HAPPY NEW YEAR + Anticipating 2014

With the new year being only 13 days of age by now, I don't think I'm stretching it by posting my end-of-year post only now. Am I? Don't worry, I'll keep the celebrations short.

Movie-count: 239

Book-count: 34

Not bad, definitely not bad, there's always room for improvement. One thing I'd like to do - or rather need to do - is to watch more movies from 1900 - 1979. This year, I saw 10 or less movies for each of these seven decades and less than five for five of them! I haven't checked my movies for countries but I'm pretty sure about 80 or more percent of them are from the US or the UK - another thing I want to change. It's been a bad year for Indian movies for me too - most of them I watched at the film festival. This is something I want to try to change. Otherwise, the new year is all open. I definitely want to finish watching Supernatural and then dip my toes into either Mad Men or Breaking Bad (help?). Book-wise, I want to read more non-fiction, poetry and short stories. I have the feeling that YA Dystopian fiction is very overexposed, at least in the internet book-loving society, and I don't like following that trend blindly anymore. 

Apart from those plans, I'm looking forward to watching these movies in particular in 2014:

My 9 UNOFFICIALLY Favorite Films of 2013

You already know my 9 UNOFFICIALY Least Favorite Films of 2013, now it's time to take a look at the most magnificent, most wonderful, most splendid film viewing experiences that I've had with some movies from the last year.

Let me remind you once more; I have only seen 35 films of 2013 (one more than in the previous list since yesterday's 12 Years a Slave) due to various reasons, I do not claim this list to represent the 'best' of the year nor am I going so far as to make it an official list. That list is going to be published some time at the end of the year. Or perhaps even later, who knows? I'd love to wait until I've seen 100 films from the year but that's a very high aim. Perhaps 50 or 70 will suffice.

But back to the UNOFFICIAL list - let's start with the bottom of the top then, shall we?

My 9 UNOFFICIALLY Least Favorite Films of 2013

A new year has come upon us in all its shining glory... and I haven't even seen more than 34 films of the last one. There are many reasons for this - lack of money, lack of interest in paying too much money to watch movies, lack of possibility to watch new releases in English (I can't handle German dubs more than 4 times a year), outdated German and Danish release dates, lack of time and the fact that we moved to the country side. So maybe I should be happy that I've even seen 34 movies!

To honor this little bunch of flicks while not dishonoring the film year itself, I have decided to put together an unofficial list of my favorites and least favorites. Be gentle with this one though; I don't deliberately go out and watch the movies that are supposed to be bad, so it's nowhere near representing the worst last year had to offer. Let's start with the top of the bottom then, shall we?

Great Music I Discovered in 2012

I've already shared with you some of the most important movies I watched in 2012, and some of the best new films I discovered that year. The following list is again different from the previous ones, as want to highlight music I didn't know before 2012 - both new and old songs - but only music that I liked, loved, or simply became obsessive about.

Songs that made their way into my iTunes Top 25:

GOODBYE BAD CONSCIENCE: Films that 2012 wiped off my shame-list

"Wait a minute... did you say that... that you haven't seen...? Oh, you... don't mean that, d-do you?"

You know that situation I guess, almost everyone knows it. Whether it's books, music or movies - you can't have experienced it all. But especially when you call yourself and act as if you were a movie buff, people get really happy and self-satisfactory when they've seen a "must-see" movie you haven't seen.

I've learned to see it as a chance though. When somebody tells you about a great classic you should've seen, that's just great because you're probably up to see a really good movie - and we all know how sometimes it can be incredibly hard to choose the "right" movie to see.

So I always follow that kind of recommendations. And it usually pays off.

In 2012, I managed to see a big bunch of these movies that have caused some of those "WHAAAT?" moments among friends, bloggers and other people. There are also movies that nobody has ever talked to me about but that I was personally ashamed of not having seen.

Notably, this isn't a "best formerly unknown-to-me movies I saw in 2012" kind of list, as I didn't like or love all of the movies mentioned here. However, I'm happy I watched them.

Here we go... explaining in what way each of the movies changed or had an impact on any part of my life, philosophy or attitude towards anything.

Mette's 2012 Retrospect

Presenting the best, the worst and the missed of...

Hiya, everyone.

This is a way of welcoming people that I learned in 2012, from various sources such as Marlon Brando's Stanley Kowalski (!) in A Streetcar Named Desire and my visit to London. I think it sounds quite nice - kind of understated and Bohème-ish.

