Why The Grand Budapest Hotel Is Definitely Worth a Visit

- http://thegrandbudapestrp.tumblr.com/

Aren't we all more or less attracted by shiny objects? As toddlers we were. In kindergarten we were. In high school we really were. And even though we're getting better at hiding and transferring this primal instinct, we still are: attracted by shiny objects.

Wes Anderson is one the most talented, living craftsmen who make shiny objects. He taps the sunshine, freezes the quicksilver and literally blows the dust from the treasures of ancient (European) families. I have talked about Wes Anderson and his films before, at length. With the surprising arrival of The Grand Budapest Hotel to a cinema "near" me, I finally have more to talk about. A wise man once said that it is "the most Anderson that Anderson ever Andersoned" or something among those lines, and it's about the truest thing you could say about this film. It has the carefully and lovingly designed sets that create an atmosphere of a doll's house, the craziest... oh well, there's no evading the word, quirkiest characters, played by the most hyped actors. It has the props, the songs and the poetry. And - this is probably the most important thing - it has Europe. If we're being very black-and-white about it, Hollywood produces glamorous, entertaining movies while European films are thought-provoking and low-budget. Europe would not have made a film like The Grand Budapest Hotel. Nor would the United States. It's an inbetweener, a curious outsider, a cinematic weirdo. And that's part of why I love it so much.

The Grand Budapest Hotel is not just a film though, it is a place as well - and this is important to remember. It's a similarity that the film shares with Rushmore, The Darjeeling Limited and Moonrise Kingdom, which just so happen to be some of my favorite Wes Anderson movies. To be true, most of his movies are some of my favorite Wes Anderson movies. Still, his latest work stands out from the little crowd. It's a pink bubble of nostalgia, romance and Ralph Fiennes being funny. Shining bright till the credits. 

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

2013 • USA/ Germany • English/ French

director Wes Anderson

authors Wes Anderson, Hugo Guinness, (Stefan Zweig)

★ Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Tony Revolori, Saoirse Ronan

FINAL FRAME

„You're looking so well darling, you really are.“

Two Fantastic Tales from Germany and Japan

Join me as I make for a journey through time, space and the history of the cinematic fantasy genre...

Okay, maybe that introduction was a bit ambitious. What I am going to do is share two of my favorite fantasy films with you - two movies that share something essential, but couldn't be more different from each other. 

HAPPY NEW MONTH: Films of January 2013

The first year with four different numbers since 1987 has begun.

And with it, Award-o-mania, which took hold of me as soon as the Oscar nominations were announced. Having seen each film that's nominated for more than 1 of the precious statues, except for the ones that will be coming to our theaters in February, I'm kind of fed up with 2012 movies right now. It was a rewarding experience though, to watch all these films I had been anticipating, and most of them turned out quite all right. I'm also playing with the idea of hosting a little blogathon about award snubs, something I've been wanting to try for a long time now, except I'm a bit of a coward. If you all promise to consider joining I would take it up on Sunday though.

Otherwise I discovered an awesome tv series this month, with the side effect of me not wanting to watch movies anymore until I've finished the series. Furthermore, I just bought an HDMI cable today, so I'll be able to watch the rest of the series on my TV which is so cool! Not so cool for all the films that want to be watched, but whatever. 

At least I did manage to squeeze in a lot of them last month...

WATCHED FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME

Happy New Month: Films of December 2012

2012 is coming to an end, but I still don't have the feeling that it is...

I was just browsing through all the posts I wrote this year... it was definitely a good year. One of the best years ever. A beautiful year with many wonderful journeys, some new friends, a lot of great new art (movies, books etc.). 

And also blogging-wise, I think it was successful. There were of course times when I had to go on hiatus for a while, I even seriously considered closing the blog but then... I just couldn't. This is the only place where I can express myself without boundaries, writing-wise. Well, except for that novel I'm working - yeah, I said it. It was meant to be a secret but then I though I might as well share it with you... I don't know what the outcome is going to be, but I hope to write about two pages everyday from now on. That would mean the novel would be finished in about three months - I guess.

It's funny you know... just when I was thinking of letting go of that pressure to write something "big" (meaning "long(er)"), just waiting for the right feeling to come on a sports game (Murakami) or on the train (Rowling), the idea just came right out of nowhere. 

But enough about that... let's just see what the future will bring, shall we.

And until then, let's talk about movies.

WATCHED FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME

200 Motels (1971) Tony Palmer, Frank Zappa - USA

I really don't wanna know how many drugs went into the production of this movie... but at least now I have a quite exact idea of what it's like to be stoned. Watch it if you want something completely confusing and ridiculous.

5.0

Happy New Month: Films of November 2012

Yes, I'm still here. 

Hope you didn't miss me too much, but it's going to continue almost like this for a while. I'll try and write a little more, but I can't promise anything.

Good news is I'm getting back into my film-watching mood/ mode, which really satisfies me more than I would have thought. So even though I don't write much, I do watch more again.

I'm also in SUPER-CHRISTMAS-MOOD/ MODE!

Here's a song for the christmas mood - can't get it out of my head. Need to see Top Hat really soon.

And a video of the christmas choir I'm in, it's from last week. I think we're getting really good. (It's a danish/ scandinavian tradition that girls sing at christmas, with the white dresses and the lights).

