“Do I look like a double fucking rainbow to you?!”- MY FAVOURITE PERFORMANCES OF 2014

         There were a ridiculous number of great performances in 2014. It has honestly broken my heart to leave some of them out of this list (especially looking at you, Rose Byrne and Antoine-Olivier Pilon). I do like how this list has more women than men proving yet again why I loved last year so much from a cinephile's point-of-view. So without further adieu, these are my 25-ish ('cuz there are actually 31- you'll see) favourite performances of 2014:

25.

Patricia Arquette in Boyhood

The number of times I had to remind myself that this is an actor acting and not a real person was insane. Though it is supposed to be Mason's story, I was most interested in what was happening to Arquette's character, partly because of the story and mostly because of her fantastically layered performance. 

24.

Felicity Jones in The Theory of Everything

I know Redmayne is probably walking away with the Oscar for his performance in this movie *shudders* but I honestly believe the only awards-worthy work was done in the film by Jones. She was the heart and strength of the film for me. Her work is very subtle yet completely heartbreaking.

23.

Jesse Eisenberg in The Double

Eisenberg is known to play the vulnerable nerd or the cocky asshole. In The Double, he plays both. However, it does not seem like he's relying only on his strengths because it is the moments of quiet desperation and simmering anger in between these two personas that constitute some of the best acting of last year and they are the reason why he's here on this list.

22.

Andy Serkis and Toby Kebbell in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

I don't want to sound like a broken record by saying how good Serkis is because it's just a fact. This is arguably his best work. It's Kebbell who was more astonishing. He brought such terrifying viciousness to the character of Koba and almost outshined even a seasoned artist like Serkis through his performance.

21.

Stacy Martin in Nymphomaniac

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that this was Martin's first film. She's not here only for her bravery but also for completely being this very unique woman, embodying her aloofness, her horror over losing her ability to feel pleasure, her pain over her father's condition, her dry humour and so on. Can't wait to see what else Martin does.

20.

Tilda Swinton in Snowpiercer

Apparently the role of Mason was meant to be played by a man. Needless to say, no man or woman could have done what Swinton did with the role. Taking inspiration from the likes of Margaret Thatcher and Adolf Hitler, Swinton flawlessly turns into this living, breathing political cartoon who is a riot every time she's on screen.

19.

Keira Knightley in Begin Again

Around the same time last year, when I saw Last Night for the podcast, I was first made aware of how good Knightley can be in modern roles. I always thought she's best suited for period films but it's the present day which brings a relaxed, confident air to her performances and I think her work in Begin Again is her best to date. From her singing to her effortless chemistry with everyone around her, she shines the most here.

18.

Anne Dorval in Mommy

There are just so many shades to Die. She's loud, angry, sexy, confused, vulnerable, bitter, loving, sad and the list goes on, and Dorval portrays all of these. It's a complicated role and a complicated performance. Much like the film, she is on the edge of being overly-dramatic but she never goes overboard and in fact makes Die someone painfully and beautifully human.

17.

Michael Keaton in Birdman

Keaton is someone I only associated with his Batman films and even in those, other actors outshone him completely. Therefore, I was very pleasantly surprised to see that he can do a role like this. The movie is basically in his character's head and a lot of it is totally nuts but Keaton makes it all believable. His frustration, his self-doubts, the pain caused by the various relationships he has, the madness and confusion of his inner and outer lives, the quieter moments of resignation and sadness- it's a truly fantastic performance and one I hope he wins an Oscar for.

16.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw in Beyond the Lights and Belle

God, where did she come from? She's awesome! And she couldn't have played two more different roles in one year, BOTH of which she was excellent at. On one hand, she was this Rihanna-esque rising music star battling with insecurity and on the other, she was a mixed-race 18th century English woman slowly gaining confidence and understanding of the world around her. I prefer the first a little bit more because it could have been such a one-note, predictable performance but instead Mbatha-Raw found such raw and genuinely emotional places to take it to. The same could be said of her performance in Belle as well. Truly, a revelation.

15.

James McAvoy in The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby

He's been so overlooked in people's best performances list and I don't understand why. Chastain had the more showy role of the two and she delivers completely (more on that later) but, like fellow and similarly ignored Scotsman, Ewan McGregor, McAvoy here is the quieter yet stable counterpoint to her performance and he is just as heart-rendering, if not more, at the end.

