Podcast Time!

The last time I was on Ryan McNeil's The Matineecast, he randomly suggested starting an international all-female podcast. And yeah....

This time 'round, we spoke about the super-cool new entry into the vampire movie genre, Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive, along with Thirst and Sid and Nancy. Ryan also found out about my deep admiration for Space Jam among other things. Obviously, I had a lot of fun and I hope you guys enjoy it too!

Listen: The Matineecast Episode 111: Only Lovers Left Alive

Thoughts

        Helloo all! Question- if you decided to go to a red carpet with a paper bag over your head, what would you write on it?

       Questions like this keep me up at night...

       Anyways, my movie-related thoughts for this week:

1) I have been planning to start on Ben Wheatley's filmography for a while now. Looks like his latest project is going to give me the push I needed. High Rise, based on the novel by J.G. Ballard, is about a doctor who gets involved in the secret world of a high rise built during the Thatcher era in England where the tenants are divided into quarrelling classist factions. And none other than Tom Hiddleston is going to star as the doctor whose name is Robert Laing. Hiddles is doing great things with his career and this whole projects sounds very exciting. Wheatley is also going to direct the first two episodes of Doctor Who series 8 so I'm really pumped to see his work.

2) One of my most anticipated films of 2015, the Fassy-Cotillard starrer-Macbeth, has started filming. While  the Macbeths are as perfect as they come, the rest of the characters are also going to be played by some excellent actors. Paddy Considine is going to be Banquo, Sean Harris is Macduff, and Jack Raynor and Elizabeth Debicki are also in the film. I am guessing that the former will play prince Malcolm and the latter will be Lady Macduff. Eitherways, this is one amazing and rather hot cast. I am currently studying the play in college and I swear, I just keep imagining this film during the lectures. I need it. Justin Kurzel is directing it.

3) Criminally underrated Paul Bettany will star as the Vision in the upcoming The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Bettany is actually one of the original Marvel actors from phase 1, voicing Tony Stark's awesome interface Jarvis. Of course, I am fairly certain this will be addressed in the movie. In the Marvel comic-verse, Vision goes from being a baddie android to a good guy and even marries the Scarlet Witch, who will be played by Elizabeth Olsen in the movie. I guess I should be more skeptical about this film because seriously, where do you go from after The Avengers, but I'm super duper excited about all these developments. It has started filming today in Johannesburg. BIG HULK YESSSSS!!!

4) Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill, easily my favourite on screen couple of 2013, are going to reteam for a drama about the bombing during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Hill will play Richard Jewell, a security guard who was first hailed as a hero for discovering the bomb and helping people to evacuate only to then be suspected as the perpetrator behind the bombing. Leo will play his attorney. After The Wolf of Wall Street, I am ready to watch these two in anything whatsoever and this actually sounds pretty fantastic.

5) Other casting stuff- Ewan McGregor, Tye Sheridan, Ciarin Hinds and Ayelet Zurer will be starring in Rodrigo Garcia's Last Days in the Desert. In it, McGregor will play a double role of a holy man and a demon who journeys through a desert. The synopsis is described as "an encounter with a family struggling to survive in this harsh environment forces the holy man to confront his own fate." McGregor is one of my most favourite actors and this sounds like an interesting plot. Emma Watson will star alongside Ethan Hawke in Alejandro Amenábar's Regression which is about "dealing with one's deepest primal fears". Amenábar directed one of my most favourite horror movies, The Others, so I will be looking forward to this. Johnny Depp and Tom Hardy will co-star in Black Mass about Whitey Bulger, one of America’s Most Wanted men and the leader of the the Winter Hill Gang, and who was also apparent;y an FBI informant. Depp will play Bulger and Hardy will play an FBI agent named John Connolly who was a childhood friend of Bulger's. One of Depp's best performances ever was in Donnie Brasco and it will be great seeing him go down the gangster road again, especially after his recent career choices.

