Film lovers are sick people. -Francois Truffaut

I have been writing about movies a lot in this blog...makes one (me) think that I have watched loads and loads of films. However, I have recently re-realised that my film knowledge is very restricted. I just haven't watched enough movies.
It technically wouldn't have mattered so much but the thing is that since time immortal I have known that I will do something related to movies in my life- a film critic, a film-maker, an old-fashioned cinema owner etc. And OBVIOUSLY I cannot possibly do any of these things if I haven't watched enough films!
So this got me thinking and I have come to the following conclusions why my filmiverse is so so small:


1) There are some types of films that I just do NOT watch-
(i) Unnecessary Drama- Two words- Nicholas Sparks. He is the ultimate king of all those awful films which are created to make people feel absolutely miserable. No I do not find The Notebook cute. Why? Because I couldn't see most of it through the deliberately forced misery that had filled my eyes. Seriously..it was not beautiful, I was crying because it was Nicholas Sparks' evil plan to make the people of the world suffer through his superfluos morbid stories!!! Oh how I hate him.


(ii) Westerns- I'm sure they are brilliant. But I am hesitant about them. I just have this feeling that I will hate them and I really don't want to go through the torture...thus I do not watch them at all. However I will get over this glitch...soon...and watch them. (Main reason- Inglorious Basterds is a minor tribute to them).


(iii) Sports Films- I hate sports and just don't seem to get sports films. However, I have watched a few and don't seem to have that big a problem with them.


(iv) Book Adaptations- With the exception of Big Fish, Tuck Everlasting and Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix, all films made from books are never ever as good as the books themselves. And this scares me a bit. After reading Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass again, I do undersrtand how flawed the film was and would have been absolute disastrous if anyone except Tim Burton would have made it. Very rarely are the films better than or as good as the books and for a book-lover it can be quite nightmarish to undergo a film that ruins a beloved novel. I think amongs the worst are Vanity Fair, various versions of Pride and Prejudice which try to bring about a twist but fail miserably, Twilight (actually can't decide which is worse) etc.




2) I am biased- I hate to admit this but I have the most immense difficulties watching films in which I don't know anyone or the fact that I hate whoever acting in it. This is a terrible thing. I, being a self-prefessed movie critic, am supposed to watch all movies and judge whichever ones are the best, and due to my prejudices I rarely ever watch a film in which everyone's unknown to me. Also there are some actors who I just cannot watch. Generally this list consists of terrible fakes like Miley Cyrus, Zac efron etc. but there are some big names which I cannot bear either. Among actresses, I hate Hilary Swank and Halle Berry. I mean I hate Hillary Swank so much that I prefer calling her Hillary Skank. And in the actors, well for some reason I just cannot stand Russel Crowe. I know for a fact that he is a brilliant actor but something about his face just infuriates and disgusts me till no end. I just cannot watch a film with him in it. I have watched The Gladiator, but that was years ago and whenever I try to watch it again, I just puke at his face and stop. It's really sad but it just cannot be helped.




3) I just haven't seen enough films- I am red-faced (metaphorically as I never ever blush) to profess that I have never seen a Martin Scorsese film. I know how horrible this sounds but I just have not. It sucks! I have only watched parts of Gangs of New York and The Aviator. When I was trying to watch The Departed on the TV, my father made me change the channel because of all the swearing and the one time Goodfellas was coming on TV, I did not know about it's brilliance and did not watch it because of it's name (this too being a sign of my discriminating nature). Oh the Horror!! :(
Also my knowledge of foreign films is deplorable.




4) Technical Problems- I am from a very Bollywood-oriented family. Up until about 8, my complete idea of "English Films" was whatever action and comedy films my father watched. After that I went through a complete Harry Potter phase in which I did not really watch anything else. Then when I came out of this phase at 12 was when I started watching a great deal of Hollywood films but then I moved back to Dubai where I didn't used to cable. Cable too wasn't enough...and I got my internet last year, i.e., at the age of 17 (and yes I know it's the 21st century). Also I am in my final year of school which basically means I cannot sit and watch films all day long. I don't go to movie theaters alot as my parents have this insufferable habit of converting prices here in the UAE to those in India and as a result I suffer. In India when I can actually watch a lot of films, not many release or they have an adult rating..and I still look 16. CD-wise again they are either too expensive or unavailable or just that my parents won't let me subscribe to a video shop as they think I watch too many films already (is it me or does this sound like me whinig about my failed life so far?)



