Leaving Hogwarts, the Deathly Hallows and This Blog

Almost four years ago (in another life, we would have celebrated this October), I went to blogger.com and hit the button 'create your own blog'. I was a teenager with a strong passion for (Indian) cinema in search of a virtual playground. A place that would be mine to design, maintain and fill with thoughts on film and eventually other parts of pop culture. It was a struggle to get the word out there - do you remember the way Harry, Hermione and Ron met in The Sorcerer's Stone? For Ron and Harry, there was an instant bond and a relaxed bro relationship formed immediately. Meanwhile, Hermione had to struggle to make friends, and it took a while until the trio formed and became as kick-ass as they were in The Deathly Hallows. This is what I feel like blogging was for me. But here I am with 100 official followers and many articles that I feel proud re-reading. The blog has been the creator of many things I would never have imagined joining or that I never even knew of. Tumblr, Twitter, me writing for a German Bollywood magazine and the online pop culture mag The Artifice ... and last but not least, me joining the podcasting world. Which has now become my favorite output and playground for my cinematic passion.

For me, the best thing about blogging has always, always been the community. I would never have met all these wonderful people, most of which live thousands of miles away from me, without this blog. I have never met any of you in person but I have talked to some of you on podcasts, and through Facebook and Twitter I follow your lives and you follow mine. It's like a virtual Marauder's Map, somehow. I wish I could explain how important all of you have become to me, how much fun you insert into my everyday life and how a nice comment used to save my day. Though the latter was probably somewhat unhealthy and is another reason I'm stopping the blogging thing (for now). In some place of my brain, there is an unsatisfiable hunger for achievement, recognition, fame. A piece of this is wonderful and I believe that competitiveness is healthier than lazy satisfaction. But I would like to use this energy in another way for a while, channel it into several different directions and try other things. Finishing my A levels and leaving for a gap year in Alaska seems like the right place to start.

If I'm not at home I'm somewhere else in the world.

I want to watch more movies without knowing what they're about. I want to enjoy them without thinking about the next blog post, the next marathon, the next update of my 100 Favorites. Meanwhile, this does NOT mean I'll cut off commenting on or philosophizing about film. You will always be able to read my mini reviews (including the Blind Spot series and possibly texts for other blogathons) on Letterboxd, my movies reviews and editorials in ISHQ and my articles on pop culture (including film) at The Artifice. You will be able to read my comments on your own blogs now and then, and especially, you will be able to hear me discuss cinema in various podcasts. Across the Universe: The Chicks With Accents Podcast is one of my proudest achievements so far, and my co-hosts Sofia and Nikhat have become very dear to me. Please stay with us in this chaotic thing called life - I'm sure we're not turning off our microphones any time soon.

It's like I've achieved my goal with this blog - I have made friends (mutual ones, I hope), written my teenage heart out while I've grown up to be a crazier and funnier person than I was when I started this. (Seriously, the Mette before the blog was kind of a bore). I've grown out of my Hermione fixation - realizing she's a bit of a caricature was part of my maturing process (from lame book geek to, ahem, cool geek). The fact that it has turned into an Emma Watson fixation doesn't lessen than achievement. Seriously, who doesn't want to save the world, stand by the F-word (feminism), study and work hard and look fabulous while doing that, and at the same time admit to have flaws? Sorry about that. What I was trying to say is: I have found the Deathly Hallows. I have conquered Voldemort and okay, I guess I have grown into a nerd since I'm comparing my mile stones to a fantasy novel series. But you know what - this is what makes me happy. I'm happy. I have never been this happy in my life!

Promise I won't take it too seriously, but I've got to start somewhere.