6) If you weren't aware of it already, my fellow chick with accent from German/Danish-land, Mette has started a Youtube channel with her sister and it is awesome. Check out their second video-

7) Posters- Under the Skin's poster is a thing of beauty. I am kind of skeptical about the film because it really does not seem the kind I will like, but the poster is definitely gorgeous. The Transcendence poster is a bit creepy and not in a good way. It makes me feel gross for some reason. However, The Poster Of The Millenium, THE Poster To End All Posters is THIS ONE. It's from a Bengali movie called Obhishopto Nighty which roughly translates to 'haunted nightgown'. This poster is literally everywhere in my city. I don't know whether to laugh or cry. #onlyinIndia

8) Trailers- Not really a trailer but here's a 15 minute long "foreshadowing" of the upcoming season 4 of Game of Thrones, with bigger dragons and more Hodor (everyone say "HODOR!"). I can't wait. I have my Red Wedding t-shirt ready for the season premiere. The Two Faces of January's trailer is really thrilling and the film looks gorgeous. Pretty impressive people involved too. The second trailer of Hannibal is even more stunning than the first. Ugh! Finally, the trailer of the week is the latest one of Richard Ayoade's The Double. It looks crazy and creepy and cool and I still love Jesse Eisenberg in spite of how much picturing him as a tattooed Lex Luthor makes me anxious.

9) Finally, I adore the "Celebrities Read Mean Tweets" feature on Jimmy Kimmel. Benedict Cumberbatch's was one of the best-

His cheekbones though.

Toodles!

Thoughts

        Just as I was writing this post, the news of Philip Seymour Hoffman's death came rushing through social media. Hoffman was a truly gifted actor. My first thought was the scene in The Master when he's in the cell next to Joaquin Phoenix and while the latter is going apeshit crazy, Hoffman's just standing there but we're still transfixed by him. Such was his screen presence. And the fact that he was just 46 is devastating. Both my parents are older than that and it's scary. Hoffman made every film he was in better. He will be sorely missed by film fans all over the world. One of the best we ever had. RIP.

          Going back to the trivial. (I'm sorry for the tonal shift)

1) Jesse Eisenberg has been cast as Lex Luthor for the Batmas versus Superman movie. I'm sorry but WHAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT?????????!!!!!!! Usually I am all for unconventional casting choices but this is proper Batshit (haha, like Batfleck) crazy. I know everyone's all like oh Luthor and Superman will be the same age and Eisenberg can play a great asshole etc. but that doesn't mean he should play Lex Luthor! I will admit that people trying to explain how Luthor and Mark Zuckerberg are the same person is pretty hilarious. Still, all I can visualise is Eisenberg doing a Dr. Evil. And please, just don't make him bald. His hair is beautiful. It's like real-life hobbit hair! He'll also look like a child in front of Henry Cavill's Superman. I mean, I knew this was going to be a terrible movie but I'm actually scared now. Has Eisenberg been hanging out with Shia LaBeouf? Why would he say yes to this? Is this like a social experiment? I don't understand!!!

2) All this madness has overshadowed an actual inspired casting choice in the same movie. Jeremy Irons will play Alfred. That's kind of awesome but still a big fat no to Eisenberg as Luthor. I'm going to go hug my The Social Network DVD and cry now.

3) Colin Farrell has replaced Jason Clarke in Yorgos Lanthimos's The Lobster. This is pretty exciting because I think Farrell is can be an amazing actor who just doesn't get the right roles that often. He was one of the best things about Saving Mr. Banks too. Rachel Weisz has joined the cast as well, which already includes Lea Seydoux and Ben Whishaw. This is going to be some movie.

4) So JK Rowling has announced that she regrets pairing Hermione with Ron and that she should have been with Harry instead. I love Ron and Hermione, but I feel in the movies especially, Harry and Hermione worked exceptionally well. And well, anything that breaks off the Harry-Ginny pairing is good in my eyes. Eitherways, this could turn into a very interesting drama about betrayal and heartbreak mixed with magic, so that could be cool! The only thing I feel bad about is the whole Ron is always the second-best concept. Fuck you and WEASLEY IS OUR KING!! I hope he ends up with some nice part-Veela.

