The Month that was- November

         It's December again -.- Another goddamn year wasted. November wasn't though, at least movie-wise, what with the film festival and Noirvember going on. It's a good thing that I managed to watch as many movies as I did (41 in all) because my exams start in January and I *really* need to study :/

Firsts:

1) Solaris- This put me to sleep... thrice :/

2) Anari- It was really touching. "Kisi Ki Muskurahaton Pe Ho Nisar" is a great song.

3) Two Days, One Night- I loved it so much. I love films that celebrate little victories. The subject matter of this may seem trivial but it *is* important to the characters in the film and it does justice to that, and to them. Marion Cotillard was really fantastic too.

4) Blazing Saddles- So funny. Also, I could have never, ever, ever, ever, ever, EVER expected that climax ever. Woahhh.

5) The Lady from Shanghai- Noirvember! I really liked it for most of it but that last 8 minutes or so is fucking insane! WOOOOOAAHHHH!! Also, I heart all of Rita Hayworth's costumes in this.

6) Laura- Noirvember!! I loved it. Yes, it was campy and a bit ridiculous but so much fun!
7) The Big Heat- Noirvember!!! This was a really genius film. You think it is one thing but it ends up being about something else entirely.
8) Big Hero 6- So much fun with a great warmth in it. And it was gorgeous too! I want a Baymax. I also want the older brother who's totes giving Hiccup a run for his money for the Hottest Animated Character of the Year Award.
9) The Killing- Noirvember!!!! It starts out a bit slow and confusing but my mouth literally fell open twice towards the end and not that many movies manage to do that anymore. Excellent!
10) Charlie's Country- Eye-opening but still very slow.
11) Geronimo- My least favourite film of KIFF. What a hot mess.
12) These Are the Rules- One of the most surprisingly good films we saw at KIFF. Incredible handling of death.
13) Pasolini- Eh. Pretty forgettable in spite of super uncomfortable sex scenes.
14) The Search- I was very emotionally invested in this. I liked it quite a bit.
15) Ciudad Delirio- SO cute! Yaay for random salsa romcoms mid-super serious film festivals!
16) Interstellar- I liked it but it's already kind of gone from my head. I remember being annoyed at the end because to me it made no sense. Yeahh.
17) Kaafiron Ki Namaz- Weird, funny, outrageous and super-theatrical. Liked it more than I had expected to.
18) Refugiado- I like simple, effective stories and this was one. The kid in this was very cute too.
19) Omar- The movie where I found my next dream husband. Adam Bakri, you beauty. Also, it was a really good film. 
20) The Two Faces of January- So straightforward and kind of bland. Did anyone else think that Oscar Isaac looked a bit like young Al Pacino in this?
21) The Guest- I loved it. Twisted and fun and hot, mostly because of Dan Stevens. Who knew Matthew Crawley had this in him? And what a soundtrack!
22) Mommy- It literally gave me all of the feels, so much so that I didn't know how to react after it was over. Amazing. One of my favourites of the year.
23) John Wick- This film is a blast. The action scenes were fucking awesome and I loved how the whole crime syndicate was like a dysfunctional family.
24) The Elephant Song- I thought it was trying to be smarter than it was. Dolan was good.
25) Whiplash- What a film. What an experience. Energizes every atom in your body. Love love love!!
26) The Thin Blue Line- So important and still kind of shocking.
27) Breathe In- I liked the performances and the music a lot. Guy Pearce is one hot fucker.
28) 3-Iron- Really weird but I liked it a lot. So romantic though it gets a tad too creepy at one point *shifts uncomfortably*.
29) Waltz with Bashir- Definitely worth the hype. That last part just pierces through you.
30) What We Do in the Shadows- SOOO funny! AND clever. 2014: the year vampires became awesome again.
31) Magic in the Moonlight- Charming but forgettable. Some lines were really lovely though, as was Emma Stone.
32) Gun Crazy- Noirvember!!!!! I really liked this one too. Peggy Cummins was excellent and John Dall was really handsome.
33) Kiss Me Deadly- Noirvember!!!!!! This was probably my least favourite of the noirs I saw. I thought it dragged a bit. The ending was something though.


Rewatched:

1) Gone Girl- In India this time. They censored "cunt" and "pussy" but left "cum-on-me tits" in there. I don't understand.
2) Out of Sight- For our Neo-Noirvember (!!!!!!!) episode. I was probably asexual when I first saw it because how the fuck did my ovaries not explode then? Anyways, they're gone now, all thanks to Clooney in the fucking bathtub.
3) Lolita- First film of KIFF. I forgot how excellent Shelley Winters was in this.
4) 2001: A Space Odyssey- Honestly, the whole fest would have been worth it just to see this on a big screen. Gorgeosity itself.
5) Nymphomaniac vol. 1- With added uncensored stuff. I still love this film. It makes me laugh. Bite me.
6) Dr. Strangelove- Is there anything funnier than listening to General Ripper talk about bodily fluids?
7) Obvious Child- For our podcast. I seriously love this film to bits. More films like this, please and thank you.

