2010: A Summary of a Year

2010 is almost over. Can you believe it, because I can't! The year has been pretty good, I've seen many awesome films (and quite a bunch of less awesome films as well, but that's unavoidable, I guess). I hugely regret that I didn't make a list of all the films I watched during 2010 (it did cross my mind, damn it), because I'm pretty sure I've broken a personal record. 2010 was also the year when I started blogging, so I guess we can say my year hasn't been a total waste!

To wrap the year up, I look back to the various phases I went through this year. (A phase: A period of time during which I am hugely enthusiastic about something or someone, and can't fully concentrate on anything else.) There's been unusually many of them! Also, I'll very reluctantly make an unofficial top five of my favourite movies of 2010. Don't take it too seriously. There are too many potentially awesome films I haven't yet seen! It's mostly there just for show.

**

My SIX PHASES of 2010

The Robert Downey Jr. phase (January - March)

Not often I go see a film in the cinema twice. Even less often three times. But I did see Sherlock Holmes three times, and I can only blame the unbeatable charm and overflowing hotness of RDJ. During the phase I also watched a lot of lousy films from his early career (and one damn good one that led to another phase later on) and the fourth season of Ally McBeal. That's when the phase probably reached its peak and I was more fanfirl-y that I've been in years and it was highly disturbing and I'm glad it's over now. (And I'm only half-kidding.) I'm still very much RDJ's girl, and I regret I managed to miss Due Date in cinemas.

The River Phoenix phase (March - April)

The short-ish but passionate River Phoenix phase was triggered by the end credits of Stand by Me, as my even-slower-than-usual brain realised that the charming young fellow in the film was actually River Phoenix. Many of his film are almost impossible to come by, but judging by every film I have got my hands on, River was spectacularly talented and an amazing person and all the praise he's ever got is most definitely deserved. Also, when it comes to talking about River Phoenix, one can't get away without mentioning that he has one of the most photogenic faces EVER.

The Lost phase (~April - June)

My Lost phase has been going strong since 2006, but this year it culminated around the series finale in May. All year long I had been regularly freaking out once a week, as the final season teased and shocked and thrilled me to pieces. Lost is the most popular label on my blog, which shows that the Lost phase still isn't over. Just this week I completed a project I had been fantasizing about for years, as my Complete Lost Marathon finally ended. Lost truly has been one of the highlights of the year, but it was also a significant highlight of the whole decade. Dude, it's been awesome.

The Charlie Chaplin phase (June - July)

This is one of the few times ever I've become this excited about something that could easily be considered 'intellectual' (not that Lost, for instance, isn't, ahem). Thanks to RDJ (yep, I still think I owe him this), I read Chaplin's autobiography, loved it, and watched all of his films I could find. Oh and loved them, too, to say the least. I found it quite amazing that I so thoroughly enjoyed something that had been done before the 90s, or even before the invention of talking pictures! So uncharacteristic of me. Chaplin's films are wonderful, oh so wonderful and I'll be eternally grateful to RDJ. Haha.

The Disney phase (August - September)

Before and especially after our spectacular trip to Paris - which included that fateful visit to Disneyland - I couldn't make myself watch anything that wasn't animated and or didn't have a happy ending and a few cute animal friends. I watched more Disney films in a month than I did during the whole year when I was five. And oh did I have a blast! By the time I got annoyed at The Little Mermaid and actually began to look the films critically (first time for everyhing), I figured the time had come to finally shake the phase and move on. Luckily, an old favourite was coming back from a summer hiatus.

The Glee phase (October - December, and beyond)

 Glee, oh Glee! Just when I thought Lost had left a hole in me that nothing could ever fill, along came season two of Glee, and reminded me that there is one show out there that has that potential. Not that the hole is completely filled (won't ever be), but it doesn't ache anymore. Glee has been quite a dominant factor in my life recently: I created a blog dedicated to it, I'm listening to the songs on repeat, I ordered a ticket to their live concert and I want to marry Chris Colfer (oh, if I were a boy!). Glee has quite a steady position in my life, and this phase will continue to live on... Side by side with whatever I next get crazy about.

**

My (unofficial) TOP FIVE of 2010

Rare Exports

Okay, so. Rare Exports is here, because 1) it was a good film and 2) because it's not every year Finns make a film that one might even consider when thinking about the best films of the year. I might have liked The Deathly Hallows a bit more, but hey, the patriot in me wanted to give this film some more credit. (And I make sure DH pt. 2 will be on my top five of 2011. Promise.) And it's not only that it is a rare export when it comes to domestic cinema. Rare Exports is an imaginative and bold piece of work, it creeped me out, it made me laugh and gave me chills and, quite unexpectedly, a touch of Christmas spirit as well.