Many more mile stones are ahead of me, of us (*gollum* - trying to be less egotistical since I realize I have written a lot about myself here) and who knows, perhaps I will return to blogging some time. Or maybe I'm going to finally write some more articles on The Artifice. Maybe we will gain some more listeners on our podcast. Maybe I will invent the next Facebook (this is the most likely of all these suggestions). At any rate, I will choose what makes me happy. A lot of people dislike the closing scene of The Deathly Hallows - the trio has grown older and seemingly more boring. I am one of the people that disagree; we don't know what's going on in Harry's, Ron's or Hermione's lives, but hey, they look happy. They're doing their jobs, building their own families, perhaps traveling the world. The war is over, life continues. This is not what I call boring. This is what I call pretty cool.
(And yes, I'm not mentioning the fact that Ginny doesn't look like the awesome Quidditch player she's supposed to be).

Thank you for four wonderful years of reading my tipsy scribblings, for the loveliest digital conversations and for an enlightening cinematic and cultural journey that I'm sure is never-ending. Take care and don't forget me, as I surely won't forget you. Keep up the fun on all the social media, 'cause this is definitely not the end of any of my accounts on those.

"Her fingers hadn't itched to write a blog post for nine-teen weeks. All was well".

Keeping Your Followers Up-to-date 101

Yes, I'm still alive.

That's me, proud graduate, the 2nd from the right.

More or less so, I mean the last week has been heaven and hell in one. I graduated from high school on the 27th of July and since then everything has been on chaos mode. The thing is that here in this weird place between Denmark and Germany, we have a tradition of wearing our graduation hats for two weeks after that graduation and there is a party or something similar almost every day during that time. After the two weeks, there's an official event and the prom. I started out thinking that once the exams are over I will have enough time to post my Blind Spot entry and watch a movie every week for the ALASKAthon and write about it - turns out I was wrong. In between re-watching TFIOS in cinemas, indulging in coming of age flicks anywhere between high (The Dreamers) and low brow (Freche Mädchen, no you don't really need to know what that is) and a drinking game flavoured LOTR party, there hasn't even been time for me to watch the last two ALASKAthon films. Let alone comment one anyone else's blogs. Since Ed Sheeran's new CD has come out, I haven't even been listening to podcasts.

So what does the future hold? I don't know. I said I was going to write an official big-hiatus-goodbye thingy and I certainly will do so before I leave for Alaska August 4th. Who knows, perhaps I will marathon the Alaska films sometime after the graduation-hat-weeks and write all about it. Otherwise, keep an eye on my letterboxd profile, Tumblr blog and Twitter account - those are the places I'm most likely to find online (and talk about movies) these days.

What can I say - I'm sorry for being such a bad blogger. But I have had plans to take a break from blogging anyway and sometimes it's hard to say whether something will come to and end quickly or slowly. Perhaps a slightly modified quote from a certain Mr. Green will help express my feelings: "I stopped blogging like you fall asleep - at first slowly and then all at once".

See you soon - either for some more posts or for the last one in a long time.

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: I'm on YouTube

This so-called blog is turning into a big platform of self-promoting other things I spend my precious blogging time on. But maybe these news will make you forgive me a little for the recent (ahem) abandonment of the film critic side of me. I...

*DRUMM ROLL*

... OPENED A YOUTUBE CHANNEL WITH MY SISTER! Like most people of our generation, we spend way too much time on the YouTube, watching everything from Old Spice ads to booktube hauls and song spoofs. Our channel is hopefully going to be just as diversely flavoured as our viewing habits (it has nothing to do with us being an undecided mess). But you can get an impression of what it's going to be like in our first video.

Due to our lack of a vault full of Galleons, we decided to make our poor financial status the subject of our second video which came out way later than expected. Still, it turned out better than I imagined.

So that's all we got for now, I hope you're hooked as hell and support this project by spreading the love ALL. OVER. THE PLACE. It's not like we're going to rob your house of Pringles if you don't though. Really, that's not our intention. At all. How did I even think of that?

And finally, another big announcement: I just hit the BUY button on amazon and a brand-new camcorder is on its way to our little village in Northern Germany. So make sure to subscribe in order to not miss our next absolutely awesome video.

Still There

Yes, I'm still here. I didn't fall down some stairs and wasn't hit by a car, and I'm also not in a marriage crisis, with the descending sun being a metaphor for my life. I just want to let you guys know that things are quite messy at the moment, we moved from town to the countryside so a lot of my time is filled with bus rides and unpacking. Furthermore, my last year of high school just started, so I'll be very busy with that for the next 8 months.