14.

Julianne Moore in Maps to the Stars

I love her whole performance but it's really the scene in the toilet that made me put her here. How can someone be so absurd and normal at the same time? I dunno, ask Moore. She's done it before with Boogie Nights (one of the greatest performances of all time) and she did it again here. I am completely, 100% going to pretend it is her performance here that she's actually winning her Oscar for.

13.

Jessica Chastain in The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby

I would have put her performance in A Most Violent Year here too but her complete work over the two Eleanor Rigby movies has totally wiped it off my mind. This is the best she's ever been. Like Die earlier, Chastain's Eleanor also goes through a gamut of emotions but she's so much harder to read. There is a resistance to show how she feels but the beautiful thing about Chastain's work here is that you can see that as well. Since the films are named after Eleanor, she's more or less the axis around which both the stories turn and Chastain is able to portray that. Of course, she is tremendous in Her but even in Him, where she is playing a colder, more aloof version of Eleanor, she makes her presence felt throughout the film.

12.

Tabu in Haider

Tabu showed in Haider why she's considered one of the best actors of Indian cinema. Sure, the film is about Haider (who is based on Hamlet), but it is Tabu's Ghazala who steals the show. I must give props to the director Vishal Bharadwaj as well for creating a character like her, a middle-aged mother who is completely driven by her passions no matter how unorthodox they may be, a rarity anywhere but especially in Bollywood. However, it would all have been for nought if Tabu hadn't given such a daring and unforgettable performance in that role.

11.

Jenny Slate in Obvious Child

Kinda like Moore, Slate fully won me over at one point in her performance- it is when the *SPOILERS BUT NOT REALLY* abortion is finally taking place and the close-up is on Slate's face. It starts out as funny because she looks stoned almost but then her eyes well up and tears stream down the side of her face and you feel so much for this woman. Of course, there is a sadness in the film but there is also life and happiness and Slate embodies both those parts so well. It is a very sweet performance.

10.

Jack O'Connell in Starred Up, Unbroken and '71

I have been raving about O'Connell everywhere on the internet. I have been a fan since his Skins days but I too was amazed by the caliber of performances he's given this year. Of course, Starred Up has his best performance. He's almost like an animal. His physical acting is only matched by his raw, emotional sensitivity. As for Unbroken, I think he really elevated the film as much as he could. He has such charisma. Finally, in '71, the whole film is so gritty and intense and O'Connell is a major reason for that.

9.

J.K. Simmons in Whiplash

I almost just want to write that I will never see Juno the same way again and leave it at that. There's such vehemence in this performance. It blows one away until they're left quivering, even more so because, just like with the Miles Tellers' character in the movie, we are constantly taken in and manipulated by it and we are surprised at every turn.

8.

Brendon Gleeson in Calvary

Remember what I wrote about McAvoy earlier- just take that and like multiply it a thousand times and that's how appalled I am at everyone for not giving this performance its due attention. There is such inner turmoil in Father James' life that Gleeson is able to portray. He is supposed to be stoic because he's a priest but we feel the anger, the sadness, the frustration of this man who is still, after all, just a man. It is a finely tuned and deeply human performance.

7.

Edward Norton in Birdman

Norton in Birdman reminded me why it is I fell in love with him in the first place. He is totally unpredictable. Every time I thought I had this character figured out, he went and did something completely opposite to what I was expecting and Norton not only performs the different facets of this character's personality brilliantly, but also those tiny moments of when he's transitioning from one to another. 

6.

Marion Cotillard in Two Days, One Night and The Immigrant

Similar to Arquette, watching Cotillard in Two Days, One Night was a constant series of "Oh crap, she's acting here!" She became Sandra so completely that it was baffling to think that this is not a someone who really exists whose life we are following and who we are witnessing actually go through clinical depression. Cotillard is completely immersed in her role. She is very good in The Immigrant as well, delivering a nuanced and oftentimes surprising performance 

5.