Kick-Ass

Kick-Ass kicked off my summer of various action adventures, such as Robin Hood, Iron Man 2 and Prince of Persia, and ended up kicking the crap out of all the rest. It is an entertainment bomb. It introduced two bright stars of tomorrow, Aaron Johnson and Chloe Moretz, and also features the brilliant Christopher Mintz-Plasse. One of my favourite moments (in addition to everything that includes Hit-Girl) still is when the main character is worried that if he dies, he won't find out how Lost ends. What a relief I don't have to worry about anymore! Because, on some of my less proud moments, I did. Anyway, Kick-Ass kicks ass.

Inception

Er, what? What is Inception doing this far from number one? Wasn't it pretty much the most mind-blowing thing I'd seen in ages, a complicated and intriguing masterpiece by the genious also known as Chris Nolan, and simply just the grandest cinema experience ever? Well, yes. As you can see, I haven't numbered the top five, even though they are supposingly in the order of superiority. It just felt wrong. When my friend asked me what my five favourite movies of 2010 were, he also asked me to mark put a star after each film that was so damn incredible you forgot it was a film you were watching. (continues below)

The Social Network

(cont.) (He asked me for the list in Facebook. By the way.) Inception was the only was that I starred. So why oh why are The Social Network and another film topping Inception? Well, quite frankly, I don't know. I'm just listening to my gut. I can't say which one I liked more, because they are so very different. Both left me in awe, but in different kinds of awe and for different reasons. I actually at one point promoted Inception to number two, but finally dropped it back down again, because this was the original order on the list in Facebook. And as we know, Facebook is the bible of today's world. And yes, The Social Network is freaking genious.

Toy Story 3

So here we are, then. 2010 is just about in the bag and my most favourite film ended up being... not a sci-fi epic nor an origin story of a web page... but a third instalment of an animated film series. Um... okay? I guess what happened here is that number three and number two were too busy wrestling with each other that they forgot one little Toy Story 3. Whoever saw that coming? ... I did, actually. (Just remembered that I did!) Here's a direct quote (with spelling errors and all, sigh... 'askes'... I should probably fix that) from my Inception post from July:

" So - if someone askes me in the end of this year what was the BEST film of 2010, I will probably say Inception. If they ask what was MY FAVOURITE film, I will say something else. Something silly like Toy Story 3 or Kick-Ass or Harry Potter. "

And yes, I don't think this is such a scandalous or unexpected choice after all. I mean, whoever has seen the film knows it's brilliant in so many wonderful ways. I'm definitely campaigning for Toy Story 3 to win the best picture Oscar, and not only because I like underdogs and tend to fly the flag of those who REALLY don't stand much chance of winning, but also because I think it has a tremendous amount of potential. I mean, don't you want an animated picture to win the Oscar some day? So why not now? (Yeah, yeah, okay. In my dreams. Anyway.)

**

Okay. So. A wrap-up of a wrap-up... 2010. What a year! And I have a sneaky feeling that 2011 might be even better! There sure are a big bunch of films worth expecting on the way. 2010 took us beyond infinity, but who knows, we might go even further next year.

Happy two thousand and eleven, everyone! Enjoy the fireworks tonight!

Long stories short

Here's a sample of the films I've watched in the past few days!

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

I thought about being radical and choosing a picture not featuring Gene Kelly hanging on a lamp post with an umbrella, but came around in the end. Because it just doesn't get much more iconic than that, does it? This was only the second time I saw the classic, and I liked it even more this time! Cosmo is awesome and so are all the tap dance numbers, especially Good Morning. Lina and her horrible accent ("I cayn't stand'im!") crack me up, and yes, nothing quite puts a smile on your face like the Singin' in the Rain number. I want the spring here so I can do that, too! A bit less exuberantly, though, maybe.

"Tell me the truth, am I a good actor?"
"As long as I'm working for Monumental Pictures, you're the greatest of 'em all."

Home Alone (1990)

Home Alone is one of my childhood favourites and was still quite charming. Though I couldn't stand to to watch that iron to fall on that poor guy's face. That hurts too much. Macaulay Culkin (has the most difficult first name ever) was awesome as a child actor, shame growing up didn't really work out for him.

P.S. I swear I never got the joke below when I was a kid. Was it a bad translation or didn't I read the subtitles or was I just plain dumb? I just though it was funny how Kevin was jumping up and down and yelling something. Oh well.

"When I grow up and get married, I'm living alone."

