My Top 10 Films of 2011, Somewhat

      The end of 2011 is nigh, and all I can do is make a list. That too an incomplete one as nothing releases where I am. Anyways, let me present to you the list-

Note: There is no honourable mentions in this one as some of them may make it to the final top 20, which will be posted along with my favourite performances and scenes of the year.

Special Mention

Delhi Belly (Dir: Abhinay Deo)

The best Bollywood film I saw this year. I even considered to put it in the final list, but I felt it was not as good as the rest. Still it was bloody ballsy and very entertaining, and I hope it brings about a revolution in Indian cinema for the better.

10.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (Dir: Steven Spielberg)

I really enjoyed this film, and I didn't even like the Tintin comics. Spielberg brings all the Indiana Jones-esque energy and splendour into the film. Also, Snowy!

9.

Submarine (Dir: Richard Ayoade)

It's so cute and quirky and adorable- I wish I had made it. One of the simplest and funniest coming-of-age films I have seen, and ugh that Alex Turner soundtrack is just beautiful.

8.

We Need to Talk About Kevin (Dir: Lynne Ramsay)

Bloody creepy film that just gets under your skin. What was really brilliant was how unnerving all the Kevins were. And Tilda Swinton gives a fantastic performance too.

7.

Martha Marcy May Marlene (Dir: Sean Durkin)

A most unsettling, yet beautiful looking film. It is the debut of both Durkin and Elizabeth Olsen, who just blew me away with her extremely natural and superb acting.

6.

The Tree of Life (Dir: Terrence Malick)

Easily one of the most visually stunning films I, or anyone else has ever seen. I am among the people who was mostly blown away by the core story of the American family growing up in the 50s, and not so much by the cosmic stuff. Still, the beauty in this is just staggering.

5.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (Dir: David Yates)

Oh my childhood :'( I still have issues with it, but I cannot deny that it is a brilliant end to the beloved series. With the music and Professor McBadass and Neville and the emotional impact and Daniel Radcliffe's best performance in the series, it had to be in my list.

4.

A Separation (Dir: Asghar Farhadi)

I saw this only a couple of days back. Didn't want to like it, but ended up loving it- true story. What an impactful drama, and so well made and acted.

3.

Hugo (Dir: Martin Scorsese)

This film just killed me- there's no other way to put it. Yes there is the childlike wonder and the mystery of the automaton, but what it really is is a love-letter to cinema by one of the greatest living film makers. How can a young film-lover like me not be touched?

2.

Drive (Dir: Nicolas Winding Refn)

Yes, it really is that good. Refn has made one helluva stylish film and also made Ryan Gosling a bona fide star. One cannot watch this enough times. Just put it on repeat and be mindblown.

1.

Midnight in Paris (Dir: Woody Allen)

My favourite film maker returned with a bang and a nostalgic tale that will enchant everyone. I always believed that Paris is magical, but Woody's take on that makes it so much more. Funny, heartwarming, gobsmacking, unforgettable, brilliant- Midnight in Paris people!

And there you have it :D

Thoughts

1) Last Weekly Thoughts post of 2011, and as luck would have it, it's going to be a rather short one. The most important thing released all of this week has been the poster of the 84th Academy Awards. O.o Sparkly. I've seen 6 out of the 8 films on it; will see the others at some point. February 26 will be interesting. I hope they at least invite the Harry Potter cast- they did invite Robert Pattinson when Twilight became the "worldwide sensation" it is.