Tom Hardy in Locke

Seriously, when was the last time you were interested in listening to someone talk about concrete? I'm gonna go with never (no offence meant to anyone who works with concrete and reads this blog). But listening to Hardy talk about it, I was completely riveted, enthralled, spellbound, rapt! Locke was sold as the movie with Tom Hardy in a car and it's an excellent movie mostly because of the Tom Hardy part. I love one-man movies because it must be so difficult to act on your own and not having someone to react to, and Hardy faces this challenge head on. He explores so many sides to this character in such a short movie with such a constricted setting. It's a masterclass in acting.

4.

Essie Davis in The Babadook

Of all the performances in this list, I have a feeling I will grow to love this one the most over the years. I was already more impressed with it when I rewatched the film. The way Davis goes from meek and tired to ferocious and unhinged over the course of the film is just staggering. It's not just her face or her physicality but also her voice that changes. There is such control in this performance. It is definitely going to go down as one of the best roles in horror history.

3.

Ralph Fiennes in The Grand Budapest Hotel

Like Leo last year, seeing an established "dramatic" actor tackle a funny role has brought me great joy. Obviously, Fiennes already gave us a taste of comedic chops in In Bruges, but he's just spectacular in The Grand Budapest Hotel. From his proper mannerisms to the delectable way words just flow from his mouth, to the fact that though this is a comedy performance, there is such a poignant undercurrent that runs through it that Fiennes brings out in the way he acts and speaks, it is simply a delight to watch him in this role.

2.

Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler and Enemy

At one point during Nightcrawler, I remember thinking to myself "THIS guy played Bubble Boy." It is mental to think about how far Gyllenhaal has come as an actor. Though I thought his work in Nightcrawler was better than both his roles in Enemy, the fact that one actor in one year has managed to give these absolutely crazy yet disturbingly believable performances, all of which are so varied and complex in their own ways, needs to be lauded by one and all. I am fully on board with whatever Gyllenhaal tackles next.

1.

Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl

And then there was one. And what a performance at that!

More than anything else, it is Pike's voice as the real Amy that has stuck with me. As incredible as it is to watch her transformation from pretty waif into psychotic mastermind on screen, the fact that she manages to even lace her voice with that creeping madness is what blows my mind. It gets under your skin.

Though of course, it is the expression her eyes too that can be so innocent in the first scene and completely predatorial in the last that makes her performance the best of the year.

Plus, I can't leave out talking about how multi-layered her work is. She is funny, ethereal, terrifying, manipulative and so much more. She did something I didn't think was possible- outdo the book Amy. I don't remember the last time the cinematic portrayal of a literary character not only matched my expectations, which in itself is rare, but also brought out sides and depths that weren't in the book.

Basically- Amazing Rosamund is amazing.

What were your favourite performances of 2014?

Also in Best of 2014:

Shots

Scenes

Heroes and Villains

Sexiest Characters, Best Characters, Ensembles, Objects, Quotes

Dream Actors I Want to See Star in Wes Anderson Films

       Hello people! As you may have figured out, I am a bit out of ideas for the blog. Anna was kind enough to suggest this idea to me on Twitter and here I am!

          With the recently released poster and trailer for Wes Andersons highly anticipated eighth feature, The Grand Budapest Hotel, everyone's been buzzing about the filmmaker and the incredible cast he has amassed for the film. There are a number of new names there, none more impressive and frankly perfect as that of Ralph Fiennes. I have been going a bit crazy about it all and therefore Anna suggested that I should make my own list of dream actors that I would like to see in a Wes Anderson movie.

         I must say that I took the idea up rather excitedly and got 31 names the first time. I have narrowed the list down to 14 actors, who I have chosen for many reasons such as curiosity, intuition or maybe just their looks.

Honourable mentions: Mark Ruffalo because who doesn't want to see a Brothers Bloom reunion, Joaquin Phoenix because who doesn't want to see him in everything ever, and Emily Blunt because she's adorable and sexy.