But as shown in this totally useless and futile post, I do not watch enough films and have taken an oath to myself that I will watch atleast one movie a day once college starts.




P.S.- I love the title of this post. :)

WORRIED SHOES- OST WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

I took my lucky break and I broke it in two.
Put on my worried shoes, my worried shoes.
Took me so many miles, and they never wore out.
My worried shoes. My worried shoes.
My worried shoes.
I made a mistake that I never forgot.
Tied knots in the laces of my worried shoes.
Every step that I take is another mistake
I march further and further away in my worried shoes.
My worried shoes.
My shoes took me town crooked path.
Away from our welcome mats, my worried shoes.
I looked all around and saw the sun shining down.
Took off my worred shoes, my worries shoes.
My worried shoes.




Isn't the song just adorable? Also it makes perfect sense and has a deeper meaning that applies to most of us in life. It's almost just like the brilliant film it is from- Where The Wild Things Are. I am going to write about it soon. :)

SKINS-ICAL ME!

    Okay...Skins rocks the entire fucking universe!! Notice how I just used a swear word...it's all because of that glorious, brutally honest, uncensored, smokin' hot show! After a month and a half of undying devotion, tonight I finished watching all the episodes of Skins. I can even tell you when I started- 25th of February- the weekend before my final exams. 42 days- 37 episodes and this is my verdict. (Spoiler Alert!)


    Let's go character-wise first.


Gen 1:


    1) Tony- The Guy Who Could Do Anything; Skins starts with his face and his infamous blanket. Nicholas Hoult as Tony Stonem might very well be the protagonist of the first generation of Skins. Tony is gorgeous, popular, smart, manipulative, evil, caring and brilliant. He is one of my most favourite characters ever. I do have a thing for bad boys and while he wasn't technically a bad bad boy like Cook, he was the good guy with the evil side. I love the fact that he could do almost anything he wanted. It's admirable- his instant "leadership quality in the wrongest things possible", whether it's selling spliff or stealing a coffin. And he is the best looking of all the characters...which helps. Oh the days I have spent dying over his dark hair, his light eyes, his perfect mouth, his occasionally kiddish face, and his amazing body. Also his voice and his genius mean comments are pretty kick-arse. He is pretty much the God of the series.


    2) Cassie- She's thin, she's blonde, she says WOW an awful lot; Again one of my most favourite characters ever and probably the most original one of the series. Nothing like Cassie has ever been seen...and Hannah Murray plays her brilliantly. Cassie, who is introduced to us as the girl with wide eyes and an eating disorder, turned out to be so much more. Not only was she the most profound one, her character is the one with the most complexities and depth. And also she is, in her own words, quite lovely. She probably had the best fashion sense in all of the show and with her fairy-taley voice, she is the quintessential girl who seems ethereal and believable at the same time.


    3) Sid- The Lovable Geek; okay so he wasn't the most original character. A similar geek who is desperate to get laid can be seen everywhere- Seth Cohen in the OC, everyone in Superbad etc. But with a manipulative best friend like Tony, an intense love for Tony's girlfriend Michelle and the presence of Cassie, sets Sid quite apart. He is the guy everyone feels for. With Cassie, Sid (who is played by Mike Bailey), makes the best couple of the whole series. I mean he is amongst the only characters I can identify with...almost.


    4) Chris- The Hero; Now I am going to use this describing word and more appropriately later again, but Chris was a sort of hero. He was the one who made us laugh the most and in the end cry the most. It was awful when he died! His love for Angie first and then for Jal was adorable and endearing. He, played by Joe Dempsie, is the hero of this generation because of his ability to say "Yes" and "Fuck it". Very few people can truly do that and I, as well as the gang salute him for that.


