What I learned from Lone Scherfig's An Education

UK/ USA, 2009

Directed by Lone Scherfig

Written by Nick Hornby and Lynn Barber

★ Carey Mulligan, Peter Sarsgaard

   

Contains spoilers

The message of Lone Scherfig's acclaimed coming-of-age movie is neither surprising nor very eye-opening. Most of us female creatures have heard it at least a dozen times while growing up, from our parents, teachers, the magazines and so on.

We're fortunate. We take our possibilities for granted. We need to fight harder. We need to be able to survive without men's help.

When I hear the expression "early marriage", I think of it as negative thing, something I wish I would never hear again. A picture pops up in my head, showing a young woman, doomed to stay in the house and prepare dinner while two of the five babies are screaming in the background. The highlight of her day is meeting the other housewives at the playground and talking about the latest episode of some soap opera.

But what if early marriage and being a housewife is equal to „listening to Jazz music and going to Paris!“? Now that sounds a lot more fun than sticking your nose into books for years and then working 9-5 while trying to sustain your friend- and other relationships.

What AN EDUCATION managed to do was make me relate to an intelligent girl who wants to abandon her studies in favor of the fun-seeming idea of marriage. And the fact that the film succeeded in doing that is by itself pretty amazing.

Of course, sitting in your cosy armchair, you are forced to question the happiness and bright-looking future of this young girl. Something has to be wrong, life is never as easy as it seems. Which is the reason why most people wouldn't have chosen to abandon their studies in real life, but if the filmic protagonist hadn't chosen to abandon her studies, there'd be one great movie less in the world.

And let's be honest: who has never dreamed of throwing all those school books into the garbage? Who has never dreamed of  taking the easy way, thinking it'd be different in your case, it'd work out in your case? I have.

Without stories like AN EDUCATION, a lot of people might think that way, and a lot of people would take a decision they would be happy about for one moment, but regret later.

You might say now, that Jenny (the protagonist) could have continued her wonderful life full of fun, if only she had ignored the fact that her fiancé was already married. 

Indeed, she could have done this - but it would have made her a cold, heartless shell.
"Your heart can be broken", the film seems to be telling us, "so don't ever rely on the things it holds dear".
Be independent, you can still find love and give away your heart. Just keep your shell safe, so that your heart doesn't become homeless once it's broken. 

And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is the one of the least romantic and most inspiring lessons I have learned from the movies.

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...

More men who hate women

But still just one cyber-punk who hates men. Fincher is bringing Lisbeth back.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Directed by David Fincher | USA

Written by Steven Zaillian & Stieg Larsson (novel)

★ Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig

          

When I first heard that Hollywood had plans about producing its own version of the Swedish surprise hit, like many people my only thought was: "Why?". Is this about money, do they want to exploit the fame of the books and previous books? There is nothing you can improve, is there?
Moreover, I could not in the slightest imagine an other actress playing Lisbeth Salander than Noomi Rapace.

I then found out that it was Fincher, the creator of some of my favorite films of the past few years, who was going to direct the remake. Not fully convinced, I watched the leaked trailer some weeks later - and at that point I was finally hooked. Hooked by an unexpected amount of style, cool music and most surprisingly (seeming) originality. I was sure then, that I was going to love the film.

The IMDB Tops: 10 thoughts on... The Shawshank Redemption

Dir. Frank Darabont | USA

★ Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bon Gunton

    

Current IMDB rank - rating - votes

1. Who would have thought that the currently most popular film would be such a softie? I'm not a frequent cineweeper, but the final sequence touched something very deep down - as corny as that sounds.

It was nothing I had expected, not even a few seconds before the tears started falling. It was like somebody had suddenly turned on some magnificent music that you hadn't heard before, but that still sounded familiar (sounds corny again).

2. Speaking of familiar, The Shawshank Redemption is a very good film, but there was something familiar, well-known about each and every scene. It was like all the good "mainstream" films put together, which shouldn't come as a surprise considering its cinematic position. 

Watching this film, I feel, has helped me understand cinema and cinematic taste more, and how hard it is to hit the right notes for the audience in fusion with your own artistic standards... and what an example of that can look like.