So, 2012 has gone by in - I hate to say it because it's such a worn-out cliché - quite a blur. A whole year ago, I started what would be my best year movie-relatedly watching the "OMG-you-haven't-seen" film; The Shawshank Redemption. And then it just ended, one day after I had seen Paths of Glory, a link in my current obsession with Stanley Kubrick. Before 2012, I never had had an obsession with a director. Okay, I had seen every single Karan Johar film, but that doesn't really count. 

As frequent readers may know, I also suffered from a severe Wes-Anderson-virus some time last autumn, which has left marks on my soul and my mind that will probably never vanish. This goes as far as including Wes Anderson "inspired" photographs in a totally un-Wes-Anderson-related post about cult films, without noticing it (thanks for the clue though, BT).

What else went down last year was my considering to close the blog, primarily in relation with its second birthday, which resulted in one my most philosophic essays ever (except from the confuzzledness one). Then, somehow, I got all involved with movies and blogging that I forgot the thought. Luckily.

I also managed to watch more than 365 movies (a goal I didn't even consider reaching - how did it happen?), although I had weeks of not watching movies in summer. And I went to the cinema a lot comparatively, which makes me proud because I actually support the film industry and cinemas that way. Nevertheless, I didn't watch enough 2012 movies at all, but time to catch up before the Oscars (see list of movies I need to watch further below). 

Anyway, like last year I want to use this space to write a line about... 

EACH 2012 MOVIE I'VE SEEN SO FAR

FROM WORST-ISH TO BEST-ISH

Mette's 2011 Retrospect - The Music

The retrospect series continue... this time, we've come to the world of melodies and stuff like quints that I neither understand nor want to understand. 

It's true: even though I love music, I don't know much about it, and I have never studied it as intensely as movies, fashion or the solar system.

There are many people that know more about this, we conclude, and people who have found all the great tracks of 2011 that I haven't heard yet. I don't listen to a lot of new music.

That's why this post will not deal with say, the best albums or songs of 2011, but the wonderful songs that I discovered in 2011.

Mette's 2011 Retrospect - The Films

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

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

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

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

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

That was it then, let's go.

Comment on the ISHQ Awards and the ACEBAs 2011

You all know the IIFAs, the Filmfare Awards the Zee Cine Awards and all those other corrupt awarding ceremonies in Bollywood (yes, Bollywood is the right expression here).

But I doubt that many people have ever heard of the ISHQ Awards, have you? The ACEBAs (Annual Central European Bollywood Awards), however, are a little more famous, even having a real awarding ceremony with real people this year.


Explaining: The "ISHQ Awards"
The "ISHQ" is the most-read Bollywood magazine in Middle Europe, and if I'm allowed to give a little subjective comment: the best Bollywood magazine I know, especially in Germany. It is German, high quality and couldn't live without it.
The first ISHQ was published in november 2006, I believe, and instantly gained much success in the German fan community. By then, there were no other German Bollywood magazines. There are some others now, maybe one or two, but they can't compare to the ISHQ, in my opinion.
Last year, the ISHQ editors decided to put up the ISHQ Awards, where readers and editors could vote for their favorite films, actors, actresses etc. of the year that passed. They decided to keep the project going this year. Sadly, I wasn't able to vote myself - I missed the deadline.
Well, that's no reason for not commenting the results...

Read more about the magazine:  http://www.ishq.de/ (only German)
The results were published in magazine #48, August 2011.

Explaining: The "Annual Central European Bollywood Awards"
The ACEBAs are the most important Bollywood Awards in Europe, founded by Marco, the host of the largest German (the language, not the country) Bollywood forum, http://bollywoodforum.ch/, and owner of the review site http://molodezhnaja.ch. The awards have existed since 2004, and have improved a lot over the years. The voting is held online, and there's just one vote for everyone. There's also no fixed amount of nominees - it depends on how many films, performances, songs etc. are good enough to be nominated, which also means that sometimes, a whole category drops out for one year.
This year, the awards are presented by not only molodezhnaja, but also BNA Germany and IFFI Goa.

Read more about the awards: http://www.bollywoodforum.ch/aceba/index.htm
The results of the 7th ACEBAs were announced the 10th of August 2011 and published this weekend.

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Will the results be more honest, more elitist or maybe just more fair than at most of the "big" awards? Let's take a look.

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The results are listed chronologically - most votes is 1), least votes is the last.

BEST FILM

(The ISHQ has a lot of nominees but only 10 "winners", from which only one is the true winner, off course, and furthermore they've divided this section into "Reader's choice" and "Editors' choice").

