My Top 10 Male Performances

        Very soon it is going to be the third anniversary of this blog and to celebrate, I am making various film-related lists. In this list, I enumerate some of my favourite performances by actors. The list is in random order with my absolute favourite performance crowned at the end.

Brad Pitt in Fight Club

In a way, Pitt's Tyler Durden is my least favourite character of the main trio of Fight Club. But the more I think about it, the more amazed I am by his performance. Durden is crazy, strong and charismatic, someone not dissimilar to Satan in Paradise Lost, and Pitt brings to it so much energy and danger to Durden that one cannot imagine anyone else in his place.

Favourite scene- After being bloodied by the owner of the basement in which he holds his fight club, Tyler laughs hysterically and spits blood all over the man, leaving him very frightened indeed.

Robert De Niro in Raging Bull

If you know me, you would know of my abhorrence towards sports and everything sports-related, in however big or small way. In spite of this, I could not help but be gobsmacked by De Niro's legendary turn as Jake LaMotta.

Favourite scene- LaMotta in his prison cell, punching and hitting his head against the wall and then collapsing crying.

Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List

I have often spoken about how Schindler's List is sometimes a bad example for me for a Holocaust movie because I am so enchanted by Fiennes' Amon Goeth, in all his repulsive glory. He personifies everything that was wrong about that time and the worst acts of genocide and hatred that the world ever saw. It is a scarily brilliant performance.

Favourite scene- Goeth looks at the mirror and like a benevolent god says, "I pardon you."

Ryan Gosling in Drive

I have a thing for internalised performances. Gosling's Driver is a lonely and taciturn man who has a very lethal side to him that he keeps just under control. This underlying current of danger that is always present in his performance gives him a sort of edge that makes him one of the coolest anti-heroes of our time.

Favourite Scene- The Driver interrogates Blanche. The restrained anger is terrifying.

Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange

Speaking of anti-heroes, I am particularly partial to my favourite one, Alex DeLarge who is brought to life by McDowell. His DeLarge thrives on violence and Beethoven. I think this is a very brave performance in many ways. Not everyone would like to be the embodiment of nihilism but McDowell does it fantastically.

Favourite scene- The Minister of Interior feeding Alex while Alex artfully taunts him.

Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Whatever one says or thinks of his career choices now, Depp's ability to morph into a character is astounding. And his Captain Jack Sparrow feels almost like a real living and breathing person. He isn't Depp as Captain Jack, he is Captain Jack himself. Depp immerses himself in this role completely, with all the mannerisms and acting and charm, and gives us a modern hero like we've never had before.

Favourite scene- "She's safe, just like I promised. She's all set to marry Norrington, just like she promised. And you get to die for her, just like you promised. So we're all men of our word really... except for, of course, Elizabeth, who is in fact, a woman."

Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon

The only word I can use to describe this performance is all-encompassing. I really do not believe that there is any emotion that a human being can go through that Pacino's Sonny doesn't go through in this film and he shows it all so beautifully.

Favourite scene- Sonny talks to Leon on the phone. We get to see just how confused this man is about everything that is happening to him.

Bill Murray in Lost in Translation

Sofia Coppola wrote this part for Murray and it was really custom-made for him. While being one of the funniest men alive, Murray brings a sort of tragedy and vulnerability in this persona of him. A most nuanced and lovely performance.

 Favourite scene- When he first says goodbye to Charlotte and watches her walk away while having to take pictures with the hotel staff.

Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs

For a character who is there for only sixteen minutes in the film, Hopkin's Hannibal Lecter pervades the entire running time because of his unforgettable menace and startling softness towards Clarice Starling. My favourite villain ever.

Favourite scene- When we finally see this "monster" in action and then him listening to music covered in another man's blood.

Which brings me to my favourite male performance-

Adrien Brody in The Pianist

Just look at the stills above. This is towards the end of the film, when Brody's character Władysław Szpilman is finally playing a piano after having witnessed the horrors of Holocaust. He starts out at peace and then after seeing one of his friends outside the recording room starts to feel happy, but soon reality hits him and all that he suffered and lost is remembered and he starts to cry, only to try to compose himself and finish his beautiful piece.

I was stunned by Brody when I first saw The Pianist. He is alone throughout a major part of the film, barely talking to anyone... in a room, living, surviving. His character goes from being a sprightly attractive man at the beginning of the film to someone who is can barely walk straight and is almost ape-like by the end . There is so much pain and guilt and fear in this performance that it just breaks my heart. I have never seen a more deserved Oscar winner.

Favourite part- Szpilman walking down pillaged streets, crying, and when he plays a piano at the command of a German soldier.

My Favourite Looking Films

        Very soon this blog is going to celebrate its third anniversary. To commemorate this occasion, I have decided to make some fairly typical but still fun lists about what else, movies. 