The obvious one

Johnny Depp

If you recall, there was a rumour that had started about Johnny Depp starring in The Grand Budapest Hotel. I had become very excited because this would have been exactly the kind of role Depp needed to get out of this awful weird-character-blockbuster muck he's been stuck in. Unfortunately, it all ended up being totally untrue and while I am more than happy about Fiennes, I do still want a Depp-Anderson collaboration to take place. Before Depp became a big star, he was the guy who starred in interesting off-beat films and made a name for himself. A film with Anderson would be a return to such films for him. And yes, some of us do think that Depp should put his eccentric side to rest but even at their most quirky, Wes Anderson characters have very human aspects to them, and I think Depp still has enough talent left in him to play someone like that.

The curious cases

Marion Cotillard, Daniel Day Lewis

Ralph Fiennes is usually considered a dramatic actor but anyone who has watched In Bruges and, well, the trailer of The Grand Budapest Hotel, know that he has the most surprising comic side to him. Cotillard and Day-Lewis are two actors whose comedic side I would really like to see. The former has mentioned in interviews that she would like to do something funny and I think she has the kind of beauty that would work really well in a Wes Anderson movie. And as for the latter, I have only ever seen him play very serious roles and considering what a great actor he is and just how sweet he seems in real life, I am very curious to see how he would tackle something lighter. As mentioned above, Anderson's movies are a unique blend of quirky and dark and actors such as these two can do wonders.

The ones I think will just belong- males

Michael Shannon, Christoph Waltz

Right? There is something about Shannon, in spite of his towering figure and crazy eyes, that I can see fitting in a Wes Anderson movie. I mean even though he usually plays somewhat scary characters, he kind of makes me laugh because of the slight confused expression he always has on his face and I think that's interesting. As for Waltz, I think he'll be perfect. Think about Willem Defoe's character in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and try telling me that Waltz wouldn't have been cast in that role if the film had been made after his big Hollywood breakout. His dialogue delivery, comic timing and general awesomeness will really work in a Wes Anderson movie.

The ones I think will just belong- females

Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence

The American Hustle girls! But seriously, I think both of these women can do the sexy, lonely, misunderstood, deadpan thing that the female characters in Wes Anderson movies have. In case of Adams, firstly think about her hair and how it will look in the Wes Anderson colour palate. Next is the fact that she can do both funny and icy really well and that combination can work wonders. As for Lawrence, Tiffany in Silver Linings Playbook when she's not being manic is pretty much a female character from a Wes Anderson film. I think she has that down.

My Brit obsessions

Daniel Radcliffe, Arthur Darvill

I am loving Radcliffe's career choices so far and it will be great if he gets to work with someone as brilliant as Anderson. I think he's talented enough and then there is also his height. Honestly, I just thought of Jason Schwartzman in Rushmore and Tony Revolori in The Grand Budapest Hotel and then came to the conclusion that DanRad will fit right in. That's how my brain works. As for Darvill, he has a natural quirkiness and oddness to him and he can be very funny very effortlessly and I think he would do great in a Wes Anderson film. Also, I think both of them can embody the struggling genius motif that runs through many of Anderson's films pretty well.

The Indians

Kalki Koechlin, Nimrat Kaur

One of my favourite things about Wes Anderson is his affinity towards India. He has set a film in India and has worked Indian actors like the late great Kumar Pallana, Waris Ahluwalia and the amazing Irrfan Khan (something I had forgotten because he was in this list earlier). So I really wanted to include Indian actors. However, the problem with Bollywood actors, which is more my area of expertise, is that they tend to overplay while acting which just won't work. Having said that, there are a number of Indian actors who do have the kind of subtlety that will be better suited to an Anderson film. Koechlin just has such a unique look (thanks to her part-Indian-part-French heritage) that I think she will be brilliant in a Wes Anderson movie. Kaur, on the other hand, has a very Indian look. She's obviously beautiful but she isn't as glamorous as the other Bollywood actresses and so if anyone was to play a real Indian woman, she would be perfect. And both of them are fantastic actors of course.

I just really really want to know what this will be like

Woody Allen, Diane Keaton

I know what you're thinking but let me explain. The moment this crazy idea came into my head, I tried to brush it away as something totally mental but it just kind of stuck along with a big "What if..." Just try and imagine Allen and Keaton as directed by Wes Anderson. Don't you want to watch that? I sure do.

The eyessssssssssssssssssssss

James McAvoy
McAvoy has the most ridiculous blue eyes on the planet, which is something everyone knows. Now all I want is to see them in a Wes Anderson movie with the Wes Anderson colours. Come on, you know you want it too...