 Mary Poppins (1964)

Mary Poppins was a tiny bit too long. BUT still enjoyable (almost) all the way! Julie Andrews is amazing, just amazing as Mary. I guess only now I really, FULLY understood why everyone's fussing about her (and why Chris Colfer wants her to play Kurt's grandmother on Glee). Also, Dick Van Dyke (has one of the most wonderfully ambiguous names ever) as Bret is so thoroughly JOLLY that I wanted to jump though the TV screen just to hang out with him. Oh and I think I came up with a potential New Year resolution: to learn say that super... mumblemumble...docious word fluently five times in a row. There's enough challenge for a whole year...


"You know, you can say it backwards, which is 'docious-ali-expi-istic-fragil-cali-rupus', but that's going a bit too far, don't you think?"

Panic Room (2002)

Panic Room was not David Fincher at his best, but a good, solid thriller anyway. There are two things on the top of my mind: 1) The long C.S.I.-ish shots from one room or floor to another, through keyholes and air conditioning pipes. Cool. 2) Kristen Stewart. And the fact that she didn't annoy me AT ALL! I actually liked her a lot, can you believe it?

"We can't get in the panic room. That's the whole point. We have to get her to come out."

Lust, Caution (2007)

Finally I managed to watch this, it's been my intention for quite a while. My fears about deadly boring two and a half hours were needless, as the film turned out to be surprisingly suspenseful and compelling, in addition to being very intelligent and skilfully crafted. Lust, Caution is one of those films that keep whirling in your head long after watching, because there are some interesting holes to fill. A very good film, I'm glad I watched it. (Not so sure if all the sex scenes really needed to be that graphic, but oh well, at least they've got people talking...)

"Keep playing."

Splice (2009)

(Speaking of graphic sex...) Well, wasn't this a queer little film? I don't know if I liked it, exactly, but I do know it kept me on the edge of my seat to the very end. The CGI was fantastic, how did that creature look so much like a human, but still not quite? Splice made me certain that I do NOT want to know what's going on in all the shady laboratories around the world. Ignorance is bless. It was a very bold film and I understant why some people might despise it. But know this, Adrien Brody has the most awesome nose in the world!

"What was that?"

"A mistake."

 Oh dearie me! Time to go to bed. I have to be fresh and sharp for tomorrow's ultimate LotR marathon extravaganza!

The Annual Post-Christmas Gloom

Every year Christmas is awesome. Every year it's so jolly, merry, gleeful and happy. Every year you look forward to it for weeks, for months, even. And every years it's over far too soon. By Boxing Day you get sick of hearing carols on the radio and the Christmas tree is just waste of space in the living room. Just today I was unable to finish a slice of ham on my plate, which probably means that Christmas is officially over. Don't know about the rest of you, but for me, that's always a bit depressing. 361 days until Christmas... 363 days until the annual post-Christmas gloom. Sigh.

Anyway. I had a lovely Christmas. And quite satisfactory movie-wise, too. Santa heard my wishes and so I already got to re-live the awesomeness that is Toy Story 3. One of Santa's little helpers (read: my brother) surprised me (not really) on Christmas Eve, as he casually grunted that I'll get one present later. My guess is he'll just finally hand me the money and tell me to go buy the Inception DVD myself. Oh well. It's the thought that counts, right... I also got one of those '1001 films you must see in your life' books, which is awesome! So far I've only seen a humble 111 films from the list, but the book is very motivating! Maybe now I finally manage to sit through 2001: A Space Odyssey and various other, eh, not-so-inviting classics...

I've watched a big bunch of movies during the past few days, and I'll probably write shortly about them when I have a moment. I'm also trying to write a summary of the year and develop my resolutions for 2011. (2011...? Gee. Slow down, time, will you...) Oh and last night I finished The Complete Lost Marathon! Hurrah! Next I'll probably rewatch the first two seasons of Skins (my friend brought them for me from England, awesome!), and then it'll be season two of either True Blood or Mad Men. Oh and I'm not even half way through The Chamber of Secrets... I clearly overestimated myself and the amount of things I wished to do on my holiday. Too soon I have to start worrying about all the damn essays and exams I failed to do before Christmas... BUT NOT YET.

Christmas time will always be, just as long as we have glee

With these words and tunes Eeva wishes you all a very gleeful Christmas! Let us eat until we burst and may Santa bring you something nice and special. Enjoy the holidays, my dearies!

A Christmas Tradition vol. 5: The Snowman

The Snowman is the oldest and holiest of all the Christmas traditions I've developed over the years. It has been a highlight of my Christmas Eve as long as I can remember - an probably even longer - and I seriously think my Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without it. I even watched it on DVD the Christmas I spent in England (before going to work my ass off... Also, I had fish and chips for a Christmas meal. Well, we did get a proper meal the next day, but it was funny to think that it is usually the day of the year when I eat the best meal).
 