Happy New Month: Films of October 2012

A while back, I read a book about a woman who thought that most of the time, less is more. Last month, I applied Coco Chanel's mantra to my movie watching habit.

I already wrote about the things I thought about last month, and my blogging plans for the future, so if you haven't read that yet, please do so. Also, happy birthday to the Large Association of Movie Blogs.

Here's a great tune to listen to while you read about the films I watched last month: 

The Thieving Magpie Abridged.

WATCHED FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME

Creep (2004) Christopher Smith - United Kingdom/ Germany

Happy New Month: Films of September 2012

The new month starts with an announcement: I will take a break from blogging for a few weeks. 

It's all going great at the time with statistic records, lovely comments and all that jazz. I want to thank you, as always, for joining the discussion of the amazing art of film, for you recommendations, criticism and everything else. My writing, I think, is getting better and better and I have written many things that I'm actually quite proud of. And I'm having fun doing it.

The reason why I want to take a break now, isn't because I want to stop doing what I love - writing - but because I want to do even more of it. I don't want to tell you too much, but I have a little project going on at the time and I would like to devote some more time to it. 

You might now that it's Lime Reviews' 2nd anniversary this month, the 22nd October. Of course I'll celebrate this a little, and update my 100 Favourite Films list some time. But otherwise I'll spend my fall holidays writing about something else than movie - and going to London, which is so great! I have a list of London-based movies I would like to watch, and I've already seen two of them, so at some time I will post something about these movies and my experience. 

Getting back to last month's movie experience: it has been a great month for movies. Especially my Journey to Wes Anderson Land has been a wonderful experience, and the first of its kind to me.

Here's what I've watched...

WATCHED FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME

A Clockwork Orange (1971) Stanley Kubrick - USA/ UK

Happy New Month: Films of August 2012

You guys are simply too awesome!

Ever since March 2012, my stats have been going higher and higher each month, and I am so happy about this. Every new month is truly a Happy New Month, so I want to thank everyone who has been following and reading the ramblings I put out here. Thank you.

As I said in the latest Pensieve post, my life is if not chaotic at least very stuffed at the moment, by which I mean that there are lots of things for me to do. Everything of this is my own choice off course - I want to get an education, a driver's license and so on - and yes, it's more important than blogging. If not, I guess I'd have to get worried about my life.

So there's a bit of cutting down on blogging, I'm satisfied if only I can post once a week next month. But like I know my readers, I'm sure you won't abandon this little blog.

Anyway, what's also more important than blogging about films? Watching films. And I've managed better than I thought to squeeze in a movie here and there, especially a lot of classics...

Happy New Month: Films of July 2012

It's never too late - I hope the fifth is okay for a monthly recap.

So, school starts again tomorrow after six wonderful weeks that just passed by. I went to a music festival for the first time in my life, went on a roadtrip with a friend for the first time in my life... hey, I even managed to finally see The Avengers!

I didn't care about not seeing many movies, because there are things more important than cinema in my life (by the way, that is my proudest piece of writing ever because I managed to express my inner chaos as close to perfectly as possible). At the same time these six weeks also revitalized my passion for this art - and for ballet too, in case you care - and I can't wait to dive into blogging, watching etc. again, although I'm also going to have to focus on school more this year as this is my 12th year (only two more until graduation, from now on).

Don't worry though, I'll try not to ever fully abandon the blog. There's even a slightly updated layout on its way. 

But firstly, here's what I watched last month - not much, but mostly good or okay stuff.  

Happy New Month: Films of June 2012

I can't go on calling every month legendary, can I?

Honestly, I'm afraid the bubble is going to burst some time... just like with the financial crisis. I'm on my way into a film crisis, am I not?

Whatever, I'll enjoy it as long as it lasts.

So, I watched a lot of films last month. No idea how or why I did it. Well, one reason is that I was trying to compensate for my lack of movie watching during the Roskilde music festival, which I attended at the start of July (who would've thought there'd be a cinema there!). Also, there movie I watch the more I want to see, and I had a lot of free time in the last weeks of school... so I stayed awake late and watched a whole bunch of classics and must-sees. 

I also bought many DVDs on the flee market, for example Ratatouille and Never Let Me Go, so I managed to finally re-watch them. The cherry on top of course was re-watching The Dreamers, an incredibly experience (no, I don't own the DVD yet, sadly). 

By the way, my stats were topped again, thanks to everybody who out of some reason stopped by and read one or two of my posts. I'm not really prolific, so I'm really thankful for the increase in followers and everything, really my heart makes a jump every time I see a new number (except when someone leaves of course). 

I hope you'll take the time and read about the record high of films I watched this month. 

Happy New Month: Films of May 2012

Topping my 36 films from last month wasn't my intention, but I did expect to have time for a little more than ("just") 26 films. I had some time being sick, but I mostly watched Desperate Housewives then...

But still, I managed to watch a few classics and films I've been wanting to watch for a long time. And then some quite bad films too, but that can't be avoided once in a while.

Although this month held another record in blog stats, I want to excuse for not posting the Fabulous Filmic Fashion Friday post the last two (?) Fridays - I've been extremely busy and/ or sick. I hope I'll have the next post ready for next week. 