ISHQ Reader's choice:

1) My Name Is Khan 

2) We Are Family

3) 3 Idiots

4) Kites

5) Guzaarish

6) I Hate Luv Storys

7) Band Baaja Baaraat

8) Anjaana Anjaani

9) Dabangg

10) Ishqiya/ Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai

only nominated:

Break Ke Baad - Action Replayy - Baava - Aisha - Do Dooni Char - Badmaash Company - The Japanese Wife - Jhootha Hi Sahi - Love, Sex aur Dhokha - Knock Out - Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey - Karthik Calling Karthik - Peepli Live - Phas Gaye Re Obama - Raavan/ Raavanan - Rakht Charitra 1 & 2 - Enthiran - Striker - Tere Bin Laden - Tees Maar Khan - Thanks Maa - Udaan - Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa - Well Done Abba

A very typical result, and just what I had expected from most of the German readers/ viewers. I had hoped for better, though. MNIK on the first place is acceptable, as I personally liked it a lot as well, but honestly, We Are Family on the SECOND place??? Kites, Guzaarish, Anjaana Anjaani - I can find a more suited winner for all of them in the nominee's row. A problem is that probably many readers just haven't seen many of the films that were nominated. Which is sad, I think. I do like that there's a good variety in the nominees: some southies, too, some blockbuster, some flops, some main stream, some parallel cinema. Sadly, no big variety in the results. Maybe the editors know better?

ISHQ Editors' choice (only 5 wins):

1) My Name Is Khan

2) 3 Idiots

3) Udaan

4) Raavan/ Raavanan

5) Ishqiya

Now this I like. A piece of everything. Not sure if I would've picked Ishqiya, but then again: it might not be the best film, but it's an incredibly important film, especially for the future of women in Bollywood. Good job, ISHQ editors!

ACEBAs:

1) My Name Is Khan

2) Dabangg

3) Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai

4) Raajneeti

5) Udaan

6) Peepli [Live]

7) Ishqiya

8) Raavan

9) Aakrosh

10) Rann

Again, the usual suspects: Shah Rukh and Karan Johar. That's what works here in Germany. 74,49 % - that's almost 10 times as much as Dabangg got. Good I mentioned it already: Dabangg? Dabangg? Admittedly a more suited winner than WTF, I mean WAF, but still... I am, however, fully contented with the rest of the results. My personal vote was for Udaan... Maybe not the best of last year, but still one of the best, and I wanted to vote for one of the more unknown films.

BEST DIRECTOR

ISHQ:

1) Karan Johar: My Name Is Khan

2) Rajkumar Hirani: 3 Idiots (editors' choice)

3) Vikramaditya Motwane: Udaan

4) Abhishek Chaubey: Ishqiya

5) Habib Faisal: Do Dooni Char

Good choices, I would stick with the 3 Idiots - Karan Johar didn't really impress me. I just liked the film.

ACEBAs:

1) Karan Johar: My Name Is Khan

2) Sanjay Leela Bhansali: Guzaarish

3) Vikramaditya Motwane: Udaan

4) Mani Ratnam: Raavan

5) Anusha Riza: Peepli [Live]

6) Ram Gopal Verma: Rann

... ... Is there anything left to say? "Karan Johar, so boring, bla bla", "SLB, who set a high personal standard with Devdas and also a little with Black, and who since then has failed to impress me with his later works, even though Guzaarish is a tiny step towards a better filmic tomorrow of his - he is nominated???"... You know what I have to say. I don't have to write it. I voted for Motwane, he's made one of the most impressing debuts I've seen. Mani Ratnam is my favorite director. I loved Peepli Live. 
... Ah, just remembered that a copy of Rann must be laying around somewhere...

BEST SCREENPLAY [only ACEBAs]

1) Raajneeti

2) Peepli [Live]

3) Ishqiya

4) Karthik Calling Karthik

5) Udaan

6) Well Done Abba

I wonder why the ISHQ doesn't honor the technicians, even thought they tend to write the Bollywood awards don't honor them enough... But then again, it's a young award, it can still improve. Though I'd rather honor the technicians than some "love scene". But whatever. Raajneeti is a deserving winner, and all the others are deserving nominees.

BEST ACTRESS

(Yes, Ladies first - my choice).

ISHQ:

1) Kajol: My Name Is Khan (also editors' choice)

2) Vidya Balan: Ishqiya

3) Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan: Raavan/ Raavanan

4) Anushka Sharma: Band Baaja Baaraat

5) Deepika Padukone: Break Ke Baad

While I think that Kajol delivered a good performance in MNIK, I don't think anyone (including her) can compare to Vidya Balan in Ishqiya. Kajol's role wasn't as layered and deep as Vidya's, so in my opinion, she didn't even have the chance to be better than Vidya. 

