Tuesday, April 1, 2014

HAPPY NEW MONTH! Wrapping Up March 2014

I hate April jokes so this will be a more serious kind of introduction;
 Some people dislike talking about their age, or lie about it if the topic is forced upon them. Others love discussing how 'Your only as old as you feel like'. I know that just having turned 19, I'm not really in a position to join this discussion, but personally, I don't care much about growing older. It has its pros and its cons, but I'm really on Woody's side here: „Look at all these people, trying to stave off the inevitable decay of their bodies“ (Hannah and Her Sisters). I just don't get all these people going all crazy on their bodies, like one of my fellow ballet dancing ladies who can't make a day without jogging or she'll feel fat (even if the day includes a 2h ballet practice). Birthdays in themselves are great though - you get to be the center of the attention completely for one day, you're probably lucky to receive at least one great gift (a lot in my case - thanks everybody!) and you have a valid reason for partying. In fact, this whole month was a kind of celebration - of some unseen classics, my new love for the Muppets and the last weeks of high school. Cheers!


WATCHED FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME




FACK JU GÖHTE (2013) 7.3 | Not at all bad for a German comedy. A bit misogynist but there's a lot of male attractiveness to make up for that. THE LEGEND OF BHAGAT SINGH (2002) 7.6 | Almost balanced the patrionism well enough for me to appreciate it. Ajay Devgn delivers a stand-out performance. UMRAO JAAN (1981) 8.3 | I'm very much in love with Rekha-ji once again. GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN (1985) 7.1 | Maybe it's time to give Sarah Jessica Parker another try - she's not that bad! HARISHCHANDRACHI FACTORY (2009) 8.3 | Very cute regional Indian movie about the roots of Indian cinema. CHICAGO (2002) 8.8 | How do people dislike this movie? It's fantastic! Intelligent, spectacular, meta - it's got everything you could hope for. THE MUPPET MOVIE (1979) 9.0 | I never liked the Muppets as a child and now I get why - I love them as an adult! NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) 9.1 | I was long due to start fancying Cary Grant. Mission accomplished. AMERICAN HISTORY X (1998) 9.9 | Get out of here. THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER (2010) 6.0 | Meh, meh, meh. THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER (1981) 7.2 | Not a Muppet favorite but I liked a lot of the puppetry involved. THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL (1992) 8.7 | Definitely a future christmas favorite. It was weird watching it on a sunny spring day though. THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN (1984) 8.2 | The Muppets give their take on musicals - hell yes, I'm in. MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND (1996) 8.0 | Tim Curry, we miss you so much! MUPPETS FROM SPACE (1999) 7.4 | Rather mediocre and unnecessary. Had a couple of good moments though. THE MUPPETS (2011) 9.0 | Everything I could've wished for in a Muppet movie - it's almost better than the first one. Life is a happy song! BELLE DE JOUR (1967) 8.2 | Apart from Catherine Deneuve being a goddess, I was fascinated by the references to cats.


RE-WATCHED WITH THE PURPOSE OF INTENSE EXAMINATION



HER (2013) 9.8 | What does one do when one gets the chance to watch this movie in theatres? One grabs it by its neck. SPRING BREAKERS (2012) 9.7 | What does one do when this DVD only costs 10EUR? One forgets about saving money. GRAVITY (2013) 9.5 | This one gave me the perfect idea for a YouTube channel but it'll have to wait and get better for a year. (The idea). THE CONJURING (2013) 9.3 | Still my second favorite horror film of all time. HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE (2005) 8.2 | Not so bad but I'm getting more and more angry at the things they left out.

AMOUNT OF FILMS WATCHED: 22 (FEBRUARY +5)
AVERAGE RATING: 8.4 (FEBRUARY -0.3)

SHORTS AND TELEVISION



SHORT: ANINGAAQ (2013) | Probably doesn't make sense without Gravity but it was a great addition to that experience. Also, it was filmed near where I was when I went to Greenland.