Happy New Month: Films of December 2011

Happy New Year, guys! I wish all of you the best for 2012, cheers to a bunch of good new films, the upcoming award season, joy and happiness - and everything else!

Before I start looking at the film-year as a whole, I put some words together on the surprisingly not-so-few film experiences I've had last December.

Sadly, there's only one Indian film on the list, but I'm planning on catching up with the 2011-releases as soon as possible. More to that later.


Watched for the very first time:

Sita Sings the Blues (2008) Nina Paley - USA
The Ramayana how I would've made it. Without having read the whole original text, I hope I have the right to say that in my opinion, Nina Paley included a remarkable variety of aspects of this ancient holy text - and that seemingly effortless, with a lot of humor and especially a lot of creativity.
The songs that surprisingly turned out to be Old Hollywood style, were just my thing, too, even though after a while they all sounded the same.
This movie can be seen for free legally - check it out whenever you have the time: link.
Rating: 8.0

Vicky Christina Barcelona (2008) Woody Allen - USA/ Spain
I have a hope that I'm not the only crazy person out there who buys loads of DVDs and then watches the oldest buys last? However, I had this Woody-Allen DVD-Box that I got really cheap, and I felt the time had come to finally watch this (I have a friend who is totally in love with it... mostly due to Javier Bardem though).
And what is my conclusion? Well... it's nice. Nothing more, nothing less. Flirty, light, entertaining - and it has a dash of philosophy.
Rating: 7.4

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

The name's Rango

Rango (2011)

Dir. Gore Verbinski

★ Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Timothy Olyphant

After the release of Jackson and Spielberg's TIN TIN, the odds that RANGO, like many cinegoers have previously predicted, is going to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature are descending. I haven't seen TIN TIN yet, for reasons that many of you know and that I want to overcome, but I can say that much: RANGO does not deserve an Oscar.

This year won't go down in history as belonging to the golden age of animated features (if there is one yet) – if that's Pixars fault is a question I don't want to discuss here. As both RANGO and TIN TIN are not part of the Disney/ Pixar group that has somewhat held a monopoly on the animated film sector, though, this year is very likely to down in history as the one in which Pixar didn't produce a winner.
Getting back to RANGO. The story of a lonely lizard who gets thrown into an unfamiliar, rural environment, where people don't like strangers, and realizes the opportunity to invent a new life for himself and be popular for a change. Except for a few adjurations, nothing new here. Applying human emotions, values and behaving onto animals is nothing new either, but most previous animated fables haven't pushed it as far as RANGO does – which, believe it or not, is one of this films biggest strengths. Furthermore, the animation is fabulous, every little detail being perfect to bits. This is especially seen on hand of the clothing, and the single scene in which a human appears (“the spirit of the west” to be precise, but let's call him a human). Only after a mentionable amount of seconds had passed, I realized that this wasn't a real actor but an animation, and it took me some time to convince my sister too: “Look there, you can see it's animated from that tiny detail...”. If there's anything Pixar can learn from here, this must be it.

There is a lot of situation comedy in RANGO, and I remember laughing out loud a few times. Mostly I was just smiling though, so you shouldn't expect a proper comedy. If you don't expect more than a little entertainment, you won't be disappointed, and maybe you'll be shocked by some of the scenes that are actually funny, because they're hilarious to be honest. And that's where Johnny Depp steps in. I know that many people say he's become a parody of himself lately, and I can understand why they feel that, but in my opinion all he needs is to play some more serious roles. Let's face it, he's great at comedy, but if he continues this way, his career is slowly going to drop down – even though, as I said, RANGO wouldn't be near as good without him.
A big weakness of the film is the development of the story and the final showdown/ ending. I don't want to spoil anything here, so let me just say: predictable and poor. I found myself slowly drifting away, and when I found my way back to the film again, I could tell what would happen so I drifted away again. Also, and I know Americans and people who watch the dubbed versions won't consider this a problem, but I found it extremely hard to understand Beans. That accent was really extreme – if I ever watch it a second time, I'll turn the subtitles on. And that's what I would recommend others like me to do.

Very authentic by the way... I've been to Mexico a few times.

