Mette's 2011 Retrospect - The Films

Like me, you might already have read many lists about the year that went by. 

Books, things that happened, people that died/ got married/ were born. And of course, lists of favored films. 

These lists, at least the film-based ones, often consist of ten motion pictures. I feel that listing my ten favorite films of the year is something I want to do, however I would also like to highlight the films that won't get the chance to be included in the list.

Therefore, my retrospect will look a little different than most. The list of my top 10 films of 2011 can be found at the end of this post, before that I will present you to all the films that I liked. 

Moreover, this retrospect includes eight "officially" 2010 films that I had no legal opportunity to watch in the year of their official release. Many of them are well-known, successful films, but I hope you still understand why I want to include them. The films are in the order I've seen them in. 

That was it then, let's go.

The Famous 1001

Last film watched - #249: 

8 1/2 (1963)

"The Cinephiles Bible Of Film", they call it. And indeed, if there's one book deserving that title, it must be the yearly updated collection of precious films, consisting of reviews from one paragraph to full or double pages.

The films in this book vary in terms of fame, acclamation and, off course, content, but as far as I can judge, every one of them truly deserves their place. Although, naturally, I didn't like all of those I have seen.

I've been confused by the fact that every year some titles have to make room for the newly released ones, some of them returning in later editions. But that's a question of marketing and brand, I guess. To fully honour the book and the precious films, I have decided to list every title that has ever been in it - you can see which films have been removed in which edition on filmsquish, and here I'd like to thank the author for publishing a list of all films that have been in the book.

My reason for publishing this list here is simply: I want my readers to get to know me better and get some more insight in what I watch - or what I haven't managed to watch yet, for that matter (PS: a lot). I guess I'm making this list for myself also... it's easier to keep track of the films I've seen from the book, and not just the ones included in my edition.

Post #100: My Top 5 Horror Films

Watching one of the most praised horror films ever, Stanley Kubrick's THE SHINING, for the first time, I started wondering why some people, including me, just can't get enough of this genre. As a die-hard fan of the filmic horror genre, I've eventually come to see some of the trashiest films on earth, and also some of the better ones - mostly the latter though, which leads me to believe that making a good horror film is a hard thing to do.
Most directors and actors have had something to do with comedies at least once in their career, and they will very often tell you (in those propaganda-esque, short making of features that you often see on TV) that making people laugh is "like the hardest thing in film business" and "so much harder than making people cry" bla, bla. Professional writers tend to come up with something similar in interviews.
However, in my opinion, it is so much harder to scare an audience in a way that is actually physically exhausting, to make them shed tears of fear, not joy or amusement. If you don't believe me, you should try and watch SPLINTER. Hilarious - but not in the slightest scary.

If I watch a bunch of "comedies" - the term doesn't always prove to be fitting - years of practical research tell me that I will like at least 50% of them; most comedies get a rating around 6.0 from me, and a rating above 5.5 means I at least like parts of a film. Now, if I watch a bunch of "horror films" - producers are not being very canny with this term either - I reckon I'll like, say 20% of them, and maybe another 9% of them I will consider to be decent comedies.
So what makes me - and I believe I'm not the only one - sit through these hours of boredom?

A Heavenly Creature

This post is part of the LAMB Acting School 101 - Kate Winslet.

One actress that has been a role model and inspiration to me, both on-screen and off-screen, is Kate Winslet.
The film that introduced her to me was ex-most-successful-film-ever TITANIC, during the year that started my great passion for cinema for real: 2009 (I'm a late bloomer concerning this). I thought she was one of the most beautiful women on earth, and was impressed by her acting skills as well. Plus I've never since seen a (on-screen-)chemistry like the one she has with Leonardo in this film.

Kate is one of those few actresses that have the body of a goddess, and oddly enough, makes you feel very confident about your own one. She has appeared in various period films, and I remember her saying in an interview, that she can only explain the reason why she was chosen for these films must be that her body is perfectly apt for wearing a corset.

Rain according to Bollywood

„ Sullen clouds are gathering fast over the black fringe of the

forest.

O child, do not go out!

The palm trees in a row by the lake are smiting their heads

against the dismal sky; the crows with their dragged wings are

silent on the tamarind branches, and the eastern bank of the river

is haunted by a deepening gloom.

Our cow is lowing loud, ties at the fence.

O child, wait here till I bring her into the stall.

Men have crowded into the flooded field to catch the fishes

as they escape from the overflowing ponds; the rain-water is

running in rills through the narrow lanes like a laughing boy who

has run away from his mother to tease her.

Listen, someone is shouting for the boatman at the ford.

