"You know what your problem is, it's that you haven't seen enough movies- all of life's riddles are answered in movies." ~A LIFE IN MOVIES BLOGATHON

There is a new blogathon going on, spurred on by Fandango Groovers Movie Blog in which we choose our favourite film from every year since the year we were born. I found it quite interesting and decided to do it, but it was rather difficult to choose because of two things- my favourite and what I think of as the best in a particular year differed on a few occasions, and also that I have never been able to choose a favourite film for anything. The latter was was especially terrible because I felt so guilty for leaving out the other shortlisted films in every year, and choose the one I chose. But for the fun of it and what I think now, here are my favourite films since 1992 (missed Silence of the Lambs by that much)

1992- Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

This one was difficult, but as much as I love Aaron Sorkin, I just love John Hughes more. Add to that possibly the cutest child actor ever, with one heck of a character and two mental villains...this film was just brilliant.

1993- Sleepless in Seattle

I must say that I love this film more that the original itself. It has this kind of magic, and belief in possibilities that only films can provide us with. Sweet, funny and oh so romantic. And ofcourse I love the leads.

1994- The Shawshank Redemption

This was one of the bad years- from Forrest Gump to Pulp Fiction to Four Weddings to Natural Born Killers, but I had to choose Shawshank. This film is at the top of the IMDb 250 list, and with good reason. The way this film makes me feel, so hopeful and right and happy, very few others can.

1995- To Die For

Another great year, especially with Kevin Spacey (Se7en, The Usual Suspects), but something about Gus Van Sant's To Die For makes me choose it instead. I can never say no to a black comedy, and Nicole Kidman's Suzanne Stone was irresistible. People went nuts for her- her clean-cut housewife image with a blind ambition and something deadly inside...wonderful- no wonder it was selected as one of Premiere Magazine's greatest performances of all time. 

1996- Trainspotting

My personal favourite Danny Boyle movie! It's crazy, it's funny, it's trippy as hell. Also one of the best beginnings EVER.

1997- Titanic

I don't care what this makes me. I will forever love this film and love both of them (especially Jack). The only film which can still make me cry like a baby despite having seen it like a hundred times.

1998- Rushmore

I love this film...I really do. My favourite Wes Anderson film by a mile, and Jason Schwartzman is just so adorable and relate-able as Max Fischer. Also having Bill Murray is a huge bonus.

1999- Fight Club

There was a lot this year- American Beauty, Being John Malkovich, The Virgin Suicides, but this film...what can I say about David Fincher's Fight Club? About Tyler Durden and the gang?? Changed my life forever... that's all.

2000- Almost Famous

This film just makes me soo happy. Another great music-related film came out this very year- The John Cusack-starrer High Fidelity (And American Psycho too - Hip to be Square!)...but I think the feel of Almost Famous, the time, the ideas is much more close to the heart. 

2001- Moulin Rouge!

The year of the franchises- from Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings to Ocean's Eleven. But as a favourite film, Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! has always been the one closest to my heart. The Bohemian ideals, the songs and pop-culture references, the look, the feel and obviously the two leads- Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman enchanted me in this film so very thoroughly that I fell in love with them forever.

2002- Igby Goes Down

My go-to film for when I think my life cannot get any worse. Then I see Igby Slocumb's life, his uber-dysfunctional family and I feel happy. Feel good anyone?!

2003- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

The film that launched a legend. Capt. Jack Sparrow is and will always be one of the greatest film characters ever, and being fueled by Johnny Depp only makes him so much more brilliant. The best film of the series by far, my god even Will and Elizabeth were tolerable in it.

2004- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

My second favorite film in the series, but still pretty awesome. This was the year of things like Mean Girls and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but I think with Alfonso Cuaron's darker direction and the addition of cast members like Gary Oldman and Emma Thompson (and the best Harry Potter hairstyle ever), HP3 was better than the rest. This was also the first Harry Potter film I saw in the theatre.

2005- Memoirs of a Geisha

The summative beauty of early 20th century-Japan, the kimonos, the make-up, the dancing, and ofcourse some of the most stunning Asian women ever makes this film one of the most enthralling to watch.

2006- Pan's Labyrinth

One of the most mesmerising films I have seen, this film with it's characters and visuals and music settles inside a part of your heart forever. The poignant beauty of it all, one which makes us happy and sad both at the same time is incredible. Also one of the best World War- related films according to me.