5) In spite of her claims of wanting to take a break from acting, Jennifer Lawrence may star in yet another David O. Russell film. One of the co-writers of Bridesmaids, Annie Mumulo has written a script about Joy Mangano, the inventor of the Miracle Mop (wtf is that? Someone explain in the comments) and her rags to riches story. I do find the whole concept funny and I think JLaw can pull it off. Anyways, one has to wonder when this film will see the light of day since both JLaw and Russell are busy with other projects. Also, this Mangano lady also invented something called the Huggable Hangers so yaaay, SEQUEL!

6) Everyone is watching and loving True Detective, yes? If not, I don't think we can be friends anymore. That show is going AHMAZING and I think this will be Matthew McConaughey's finest performance ever. The writer of the show, Nic Pizzolatto, is already working on a draft for the second season and at the same time, his first book Galveston is heading for the big screen. I don't think Pizzolatto is writing the screenplay but the synopsis of the book is pretty cool and quite cinematic too. Matthias Schoenaerts is going to star in the movie.

7) Other casting stuff- Kyle Chandler, who was awesome in The Wolf of Wall Street, has joined the ever-impressive cast of Todd Haynes' Carol. Daniel Radcliffe and Dane DeHaan will reunite for College Republicans which tells the true story of the College Republican Chairman campaign of 1973. The film will be directed by their Kill Your Darlings director, John Krokidas. I like this pairing too much. In spite of all the dirty politics, the story is apparently something of a buddy comedy which sounds intriguing. Brie Larson will star in The Good Luck of Right Now, based on the book of the same name written by Matthew Quick, who also wrote Silver Linings Playbook, and will be directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who directed Little Miss Sunshine and Ruby Sparks. To this I say, FUCK YEAH!!!! Larson was one of the biggest surprises of 2013 for me and everyone else involved in this project is awesome. Benedict Cumberbatch will star in Blood Mountain, which follows a private military contractor who has to escort a very dangerous terrorist through a hostile region to bring him to justice. The film sounds pretty gritty and being a Cumberbitch, I am excited to see what Cumberbatch does with it. I am also a Pinenut and Chris Pine is going to play the protagonist in David Gordon Green's The Line, a thriller about a lonely patrol agent who has to protect a 10 year old child orphaned after a cartel shootout from people from both sides of the law. Again, this sounds exciting and I really want Pine to get a proper break because I think he's really talented. Felicity Jones will play Romeo's ex-lover Rosaline in Rosaline, written by the the people behind (500) Days of Summer. I think this can be a really funny story because as we all know, Rome and Juliet were idiots. Adrien Brody will star in Manhattan Nocturne about "a devoted husband and accomplished journalist who is asked by a seductive stranger to dig into the unsolved murder of her husband." I am forever waiting for Brody's next great performance so count me in! Finally, Liam Neeson has joined Martin Scorsese's next, Silence, about a Jesuit priest's journey to Japan and his encounter with religious persecution. The film also stars Andrew Garfield and Ken Watanabe. I want this movie now!

8) Coming back to TV, none other than Michael Pitt has joined the cast of the eagerly anticipated season 2 of Hannibal. He will be playing Mason Verger, the character played by Gary Oldman in the movie Hannibal. Few of us can ever forget Verger's mutilated face in the movie and it really is a scrumptious role (adjective keeping in theme with the show of course) as he is one of Hannibal Lecter's most brutal nemeses. Still, one would hope that we get to see Pitt's gorgeous face before Mads Mikkelsen's Hannibal has his way with him.

9) Links- Stevee lists down the Practical Reasons Why Leo DiCaprio Doesn't/Shouldn't Have an Oscar Yet, Tumblr. It's pretty accurate and everyone should read it. Margaret talks about the aforementioned newest bestest show ever, True Detective. This weekend has seen a lot of talk about Dylan Farrow and Woody Allen and since I am such a fan of the latter's work, the weeks since the Golden Globes fiasco have been a sort of reassessment for me about what I believe in when it comes to things like this. The closest thing to what I feel and think is this fantastic article by Nathaniel R. of The Film Experience. Lastly, there have been wonderful articles all across the web about Philip Seymour Hoffman and there's no point linking to just a few. Check them all out.

