2012: A Summary of a Year

Another year over. It was a good one. I think I say that every year, but never mind. When it comes to films, and getting excited about them, 2012 was actually hands down better than 2011, for me.

Here's what you will find in this post: three films from 2011 that I have to mention now, because had I seen them last year instead of this year they would've been in my top films in 2011; an honorable mention, because I didn't blog and thus give away top spots in 1997; TV shows that I was hooked on; some people, both real and fictional, that I liked this year; seven films that I liked the most in 2012.

(The picture above is from Lust, Caution, which I actually saw in 2011. I wanted a picture to reflect something of my 2012 in total, just like I chose such pictures to the equivalent posts of 2010 and 2011 (Chaplin, and The Wizard of Oz). I needed a very Chinese picture, because that's what my year was. I remember really liking Lust, Caution, so there I got my necessary Chinese picture.)

My TOP 5 Favorite Fictional Couples: The Happy Ending Edition

It's been a while since April 2010. That's why this post needs a little update. The love stories of most of the couples on the previous list, epic as they be, had very unhappy, dramatic and premature endings. This time I'm not looking for epic, necessarily. I'm looking for potential happily-ever-afters. I don't know if that tells something about the amazing emotional growth I've done in the past two years, or that my taste has just become boring, but never mind. Just dig in. (I even omitted Jack and Rose. Can you imagine. They were my number one in 2010. I feel like a sorry little traitor for doing this! But epic had to give way to happy endings. That's how my world works in 2012.)

SPOILER ALERT

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5. Tom & Gerri (Another Year, 2010)

These two shoved Hermione and Ron off of the list! Did someone see that one coming, because I didn't! I saw this little film last year, and a few things about it have lingered on my mind: 1) The bit in the beginning with Imelda Stauton's horrifyingly and impressively depressed character, 2) the pitiful mess that Lesley Manville's Mary turned out to be, and 3) Tom and Gerri, who were healthy and happy and normal among all that depression and anxiety.

If you're looking for a happy ending, don't go knock on Disney's door, pay a visit Tom and Gerry's idyllic little house. Tom and Gerry are so content and normal that it's almost weird. They have normal conversations about everyday things, and neither of them is secretly a CIA agent. You do not often see such elderly couples in movies, perhaps because they don't offer the friction and conflict that usually make a good movie. Still, I found it really refreshing and reassuring that it does not always take a huge amount of drama to make a good movie couple.

"It's going to rain again."

4. Jim & Pam (The Office, 2005-)

I watched all the seven (plus) seasons of The Office earlier this year, and it's such a great series. (After that I was all ten seasons of Friends in a row, and then of course wanted to include Chandler and Monica in the list, but unfortunately there's only room for one couple from a comedy show.) It's laugh-aloud funny, with such a memorable and distinctive scale of characters. Jim and Pam were some of my favourites from the beginning. Who wouldn't love a good old "will-they-won't they"? It is delicious and fun to watch how their friendship gradually develops into a happy relationship, and later into marriage and babies. The whole storyarch is written and acted in a very realistic and moving way.

Some argue that Jim/Pam is incredibly boring now, with no drama bigger than changing diapers, and yes, maybe unrequited, denied or hidden love indeed makes better television. Of course the lingering, secret glances and Jim finding excused to hang around the reception was a lot of fun!  However, I still love Jim and Pam, and wish nothing but good for them in their future in The Office. (It's been like six months since I've watched an episode! I seriously need to catch up. Hope Jim and Pam are still together, because a divorce would be slightly awkward for my Happy Ending Edition.)

"I just needed you to know. Once."

 

3. Katniss & Peeta (The Hunger Games, 2008-2010)

If you thought I'd be done talking about The Hunger Games - just because I said I would - you were very wrong, unfortunately. But this has to do with the books, instead of the film, so that's a welcome change. This is the only couple in the list who doesn't live in our present world. And since there is a tragic sense to the epic story around them, they could almost be disqualified from my Happy Ending List. But I was forgiving. Mostly, because I really wanted to write about these two. And they did get their ending together, even if it wasn't 100% happy.