So what is left to say, and what can I conclude about RANGO?Well, I think that RANGO is a decent film, but the only reason it got that much praise must be this years poor choice of animated features. Compared to the other animated films I've seen, RANGO does have strengths and improvisations that others can learn from, but the amount of things it can learn from other films is much larger. It won't hurt watching it, but it won't hurt not watching it either. In a few years, few people will remember RANGO, for it's neither mainstream nor childish nor ingenious enough to fully satisfy anyone.

Rating: 6.85

Timeless: Feed the Kitty (1952)

Watch "Feed the Kitty"

While the feature film still is the padrino of cinema, Warner Bros, Disney and countless independent directors have more than one time proved that there's not much you need to make an ingenious film with everything in it. Like FEED THE KITTY. With a duration of 7 minutes and 23 seconds, this film outlines some of manhoods most discussed and thought-about issues and eternal questions. 

Soundtrack of the Month - November '11

The wonderful French romantic comedy I saw yesterday convinced me to have a soundtrack of the month this time, instead of just a song - a very special soundtrack, that is.

DIRTY DANCING. A film about music and coming-of-age, including a dash of 60s-nostalgia (those old enough to remember watching it on the silver screen might also say 80s-nostalgia). Countless teenage girls must have been introduced to it by their mothers when "the time was right" and fallen in love with not only the film, I'm sure. As for me, I didn't fall in love with Patrick Swayze for that matter, but the film initiated my chronic crush on dancing and the 60s - style, films, and especially music from that decade (or music inspired by it).

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 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

The Tree of Life (2011) - A Bittersweet Symphony That's Life

After a long time now, I'm finding myself writing a non-Indian review again - only the second published on this blog. Many things are changing in my life at the moment, mostly mental things. I stopped learning Arabic, and I don't feel the urge to learn new languages (except French at school) anymore. 

I don't feel like watching Indian films, I'm tired of a lot of films that wasted my time.

Hence I felt I needed to review a film that meant a lot to me and has had a great influence on my thoughts for the past few days. 

In all my past reviews, I had a small section saying who the director, the authors and the actors were, and a short sentence about the plot. You won't be seeing that again. As I said, my mentality or however you may call it, is changing more than usually at the time, and I have also, in addition to many other things, thought about Lime Reviews. So this is one of the alterations I've made. 

Mission "AFAD" - July 2011

As you know, I've been away from home for a long time, almost three weeks in July.
Therefore, the yield of cinematic experiences for last month is tiny.


Barely 18 films to talk about, and a lot of them is just trash, trash, trash...
Explanation? There is one: I lived with my Danish guest family (if you are a frequent visitor, you will know whom I am talking about), and well... they have a quite simple taste for movies.
That's not bad. It's what most people have - at least these do have a little sense for good films... But, well, we also watched a lot of trash.

And by the way, the first row of movies (on the picture) is what I watched in Greenland, meaning in the first three weeks of the month.
That's also why I didn't watch any Bollywood films, for the first time in... 1 year? (There was a time when I didn't watch as many films as I do now).

18 - attarah (yes, I do miss you, Hindi speaking people in my favorite films...)

Triple Agent (2004) Eric Rohmer
France, French - First view
This was the only DVD laying around where we lived, and there was only one TV-channel, so off course, we watched this film some time. But only once. It's a good example for how you can make a good film without much effort, it all looked very simple - editing, shooting, directing. However, it didn't fully catch my interest, somehow, also because the characters stay "cool". You don't really get into the film. And at the end, I didn't understand it - the story.

The Sin Eater (2003) Brian Helgeland
USA/ Germany, English - First view
We had to wait two days to get out of Saqqaq, so I was incredibly bored and we borrowed some DVDs from a brother of my guest mom. This is the first one. The most interesting things about it were Heath Ledger and the fact that a German actor was in it (Benno Fürmann). What I like about films like these is the knowledge you get about history and religion. Otherwise... well, an un-scary horror film.

Dead & Buried (1981) Gary Sherman
USA, English - First view
Now this is a real oldie horror film. What I like about these kinds of films is, that you can see how much film makers were capable of doing in a horror film at that time.
At least it was scarier than The Sin Eater - but not much.