 The Snowman is wonderful. It's sweet, funny, heart-warming, and finally, sad. When at the end of 'Joulupukin Kuuma Linja' the girl starts to play the intro of Walking in the Air with piano, that's when my Christmas really begins. That song just instantly triggers my Christmas spirit. I even like the version sung by the lady with that horrible accent. Aww, tomorrow I'll get to see it again, for the millionth time... It never gets old. The Snowman IS Christmas Eve.
 

"I remember that winter because it had brought the heaviest snows I had ever seen. Snow had fallen steadily all night long and in the morning I woke in a room filled with light and silence, the world seemed to be held in a dream-like stillness. It was a magical day... and it was on that day I made the snowman."

Trailer for Hanna

I've been looking forward to Hanna since I heard about it, and by the looks of it I haven't been waiting for nothing. Saoirse Ronan is most probably one of future's big names; she's already snatched an Oscar nomination for Atonement, so deservingly. Now she rejoins forces with the Atonement director Joe Wright, and there's two good enough reasons to look forward to something. There's Cate Blanchett, too! And don't we all just love child assassins?

As a bonus, the story is partly set in Finland, which is of course cool for a humble little folk like us. Sure, it was actually shot in Germany, but anyway. Do you think they're actually trying to speak in a Finnish accent there, or just in some undefinable, random accent? I guess they're not Finnish, just living in Finland...? Anyway, Finnish accent must be terribly hard to acquire. It takes talent to sound so ugly, haha.

2011 looks gooooood.

A Christmas Tradition vol. 4: A Nightmare Before Christmas

"What's this? What's this?" asks Jack Skellington over and over again when he visits Christmas Town and finds everything oh so different from the things back home in Halloween Town. One wouldn't think a story featuring skeletons, boogie men, vampires and other spooks makes a very good Christmas tale. It does, though, if Tim Burton has something to do with it. Enough have been said about the film, we know how good it is. The songs are fantastic in a guaranteed dannyelfman-y way.

The 'What's This?' scene is the most christmassy sequence in the film, and it's also my favourite. It really captures the spirit of Christmas unexpectedly well! So I just let the lyrics to speak for me, because a) they'll probably get my point across better than I would and b) I'm busy wrapping presents and worrying if the ham we just bought will taste right.

 

What's this? What's this?
There's something very wrong
What's this?
There are people singing songs 

What's this?
The streets are lined with
Little creatures laughing
Everybody seems so happy
Have I possibly gone daffy?
What is this?
What's this? 

There are children throwing snowballs here
Instead of throwing heads
They're busy building toys
And absolutely no one's dead 

There's frost on every window
Oh, I can't believe my eyes
And in my bones I feel the warmth
That's coming from inside

A book that goes ever on and on...

I guess everyone has or has had some never-ending projects - a pair of woollen socks waiting to be knitted, an autobiography to be written, an old record-player to be repaired... Or a three-part fantasy epic to be read. Yes, I'm talking about The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Even since I saw the first film I've been meaning to read the books, just so I wouldn't feel like a lesser person amongst all the hardcore fans, who could quote Tolkien anywhere, anytime, tell about their day in Elvish and recite the family tree of Aragorn. Twice I began to read the books, twice I made it half way through The Two Towers, twice I got bored at the Sam and Frodo part and twice I gave up and told myself, and everyone else, 'some day, some day I'll finnish the damn books'. Well, guess what? I just did! And it took me much less than a decade! Should I uncork a bottle of champagne to celebrate?

Last New Year, in the presence of multiple witnesses, I made a resolution to finally get the trilogy over and done with. I was determined this time, and decided to try it in English for a change. It wasn't always easy, nor very pretty, and I admit I skipped the introduction and all the songs and the appendices, and as often as it was a joy, it was a necessity, which I waded through one page at a time, but who cares, now it's done and I'm happy and I'm not doing it again anytime soon.

I can almost see all the devoded Tolkien fans glaring at me angrily as they're sharpening their axes, so let me correct myself a little. I'm not saying The Lord of the Rings is a crappy excuse for a book. No, oh no. I hugely respect Mr. Tolkien for the enormous job he's done in creating a new world from scratch, a world full of amazing characters and stories to be told. It is not in any way an insult towards the books when I say I'll happily stick to the films in the future. I know the books are extremely well written. They're just not for me. For me, they're mostly just plain boring. I'm a child of my era - an era that appreciates straightforward storytelling, swift turns of events, and doesn't take the time to describe in fancy words what one had for dinner or what kind of landscape one is passing by or what happened during those three unevetful days of traveling. 

