"The scissors" - take #1. CUT!

About 90 years ago, women started cutting their long locks into bobs, and later on even as short as men's hair. Today, women with short hair don't need to hide, at least not in the western society. But long hair is still an important part of femininity and perhaps also female sex-appeal. The largest part of girls and women could never imagine ordering a short cut at the hair dresser. Sometimes, when many female celebrities, or one important one, cut their hair, it's "in" again, but not many actresses or singers have the guts to do so. One aspect is that it doesn't suit everyone, another one is that a lot of elderly women have short hair, and a lot of small children have short hair - and who wants to look like either a grandma, a baby or just plain ugly?

Two weeks ago, I decided to cut my hair. I went to the hair dresser with my sister - it was a very impulsive decision, but I haven't regretted it yet. Apart from one, my friends and acquaintances have all kept kind words and compliments at hand for my new hair cut.

While I'm waiting for the ACEBA results to be published, so I can finish my award comment, I decided to put together a list of female actresses that rocked the silver screen, the red carpet and their living rooms with androgyne hair...

Audrey Hepburn

One of the first women I thought of when starting to write this, was Audrey Hepburn. She's one of those starlets from which I've never seen a complete film (why? - not enough time?), but nevertheless admire. Everyone can see she's a beauty, maybe even more beautiful with short hair than long. But despite that, I've read that she had issues with her looks, and wasn't fully confident with herself. I hope that's not true - it would be very sad.

Emma Watson

From one of the classic icons to a very young actress, who just recently decided to get rid of "it". Emma was probably the first actress I ever looked up to, the first real role model of my life. Funnily, I always wanted hair like hers - and indeed, mine was quite similar, though maybe a little thicker. Now, don't think I cut my hair because she did. She was an inspiration, yes, but I loved her long locks as much as my own... In any case, we're both short haired now. Emma said cutting her hair made her feel sexier. I don't know about that.

Keira Knightley

Before she had her big break with Pirates of the Caribbean, Keira, one of my favorite actresses (I know, she has many haters), starred in the rather unsuccessful The Jacket, a film for which her hair was trimmed considerably short. My hair cut, it so happened, actually looks a lot like hers (we also both have an oval-shaped face), and I plan on letting it grow for the next 12 months, just like she did.

(Boys, if you're reading this you might be quite bored, so I don't mind if you quit reading at this point).

Natalie Portman

Natalie didn't just trim it a little, no, she is one of the few not stupid but brave women who have shaved it (an example for a stupid one: Britney Spears). I am astonished by how beautiful she looks, even without any hair. V for Vendetta is another one of those films I really, really want to watch, and wonder why I never do so.

Bipasha Basu

As one of the few Indian actresses, Bipasha decided to cut her hair shorter than shoulder-lenghth (oh - my - gosh). I wonder why we almost never see an Indian heroine with short hair - is Bollywood still that un-modern? And the longer we go south, the longer is the hair, generally (talking of Telugu and Tamil films). I think it's a great step from Bipasha to dare facing the scissors - not to mention the bob looks amazing on her. Lara Dutta also wore a bob for a while, just like Urmila Matondkar.

Preity Zinta

Now that I'm already talking about Bollywood... Okay, it was an awful cut/ wig Preity, my favorite Indian actress, wore in the second (or was it the first?) half of Lakshya. Nevertheless, it was short, and that's why I had to mention it. On the other hand, it might have scared other film makers and actresses away from short hair.

Camilla Belle

The Ballad of Jack and Rose is a very disturbing, yet wonderful film starring Camilla Belle. In the film, she cuts her hair all by herself, and the result is quite realistic (Anjaana Anjaani, we're all looking at you!) - not too pretty, at least. But sympathetic. I don't know if Camilla actually cut her hair, or if she wore a wig.

Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett is so damn cool.

I can't forget my grandma partied with her in Vegas, when she was still an unknown theatre actress. Short hair suits her just as well as the floor-lenghth waves in Lord of the Rings.

Shabana Azmi

One of Bollywoods last elderly divas went bald for the film Water - and yes, that wasn't a fake.

She didn't look just as magical as Natalie Portman, but still kudos to her for having the guts to shave it. For real. 

Other (honorable) mentions:

Mandira Bedi, a B-movie actress, I think, cut off her hair some time... It didn't look mind-blowing, though.

Charlize Theron isn't one of my favorite actresses, but she did look fabulous with the pixie.

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I don't want to have too many pictures of myself on this blog, but in this case, I guess the whole post has awakened your curiosity, and since the celebs stood by their short hair, I will do the same - so here I am, proudly presenting my new hair cut.

(That's my dog, Molly, in my arms - in case you wondered).

And PS: I changed the blog name from "Bollywood-addict" to "Film Addict". The header was also modified a bit, just like the side bar. I hope you like it (is the header too boring now?).

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Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

Band Baaja Baaraat (2010) - Make Love Not War

I have the feeling I change the review layout every time I write a new one...