8) Guardians of the Galaxy- Watched it as soon as the DVD arrived. It's brilliant and I don't care if you agree or not *finger on the throat means death*.


TV shows:

Doctor Who, series 8- An excellent, excellent series and great work from Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman. I have a post on this half-ready and I will finish it very soon.


Final tally:
                                            Firsts- 206                                            Rewatched- 64
                                                                         Total- 270


            That's all for now. I will definitely post some stuff in December + this blog turns 5 if you can believe it. How time flies etc. Bye!

Thoughts

Hello all. I'm back in India and in exam mode. I would skip this post but too much has happened in the world of cinema and etc.

1) So Edgar Wright isn't making Ant-Man anymore because Marvel is officially gone crazy. I knew the "films planned till 2028" was a sign of bad things to come. This especially sucks because Wright has been involved since phase 1 of MCU but due to creative differences, he won't be directing it. Joss Whedon tweeted this in support-

Apparently, things aren't great with him too and I've read in a few sites about how he won't return after The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Just when I thought Marvel will experiment with other unique filmmakers too, it goes and shits over everything. I still love the cast of Ant-Man, IF they remain, and so I will watch it but I am v. v. v. sad about Wright leaving. Ant-Man was my most anticipated film of next year but though it will still release on the same day, I don't care about it half as much.

2) Cannes '14 just wrapped up. You can go to a million film sites and read all about it. All I have to write about is firstly, how Lost River apparently is as bad as I thought it would be. However, if I was being honest, this is all I was thinking of. Like seriously, I spent a day just looking at videos and pictures of the Gos's magnificent return to Cannes. HOW is anyone that sexy? It blows my mind. Anyways, back to the movie stuff or whatever, I am actually very happy about Xavier Dolan winning the Jury Prize (along with Jean-Luc Godard of all the cinematic legends) for Mommy. It's officially become one of my most anticipated films of this year. Other films I am excited to check out are Foxcatcher, Mr. Turner, Maps to the Stars, Two Days, One Night, Lost River (I still *have* to see it), The Wonders, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Clouds of Sils Maria.

3) I don't know where my brain has been lately but there are a number of awesome-sounding films that are in production and I know NOTHING about them. First, there's Trainwreck, the new Judd Apatow film. Okay, I'm not the world's biggest Apatow fan so I can understand why I overlooked it but HOLY SHIT, it has an amazing cast! Brie Larson, Tilda Swinton, Ezra Miller (!!!), Bill Hader, Amy Schumer and Vanessa Bayer. Woah! Also Tilda and Ezra back in a movie together! Then there is Tulip Fever which has Dane DeHaan, Jack O'Connell, Christoph Waltz, Zach Galifianakis and Alicia Vikander. It is romance set in 17th century and it's all about tulips and art, all of which sounds pretty and obviously it will be pretty because it has DeHaan, O'Connell and Vikander. Galifianakis is also tied to three other really exciting sounding projects- Richard Linklater's Larry Kidney, which will also star Will Ferrel, Michel Hazanavicius' Will, which might have Paul Rudd also, and Jared Hess' Loomis Fargo along with Owen Wilson and Kristen Wiig. Woah again! Linklater is one of the most exciting filmmakers EVER, and though Hazanavicius' The Search didn't get very good reviews from Cannes, his return to what I think is a comedy, (the story is about a man whose life changes when his "author" in Heaven quits) is good news. As for Hess' film, it's based on a true story about one of the biggest heists in American history and all you or I really need to care about is that it will have Wiig's character using her "feminine wiles" to lure these other characters into thieving and THAT. SOUNDS. AMAZEBALLS. Luca Guidagnino's last movie I Am Love was stunning and his next one, which is apparently a "sexy thriller", will also star Tilda Swinton along with Margot Robbie, Ralph Fiennes and Matthias Schoenaerts. There are all these movies too, most of which sound pretty good but I don't have the energy to write about them.

4) Other casting news- Michael Shannon has joined the lesbian drama Freeheld which also stars Ellen Page and Julianne Moore. That's one powerful trio, right there. Emma Stone might just become Woody Allen's new muse (YAAAAAAYYYY!!!) as she's going to star in his next film with Joaquin Phoenix also. Ben Wheatley's next, High Rise, which already has Tom Hiddleston and is therefore highly anticipated, will now also boast of Jeremy Irons and Sienna Miller among its cast members. I really like both of them and the project keeps sounding more and more exciting. The second collaboration between Jonathan Levine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, after their adorable and touching 50/50, has a new addition to it in the form of Anthony Mackie. I approve of this. The Helen Mirren movie about a Holocaust survivor fighting to retrieve lost Klimt paintings called The Woman in Gold will now also star Tatiana Maslany who will play Mirren's character's younger self. You all have probably read this in a lot of places already but let me do my bit- Maslany is one of the best actresses out there right now and deserves to be a major star. She's amazing and I love her and those who don't watch Orphan Black should. Finally, Benedict Cumberbatch has replaced Guy Pearce in the Johnny Depp-Joel Edgerton gangster flick Black Mass, and it will also star Adam Scott. The biggest thing about this casting news is that I am officially more excited about Cumberbatch and Scott being in a movie together than the fact that it has Depp. #timeschange