All respect and glory for Tolkien and Middle-Earth, but I'll leave my copies of the novels to gather dust on the shelf for now, and to wait for the day when I might get more out of them, and instead look forward to The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Marathon that I'm planning to execute during the Christmas break. Also, now I'll get to grap the first book of the huge pile of seven books that has been tempting me for the past days. Privet Drive, here I come! It's been too long!

A Christmas Tradition vol. 3: The Gift by Cecelia Ahern

When it comes to Chick Lit - literature targeted to women in particular - I'm not the biggest consumer... I've never read anything by Marian Keys, nor one single Harlequin (I've been thinking I should, though, just for the experience, haha).

Cecelia Ahern, however, has quite a special place in my heart, and my book shelf, too! I regard her book If You Could See Me Now as one of my favourite books ever, and have read every book she's published so far. Some I have liked more than others, but in general I love her writing. I'm not even sure if you can actually categorize her books as Chick Lit - the characterictics of the genre (young woman as the main character, looking for love, has a cool job, likes shoes, etc.) don't really apply to them. Her first novel, P.S. I Love You (of which they also made that lousy movie), is closest to the describtion, I think. After the first two books (second one is called Where Rainbows End, and it consists entirely of emails, letters and IM-messages the characters write to each other - I love that book, it's really quite brilliant) she's gone to a slightly different direction, treating the stories with a touch of magic; they're never about wizards or goblins or anything such, rather of something with a sense of supernatural, often left unexplained.

The Gift is one of Ahern's more recent novels. It is a seasonal story, which makes it my Christmas Tradition vol. 3, though 'tradition in the making' would be a better way to describe it, as this is only the second year in a row when I read it. Anyway. The Gift can't most definitely be called Chick Lit, as pretty much every major character in it is male.

Lou Suffern always had two places to be at at the one time. When asleep, he dreamed. In between dreams, he ran through the events of that day while making plans for the next, so that when he was awakened by his alarm at six a.m. every morning, he found himself to be poorly rested. When in the shower, he rehearsed presentations and, on occasion, with one hand outside of the shower curtain he responded to emails on his Blackberry. While eating breakfast he read the newspaper, and when being told rambling stories by his five-year-old daughter, he listened to the morning news. When his thirteen-month-old son demonstrated new skills each day, Lou's face displayed interest while at the same time the inner workings of his brain were analysing why he felt the exact opposite. When kissing his wife goodbye, he was thinking of another.

You get the picture. Lou, the main character, is a very very busy man, and sometimes such an unbelievable jackass, that you'd love to just give him a nice slap on the cheek to wake him up. He does get a wake-up call, eventually, after meeting Gabe, a homeless man, who sits in front of his office building. Lou does Gabe a favour (and himself, too, because of course there's something in it for Lou, too), and gives him a job. Gabe soon reciprocates by giving Lou a gift that shakes his world to its very core.

The Gift is about the pricelessness of time and recognizing the truly important things in life. The book delivers its message in an compelling, enchanting way, with quite a few grins and a sudden surge of tears. Ahern's books somehow always manage to fill me with that certain kind of emotion - like an enlightened appreaciation of life or a shot of positive energy that gives you a nice little push on the rear.

Rare Exports (2010) - SCORE!

directed by Jalmari Helander / starring Jorma Tommila, Onni Tommila, Tommi Korpela, Peeter Jakobi

Sometimes some stupid external factors nearly ruin your cinema experience... On Saturday last week I left home with my brother at 6 PM for the 6:30 showing of Rare Exports. That was a bit later that I usually leave for cinema, but I had a 'clever' plan for parking, plus I didn't think people in my town would go see a film in a Saturday night (how did I come to this ingenious conclusion, I don't really know), so I was in no rush. I parked the car in the block next to the one where the cinema is, feeling real proud for finding a peaceful place to park, whereas other people would be pulling their hair out trying to find a free spot for their cars closer to the cinema (they're now building an apartment building where there used to be a parking lot for the cinema, thanks guys...).

It was really cold, but by foot the cinema was only a few hundred metres away... Only now the constuction site had blocked the way I was planning to use. So we went round it. And my clever parking plan didn't seem so clever anymore. Even less when we saw all the free parking space right next to the cinema. It was about 6:20 when we finally got there and bought the tickets and entered the auditorium, which was full of people to my surprise (where did they park, seriously?). And they were already showing the trailers! I swear, every time I arrive to a cinema too early (which is pretty much every time exluding that day) I'm hoping they'd start showing them earlier, but they never do! Today they did, and I was pissed off because I didn't know what I'd missed, plus I'm always annoyed when people arrive after lights have gone out, and now I was one of them. I tried to ignore the fact that there was a top of a head between my eyes and the screen and the trailers I saw were annoying and seemed so stupid that I almost felt like storming out as a protest for the lousiness of contemporary cinema.