Other announcements... well, I might not be able to post from the 22.06 - 09.07, but we'll see. I also changed the sidebar and post layout a little, I hope you like it.

Watched for the very first time:

(500) Days of Summer (2009) Marc Webb - USA

Exactly as fresh and entertaining as I had expected, but much funnier. I loved all the small details and the varying cinematography and other experiments, for example the scene that is shown at two different times with two different dialogues. Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levit are a couple made in heaven, and both play their parts very well. 

Rating: 9.2

Happy New Month: Films of April 2012

There's no other way to say it - April was epic. Never since I started counting in January 2011, have I seen so many films in one month, and I'm sure I didn't see as many before I started counting.
So that's the first epic thing.
Second one is that I managed to top my blog stats once more, plus I almost reached 60,000 hits on the total count!
And I watched 12 films from the 1001 list, which is pretty cool too, I think.

Last but not least, most of the films that I saw were really good, and I even managed to re-watch a few darlings. But read for yourself...
(And in case you haven't already, check out my updated 100 Favourite Films list).


Watched for the very first time:


A Wednesday! (2008) Neeraj Pandey - India | review
A surprisingly realistic and not religiously motivated film about terrorism with a superb performance by Naseeruddin Shah.
Rating: 8.6


All About Eve (1950) Joseph L. Mankiewicz - USA
I was truly taken aback by the turning point... Otherwise, who wouldn't fall for some old school Hollywood glamour?
Rating: 8.4

Amores Perros (2000) Alejandro González Iñárritu - Mexico
Been waiting to watch this film ever since I first heard of it - this director is starting to become one of my favourites (despite his exotic name). Wanted to write a review, but somehow I couldn't. Anyhow, this could soon make its way into my favourite list.
Rating: 9.4

Happy New Month: Films of March 2012

I feel this has been an exceptionally good month, film-wise.
Even though I have "only" seen 24 films, most of them have been great, and there were many of them that I had been anticipating for a long time.

This month, I tried out two digital "offers" that I found to be quite helpful:
Renting films on iTunes, which is a great way to watch movies you don't get anywhere else, especially when there's no DVD rental store near you.
And the IMDB "Recommended for you" widget that inspired me to watch Mysterious Skin, An Education and Babel, all of which I loved. This is a helpful widget if you can't decide what to watch, because personally there are probably millions of films on my inner watchlist, and another million of films I should watch but have never heard of. So it's nice to have some (very effective) algorithm decide for me, at least once in a while.

Before I start talking about the films I've seen, there's one announcement I'd like to make: I have compiled a new 100 Favourite Films list, and as soon as I get together all the pictures and words, I'll let you now. There are many new films in it, that's all I want to say.

Here's what I have been watching last month...

Watched for the very first time:


An Education (2009) Lone Scherfig - UK/ USA | review
I don't know if you can say that, but I feel that this film set my mind on fire. I really thought about it for a long time, so I had to write a review on it, and it also served as an inspiration for another coming-up post.
Rating: 8.3 (by the way, you can see my new ratings' icon revealed in the full review)

Babel (2006) Alejandro González Iñárritu - France/ USA/ Mexico
At the time this film was released, it was seemingly everywhere - I remember seeing the ads all the time. But I was 11 then, little did I know about this film and its greatness... From the title to the actors, the cinematography, the screenplay and the settings - everything fit so perfectly, it almost hurt.
Also, this was the first time Mexico in the movies reminded me of the real Mexico. My favourite story was the one that took place in Japan, though - that performance was mind-blowing.
Rating: 8.8

Happy New Month: Films of February 2012

The first ISHQ-issue containing my articles came out yesterday - my God, I can't believe it! I'm totally excited to finally get to see them in print!

Sorry for starting with something so completely egoistic, but it's very important to me.
Anyway, I went to the cinema to watch Hugo on the last day of the month, and that was actually my fourth visit to the cinemas this month, of which one was a double bill. You can read my first thoughts further down the page.

What else has been happening this month? Well, the Oscars of course... I'm still a bit tired, but never mind - it was worth it.
Most surprisingly, I watched only good films this month, can you believe it? There was indeed no trash whatsoever! The lowest rating I gave a film is 6.4. I also believe I've never seen as many black-and-white films in one month as this time, which is related to the "Tagore in Films"-DVD-Box I got as a christmas present. You can look forward to a whole post on the six (?) films.

Furthermore, you might remember my post on Kate Winslet, where I listed five Kate Winslet films I wanted to watch before I turn 17? Well, as there are only 9 days left, I'm in quite a hurry, but there's only two more to go: Heavenly Creatures and my long-awaited Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And my expectations for the latter are sky-high, so I prey for not being disappointed. In any case, I'll also do a post on my reactions to the five films by the time I've watched them.

So, let's take a lot at what else I have seen this month...

Happy New Month: Films of November 2011

I am able to announce at this point, that the list of my top 100 favorite films has been created by now. All I need to do is write a few words on each of the films.
Moving on to the films I've seen this month...

