The Month that was- November

Hii guys! It's December, which is bloody mental. It's still April in my head. Anyways, November was a pretty great month, movie-wise. I had my first proper film festival experience and even though I kind of felt like a zombie for a week after that, I can't wait to do it again. YAAY MOVIES!


Firsts:

1) Captain Phillips- Really thrilling. Loved the performances and the direction. My brother loved it too.
2) Frances Ha- Loveliness itself. Greta Gerwig is my queen.
3) The To-Do List- So uneven. I liked some of the ideas in place, but not the movie so much.
4) Thor: The Dark World- Loki is the best! I thought it was really fun and sooo pretty!
5) The Maltese Falcon- Noirvember! Quite liked it, though not one of those classics that really blows you away.
6) Blancanieves- First movie of KIFF. So stunning and smart and, god, Maribel Verdu is ab fab!
7) Don Jon- Really confident debut by JGL. I thought it was really funny, had quite an interesting concept in place and Scarlett Johansson was just amazeballs.
8) Of Good Report- One of the biggest duds at KIFF for me. It was just boring and creepy.
9) Elmer Gantry- For Burt Lancaster's centennial. I thought it was a very interesting film and Lancaster was indeed very good. It was a very loud performance which is something I haven't seen from Lancaster.
10) Night Train to Lisbon- My least favourite film from KIFF. I just thought it was painfully mediocre, especially considering the talent involved.
11) The Future- I quite liked this one. The actress's age kind of shocked me, but both her and Rutger Hauer were very good. Another unique story.
12) The Artist & Model- It was very beautiful to look at. The story was simple but touching.
13) Rock Ba-Casba- One of the movies I just randomly watched, and liked a lot. It was a pretty good story about young Israeli soldiers stationed at the Gaza Strip during the 80s. Also, it did help that there were a bunch of hot guys in uniform in this. I *was* getting slightly bored with all the naked women in all the films so far.
14) Bastards- My worst movie experience during KIFF, which did colour my perspective on the film.
15) Lessons in Forgetting- One of the only Indian films I saw at KIFF. It was quite crude, but it raised some important questions about Indian society.
16) Jealousy- I thought it was an alright movie, but my god, Louis Garrel's face in black and white is something to be worshiped. Well, it should be worshiped eitherways, but it is beautifuler in black and white :P
17) The Past- Another great human drama by Asghar Farhadi. I love the way he fuses other genres, a suspense thriller in this case, in his tales about people who make very human mistakes and their repercussions, especially on children, which just breaks my heart.
18) Ko: Yad- An Assamese film. I thought it was very sentimental and therefore not very good.
19) Pieta- My first Kim Ki-duk film, who is apparently huge in Calcutta. Brutal, affecting, and my god, the main theme of this film is something I did not expect. My admiration for it keeps growing. Must watch more movies by this director.
20) Blue is the Warmest Colour- Absolute love. Favourite movie of KIFF and I adored Adele Exarchopouls and Lea Seydoux.
21) Winter of Discontent- I watched it after Blue and I was totally dazed throughout it. Apparently it *was* quite good.
22) Paradise: Hope- I liked how still the movie was. A very unique perspective shown.
23) The Deep- I fell asleep for about 20 minutes in this film, which is something I regret because I did like whatever I saw. Mette compares it with Gravity, so there you go.
24) Papilio Buddha- I respect this film for just existing and raising the issues it does and showing them so unflinchingly. Also, one of the most well-shot Indian films I have ever seen. Just beautiful to look at.
25) Paradise: Faith- One of my favourites at the film festival. It reminded me of films by Michael Haneke and Yorgos Lanthimos- unsettling in the best way.
26) Touch of the Light- So happy and pretty. Would make the most joyful of double features with The Intouchables.
27) The Great Beauty- Gorgeous to look at, but just empty at its core. The first 20-30 minutes of the movie were like an assault on my senses.
28) Young and Beautiful- Last film of KIFF. Marine Vacth is so unfairly sublime. Just want to stare at her forever. I liked the movie too.
29) An Adventure in Space and Time- TV movie about the origins of Doctor Who. I thought it was very well-made and acted and Matt Smith's face brings me immense joy.
30) Cool Hand Luke- Speaking of sublime, Paul Newman was such a god. Every time he smiled, my insides melted. A very good film overall, though I think I am getting a bit wary of films about defiant men, I don't know why.
31) The Shop Around the Corner- James Stewart is so adorbs. This film was very sweet.
32) The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- One of the best sequels of our time, yes? I loved how well-paced the film was. And Jena Malone of course.


Rewatched:

1) Sweet Smell of Success- Noirvermber again. Loved it so much more this time. The dialogue is to die for.
2) Sabrina- One of my favourite movie experiences at KIFF. People kept breaking out in applause.
3) The Apartment- Just the fact that I saw this on big screen fills me up with joy. Perfect film is perfect.
4) Gone with the Wind- For Vivien Leigh's centennial. like it so much more now. They censored all the kisses in this though, which was a bit strange and frankly inexplicable on their part. I did see *everything* else in all other movies.
5) Sunset Blvd.- Best of Noirvember? Yep. Did not notice how hot William Holden looked in it the first time 'round.
6) Frances Ha- If my life was a black and white film, I would totally wear white-rimmed glasses. The cinematography is so great in this.
7) The Nightmare Before Christmas- Where has this Tim Burton gone?


TV shows:

All my plans of rewatching Nu Who crashed and burned.
The Escape Artist- Really quite thrilling and unsettling. Loved the actors, especially David Tennant. Please watch it!


Final tally:
                               Firsts- 196             Rewatched- 77             Shorts- 2
                                                                 Total- 275


End of year time! I do have things planned for the blog, but I don't want to jinx it.