But luckily the film did what films often do and I forgot I was pissed off. And okay, contemporary cinema isn't that lousy. (Though that Burlesque movie can be nothing but that. Even if it has Stanley Tucci in it.)

 Why won't I gradually approach the topic after the brief and informative introduction... Though I don't really know what to write about the movie! It's now been over a week since I saw it, and whatever clever thoughts (haha, right) I had about it are now pretty much gone. I do remember that I was struck by an insane craving for gingerbread, and that I spend a good while wondering why people in Finnish movies hang outside in the middle of the winter with no scarf or hat and with their sleeves rolled up. Aren't they pretty damn cold? Speaking of cold, I felt sorry for one or two of those naked old men prancing around in the wintery forrest. I hope they were paid well, the poor things.

 Right, I'm still quite skillfully avoiding the topic... Well, I've read many good reviews of the film, and I don't really have much to add. I guess I could at least say that I liked Rare Exports, because that hasn't really come out clearly yet. I'm quite proud that a group of Finns managed to make a film so original and interesting, with a certain appeal for international audiences, but still unarguably Finnish and not trying to imitate Hollywood productions. I think we just scored! Now it's only about 4519-1 to Sweden. Haha. Go Suomi!

P.S. Just watched the short films, I hadn't seen them before. Pretty awesome, I must say! Not something to lift up your Christmas spirits, particularly, but anyway. I feel like looking deeper to the myth of Santa Claus, I wonder if there are any good books about that... One more thing to add to my Christmas break to do-list (as if it wasn't crowded enough before).

"Rare Exports... from the land of the original Santa Claus."

(YES! I hope everyone learns now that Santa comes from Finland, not from the damn North Pole.)

There's the Jack I know aka Pirates 4 trailer

The first three Pirates of the Caribbean film were a lot of fun. Sure, the first one might have been the only one with a decent story, but hell, I'm always happy to sit back and watch Jack Sparrow steal every scene he's in. So, I'm definitely going to see this one as well, because who'd dare to say no to a couple of hours of fun? AND Johnny Depp, who seems to be even more in the centre this time than before, which no one of course minds at all. I bet we don't even remember to miss Orlando or Keira. In fact, Orlando who? Keira who? Just bring on some Johnny, I'm ready to be entertained!

P.S. Is is strange to already start looking forward to the DVD and the blooper reel? The first three have been some of the funniest outtakes ever, pretty much thanks to Johnny.

Filmography 2010 - the year in 6 minutes or so

Freaking genious! That's all.

I'm now going to sleep happy, and slighty overwhelmed by the fact that there are still a million potentially awesome films from 2010 to see.

Globes 2011 nominees

The nominees for the 2011 Golden Globes just came in! Do check them here. Both Inception and The Social Network got multiple nominations, expectedly and deservigly. I still have a lot of films to see from the list, but I can say I want Andrew Garfield to get that award! And the golden dude, too, later on. No matter how awesome the other nominees might be...

P.S. I've been babysitting my nephew today, and we've watched Cars three times. And now I just put it on for the fourth time. I didn't want to, but he started to threathen the life of my Lost box set, so I gave in. That sneaky little boy.

A Christmas Tradition vol. 2: The Holiday

Although The Holiday's status as a Christmas film (or as a film in general) doesn't quite reach the level of Love Actually in my book, it is still a wonderful mix of romance and that lovely christmassy atmosphere. Thus there must be no December without The Holiday!

(I guess this'll be on TV today. Shame I'll be at work, it would've been nice to watch it with all the five trillion commericial breaks... not.)

Kate Winslet is as lovely as ever as the heartbroken Iris. I've never been the biggest fan of the comedy of Jack Black, but he's quite sweet and likable and to prove that he's funny too, I've linked one of my favourites scenes below. Cameron Diaz is a bit plastic and stuck doing similar roles, but I don't really mind her. And Jude Law, well, he's always a pleasure to look at. Arthur played by Eli Wallach is my absolute favourite character. The old man rocks!

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to kiss you twice... and then linger a long time on the second kiss."

"Call me old fashioned, but I don't believe it to be appropriate to have sex with a woman who is unconcious."

"Miles. You really are an incredibly decent man."

"I know. It's always been my problem."

"Iris, in the movies, we have leading ladies and we have the best friend. You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some reason, you're behaving like the best friend."

"What exactly has got into you?"
"I don't know. But I think what I've got is something slightly resembling... gumption!"

"I'm looking for corny in my life."

Plus this awesome scene that also includes the awesome cameo by Dustin Hoffman...

"Can't go anywhere..."

Two traditions down, three to go! I've already started with the third one, it's a book.