10) Trailers- The first trailer of The Fault in Our Stars, which is based on John Green's fantastic love story about two teenagers with cancer, is out. People are going nuts about it. I admit that I got weepy while watching it too but I'm a bit concerned about how the trailer makes the story look almost sappy. One of my favourite things about the book and Green's writing in general is the sense of humour of his characters, which is what makes them so real. The trailer does show that Shailene Woodley is definitely the perfect Hazel though Ansel Elgort is still no Gus. The Rover looks quite bleak and though I haven't seen Animal Kingdom yet, I think I will like it. Love Guy Pearce and I think RPatz will be good in this. The trailer of Nymphomaniac part 2 keeps me as intrigued as always. Love the music. I liked Prince Avalanche a lot and its director David Gordon Green's new movie Joe has a trailer now. It stars Nicolas Cage and Tye Sheridan. It's great to see Cage doing something serious instead of stealing government documents or whatever, and Sheridan is still one of my most favourite performers of last year for his work in Mud, so I'm excited to see what he does too. I think I am one of the only people who found the trailer of Seth MacFarlaine's A Million Ways to Die in the West really funny. The "Mila Kunis" part killed me. One of my most favourite movies of last year, The Lunchbox has a US trailer out. Everyone should watch it. The latest trailer of Maleficent is the best one yet, thanks to Lana Del Rey's creepy rendition of "Once Upon A Dream" and Angelina Jolie's smile. I love it. Terry Gilliam is back with The Zero Theorem which has Christoph Waltz in the lead role, along with David Thewlis, Tilda Swinton and Ben Whishaw. It looks really weird and surreal, which is expected from Gilliam. It can either be something really fantastic or a total fail. I'm hoping for the former. A Long Way Down which based on a Nick Hornby book and stars Pierce Brosnan, Toni Collette, Aaron Paul, Imogen Poots and Rosamund Pike, looks very sweet and heartwarming. While watching the Super Bowl trailer of Transformers: Age of Extinction, all I could think of was how much I wanted to rewatch Pacific Rim. Still, I am willing to give Michael Bay and Mark Wahlberg a chance after Pain and Gain. The jokes in the latest trailer of The Amazing Shit-Man 2 fall so flat that I don't get why they're trying at all. As it is the idea of a 30 year old teenage Peter Parker, Electro's look, Oscorp's abysmal security and an actual metal rhino are going to provide enough comic relief. I am only going to watch this film for Dane DeHaan because I already know that it will waste the talents of Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone once again. DeHaan might make something meaty out of his role, and I like his face. It's nice. One only has to look at the trailer of Captain America: The Winter Soldier to see what all the Amazing Shit-Man team are doing wrong. The action looks great, there's proper intrigue in the trailer, the set pieces and the effects feel cinematic and the little joke at the end is actually funny because people aren't trying so hard. My two favourite trailers of last week are those of Beauty and the Beast and Enemy. The first looks so beautiful and I love the idea of Lea Seydoux and Vincent Cassel playing Belle and the Beast respectively. The latter looks like a most interesting psychological thriller and I adored Jake Gyllenhaal in Prisoners, which was his previous collaboration with Denis Villeneuve, the director of Enemy. I'm really stoked for both these films.

11) Finally, the Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue has a non-whitewashed cover and it looks pretty great-

Who wants to be Julia Roberts? Raise your hands!! The women look gorgeous.

12) Really properly *finally*, I was going to post only this before but then the Vanity Fair cover released. Still, I feel that I need this on my blog on, like, principle-

Fuck off, Tom!

Have you guys read the Elle UK interview? The fangirlness is seeping from every letter. It would be hilarious if it wasn't so damn true.

Byeeeee!

Thoughts

      Hi guys! Sorry for the delay but Blogger has been acting crazy for me for the past few days. This very post has taken 5 attempts. Anyways, onto cinema/television-related thoughts.