Qivitoq (1956) Erik Balling
Denmark, Danish/ Inuit - Second view
I already wrote about Qivitoq in April. It was interesting to watch the film a second time after having been to the places it was filmed, and having seen many of the people that were in it.


Raising Helen (2004) Gary Marshall
USA, English - First view
Well, Gary Marshall, Kate Hudson... you can't expect anything new from a film with those names. It was... okay. Maybe. I honestly don't remember.

The Fighter (2011) David O. Russell
USA, English - First view (on flight)
This was one of the last 2011-Oscar-films I hadn't yet seen, and I don't even really know why... Maybe it was because of the title - it sounds a bit macho-esque, and then the plot... But the film is so much better than what I had thought! All actors are brilliant - my favorite being Christian Bale, who blew me away with his performance. I loved his role, I hated his role, I... think I went through every stage of liking with it. This film once again proved that 1) boxing films are great, 2) sports films can be about more than sport (and no, we're not talking team work or friendship or any of those old-chewing-gum-topics), and 3) but not least: action films that are maybe supposed to be "men's films" can turn out to become some of my favorites. Aside from Harry Potter (sorry, fan-ship counts more), The Fighter is the best feature film I've seen this month.

She's Out of My League (2010) Jim Field Smith
USA, English - First view
Films like this can easily turn out to be either boring, porno-esque, embarrassing - or maybe even a mixture of these. However, there's something about this film. It doesn't take itself too seriously, for instance. It has some almost black (or at least grey) humour, and at the same time, you feel there's a heart in it. The actors are also mainly quite good - my personal "pearl" being Krysten Ritter. I'd love her in anything.

Scary Movie 3 (2003) David Zucker
USA, English - First view
Very formula-orientated filmic slapstick/ scorcher. But still better than the first film (haven't seen the second one).

Long Weekend (2008) Jamie Blanks
Australia, English - First view
Starts quite promising and manages to build up some tension, but then slowly dies away. You never really get shocked, except for the scene where the guy finds a dead girl in a car, and in the last scene, before the guy runs away (I don't want to ruin the film for anyone who wants to watch it). As a self-declared horror film specialist (well, not really, but I've watched a lot of horror films, love them, and basically watch everything I can get my hands on), I cannot recommend this film whatsoever.

Old Dogs (2009) Walt Becker
USA, English - First view
I love Robin Williams and I love John Travolta (as actors, at least). I also had a lot of fun with Wild Hogs. Old Dogs takes the fun a little further, I think, I mean we all laughed a lot. And that's rare these days. I don't laugh at many comedies, most are just boring, especially the "romantic" ones. My favorite comedies are still the rather black ones, but I do like a family-friendly comedy that is actually funny - if it is actually funny. This one is, I can assure you of that. Watch it with your family.

Lassie (1994) Daniel Petri
USA, English
Lassie is such a nice movie for children, much better than all those loud and fancy... I-don't-know-what-to-call-them. My favorite children films will forever be the Disney classics and the Pixar films, but right after those comes Lassie. I didn't really watch the whole film, though, the grandchildren of my guest mom did.

Disaster Movie (2008) Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
USA, English - First view
This film really is a disaster. I don't really know what to do about those mass produced film parodies. On one hand, they do have some fun scenes, but most of it is just... well, a disaster. Made for the only purpose of luring masses of teenagers into the cinemas and get their money. Date Movie was actually quite funny - the other ones? Forget about them.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (2011) David Yates
UK, English - First view (cinema, 3D)
I - am - a - sucker - for - Harry Potter. I am fanatic about these series. The books and the movies. When I was a little kid, I couldn't wait to turn 11, because I was so sure an owl would come and bring me an invitation to Hogwarts. My favorite film, and probably also book, will forever be the third one, but in a filmic view, the last one was probably the best one. Filmic-ally. Do you know what I mean? Well, that's what all the grown-ups and critics say. The 3D effect was nice, but as often unnecessary. Harry doesn't need any "amplifier" - it is magical enough. Oh, I can't believe it's over, it's really over...