       So that's it! Thanks once again to Anna. I hope you all liked this. Or not. It's perfectly alright. Tell me in the comments below how good my chances are of becoming a casting director :)

Thoughts

         AND IT'S BACK! It has been more than 2 months since my last weekly thoughts post and obviously a lot has happened since then. Here are my thoughts on the biggies, so to speak.

1) Natalie Portman dropped out of the new Fassy-Macbeth film and her replacement is none other than Marion Cotillard. I had thought that Portman would be interesting but this is just PERFECT! The amount of talent and sexiness that is going to be unleashed will be amazing. I have the Scottish play in college this year (second year, yaay!), and our professor was talking about how we will watch its various cinematic adaptations when we're done with the text, and all I could think of was how my favourite one is yet to come. I am so excited for this.

2) Sooooooo... Batfleck. My biggest problem with the casting is not even the acting thing. It's just that Ben Affleck has a super ugly chin and it will look awful in his Batman mask. The only reason I liked him in Argo was because the beard was hiding that chin. And he's also coming in the new David Fincher movie, Gone Girl. Just no. I don't want this. Make movies, Ben. Don't come in any! However, I do love the Rosamund Pike casting.

3) So they're actually making the Fifty Shades of Grey film. HOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW?! Anyways, Charlie Hunnam and Dakota Johnson will star as the pervs protagonists, Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele. Apparently a lot of people are v. unhappy with Hunnam because they wanted Alexander Skarsgard instead. First of all, I don't understand why this film is having fangirl problems. I mean, it's a mommy porn book, not some great work of literature. Secondly, Hunnam is quite hot but I too agree that Askars would have been ideal casting. Christian Grey can be a very intriguing character in more capable hands than that of the author, E.L. James. As for Johnson, I am pretty certain now that more guys are going to watch this film than girls because she is plenty attractive. Though I will wait for trailers and stuff, I do think that I will watch this when it comes out just to see what the heck have they done with the material. My only hope is that they don't shy away from male nudity. Not that I want to stare at penises or whatever, but I do get wayyyyyyy more than my share of boobs on television and film.

4) James Spader is going to play Ultron in The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Ultron is obviously the baddie, and a rather powerful one at that, but director-braniac Joss Whedon is going to make some interesting changes. I am anyways very excited for this film, seeing how I am gaga about the first Avengers movie. Spader is a very cool choice, and he has some big shoes to fill after the God of Mischief (and cheekbones), Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston.

5) The Book Thief has been made into a movie starring Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson. I am so annoyed by this. This is one of the only books that has actually made me cry and whenever I envisioned a film, I could only see an animated one. From whatever I can make of the trailer, it looks very generic. It's World War 2, it's Nazi Germany, there is a kid, there are British actors putting on German accents- it's all been seen before. One of my favourite things about the book was that it was narrated by Death and that was one of the biggest reasons I thought its film could only be made in an animated form. I don't think this version has Death as a character at all, which is a shame. The book ends with Death saying, and this is one of my most favourite last lines in a book ever, "I am haunted by humans." And I just don't see it happening in the movie. I really wish people would try and think out of the box once in a while. So glad The Little Prince will be animated (that made me cry too).