O child, the daylight is dim, and the crossing at the ferry

is closed.

The sky seems to ride fast upon the madly rushing rain; the

water in the river is loud and impatient; women have hastened home

early from the Ganges with their filled pitchers.

The evening lamps must be made ready.

O child, do not go out!

The road to the market is desolate, the lane to the river is

slippery. The wind is roaring and struggling among the bamboo

branches like a wild beast tangled in a net.  “


- The Rainy Day
Rabindranath Tagore

~ ~ ~

If this was the way Indian people experienced rain in the time of Tagore, that view has certainly changed under the influence of not only Bollywood, but surely also the South Indian film industries.

Madhuri. What else?

Gaja Gamini from Bollywood-ish Blog, who (as we all know) is deeply in love with Madhuri, started this thing called "Madhuri Week". This week celebrates Madhuri's 44th birthday on Sunday.

Picture of Madhuri from the 44th page of google pictures (!)

As I said before, I don't have that much time this month, but I will be trying to contribute with more than one single post. 

Keeping that on mind, my first post will simply be about the films I've seen with Madhuri until now, in the order of which one I like most:

5

Dil (1990) 

I do like "Dil", it's not a bad film - but I just don't remember much about it. All I do remember is, that Madhu is the cool girl in school, and Aamir is the cool guy in school, and they don't like each other to begin with. Then there's a kiss sometime... And that's all.

4

Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam (2002) 

This film is also not one I watch very frequently, even though I'll always remember the soundtrack. Just by reading the film title, the title song will start swirling around in my head. But is it a good film... Why don't I remember? I do remember, that Salman's amount of hair is changing during the film, because it had a production time of almost 10 years. And off course I remember the story...

And the song "Aa Gaya, Aa Gaya...". Yeah, that's it.

3

Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) 

One of those ultimate romantic-switzerland-honey-dripping 90s blockbusters... Even though it's starring Shahrukh-how-could-I-not-love-you-Khan, I must rank this behind "Aaja Nachle". Might be, because I've not seen it very often, or because I've seen "Aaja Nachle" more recently - I cannot say.

Maybe it's due to my love-hate-relationship to 90s' Bollywood.

Let's face it: seen from a cinematic and intellectual angle, most 90s Bollywood films are terrible - even the hyped ones (except for DDLJ and some others). But then again: sometimes you just need a burger instead of the spinach-casserole, right?

2

Aaja Nachle (2007)

Madhuri's comeback film had it all: entertaining plot (and at least more realistic than a certain "fearless" Salman-flick), perceived supporting actors, groovy soundtrack - and last but not least Madhuri in her best shape. Nevertheless, it became a flop. Why? Well, we'll never really find out (though many, many bollywood-fans have wracked their brains about this question).

I watched the film with my dear granny, and it was perfect. The perfect granny-grandaughter-happy-film. We had so much fun. Then, I watched it one more time, alone.

And it was still fun!

1

Devdas (2002) 

Devdas. What else?

We've all experienced re-watching a film that we loved at the first sight - and when we watched it for the second time, it turned out to be not as magical as at first instance. 

The opposite, though, does not happen very often: re-watching a film that you've only seen once, a long time ago - and realizing how mind-blowing it really is (and has always been, but you had forgotten).

That's what happened when I watched "Devdas" for the second time in my life, yesterday.

--------------------------------

Honestly, I don't think that my choice for the best film is ever going to change, no matter how many (good) Madhuri films I will watch. I do realize, that I haven't seen many of her films, and also not the best ones, probably. But perhaps Madhuri Week will make some of my favorite bloggers produce some posts about her great don't-miss-it films, and thereby inspire me to pay more attention the the (mostly older) films of Miss-Magic-Madhuri.

There is one more DVD in my newly bought DVD-suitcase, that I'm definitely going to watch this week: "Koyla". That's going to be fun - I might be blogging about it.

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

My Cinematic Alphabet - World Edition

Here is the promised World Edition of what I did earlier with Indian films.
It was not easy to create this one, as I've already seen 1000s of films, and off course do not have some kind of record of films viewed. These might not be my total favorites, because like Jack L., I wanted to create a list that's a bit different from others', and also I needed to find examples for all letters of the alphabet.

A is for Atonement [UK]

Avatar is one of my favorites, but off course, no one can beat Mr. McAvoy and Mr. McEwan

B is for Billy Elliot [UK]

Black Swan is too new, and only seen once, but it was considered, just like Bright Star

C is for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button [USA]

This one is probably on most lists, but it truly deserves it

D is for Dirty Dancing [USA]

A bit kitschy and mainstream, but so lovely 

E is for The Exorcist [USA]

Tight battle with E. T., but Horror needs some more appreciation

F is for Forrest Gump [USA]

Why do I keep commenting my selections?