5) Since I have already bitched about Marvel, let me spread the love around and also talk about DC. The new Superman-Batman movie is going to be called Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. BAHAHAHAHHAAHAHA WHAT?!! What's with the V? I do not get it. At all. My favourite tweet about this title was this:

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: LAWN OF JUSTICE pic.twitter.com/HCHZM4SuX3
— Ali Arikan (@aliarikan) May 21, 2014

6) Lars von Trier wants to make an action movie next. I don't even know. I have been trying to imagine what it would be like but I'm failing completely, which is fine because even if I come up with some concept, I have fully believe that LvT will totally upend it and do something else entirely which is part of his charm *hehe*. He's also writing a horror movie set in Detroit for Kristian Levring. LvT has already made one of the most terrifying movies I have ever seen, Antichrist, which is a movie I never, ever, ever want to rewatch, ever. I would honestly rather eat my own leg than watch it again. According to Levring though, this new one called Detroit, will have more classic American horror elements than whatever the fuck LvT does. Let's see how both of these pan out.

7) The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them trilogy might have found their director already. Reports say that Warner Bros are asking OSCAR-WINNER Alfonso Cuarón (the caps bring me joy, okay?) to direct the three films based on the Harry Potter companion book of the same name. Cuarón is responsible for one of the most celebrated installments in the Harry Potter franchise, Prizoner of Azkaban and is certainly the filmmaker who set the path for the kind of direction the films then took. I will be incredibly happy if this comes to pass. They still haven't cast the films yet but hopefully they will do so soon.

8) I recently stumbled upon this video of Jennifer Aniston's opening SNL monologue in the 90s which is all about Fight Club because she was dating Brad Pitt at the time. It's super strange. Also, it is hard to believe that Fight Club was so topical at a point of time that Jennifer Aniston, of all people (I mean, she's still spoken of in relation to a type of hairstyle :/), did a skit on it.

9) Posters and pictures- Everyone has freaked out about the Fassy-Cotillard (but mostly Fassy) Macbeth posters, yes? Good. This link has all the new pictures, first clip and the poster of the Daniel Radcliffe-Zoe Kazan starrer What If? This film will give me diabetes. Also the first official images of the majorly awaited Todd Haynes' Carol, starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara as a lesbian couple on the run in the 1950s have arrived. This film will rock!

10) Trailers- Let's get television out of the way. The Doctor Who series 8 teaser is totally pointless but I need this show in my life already. I have missed you, TARDIS. Speaking of Doctor Who, Karen Gillan's new TV show Selfie, which is based on Pygmalion looks really silly but really cute at the same time, especially Gillan. I laugh at the Gwyneth Paltrow and Lady Gaga jokes every time. The trailer of the last season of True Blood doesn't feature Eric AT ALL! Whyyyyyyy?!! Also, sue me but Flash looks adorable! The guy is so cute. Can't wait :D And Gotham doesn't look too terrible either. Coming to movies, I guess this puts me in the minority but I wasn't too buzzed about the Interstellar trailer except perhaps the last bit in the space. I am obviously dying to see the movie and I do love everyone in it (in other words, put down your pitchforks, internet) but just the trailer itself isn't as awesome as I expected it to be. The Clouds of Sils Maria trailer looks interesting enough but it is really the actresses that are drawing all the attention. I can't help but think that Moretz was born to play roles like this. I haven't seen Drinking Buddies yet but I still think that I will love Happy Christmas, if not for anything else other than Anna Kendrick. I love her. The Life of Crime trailer reminded me just how much I need a Jackie Brown rewatch. I'm most excited about Isla Fisher in this, 'cuz she's ab fab. Disney's Big Hero 6 looks like the cutest thing ever, AND it's a superhero movie too! Yaay! It could very easily be awful but The Riot Club looks exactly like the kind of movie I will eat up, at least for now. I mean, rich, hot, spoilt, British boys doing bad things *swoons*. As I wrote above, no matter how it is, I will be watching Lost River when it comes out. Its teaser is incredibly strange but Matt Smith saying "Look at my muscles" over and over again does win it some points because duh. I don't know about you all, but I have liked/loved all the films that Matthew Vaughn has made so far and Kingsman: The Secret Service looks like it will continue that tradition. Colin Firth looks dapper as fuck. Ditto for his role in Magic in the Moonlight, the trailer of which is also out. I think it looks absolutely charming. Could Emma Stone be any cuter? Finally, my favourite trailer since the last thoughts post and a strong candidate for my favourite trailer of the year is that of Guardians of the Galaxy. I have watched it some 57 times and I love it to bits. So funny, so entertaining and it really gives nothing away. I love the music, I love that it features a space raccoon tugging at its own crotch and *obviously* Chris Pratt is my new dream man. I'm hooked (on a feeling)!

11) And last but not the least, you all totally expected me to post these, right?

I mean, I had to. Just look at the man.

My reaction to all this, btw-

:'( Byeeee.

The Clock is Striking Twelve

We finally have a glimpse at what the Twelfth Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, will wear in the show. 

