, twelve in all because well duh-

1) Guess who crossed the 400 films mark for this year? Yippee!

2) Everyone, please join Stevee's totally brilliant blogathon. There are very few hours left, but you can do it! This is my entry.

3) Th e awards season is fully underway now, and very soon we will be getting the nominations for Golden Globes and Screen Actor's Guild. So far, many critics' groups have given their prizes. Ryan has compiled most of them and Squasher has all the Critics Choice Awards nominees. Zero Dark Thirty and Katherine Bigelow are clearly emerging as the frontrunners for Best Film and Best Director. Best Actor seems to be Daniel Day Lewis's thing, although Bradley Cooper is definitely getting a lot of momentum. I guess Best Actress will be between Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence and maybe even Emmanuelle Riva. Best Supporting Actor seems like an odd field this year as the prophesied winner, Leo Di Caprio for Django Unchained, is not getting that much attention and one of his biggest competitors is co-star Samuel L. Jackson (poor Leo). One sure winner though is going to be Anne Hathaway for Les Miserables in the Best Supporting Actress category. What I am really getting excited about is the inclusion of films like Beasts of the Southern Wild and The Perks of Being a Wallflower in these awards as they aren't very, for lack of a better term, "Oscar bait-y". Also Skyfall and nominations for Javier Bardem and Judy Dench in Critics Choice is kind of awesome.

4) Ugh Dane DeHaan will play Harry Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Another reason why I will have to see this monstrosity.

5) The Oscars music department has released all the eligible candidates for Best Original Score and Best Original Song. While what gets nominated is yet to be seen, but my favourite score of the year, i.e.,  Moonrise Kingdom by Alexandre Desplat is ineligible, so that sucks. Best Original Song looks quite good though, but yet again one of the best moments of 2012's films was "Who Were We" in Holy Motors and that is not eligible.

6) Cate Blanchett will play the Evil Stepmother in Mark Romanek's live action take on Cinderella. I love this. In spite of the recent fairy tale movie busts, Blanchett is a gorgeous villain (I even loved her in Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) and Romanek's Never Let Me Go is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. Also one of the front-runners to play Cinderella is her Hanna co-star Saoirse Ronan, so I really hope this happens.

7) I have seen Oldboy from the Vengeance trilogy, which I loved. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance is another film in the trilogy, and its Hollywood remake is being made with the amazing Charlize Theron as the lead. I am becoming quite the Theron fan now and I am super excited for this.

8) George Clooney's next film is going to be plenty awesome, as far as the cast is concerned. The Monuments Men will now have Clooney's buddy Matt Damon joining Cate Blanchett, Daniel Craig, Jean Dujardin, Bill Murray and John Goodman. The premise is very cool. It will be a WW2 drama based on a true story about a group of British and American art experts who have to track down some of the most valuable art works stolen by the Nazis.

9) Stoker has another sexily creepy poster out. I am getting really impatient to watch this film now. Also the first picture of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is out. It's so sparkly. To be honest, this will be the Hobbit movie I want to watch the most because it is using the best asset of Benedict Cumberbatch- his god-like voice *swoon*.

10) Oh btw, how do you like the Christmas banner? Wasn't Winona the prettiest?

11) Trailers- Oblivion starring Tom Cruise. It looks very bland to me. I so do not give a shit. I would say the same about The Lone Ranger except my loyalty to Johnny Depp forbids me to. But seriously dude, wtf? Kind of like Armie Hammer, however. A Bollywood trailer, Matru Ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, is something I really want to watch because 1) Anushka Sharma, 2) Vishal Bharadwaj, 3) Imran Khan and 4) Pankaj Kapoor. Deadfall, which has Eric Bana, Olivia Wilde, Sissy Spacek and Kate Mara. I am a bit intrigued by it, to be honest. Especially because of the cast. After Earth is the new film from M. Night Shymalan starring Will Smith and Jaden Smith. I am not sure about it because it could be really interesting or really stupid. Remember when Jaden Smith was an adorable little kid? Why must they grow up? Man of Steel's first trailer is finally out, and well, I am not as buzzed about it as everyone else. I mean I will definitely watch it, but as Joker would say, "Why so serious?" I get it that this is following The Dark Knight trilogy's footsteps, but the grim tone actually suited someone like Batman. And this trailer is even less fun than the trilogy's trailers. Also I need more Amy Adams and Michael Shannon to get truly excited. A slightly happier second trailer, please? In TV land, Girls is back and it looks really really funny. So excited! Also Masters of Sex with Michael Sheen and Lizzy Caplan looks like fun. Finally, we have the trailer/teaser of the week- Star Trek Into Darkness. In spite of that ridiculous name, it is one of my most highly anticipated film of 2013 and Cumberbatch's eeie-tastic voice in the teaser has pumped me up even more. Bring it on!