         First off, I have my favourite looking films. It maybe the cinematography, the settings, the effects, even the period that made me choose these films. I hope you like them :-)

2001: A Space Odyssey

Stanley Kubrick is one of my favourite visual film makers. His settings, use of colour, camera angles and so on are fantastic and unforgettable, and 2001 is the most remarkable out of all of them. Sci-fi never looked better.

Amélie

Amelie is a film that immediately grabs one's attention with its vibrant colours, much like the personality of its titular character. The heart of the film lies as much in the story as the way it is presented to us. One of the happiest looking films there is.

Atonement

I remember sitting down to watch this, sure that I will get bored and depressed out of my mind. Instead, I was left dumbfounded not just by the fantastic story and characters, but how gorgeous this film looked. From Keira Knightley to the amazingly neverending beach scene to James McAvoy's impossible eyes, this film is a visual treat.

Coffee and Cigarettes

I just love the idea of this film. Bunch of people drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes around a table. They have their little stories and quirks and moments, and they drink coffee and smoke. The overhead shots of the various coffee tables is very cool. Also, coffee and cigarettes= sexiest combination ever.

Control

Though this film was the reason of me falling in love with Joy Division, I look back at it now and understand that it had to be in black in white to tell the story of the doomed lead singer of the band, Ian Curtis. And what glorious black and white it is.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

One of the most remarkable things about this incredibly tragic, yet ultimately uplifting film is how beautiful it is. I say remarkable because the film is from the point of view of a man on whom fate has played the ugliest trick imaginable. And yet, his world ends up looking this exquisite. I love it.

The Double Life of Veronique

Like many films in this list, I think Veronique is just magical and its look contributes to that. The lighting, the camera angles, Irene Jacob's allure are all what makes it so magnificent.

The Dreamers

The Dreamers owes much of its beauty to its cast and its setting. Michael Pitt, Eva Green and Louis Garrel are all stupendously beautiful people, and their adventures together, in their gorgeous 60s Parisian home, with all the movies that they love- it all adds up to one very pretty film.

The Hours

I don't think I have ever seen a movie in which flowers have played a more central role than in The Hours. Flowers in flower shops, vases, and on aprons, clothes, jewelry and even wallpaper. And why not? This is one of the most feminine films I have seen. Like the heroines and the men in their lives, the look of the film is delicate and sad and very beautiful.

In the Mood for Love

Wong Kar Kai's tale of two lost souls coming together is one of the most touching films that I have ever seen. I actually cried after watching this because a) it made me sad, and b) I could never make anything like that. And a big part of the second reason was how it looked. Maggie Cheung's dresses and the alleys and the rain and the cigarette smoke- it was all so beautiful that I was at a loss of words. 

Manhattan

'"He adored New York City. He idolised it all out of proportion." Uh, no. Make that "He romanticised it all out of proportion. To him, no matter what the season was, this was still a town that existed in black and white and pulsated to the great tunes of George Gershwin. "'

Need I say more?

Marie Antoinette

I guess if I had to choose an absolute favourite looking film, this would be it. This is certainly the prettiest film I have ever seen. With the girly aspects, Kirsten Dunst's charm, the resplendent setting of 18th century Versailles, and of course Sofia Coppola's eye for atmosphere, how can it not?

Moonrise Kingdom

Since this is a new film, I couldn't get the exact images I thought were the most stunning in it. Which is saying a lot, because this is one of the most magical looking films that I have seen. As I said in my review, "Maybe it is because I have always lived in the city and the natural settings, all which were filmed around Rhode Island, are so singularly lovely that I could not help but feel happy and wistful just looking at the film."

Moulin Rouge!

Moulin Rouge! is a film that fully celebrates its status of being something fantastical- we see it in the characters, the songs and of, the settings and the visuals. In this, Paris is made to be an even more impossibly enchanting place, with elephant rooms and bohemians and of course, the Moulin Rouge. The song numbers, the crazy antics and Nicole Kidman's beauty is why it is there in this list.

Pan's Labyrinth

This film, in its story and look, embraces the true nature of a fairytale- something magical and dark. Love the monsters and the atmosphere. 

Persona

Has black and white ever looked more stunning? From the leads to the setting to the camera angles to the lighting- it is just devastating to look at.

Pleasantville

I love films which are both colour and black and white. I think Pleasantville is the best of them though, as this change is an integral part of its plot, without which the story cannot proceed. Here colour stands for being human and alive, with all sorts of feelings and desires, and black and white is what is pleasant and acceptable and the change from one to another is striking.

Schindler's List

In spite of the "unreality" of black and white images, I feel that they make this film all the more affecting and authentic. Maybe because at the time this was set, people made films in black and white. Or maybe because that is how the life of the Jews had become in Holocaust camps. I don't really know, but I do feel that this film is breath-taking in its visuals.

Scott Pilgrim VS The World

Because it's so effing awesome! I have never seen a film like this, and I highly doubt I ever will (unless Edgar Wright makes a sequel- PLEASE!). The video-game inspired look, the awe-inspiring battles between the Scott and Ramona's evil exes, just Ramona's hair- it is just so freaking cool and colourful and brilliant.