1) So on my 21st birthday, I finally got myself all the Harry Potter books and DVDs. I had been wanting to do this for a very long time but kept postponing, and this obviously was a great birthday gift as Harry Potter is such a huge part of my childhood, and me for that matter. So imagine my and I guess every Potterhead's surprise when our queen, JK Rowling, announced that she is going to write the screenplays for a new series of movies set in the wizarding world of Harry Potter. The series will be about the writing of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a companion book that Rowling had released along with the Harry Potter books. Admittedly, I was a little apprehensive when I first heard about this because I don't want anything muddying up the legacy of Harry Potter. But I have faith in Rowling, and the fact that like us, she too can't get enough of the wizarding world. Plus these movies will technically not have anything to do with Harry Potter himself. They will be set in 1920s New York, which in itself is just AHMAZING. And they will follow Newt Scamander, the writer of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and the adventures he has while writing the book. Like many people on Tumblr, the first actor whose name popped into my head for the role of Scamander was *obviously* Matt Smith. I mean, Scamander is a famous Hufflepuff and every Doctor Who fangirl knows about Smith's weird obsession with hamsters. Also the fact that he's a pretty fantastic actor. Having said that, I will be glad with almost any actor they choose because heyyy, more Brits in the Harry Potter world!! I will soon acquire the book itself and I'm officially stoked for the movies now.

2) Soon after my last weekly thoughts post, in which I had spoken of Benedict Cumberbatch leaving Guillermo del Toro's Crimson Peak, it was announced that Tom Hiddleston will be the actor replacing him. I'm totally fine with this. Not only is Hiddles also an amazing actor with a great voice, but this means that he and Jessica Chastain, aka the two most inspirational and loveliest actors out there, will be acting together. Big Yes! The film also stars Hiddles's Only Lovers Left Alive co-star, Mia Wasikowska, and Charlie "Fifty Shades" Hunnam.

3) One of my most favourite films of last year was Leslye Headlands's rude, smart and hilarious Bachelorette. Her next movie Sleeping With Other People will see her re-teaming with the fabulous Kirsten Dunst and joining them is Jason Sudeikis. It is about a womanizer befriending a serial cheater and even though the basic plot sounds typical, I am fairly sure that Headland's dialogues and wit will make it anything but. 

4) Anton Corbijn, who made the fantastic Control, will be next making a film on the relationship between James Dean and Life magazine photographer Dennis Stock entitled Life. It will follow Stock, a young photographer, who was assigned to shoot Dean, a young rising star at the time, and how their relationship evolved before East of Eden made Dean a perennial Hollywood star. Dane DeHaan has been cast as Dean and Robert Pattinson will play Stock. Am I the only one who thinks the casting is a bit of a mind-bender? DeHaan is quite attractive in his own way, but he's no James Dean. I can see it in terms of their acting styles but it's just a bit weird. Still, Corbjin is a very good director, and he used to be a rock photographer, so he seems perfect for the job.

5) So Lars von Trier has gone a bit nuts. More than usual, I mean. Nymphomaniac, his grand tale about a woman's sexual journey from birth to the age of 50, was already going to be a two-parter. It has now been announced that the two movies will have a combined running time of 5 hours *and* there might be a potential TV series. Like woah! They already have something like 100 hours of material. The first movie is apparently more of a comedy (though I'm not sure what a von Trier comedy is) and it gets darker in the second movie (like, duh). I don't know, man. I'm curious but 5+ hours of von Trier sounds a bit... suicidal.

6) Disney has decided to release Edgar Wright's Ant-Man in the summer of 2015. In case you don't remember, this is also the time when The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Star Wars VII, Jurassic Park 4 and the new Terminator movie will come out. Even if you ignore the last two (like I am), it just seems so stupid! Ant-Man was going to be a risk no matter when they released it. The superhero isn't well-known, he's *called* Ant-Man, Wright is more of a cult director- none of these scream big blockbuster hit. The film hasn't even been cast yet. On the other hand, the first Avengers movie is *only* the THIRD HIGHEST GROSSING MOVIE OF ALL TIME, and Star Wars nerds even managed to make the new trilogy a big financial success and undoubtedly they'll do the same this time. I, for one, am actually looking forward to Ant-Man even more than Age of Ultron, and it will be a crying shame if it fails to do well. Gahh, this sucks!