12) Finally, ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce the latest addition to my fake husbands list-

From now on, kindly refer to me as Mrs. Logan Lerman. Thank you.

Okay tata!

I dreamed a dream.

      The New York Times Magazine has come up with its annual set of videos that celebrate the best performers of the year. This time around it is all about the ladies and their dreams, shot by Tierney Gearon, as they give us Hollywood Heroines: Wide-Awake.

1) Quvezhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild)- It was kind of cute. I especially liked the Barbie-in-distress part. I kind of miss her big Hushpuppy hair though.
2) Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables, The Dark Knight Rises)- This was one of the segments that I actually understood. It was v. pretty, and Anne was as amazing as always.
3) Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect)- Yaay mermaids. The beginning of this is quite odd.
4) Naomi Watts (The Impossible)- This was clearly reminiscent of Mulholland Drive when Watts's character has several mood/character changes. I love her eyes.
5) Kerry Washington (Django Unchained)- I like her slight sass in this. Again, a very elegant.
6) Elle Fanning (Ginger and Rosa)- Ugh her almost unnatural beauty is devastating. Elle Fanning is generally quite fairy princess-y, so this segment was perfect for her.
7) Keira Knightley (Anna Karenina)- I'm sorry but her face looks paralyzed to me in this.
8) Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook, The Hunger Games)- While she looked stunning, this was a very weird idea/dream. Indiana Jones would not approve.
9) Helen Hunt (The Sessions)- This was um, extremely strange. She looked happy though.
10) Marion Cotillard (Rust and Bone)- This segment was just beautiful. It reminded me of all those women artists who killed themselves. And Cotillard is exquisite. 
11) Shirley Maclaine (Bernie)- Yeah, dogs. Moving on.
12) Amy Adams (The Master)- I didn't exactly get the segment, but I loved the use of Adams's sparkly dress and she looked mesmeric.
13) Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)- Oh this was just so happy and lovely. Adorable.

        My favourites were Watts, Cotillard and Riva and I thought Hathaway, Fanning and Adams were some of the most beautiful looking segments. Among those missing were Best Actress front-runner Jessica Chastain and one of my favourite performers of the year, Rachel Weisz.

What did you think?

Making the Case for Best Ensemble Cast for The Avengers

     
           Stevee at Cinematic Paradox has come up with an excellent blogathon in which we get to write about films that will not feature highly in the awards season that is more or less already upon us.

          Now most cinephiles I know are greatly obsessed with awards, including yours truly. We immediately start thinking "Oscars" when we like a particular element of a recent film. Stevee's blogathon is tapping into this habit of ours and taking it further to mostly be about the films that won't actually make it through even though we want them to. It is kind of depressing to write about them because our convictions will not translate into physical awards in most cases, but it is also kind of relieving because at least we have voiced our support. I commented on Stevee's post about how I wish she had done this blogathon last year and all my feelings towards the Harry Potter films and their relationship with big award shows would have gotten a much needed avenue. Still, I am glad she has started this brilliant blogathon  and for this year, I will make a case for The Avengers getting nominated for the Screen Actor's Guild Best Cast Award.

          Having just watched the superhero blockbuster bonanza that is The Avengers for the fourth time, I am still amazed by the fact that it works so well. And the biggest reason for that is the cast. I do indeed find it hard to believe even now that a film with these many heroes, many of which have been the star in their own more than adequate films, can use each and every one of them and the other characters this economically. Every person in the film has their specific role to play- no one is wasted, no one overexposed.