6) Other casting news- Benedict Cumberbatch dropped out of Guillermo Del Toro's next film, Crimson Peak. Shame I say! I read the plot of the film and he was probably set to play a kind of a sinister charmer-type character, which would have been perfect, what with his voice and all. No news on the replacement yet. My one-time dream husband, Josh Hartnett, is having a sort of comeback in a psycho-sexual horror TV series called Penny Dreadful. It will co-star Eva Green and is being written by John Logan who has penned films like Hugo and The Aviator. I think it sounds very cool and mysterious and I like it when actors I used to obsess over do well. Shows that I had taste :P In a similar vein, Tom Sturridge has gotten two very exciting roles. He will star in Oliver Assayas's Sils Maria, playing Chloe Moretz's boyfriend (ew), but the cast also includes big names like Juliet Binoche, Kristen Stewart and Daniel Bruhl. He will also star in Thomas Vinterberg's English language debut, the film adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd, along with Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts. Two fantastic projects, methinks. Next, James McAvoy will play Frankenstein in the new Frankenstein movie. It is being directed by Paul McGuigan and Chronicle's Max Landis has penned the script. McAvoy will co-star with my favourite person in the world, Daniel Radcliffe, who is playing Igor. This is going to be a twist on the classic horror tale and seeing how these two gorgeous, blue-eyed and very talented actors have already been cast, I can't wait to see who they pick to play the monster. Mia Wasikowska has been replaced by Rooney Mara in Carol, the film based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith. It is going to be directed by Todd Haynes and also stars Cate Blanchett. I personally think it is a step down, albeit not a very big one, because I feel that the Blanchett-Wasikowska dynamic was a better one. Still, Mara is a fine actress and I just want this movie now. Finally, Sir Ian McKellen is going to play Sherlock Holmes in Bill Condon's A Slight Trick of the Mind where the renowned sleuth is made to come out of his retirement to solve a case. All I can think of is that that Sherlock is a sexy one. It's also funny to note that Condon just made The Fifth Estate with the best Sherlock to date, Benedict Cumberbatch.

6) TV news- True Blood is finally ending! I was bemoaning the fact that HBO renewed it for a seventh season, but they've announced that it is to be the last season of the once great show. It is *still* a lot of fun, but mostly because it has become so batshit crazy that you kind of can't look away. Chiefly because of this. Neil Cross, the creator of the fantastic show Luther, has reportedly written a film script for a Luther movie, that is going to be a prequel to the tv series. First of all, yessssssss! More Idris Elba for everyone! Second of all, I really hope they find some way to include Ruth Wilson's delicious Alice Morgan, even if it is cameo. American Horror Story: Coven is going to start soon and its brilliant promos have started already. Also, look at this poster. SO BLOODY PUMPED!

7) Matt Smith is going to start filming his final episode as the Eleventh Doctor aka Worst Christmas Ever this week. He's going to wear a wig which is a bit depressing because his hair was one of the biggest reasons I started watching Doctor Who in the first place. Of course there is much, much, much more to the show than that, but it was definitely a stimulus. About the episode itself, apparently the villains, or at least one of the villains, are going to be the Cybermen. I was originally very against this because they are probably my least favourite villains, in New Who at least, but seeing how incredible Smith's performance in "Nightmare in Silver" was, it maybe a good thing. Oh and for any of us who thought we will only have our heartbroken, fat chance! Our hearts will instead be snatched from our chests and trampled upon and then have a bulldozer go over them, Moffat style! Moffat's told Doctor Who Magazine: "One of the horrors of regeneration is that a certain amount of his persona alters entirely. His appetites and his enthusiasm will change. And that’s sort of what I’m writing about now in Matt’s last episode, the fact that he’s terribly aware that he’s about to be rewritten. And it’s frightening..." I am going to be suicidal this Christmas, clearly.

8) Changing tracks, THIS IS FINALLY HERE!-

Simon Pegg is a god. Also, Pinto's faces.

9) Trailers- News has already started pouring in that Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave is incredible, with Chiwetel Ejiofor shining the most, and I think we can get a sense of that from the trailer. I only have seven words for The Counselor- Fassy Sex Eyes and Cameron Diaz, Hot Damn! You can read Sati's post for more details. I kind of squealed in the one of Jean Dujardin in the The Monuments Men trailer. I am looking forward to this film because I really like the plot. Fading Gigolo looks absolutely adorbs. I love Woody so much. I actually really like the trailer of Saving Mr. Banks, especially with that little "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" teaser. Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson are more than enough reason for me to be excited about it though. To be honest, I'm going to watch Thor: The Dark World just for Hiddles's Loki. Apparently they reshot it to add more Loki scenes so I can't be the only one. It looks quite fun on the whole too though. I'm only including Pompeii's trailer to emphasize on how dumb it looks and how much I don't want to watch it. Kit Harrington actually looks photoshopped to me. And his face is stupid. Spike Jonze's next, Her looks absolutely amazeballs. Love the cast, love ScarJo's voice, love the idea. V. excited. Dallas Buyers Club looks pretty good too, but unlike most people who are all for Matthew McConaughey in this, who *does* look brilliant, I am rooting for Jared Leto who I think is going to be even better. Also speaking of Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin's teaser looks freaky as hell but I think she's going to rock. Lars Von Trier's Nymphomaniac is going to be something. It has released three clips so far, of the first three "chapters" of the self-professed nymphomaniac Joe's life. All are shocking and intriguing in their own way. Coming to Bollywood, Krrish 3 looks like a terrible mixture of all superhero movies. It's going to be so bad that it has to be watched with a bunch of people and be laughed at. Can't wait. The best trailer I have seen in all this while, barring Kill Your Darlings of course, is David O. Russell's American Hustle. Love the cast, the music, the look and Amy Adams most of all. This looks great and I really, really, really, want Adams to win that Oscar already.