7) They finally have a name and a poster for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special- "The Day of the Doctor". There is still no sign of the trailer but gosh, I'm excited. Did you spot the "Bad Wolf" sign in the poster?!!

8) Trailers- Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron, Dave Franco and Christopher Mintz-Plasse star in new comedy Neighbours. I think it looks pretty funny, and I do like the people involved. I have a new found appreciation for Efron. It might have something to do with The Paperboy... The Railway Man has a pretty great cast but it still feels kind of blah. Why does Jeremy Irvine keep coming in these depressing tales? Though the trailer of True Detective is kind of all over the place, just the talent involved (Cary Fukanaga, Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson) and the fact that visualised bleak crime dramas are all the rage right now, I am really looking forward to this television series. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom looks pretty good. Early reviews have all been been raving about Idris Elba's performance so yaay! The best trailer of the week is that of Richard Ayoade's The Double. Moody, silent, weird, two Jesse Eisenbergs (!)- love it. Can't wait for this film.

9) Finally, a huge reason why Breaking Bad is such a great show is its two main actors, Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul. Here's them being awesome on a Jimmy Fallon sketch, Joking Bad-

I love them both. Also, Aaron Paul looks extra hot here.

Tata for now!

Thoughts

         Helloo people. I do this post a full week after I was supposed to, but I've just been that busy/ tired/ dead lately. This is what is up-

1) So I am directing a one-act play for my year in the annual inter-year dramatics competition in my college. It's been a sort of whirlwind since it has only been a month in the new college and I don't exactly know what I am doing or am supposed to do most of the time. But I like it. I don't remember the last time I was excited about actually doing something apart from watching a certain movie or whatever. It's like that Catcher in the Rye quote- "I like it when somebody gets excited about something. It's nice." It *is* nice and though we are probably screwed for the final performance that will happen the day after tomorrow (SOO SCREWED), this may just be, as my mother embarrassingly calls it, my "directorial debut" (ugh, moms -.-). Yeah I wish it was a little less, well, crazy but we do have period costumes and fake mustaches and it is funny. All I want is that we put on a good show :) Also technically, my directorial debut was in 5th grade, with another one-act play which was about 3 minutes long. The teacher said that I was a good director, and I have come to think that this is probably the point where it all started...

2) Okay in the movie world this is what is happening: Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of The Great Gatsby will now be released in 2013, which sucks because all I wanted was a Very Leo Christmas. Next, Joss Whedon will also direct The Avengers 2- YAAAAAAAAYY! I am already hooked :D :D And Ben Affleck might direct the Justice League movie- YAA...eh what? In some ways, it might be surprisingly good, since Affleck is definitely a better director than actor, but I don't know. I can't quite picture it, at all.

3) One of the most anticipated films of this year, Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master has released a new poster and a whole bunch of pictures. I think the poster is gorgeous and weird, just like everything that has been released of the movie so far. The pictures clearly show that it is Joaquin Phoenix and not Philip Seymour Hoffman who is the lead, and I am still plenty happy about that. Another obvious powerhouse performance of this year will be Daniel Day-Lewis's in Lincoln. He looks brilliant!

4) Trailers- Another of the highly-awaited movies of 2012 is Seven Psychopaths, and goddamn the trailer is fantastic! I luurrvvee In Bruges, and what with people like Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson and Christopher Walken, this film is almost definitely going to be mindblowingly awesome! Trouble with the Curve, which is a film I can see myself not caring about one tiny little bit. I'm sorry but I just am that closed-minded when it comes to sports movies. Also, STOP MAKING MOVIES AND GO BACK TO MAKING MUSIC, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE!! I just had to get that off my chest. A Royal Affair starring Mads Mikkelsen, which looks intriguing. Great Expectations looks terrible, but Jeremy Irvine is adorable and I think casting HBC as Mrs. Havisham is a stroke of genius. Finally there is the hilariously awful trailer of Red Dawn. I only talk about it because it has Josh from Drake and Josh! Remember him/that? What happened? :O