          Each character and actor has his or her own fan-following after the film, who can actually justify their choice. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Ironman is, as someone said, one of the most ideal casting choices of the last decade- he is hilarious and heroic. Bruce Banner/Hulk finally gets the perfect duality between a being a being a big green rage monster and a meek genius thanks to Mark Ruffalo's acting chops. Scarlett Johannson's Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow is one of her best performances to date. The dry wit and total badassery is to die for. Chris Evans was born to play a superhero, and his Steve Rogers/Captain America is as courageous and sincere as ever. Chris Hemsworth's Thor makes one truly believe that he is some sort of a god- he just looks and feels that mighty. One of the biggest surprises of the film was Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton/Hawkeye, who in spite of being the new comer to the group, fits right in and gives off this aura of cool. Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury makes even the cheesy lines sound infinitely awesome (a stereotype, but still a total fact). Clark Gregg as Agent Phil Coulson ends up being the hero for many people, because he is the ordinary man in these extraordinary circumstances, and Gregg owns that role. Finally we have Tom Hiddleston's star-making turn as the villain god Loki who is just snarky and grand and a believable adversary for all these heroes. Even Stellan Skarsgård, Colbie Smulders and Gwyneth Paltrow are perfect in their minor roles.

        Joss Whedon directs all these actors and characters in many situations where they verbally and physically spar and that further shows how evenly matched everyone is. Though obviously aided by visuals, the final action scenes with all the Avengers actually working together is so much fun and satisfying to watch. I say satisfying because we see the relationships and arcs of the various characters throughout the film and it is literally awesome to see them all come together at the end.

       Now I know that The Avengers will almost certainly not even be considered for the SAG Best Cast Award. The fact that it is a superhero movie, its massive box office earnings, people's preference towards the other big superhero film of the year etc. will be massive obstacles in its path and I doubt even poor Hulk can remove them with all his strength. We will have the usual suspects being nominated instead, the "Oscar-friendly" kind, which isn't something I abhor but I wish people would look beyond that.

       I will conclude by saying that a great ensemble piece is one in which every character, big or small, gets to shine but not outshine anyone and I truly believe that The Avengers, of all the movies that I have seen in 2012, achieves this best.

       Case made.

"I hate endings."

           The power of denial is astounding, but it is time to face the facts and write this post. The time of the Ponds ended on Doctor Who with the fantastic "The Angels Take Manhattan". I don't think there is any point in me trying to recap the episode, since it has been out for more than two months now. Instead, I will look back on the run of Amelia Pond and Rory Williams, my very first companions and the longest-running ones in the modern Who series.

*SPOLIERS*

AMELIA POND

"Like a name in a fairytale."

We first meet Amelia "Amy" Pond when she is seven years old, a Scottish redhead living in a little English town. The TARDIS crashes into her garden and out pops the newly regenerated Doctor, dressed in rags and begging for an apple. He promises to take her on adventures in his time machine after he fixes it in five minutes. Little Amelia sits all night in her garden waiting for this raggedy man to reappear, but he doesn't come. In fact he doesn't come until twelve years later, when Amelia has become Amy, the beautiful and feisty kissogram. Played by the gorgeous Karen Gillan, I think Amy is the best looking companion in the new Who. Amy's and the Doctor's adventures start then- she meets Winston Churchill, saves a space whale, becomes possessed by a weeping angel, inspires Vincent Van Gogh, and then when her fiance Rory joins the gang too, she has many many more of these unbelievable experiences.

Amy Pond was an awesome companion. She was fiercely brave, bitingly sarcastic, and a strong and sensitive woman. As 'the girl who waited', she spent a great deal of her run with a fear (literally) of having the Doctor abandon her like he did when she was a kid. Still, he is her bestfriend, and they have a beautiful, tender relationship because he was her childhood hero and she was the wonderful little girl who was the first person he met and cared for. Her other relationship, which is even greater than that with the Doctor, is with her husband Rory. Though unsure of the degree of her feelings towards him at first, we see how Amy falls more and more in love with Rory throughout her run. 

The first series of Amy was probably my most favourite. She was young and wide-eyed and had a lovely chemistry with an equally youthful Doctor. Growing up with a crack in her wall, which was actually caused from the end of the universe, she was the crux of the series. The second series of Amy was not the best one in terms of realistic character development. Yes, she dresses like a pirate and gets kidnapped by aliens and so on, but she is a little unbelievable in her reactions to the crazy things that happen to her. This was when Amy stopped being my favoruite companion, but then the seventh series, which was Amy's last, happened. She came back with a bang and she was the sensitive yet badass Amy again. Her relationships with both Rory and the Doctor were at an all-time high and her farewell scenes were truly heartbreaking.

