"The real question is this: was all this legal? Absolutely not."- FAVOURITE EVERYTHING ELSE OF 2013

Just a mix of all my other favourites of the year. The favourite performances and favourite films lists are yet to come :)

• Ethan Wate, Beautiful Creatures- Because he talks about Titanic and Bukowski within 5 minutes of each other.
• Samantha, Her- She was just such an incredible person and, as weird as it may sound, so full of life.
• Shaikh, The Lunchbox- So simple and friendly. Both a common and an incredibly rare kind of man.
• Anna, Frozen- Because she wakes up like a normal female human.
• Gary King, The World's End- Even though I know he's kind of sad, Simon Pegg just infuses him with so much energy.
• Wadjda, Wadjda- Total badass heroine.
• Mason, Short Term 12- Just the way he connects to these troubled kids is amazing.
• Shannon Mullins, The Heat- Not just funny. But still, my god, soooo funny!
• Rosalyn, American Hustle- Because she's basically Jennifer Lawrence, and Jennifer Lawrence is awesomesauce.

Favourite Character of 2013- Frances from Frances Ha

Yes she's confused and whiny and all that, but she's also so likeable and funny and undateable. I love her.

• The Wolf of Wall Street- This would have been on the list on the basis of having Spike Jonze and Rob Reiner as part of the cast alone.
• Blue Jasmine- While our ladies shine the most, they are supported by a number of other fantastic actors.
• Nebraska- Ugh just look at those beautiful old faces!
• Prisoners- Though everyone doesn't get equal footing in terms of script, I thought all the actors did great work in this.

Best Ensemble of 2013- This is the End

So many reasons this could have been awful, but the actors play caricatures of themselves and really elevate the movie.

• Kaijus, Pacific Rim- Who needs character development when you can have supremely cool-looking monsters?
• Ted Hendricks, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty- I love Adam Scott to death but good lord, he can play an excellent a-hole! I wanted to slap him so much.
• The Eppses, 12 Years A Slave- While most of the white characters in film can be included in this list, Mr. and Mrs. Epps were a special breed of terrifying, loathsome creatures.
• Danny McBride, This is the End- "The fucker's gots to GOOO!"
• Bathsheba, The Conjuring- In order for a horror movie to work, it needs something truly frightening and Bathsheba was just that. We never see her properly but her presence is scary enough.
• Loki, Thor: The Dark World- This is the 3rd year in a row Hiddles' Loki has made it into this list. That's because he always manages to steal the show in every scene he is in.
• Pigs, Upstream Colour- Because whaaaaaaaaaat?? My brain shut down every time they were on screen.
• Alien, Spring Breakers- No, he is not a "villain" villain but he is a bad guy, completely corrupted by his desire and greed.
• Smaug/Khan- 2013 was supposed to be Benedict Cumberbatch's year but that didn't happen because his big films didn't use him well. Still, he was a more than decent villain for his screentime in both The Hobbit: blahblah Smaug and Star Trek Into Darkness.

Biggest villain of 2013- Uncle Charlie from Stoker

Oh he is just so sinister AND attractive. Forget India, I was confused by these feelings myself. And the film really just basks in Matthew Goode's gargantuan sex appeal.

• Gypsy Danger, Pacific Rim- It's mindblowingly amazeballs and it comes with a sword!
• Jonah Hill's teeth, The Wolf of Wall Street- They're a thing of beauty, aren't they?
• The clothes, Laurence Anyways- From that showstopping gown to those raining scarves- ugh I want it all!
• Milky Way, This is the End- We all want a bite of that Milky Way, and I don't even like Milky Way.
• Nail polish, Spring Breakers- It is literally a trend maker. Love it.
• The Gos' arms, Only God Forgives- I *might* have made this list just for this entry. But seriously, look at them.
• The video game, Her- Theodore's lonely life is reflected in the video game. It is both funny and tragic.
• The shoes, Stoker- When are a pair of shoes not just a pair of shoes? Also, I adore them.
• The lunchbox, The Lunchbox- That one lunchbox is sent to the wrong person, and lives are changed!

Favourite Object of 2013- The bicycle, Wadjda

Such a simple wish for a girl to have and to have so much riding on it, literally. It is a symbol and a ray of hope.