    5) Michelle- The Real Girl; Sure she was called "Nips" and had the longest legs ever, however Michelle was more of a normal girl than anyone in the show. She was the one who was pretty, had genuine boy problems and came out as a cool and fun person throughout. I would put up for Tony and Michelle one of the hottest couples in the series. We all loved their scenes together and didn't exactly mind the Sid affair either. Michelle wasn't just the dumb pretty girl, but she had a realistic role and was played very appropriately by the very hot April Pearson.


    6) Maxxie- The Gay Best Friend; Okay everyone I know loves Maxxie, played by Mitch Hewer. I liked him, no doubt, but he wasn't my most favourite character ever. But his dancing talent, his innocence and his character was very admirable. I think the scene between him and Tony, when Tony "gives him head" scared me shitless but it was okay. I love his and Anwar's friendship! And the way he is described by Tony, "He's a bit new, he's a bit cool, he's a bit gay."


    7) Jal- The Talent; she was one of the most boring characters for me in the first seres, with the mental mobsterish family but I really liked her towards the ending of the second series. Her speech for Chris is epic and the fact that everyone was crying was very believable. Also I liked her friendship with Michelle a lot, especially in the unseen episode. Jal was played by Larissa Wilson.


    8) Anwar- The Muslim Boy; Okay he was my least favourite character except Sketch. But I guess I could identify a lot with his whole Muslim condition. I liked him the first series but the whole deal with Sketch was creepy. However I like how he ended up leaving her and going with Maxxie to London. I couldn't believe Dev Patel, who portrayed Anwar was this ready to get naked ever.


    9) Effy- The Mysterious girl; I quite liked her in the first generation. I liked her attachment to Tony and her way of doing things. However, the second generation pretty much changed that opinion of mine.




Gen 2:


    1) Cook- The Hero; What a character. Since it's only been hours since I saw his last scene, I can't help but be in complete awe of him. I hated him in the beginning, his constant drinking and laughing and hogging and fucking...but he turned out to be so much more than that. I loved him and Effy together- their whole Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen thing and I do secretly hope that they will get together. I think they are the hottest of all the couples. His friendship with Freddie and JJ, his ability to seduce every girl, his kiddish qualities mixed with that of nothing less than an action hero is incredulous. And he has such a cute face, along with a killer body. Also the way he says "I'M COOK!" is just brilliant. He is another one of my most favourite characters ever. He is played by Jack O' Connell.


    2) JJ- The Adorable one; I just love him. And I also know for a fact that no girl can resist loving him. He is soo cute, with his childish face and hobbity hair. I love his singing and his ukulele and his devotion to Lara and his magic. Also the way he is nervous and then so sure of himself. Everyone wants a friend like JJ...just because he is one of the most caring characters ever.


    3) Naomi- The Perfect Girl; She was such a brilliant character. I love her love for Emily. She's strong, smart, beautiful and played by Lily Loveless (ironic). Her hippie mum and surname are hilarious. She is quite fun. I actually secretly also wanted her and Cook to get together but her declaration of love in the end to Emily is just so heart-wrenchingly beautiful.


    4) Thomas- The Real Gentleman; I took an instant liking to him from his first scene. With the whole African background and a strong sense of responsibility, he was one of the most admirable characters of the show. I really like his strength and honesty and his love for Pandora. Also Thomas's (played by Merveille Lukeba) musical talent adds to his incredible character.


    5) Emily- The Pretty Redhead; I have a thing for redheads and though it may seem a little weird saying this about a lesbian, I really don't care. I found her adorable and the whole Naomily thing was real nice. They too were one of the hottest couples. She was a very pretty character and was played by Kathryn Prescott.

    6) Katie- "I'm Katie Fucking Fitch, who the fuck are you?"; I pretty much hated her in the first series but with that line, there was an instant respect for her. She grew up in the series and became a very nice person. I like her big sisterliness thing and she too is a real woman. She is played by Megan Prescott. 


    7) Pandora- NOT Useless; I loved Panda ever since the first generation. I guess I can sort of identify with her too. She's cute, confused and innocent. Her love for Thomas is really sweet. I love how trustworthy she is and her ability to make a fool of herself and not even realizing that. She is played by Lisa Blackwell.