My top 5 Amy Pond episodes-

5. FLESH AND STONE (5x05)

This, along with its first part "The Time of Angels" was my first encounter with the terrifying weeping angels. Though they are scarier in their usual form, I did think that being possessed by them might be the worst thing ever. Poor Amy gets possessed by one of them, but she still makes it through, even while walking in a creepy forest with her eyes closed. Then of course, she came on to the Doctor, which is both funny, and well, a bit of a dream.

4. THE POWER OF THREE (7x04)

The more I think about this episode, the more I fall in love with it. Right before the last episode of the Ponds, we see what Pond life is really like and what happens when the Doctor comes to stay with them. Her fragile, complicatedly simple relationship with the Doctor is beautifully explored in this episode. Also I think this was the episode in which Karen Gillan looked the most fetching as Amy Pond.

3. ASYLUM OF THE DALEKS (7x01)

As I said, Amy had lost a bit of steam in the sixth series, but with the first episode of the seventh series, she comes back as her most mature and maybe damaged form yet. It starts shockingly with her giving divorce papers to Rory, and through this episode we see why she did so and how much she actually loves him. Heartbreaking performance by Gillan.

2. THE ELEVENTH HOUR (5x01)

This was her first episode, and she was seared into my heart since then. I have never wanted to be Amelia Pond more. We all have our childhood fantasies, and hers actually comes back to get her on his time machine. Also Amy is so feisty and sexy in this.

1. THE BIG BANG (5x13)

Throughout the fifth series, we find out more and more about the crack in the wall of Amy's bedroom and how it has affected her. We see how she ends up being the most important person in the universe- how her love waits 2000 years for her and how her imaginary friend is ready to be wiped from existence for her, but she brings everyone back and saves the day.

RORY WILLIAMS

"The boy who waited."

I think Rory "Pond" Williams in Doctor Who is almost how Ron Weasley was in the Harry Potter books. He started out as a sort of comic relief- slightly bumbling and confused, but slowly became the bravest, funniest, nicest and well, one of my most favourite companions ever. In fact, he is tied at the top spot with Donna Noble. A huge reason for that is the way the incredibly gifted Arthur Darvill plays him.

Rory is the sort of the perfect man- he is akin a hilarious knight who can live and die for his love. And by die, I mean die over and over and over again. It is kind of a joke that even Rory himself acknowledges- the number of times he has died in this show is ridiculous. But all that fades when one thinks about how he waited 2000 years outside a box to protect the woman he loves. The Last Centurion is mighty in every way. He has a consciousness that is even older than the Doctor.

Of course his relationship with Amy is to die for. Along with that, it is interesting to see his dynamic with the Doctor. Though always a bit insecure about Amy's closeness to the Doctor, he too can do anything for the man. In the seventh series, we also saw Rory with his adorable dad Brian, who for me is possibly the most tragic character I have seen in Doctor Who yet. His farewell scene, though necessary, were maybe a bit disappointing because I wish he had had a more emotional goodbye.

My top 5 Rory Williams episodes-

5. LET'S KILL HITLER (6x08)

Because Rory is the coolest. I mean he friggin' punches Hitler in the face, man! I love this episode because it gives Rory a sort of edginess. He can punch the Führer and drive a motorbike with utmost ease. He is suddenly an action star, but with enough of his Rory-style humour left.

4. THE PANDORICA OPENS (5x12)

This is the return of Rory, and his first appearance in the Roman soldier uniform. Through all odds, he returns and perhaps more in love with Amy than ever. I love his struggle at the end. I think Arthur Darvill has the prettiest eyes.

3. AMY'S CHOICE (5x07)

Why would a girl will choose a country doctor over the coolest being in all of universe? Simple. Because it is Rory. Rory, with his sweetness and caring and even a ponytail, battles with his insecurities over Amy's childhood infatuation with the Doctor but still does everything for her, and she realises her true feelings towards this magical man in this episode.

2. THE ANGELS TAKE MANHATTAN (7x05)

This episode culminates everything that we know about Rory- his deaths, his humour, his bravery and above all, his love for Amy. When Amy asks him if he would be able to let her sacrifice herself if it means that she wouldn't have to live to her old age without him, like he had just witnessed his own past/future self do, Rory's face and the way he says with utmost conviction, "To save you, I could do anything" just shatters me. Darvill is amazing here.