By the way: Deepika? Really? I didn't watch BKB, and I have good reasons.

ACEBAs:

1) Kajol: My Name Is Khan 

2) Anushka Sharma: Band Baaja Baaraat

3) Vidya Balan: Ishqiya

4) Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan: Guzaarish

5) Kangna Ranaut: Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai

6) Minissha Lamba: Well Done Abba

Remarkably, Kajol won with only 62,05 % (!). But Vidya is and will always be the best actress of 2010. Dot. Nice that Anushka came second, though... But Aishwarya for Guzaarish? She was much better in Raavan... don't you think? Well Done Abba is one of the few 2010-ers I'm yet too watch, by the way.

BEST ACTOR

ISHQ:

1) Shah Rukh Khan: My Name Is Khan (also editors' choice)

2) Hrithik Roshan: Guzaarish

3) Aamir Khan: 3 Idiots

4) Boman Irani: Well Done Abba

5) Rishi Kapoor: Do Dooni Char

Suck... I didn't expect this to be a genuine MNIK show... But what else should I have expected? And the year didn't really well over by overwhelming male performances... Maybe I would've picked SRK as well, I mean he was good. 

ACEBAs:

1) Shah Rukh Khan: My Name Is Khan 

2) Salman Khan: Dabangg

3) Hrithik Roshan: Guzaarish

4) Ajay Devgn: Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai

5) Boman Irani: Well Done Abba

6) Paresh Rawal: Road to Sangam

The winner is Shah Rukh? Really? Oh my Gosh, that came so unexpected! 
That's all I have to say.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR [only ACEBAs]

1) Arjun Rampal: Raajneeti

2) Arshad Warsi: Ishqiya

3) Nana Patekar: Raajneeti

4) Ronit Roy: Udaan

5) Paresh Rawal: Aakrosh

6) Randeep Hoda: Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai

Woooohooo! This feels like a personal win - the nominee I voted for won! Ah... magical. In contrary to the main actors, it was easy to find good supporting performances in the cinematic archives of 2010. And in my opinion, Arjun Rampal's was the best one.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS [only ACEBAs]

1) Kareena Kapoor: We Are Family

2) Sonakshi Sinha: Dabangg

3) Bipasha Basu: Aakrosh

4) Amrita Puri: Aisha

5) Dimple Kapadia: Dabangg

6) Ira Dubey: Aisha

If there's one good thing about WAF, it's Kareena. She didn't save the film for me, but she was my personal highlight, a flash of cinemagity in the dullness of a kitschy-bitchy "children's drama/comedy/wtf". That's why she deserves this award.

BEST SOUNDTRACK

ISHQ:

1) Vishal-Shekhar: Anjaana Anjaani (btw: An Education-poster, anyone?)

2) A. R. Rahman: Raavan/ Raavanan

3) Sajid-Wajid: Dabangg

4) Ishqiya (editors' choice)

5) Amit Trivedi: Udaan/ Aisha

I'd say 1) Raavan, 2) Udaan/ Aisha, 3) Ishqiya, 4) Dabangg, 5) Anjaana Anjaani. Meh.

ACEBAs:

1) Band Baaja Baaraat

2) Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai

3) Dabangg

4) Guzaarish

5) Aisha

6) Ishqiya

Thanks for reminding me: Why wasn't BBB nominated in the ISHQ awards? Meh. There was music in OUATIM? No Raavan in the ACEBAs? Well, I kinda can't get no satisfaction regarding the music awards of both the award-thingies.

BEST SONG [only ACEBAs]

1) Pee Loon: Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai

2) Munni Badnaam Hui: Dabangg

3) Pe Pe Pepein: Chance Pe Dance

4) Tere Liye: Prince

5) Wallah Re Wallah: Tees Maar Khan

6) Chal Halke Halke: A Flat

Sorry for the latter comment, now I remember at least one song from OUATIM. Beautiful song. But the true winner is "Beera" from Raavan, can't believe it wasn't nominated. Don't remember any of the others except for "Munni". Good choreography, not the best musical work. 

BEST SINGER - MALE [only ACEBAs]

1) Mohit Chauhan - Pee Loon - Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai

2) Rahat Fateh Ali Khan - Dil To Bachcha Hai - Ishqiya

3) Rahat Fateh Ali Khan - Aas Paas Khuda - Anjaana Anjaani

4) Atif Aslam - Tere Liye - Prince

5) KK - Jaane Yeh Kya Hua - Karthik Calling Karthik

6) Krishna - Kaise Jiyu - Hide & Seek

I'm listening to "Pee Loon" at this moment, and I must say it's much better than I had remembered. Definitely worth a best singer award for Mohit Chauhan. 