2) Speaking of Harry Potter- Daniel Radcliffe is going to host Saturday Night Live in January! Wooo hooo!! Good on him- I'm pretty excited as he is my favourite person in the world :D

3) I forgot to talk about the "award-worthy" films I saw last week. I saw Senna, which has unfortunately not qualified for the Best Documentary Oscar. It was pretty good, and I hope gets considered for Best Editing as that film is nothing without the editing. Which gets me to thinking, which films are being awarded for Editing? I think Hugo is somewhere there, along with Senna. I saw Contagion yesterday, and felt the editing was rather decent. I haven't seen The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo yet, but Fincher flicks are right at the top with the editing. The other films that I saw this week are The Skin I Live In and A Separation, both of which are foreign language films. The former is not being considered or something, so that is a shame. It was creepy, but I liked it all the same. The latter is the front-runner in the Best Foreign Film category, which is freaking fantastic as I could not agree more. In all honesty, I did not want to like this film because I am weird like that, but my god- I think it is the closest thing to The Social Network I have seen all this year in terms of the perfection. Yes TSN was all hip and greedy, filled with the brilliant music and the one-liners, and A Separation is a drama of a world that many of us are not very familiar with, having themes like divorce, parenthood, class, morality, religion, but it is equally well-executed and flawless. It was very interesting- the world depicted in it is not all that foreign to me as it would be to some viewers, I guess, so I could understand it pretty well, but at the same time it also challenged some of the things I thought I knew. Excellent film.

4) I was going to write a major 2011 mini reviews post, but I think I'll cover some of the things in my unofficial top 10, so it will just be like repeating stuff. Don't you love my reasoning when it comes to actually working instead of being super-lazy? (I see a new year resolution here somewhere).

5) Some of my friends today were discussing the whole "world ending in 2012" thing, but all of us decided we cannot die before watching The Hobbit. Ah Martin *heart*! Also, Sherlock season 2 starts on 1st January, so yesssss!

6) Finally, the Year of the Gos is ending. Here's to Year of the Gos 2.0 with this video and this absolute gem of a photo-

Ah, my man.

Ah, my man.

Oops I did it again.

See you on the other side folks! Byeee :D

Thoughts

A bit late, sorry. Here are the thoughts-


1) Let's start with trailers because it was THE BEST WEEK OF TRAILERS EVER!! I mean Wrath of the Titans people- Yaaaaayy!! No I'm kidding ofcourse, because that film is a joke. First up, we have the last part of Christopher Nolan's epic Batman trilogy The Dark Knight Rises. OMG it's awesome!! So I had been dying to get a glimpse of Catwoman because I am just the biggest fan of her portrayal by Michele Pfeiffer, and Anne Hathaway looks and sounds brilliant! Yes, it's a bit too much like Batman Returns, with the ball and all, but who cares? And I like Bane finally. People have issues with the voice, but I thought it was fine and like seriously, Nolan has toppled over cities in his films; he can handle voice issues pretty adeptly, I am sure. Then there is the trailer to Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey- OMFG it's awesomer!! Martin Freeman looks spot on fantastic as Bilbo Baggins, and it's great seeing old favourites like Gandalf, Galadriel, Gollum and the One Ring. I've missed Middle Earth, though it will take a whole year till we go there properly. These two are among my most anticipated films of next year. There were other trailers too- Bel Ami, which is Robert Pattinson's next. It looks okay-ish. I like onscreen playboys, so it will probably become a guilty pleasure. Lastly, there's the teaser to Ridley Scott's Prometheus. I've started watching the Alien films, and I do not think this film will be my cup of tea due to my wuss-nature. However, my Fassy fever knows no bounds and I'll probably still watch it.


2) Okay it's a bit late to have this outburst, but WHY THE FUCK WAS HARRY POTTER NOT NOMINATED FOR BEST ENSEMBLE IN SAG AWARDS?! There was Prof McBadass brilliance in this also :'( Stupid award voters and their low opinion of children movies. It is because they are all dead inside and their soul is as shriveled up as an ugly raisin.


3) Couple of days back I saw Juno and Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. Does anyone else miss Michael Cera? I dooo. I also want him to re-team with Edgar Wright. Can't there be more Scott Pilgrim films? I mean 2011 was a good year film-wise, but there was nothing like Scott Pilgrim, so that's a big fat fail.


4) Stevee Taylor of Cinematic Paradox got me on a Harry Potter high again, with her Harry Potter marathon. It'll be weird seeing all the films over the course of like a week. I cannot imagine it. I'm going to be doing a somewhat similar thing next year, when I see all the original Star Wars movies. I have a good feeling I'll hate them and not really understand them, but I look forward to be proven wrong (hopefully).