10) Finally, as is a semi-tradition with this blog, this is me indulging in my girl-crush on Emma Watson-

She was excellent in The Bling Ring!

Until next time.

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?

Nostalgia two times

          Sometime last week, I had an exceptionally brilliant day when I managed to finally watch J.J. Abrams's Super 8 and Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris. Both were very different, and splendid films, except they both had the theme of nostalgia running through them, in different ways ofcourse.

Super 8: The story is set in 1979. It is about a bunch of teenage kids who, while making a film about zombies for a competition, witness a disastrous train accident. Soon after all sorts of weird things start happening around the town, like electronics and dogs and people go missing. With the US Airforce taking over, and an unexpected recording in their super 8 camera, the kids are pulled into a mystery of galactic proportions. And in all of this, romance blooms.


          So this is the vaguest and most non-spilling synopsis I could come with. I know that isn't particularly my style, but seeing how much Abrams generally does for the secrecy of his films, and how much I love them, I feel like he deserves it. Except those who have read any reviews (I read only about a couple for the above-stated reason) have seen the parallels drawn to E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. So you know because of this, the belief that this is Abrams's practical love-letter to Steven Spielberg, and the fact that Spielberg himself is the producer, all points at the fact that this film might (or might not) have something to do with other-worldly things.


          But I was going to talk about the nostalgia aspect. Now anywhere that Super 8 has been mentioned, this word has been used. Quite simply it refers to the feel of the film, or rather it the way it makes the viewer feel while watching it. But that made me kind of sad. Super 8 is supposed to make one nostalgic about those lazy hazy days of summer when kids played in green lawns and first crushes were formed; kids ran around together and got into trouble for the stupidest things and the world was just sunnier and cleaner. And it just killed me that I could never feel that way, because I had never experienced such things in my life. As I have said countless times before, there are films that I just want to live in and Super 8 has definitely joined the list. It's just so lovely in its youth, and the child actors- the adorable Joel Courtney, the breath-taking Elle Fanning, the bossy Riley Smith and the destructive Ryan Lee are all great in their parts. Especially Courtney- he was just so honest and sincere in his role, that my heart went out for him. He gave the film the emotional arc it needed. It was because of him, and his relationship with the other child actors that made this summer blockbuster a blockbuster with lots of heart and warmth. Yes, this film exactly like those Spielberg classics, because even if it's about people from different worlds (or not), it shows that things like family and friendship and courage and curiosity are all universal and common, and never more so than in the innocence of childhood.


         All in all I thought it was a solid film. I didn't like the ending as much as the rest of it, but I do believe it's more of the theatre's fault rather than the film's. For some reason, Arcade Fire's The Suburbs kept popping into my head while, and after watching the film. All the visual effects, and the feel of a 70s town were spot on according to me. As I said before, what really drove this film for me were the kids, especially Courtney. A fantastic effort by Abrams...I hope he's proud of his tribute, I sure would be.


Rating- 9.5/10

Midnight in Paris: Gil is visiting Paris with his fiancée Inez and her parents. He is a Hollywood scriptwriter who is now trying his hand at a novel he has forever dreamt about writing. He is also in love with the City of Love, especially in the 1920s, but his love for the past is ridiculed by Inez, her parents, and her friends- the 'pedantic' Paul and his wife Carol. One night when he's out taking a walk, slightly inebriated, he comes upon some stairs somewhere in Paris, and as the clock strikes twelve, an antique car stops in front of him and people in it, dressed in 1920s attire, ask him to get on. And he does, and is transported to the time and land of his dreams- the 1920s. Here he meets a whole bunch of artists and writers and eccentrics, and is totally mesmerised by the glamour and romance of it. But this land only exists during the nights, and he is transported back to the 21st century in the morning, with Inez and everyone. This creates a few peculiar problems for Gil, and he must decide where, and when, his heart truly lies.