Gone with the Wind (1939) Victor Fleming
USA, English - First view
Whoever spread the rumour that Gone with the Wind is one of the best films ever made, and one of the best love stories ever told is a badass liar. I didn't understand any freaking bit of it! Okay, it is a story about the southern states and how people lived and how the civil war changed everything - but that's it? That's f***ing it? (Sorry, but I was more than disappointed after 4 hours of nothingness). No love? I mean, if I got the end and the whole story right, then she doesn't love him (yeah, they say she does, but I can see she doesn't), and he loves her but hates her and leaves her. The kisses were awful, too. All of the "emotional" scenes were awful. Hey, I was expecting another Dirty Dancing, or Titanic, or Romeo + Juliet. So I decided now, to take a very drastic and maybe never before seen step. I will not recommend this film. No, I will even warn all of those who haven't seen it yet. Do watch it, if you must, but be aware of what this film really is, under the 11-oscars mask... : nothing.

Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) Michael Moore
USA, English - First view
Michael Moore, I want a child from you. Okay, I don't want to have it myself, but I want you to have one. America, the whole world, would be different, if it weren't for you. You brought me awake, shook the naïve girl inside of me, made me shed tears and shake my head in anger and disbelief. The world needs to see this documentary.
I'm personally very cautious when capitalism is denounced, because it automatically makes me think that the only other way is communism. Which wouldn't be democracy. The idea of a democratic economic system never even crossed my mind. But it is wonderful. It's what I had been searching for, the perfect idea, a solution. Of course, it would never change everything, all problems can never be solved - but it would be so much better than now. This film also reminded me of how fortunate I am, we all are, to live in Germany or Denmark, to live in Europe. Our system is working, more or less.
I am shocked - I am shocked - I am shocked.

The Family Man (2000) Brett Ratner
USA, English - First view
Hm, I like Rush Hour. It's funny. I also liked this film, but only a little, little bit. It has these ambitions of being a "serious" film, that makes people think. But it's too commercial for that.

Cars 2 (2011) John Lasseter, Brad Lewis
USA, English - First view (cinema, 3D)
I already told you that I'm a big Disney Pixar lover, and Cars 2 once again proved this. It might be a little senseless and very guff-y, but I need that once in a while. It's so sweet, so full of details, so enchanting.

Knight and Day (2010) James Mangold
USA, English - First view
As a real person, I hate Tom Cruise. The fact that he's scientology is enough for me. But I have to admit that he does a decent job in mainstream Hollywood films, especially action comedies. Same for Cameron Diaz - with the difference that she also did some not-totally mainstream films, in which I liked her. This could have been a quite mediocre action flick that you forget after one week, but there's something about it that makes it a bit more special. I can't really put a name on it... whatever, it's fun.

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

Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

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.

Mission "AFAD" - April 2011

With 24 films, this month ranges 2nd in this year's record - 7 films less than January. Though I did cheat a little bit by watching 2 short films, just to increase my film list for this month.
Some of my achievements include "breaking in" to a new film industry by watching a South Korean film, going to the theatre three times (and it were three different theaters), watching my second Telugu film and also checking out some Parallel Hindi Cinema films.
This is also the first month that I've seen more non-Indian films than Indian ones, for this year. And, if you're following me on twitter you already know: I bought the highest amount of DVDs at once, that I've ever bought. I think it were about 40 DVDs.

24 films... and I know, these are only 22, because there were no posters for the short films

Bheja Fry (2007) Sagar Ballary
India, Hinglish - First view
I reviewed this film in my "Introduction to Hindi Parallel Cinema", a post that I worked on for a rather long time, and that I thought (and still think) is my best post until now, though sadly, I gained very little response for it. Okay, I didn't receive any kind of response for it. But never mind, I'll get over that.
Shortly: A good film. Earned three Lime Stars.


Mixed Doubles (2006) Rajat Kapoor
India, Hinglish - First view
And this is the second film, that was featured in the article. I think I made some kind of Parallel Cinema evening at the start of the month. It earned four Lime Stars, and I think it's a particularly well-done film of the newer Hindi Parallel Cinema.