Seen for the first time:


Männer ticken, Frauen anders (2011, TV) Rolf Silber - Germany
(= It's hard to translate, sorry...)
So boring, I turned it off after 15 minutes. It sounded good.
Rating: 1.5

Den kroniske uskyld (1985) Edward Fleming - Denmark

(= "Chronical Innocence")

I can't believe they made such a disappointing film from that book... One of the main actors seemed as if he had never acted before, the music was terrible and important parts were left out. The book is a Danish must-read from the sixties.

Rating: 2.8

Konferenz der Tiere (2010) Reihard Klooss & Holger Tappe - Germany

(= "Conference of the animals")

I didn't completely dislike this film, there were some funny ideas in it, but in the end it didn't really have a soul. Plus I've read that there were quite a few factual errors in it, for example the kangaroo in the film is a male, even though it has a pouch.

Rating: 3.6

L'arnacoeur (2010) Pascal Chaumeil - France

("Heartbreaker")

Finally another fresh and different romantic comedy. Vanessa Paradis is a better actress than I'd thought and Romain Duris was the perfect cast for the Heartbreaker. And due to my passion for DIRTY DANCING, how could I not like this film?

Rating: 7.3

Happy New Month: Films of October 2011

Before we start, here's a short notification: please vote for my submission for the 7th LAMB Photoshop event here. Or vote for any of the other ones, if you think they're better - just vote.


Seen on Silver Screen

Sommer in Orange (2011) Marcus H. Rosenmüller - Germany

I wrote about this one in another post already. To quote myself: "I saw a movie with great potential yesterday - SOMMER IN ORANGE - that had an awful end. It was quite realistic with a funny note all the time (it's about some German Bhagwan-followers who lived in the 1980's and the problems their children have to deal with, and how the outside world rejects them), until some time the producers must have thought "yeah, let's make an unrealistic happy-end now". Or something similar. Anyway, I was vastly disappointed.

Rating: 5.9

Midnight in Paris (2011) Woody Allen - USA

Just as good is I had expected, this latest Woody-product is a light, romantic comedy with a great love for details and intellectual amusement (even though it makes fun of snobbism). It is true that Owen Wilson has never been better, and maybe never will be better - it's a surprise he even got this chance to show off his decent skills in a film of this caliber. Even if I have been to Paris, and remember some of it's very dark sides, this film made me re-discover the beauty and magic about it. A wonderful end to the (more or less) warm season - they call it summer, I believe - so Bonjour cold, German winter.

Rating: 8.1

Seen for the first time

Happy New Month: Films of September 2011

As usually, I'm a little late with this, but who cares, I didn't have the time.
After changing the name of this monthly write-up last time, I also decided to adjust the structure a bit this month. Hope you'll like the changes.

Seen on Silver Screen

Ein Tick anders

Ein Tick anders (2011) Andi Rogenhagen - Germany

A beautiful, humourous film about a teenage girl suffering from the Tourette-syndrome. As an exception from a numerous amount of other films dealing with "retarded" people, this film never gets sulky, nor does it look at the "retard" as un-normal people who you can laugh about, like many Salman-films (Indian superstar, for those of you who don't know him). It reminds of last years award-winning German "Vincent Will Meer" in various aspects, but is lighter and more realistic, and for me easier to relate to, because the leading character is a teenage girl. It's also predictable in many terms, but that doesn't degrade it to an "okay" film only, in my opinion.

Rating: 7.0

The Infidel (2010) Josh Apignanesi - UK

I heard some people from New Zealand complaining about Hanna arriving at their cinemas after about 6 months - now this one (like most rather unknown, non-American films) reached Flensburg after about one year! Not that I had anticipated - in fact, I didn't know anything about it until I decided to watch the trailer on my weekly what's-running-at-the-repertory?-surf. It looked funny, and as we're... 1/8 (?) jews, my sister and I decided to go check it out. It was all right, better than many critics thought it was. Ah, critics, they're good at a lot of things, but they should really update their attitude towards comedy.

The film throws a funny perspective on Judaism, Islam and multi-culti London. I was also funnily surprised to realize that the family was Pakistani, meaning I could understand them talking Urdu.

Rating: 7.0

Joadeiye Nader az Simin (2011) Asghar Farhadi - Iran

My expectations were high for this "Masterpiece from the Berlinale", to quote renowned German magazine Der Spiegel. After both director Farhadi and the leading actors had taken the German film festival by storm, the film was eventually distributed to almost every indie cinema in the country - and yes, some day it reached the far north of my home town. One of the minuses of the film is, that it's extremely dialogue-loaded, which might begin to annoy one after a while. However, it deals with many important and interesting issues of the Middle East, especially the rights and lives of women. The actors are none less but brilliant, and the direction is very realistic and relatable. 

Rating: 8.4

Happy New Month: Films of August 2011

At the start of 2011, I started a "mission", trying to watch about one film a day to build up a better knowledge of films and get some "good viewing habits".

I didn't always watch a film a day. But sometimes I watched two, or three, or four. It depended.

After 7 months now, I found that this mission had somehow come to an end, and that the monthly posts needed to have a new name and maybe a new meaning as well.

The new name, "Happy New Month" posts, is a lot more fitting, as it both celebrates the past month as well as the start of a new, hopefully happy, joy- and film-full month.

Cheers to the first edition of Happy New Month!