I will write something eventually and of course the podcast will be there, but just remember that I'm still out there when you don't hear or read anything. Because I also don't really have time to read other people's blogs. Hell, not even to watch movies. 

Oh, and the picture isn't a metaphor for the life of this blog either. 

I See You Shiver With Antici...

... pation.

Updating my 100 Favourite Movies List

Many an unexpected task has kept my from assembling an updated version of the list of my 100 Favourite Movies, but here it is, the final momentary compilation of movies that have had an unusually great impact on me.  

The list of my favourite movies is not supposed to be a list of the "best" films I have seen, apart from the fact that even this term is argumentative. Rather than being "good" in an objective way, these are movies that have made me laugh, smile, cry or sing. They've touched something in my mind (I prefer this term to heart) and perhaps made me wonder, ask questions I had never thought of, or delivered answers I'd have never guessed.

While there is a tendency towards violence-gloryfying, stylish cult films with great soundtracks, blue eyed actors and a poetic undertone, I believe that you can find films from any genre and many different decades in the list - a great progress since the initial one from some time in 2011.

The order in which the movies are listed is also to be noticed with attention, as ranking your favourite and most beloved movies is one of the hardest tasks I know - anyone who has tried or succeeded in creating such a list will agree. Which movie is perfect for what kind of situation and mood, is an important factor here. Another thing I would like you to consider is that most of the newly added films are ones I have seen a short while ago. My opinion on them may change during time, which is also the reason why many of them belong to the the lower ranks.

A great exception from this rule, and a first timer for that, is Fight Club, which immediately made it to my top 3 favourite films. As far as I expect, it's going to stay there.

All of this being said, I hope you enjoy browsing through the list, remembering some of your fondest favourites and perhaps being inspired to discover some new ones.

PS: This post also signals my decision to keep on blogging on a regular base. I have decided that it's something I love, because I'm able to express myself without any boundaries, and this is such a wonderful community. So, have fun and we'll meet again soon!

The Third Winter

22. 10. 2012

Long time no see. Write, I mean. Or read.

I decided to get back to my electronic keyboard for the special occasion of celebrating the second anniversary of this online establishment known as Lime Reviews and Strawberry Confessions.

In the last few weeks, I have not been giving this blog much thought - and at the same time, I think I have. Perhaps unconsciously. As you can see, I have not been writing much which has to do with this, obviously. 

Let's start from the beginning. I did a lot of traveling lately. And I spent a lot of time with friends and my sister who is sometimes a friend and other times an enemy. Anyhow, I realized that I myself have changed a lot from when I started this blog two years ago. Of course, like any teenager out there, I have somehow "found myself" and so on, I have grown wiser (?) and I have read more books, seen more movies, listened to more music and thought about more stuff. But there is another change: I don't need that much time alone anymore. 

No, no, that's the wrong expression. I need more time with other people, actually. Perhaps it's a phase... I really can't say. I just like talking to other people more often than before. Guess that's good. Though probably it's neither good nor bad, just different. Anyhow. I started seeing things in a more relaxed kind of way. So what if I'm not going to write a novel or direct a movie - it doesn't really matter. What I want is to do what I want, and I don't want to want stuff that I think I have to want anymore. Sounds a bit more serious than it really is - it's not like I was some maniac before, I just sometimes had this idea that I needed to "do" something. Create something, perhaps. And what I realized is that this something can be anything, it's not really defined in any way. 

So that was my long ramble which you probably just skimmed over, but I had to get it off my soul. It might sound to you as if I wanted to close this blog or at least have a hiatus. I thought about that, yes. Because I want to focus on school, and I want to do some other things that I feel like doing right now. I don't want to think every evening that "Oh, I wonder if I'll have time to watch a movie". I don't want to obsess about that. 

What I want is to think "Hey, I'm finished with sports and home work and I feel like watching a movie". Perhaps this is going to happen almost every evening, perhaps just every second or third. It doesn't matter. I spent a long time watching a movie almost every evening, and it was good, but I need to want it again. And that might take time or it might never happen. 