BEST SINGER - FEMALE [only ACEBAs]

1) Sunidhi Chauhan - Udi Udi - Guzaarish

2) Bela Shende - Sun Le Dua Yeh Aasmaan - We Are Family

3) Mamta Sharma - Munni Badnaam Hui - Dabangg

4) Alyssa Mendonsa - Uff Teri Ada - Karthik Calling Karthik

5) Rekha Bhardwaj - Badi Dheere Jali – Ishqiya

6) Reena Bhardwaj - Khili Re - Raavan

Sunidhi Chauhan would've been my second choice, but Reena Bhardwaj convinced me the most. How sad that she's last in the row...

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY

ISHQ:

1) "Dum Dum": Band Baaja Baaraat

2) "Zoobi Doobi": 3 Idiots (editors' choice)

3) "Sheila Ki Jawani": Tees Maar Khan

4) "Munni Badnaam": Dabangg

5) "Chhan Ke Mohalla: Action Replayy

One of the results that I almost completely agree with. The ISHQ Awards 2011 included 3 Idiots, because the DVD was released so late. Considering that, my personal favorite would be "Zoobi Doobi", but from last years' releases, "Dum Dum" is probably the best. I do, however, prefer "Munni" over "Sheila".

ACEBAs:

1) "Dum Dum": Band Baaja Baaraat

2) "Sheila Ki Jawani": Tees Maar Khan

3) "Pe Pe Pepein": Chance Pe Dance

4) "Munni Badnaam Hui": Dabangg

5) "Fire": Kites

6) "Nakhre": Action Replayy

Don't have much more to say than to the ISHQ result... Nice that they included a song from Kites - Hrithik is my favorite dancer ever. He is simply perfect. Some may say too perfect, but I like being perfect (Black Swan, if you know what I mean... and I take ballet classes myself, by the way).

BEST NEWCOMER - MALE [only ACEBAs]

1) Ranveer Singh: Band Baaja Baaraat

2) Omkar Das Manikpuri: Peepli [Live]

3) Ali Zafar: Tere Bin Laden

4) Aditya Roy Kapur: Guzaarish

5) Rajat Barmecha: Udaan

6) Pradhuman Singh: Tere Bin Laden

Aditya Roy Kapur, "that I'm not laughing!" (German expression, I felt nothing else was appropriate). I voted for Omkar Das, it was before I had seen BBB. I'd probably vote for Ranveer now. 

BEST NEWCOMER - FEMALE [only ACEBAs]

1) Sonakshi Sinha: Dabangg

2) Zarine Khan: Veer

3) Shraddha Kapoor: Teen Patti

4) Arya Banerjee: LSD

5) Nushrat Bharucha: LSD

I voted for Sonakshi, of course. But I'd like to see the two LSD-ladies on the second and third place. 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY [only ACEBAs]

1) My Name Is Khan

2) Guzaarish

3) Raavan

4) Kites

5) Aakrosh

6) Rann

Raavan, Raavan, RAAVAN! Phew, calming down...

BEST ART DIRECTION [only ACEBAs]

For a lot of screencaps, click here

1) Guzaarish

2) Kites

3) Action Replayy

4) Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey

5) Tees Maar Khan

6) Raavan

Okay, deserved. I agree.

MOST DISAPPOINTING FILM [only ISHQ]

1) Tees Maar Khan (also editors' choice)

2) Veer

3) Dulha Mil Gaya

4) We Are Family

5) Guzaarish

Unbelievable that both We Are Family and Guzaarish made it into the Top 5 of the Best Films. Tees Maar Khan was much better - and I know I'm pretty alone with that opinion. Yes, I liked the film, and I'm not going to apologize for that (I also didn't expect much, so how could it be the film I was most disappointed by?). Haven't seen neither Veer nor Dulha Mil Gaya (again, good reasons), so We Are Family would definitely win this section if I were to decide. And Tees Maar Khan would be 5) - even Guzaarish was worse.

BEST COSTUMES [only ACEBAs]

1) Band Baaja Baaraat

2) Golmaal 3

3) Guzaarish

4) Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai

5) Kites

6) Tees Maar Khan

Agrrrrrreeed! (I want those clothes!).