5) Are there other series like these that I need to watch? I'll be dabbling in Westerns also. And I have to see the 1939 films. Help all ye more knowledgeable folk!!


6) Finally- this is the best Christmas tree ever-

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Be good kids :D

Byeeee. Falalalala.

My Favourite and Least Favourite LoTR Characters

        In celebration of the release of the first The Hobbit trailer this morning, this list seems only apt. Also I recently finished watching the extended versions of The Lord of the Rings films. So basically I'm on a Middle Earth-high, and currently want to marry Martin Freeman. I mean seriously, move over Andrew Garfield! This man is a book-lover's wet dream (yes I know he's probably already married but I refuse to check). I'm Mrs. Dent Watson Baggins Freeman from now! Yaayy!!


         Anyways, this list is based on the films and not the books, which I read in 7th grade and that also only the first one and half of the second. I do so love the films, and I like almost all the characters in it save a few. These are my least favourite and favourite characters from The Lord of the Rings movies.


My least favourite characters-

5) Grima Wormtongue (played by Brad Dourif)-

Grima is just creepy. He takes over poor Theoden's mind and rules his kingdom following Saruman's orders, and fancies the pretty Eowyn. He just reminds me of tentacles. Ew.

4) Saruman (played by Christopher Lee)-

I didn't like Saruman because I felt nothing for him. He was not the least bit scary in the film. He was just there. This much indifference, for a character as powerful as him, is never a good thing.

3) Denethor (played by John Noble)-

He was just so repulsive a character. A man driven mad by power, and clearly one of the worst fictional fathers of all time. He is just horrible.

2) Orcs (played by men who don't mind looking like that)-

I saw my first LoTR film, The Two Towers, when I was in fourth grade and I was genuinely terrified of them (though I got more freaked out by the Aragorn-Arwen kisses then :P). Orcs are just the grossest, scariest, most inhumane race ever.

1) Frodo Baggins (played by Elijah Wood)-

I'm sorry, but Frodo just annoys the hell out of me. He's such a whiny little bitch. Okay yes he has the One Ring around his neck blah blah blah, but it's not my fault that his irritating and stupid side is the one I am subjected to. I really would fast-forward all his scenes were it not for Sam and Gollum and the others.

And now my favourite characters-


Honourable mentions- Theoden, Gimli, Elrond, Éomer, Treebeard.

10) Galadriel (played by Cate Blanchett)-

I just love her. I am probably as taken aback as Gimli is with her, The narration, the crazy power thing in The Fellowship of the Ring, the peaceful look on her face always... I would follow her everywhere, definitely.

9) Faramir (played by David Wenham)-

I absolutely adore Faramir. He was so unloved and unrewarded, but he went past all that and became a great soldier, and certainly a fantastic man.

8) The One Ring/ Sauron-
I so want one (minus the Dark Lord influences). I love the simplicity of the look of the ring, and all the darkness it just brings with it. Every scene with the ring in it, is always dominated by it.

7) Gandalf (played by Sexgod Sir Ian McKellen)-
Isn't he just the best?! He's brave and kind and funny and quirky, and so so powerful. He would be just the most brilliant mentor.

6) Samwise Gamgee (played by Sean Astin)-
The bestest friend of them all. Though there are theories of homosexuality here (and I do agree with them till an extent), the basic fact is that Sam is the kind of friend that one can only pray for. He will never leave your side, and always help you and make you laugh and protect you. Frodo was sooo lucky Sam put up with his shit.

5) Aragorn (played by Viggo Mortensen)-
He is one of my most favourite literary kings ever. A true underdog in the world of men, with all of the power and responsibility and possible doom thrust upon him, who really rose to the occasion when required. A mighty warrior and a fine friend. Thank god Mortensen was finally cast for this... noone can open doors quite like he does *wink*.