This month, I've only seen very few movies, and it doesn't bother me. And that's where I'm heading at - what's best for me. That was the reason I started watching movies, right? That was the reason I started writing about them. And that's what I want to be the reason for every future thing I do. 

Now that we have this sorted out, I want to do something that I do a lot and enjoy a lot doing: I want to thank somebody. You. You, who are reading this right now. You, who make my stats rise and rise even when I write only one post in a month. You, who took the time to read something a 17-year old girl who's not sure whether she's Danish or German wrote. You, who even took the time to comment on some of it. 

Sometimes, I can't believe this is really happening. That this thing is something I created (!) with my own two hands. It's beautiful, I really think so. And - I know how cheesy this sounds - you have made it happen. 

Thank you. 

Well, here's to many more years of blogging. Be it one post per month, per week, or per day. Guess you all know, "Life's like a box of chocolates".

Final Frames (Rate-Ology)

Numbers are a great way to make sense of the chaos that surrounds us. They are, more or less, easy to understand and we grow up with numbers everywhere.

Films are also about numbers, so is blogging (to some extend), and so is especially rating. Whether you try to describe your feelings about a book, album or film, there is always a need for numbers to sum up what you write or say. I'm not one of the brave bloggers who say no to rating, I need ratings because my thoughts can be confusing, not only for my readers but also for me. I need numbers to get myself to find out how much I liked or disliked a movie. That's why I give each film I see a number between 0.0 and 10.0. 

However, and this is what brings us here, I find the numbers rating system a little boring. It's so black and white, there's no room for humour there, only a particular number that you find fitting. Therefore, I designed a new rating system for this blog in summer 2012, which shows a fictional (ahem) character on a sofa, and her reactions when the credits of the movie roll. 

There are five ratings, which makes it easier and more understandable for both you and me, and they are related to the number rating I give the films. I don't want to tell you which numbers are connected to which picture, because that would kind of destroy the meaning of this. If you absolutely want numbers, you can find them in my monthly Happy New Month post.

Last but not least, I want to make clear that these pictures belong to me because I designed them, but if you ask me friendly you can of course use them elsewhere (not regularly, just to share them I mean, or something like that). In the following segment you can see the ratings, read their names and meanings.

LIME EXPLOSION 

Enough to make you weep.

LIME 

Just not good enough.

HYBRID 

Not good. Not bad.

STRAWBERRY 

Damn good.

STRAWBERRY EXPLOSION

To die for.

PS: The ratings have been in use a few weeks already before I wrote this, so I hope nobody is confused now. I just wanted to write an official post on them.

Updated 100 Favourite Films List!

Almost precisely 6 months after the first version, I am able to present to you the updated version of my 100 favourite films. I've decided not to include documentaries and shorts this time, but you can read more about that in the list itself.

Again, there are way too many new films, a lot of people might think, but I hope some of you will agree with some of the choices anyhow.

To satisfy the nerdy side of myself, I have also created some nerdy facts and diagrams this time, partly to find out a little about myself and my cinematic taste, partly to present them to you.

Nerdy diagrams:

The decades

I knew that I like a lot of newer films, but this result is quite surprising to be honest. Especially the large amount of 2010 films. And what happened to the thirties? 

Proportion of male vs. female directors

Here is something I definitely want to change. The problem is just that there are very female directors, opposed to male ones, and many of the female directors are not that good. This is the sad truth. But I promise I'll try to look out for more female directed films... I want to see more of Sofia Coppola anyhow.

The countries

Interesting. I think this is what I had in mind - and I'm not ashamed of the large amount of American films. There are many good ones.

I hope you had some fun with these facts, in case some of you are as nerdy as me. And have a look at the updated list, if you haven't already.

Lime's Sunday Supplement, 22.01.2012

I know, I know. My weekly write-up has already changed name and form two times - from "The Weekual Thursday PP" to "Thank God It's Thursday", where I included other new releases than just Indian ones.
My problem is that Thursday is a very busy day for me - I have 7 hours of school, two hours at home, 1 1/2 hours of ballet, and maybe a visit to the cinema at night.