1. THE GIRL WHO WAITED (6x10)

Yes this is a big Amy episode too, but for me, it is all about Rory's unparalleled love for Amy. He would love her at any age, however she looks and acts. The final moments in this episode, when the Doctor asks him to choose between old Amy and young Amy, and that he is forced to go with a choice, are so poignant. That may be the hardest thing that Rory has done in any episode and such love is just staggering. Arthur Darvill is phenomenal in this episode.

         With this, I come to the end of the post. As much as I will miss Amy's boisterousness and her red hair, and Rory's humour and legendary nose, the thing I will miss most about the Ponds is their love for each other. Their's is one of the greatest love stories I have seen period, and I am so glad that that had a happy ending. 

Bye bye Ponds.

The Month that was- November

       Well, November was shit! I don't know what I was doing. Yes I had exams and I traveled and my laptop got a magical ailment which it cured itself and I rediscovered the joys of reading, but that's no excuse. I can see my resolution of watching 300 new-to-me films this year failing. However, I can safely say that I saw a number of really important films this month, some which may have even become life-time favourites. Also that I went for my very first film festival, the Kolkata International Film Festival.


Firsts:

1) Manhattan Murder Mystery- Don't you just love Woody Allen and Diane Keaton together? This might be the funniest Woody film I have seen yet.
2) Interiors- Shattered by this film, really. Oh Woody...
3) Ted- Hahaahahaha this was funny... NOT! Childhood memories scarred forever.
4) Cries and Whispers- Very affecting, and very striking to look at.
5) Michael Clayton- Tilda deserved that Oscar for some other performance. Good film though.
6) Seven Psychopaths- Might go down as the biggest disappointment of 2012.
7) Argo- All the buzz is true- this film is fantastic! I don't think we'll see a better-made film this year.
8) Vamps- Aww this was adorable. Happy vampires!!
9) Total Recall- In-flight movie. Meh.
10) The Hunt- Pretty unsettling and frustrating, but quite excellent too. Mads Mikkelsen is wonderful in it. Saw it in KIFF.
11) Beasts of the Southern Wild- I have nothing to compare this film with. Quvenzhané Wallis is a mini-supernova of talent. KIFF film.
12) Rust and Bone- Not what I was expecting. I liked it, but didn't love it. KIFF film.
13) Night and Fog- Not sure whether to count this as a short or not. Eitherways, after listening to Michael Haneke's praises about it, I watched it and was blown away. It is so honest and so scary.
14) Jab Tak Hai Jaan- You know, I would have liked it if Katrina Kaif wasn't there. Some Bollywood movies can get away with being ridiculous, but the terrible chemistry between Kaif and SRK just ruined it.
15) Holy Motors- I have nothing to compare this with either. I usually despise confusing films, and this has plenty to boggle your mind, but I felt oddly happy watching it. I don't know why.
16) Three Kings- This was weird and interesting and never seen a war film like it before.
17) Sherlock Jr.- Brilliant! How did Buster Keaton come up with such gags?
18) Casino- Quite good and didn't feel so long either. Really liked Sharon Stone in it.
19) Life of Pi- One of the best uses of 3D ever and the ambition is enormous. The story was a bit of a letdown though.
20) The Blues Brothers- One of those movies for which you need to be from a certain kind of background, or even have a good idea about it. I'm not, and hence it didn't work for me as well as I guess it should have.
21) The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari- Saw it in film studies. Pretty cool.
22) La Dolce Vita- I don't know why it took me so long to watch this. It is fantastic and Marcello Mastroianni is sexy.


Rewatched:

1) Manhattan- This might be Woody's most romantic film, yes?

2) The Purple Rose of Cairo- This film is so close to my heart. I think I would be Cecilia if my life was a movie.

3) Up in the Air- I saw it the day before my flight. Seemed apt.

4) La Luna- This wondrous short is finally on Youtube. Pixar magic!

TV shows:

1) Breaking Bad, Seasons 1-3- What a crazy, awesome show! I can see what all the fuss is about now. Love Bryan Cranston as Walter White, but my favourite has to be Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman... BITCH!

2) QI, Series 1- The only reason I stayed awake to study for my exams. So funny and smart and if anyone finds a younger version of Alan Davies- that is my soulmate, right there!

Books:

Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky- Since the film refuses to release here, I thought why not read the book instead. I really liked the story and the characters, but had problems with the epistolary style of writing.

Final tally:
                                 Firsts- 259                        Rewatched- 117               Shorts- 17
                                                                                Total- 393


December is here! It's time for the end of the world, The Hobbit, Christmas and Django Unchained!!