4) Gollum (played by Andy Serkis)-

Serkis and Peter Jackson together brought a revolution in modern cinema with Gollum. He was just so amazingly made. I think Gollum is one of the most tragic characters in literature and film. I do feel sorry for all that he endured, and he really tries to be saved. 

I will even go as for to say that this is the best performance of the entire series of the films.

3) Merry and Pippin (played Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd respectively)-
I love Merry and Pippin! I think of all the characters, I am most like Pippin. I cannot think of them separately, though they each bring something different to the stories. Merry is the more sensible one, who unfortunately always gets left behind but shows great valour on the battlefield. Pippin is the honest fool, as Gandalf said, and does get into a lot of trouble, but only because of his curiosity. He has a pure heart and always helps in his own way.
Both of them together have some of the best lines in the films.

2) Éowyn (played by Miranda Otto)-

With the whole series revolving around the bravery and the hunger for power of men, this one woman steals the show for me. She is beautiful and humble and kind and so very brave. Éowyn is a role model. She needs independence even at the time of battle and distress and hates that her gender comes in the way. Still, she does prove herself more than worthy on the battlefield.

The scene when she kills the Witch-King, with the whole "I am no man" is a huge favourite of mine, one which always results in me screaming "GIRL POWER YESSSS!" She really is the best of the human race.

1) Legolas (played by Orlando Bloom)-
I could not help this. I really wanted to give the top spot to Sam for his undying friendship or Aragorn for his bravery or Gollum for his tragedy or Éowyn for all the girl power, or anyone for any "proper" emotional impact, but Legolas is just so freaking coooool!! I go crazy in all of his scenes. I cheer. I clap. I scream.
Still, he is a great elf and an incredible archer. He is there in all the battles and really plays pivotal roles. He is  one part of  the Man-Elf-Dwarf trio. Also, that elephant scene in The Return of the King is my favouritest, because again, it's so freaking coooool!!
I even once wanted to name my future child Legolas. You cannot question my devotion... I am gaga for this elf.

Hope you liked it. Cannot wait for The Hobbit!

- Mrs. Dent Watson Baggins Freeman.

Two Years Old Now!

         It's been two years since I started this blog. I must admit the first year was completely random, and I was like a lost puppy since I hadn't read any film blogs and I really didn't know what to do. It was only towards the end of last year, when I accidentally, and thankfully, ventured into this film-blogging territory, with  the LAMB and all, that have been able to, somewhat, make something out of this blog.

           I had 7 lovely followers at Being Norma Jeane's first birthday, and now I have 45 more equally wonderful ones. It clearly goes to show that direction in blogging is required (I think there's a life-lesson in here somewhere...). I have become so much more knowledgeable now with regards to films though I still have a pretty long way to go. But my friends, the road seems like fun!

Some of the amazing bloggers who follow me, and who I follow-

Univarn at A Life at Equinox
Andy at Andy Buckle's Film Emporium
Castor and the team at Anomalous Material
Aziza at Aziza's Picks
Stevee at Cinematic Paradox
Anna at Defiant Success
Lesya at Eternity of Dream
Cherokee at Feminising Film
Jack at Jack L. film reviews
Ruth at ...let's be splendid about this...
Mette at Lime Reviews and Strawberry Confessions
Dylan and the team at Man I Love Films
Matt at Matt & the Art of Motion Pictures
Ryan at The Matinee
Larry at themoviesnob
M. Hufstader at The Smoking Pen
Everyone at The Large Association of Movie Blogs

And everyone who follows this wee blog of mine, THANK YOU SO VERY VERY MUCH!!

I'm sorry Globes...

but the Driver is not impressed-

 It would have been the perfect ending to the Year of the Gos, but alas both of Ryan Gosling's other performances from this year have gotten nominations and this beautiful silent visceral one, which is not only his best this year but probably of his entire career thus far, got snubbed.

Well atleast he'll look super faiiinnnneee in one of his sexy suits on Jan 15th, 2012. You lose some, you get some I suppose.