TV: BLACK BOOKS, ALL SEASONS (2000-04) | What a great discovery, I love it when people recommend shows to me. This is best when enjoyed with a glass of red wine - but actually it's brilliant at any time, in any situation. TRUE DETECTIVE FINALE (2014) | I hate to say that the show lost me a little bit in the middle but the last episodes were nothing but perfect. HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER, S9 (2014) | Without the end... couldn't make myself watch it yet. HANNIBAL (2014) | The murders are getting prettier with each episode.

I'M READING A BOOK



BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERS (2012) by Katherine Boo ***** | I will never be truly shocked by descriptions of any (but especially Indian) slums, but this wasn't relying on that either; it was a beautiful, honest study of the system outside the system with great characters. An interesting perspective as well - non-fiction disguised as fiction. A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME (1985) by Stephen Hawking ***** | If I could learn about the universe every hour of the day, I'd do it. This is mind-blowing stuff. And another reason to see that Cumberbatch movie. HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (2003) by J.K. Rowling | This is what happens when you're a Potterhead - you swallow 800+ pages in a week. Yummy. 

TIME FOR A VIDEO
Apparently, French people don't only make food and porn but food porn too. Not as in actual porn with food but commercial ads for pastry that have a lot of similarities to... well, porn.



Tell me about your month - or has everyone run off to their kitchens already?

8 comments:

  1. Wow, that’s quite the Muppets marathon you’ve been on! The only puppet movie by Jim Henson I’ve seen is Labyrinth (1986).
    "decay of the body", don’t be too tough on that ballet lady, maybe she puts on weight very easily, and has a low metabolism. Or maybe she is older with aches and pains, and jogging is about avoiding that discomfort. Exercise can be taken too far in the name of vanity, though, like you said.
    I love Black Books, E1 is hilarious to me. Dylan Moran also does stand-up, which I once watched on youtube. I would be interested to read your thoughts on Spike Jonze’s Her. Noticed Jaina at Time well Spent also read that Stephen Hawking book:
    http://time-wellspent.com/2014/03/28/books/never-stop-learning

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    1. Yep, I took the opportunity to join a LambCast on the franchise, so I could finally catch up. They're funny, I think you should watch some of them some time. Labyrinth is a childhood favourite but I haven't seen it in years.
      Oh well, I know but I just hate it when people *talk* about being fat etc. (not that she is). If you decide to exercise or go on a diet just do it and don't bother everyone talking about your real or unreal problems. And no, she's not that old. Anyway, enough of that.
      I heard a lot of people talk about Moran's stand up stuff, which supposedly is very different from Black Books. Oh yes, I will definitely write a post on Her some time, probably when I watch it for a third time (on DVD then). Thanks for pointing out the post; I'll check that out (don't know the blog).
      Thanks for you comment too!

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  2. I agree that Chicago it's way better than people think it is. It's actually one of my favorite musicals which is a genre I usually don't enjoy watching.

    It's amazing what they do with the murders on Hannibal. I saw a preview of this week's episode and it's something related to a tree which looks disgusting and beautiful at the same time. I hope some characters don't end up on the dish, that would be a shame.

    Regarding HIMYM, I don't know if it matters that much to see S9 because after seeing the finale which btw I liked. I am sure you will see it but it felt like a cheat after seeing what happens to Barney and Robin. What did you think of the finale without seeing the entire season? I for one felt disappointed wasting all that time for nothing, focusing on an event that didn't matter that much. I did like the final scene and I am waiting for the DVD release to check out the deleted scenes which promises some answers, at least that's what they said.

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    1. Yep, I was 99% sure I'd dislike it because all I had heard was people hating it. I'm a big fan of musicals but I don't think it matters in regard to the intelligence of this film.

      Hannibal is great - I'm excited for Mads Mikkelsen's sexy scene in the upcoming episode, but it's probably just a hallucionation or something.

      Well I have seen S9 of HIMYM except for the finale... And I'm very afraid, I heard a lot of bad stuff about it. Anyway, I don't have the time to watch it before tomorrow evening.

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  3. Great recap! I'm particularly thrilled you gave top marks for Gravity and Her, both made up my #1 and #2 film of 2013, respectively.

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    1. Thanks - Her was my #1 and I think Gravity is somewhere five-ish or so.

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  4. That goddamn food video. I've shown it to EVERYONE!

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Let the discussion begin!