Bommarillu (2006) Bhaskar
India, Telugu - First view
I chose "Bomarillu" to be my second Telugu film, for I had initially planned to start my career as a Telugu-watcher with Siddhart-films, because I already know him. But, as you all know, a certain "Arundhati" interfered that plan. Contraire to "Arundhati", "Bomarillu" is completely blood-free, and there's even just a very tiny, small, little dishoom-scene. The film also saved my personal Siddhart, meaning, well, we had some trouble after "Striker" because I didn't like his looks in that one, but he's back again, all mine. I found his character in this one a bit too daddyrules-like, but he still did a good job as an actor. Genelia was also sweet. Maybe the film was a tad too long, but it was still enjoyable and funny.


The Wild Bunch (1969) Sam Peckinpah
USA, English - First view
After Jack L. wrote about Sam Peckinpah (he even watched his entire filmography - I think I should do that with some classic Indian directors, too...), I recognized I had not seen any films of this famous director, so I instantly decided to watch his most known one: The Wild Bunch. It is a very classic western film, also very calm in a way (yes, despite the frequent bloodshed), so you have to be prepared for what you're going to watch. If you are, you will hopefully enjoy this film, because it is a great study on male friendship, men getting old (or should I say: cowboys)... and some other things.


Almanya (2011) Yasemin Samdereli
GER, German/ Turkish - First view (theatre)
While I was in Hamburg for my internship, I watched almost no films - and it was a 2-week-internship. The phrase "I can count them on one hand" (don't know if it exists in English), is very fitting for this matter: I did watch 5 films, only. Three of them in a theatre - actually, in three different theaters. Oh, how I love exploring new cities, and new theaters - as a matter of fact, exploring various theaters in a new town is a great way of getting to know the town.
The film is about Turkish immigrants in Germany, and is narrated in a very light and funny way, reminding me of my forever-favorite TV-series "Türkisch für Anfänger".


Så Som I Himmelen (As It Is in Heaven) (2004) Kay Pollak
Sweden, Swedish - First view
While I was on vacation in Sweden last summer, with my mother, sister, best friend, and best friend's mum, we watched the start of this, but found it very strange and turned it off again.
Indeed, it is a film not particularly appropriate for a DVD-night, or even for watching with many people at all. I watched it by myself, and I must say... Well, it's a typical Swedish film. Very philosophic, rough at times, but also with a great sense of humour to it.
The search for perfectness in art is something that has always intrigued me. I'm a perfectionist myself, even though I can be chaotic in certain situations, and I find that films dealing with this subject are exceptionally interesting. The last time I saw this, was in "Black Swan", and in this one it was a little different, because it's about music. But not only that: while in "Black Swan", the un-perfect happens to be perfect, this is not what we see in "As It Is in Heaven".
I can recommend this film to those who like to explore the topic I mentioned, and who are into films that are... well, a bit different (though, since I've seen "Harold & Maude", I haven't really been actually surprised by any film).


Ek Hasina Thi (2004) Siram Raghavan
India, Hindi - First view
I even did a real review on this film. If you want my opinion, you can read it.


Hanyeo (The Housemaid) (2010) Im Sang-soo
South Korea, Korean - First view (theatre)
And here we have the mentioned Korean film. As I said, it was my very first one to see. I watched the trailer in another theatre, and in that moment I decided: I want to watch that film. I have to.
Artistically, it is an incredibly precious film. Furthermore, it is great for those who are curious for new film industries. But when I had just watched it, I felt a bit disappointed. I felt that the makers focussed so much on the artistic perfection, that they forgot to drag the audience into the film.
Now, about two weeks after watching the film, I've had much time to think about it, and I've come to the conclusion, that this is just what the makers wanted. They wanted the audience to really feel that coldness of the Korean upper class. And it is real upper class. Not what you see in, well, old Jane Austen films, or "Match Point". No, this is modern, modern, really modern and incredibly rich, snobby upper class. And it's fascinating. It's like another world, so scary, so cold. So... intriguing in a way.
This is one of the most interesting, and thought-provoking films I've seen for a long time. Already, I have spent much time on thinking about it, and I can still go on. It's one of those films that will follow you forever, I think.