2007- Ghost Rider...no I'm kidding- Ratatouille

My favourite animated film (well one of them anyways). The concept just blows my mind...a rat who wants to cook. I mean they really do have the most creative minds working in Pixar, don't they? This film has everything- the city of love, good food, comedy, the underdog-story, romance and most importantly a lot of heart. Transplendent I tell you...just transplendent!

2008- The Dark Knight

My favourite Christopher Nolan film. This is an action thriller at its very best and along with that, it has some of the most remarkable characters ever to grace the silver screen. The most notable ofcourse is the late Heath Ledger's electrifying portrayal of The Joker.

2009- (500) Days of Summer

This film brought romcoms back...with a bang and a twist. The closest thing to Annie Hall in years, it has it's own brand of innocence and cuteness and heartbreak. And Joseph Gordon-Levitt just melts my heart.

2010- The Social Network

Did anyone possibly think I could choose anything else?! I love this film to bits...more that sanity allows.

Year 19...here I come.

Update

        I'm back!!! From an unnecessary, prolonged blogging vacation. Whatever little I did read of the LAMMY's was through a friend's tiny Blackberry screen and it all sounds very exciting but I'm very out of loop. I probably will take part in it next year when I have a clue of what's going on.


      In the last 25 days of internet-less existence I managed to see 51 films, some for the very first time...for example the absolutely wonderful musical Once, whose soundtrack I had downloaded three years ago, but kept on postponing the film itself...blunder much? I must also say that what I had imagined the songs to be like in the film was pretty much the furthest thing from the real deal. And the Falling Slowly sequence was really to die for. When it was ending, I knew this film will ruin my life forever like Before Sunset did, but I loved it loads nonetheless.

       I saw Chaplin's City Lights after about 12-15 years...it really is magical. One of the best things that I have heard about it is from Bernardo Bertolucci's The Dreamers (I went through a The Dreamers-phase too...again), when Theo says "You remember the last shot of City Lights? He looks at the flower girl, she looks at him and don't forget, she'd been blind...so she was seeing him for the very first time. It's as if, through her eyes, we also see him for the very first time. Charlie Chaplin, Charlot, the most famous man in the world... and it's as if we've never really seen him before."

      A certain TV channel was showing the Die Hard films, The Day After Tomorrow and Moulin Rouge practically on a loop, so I saw a lot of that. Similarly another channel showed Rob Marshall's Memoirs of  a Geisha some five times, and I watched it everytime as I cannot help myself around that film, it's just so enchanting.

      I finally finished watching A Streetcar Named Desire...what a film eh?! I'm so convinced I'm gonna become Blanche DuBois, it's scary. Also the scene between Marlon Brando's Stanley and Kim Hunter's Stella, when he calls out to her and she walks down the spiral staircase to fall into his embrace has to be one of the most erotic scenes I have ever seen in a film.

      One of the most startling films I saw for the first time was P.T. Anderson's Magnolia. I haven't ever watched any film of his completely, and like Once, I keep postponing downloading There Will Be Blood. But Magnolia was something else... it really scared me for some reason. And the plot twist, was the weirdest one I have ever seen. I am still trying to get my head around it in all honesty...I've never been perplexed by a singular scene like this.

       The two films I saw in the theatre, yet, were Rio and Scream 4. I loved Rio... it was very colourful, very cute and I just love Jesse Eisenberg. Scream 4 was fun... really loved Courtney Cox and Emma Roberts. I thought there were some great one-liners there, best being "First rule of remakes, don't fuck with the originals!" I saw Scream again after that...god I love Matthew Lillard!!

       The time of summer blockbusters is upon us now...I will be watching Thor soon. Hopefully I like it enough to review it (I doubt it). Also going to my Youtube subscriptions I saw various films have released their trailers like Transformers: Dark of the Moon (oh so bad), The Help (Gotta love Emma Stone!), 30 Minutes or Less (As much as I love Jesse E., it looks little bad) and of course this...

       I am an unapologetic, rather proud Potterphile/maniac and my world has officially begun to revolve around this. I do think this the trailer could have been a little better...like why would you show Fred dying? I was hoping the films would change that and kill Ginny instead...but to say that I am SUPER-DUPER EXCITED and at the same time facing a nervous breakdown to think this could ever end...would be a gross understatement. 

       S0 I think now I am up-to-date. Let the blogging begin.