    8) Freddie- Gone; So before I started watching this entire generation, I was told that he'll die. So I never really attached myself to his character, unlike Chris. But then again, I really think I wouldn't have liked  him any ways. Sure he was very hot and made the last hot couple with Effy, and was very caring too, I just found him very boring. His death was rather unfortunate and scary, but what else was there really to expect? He fell for Effy for Pete's sake and didn't have a strong character like Cook or JJ. He was played by Luke Pasqualino


    9) Effy- The Psychotic Freak; My description might seem a bit harsh but it is totally true. Of course she is totally gorgeous and played by the divine Kaya Scodelario, but when she goes crack, she really goes crack. And of all the people to go for counselling, she goes to the almost equally cracked John Foster. I got really scared of her towards the end and think she is the creepiest character in the whole show after Sketch and John Foster.


    Other characters that I liked were Angie, Sid's dad, Johnny White, James Fitch, Anthea and Karen.


    As a whole I liked the first generation more as they were less dramatic but then again felt like I really knew everyone from the second generation more. I love the fact that almost everyone sings ( I don't think Dev Patel can sing). And I cannot wait for the third generation along with the film with all three generations!!!


    Skins is a groundbreaking show with an excellent storyline, brilliant characters, talented cast, amazing soundtrack, and unexpected turns and twists. It is entertainment as it's best, as not only is it funny, dramatic, young, scary and a whole lot of other things, it is also an eye opener. I would include in the list of the most life-changing movies/shows for myself.

TITANIC- Nothing on Earth could come between Them

Rose: A woman’s heart is a deep ocean of secrets. But now you know there was a man named Jack Dawson and that he saved me, in every way that a person can be saved. I don’t even have a picture of him. He exists now… only in my memory.

I just had to put this up. The first photo of Jack in these...of his eyes...made me fall in love with him as a 5 year old girl and still does. This film will live on forever. Oh and Leo and Kate please get together!!!!!

“She’ll outgrow it, dear. It’s just the age…the age where nothing fits"

So I finally watched Rebel Without A Cause. What a film....it was extraordinary.... and what was more extraordinary was the fact that it really does apply to all children up until now.

And I am not just saying that. I feel everything Jim and Judy and Plato said.

I felt every word James Dean's Jim Stark character meant when he said this genuine fact:

"If I had one day when I didn't have to be all confused, and didn't have to feel that I was ashamed of everything... if I felt that I belonged someplace, you know?"

I feel that my house is a zoo. I believe the tagline "To Belong...and be loved"...I believe that nothing is worth believing in this world that we live in. How does one become a completely incompetent fool if she doesn't think, or rather get the feeling about boiling the milk the whole day? Or how does one care about putting the dishes for cleaning when she is busy crying??

I hate it all...this sad excuse of a life.

 

ALICE IN BURTONLAND

  

     "There is a place. Like no place on Earth. A land full of wonder, mystery, and danger! Some say to survive it: You need to be as mad as a hatter." - The Mad Hatter


    It is true...and only on man can bring such a place to life...the one and only...as mad as a hatter- the wonderful Tim Burton. Watching his Alice in Wonderland is a mesmerizing experience.


    This Alice In Wonderland proves that I was not a weird kid for not liking the book in 2nd grade. I mean the Alice with bags under her eyes, the Mad Hatter and his crazy friends and the barbaric Red Queen are hardly child-friendly people. What Burton has done in this movie is that he embraced these facts with open arms and using that made an epic for both children and grown-ups.


    Alice in this film is 19 years old. So basically, we are seeing her story at the time of Through The Looking Glass, the Alice In Wonderland sequel. She is being married to and ugly git called Hamish and she does not want to as he lacks her enormous imagination and humility, and is quite annoyingly proper- like everyone else around her. Her only friend was her imaginative father who had passed away. On the day of her engagement to Hamish, Alice overwhelmed by the whole situation, runs away for a moment only to find the White Rabbit and fall down the hole to Wonderland.


    After this we all know what happens more or less. She shrinks and grows a number of times and gets to meet all the Wonderland residents- Tweedledee, Tweedledum, Dormouse, Absulum-the Blue Caterpillar, March Hare, Cheshire Cat, Bayard, Stayne, Red Queen, White Queen and of course the Mad Hatter. They all expect her to slay the evil Red Queen's monster Jabberwocky and bring peace back to Wonderland as then the fair White Queen will become the ruler again.