A Single Man

This story also uses colour to alleviate itself. When the protagonist George wakes up in the morning, deciding to kill himself sometime during the day, the film is bathed in greys and sober colours, like George's mood and ideas. However, everytime during the day when life happens to him, through people and dogs and one unbelievably beautiful Spanish prostitute, the screen and George's life lights up and everything becomes vivid and pregnant with colour. It's incredible to look at.

Skyfall

People go to see modern action films for all the effects and bombings and whatnot. Skyfall stands apart from all of that because of the way Roger Deakins shot it. All of the settings look like art pieces, with the Shanghai scene being the showstopper. Best looking action movie ever.

Suspiria

I was just so entranced by all the colours of this film when I saw it. Has red ever been redder, or blue bluer? This film is just a delight to watch with all its intense colours and dramatic settings.

The Third Man

This film is like a class in use of shadows and lighting. That tunnel scene alone is dazzling.

The Tree of Life

While any Terence Malick film was eligible for this list, I went with The Tree of Life because it captures growing up like how it has never been shown on screen. And what amazes me is that all of us have had these experiences at some level and Malick with cinematographer extraordinaire Emmanuel Lubezki were the first to emulate them so extraordinarily.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Because films about food, and especially chocolate, are by definition delicious.

Guest Post by Lesya- Woody Allen: A Documentary

        One of my favourite cinephiles, Lesya Hearst, recently saw this film and wanted to write about it. Seeing how I treat Mr. Allen as my film god and am dying to watch it, I quickly offered the services of my blog. So here it goes. I hope you enjoy it.

           Woody Allen. Every film admirer knows this name, if not loves the artist who bears it. Mr. Allen makes you laugh in Annie Hall and shed a tear in Manhattan or he may engage you in both activities in both movies. He transports you to the most magical of places in Midnight in Paris and somehow manages to make the City of Lights even more charming and mysterious. He adds enchantment even to an old movie theater, pushing make-believe to new highs in The Purple Rose of Cairo. Mr. Allen understands life, death, love, art, and people. And he places this understanding in his peculiar vision in his unique films.

            Woody Allen: A Documentary was made for TV in two installments and its running time nears three and a half hours, which is, let’s admit, a lot. This film was produced as a shorter version for cinema release, but I was extremely fortunate to attend a screening of that lengthy Director’s Cut at the American Independence Film Festival in Kyiv. Being a relatively tiny thing, this event still managed to draw the audience into the theater and even featured some amazing guests of filmmaker kin, including the director of the about-to-be-discussed documentary, Robert B. Weide.

        Presenting his film, Mr. Weide asked us three questions: how many of us were passionate Woody Allen fans, who had seen all of his movies, how many knew only a few of Woody’s pictures, and how many were there just to avoid the bad weather outside. Funnily, I couldn't classify myself. I’m a huge admirer of Woody’s work, but I can’t say that I saw half of his oeuvres, not to mention the majority of them. Anyway, hopefully, the situation is about to be improved, since Woody Allen: A Documentary made me even more interested in the auteur’s filmography. Nothing bizarre about that: if a movie (a doco or a fictionalized biopic) centered on a personality is well-made, you will probably want to know even more about this or that persona.

       Here go a few general things that you should know about the movie. It isn't afraid to dwell on Woody Allen’s life, but most importantly, his creative life, starting with childhood beginnings to his young years as a stand-upper to his slow transition to films as a writer, actor, and director. The milestone motion pictures are discussed in detail and whole-heartedly by a range of professionals who have worked with the master and were inspired by his incredible vision. The audience is lucky to find out more about Woody’s writing habits and his funny stories straight from his lips, too. The documentary never bores, being that long. I can tell from my experience that it was one of the best film viewings in my life: I had a very trying day and my nerves were shattered, but the movie made me relax and I was laughing at many moments alongside other viewers. As Woody Allen: A Documentary went on and on, I thought that it can’t be too long, it’s amazing!

        Can you spoil anything in a documentary? I don’t think that it’s such a problem as in usual narrative films, yet I don’t want to share some details, leaving them for you to find out, when you have the chance to see this movie. However, there is one thing that I think I can talk about, regarding that it was a huge revelation for me. Woody said that he never had a writer’s block. Fancy that! Shocking. I’m not joking. I do consider it a significant eye-opener. If you are a writer or a blogger and you face problems with the muse, think of Woody. Of course, you might say that no one’s like Woody Allen (and that is true), but the point is: if someone can write incessantly, you can too!

        Needless to say, Woody Allen: A Documentary boasts many as great facts as this one. I promise you, if you are an aspiring filmmaker or a movie buff, you’ll find the Director’s Cut a fun ride into the great filmmaker’s life and career. The documentary is funny, smooth, informative, and inspiring. Whoever you are, I bet you would take something from the film that will live in your heart and memory for a while.

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?