JODI NO. 1 [only ISHQ]

1) Shah Rukh Khan & Kajol: My Name Is Khan (also editors' choice)

2) Shahid Kapoor & Genelia D'Souza: Chance Pe Dance

3) Anushka Sharma & Ranveer Singh: Band Baaja Baaraat

4) Vidya Balan & Arshad Warsi: Ishqiya

5) Abhishek Bachchan & Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan: Raavan

Shah Rukh + Kajol is nothing new, we've seen it a hundred times - but then again, don't we still love. Don't they still enchant us with their mind-blowing chemistry on screen? Come on... yes, they do. And that's why they won over the fresh newcomers of BBB and the interesting pairing of Ishqiya.

BEST EDITING [only ACEBAs]

1) Band Baaja Baaraat

2) Kites

3) Ishqiya

4) Aakrosh

5) Prince

6) Rann

Yeah, go on... (good choice, yap).

BEST GERMAN RELEASE [only ISHQ]

1) My Name Is Khan: Extended Director's Cut (DVD)

2) Koyla - Glut der Rache

3) Tanz um dein Glück - Chance Pe Dance

4) Kites - Auf der Flucht

5) My Name Is Khan: shortened cinema version

6) Sag Ja zur Liebe - Dulha Mil Gaya

7) Gestern, heute und für immer - Love Aaj Kal (editors' choice)

8) Live aus Peepli - Irgendwo in Indien (Peepli Live)

I don't buy many German releases, as they are mostly a lot more expensive than the Indian ones, but I do own the "Director's Cut" of MNIK. It's only called "Director's Cut", because the cinema version was shortened - which I didn't like, but whatever. The German DVD is good, I mean, I didn't watch the special features yet, but... 

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS/ STUNTS/ ACTION [only ACEBAs]

1) Dabangg

2) Toonpur Ka Superhero

3) Prince

4) Veer

The only one who was qualified enough to win this. 

BEST "LOVE SCENE" [a special ISHQ Award]

1) My Name Is Khan ("Marry me!") (also editors' choice)

2) Kites (Kiss scene)

3) Anjaana Anjaani ("That's not funny anymore, Kiara.")

4) Aisha (Balcony scene)

5) Band Baaja Baaraat ("Let me rest...")

Come on, guys... this is getting really boring and foreseeable. I'm not blaming the magazine - they had good nominations - but the general viewer is almost as unspectacular as the general public... Man. I can agree on Kajol and Shah Rukh being the Jodi No. 1, we already discussed that, but it's not equal with having the best "love scene", because it's not equal with having the best screenplay-writer to write it. 

THE 5 MOST ANTICIPATED FILMS [a special ISHQ Award]

The editors didn't vote for this one.

1) Don 2 (Shah Rukh, Priyanka)

2) Ra.One (Shah Rukh, Kareena)

3) Untitled (Aamir, Rani, Kareena)

4) Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (Hrithik, Farhan, Abhay)

5) Mausam (Shahid, Sonam)

As the two Shah Rukh films are the ones most likely to have a theatrical release in Germany, I understand why they are the most anticipated ones. Also because of Shah Rukh himself, of course. And because Don 2 was partly filmed in Berlin (yes, I wanted to go there, but long story). I chose Untitled, though - the pairing is too interesting. 

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Phew, that was some hard work, putting this together. I hope you enjoy.

Mette M. K.

The Film Year of 2010

EDIT: This post was written when I was still writing about other film industries, so some of the mentioned reviews might not be available on this blog anymore.

In the last few days I've been thinking about the film year we soon will have passed. To get an overview, I thought it might be wise to create a list of the movies released this year, that I've seen.  So after I had fished together all cinema tickets and had been thinking, what movies I had seen in any other way, the final list contained 21 films. Are that a lot or not many movies, I ask myself...? And come to the conclusion that it's a normal amount, but as I also watch many movies from other vintages every year, maybe the amount is rather upper middle. Well, however, here are the films, divided into several categories:
(Note - Some of the film such as "Avatar" were released at the very end of 2009, but I count them to the movies of 2010).

The worst films:

I must say that creating this selection was quite hard, as there weren't really incredibly bad films on my list... But someone has to be the black sheep, so here are the results of my rigorous selection.

"Letters to Juliet" by Gary Winick

This summer, my sister and my best friend persuaded me to go to the cinema with them and watch this summer romance. It's not necessarily a bad movie, but it's just easy cinema with an easy story... A few unexpected twists in the plot, but if you've seen the trailer, you already know the end. Nevertheless, the Italian scene and the likable actors make the movie bearable to enjoy.

"Kites" by Anurag Basu

I already explained the circumstances that brought me and "Kites" together in my review (find it at Bollywood Reviews).
The film is especially entertaining, but also at times exaggerating, illogical and a bit too brutal. Although the film manages to entertain without song-and-dance, Hrithik may nevertheless, camouflaged as a dance teacher, demonstrate his famous dance moves. Barbara Mori is also a quite interesting actress.