23 films

Mission "AFAD" - June 2011 (Yeah, I'm Back)

So, did you miss your favorite blog a lot?
(*Coughing*)...

Oh my God, it's so great to be back, I was so depressed without...

Dear Readers,
Lime Reviews is back after a terrific adventure in the arctic. I've had a wonderful time, but I've also missed blogging and especially watching movies like a mad one. Well, I did watch five films up in Kalaalit Nunaat (is that the way it's spelt?). But you'll have to wait for more about that until July edition.
I didn't want to publish the June edition of Mission AFAD before leaving, because I thought I might watch some films on the hotel in CPH or something (and yes, it turned out I did).

I coincidentally published the (yet blank) July edition, and The Bolly Hood asked me, what AFAD was, so if you are new here, you can either click on the button to your right, or just on this link.

Voilá:

20 - veinte (my Spanish is getting better and better)

The Devil Wears Prada (2006) David Frankel
USA, English
This one and the next two films are the remains of our DVD night in May (take a look at the May edition to know more).
Maybe you know, maybe you don't, but I've been a real fashion freak once, and I'm still quite into it. Not in a fanatic kind of way, but I do spend a lot on clothes, and I read a lot of fashion magazines. There are a lot of bad fashion flicks around in the filmic universe, but The Devil Wears Prada is actually one of the good ones, in my opinon. Even though I hate the end. Meryl Streep rules the film as a fictive version of Anna Wintour (chief-editor of US Vogue), and Anne Hathaway is also nice (though really a supporting actress here). Believe it or not: this was the "serious" film at our DVD-night.

American Pie (1999) Paul Weitz
USA, English - second view
Maybe you believe it now. It might be a rescue though, that this was only my second time to watch American Pie (okay, I've seen the 2nd part more often). But to be honest, I actually think that American Pie belongs to the better teenage-sex-comedies. It doesn't really take itself to serious. Somehow. Ah, let's not write more about it.

Sex and the City 2 (2010) Michael Patrick King
USA, English - second view
... You must believe it now (if you still now, what I'm talking about). But hey, come on, it is a little entertaining. If you're a female person. Even though it was the only film where I fell asleep a little. Because it's also boring.

The Hangover 2 (2011) Todd Phillips
USA, English - first view (cinema)
One of the best cinema-experiences I've had in the last few months. The largest of the cinema halls of our cinema was filled up (and it's really big) - I love that! I went to watch it with a couple of friends and my sister, and we had so much fun. It's so great when the whole audience is laughing and everything. No, it's not as good as the first part, but it does come near it... The wolfpack is back!

Die Wilden Kerle (= "The Wild Boys") (2003) Joachim Masannek
Germany, German
These films were so cool when I was like 9 years old! They are about a couple of boys (and one girl) who play football together, and they're like so cool and wild. I watched them a thousand times with my little sister and her best friend. So, we decided to rewatch them - and oh my gosh, how cute are they! If you like child films, you might check them out, at least the first two.

Fiza (2000) Khalid Mohamed
India, Urdu - first view
I had watched the beginning a couple of weeks ago (yes, on the internet, I admit *shamonme*), but I then decided to buy the DVD to watch the whole film. It's much better than I though to begin with. It was the first time I was actually impressed by Karishma Kapoor. Jaya Bachchan is wonderful as well, and Hrithik is... lala. Recommmendable, especially if you're interested in Indian terrrorism-films.
And by the way, it convinced me to take up my arabic-learning again (don't ask me, why, though). Shukran.

Gundaraj (1995) Guddu Dhanoa
India, Hindi - first view
Oh, I've almost forgotten what this film is about. I remember that Ajay looked rather handsome though, and Kajol was terrific even though the role was horrible. The whole film has a tendency to the horrible side (can you say that?). Some songs were okay, but that's all. Watch it if you love Kajol.

Karthik Calling Karthik (2010) Vijay Lalwani
India, Hindi - first view
I only got interested in this one after reading some very positive reviews on the internet, and it was  much better than expected. Farhan once mores prooves he's as talented an actor as a director, and Deepika surprised me by not being quite fake. Who knows, maybe there's hope for her?
The film works well as a thriller, there's a lot of tension and you're never bored.
(PS: I was thinking of getting Karthik's telephone-"tune"... hehe).

How I Met Your Mother - Season 3 (2005- ) Carter Bays, Craig Thomas
USA, English - first view
I. Love. HIMYM.

Phas Gaye Re Obama (2010) Subhash Kapoor
India, Hindi - first view
Funny new addition to "actually-funny-Indian-comedies", though not overwhelming. I was maybe expecting a second "Tere Bin Laden". But I can recommend this one, too.

Bonnie & Clyde (1967) Arthur Penn
USA, English - first view
The monthly classic... I know I'm not watching many classics, but I'm trying. Bonnie & Clyde may not seem to be more than just a funny, entertaining action-flick, but if you know the background of it, it's extremely interesting. How it changed the American film industry and allowed more violence and realism on screen. Definitely a must watch.

Raavan (2010) Mani Ratnam
India, Hindi - first view
Well, just read my review.