Here's what Capaldi had to say about it-

"He's woven the future from the cloth of the past. Simple, stark, and back to basics. No frills, no scarf, no messing, just 100 per cent Rebel Time Lord."

Pretty fucking badass, if you ask me. I really like the blue and the red and the sensible shoes. It's a bit surprising how excited I am about him. Here's one of the reasons why-

LIKE ZOMG!!!

Now we just have to wait 8-9 months because hello, it's BBC.

The Month that was December and the Year that was 2013

       Yes, I know it's been a week since the new year and 2013 is officially the old year and no one cares about it anymore, but I had two freaking exams to give in the middle and a day to recover from them, and so here I am! Hellooooo people! How is 2014 going so far?

        The new year brings with it the new film year and the new blogging year. But before that, I need to close up shop on 2013. I watched 292 films throughout the year, which *is* a massive drop from last year's 439, but I feel okay with because I did want to relax a bit. Also, there were the neverending exams and all the television stuff. Seriously, I watched a lot of TV last year.

        But first, December. I really have like no memory of December except that I decorated a Christmas tree with pictures of hot actors and that Matt Smith left Doctor Who *sniff*. And apparently I watched very few movies. Anyways, these are the films and TV shows I watched:-


Firsts:

1) Frozen- Dawww. This film is so funny and cute and lovely and heartwarming. The characters were great, the story at the centre was excellent, the humour was superb and it all looked soooo pretty. Oh and "Let It Go" was my December anthem.
2) The Hobbit: the Desolation of Smaug- I swear to god, if HFR becomes a regular thing, I'll have to stop going to the theatres. It literally makes me want to claw my eyes out. And this film was pretty disappointing on the whole. All I wanted was to see Smaug, who *was* excellent by the way, but by the time we got to him, I was just sooooo bored and sleepy! That whole love triangle was completely unnecessary, as much as I enjoyed seeing sassy and oh so graceful Legolas back.
3) The Spectacular Now- I know a lot of people like this film but I wasn't very into it. Mostly because I hated the main character. Since it is a realistic portrayal, I have to say that I have never been particularly fond of people like Sutter and so I just couldn't give two shits about him. Shailene Woodley is amazing in it though.
4) Saving Mr. Banks- I thought it was a very sweet film, exceptionally well-casted and I do love Emma Thompson so much.
5) Lee Daniels' The Butler- This film was a hot mess. Like I cared for it and at the same time thought it was a bit cray cray. Doesn't deserve any awards attention it is getting though. SO SORRY, OPRAH!!
6) Dhoom 3- In spite of all the stupidity and terrible CGI and plot-holes and literally everyone in it except Aamir Khan who were all silly and annoying, I had fun. And sometimes, that is enough. I do wish the money spent on making "Malang" could have been used on producing an indie film instead though.
7) American Hustle- I liked it... but this too was crazy... in a good way... I think... Anyways, I had too much fun with Bradley Cooper's and Jennifer Lawrence's characters.


Rewatched:

1) Home Alone 2: Lost in New York- For our holiday podcast. Man, this film is brutal.
2) Chungking Express- I effing love this film.
3) Brief Encounter- Ditto.
4) In the Mood for Love- It's literally like Chungking Express meets Brief Encounter if you think about it.
5) Stories We Tell- Yep, still my favourite. People can be so wonderful.
6) Dead Poets Society- My little brother was in town for holidays and so as usual, I decided to educate him a little bit.
7) Across the Universe- Saw it after soooo long. I still think it's brilliant and now, so does my brother. And I totes know what you'll are thinking- coolest sister ever, amirite?
8) The Heat- Second funniest film of the year. Melissa McCarthy needs some awards for this.
9) Snatch- Guess what I decided to watch on Christmas to improve my mood after Doctor Who?
10) Gravity- I cried so much this time 'round.


TV shows:

1) Masters of Sex, season 1- I think this show has the potential to be pretty great. True, I don't watch Mad Men and so maybe I'm a tad extra impressed, but I do love the way the show portrays gender roles, love and sex, taboos and experiments. It's not something grand but so basic that it makes for compelling television. And the acting obviously is just superb all across the board. a) Favourite episode- There are quite a few which really impressed me but I choose "Brave New World" because I like the changes in everyone's characters, and of course, Margaret Scully is magnificent in this. b) MVP- As amazing as I think Michael Sheen's acting is, it's between Lizzy Caplan's Virginia Johnson and Allison Janney's Margaret Scully for me. For Virginia, all you have to do is watch the ending of "Thank You for Coming". I think it says a lot about her character and what makes her so multi-faceted. Margaret on the other hand is one of the most heartbreaking characters I have ever seen in a show and Janney's doing such a wonderful job with her. c) Favourite quote- "My clitoris beat my vagina?" Jane's so cute. I laughed for ten minutes after she said that.
2) Orphan Black, season 1- Oh this show is captivating. I marathoned it without even realising how many episodes there are or wanting to know anything about anything because I was having so much fun and I was just so hooked! Tatiana Maslany is a revelation and this is one smart, sexy show.
3) Sherlock, series 1- In preparation for the already awesome series 3. Unfortunately I couldn't finish watching series 2 in time, but I predict we'll have A LOT of time to do multiple Sherlock marathons.