5) By the by, the films that I am most looking forward to this year are- 15) To the Wonder, 14) Imogene, 13) Perks of Being a Wallflower, 12) Ruby Sparks, 11) Place Beyond the Pines, 10) Anna Karenina, 9) Midnight's Children, 8) Holy Motors, 7) Moonrise Kingdom, 6) Beasts of the Southern Wild, 5) Skyfall, 4) The Hobbit, 3) The Master, 2) Seven Psychopaths, 1) Django Unchained. 

And so far my favourite films have been (not counting Margaret because I think that's a 2011 film)- 5) Chronicle, 4) Bachelorette, 3) TDKR, 2) Brave, 1) The Avengers. Clearly you can see that I haven't watched anything.

6) Finally, this is courtesy of Anna from Defiant Success-

Never get a mind filter, you glorious, glorious man.

Bbyee!

"I still believe in heroes."

Note: What shall now ensue is a highly excited, and most likely klutzy, energy-bubble-of-a-review. Just think that a happy Hulk wrote it :)           


             WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT?! As much I was looking forward to it, a little part of me was certain that The Avengers, with so many other generally entertaining films leading up to it, a plethora of "heroes" ready to outshine each other, a probably incompetent script, and possibly one too many Michael Bay-esque explosions, would be a bust. Even my more hopeful side was pretty convinced that it would fall prey to at least one of the dangerous missteps above. But WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT THAT IT WILL BE *THIS* MINDBLOWINGLY BRILLIANT!!

                 Nick Fury, director of the secret agency S.H.I.E.L.D., has the Tesseract, a mysterious object that is the source of unknown energy, and with the help of physicist Dr. Erik Selvig, is trying to harness its power. When the Tesseract suddenly gets activated, it opens a portal through which the exiled god Loki steps through. Loki has made a pact with an evil alien race called the Chitauri, who will help him conquer Earth in exchange for the Tesseract. Loki, forever the god of mischief, starts to wreak havoc the moment he comes and soon Fury has to recruit a team of super soldiers, assasins, a demi god and a Hulk to fight these lethal enemies and save the earth.


                 I am not going into more detail than that. Prior to watching it, I carefully, and with rather difficulty, avoided all the reviews of this film, and I think everyone should do that (except this one of course *wink*). You may think that the one billion promotional photos and videos may be giving things away, but it really is not the case. The film was literally nothing like what I expected it to be. I mean I am no comic book nerd, and those who are may know details about the stories that I didn't. Still I am quite the lover of superhero movies, well-made action movies, smart movies, movies with great one-liners, movies that are outstanding ensemble pieces and movies with a superb supervillain for me to geek out on. The Avengers was all of this, and maybe even more.

               Let's break this down one by one. This might just become my favourite "superhero" superhero film ever, when compared to every other film of this genre except the Nolan Batman trilogy because those films are a number of other things too. Ever since Ironman in 2008, the big screen adaptations of Marvel comics have been a big marketing campaign with little clues and pointers spread out throughout them. One may even say that the whole of Captain America was more or less a trailer to The Avengers. It must have been a colossal task to put it all together in such a way that everything fits and that all the major characters that we have seen and loved in the previous films get enough spotlight, while also creating a unique and effective story. Joss Whedon of the Buffy fame, who also directed the film, co-wrote the story with Zak Penn and they were successful in completing this task. Sure there was some science-y jargon that no one got, but it is an intelligent script, and equally important, a really funny one. This film is packed with one-liners and humorous situations. Like in the case of Tintin, it is a whole another experience when a full house laughs and cheers at a joke or a scene, and The Avengers provided us with many such instances that made it really fun.