G is for The Godfather I [USA]

Part Two was also great, but Brando really is the Godfather

H is for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban [UK]

Picked as a symbol for the whole series

I is for Into the Wild [USA]

J is for The Jungle Book [USA]

Did I ever mention I love Disney? This is not my favorite, however, but just came into my mind.

Picking "Becoming Jane" would be a cheater, I thought (and maybe too embarrassing)...

K is for The King's Speech [UK]

Hyped for a reason

L is for The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and The Little Mermaid [UK/USA]

... No, I was not able to decide...

M is for Match Point [UK]

Woody at his very best

N is for Network, The Social [USA]

Come on, how could I not cheat for this one

O is for Olsen Banden (all films) [Denmark]

These three guys are the loves of my life (don't tell James... whether Franco nor McAvoy)

P is for The Piano [Australia/NZ/FR]

I would have taken The Pianist or Pride & Prejudice, but then again... so mainstream, no?

At least one learns certain things from this one - how to buy a piano without money, in example.

Q... hm....

R is for Rataouille and Radio Rock Revolution [USA/UK]

Who can choose between a cute rat... or a good meal, and some rockin' roll?

S is for Same Same But Different [Germany]

Everyone knows Slumdog Millionaire, and it's fantastic, but: You HAVE to watch this film.

Do not miss it if you call yourself a movie buff, or whatever else fancy name you can imagine.

T is for Titanic [USA]

What was that? I'm not a film buff, I'm a typical teenage girl with a bad taste for cinema? 

How dare you - away from this blog. Titanic stays here.

(Can you imagine Leonardo actually ever looked handsome? It's unbelievable, these days.)

U is for Up [USA]

Couldn't think of many U-films, but whatever, Animated Features are often underrated among intellectuals.

V is for The HangoVer [USA]

You'd have killed me for selecting Valentine's Day, but I couldn't think of any other films.

W is for Das Weiße Band [Germany]

Sometimes, but only sometimes, German directors can be genius. 

X is for... well, I'd pick X-Men: First Class, but there's only one reason for, and one against this:

For: James McAvoy

Against: I haven't seen it, and the last time I watched X-Men with my family, I had to repress hysterical laughs every 10th second.

Y is for Yes, Man! [USA]

There is a God hidden inside of Jim Carrey. By the way, ever tried that Yes-programme?

Z is for Zweiohrküken [Germany]

Hate him or love him... Til Schweiger. I tend to the last one, even though his films do look a bit similar. For the non-Germans: This is the guy who died in "Alexander". 

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

My Cinematic Alphabet - Indian Edition

Perhaps you've seen this on some other film blogs already - it's a recent movement/ trend inside the film-blogosphere, and basically, all you have to do is write your favorite films, one for each letter of the alphabet. Me blogging means the nice woman where I live in Hamburg does have internet, but it doesn't mean you should expect more posts for the next 1,5 week(s); the internship and this big city is on my mind most of the time. Anyways, here it is, the Indian Edition of My Cinematic Alphabet (I'll do a World Edition as well, later on):

A is for Asoka (Hindi)

B is for Bumbai (Tamil)

C is for Chalte Chalte (Hindi)

D is for Dil Se... (Hindi)

E is for 1947: Earth (Hindi/ English)

F is for Fanaa (Hindi)

G is for Guru (Hindi)

H is for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (Hindi)

I is for 3 Idiots (Hindi)

J is for Jodhaa-Akbar (Hindi/ Urdu)

K is for my one and only favorite film ever Kal Ho Naa Ho (Hindi)

L is for Luck By Chance (Hindi)

M is for Main Hoon Na (Hindi)

N is for Nishabd (Hindi)

O is for Om Shanti Om (Hindi)

P is for Parineeta (Hindi)

Q is for... SYSTEM ERROR... NOT FOUND...

R is for Rang De Basanti (Hindi)

S is for Sholay (Hindi)

T is for Tere Bin Laden (Hindi)

U is for Udaan (Hindi)

V is for Veer Zaara (Hindi)

W is for Wake Up Sid (Hindi)

X is for... SYSTEM ERROR... NOT FOUND...

Y is for Yuva (Hindi)

Z is for Zindaggi Rocks (Hindi)

(due to ... alphabetical problems)

PS: Just filled my supplies of Bollywood DVDs, which I mostly buy in Hamburg. As I'm here for two weeks, it was a perfect opportunity. As a matter of fact, I have never before spent as much money on DVDs at once, as I have today.

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.