Final 2013 statistics:

First watches- 203
Rewatched films- 87
Shorts- 2
Total- 292

Number of Television series/seasons watched- 37 (between 27 shows)


       So as you can see, a good year for TV watching. And I thought it was a pretty fantastic year in television too. Between Breaking Bad coming to an end and all those Doctor Who specials, I was all set. My favourite new shows were Orange is the New Black, Orphan Black, Hannibal and The Originals. Among the returning series, Breaking Bad, Luther, American Horror Story: Asylum and of course Doctor Who were the best. And from the older shows that I watched for the first time , the Brits take the cake with The Mighty Boosh, The Hour and The Thick of It (need to finish that).

        In films, I did see some amazing ones. I'm still making my way through 2013 films but I am in complete agreement with everyone calling it an exceptional year of cinema. I did not think so up until August, with disappointments like Only God Forgives and Star Trek Into Darkness, but then the film gods corrected that because I watched Mud and Stories We Tell back to back and was totally mesmerised. My top 10 non-2013 first watches were:

Chungking Express

Brief Encounter

Dev D.

La haine

The American

Leaving Las Vegas

Eyes Without A Face

Witness for Prosecution

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance

Sleuth

(Listen to our New Year episode for more on my top 4)

      Entering rather unchartered territory for this blog, music-wise, 2013 was the year I decided that I like female lead singers more than male ones. I was pretty obsessed with bands like Savages, Wolf Alice, Deap Vally, Haim, Daughter and *of course* Yeah Yeah Yeahs throughout the year. I don't know what that implies. If I had to pick a favourite album though, it would have to be Arctic Monkey's AHMAZING AM. One of the best things I have ever read is the following, from its NME review-

"And the lyrics… oh, maaaan. At times they sound like they were written by a man with a burning hard-on who wants – or rather needs – to savagely fuck your body, mind and soul."

*swoons* Alex Turner, marry me!

       My other favourite albums were Peace's In Love, Arcade Fire's Reflektor, Daft Punk's Random Access Memories and Beyonce's Beyonce. As for favourite movie soundtrack, I am a happy Bollywood child still listening to the songs from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani.


      So that's it. I have to achieve a lot of things in 2014 so once again, I'm not going to make any film-related resolutions except the Blindspot series. I want to try and watch more Indian films too, so hopefully I can tackle that.

       Oh and this was my 500th post, you guyz! Yes, I know that's dismal and most of you do that much every month, but there you go. #suckyblogger4eva #keepinitreal #peaceout

Thoughts

Helloo people! I know I haven’t written in for forever, but I have honestly, truthfully, pinky-swearingly been very busy. I came back to India, went back to college, spent an entire week running to and from theatres because of the film festival, and now I’m sick.

1) The film festival was great. It was my first fully immersed festival experience and I did make the most of it. I saw 26 films. My favourite new film was Blue is the Warmest Colour. It really is an excellent movie and Adele Exarchopoulos (I will learn the spelling before Oscars. Yep) is by far my favourite performer of the year. Lea Seydoux is great too. And yes, the 7 minute lesbian sex scene can get a little awkward but do what I did- stare at every middle aged man in the room (and there were so many!!) and see their reactions. It’s hilarious. I saw some other great movies too. Don Jon was awesomesauce and Scarlett Johansson was on fire. Other first timers I really liked were Blancanieves, Paradise: Faith, Pieta, Touch of the Light and The Past. Also, if you are a Louis Garrel fan, watch Jealousy which is in black and white and therefore Garrel is in black and white and then your ovaries die. The films I wasn’t such a big fan of were Bastards, Of Good Report and Night Train to Lisbon. The first was just generally an awful movie going experience which might have made me dislike the film more than I ought to, the second was just boring and creepy and the last one was painfully mediocre. It had Jack Huston (who is American), August Diehl (who is German) and Melanie Laurent (who is French), all playing Portugese people. What? My absolute favourite thing about the festival however was the chance to see classic movies on big screen. I saw Elmer Gantry, Gone with the Wind, Sabrina and The Apartment (YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS) and really enjoyed myself. The fact that a lot of the people who seemed to be so grumpy throughout the festival just started clapping during the Wilder movies kind of restores my faith in humanity a little bit.

My KIFF experience :P 

The Louis Garrel comment on the right is by my friend Alliya and I agree whole-heartedly.

2) Adam Levine has been voted the Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine. The people at People
Magazine need to fill up the biggest douchebag jar they can find for making this decision. My choice? Duh.

Actually, any one of them will do too-

Yum.

3) The Honourary Oscars were given out recently and Steve Martin, Angela Lansbury, Angelina Jolie and Piero Tossi. I really loved Jolie’s acceptance speech. I am one of those saps who cries watching acceptance speeches (I even cried in Emma Stone’s MTV Award speech), and I thought Jolie’s was really beautiful and heartfelt. And goooo Steve Martin!!!