(newest addition, especially for 2013)

• Scarlett Johansson, Don Jon- Accompanied by her gum chewing, ScarJo sounds like something out of the Jersey Shore, but she still keeps it classy.
• Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine- It just sounds so affected, so made up. I love it.
• Margot Robbie, The Wolf of Wall Street- Kinda amazed that an Aussie can get that accent so right.
• James Franco, Spring Breakers- Franco just gives it his all. It's brilliant.

Favourite Accent of 2013- Emma Watson, The Bling Ring

I have been trying to learn it ever since the first teaser came out. It's hilarious.

Favourite Quotes of 2013

"Beautiful things don't ask for attention."- 13 FAVOURITE SHOTS OF 2013

And my absolute favourite shot from a 2013 movie is-

A lot has been said about how 2013 movies focused on the idea of the American dream and the way it has been corrupted. There were a number of films that showed excess, practically indulged in it, and then there was Alexander Payne's Nebraska. Shot in black and white, set in small towns which almost seem to have been forgotten, Nebraska shows the "other" America. 

You might wonder why someone like me would care about all this. Though I don't really give a hoot about America or its ideals or whatever, the whole concept of the American dream to me is basically a place where everybody gets to be somebody. We all have places like that in our lives, whether it's a college or a company or a city or a country, and all of us, no matter where we come from or what age we might be, still harbour the hope, or dream the dream, of getting there. 

Woody Grant wants to get to Nebraska to get his million dollars. He is an ordinary man and has been so throughout his life. Who knows what his dreams were. "I never knew the son of a bitch even wanted to be a millionaire!" as his firecracker of a wife exclaims at the beginning of the movie. We also find out, apart from a new truck and an air compressor, Woody's whole desire for getting the million dollars is to leave something behind for his sons. But in the moment above, when the customers at the local diner in his hometown start applauding him for his new apparent status, we see for the briefest of moments, Woody feeling like somebody who is important, probably for the first time in a long time. He is shown as someone who is barely aware of his surroundings half the time, but here, for a second, Woody glimpses at that dream where he has achieved something that makes people appreciate him. It is sad that this moment has come so late, and also oddly affirming that a man like Woody did get to feel that way at some point in his life. It is a moment caught between regret and hope and it is absolutely incredible.

There are technical things to appreciate too. I loved that Nebraska was shot in black and white because old people have such wonderful faces that can only be done justice to in monochrome. The poster had already highlighted the wispiness of Bruce Dern's hair in this movie and this shot really captures that too. Also, the bulb behind makes it look like Woody is in the limelight, which is in tune with what is written above.

"I am not formed by things that are of myself alone."- FAVOURITE SCENES OF 2013

        They're finally here! My "best of 2013" lists are go! I begin with my favourite scenes/sequences of the movies that released in 2013. Last year I divided this list into a normal Best Scenes list and a Best Action Scenes list but this time, it's back to being one list. 

P.S.- There are a lot of endings that have made their way into this list so SPOILERS of course!

P.P.S.-I am going to say right from the start that 2013 was a fantastic year for movies and all my lists are actually very long and I am only highlighting a part of them, so please don't think that I don't appreciate the things that haven't made it into my lists.

Honourable mentions: The dance scene in The Heat, the Gos gets his ass kicked in Only God Forgives, "Let It Go" in Frozen.

10.

 Westray dies in The Counselor

One the whole, I found The Counselor to be dull and forgettable, except for one fantastically shot and freakishly creepy death scene towards the end. This mode of killing was described earlier in the movie and seeing it executed is both brutal and thrilling. Brad Pitt does excellent dying man acting too. Best death scene of the year :)

9.

Ryan gets detached in Gravity

This scene stood out the most for me on my first viewing of Gravity and it *almost* distracted me from the enjoying the rest of the movie because I was that floored by it. In one single take, the kind that the duo of Emmanuel Lubezki and Alfonso Cuaron have become famous for, we see Sandra Bullock's Ryan Stone spiraling into space and how the camera moves closer and closer to her until we start seeing from her perspective and then it moves back out again. It's absolutely gobsmacking, visually, thematically and emotionally. Bravo.

8.