"Karate Kid"by Harald Zwart

Since I have not seen the original movie yet, I do not agree with the mercilessly biting reviews - the film does have entertainment value - especially as a family movie. Admittedly, the movie is not further convincing outside that genre, apart from the new facet of Jackie Chan and an unusual scene.

"Badmaash Company" by Parmeet Sethi

Another movie that has great potential and could have been better, if someone had just put a modicum more effort in the preparation of the script instead of the trappings. All of the actors are all right, though Shahid Kapoor is the one standing out. Apart from that, this is not a movie you want to buy .

The best comedies:

In this category, I distinguish between "normal" comedies and romantic comedies. Choosing the movies for this category wasn't a hard decision, as this year was comparatively rich in humor.

Normal: "Due Date" by Todd Phillips

I think everyone is familiar to this scenario: A group of teenagers, around 15 years old, are determined to watch a film that is not allowed for people under the age of 16 - in this case "Wir Sind die Nacht". This plan is interrupted promptly by the very destructive cinema employee. So then, we had to make a quick decision (we were all girls, by the way). Curtly, we chose to watch the child-appropriate "Due Date", which was allowed to be watched by us, the minors. Firstly: I would certainly not call this movie child-appropriate after having seen it, it is, however, quite funny, despite the fact that some of the scenes leave a slight impression of perversity. Just the right actors, the right dog and the wrong highway for a successful comedy.

Romantic: "Groupies Bleiben Nicht Zum Frühstück" by Marc Rothemund

(= Groupies Don't Stay For Breakfast)

My sister and I had been waiting for this movie to release for several months (well, sometimes you just really gotta be a teenager). In any case, we were not disappointed and became all we had wanted - and more. Because aside from a very sweet romance and funny subplots, the movie is in some ways also realistic.  As opposed to High School Musical, for example, the huge mansions have been transformed to normal flats and the characters seem to be quite normal, too.

Romantic: "Valentine's Day" by Garry Marshall

Once again, my split personality revolves itself: On one hand, I'm very pleased by inside tipps, which others find deadly dull, and on the other hand, I also love nice romantic comedies - under one condition: They have to be something new, have new ideas. This movie seems to satisfy the condition, as it has really turned up my humormeter... The cast is also a great mix.

Normal: "Grown Ups" by Dennis Dugan

"Grown Ups" is to me the ultimate comedy of 2010 and one of the best comedies I've seen for a long, long time. The actors fit their characters perfectly, the timing is right, the humor is right... What can I say?  The one who has not seen this film has surely missed something!

The best thrillers:

Only two films made it into this category, whereas one is not even a true thriller... But let's have a look on the chosen ones.

"The Tourist" by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Right, this is the mentioned, not to be labeled as a thriller, film. Somewhere in the deep seas of the world wide web, I stumbled upon the indication Thriller-Dramedy... and I do find it quite appropriate for this felicitous Genre-mix. Find out more about it in my review.

"Chloe" by Atom Egoyan

This movie, though, does truly deserve the title; the "thrill" is just within reach! If you've read my review, you'll remember how enchanted I was by this film (and I still am). The atmosphere is literally one-of-a-kind and there couldn't have been found better actors.

The best chick-flicks:

Also this category includes only two films this year: a very successful Hollywood movie and a Bollywood movie that has been not exactly high-flying at the box-office, but also ok, and which has been extolled by (not only) Indian fashionistas.

"Aisha" by Rajshree Ojha

The best thing about Aisha is definitively the fashion... which was also the main reason for the hype that the movie had caused before releasing. All single female Bollywoodfans with just the slightest interest in fashion were ready to do anything, if they'd be able to see this movie. I've personally only had the chance once yet, but nevertheless, my pulse of fashion was quickened to an almost unhealthy speed. Joking apart, it is needless to say that Aisha has boo-boos too, but they just don't seem that big to me. Is fashion blind?

"Sex and the City 2" by Michael Patrick King

In spite of the huge amount of rather bad reviews, I   and one of my girlfriends (big fans of the series) dared to enter the cinema to watch this movie, and behold: Our braveness was remunerated. It very well may be, that the movie has been carried to excess a little and it very well may be, that 20$ for shoes is not the sale of the Century - but: SATC is cultic, and we won't let it be goofed on by some critic that's in a bad mood. Also the flashback to the beginnings of our four Desperate Fashionistas is an amusing idea and teaches us, that we can be happy not to have lived in the 80s (well, us).