Hanna (2011) Joe Wright
USA/ UK/ Germany, mostly English - first view (cinema)
How I just hate to get a head ache in cinema. I can feel well for months, and then just on that day, my body decides it doesn't feel well. Watching "Hanna" in cinema was worth the pain though - I loved it. Saoirse Ronan is my favorite teen actress, also because she's very down-to-earth and natural, and plays the best roles in some of the best films. "Hanna" is better than every party I've been to (no, I'm not a big party-goer), the electric beats to the tough teenage girl fighting all those muscle-men - vavavoom! One of the best 2011-ers yet.

Australia (2008) Baz Luhrmann
Australia, English - second view
The last weeks of school are such a waste. You mostly have vicars and you watch a lot of movies. I had seen "Australia" before, and yes, I liked it. Baz Luhrmann is a very dramatic director, but I like dramatism - not to be confused with kitsch or soap-opera. I also like Nicole Kidman. And which Bollywood-fan doesn't like Hugh Jackman?

Iqbal (2005) Nagesh Kukunoor
India, Hindi - first view
What a cute film. Bollywood isn't major in doing sports films (no, I haven't seen "Lagaan" yet), so this is one of the better ones. I didn't know it was such a simple, low-budget production before, as it earned a lot of awards (and yes, that was and is still, rather unusual for low-budget) - j'adore.
We need to see more of Shreyas Talpade! Shreyas, don't waste your talent on average roles.
And Nagesh Kukunoor: get back to your "Iqbal"-roots, I'll forget everything about "Aashayein".

Dhobi Ghat [Mumbai Diaries] (2011) Kiran Rao
India, Hindi/ English - first view
See here. (You don't want to know, what happens, if you don't. And WATCH the film, if you haven't yet, for heavens sake).

Chalo Dilli (2011) Shashant Shah
India, Hindi - first view
It won't be the end of the world, if you miss this one, though. It is very cute. And it has an important female main character. But it drags along at times. Especially the end is like... is it over now? Is it over now? Not over yet? Akshay was also annoying. But otherwise, you can have some laughs, and fun...

Ragini MMS (2011) Pawan Kripalani
India, Hindi - first view
The worst thing about this one is, that even though there's tension, the potential is never fully used. What is supposed to be the "really scary part", matlab where we see where the danger comes from, is rather laughable, even though I watched the film in complete darkness. I'd rather recommend to watch last year's "LSD".

The Invention of Lying (2009) Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson
USA, English - first view
If you need a light, but still funny and not bland, romantic comedy, do check out this one. The idea is good, and the makers manage to keep a balance between fun and... well, philosophy. Kinda.

It's a Wonderful Afterlife (2010) Gurinder Chadha
UK, English/ Hindi - first view
Admittably, Gurinder Chadha has made better films (ah, Aaron Johnson), but this one is... okay.
I mean, you never get bored. Sometimes you think "this is just ridiculous", but you're never really able to turn off the telly.
Buuut... it's nothing you need to watch.

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Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

Mission "AFAD" - May 2011

A new peak of this mission has been reached: 26 films, May being the second most prolific month of 2011. There aren't even short films or TV shows on the list!
On the other hand, there are no loads of Indian films on the list either. No, I cannot explain that - I honestly don't know what happened. Maybe Baghban, Hum Aapke Hain Koun! and Koyla were just too stressful, so that I didn't get the taste for Bollywood this month...

Here's what I've seen.

Vingt-sept films...

And PS: From this month on, I'll make a post concerning the "Song of the Month" each month. "Movie of the Month" is too obvious to explain - you can read all about it in this feature.

3 Idiots - Director's Commentary (2009) Rajkumar Hirani
India, Hindi - Second view
This was the first director's commentary of a film I had ever seen, and it was so much better than I had expected. My brain is now filled with knowledge and information about "3 Idiots", so if I ever watch the film with other people, I'm sure I'll talk all the time. Rajkumar Hirani seems to be a very nice man, and it was great how he explained why he shot this or that scene, and why he shot it the way he did, which scenes were improvised, in which scenes the actors were actually drunk (yes, they were...), how they found the locations and on and on... I think I like the film even more now, than I did before (just read my old review and had a little laugh).

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1955) Alfred Hitchcock
USA, English - First view
I believe there is a point in your life, when you realize, that you haven't seen any Hitchcock films yet (at least in the life of a film fan/ buff/ student). I reached that point the last time I went to my local library to look for some DVDs I could rent.
"The Man Who Knew Too Much" is a perfect film to start with. It is interesting enough, well-made and also interesting from a technical angle. The scene at the end, when Doris Day sings "Que Sera Sera" is especially great, and I heard that it's one of film history's most famous scenes. Also, Doris Day had never been outside of America before making that film, so while they were shooting in Morocco, she fed all the animals that lived outside the hotel (I read that on the DVD-paper-thing).

Die Spätzünder (2010) [TV-film] Alfred Murnberger
Germany, German - First view
You caught me. I'm the kind of person who watches the "Film of the Day", recommended by the TV-paper. Hey, better than watching crap, isn't it? And I don't always watch the Film of the Day. I also watch independent, unknown films sometimes... The problem is just, they're always in the middle of the night, nowhere near 8 pm...
So, "Die Spätzünder" (= The late bloomers), is a cute little German tv production... It is not new whatsoever, the story is foreseeable and known, but nevertheless, it is entertaining and sympathetic. Old people winning a band contest with the help of revolutionary male nurse? Yeah!