Barrel of monkeys in Iron Man 3

Some time at the beginning of 2013, Iron Man 3 was my favourite movie of the year and this scene had contributed a lot to that (admittedly I had seen about 5 movies at that point). As fun as Jaegars and Kaijus fighting each other was, this is THE action sequence of the year in terms of pure action, thrill, innovation and just delight. We actually fear for those people's lives and it is amazing to see Iron Man save them in such a way, along with that hilarious twist at the end of it.

7.

The ending of Captain Phillips

Captain Phillips is a very tense movie that keeps you enthralled throughout, barely letting you catch a breather and it is the same way for the characters in it, especially Tom Hanks' Captain Phillips. We see all the hardships that he goes through, protecting his ship from the Somali pirates and then being kidnapped by them, and how he still remains stable and calm. We almost wonder at his resilience to these incredible events, but then, right at the end, he lets go. And its shattering. I dare you to watch that scene without crying.

6.

Going to The World's End in The World's End

Gary King and his two musketeers come face-to-face with the Network at the last bar of their epic bar crawl and the one-liners that are unleashed have to be seen/heard to be believed.

It is the ultimate scene about defiance. Beatiful.

"Go back to Legoland, you cunts!"

5.

Frances' speech in Frances Ha

I was tempted to put the awesome dance-y run across New York streets set to David Bowie's "Modern Love" here, but I was left with my mouth hanging open and my heart completely gone when Greta Gerwig's Frances explains to some people at a dinner party what she wants in life. 

"It's that thing when you're with someone and you love them and they know it, and they love you and you know it, but it’s a party! And you're both talking to other people and you're laughing and shining and you look across the room and catch each other's eyes. But not because you’re possessive or it's precisely sexual but because that is your person in this life. And it's funny and sad but only because this life will end. And it's this secret world that exists right there in public unnoticed that no one knows about. It’s sort of like how they say that other dimensions exist all around us, but we don't have the ability to perceive them. That’s what I want out of a relationship or just life, I guess."

When movies manage to explain something that you know to be true but have never articulated, it's just the best thing ever. I cried.

4.

The ending of This is the End

I am not going to write about it in case someone who has not watched the movie is reading this post. All I am going to say is that I was ASTONISHED, SHOCKED, SURPRISED, FUCKING MINDBLOWN at it. Never expected it in a million years and god, it was heavenly ;-) 

3.

The piano duet in Stoker

Holy moly, I have never been aroused more in a scene that doesn't involve Ryan Gosling, ever. It's sinister and sexy. The chemistry between Mia Wasikowska and Matthew Goode is fantastic. The fact that nothing happens makes it even more eroticised. Musical notes and sexual tension heightening together to reach a crescendo, oh my!

2.

Lemmons in The Wolf of Wall Street

I am taking into account the full sequence from the Country Club to Jordan saving Donnie's life because I can. Everything, from the way Leonardo DiCaprio distorts his face when the lemmons trip starts, to the way he crawls, to the never ending steps in the Country Club, to the opening of the car door, to him screaming nonsense on the phone, to him fighting Jonah Hill's equally tripped out Donnie, to Donnie stuffing his face with salami because why not, to the juxtaposition of Popeye eating his spinach and Jordan snorting his coke- it is all part of the funniest sequence of the whole year. It's crazy and unbelievable and rip-roaringly hilarious and man, Leo is officially the modern master of physical comedy. I can't imagine the state of the set on the days this whole sequence was shot.

1.

"Everytime" in Spring Breakers

Even a doped out Leonardo DiCaprio opening his Lamborghini with his legs cannot trump this scene in terms of what-the-fuck-ness. As funny as this scene is, what with James Franco's Alien showing his sensitive side by playing and singing "Everytime" by Britney Spears, "one of the greatest singers of all time, an angel if there ever was on this earth," on his white grand piano while the sun sets to inspire a trio of girls in leopard-print monokinis and pink ski masks to go rob spring breakers followed by the actual, rather violent robbing, it simultaneously subverts and pays an ode to pop culture, which is what I love about it the most. Think 20-30 years ago, such a scene would have been set to classical music and it would have been big men carrying out these armed robberies. But the world is changing and pop culture is changing and the American dream is changing and the scene captures all that, amidst some of the most beautiful cinematography of the year. It is monumental.