The best fantasy movies:
There was no lack of fantasy this year, especially after the (so far) successful comeback of 3D, which we'd been introduced to in 2009.

"Alice in Wonderland" by Tim Burton

A movie that had been eagerly anticipated by film and fashion aficionados and prettified my birthday with sophisticated 3D technology and Tim Burton's illimitable imagination. Who doesn't want to step into Alice's (pretty) little shoes and give the wondrous wonderland a visit...? I do. Just to once meet this crazy hatter with his shiny green eyes and... well, disputable make up. Leading actress Mia is a newcomer, and is well received... only her German dubbing voice wasn't overwhelming.

"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" by David Slade

Okay, I slowly seem to loose the intellectual part of my personality...  Where are you? Well, it wasn't my original plan to only talk about mainstream movies here, but this one had to get in. I must recognize that "New Moon" was kind of a blooper, but the Twilight Saga is just fabulous, and I will stick by this now. Yes, I like Twilight. The books were the very best, but "Eclipse" has definitely got cinematic potential, if I can observe it in an objective way. 

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part I" by David Yates

It almost appears to me, that I've been looking forward to extraordinarily many movies this year. Off course, as a born-and-bred fan, you look forward to the next Harry Potter movie from the moment, where the credits of the latest one are projected onto the silver screen. This year, the opening night had a melancholic touch; next time will be the last time... But what can I say: the movie was marvelous! Asides of the third movie (Prisoner of Askaban), this was the best of the series.

The best love stories/ dramas:

Every movie, in some way or another, gives attention to the subject of love - I have never seen a movie not doing so, because even if it isn't about love, it therefore is about love. That's how it appears... either because it's a humane primary instinct... or maybe just because it's our favorite subject. As the case may be.

"Same Same But Different" by Detlev Buck

Already in my review, I gave this movie the best rating possible (10/10), so I don't have that much more to say. It is one of the best films known to me, I can say that much. And I know a lot of films. If you think this one is to negative for you, don't be put off by that thought: The story is narrated in a casual way and not only something for film snobs (like me).

"Remember Me" by Allen Coulter

Maybe the end... The only contra I can give to this movie would be because of the end. It is a little long drawn-out, I must admit that. But by that we're only talking about the last 7 minutes or so. In other respects, Remember Me is one of the most beautiful and best love stories we've had for a long time... in contrast to Twilight, Robert Pattinson is very alive in this flick. His partner, Emilie de Ravin, also delivers a quite solid presentation.

The best bio-pics:

Biographies are always absorbing, especially in the shape of prose, while the tend to have to struggle in the cinematic world, for example by having rather small budgets. The two movies I will present to you in this category, were only showed for max. 2 weeks in our cinema. By the way, I watched both of them with the same friend... interesting.

"Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky" by Jan Kounen

The reviews for this film have been very dissimilar: One half says, the movie is vacant and only worth to be seen for the costumes, while the other half believe it to be a magnum opus. I myself seem to be somewhere in between those two attitudes, because I have to add, that with a magnum opus there is meant a magnum opus of erotic. And it is just that aspect of the movie, which I found to be too animalistic and unromantic. That off course fit the atmosphere, but it also caused many a face in the theater to blush. A big accolade to the actors (I'm a huge fan of Mads Mikkelsen) and also especially to the soundtrack, which is absolutely intense.

"The Last Station" by Michael Hoffman

The second bio-pick is about the late Russian author Leo Tolstoi and other persons involved in his life. It caught my attention just because of the fact that one of my absolutely favorite actors is in it, namely James McAvoy. The film at once satisfied and carried me away, while especially Helen Mirren accomplished a great acting achievement.

The very best films:

We have now moved on to the final category and the movies described here are among my favorite favorites. Just after watching them, I laid them into my imaginary favorite-movie-treasure-chest.

"Avatar"by James Cameron

 He has brought it off again. He has bedazzled all of us... literally! After coming out of the movie theater where I'd watched  Avatar for the first time, trying to blaze my trail through the snow, I was confused. Just confused, I don't know how to explain that feeling. I felt 1000s of feelings at the same time: exhilarating beatitude, burdensome bad conscience, deep sorrow... bewitching confusion.

"My Name Is Khan" by Karan Johar

And he has brought it off again, too. He has made us sing, laugh, dance and cry. He has made us fall in love, even without the magic "K" as initial letter. He has once again united the dream jodi of cinema, and he has taken up one of the most ongoing and delicate subjects at all, so he finally made us cogitate.

Thank you so many times, James and Karan, for enriching the world of cinema, with the two best movies of 2010.