P.S. My Lost marathon is only the finale away from being complete. Yay! I also finally went to see Rare Exports and it was very good. It's funny how you suddenly get things done when you are too pissed off to do any school work...

Inception in real time

I love make so much effort to create these awesome videos! This also reminded me that I need to write another letter to Santa, because my wish list needs one little addition...

Män Som Hatar Kvinnor (2009) - Swedes, you win again

directed by Niels Arden Oplev / starring Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre

I managed to avoid the Millenium trilogy for quite a while, for no particular reason. Maybe it's because crime has never been my favourite genre, or because I knew my national pride would again sink an inch lower after watching the films. Damn you, Swedes. I don't know how you do it, but please, couldn't you just give us a chance for a change, too? One more reason to go see Rare Exports. I need some assurance that us Finns are good for something as well.

I haven't read the books, so I'll just talk about films here. The first one is called Män Som Hatar Kvinnor in Swedish, Miehet jotka vihaavat naisia in Finnish and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in English. (I kind of see why they didn't translate it literally to 'Men who hate women'. Sounds a bit weird in English.) Mikael Blomkvist is a journalist, who is hired to investigate a mysterious case of a 16-year-old girl, who disappeared 40 years ago. The girl's uncle is certain that she was murdered by some member of the family. Mikael is quite unexpectedly aided by Lisbeth Salander, a young computer hacker with a troubled past.

I liked the film more than I expected. The story sucked me in almost instantly and I wasn't bored once. The end credits scrolled to the screen way too soon, and I get to add two more films to my to-do-list of the holidays. Michael Nyqvist is excellent, but the real star is indeed Noomi Rapace. Lisbeth Salander is quite a rare female character, still in this day and age, and Rapace does a phenomenal job. Next she gets to play with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law in the Sherlock Holmes sequel, and then...? Who knows, but I guess there's no stopping her now. Damn it.

P.S. I'm actually looking quite forward to the Hollywood remake! The Social Network girl, whose name I'm too lazy to look up or remember right now, ought to do a pretty decent job as Lisbeth and hey, it's David Fincher, after all. So, fingers crossed...

P.P.S. In movies like this, the scariest thing are always the old, black-and-white, blurry photographs and videos, showing the victim in their last moments. For some reason, those images are highly disturbing to me. Hrr.

A Christmas Tradition vol. 1: Love Actually

Yesterday the holiday season really kicked in for my part, as me and my friends held the annual (you can call it annual after the second time, right?) Love Actually night. It's funny how we all love the film so much and basically know it by heart, so we're just going "ooooh, I love this scene and the scene after this" and reciting the lines together with the characters. Must've been a blast for a friend's boyfriend who watched it with us... (Well, he also watched Titanic with us a while back, so he knew what he signed up for.)

Love Actually is not only one of my most important Christmas traditions, it's also my number one favourite romantic comedy of all time. Not many romcom's are actually both so romantic that your faith in love is restored every time you see them and so funny that you laugh aloud even on the thousandth rewatch. Love Actually is so very charming, sweet, hilarious and witty, and never cheesy or corny. And sometimes so damn sad, too! It's full of wonderful British actors, like Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Rowan Atkinson, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley... Not everyone gets a happy ending, but oh how we wish they would! I think the most painful scene to watch is the one with Emma Thompson, and the Joni Mitchell song in the background. Oh dear... Luckily, there are many happy endings, too.

Instead of some more verbal praise, I'll link you some of my favourite scenes and then list my favourite quotes.

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you find that love actually is all around." 

"Oh! Fuck wank bugger shitting arse head and hole!"

 

"Tell me, exactly, how long it is that you've been working here?"
"Two years, seven months, three days and, I suppose, what... two hours?"
"And how long have you been in love with Karl, our enigmatic chief designer?"

"Ahm, two years, seven months, three days and, I suppose, an hour and thirty minutes."

"Aren't you a bit young to be in love?"
"No."
"Oh, well, okay... right. Well, I mean, I'm a little relieved."
"Why?"
"Well, because I thought it would be something worse."
"Worse than the total agony of being in love?"
"Oh. No, you're right. Yeah, total agony."

"Hello, David. I mean 'sir'. Shit, I can't believe I've just said that. And now I've gone and said 'shit' - twice. I'm so sorry, sir."
"It's fine, it's fine. You could've said 'fuck,' and then we'd have been in real trouble."
"Thank you, sir. I did have an awful premonition that I was gonna fuck up on the first day. Oh, piss it!"

 "Billy, I understand you've got a prize for our competition winners."
"Yes I have, Ant or Dec."

"Golden oldie for a golden oldie." 
 
"Hiya kids. Here is an important message from your Uncle Bill. Don't buy drugs. Become a pop star, and they give you them for free!"