Band Baaja Baaraat (2010) बैंड बाजा बारात

Director: Maneesh Sharma – Authors: Maneesh Sharma, Habib Faisal

Starring: Anushka Sharma, Ranveer Singh

Plot: After college, Shruti and Bittoo build up a wedding agency - however, they break their personal ground rule: no love in business.

Hidden Plot: Classic Hindi cinema is reinvented in a fresh, modern way.

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NB: May contain spoilers (though I'm sure you know them already, even if you haven't seen the film, so read on if you want to).

+ I wrote this review in the middle of the night, so it might not be linguistically perfect.

My Bollywood lean time is finally, finally over - it ended with a big BANG yesterday night (this review was written 2. August).

The "Bang" is also known as Band Baaja Baaraat, one of the most celebrated hits of the previous filmi year, that I have been literally dying to watch (!). 

After a sad misunderstanding with my father (I was sure he was going to give it to me as a birthday present), and my unsure-ness about ordering DVDs from India to Germany, the German Bollywood specialist label Rapid Eye Movies released the film here in Germany, so I ran out to the store to buy it. As I have watched the film with two cultivated German ladies, who otherwise love opera and similar, I can truly recommend it for convincing people that Bollywood is great. At least women, I don't know about men - and their filmic taste shouldn't be too elitist, however.

BBB is at the same time just as good as I had expected and also maybe even better. It's hard to decide, honestly. It is at any rate a fantastic film that has been needed badly.

I have personally "grown up" (first "met" Bollywood when I was 9) with the classic 90s and early 2000 blockbusters like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Main Hoon Na, Yes Boss etc., all of them very colourful, funny in a cute way and of course, romantic. Today, the times have changed, and a film like KKHH wouldn't work today as it did in 1998. But that doesn't mean we have to forget those old times, or leave them behind - BBB is the proof. 

Yash Raj is back on track - but this time, everything is a little more realistic.

The film is just as colourful, funny, cute and romantic as my childhood classics, and the story is similarly easy to see through. This description may turn a lot of people off, especially the ones with the very elitist taste, that I mentioned before. I do have traces of that elitist taste in myself, probably because I taught myself to be like that - read avantgarde or very classic books and watch a lot of arthouse films. However, there is a part of me, the part that loved the films when she was young, that longs for those films, makes me re-watch the "old" favorites every year and enjoy them so much. 

This part of me does not have a brain in the common sense. Yes, she can turn the brain off. Isn't that just wonderful? And practical? It was she, who made me watch Band Baaja Baaraat. And I am forever thankful to her. 

A scene that truly impressed my fellow audience was the kiss scene. "How natural, how tasteful, how magical!" - those were their words. And I can only agree. That kiss might be the best kiss ever made in Indian cinema. 

"Ainvayi Ainvayi" - already a classic amongst Fans.
Did I mention that BBB is colourful?

So far, I think that Anushka Sharma delivered her best performance yet in BBB. Her character does have many layers, which is unusual in romantic comedies - at the beginning, she just seems like a business-minded power woman without any feelings, but as the film goes on, we can see more and more of who she really is. The kiss is a wonderful example for that. Shruti leans to Bittoos shoulders, which shows her being herself the first time - tired, vulnerable and searching for someone to lean on, literally. We also see how afraid and inexperienced she is, when the kiss is approaching, and how long she has kept many of her feelings locked inside. I can only say it again: the kiss scene is incredible. Not only because it really makes you blush (the only other scene [in an Indian film] that made this happen to me, was the famous Kaminey one), but also because it is so essential for the whole film and the characters. We also get to know Bittoo a little better, somehow. Well, I'll stop now - maybe I am interpreting too much into films.

The soundtrack of BBB is also similar to my childhood favorites - a mixture of songs for different moods and occasions, one or two really haunting melodies, and some forgettable ones. Important is, how the songs are realized on screen - "Ainvayi Ainvayi", the Shaadi Mubarak song, "Aadha Ishq", the sometimes happy sometimes sad love song, "Tarkeebein", the background song" and "Dum Dum", the Item number/ mega Bollywood song. And not to forget the Theme Song, "Band Baaja Baaraat", which also only appears in the background. I was especially impressed by the choreography for "Dum Dum", even though it is incredibly unrealistic, especially in context.

Kudos to Maneesh Sharma and Yash Raj Films! I wish the former mentioned good luck with his further career in Mumbai, and to YR I'd like to say: welcome back!

BBB is already a favorite, and I want to recommend it to every living soul - though I do know that not everyone is going to love it as much as I do. If you do love the film, and maybe interpret as (too) much as I do into it, then Cheers!

(A lot of exclamation marks in this review - I'm sure F. Scott Fitzgerald would only shake his head at me).

Rating: 8.7

PS: Yes, BBB does have faults - but child-me didn't see them.

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Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

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.