4) So guess what’s happening this Saturday? Only something I have been waiting forever for. Or, well, since April or something. Anyways, the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary is nearly here! (Isn't my banner awesome?) I already went nuts over the official trailers, though I am cautiously avoiding all other clips since I want a complete experience watching “The Day of the Doctor”. My entire plan of rewatching all of Nu Who and then ranking my favourite episodes before “The Day of the Doctor” *obviously* went kaput since my planning skills suck, but I promise to do one before series 8 next year. Anyways, it seems our dearly departing Doctor, Matt Smith, is in talks to star in Star Wars Episode VII. Of course it is all rumours at present, but if it comes to pass, this will be a massive opportunity for Smith. I just hope he doesn't end up in some ridiculous alien make-up. Especially now that his hair is growing all nicely.

5) Imogen Poots (I love her name so much), might be starring in Todd Field's next film, Beautiful Ruins. It is apparently his most ambitious project yet and it will span over a number of decades, from the 60s onwards. It is about three characters and their lives that is altered by an incident that takes place during the shooting of Cleopatra. I recently watched Little Children and loved it, and this is Field's first movie since then. I think Poots is really pretty and it will be interesting to see her take on such a role.

6) Joe Wright is going to make a film about the origins of Peter Pan called Pan. Generally, I would be against it because I think we *have* had enough of fairytale movies for a decade, but I have really loved everything Wright has made so far (except The Soloist, which I haven't seen). I have full trust in his vision. Javier Bardem is being considered for Captain Hook, according to rumours.

7) ScarJo is on a career-rise again. She kicked ass in Don Jon, but it is her work in Her that is getting awards attention. This is very unusual because she herself, i.e. er perfect sexy human self, is not in the movie, but her voice instead. But it's great to see actors getting recognition for their voice-work. She just got an award at the Rome Film Festival.

8) Fassy is going to star in a gangster film called Trespass Against Us. It will be directed by UK director Adam Smith, who has worked for things like Doctor Who and Skins, and the score will be created by The Chemical Brothers. The movie is "set across three generations of the rowdy Cutler family, who live as outlaws — hunting hares, ram-raiding stately homes and taunting the police. The family have always lived this way but, defying the expectations of his father, Chad Cutler is looking for a way out of the criminal life." Fassy will play Chad and I think will do a really good job. I'm kind of surprised he hasn't done more films like this tbh.

9) Robert Pattinson and Benedict Cumberbatch are going to star in Lost City of Z. The film is based on New Yorker science writer David Grann's book of the same name. Cumberbatch plays Lt. Colonel Percy Fawcett, a British archeologist and explorer who went missing in South America while hunting for the lost city of Z. The book follows the Fawcett expedition and tries to piece together what exactly happened to him and his team, which included Fawcett's son Jack and one of Jack's friends. RPatz will probably play Jack. It sounds like an intriguing project (Brad Pitt's name was attached to it formerly. Now he's producing). The Brit duo is also unique and I'm curious to see how they gel together.

10) Wes Anderson made a short film for Prada starring Jason Schwartzman!

Don't you want to live in a Wes Anderson film?

11) Alex has some awesome news!

12) Trailers- The Maleficient teaser looks a little half-baked, although it does give us it's two most important aspects of the film-Angelina Jolie as the titular character and Elle Fanning as Aurora. Jolie looks and sounds amazeballs, and if anyone can make me not hate Aurora, it's Fanning. The Wind Rises has a very pretty trailer out and I am really looking forward to it. It looks as lovely and poignant as all the Miyazaki that I have seen. The Devil's Knot looks quite intriguing. I have only seen the first half of the first Paradise: Lost documentary, so it will be interesting to see how the material is treated in this film. Plus, good cast. Speaking of, Muppets Most Wanted looks awesome! I SPOT HIDDLES! I'm really excited about this one. I absolutely adored the first film. Oh God, Noah :/ :/ (See what I did there). But seriously, I don't know how to feel about this film. On one hand, I want to trust Aronofsky and his vision, but on the other hand, there is Russel Crowe and his face that makes me sick for whatever reason. And the material and the way the trailer seems to be treating it does not pique my interest at all. Divergent trailer is meh. I'm just all-round meh about this film. Mehhh. There are two trailers I really loved and are my king of trailers in this post. One is Nymphomaniac. This will be some batshit crazy stuff but lord help me, I'm intrigued. The second is the teaser to The Raid 2: Berandal. THAT'S HOW YOU MAKE A TEASER, PEOPLE!! So fucking awesome.

13) Finally, with "The Day of the Doctor" almost upon us, let's all listen to Sir Ian McKellen's words of wisdom about the show-

Re: Matt Smith- Never knew Sir Ian and I would have so much in common.

DO WEE DOOOOOOOOOO! HAPPY DOCTOR WHO 50TH EVERYONE! ALLONS-Y FOR NOW!

"The moment is coming."

IT'S HERE, PEOPLE! THE TRAILER IS FINALLY HERE!!!!

I don't know if you know this about be me but I'm a little super duper excited for the upcoming Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special "The Day of the Doctor". And after months of counting down to it, it is nearly here and BBC has finally released an official trailer.