Never Let Me Go (2010/11) Mark Romanek
UK, English - First view (theatre)
After hearing that the novel I'd just read had just been made a film of, I was very happy, and very curious. Because it was starring Keira Knightley (and Carey Mulligan, but that wasn't what interested me most). And because the book was incredible.
Then, after the abroad release, I read some mediocre reviews, and began to get worried. But when it finally released in Germany, I still went to the theatre, and the old excitement came back up to the surface. I might also mention, that it was my first time to ever watch a Digital Cinema film, which is basically a film that "comes out of the screen", meaning there's no projector, but the film is somehow digitally saved somewhere. While the quality of the film was excellent, I still have some doubts about this new "project", because I think that it will make film piracy much more accessible.
The film itself did not disappoint me. It was my first Carey Mulligan film, and she was great in it - "An Education" is calling "watch me!". Keira Knightley was fabulous as ever, and Andrew Garfield made a good contrast to his breakthrough role in "The Social Network".
However, even though it was a great film (you really need some warm, romantic, true-love films once in a while - especially after watching "The Housemaid" the day before), I found it much more prude than the book. Don't get me wrong: the film did involve some open-minded sex scenes - but only between Andrew and Keira. The leading character, which was played by Carey, did not have sex until she was about 30 years old (at least it seemed to be that way). In the book, she has sex with various boys when she's about 18, in "The Cottages", but in the film, we only see her listening to Tommy and Ruth having sex, or sometimes listening to music so that she would not hear them. I think including those scenes from the book would have given the film a bit more credibility and open-minded-ness.
Nevertheless, it's definitely one of the good films that are based on books. You can also watch it, if you haven't read the book - but make sure you do read it afterwards.


Ek Chalis Ki Last Local (2007) Sanjay Khanduri
India, Hindi - First view
Read my review here.
A weird film that I did not complete, though Abhay was cute as ever.


Action Replayy (2010) Vipul Shah
India, Hindi - First view
Read my review here.
Didn't expect I'd like it - but I did.


How I Met Your Mother - Season 2 (2006/7) Carter Bays/ Craig Thomas
USA, English - First view
Maybe you know that I love HIMYM - or maybe you don't. Well, you know now. I watch all the episodes chronologically. But I don't rush myself - what'll happen, when I'm done? No, I'll rather take it calmly.


Anari (1959) Hrishikesh Mukherjee
India, Hindi - First view
Read my review here.
Lovely Raj-Kapoor classic.


Sønnen fra Vingården (1975) Morten Korch
Denmark, Danish - First view
Danish classics are another thing I love. Especially the kitschy Morten Korch ones. That's what I call high quality mainstream entertainment. How come mainstream films were so much better back in time?


Faded Secrets of Yesterday (2008) Bahaish Kapoor (short)
India, Hindi - First view
I don't usually watch many short films, but I felt like doing so this month. They're an important part of the film industry, and, well, short, which is great. This one was cute, but a bit too old-school. A bit trying-too-hard.


The Mexican (2001) Gore Verbinski
USA, English/ Spanish - First view
Let me first tell you: Mexico is not always exactly how it's portrayed in the films. Firstly, it can be incredibly dense, and not as dry as many think. Secondly, Mexicans can be really nice and friendly. Many of them are.
Otherwise, I really enjoyed this thriller-comedy. I never knew that Brad and Julia made a film together. They're cute as a couple. I don't know if this film would have worked without them, the way it did (it was planned to be a Indie-film without stars).


Qivitoq - Fjeldgængeren (1956) Erik Balling
Denmark, Danish/ Inuuit - First view
Ah... there's a big story behind this one. It was shot in the home village of my Danish guest mother, who is actually a Greenlander. But, in some way, they are Danish, right? However, her parents are in this film, and her mother is pregnant with her. That's funny to see. There are many other people in it, who she knows. Not to forget the biggest star of old Danish films: Poul Reichhardt. Isn't it funny, that the film was shot in exact that village? By the way, I'm going to Greenland for a month in... 7 weeks, and we're going to visit the village. We'll stay there for two weeks, I think.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award and a Palme d'Or.
Oh, and it's a very good film.


The International (2009) Tom Tywker
UK/ USA/ GER, English - First view (only start)
Boring. Incredibly boring. It thought Tom Tywker was a good director - he's known to be one of the good German directors who made it in Hollywood. But... it was boring. That's why I turned it off after 20 minutes.