Good Will Hunting (1997) Gus Van Sant
USA, English - First view
A good thing is, when the Film of the Day is as great as this one. And if it's one you always wanted to see, but never did. Robin Williams is one of my favorite actors, Matt Damon isn't. Both were fantastic in this film, though Williams has the love-him-bonus.
There are also some great quotes in this film, that I cannot remember right now... I love the "It's not your fault"-scene, for example. I also love, how much I can relate to Will, the main character, and how much I can't, in some aspects. "Good Will Hunting" is indeed a classic must-see.

The Man (2005) Les Mayfield
USA, English - First view
I'm sure this wasn't a Film of the Day, but there was a very important reason for me to watch it: "I love Samuel Jackson". Me? I don't. But my Danish guest father does (sweet, no?). So we watched this film.
It is fun, classic scheme film with some funny situations and... well, funny situations. Fast food.

Princesas (2005) Fernando León de Aranoa
Spain, Spanish - First view
Another thing I love: zapping through the pay-TV-channels of my Danish guest family in the afternoon, stumbling upon some ok-sounding film, starting to watch it - and finding out how incredibly fantastic it is! That the soundtrack is sung by one of my favorite-rather-unknown artists, Manu Chao, is just the cherry on top (and that the film is in Spanish, a language I'm learning and loving, is... the cream on top).
I never knew much about the life of prostitutes, not to speak of young and intelligent prostitutes, neither did/ do I know much about Spanish people (though I've been on that Canary Islands sometimes...), so I feel like I learned a lot from this film.
Luckily, it's not only a film you can learn from, but also a good film in all other aspects. Recommended.

Crocodile Dundee 2 (1988) John Cornell
USA/ Australia, English - First view
I should've listened to you, Jack, and not seen more than part one. Part two is bland, uninteresting, Mc-Donalds mainstream junk-food, and I would've been more happy, had I not seen it.
So don't watch it, especially if you liked part one.

Devdas (2002) Sanjay Leela Bhansali
India, Hindi - Second view
Sometimes, you forget the bad sides of a film when time goes by. But sometimes, you may forget how good the good sides of a film were, until you watch it again. That's what happened to me and "Devdas". I totally forgot how great the film is - really, really super-duper-vavavoom great! (You may hit me for using the word "totally" all he time -  I've seen "Clueless" way too often).

Koyla (1997) Rakesh Roshan
India, Hindi - First view
I think my Mini-review says enough about this film.

Hum Aapke Hain Koun! (1993) Sooraj R. Barjatya
India, Hindi - First view
This film is rated 7.3 /10 on IMDB!!! Are you freaking kidding me?! I rated it 4, but only because of Madhuri, otherwise it's not worth more than a 3. I can understand why people loved it back then, after all those exaggerating 80s action flicks, but why exaggerate the soft-family-friendly issue by producing a 3,5 hours (!) long wedding video?! That's not better at all!

Duel (1971) Steven Spielberg
USA, English - First view
Steven Spielberg's first full feature film is much better than some of his more famous productions (I'm looking at you, Indiana). It's what "Transformers" should've been like - cut the budget, put in some entertainment (oh, and cut Megan Fox, or give her a burger).
"Duel" is road movie, thriller and totally 70s - how could I not love it? But it also made me think about the plot and all those symbols that are used - why does the truck want to kill David, for example (biggest question of the film)? Is the driver God - maybe because David needs to be punished for not protecting his wife? That's my guess so far. But I have some other theories as well.

Water for Elephants (2011) Francis Lawrence
USA, English/ Polish - First view (cinema)
When I first heard about the film and saw the trailer and poster, I felt like I had to watch it. Robert Pattinson - I said enough. Then I heard it wasn't good, and I remembered that Robert Pattinson was officially a bland-actor-teeny-crush, and felt I couldn't watch it while calling myself a film buff.
But when my mother asked me to watch it with her, and even wanted to pay my ticket, I couldn't resist. Luckily. Otherwise, I would have missed a really good film. Not a fantastic film, or a very unusual, new film, but a very good film. Christoph Waltz is, among other things, one of the highlights.
And by the way, I just heard that Robert Pattinson is officially on top of the waiting list for becoming a  "good actor".

Amadeus (1984) Milos Forman
USA, English/ Italian/ Latin/ German - First view
The first film we watched in school this month - music class, of course. It was a bit hard to concentrate in class, but nevertheless, I found the film quite interesting. I never knew that Mozart was so weird, and also rather unsympathetic, that was good to know (no, I don't believe everything I watch or hear).
The music was also great, but I hadn't expected anything else.

Winter's Bone (2010) Debra Granik
USA, English - First view
To make a long story short: A good friend had recommended this film to me a long time ago, even before the Academy Awards, but I never watched it. So when she reminded me once more, I told her I was going to watch it instantly, and I did. Some people had found it great, others boring. I found it great.
And that's the story of Mette and Winter's Bone, and they lived happily ever after (except that Mette never visited Missouri in her whole life, because she had the impression people there weren't very nice).