             Now since it is a superhero film, there are some expectations that we all go in with. We know that there will be a few blasts and and a couple of brawls and maybe some shooting etc. The special effects in The Avengers were very good. While I wouldn't call them groundbreaking, I will say that they were exactly the right amount. There wasn't the novelty of Ironman's suit, which is still incredibly cool, or the glittery world of Asgard, or an astoundingly tiny version of Chris Evans. But I liked the fact that the effects in The Avengers don't overwhelm you, which is what they usually seem to do. I did see this in 3D and too much CGI becomes painful, but the film used the technology skillfully. The overall look and feel of the film definitely was quite stunning. Even amongst the booms and bangs, we see characters fighting at street level and it just felt so normal when compared to say huge metal robots bashing down buildings like bowling pins. The action sequences were quite cleverly crafted so as to use the various powers of all these different superheroes perfectly. Also, this is the film where I feel Hulk has the most realistic look yet.

              Coming to the cast, this film truly wins for me in what it manages to do with such an assortment of extraordinary persons. Too many cooks can spoil the broth, and similarly too many superheroes probably can destroy the world, or worse a film. However, The Avengers finds itself in the company of those rare films where ensemble casts work immaculately well with each other. The story gives enough room for each character to grow and flesh out without focusing on any one individual. Even someone as relatively common as Agent Phil Coulson, played by the lovely Clark Gregg, has an excellent character arc and story. Talking about them separately, the returning and already established superheroes- Ironman, Thor and Captain America, are as fun and heroic as ever. Robert Downey Jr. who plays the "genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist" Tony Stark/Ironman is cocky and epic and has some of the best lines in the film. The ginormous Chris Hemsworth is Thor, who is now humble, but still has the airs of a god and a complimenting presence. Chris Evans as Steve Rogers/Captain America is remains as the goody two-shoes, and adorably so. These three clash the most because they have each battled evil before, and they each think their own way is the right way.


             But I really appreciated the script when it came to the characters we didn't know as well. Jeremy Renner plays Clint Barton/Hawkeye, a character we knew nothing of, and he is given an interesting story. Another elusive character is that of Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow played by Scarlett Johannson. This is definitely one of the best performances that she has ever given. She was cool and tough and though in no way Russian, pretty kickass nonetheless. Now Bruce Banner/Hulk has been portrayed twice before onscreen and though I like Edward Norton, I was never into the big green guy. However with Mark Ruffalo's nuanced meekness, the change becomes all the more amazing. While I still proclaim that all the characters were on an equal footing for me in this film, I have to give extra credit to Whedon for finally making me a fan of Hulk. I can now see what little boisterous boys see in him and I seriously admire that.

             Last but not the least, Tom Hiddleston as Loki was a fantastic supervillain. It is no mean feat for a relatively new comer like him to stand his own against so many more accomplished actors playing such juicy characters. But Hilddleston's Loki, with his eloquent and poisonous way of talking, chilly glare and snarly smile, and quite a commanding presence, is a serious antagonist for all our heroes. One scene where I especially liked him when he almost slithers down a flight of stairs in Germany before striking someone with his sceptre. It is quite an Alex DeLarge sort of moment. Also when he is ruthlessly insulting Natasha, I couldn't help but think about The Silence of the Lambs. These are some of my favourite negative characters, so you can understand how much I love Loki.


            All hats off to Whedon for what he has done with this film, against all odds. He has managed to make an impeccably entertaining film, with rich and memorable characters and some splendid action sequences. I had written in my review of Chronicle that it is the superhero film to beat this year. Well, the Avengers have just hauled its little telekinetic ass out of this world. This may just become the superhero film to beat ever. I hear people are already campaigning for The Avengers to get a SAG Best Ensemble nod, and I am totally joining the party. It is too early to say now, but this may also become my Harry Potter film of the year, which is the film I personally will dream about getting a Best Picture Oscar nomination in spite of well, reality.

            In conclusion I will just like to say that I threw a fit to watch The Avengers on the opening weekend, and I am a person whose aim in life is to get independence like a fully-functioning adult. However, I acted like a child to see this film, and that is just what some of us have to do sometimes. Of course it was completely worth it, but it is also fun to be a little kid for a while with the big explosions, the whole bunch of hilarity and the good old heroes beating the villains.  The Avengers let me be that little kid and it was marvelous (pun maybe intended).