           This film...oh my god...BRILLIANCE! Okay focus. I have not connected to a Woody film like this since The Purple Rose of Cairo. 


          Nostalgia in this film is a feeling that the Gil longs for...for belonging to a place and time where important things that mattered happened, and the world was a better place with art and music running through it. It is an idea, or an an idea of a feeling. In the beginning Michael Sheen's absolutely repulsive character Paul (psuedo-intellectual- eugh!) says this about Gil's played by Owen Wilson, love for things and people and life of the past, or 'Golden Age thinking'- "The erroneous notion that a different time period is better than the one you’re actually living in. It’s a flaw in the romantic imagination for people that find it difficult to cope with the present." I am telling you that if I was in Gil's place there, I would have either punched Paul on the face real hard, or ran away from there crying, or probably both. Because that right there is exactly how I am. This is my nostalgia- for a time where I have not really existed in. Like me wanting to live in the Super 8 world. I want to live in the Midnight in Paris world also...even more than that of Super 8, because the way Woody lays out the honey-hued Paris in the 20s...is quite something else. And I haven't even started talking about the people Gil meets yet!


         He meets everyone really- the Fitzgeralds, Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Cole Porter, Salvador Dali, Man Ray, T.S. Elliot etcetera etcetera. Woody Allen films have a way of making me feel really uncultured and stupid, and never moreso than in this film. But that's just a minor issue because these characters are really Woody's idea of them, and they are all extremely entertaining. My mouth was open through half of the film, because just the idea of meeting these masters of art and literature is just so mindnumblingly fantastic, that I could barely believe it. Note the barely, because I have this fascination with what general people call unreal, and that's very much real for me. Just like in Purple Rose. Among the people, I especially loved the Fitzgeralds; Zelda is splendid, Hemingway and obviously Dali. Dali! Dali! Rhinocerous! Yes I am not explaining that- watch it, if not for anything then to figure out my really pointless riddle.


        Ofcourse the most important person that Gil meets is someone who is actually not real at all- an artist muse named Adriana, played by the divine Marion Cotillard. In her he finds someone quite like himself- sopmeone who is unhappy with her present era and dreams of another one, and they have quite a lovely relationship. She becomes instrumental to his character development throughout the film, because it is through her decisions that Gil makes his important life decisions.


          I said in my 15 Questions Meme that my favourite movie setting is Paris, and Midnight in Paris has defintely become one of my most beloved films set there. The charm of the city, that is as present today as it was at any point in history, is shown so beautifully in the film. The beginning was quite a bit like Manhattan and I loved it; maybe not as much, but still. The music is excellent, especially all the Cole Porter. Another thing was the costumes- oh so Jazz Age! The actors were pretty fantastic too. I must say I had reservations about Wilson being the lead in a Woody Allen film, but he has totally proved me wrong. Yes he did do the Woody doppelganger thing, but it was so convincing. His expressions, for things like amazement at meeting someone ancient, being irritated of Paul, or scared of Inez, were spot on and funny- both in a HaHa way, and a sweet smiley way. Cotillard too was incredible, but that's a given. Still she was so romantic and beautiful and sad...no wonder Picasso would paint her. Amongst the supporting cast I loved, lurved, loaved, luffed Adrien Brody the most.


         Woody Woody Woody...no one understands me like you do. I've noticed that those films of his with a bit of magic involved end up being my favourites. Despite the ending, I am absolutely overwhelmed by the concept of travelling to your favourite time period in Paris. Mine is the 60s, but I would love to go there at any point of time really. The screenplay and the film are both simply enchanting. There is the perfect amount of comedy, romance and wonder in it, and lots and lots of Paris's unmatched beauty. This is the first film this year that I am going to start my Oscar campaign for, and yes it indeed has become my favourite thus far.


Rating- 10/10