"The Day of the Doctor" is special for various reasons- it's the 50th anniversary so it's gotta be big, John Hurt being awesomesauce, a return of shape-shifting villains from the 70s, more light thrown on the Time War and of course, the Tenth Doctor and the Eleventh Doctor interacting. Oh lawd, all my fangirl feels!

Anyways, let's just look at the trailer-

ALL THE EXPLOSIONS!

Is it all part of the Time War? We'll find out.

John Hurt's intro in the trailer, which looks a little inspired by Breaking Bad.

Eleven is back and is dangling from the TARDIS!

TEN IS BACK AND HE TALKS!!!

Clara's back!

Why is she crying?

And how does she have the vortex manipulator?

Parting gift from River? Can we expect a cameo?!!

Rose is back!

What is her hair even? A big question is whether or not Rose will meet Ten and/or Eleven in the episode. I certainly hope so.

And the Bad Wolf is back!

Chills.

AND THE FEZ AND THE GLASSES ARE BACK!

Favourite part of the trailer, obviously. They're going to be such bezzies.

The new villains- Zygons.

They do look frightening, but a little ridiculous at the same time. But they can shape-shift, which is very intriguing.

Joanna Page as the Doctor's much talked about former flame, Queen Elizabeth I

This throwback to "The Girl in the Fireplace"

It *is* Ten on the horse, yes?

The exploding Daleks is a scary concept, right?

Right?

This juxtaposition.

Eleven is still very much the main Doctor and it is apparent that Hurt's Doctor is someone affecting him more.

This cut too.

ALL THE THREE DOCTORS TOGETHER!

Walking towards an explosion like the badasses they are.

And here's them in the TARDIS.

Ten's converse shoes!

And Hurt's Doctor facing what people are saying is THE Time Vortex.

Is this how he ended the Time War?

It's a short trailer but it totally lives up to the hype. I've seen it 20 times already. Let's hope the episode is as awesome as this looks.

Update: The second, longer, better trailer-

TEN SAYS ALONSY AND HE AND ELEVEN COMPARE THEIR SONIC SCREWDRIVERS! *dies*

And here's the official synopsis. It's easy to guess which Doctor is present at which point.

"The Doctors embark on their greatest adventure in this 50th anniversary special. In 2013, something terrible is awakening in London’s National Gallery; in 1562, a murderous plot is afoot in Elizabethan England; and somewhere in space an ancient battle reaches its devastating conclusion. All of reality is at stake as the Doctor’s own dangerous past comes back to haunt him."

I'm so pumped, it's mental. I don't know if I'll be able to finish rewatching the new series in time, but rest assured, I have never been more excited for a television show in my life.

Thoughts

1) Remember when I had intended to embark on a "Crazy Nikhat Month" earlier this year (yeah, that totally happened), and I had asked you guys to suggest crazy disturbing but essential movies for me to watch? Josh had recommended Dogtooth and Alps, both directed by Greek director Yorgos Lanthinos. Even though I gave up on this month after Eraserhead (yikes!), I did watch both of Lanthinos's films and really liked them. Last week, it was announced that he is going to make his first English feature called The Lobster. The synopsis is really interesting-

"An unconventional love story set in a dystopian near future where single people, according to the rules of the Town, are arrested and transferred to the Hotel. There they are obliged to find a matching mate in 45 days. If they fail, they are transformed into an animal of their choosing and released into the woods. A desperate Man escapes from the Hotel to the Woods where the Loners live and there he falls in love, although it’s against their rules."

The cast also is very impressive. Jason Clarke, Ben Whishaw, Lea Seydoux, Olivia Coleman, Ariane Labed and Angeliki Papoulia are all going to star in the film. Here is what the director had to say about the film-

"The Lobster is a story about love, without being a conventional love story. It observes the ways and reasons certain people come together to form couples, while others don’t. It is a story about the terrifying effects of solitude, the fear of dying alone, the fear of living alone and, above all, the fear of living with someone. Forcing ourselves to like someone is one kind of suffering; trying to find someone we really like is a different sort of suffering. The Lobster tries to discover synonyms for love in words such as fear, norms, deadlines, matching, synchronicity, naivety, prosperity and lies."

2) Is it me or are there suddenly a lot of biopics being announced? There is the Stephen Frear's helmed Lance Amstrong biopic with Ben Foster in the lead role. There is already an official image that has been released. The film also stars Chris O'Dowd, Guillaume Canet and Breaking Bad's creeptastic Jesse Plemons. Next, Tom Hardy will play Elton John in Rocketman. Did anyone see this coming? I honestly did not. It is being written by Billy Elliot's writer Lee Hall and has been described as a bigraphical musical fantasy with hyper-visuals and a non-linear storyline. But with Hardy joining this project, he has had to drop out of a few. Everest, which is going to be directed by Doug Liman, earlier had Hardy playing climber George Mallory but now that he has dropped out, Benedict Cumberbatch is in talks to be the replacement. And for the role of George Finch, actors such as James McAvoy, Tom Hiddleston, Henry Cavill, Dan Stevens, Matthew Goode and Jim Sturgess and a couple of others are being considered. All I can say is wowsers, this might become my dream movie! All the beautiful British men unite! Finally, Emile Hirsch is going to play John Belushi in a biopic about the doomed comedian. It will be directed by Steve Conrad who wrote The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Again, I did not expect that but I do love Hirsch and he needs to come in more movies.