Wild Target (2010) Jonathan Lynn
UK, English - First view
... Just to tune into this amazing British comedy with some of my favorite British actors. I think I'm really falling for the English humour and films! It's hard to describe, why this film is so good, because it's a comedy, and just like a joke, you can't explain a comedy.
Oh well, just watch it. You won't regret.


The Lovely Bones (2009) Peter Jackson
USA, English - First view
My mother and I were very excited for this one, when we saw the trailer in the theatre, but she went watching it and told me it wasn't that good. So that's why I didn't watch it back then.
I'm so glad I watched it now, because I liked it very much. Peter Jackson is one of those names that can almost guarantee for a good experience, and Saoirse Ronan is one of the child/teen actors that I find the most promising at the time. The "between"-scenes are beautifully made, and make you think about death - and also life. Also the screenplay is very well-made, and the search for revenge never gets boring, even though you know who the murderer is, from the start. There are some really stress-filled scenes, like the one with the diary, and I'm always in awe of a director, who can manage to transform a film-viewing-experience into a sports.


Ahista Ahista (2006) Shivam Nair
India, Hindi - First view
The only Indian film I watched and didn't review this month. Abhay Deol was - how often can I say this - cute as ever, and he had a good chemistry with Soha Ali Khan, who I haven't seen for a long time. The story was light and easy... I was sick of heavy dramas this month. But the end wasn't good... Crying...


Aftermath (2008) Bahaish Kapoor (short)
India, Hinglish - First view
Heard a lot about this. Was okay. But I've seen better.


All About Steve (2009) Phil Traill
USA, English - First view
This month was also a month for comedy. After finishing the second season of HIMYM, and after "The Mexican" and "Wild Target", I decided to try this little known comedy. Mainly because the story sounded funny, and because I adore Sandra Bullock - Bradley Cooper's not bad, too. I was actually surprised by how funny it turned out to be. I didn't even expect a real comedy, I thought it would be a normal, decent rom-com. But I forgot, that Sandra Bullock never makes a "normal" film - she's contributed something new to every genre she played in.
The idea itself (a funny, "unnormal" person is in love with someone and follows him/ her) maybe wasn't completely new, but the director added some fresh air to it, also with the quirky side characters.
This is a throughout born-and-bred feel-good-film. Why? Because you feel good while, and after, watching it. Recommended.


Wimbledon (2004) Richard Loncraine
UK, English - First view
After last months' "Match Point", already one of my favorites, I once again watched a British film about tennis. You're right: "Match Point" isn't really a film about tennis. But there's a lot of tennis in it.
We thought we should watch a British film on the day of the royal wedding in London... Just kidding: the television channel thought they should broadcast a British film on the day of the royal wedding.
But not even this is really a film about tennis: it's more what "All About Steve" wasn't - a rom-com. A good one, I'd say. Predictable end, but funny moments, and entertaining sports sequences with some thrill.

Crocodile Dundee (1986) Peter Faiman
Australia, English
I told you: this was my comedy month (at least the last two weeks). I'm almost entirely sure about having seen this classic before, when I was much younger, but I didn't remember most of it.
I must say that this is a real good old-school comedy film. It's probably been copied many times, and that's why the plot seems so familiar: adventurous wild-life-man falls in love with city girl and tries to live in... hey! That's "Tarzan", isn't it? Wow, honestly: that thought never crossed my mind until just now. Interesting.

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I also found out during my internship, that I do not want to work in the fashion industry - at all. And that I don't want to do something that has to do with crafts (which is almost the same, right?). Not that I'm not good at it - everyone praised my work - but it's just not me. I need more thinking logically and abstract, and more... don't know. Travel, other people. Okay, I know that this is what many people think the fashion industry is all about. But it's not. And it's not me. 

The thing I'm best at is school... However, I'm considering pilot as an option at the moment...

That would be cool, don't you think?

Different people, other cultures, travels - and the flying itself!

That's more likely to be me.

I'm sorry - somehow I tend to ramble a lot in the AFAD-posts.

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.