"I am Colin. God of Sex. I'm just on the wrong continent, that's all."

"We may be a small country, but we're a great one, too. The country of Shakespeare, Churchill, the Beatles, Sean Connery, Harry Potter. David Beckham's right foot. David Beckham's left foot, come to that."

"Would you like it... gift-wrapped?"

"Ask me anything you like, I'll tell you the truth."
"Uh, best shag you've ever had?"
"Britney Spears."

"Wow!"
"No, only kidding. She was rubbish."

"Grandi, uh... grande familio. Grande traditsione- The Christmas presents... Stupido."

 

"Enough. Enough now."

"Let's go get the shit kicked out of us by love."

"All I want for Christmas is you."

It's sucks a bit that Love Actually is a Christmas film. That means it's appropriate to watch it only in the certain time of the year. (Of course, that hasn't stopped me from watching it in the middle of the summer.) Anyway, the first one of my various Christmas traditions is now done! So many to go, so little time! Aaaaaah panic panic panic! Isn't it wonderfully healthy that I'm more stressed about my Christmas traditions than the millions of exams and deadlines?

Cemetery Junction (2010) - go ahead, catch a dream

directed by Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant / starring Christian Cooke, Felicity Jones, Tom Hughes, Ricky Gervais, Ralph Fiennes, Matthew Goode

My attention was caught by two names, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, and I thought there were two very good reasons to see a film. The fellows who made Extras can't do anything bad, right? Well, I'm sure they could if they tried, but Cemetery Junction was quite a pathetic attempt. Try harder next time, fellows. Or on second thought, just make more good movies.

The film is set in England in the 1970s, in a sorry little town called Cemetery Junction. It's about Freddie, a young lad who gets a job at an insurance company in hopes of becoming rich and avoiding the life of his dad, who has worked in a factory his whole life. His best friend Bruce always talks about getting away, but seems inevitably stuck, getting drunk every day and spending more nights in jail than at home with his apathetic dad. (And then there's the third member of the gang, Snork, but he's just there for the comedy, really.)

 In his new job Freddie tumbles into his childhood friend, Julie and there are definitely some sparks in the air, but she is the boss's daughter AND engaged to a top seller of the company, so that's that then, right? Julie introduces Freddie to her own dreams, and makes him reevaluate his own goals and wishes in life. How difficult can breaking free be?

Cemetery Junction was not what I expected judging by my previous experiences of the pair Gervais/Merchant. It was quite funny at times, yes, but the dramatic elements were suprisingly dominant in the story. I even shed a tear, can you imagine! (I'm not going to spoil you the scene, but it was a great example of the power of just one little silent gesture.) It is not the most original film in the world, but it has a big heart and a pretty good sense of humour, too. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it left me feeling nice and warm inside. Though I still feel bad for the man with the fruit bowl. Watch the film and you'll know what I mean... I wanted to punch a certain someone.

The young actors do a good job, they are relatable and believable. (The actor of Freddie looked like Daniel Radcliffe once in a while. It was disturbing.) Ralph Fiennes is awesome playing an a-hole, as always, and Matthew Goode succeeds in the mission as well. I never thought I could loathe someone as adorable as Matthew Goode, but I stand corrected. Ricky Gervais does a minor role himself as the father of Freddie and provides some funny moments colliding with his mother-in-law. And there was also a 10-second cameo by Merchant, which I was looking forward to the whole time, because that dude just cracks me up. He doesn't have to say anything, he can just stand and make a random face and I'll laugh.

Cemetery Junction made me swear on my mortal soul that if anyone ever asked me to hop on a train with them, destination unknown, I'd do it. (This probably means I can expect invitations to start arriving by tomorrow noon, because that's what swearing on my mortal soul has triggered lately...) In the words of an ancient Arab proverb... throw your heart out in front of you and run ahead to catch it.

A wonderful little film, please watch it!

"Freddie, stop listening to music made by poofs. Stick on some Elton John."

Here are your hosts, Oscars 2011!

I didn't even realise they were already finding people to host the gala next year! Where has my head been? (Somewhere between a prose analysis and the latest episode of Glee, I guess...?) But yeah, the Oscars are approaching, fast! Yaay!

So, Anne Hathaway and James Franco will be hosting. I like Anne a lot, and her contribution to Hugh Jackman's opening number some years ago is quite memorable. And even though James Franco has never been in the top of any of my lists, I'm sure he can be pretty funny and he's easy on the eyes, alright.

I didn't too much enjoy Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin's double act last year (actually, I found them quite boring and stiff), but I dare to raise my hopes pretty high when it comes to James and Anne. If nothing too silly isn't written into their mouths, this might actually become quite a blast. Here's to hoping!