3) So Tim Burton had finally gotten back into everyone's good graces with the announcement of Big Eyes, but alas, it wasn't to last. He is going to make a sequel to Beetlejuice that will be set 26 years after the original. WHYYYYYYY?!!!!!! Michael Keaton has already agreed to star. The only way I can condone this movie is if Burton casts Winona Ryder too. She was the all-black-wearing morbid heart and soul of the first one and I have been waiting for her comeback for forever. Do it, Burton!

4) Craig Roberts is going to star in 22 Jump Street, the sequel to the surprisingly fun 21 Jump Street 2012 remake. Both Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill are returning to reprise their roles and this time around, they will be going undercover to a college. I adored Roberts in Submarine and Skins: Rise so this is good news.

5) Woody Allen's next film is going to be called Magic in the Moonlight.  There isn't much info on it yet except that it is set in the south of Fraance, it is a romcom which spans 20 years, presumably during the 20s and 30s. The cast is led by Colin Firth and Emma Stone and also stars Marcia Gay Harden and Jacki Weaver. The first official image has been released and I must say, all of this looks very promising. Stone seems perfectly suited to be a comic lead in Woody's movies and here's hoping this isn't another Jesse Eisenberg-To Rome With Love deal. I still haven't seen Blue Jasmine because India is a crazy place but yes, Woody forever.

6) They found a new Christian Grey! I don't know why I have this need to keep posting about this movie but the whole thing still seems so unlikely, I just want to see where they go with it. Anyways, Jamie Dornan will play the complicated perv and True Blood's Luke Grimes will play his brother. I actually really approve of both these casting choices. If anything, I will watch this movie for hot men and these two totally are. Dornan played Kirsten Dunst's sexy beau in Marie Antoinette and Grimes plays the dreamy vampire James in True Blood.

7) Sherlock series 3 will come out on January 19th, 2014. CURSESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!! So much waiting :'(

8) So Paul McCartney's new video is fucking bonkers. Not only is it shot in Abbey Road studios, but it has like a million famous people. They just keep coming!

a) Johnny Depp needs to start looking sexy in his films again because that man has the bone structure of a god.

b) Meryl Streep is the bestest.

c) Chris Pine looks so happy just to be there. Seriously, this-

He's like an introvert trying to socialise at a cool party. One of us! One of us!

9) Pixar's next, The Good Dinosaur, has a first poster out. It *is* very Dreamworks-y, but whatever, I love Pixar. The story is set in a sort of alternative universe where the meteors that destroyed the dinosaurs actually never came and the dinosaurs are still there and they have become farmers and are trying to kill little bugs on their land, which are actually cavemen. Dawww.

10) The next Across the Universe Podcast episode will be the first time we have a guest on. Ryan from The Matinee will be our first visitor from across the universe, so to speak. We will be talking about our Favourite Music-related Movies (excluding musicals). We would love to hear some of yours which we will mention in the episode depending on the amount of responses we get. Do comment below!

11) Trailers- The teaser to Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor" is finally here! It literally just teases and gives nothing away but god, I missed Eleven :( Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan and Imogen Poots star in The Awkward Moment. It's a rather random red-band trailer to a rather random movie but I have a new-found appreciation for Efron so I shall give it a go. The Immigrant boasts of a very incredible cast- Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner. The period settings don't hurt either. The trailer is interesting enough. X-Men: Days of Future Past finally has a trailer out. First of all, the Hans Zimmer score in the trailer, though setting its mood in everyway, isn't really a good thing. Ask Man of Steel. That worked for the Dark Knight trilogy and I am scared that Bryan Singer might end up Nolan-ifying this. Why can't everyone just be happy? Secondly, I am actually very skeptical about this film. It has a tad too many people, like 5 normal ensembles in one and I don't know how well Singer can pull it off. Thirdly, I will *obviously* watch this film because McFassyMan or McManBender or whatever you call it but I am not keeping my hopes up for you know, the story and execution and all that important stuff. Just give me the gorgeous men. In direct contrast to this, I actually think Captain America: The Winter Soldier looks great. The first film was unique with its period settings and I think this one will also be unconventional due to the spy and government angle. And then there is THIS. God bless Tumblr. My favourite trailer this week is actually not a real trailer at all, but I wish it was! The Midnight Coterie of Sinister Intruders is just perfect. I love Edward Norton.

12) I know I have already spoken about Masters of Sex but I saw its opening credits for the first time today and they are fucking fantastic! They are probably my favourite since True Blood. Everyone please watch the show. All the actors are just killing it.

13) Finally, God bless Tumblr x 1000000000000000000-

Everyone who read it in the original Mean Girl voices are as cool as Glen Coco!

Everyone who tried to imagine the Game of Thrones actors saying the lines just got punched in the face by Regina George!

Byeeeeeeeee.