About Schmidt (2002) Alexander Payne
USA, English - First view
Guess what? This was the Film of the Day, according to my Grandmother's TV paper. And guess what even more? It was just as fantastic as they promised. Or maybe even more.
Oh, I loved it. I love it. I want to watch it once more.

Baghban (2003) Ravi Chopra
India, Hindi - First view
Somehow I always end up only writing one single actual, classic review per month. This time, I reviewed "Baghban".

Atash (Thirst) (2004) Tawfik Abu Wael
Israel/ Palaestina, Arabic - First view
My plans of learning Arabic were spoiled, when I watched this film. I am now able to write and read... half of the Arabian alphabet. Which is all right, and I might learn the whole alphabet, because it's what they use in Urdu. But the language? It just sounds so... unmelodic. So harsh and... I don't know. I just don't want to learn it anymore. I don't feel like practicing my languages at all, at the moment. But... well, there are reasons for that.
Back to the film: It won some awards at Cannes and other festivals, bla, bla - listen to me: It is boring. The actors are good, the soundtrack is good, but the story and the screenplay and everything else is boring to death.

The Graduate (1967) Mike Nichols
USA, English - First view
Oh dear, don't get my started on this film. I could write novels about how great I find it, and how much I love the soundtrack. Honestly, I've been listening to "The Sound of Silence" from Simon & Garfunkel ever since we watched the film in English class. It's been a long time since I've been so obsessive about a song...
And the film... maybe I was exaggerating before. Maybe it's so good, that I can hardly find words to describe what I want to describe. It is definitely one of my favorite films already.
If you haven't seen it yet, do it now. (And watch "American Pie" after that - me and my friends from school were freaking out when we heard the Mrs. Robinson song at the end, because we hadn't seen "The Graduate" when we had watched "American Pie" the first time).

The Hangover (2009) Todd Philips
USA, English
I just watched "Hangover II" last wednesday, but that was already the first of June, so you won't hear a word about it until next month.
It was a good idea to freshen up the memory of part one - simply legen... wait for... dary!

Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na (2008) Abbas Tyrewala
India, Hindi - First view
Exactly as good as I had expected, though different. And I didn't like the end, I think the film should've ended when Jai and Aditi are lying down on the airport, or something like that. It seemed a little bit fake, that scene at the end, and I hated Aditi's wig... ahm, hair...
But otherwise, I'm happy I watched this. This month wasn't that good for me and Bollywood, and JTYJN was definitely one of the brighter sides of our relationship...
Aw, I want to see it again. Now!

Die Relativitätstheorie der Liebe (2011) Otto Alexander Jahrreiss
(= The love relativity theory)
Germany, German - First view (cinema)
All main characters are played by only two actors, and there are various plots, all somehow related to the subject "love". My mother was dying to see it, so she asked me to (once more this month) watch it with her, at the cinema. We both loved it - the perfect screwball comedy, with some wonderful actors and the genuine German humour (ha! you haven't heard of it before, have you?).

Dil Hai Tumhaara (2002) Kundan Shah
India, Hindi - First view
Let me defend myself first: Preity Zinta was, and still is, one of my favorite actresses, maybe even my favorite actress. So there was reason for me to sit through this. It wasn't even as bad as I'd thought. I mean, I wouldn't rank it in my list of the worst Indian films I've ever seen. There were good actors (some of them, at least), and... yeah, that's all. Fun!

Do Dooni Chaar (2010) Habib Faisal
India, Hindi - First view
Let me defend myself once more: I liked "Dil Hai Tumhaara" better than "Do Dooni Chaar", watching both of them on the same day. Sorry, but with the first one, at least, I got just what I'd expected. But for the latter, my expectations were really high, and they were not fulfilled. I was even seduced to press FFW, but I don't think I did... The film was just so boring... Wasn't it?
--- I know, I'm the only person on this planet thinking it was boring...

Ghajini (2008) A. R. Murugadoss
India, Hindi - First view
"Ghajini" is the story of me falling in love with Asin, going crazy about Aamir Khan for the 1001st time and being a little disappointed by Jiah Khan.
After the more or less disappointing past Indian films I had watched, "Ghajini" felt like my personal surprise hit of this decade. I was never ever bored - and that is impressing (at least when you've seen the films I've seen in May). Loving it.

Sister Act 2 (1993) Bill Duke
USA, English - First view
Me and some girl friends had a DVD night on the 31st and it was the first time in my life that I was awake for 24 hours, but that's a long story... However, I split the films we watched in two, and will rate two of them for this month, and the remaining three for next month (we also watched some comedy stuff, but I won't write about that, I'd bore you).
I barely remember "Sister Act", but the second film is fun. Not more, not less - pure fun. Singing, dancing... High School Musical in the 90s, and with some nuns.

Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2009) Gurinder Chadha
UK, English
I read somewhere, that this film should win the price for the worst film title in the world, but also for being one of the best teen-chick-flicks. I agree with both. I don't know, how many times I've seen this film, and this has not been the last time...
Oh, and let's not forget about Aaron Johnson (haaaaaah mmmhhhh....)... the reason why we keep watching this film over and over again (let's face it)...
Gurinder Chadha, I love you.

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June's Edition might be published before end of the month already, because I'm going to Greenland on the 21st... And I don't expect myself to watch many films over there (nor taking my MacBook with me).

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.