This is a Poster-Appreciation Life- 2013 edition

Who doesn't love a good poster? 2013 movies had some pretty remarkable poster though I am really starting to feel that official posters aren't half as fun or creative as the teaser ones. You'll see.

First, let's start with the boring stuff-

At least August: Osage County's one sheet is somewhat funny but there really isn't any imagination put in either of these posters. Just stills from the movie. Even the fonts are dull.

In contrast, these three just hit the nail on their USPs without getting boring. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues is about Ron Burgundy and the mustache *is* kind of a big deal when it comes to him.

In case of the one sheet of The Kings of Summer, though the tagline is larger than the name of the film, it shows that this film is about a bunch of boys having fun in the nature and it really captures that spirit, which was what made the film so enjoyable.

And All is Lost is simply put 'Robert Redford stranded on a boat' and again, the poster is really showing that.

Somebody at Marvel got stingy-

I actually liked the Iron Man 3 poster when it came out but COME ON! More imagination, please?

Character posters galore-

Every film nowadays has a character poster set. While I do think it was necessary for something like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 2 as it was the end of a major franchise that had so many people in it, I think in most other cases, they're just kind of bleh.

The Great Gatsby character posters, for those literary nerds who *really* wanted a Myrtle Wilson poster. I won't be too mean about it though because the poster with Isla Fisher's Myrtle is my favourite among these.

And American Hustle of course. LOOK! SPARKLE, HAIR AND CLEAVAGE! TA DAAAA!!! Again, I happen to love the ones with the ladies and I actually feel that this film probably only needed character posters and not a normal movie one.

Posters I really like because of their colour-

This too uses an image from the movie itself but the shades make it romantic and wistful. 

Xavier Dolan is some insane prodigy when it comes to colour. The film was gorgeous and so is this poster. 

It's the most elusive one sheet of the year, but it's just so captivating! Something about the blue-grayness of the eyes against that shirt and the background. And of course, Joaquin Phoenix's face is magical.

I could have never guessed what the movie was about if I had just seen this poster, but it's alluring. And I like that it has colour. And Frances is dancing :)

There were a number of posters for Blue is the Warmest Colour but this one is my favourite. Mostly because of the blue, on both the background and in Lea Seydoux's hair. It's straightforward and eye-catching.

And the (almost) monochrome beauties-

I just really like the simplicity and the starkness of these two.

A thousand silhouettes...

Though both these films ended up being meh, I like how the posters capture the iconographies of their respective franchises. Superman's speed, his cape, and the way both of them sort of merge make a rather striking one sheet for our man of steel. And while the movie kind of wasted Benedict Cumberbatch's Khan (spoilers?), this Star Trek Into Darkness poster emphasizes on his destructiveness well and of course there is the cool Starfleet sign amidst all that.

Tease away: Why weren't these the official posters again?

A lot of people complain about the shallowness of the character of The Bling Ring but Sofia Coppola had warned us from the beginning. You don't even need to see their faces. Their designer shades tell all.

This poster is hilarious. Yes, it kinda sorta encapsulates the father-son theme of the movie, but I almost wish the movie was about biker Ryan Gosling taking care of a baby. That would've been fun.

My favourite thing about The Wolverine was how comparatively small scale it was and how that helped focus most of the story on Hugh Jackman's legendary mutant. I like the simplistic yet powerful approach on this teaser poster too.

Disney-fied-

Much like the Man of Steel and Star Trek Into Darkness posters above, both these posters evoke the spirit of Disney, though in very different ways. I think the Saving Mr. Banks one sheet is adorable. Some of my most favourite moments in the movie was whenever it referenced Mary Poppins and this poster shows that. And the Escape from Tomorrow one is plain cool. I want it on my wall even though I have little-to-no interest in watching the movie.

Disappointing movies with great posters-

By far the most disappointing movie of last year, and I *do* blame the posters partly for my raised expectations.

(PS. this isn't the last mention of Only God Forgives in this list)

This is such a crazy one sheet but it's awesome too. Unfortunately, the film only got the first part right.

Coming to my absolute favourites of the year...

Again, the teaser posters rule. The actual Catching Fire posters, character or otherwise, are very generic and blah, but these two teaser posters are stunning. I love the colours in the first and the details in the second. Shame the studios don't run with the more artistic one sheets.