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Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

Song of this Summer, 2011

Beera Beera

by

Vijay Prakash, Kuotane (additional vocals by Keerthi Sargathia & A. R. Rahman)

Soundtrack of "Raavan" (2010)

Of course, music needs to be listened to before one may couch it:

Click me to listen

or

Click me to listen

Beware, this song is addictive. Big time. It's one of the best songs that have ever sprung from Rahman's magic fingers or brain, or whatever makes him do what he does. 

The duration of about 3 minutes has been described as "tantalizingly short", and I though I have never heard that word before (looked it up in a dictionary), I know that it's true. The song isn't exactly short, actually, about the length of a typical western pop song, but you never want it to stop, you want those holy tunes to go on and on and on. 

Many of Rahman's best songs commence in a quite "strange" sounding way, which in my eyes is a clever step, as the brilliancy of the song shows off even more in that contrast. A rough voice sings "Aankhon mein jaan... oooo..." ("In his eyes his beloved", I believe), quickly followed by some "jungle tunes", as I call them - evoking pictures of a jungle and its strange residents in your mind. 

And now comes my favorite, favorite part... I am mad about this part. After I went crazy about this song, I kept hearing this part all the time, wherever I went, just - always. It doesn't even have any lyrics. Basically, and objectively, it's Rahman (the God!), singing "e-e-e-o, e-e-e-o-o, o-o-o-o-o...". Twice... oh, I must keep listening to it! It is... pure, pure magic, pure inspiration - pure music.

Then it's over, and the song begins for sure.

This is probably the addictive part for most of the people who love this song, and it is addictive, though not as much as my favorite part. Eh bien, qu'est-ce que c'est? Le refrain, évidemment. Basically consisting of... one word. A name. Ah, names with power - one word, one name is enough to awaken your senses... Better than "Main Hoon Don", way better, much more simple, just "Beera". 

"Beera ke das maathe, Beera ke sau naam,

chede jo Beera ko... dhamadhamdhamdham"

("Beera has ten heads, a hundred names - if someone taunts at Beera... dhamadhamdhamdham!")

He doesn't even have the coolest name on earth, he is also a God (like Rahman), immortal probably - and don't'u dare touch'm.  Ah, let's praise him even more by singing his name. (Vijay Prakash is a rrrrockstar, by the way).

I really like how they bring in the "jungle tunes" as the song goes by. You feel like you're standing in the middle of a jungle, and all those natives are dancing around you singing weird songs and playing weird instruments. In the middle of them Vijay Prakash, praising "Beera", the man who kidnapped you. Sorry, not the man - the God, who is frightening, brutal and above all that, well, plain awesome.

"Arey Beera udhti aandhi, Beera ek toofan,

saans mein uble agni - Beera jalti jaan, jaalti jaan..."

("Beera is a rising storm, Beera is a tornado, in his breath the fire is burning - Beera burning lives...")

I told you, he's awesome. I mean, he's kind of a human dragon, too, as we just found out. "Beera burning lives, burning lives, burning lives... Beera...".

"Janam naa poocho, jaat naa poocho,

poocho jo pehchan - Beera ka abhimaan hai, abhimaan hai..."

("Don't ask about his birth, don't ask about his caste, 'cause if you do ask, you'll realize - Beera's got ego...")

Maybe he doesn't wear suits, isn't well-groomed and he doesn't have a smoky voice - but Beera is a strict business person. He doesn't talk privacy with anyone, he's the Godfather of the jungle... 

I actually also love those verses... This song is just rock around the... ah, not clock... jungle. I think we should invent a new genre, "Jungle Rock". I mean, what else would "Beera Beera" be? Okay, "Rahman", most certainly, a genre that already contains many other Rahman songs unable to be put into the cupboard of genres... Most likely his best ones...

The rest of the song is not new in terms of lyrics. There's a repetition of the first verse and a lot of singing "Beera". Addictive, by the way. 

And then, it's over. It's just over. And you want to cry, cry your heart out, because this wasn't supposed to end - this was heaven! Heaven!

Hm... wait a minute... I once heard of the so-called "re-play" button... 

Oh, thank God! Thank you, Rahman and Beera (well, I called them "God", so...)! Oh, there it is again...

"Aankhon mein jaan... ooo..."

And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And a...

gain.

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Thank you for reading,

Mette M. K.

Longing for Bollywood, reading blogs and enjoying the holidays

This is the first true random-thoughts-post I'm doing on this blog...

First of all, I wanted to tell you that I really enjoy reading all your posts from when I was in Greenland.
I don't have the opportunity to watch any Bollywood films at the time, because I'm in Denmark, but I will be back on Wednesday.

I also discovered some new blogs, that I'll add to my surf board very soon, and one of them wrote the most beautiful review on my all-time-super-duper-favorite Dil Se. Read it here.


Well, I'll spend the rest of my time here watching some mediocre Hollywood films, chilling with my Danish guest family, reading and swimming, if the weather is good.

That's all...