    The best feature of this film was it's amazing cast. Any film which has Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Stephen Fry, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Crispin Grover, Michael Sheen and Christopher Lee together is bound to be brilliant. However, what I liked  most was that the newcomer, Mia Wasikowska, who played Alice was given the most importance as obviously; it was her film. And she did brilliantly. She was actually one of my favourite characters in the film. The others and how I rank them and what I thought of the is as follows:

    1) The Mad Hatter- Was there ever any doubt that Johnny Depp wouldn't play this role to perfection? I think not. Sure his face was plastered with make up and he had the most ridiculous outfit on(which I do want), his performance breaks out from all of them and stands in a league of it's on. He is absolutely genius in this film. Who can act as mad as a hatter and still manage to woo everyone but him? I mean he still has the Edward Scissorhands quirkiness mixed with Benny and Joon innocence and a hint of Sweeney Todd madness- which makes him a perfect fit for this role.

    2) Alice- It is true, I actually did love her this much. She was sweet, innocent, whimsical and beautiful. I loved her as Alice. I admired her for her ability to stand out amongst the absolute stellar cast of this film. I especially loved all her crazy outfits in the film. Mia Wasikowska has a long and prosperous career ahead of her and with Alice as a first, I can't even start to imagine her future film roles.

    3) The Red Queen- Helena Bonham Carter should get more credit for her acting genius. Thank god for her boyfriend Tim Burton who never manages to fail in giving her the perfect roles, which range from a futuristically primitive ape, a poor mother, a corpse bride, a human-flesh meat pies baker and a dreaded childhood fantasy queen in this case. She was kick-arse as the Red Queen. She can play the evil, barbaric and yet lovesick and easily amused monarch any day. And also say the phrase, "Off with their heads!" perfectly. Burton excellently Supersizes her head to imply her hatred of heads; and ofcourse, I don't think anyone could have pulled off a head so big with a performance so matched as Helena Bonham Carter.

    4) Cheshire Cat- Stephen Fry!!!! How amazing is this guy and how brilliant is his voice. I think, if a poll was to be taken everyone will choose the Cheshire Cat as their favourite character, after Mad Hatter obviously. We love the elusive cat and can't get enough of his enchanting voice.

    5) The White Queen- She was I think the biggest surprise. I always thought of the White Queen to be like those awful fairy princessy characters we see in films. But rather, she was an emo-looking monarch with a twisted head for potion-making and weird hand posture. Then again, Burton had put the lovely Anne Hathaway for the role and I have always known that she can do anything. Though I prefer her fresh and dainty, I like this gothic white face, dark lipstick and hollow eyes look too. And I liked how she made her voice seem much older than she is. I really enjoyed her character in th film.

    6) Blue Caterpillar- Alan Rickman's voice is I think the most iconic British voice ever. It signifies a deep wisdom, caring and undermining at the same time, with a bit a magic. and that's exactly what we needed for the opium(?) smoking Blue Caterpillar. I am so happy that he is also becoming a recurring person in Burton films.


    The others were good too but I loved the above mentioned best.


    Now what is the point of all this if I do not talk about the brilliant visionary and filmmaker who brings such fantasies to life. I called it Burtonland because Tim Burton managed to mix his twisted vision with the story wonderfully. The topiary animals, the twisted trees, the heads in the moat, the make-up and the costumes, the care of making sure that a character is never left out and all the magic in it- only Burton can do it. I have loved him and his movies for a long time. I love his nightmares and towns and characters and Johnny Depp-loveness. And because we share the same birthday. The best thing I love about him though is that he is such a Romantic beneath all that gore. The end of the film sees a blue butterfly flying away, showing Alice's freedom and her Wonderland going with her as that is the metamorphosed Absulum. Lovely.


    Though I loved the film, I cannot deny the fact that it could have been a bit better, especially the ending as it reminded me of a lot of fantasy films like Harry Potter and Lord Of The Rings. I would give it an 8.5 if I were to rate it, but I think I am too trivial to do such a thing.

    May the Depp-Burton relationship last forever!