That's why I decided to move this feature to my (normally) least stressful day of the week. This means that I won't just be able to talk new releases, but also new soundtracks, trailers... whatever I can think of.

I hereby declare Lime's "Sunday Supplement" open!

The Lime is on Facebook

And this is our awesome profile picture.

Dear fellow bloggers, readers and visitors,

it's been a few months now since I joined the Twitter-tree and some other plugins to use for this blog and my own pleasure. Facebook was always the first option, because it's so widely known and surely effective. But even though I love The Social Network, I've never been a true fan of social networking sites. Not because I don't use them - facebook, as I said, is quite effective.
No, it's because of the way (I dare say) most people use them, and that has affected the picture of facebook that I have in my mind. It's a picture of narcissism and low-brow-ness.

So I didn't launch a site on facebook for this blog before today. Why today, then? Because we can be different. I don't personally put a post on facebook every time I go to bed or eat breakfast or whatever, and I don't put embarrassing pictures or statements on there. I like my facebook. And I want you to like the facebook of Lime Reviews & Strawberry Confessions.
Sounds innovative and rebellious, actually it isn't. It'll be like most blog-sites out there... I'll post what's on here and maybe some pictures and thoughts. But the point is: that's great. That's all I want.

And as I know from personal experience, facebook is the #1 page of most people, I mean... many people are on there a lot. So you don't have to go to your blogger account every time you want to know what's going on here, you can just go on facebook.
Another thought of mine, which is quite selfish, is that maybe you could tell your friends about it, you know... kind of show them the site and then they'll kind of click on the link and then this community will kind of get even bigger and more interesting.

Let's keep it this way and not add more words, this was really what I wanted to say.
Oh, and before I forget:

Introducing two brand-new features...

It was somewhat a coincidence, that the first two films I would watch this year are the currently most popular film (according to the IMDB), and the film that is currently on top of my 100 Favorite Films list.

My first thought was: I have to write about these two. 

Slowly, an idea began taking shape in my mind... why not re-watch all of my current favorite films? It has been so hard to put the list together, and I'm still not a 100% sure if I really rated the films the way I would rate them if I had seen them recently. Because, as we all know, tastes change during time.

And why not... why not try to watch and re-watch the current most popular films of all time? It's only 250 pieces, not as overwhelming as the famous 1001 I'm working on too. And most certainly, a lot of the most popular films must also be included in the Bible of Films, don't they?

I know I won't be able to do this in one year, except if I stop watching any new releases and other unknown films. This is a project that will take time, but I'm willing to try. 

Challenge accepted, as Barney would say (what, you don't know who Barney is?! ...well, this is neither the time nor the place).

By the way, don't expect (or fear) over-long ramblings about current or new favorites, or films that I can't believe people would like. Most of the posts will be of a rather short length, considering the quantity of films I will be writing about - I need to have time to watch, too. Oh, and leisure time of course. Which is the time when I watch movies. Okay, then... time when my friends, family or teachers would like to either see me or see me doing something that is important.

I think I will write a lot of "x thoughts on..." sort of posts. I can also already tell you that I probably won't be able to properly review my nr. 1 favorite, but I'll think of something. 

Another thing that is more or less luckily related to my Discovery of 100 Favorite Films, is that I'll try buying a lot of the DVDs that I don't own yet. Lucky, because I will have more good DVDs, and the makers of my favorite films will earn money... unlucky because I'll have to spend money on it.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new features, and are ready to come with me on this journey.

PS: Some kind of 2011 retrospect post or post series is also coming up, so keep an eye out.

Limy Holidays

Lime Reviews will be on a short hiatus for the next 1-2 weeks due to autumn holidays.

It's going to be our 1st anniversary soon, look out for that.

Meanwhile, you can enjoy the new design (I'm not totally sure about it, but... well, let's hear what you think - it's less summery, that's for sure).

See you soon!