Spring Breakers had a plethora of posters. My favourite is yet to come but these two beauties came close too. I like how different both these posters are in a way, from the font to the feel, and how both apply to the movie. Spring Breakers is a movie that defies definition, hence giving so many options for various kinds of posters.

And now, my top 3-

I still love this poster, no matter what my feelings towards the movie are. It's got the Gos; it's bloody, weird and straight up unforgettable. The movie is *kind of* like that but in a bad way. Ah well.

AND TIE FOR #1!

I can't choose between these two. I absolutely adore both of them. The Spring Breakers one is cheeky, colourful and totally amazeballs in its girly violent spirit, much like the movie. And just the intricacies and attention to detail in the Stoker poster are astounding. I love the thought put into both of them. Brilliant!

And that's it. What did you think? Which 2013 poster was your favourite?

Thoughts

       I know I keep changing the day of publishing these posts but I am really going to try and keep it on Sundays from now on. Anyways, here are my movie thoughts-

1) David Fincher will direct the pilot of Utopia, the American remake of a British series of the same name about a group of people who find a cult graphic novel called "The Utopia Experiments" that predicts all sorts of disasters and try to stop them while an organisation called The Network is set out to intercept their attempts. This sounds like a pretty cool project and Gillian Flynn, the author of Gone Girl, will also be involved as a producer. I just read Gone Girl and absolutely loved it and am now super duper excited for the movie adaptation, being directed by Fincher of course. The most amazing thing is that I am now totally for the Ben Affleck casting- it's perfect! Ditto with Neil Patrick Harris. Flynn seems like a really talented writer and I can't wait to read her other novels. Fincher is the ideal director for this movie. I can imagine it being something with Fight Club-esque narration, editing a la The Social Network, badass heroine/twisted leads like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and it also has a lot to do with crime and media so bits of Se7en and Zodiac too. And also the new ending is something to look forward to. After reading the novel, it has jumped up to being #2 on my most anticipated 2014 films list (since we're never going to get any promotional stuff for How to Catch A Monster EVER. Wtf, Gos?). Yaay!!

2) Greta Gerwig will write, produce and star in How I Met Your Dad, a spin-off show of How I Met Your Mother. This is a bit depressing. Gerwig was so excellent in Frances Ha, both as the lead and co-writer, that to see her in a spin-off television show is kind of shocking. I do like that she's writing and producing and hence she'll have more control on the show, which is apparently about a "female Peter Pan" whose one-year marriage is now failing. This actually doesn't sound a great deal like How I Met Your Mother but the fact that it will be on CBS is apparently a bad idea ('apparently' because I don't really know or care about American networks unless they are HBO). We'll see how this goes.

3) Ellen Page, who came out earlier this week (yaaay, go Juno!), will star in Freeheld, a movie based on the documentary of the same name about a woman, Stace Andree, who was denied pension benefits of her longtime partner, Laurel Hester, when the latter became terminally ill. Page will play Andree and Julianne Moore will play Hester. Zach Galifianakis will also join the cast as the activist Steve Goldstein who helps Andree in her court battle. Peter Sollett, who directed Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, is going to be at the helm. This is a pretty neat cast and it will be nice to see Page doing interesting roles again.

4) Have you guys read the alternative ending to Gravity? Sheesh, bleak stuff! The entire interview with Alfonso Cuarón is quite interesting actually. Also, the Jack O'Connell interview is pretty cool. It's nice to see someone so figured out and not blind after fame and stuff, though I do think this is going to be a huge year for him.

5) All the Best Original Song nominees (minus "Alone Yet Not Alone" obviously) will sing at the 86th Academy Awards come March 3rd. The one I am most excited about is this one-

My crush on Spike Jonze grows daily. I wish he would play on Oscar day too.

6) Trailers- The second trailer of Transcendence has Johnny Depp upping the creepy. I do like the idea of him being the baddie and Rebecca Hall and Paul Bettany being the heroes. The teaser of Tammy is fucking hilarious. Melissa McCarthy is a comic god.

7) Finally, I know I have to find like new hot people to put on this blog every week but just look at Benedict Cumberbatch!!!

Cumberbatch looks younger than I am and he was in his early-to-mid 30s then! How do these Brits do it, man? Also, I really want Martin Freeman's jumper.

Byeeeeeee!