There are many interesting aspects to the relationship of Katniss and Peeta. First, they have the most horrible ship name, EVER. First, it is not the regular boy-meets-girl-boy-falls-in-love story. Or actually, from Peeta's point of view it's exactly that. But since Katniss is the one in the center if the story... Girl meets boy, girl has to try and kill boy, then girl has to pretend to fall in love with boy in order to stay alive, girl shoots squirrels, incites a rebellion and saves the world, and then, finally, girl grows to love boy.

Another fascinating thing about Peeniss Katniss and Peeta is their reversed gender roles. Katniss hunts, Peeta bakes and paints. Peeta is always open about his feelings and wishes for a proper relationship, while Katniss doesn't feel comfortable showing her emotions and thinks romantic relationships are merely in the way. It's definitely a refereshing angle when it comes to young adult literature, or any other form of romantic narratives.

The love of Katniss and Peeta sure took a long time to bloom, and we never really got to enjoy reading about their life together, but I'm just happy that Katniss finally realized what the rest of us had known from page one (or whatever the page is where he is first introduced): it is just impossible not to love Peeta!

"You love me. Real or not real?"
  

2. Kurt & Blaine (Glee, 2010-)

Klaine. Klaine, Klaine, Klaine. I don't know where I got any joy in my life before there was Klaine.

These two amazing young actors portray these beautifully and carefully written characters with such wonderful sincerity, emotion and subtlety. As far as storyarchs go, this couple has definitely had the best, most coherent and believable one in the history of Glee. (And you know, they're not always very big on coherent storyarches...) Plus they're hot.

As TV characters, Kurt and Blaine push boundaries. They are a homosexual couple, portrayed alongside heterosexual couples, and although Fox doesn't let them kiss quite as much as damn stupid gross more traditional Finchel (Finn/Rachel), for instance, they come across as normal and sweet and true, without a trace of mocking stereotypes. I genuinely think they have changed the world for the better, at least a little bit. They have definitely made my world better. Just a little fix of Klaine, and I'm all smiles and warm and fuzzy feelings, and everything is beautiful and nothing hurts. There is seriously no way I could ever get enough of these two. Yes, I know it's a little sad.

Since I once again took my time with writing this post, there has been some development, as Klaine famously (in my world, at least; I don't know how well it was covered in National news) hit the roughest path of their relationship so far. I'd very much like to see their Facebook profiles, because I don't know what their status is at the moment. Sure, a tiny little detail like a break-up wouldn't change the fact that I adore Kurt and Blaine from the bottom of my fangirl heart. And they'll always end up together, anyway. You know it.

"I'll never say goodbye to you."

1. Celine & Jesse (Before Sunrise, 1995; Before Sunset, 2004; Before Midnight, 2013!!!!)

"I like to feel his eyes on me when I look away."

 They were my number three in 2010, and now they have climbed all the way to the top. There is one adjective that I keep repeating every time I bring up these movies and this couple, and I'm sorry but I'm just going to repeat it a little bit again. Jesse and Celine are so REAL! Both characters as individuals feel real, the storylines of both films feel real, the conversations they have feel real, the connection they share feels real... Everything about them and their story feels real. They are like a wonderful little piece of real, actual life.

And it's not just that they are real. (Because I think they are very real. I don't know if I mentioned that already?) In their case you can talk about soulmates, because their connection is so unique, so special, how they understand each other and feel around each other, how they can't let the memory of each other go during the nine years between their first two meetings. I don't know, I guess that's what they call soulmates.

So, Jesse and Celine, my number one favorite fictional couple. And of course this is a bit ironic, because Jesse and Celine actually never were a couple... Yet! I was so endlessly happy when they announced Before Midnight, to be released next year! Another nine years has passed, and I can only imagine what will be going down in Greece. Maybe they actually are a couple now? In Ethan Hawke's words it's going to be 'ferocious', so I guess the atmosphere will be slightly different compared to the romantic Sunrise and the nostalgic Sunset. Still, no doubt, it will be just as real.

"Baby, you're gonna miss that plane."

"I know."

Titanic (1997) / the world's greatest love story, or what?

directed by James Cameron / starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Gloria Stuart, Bernard Hill, Kathy Bates

To write a post about Titanic. What an intimidating, yet alluring thought! I have decided to take on the challenging, yet inevitable task. This will probably take a very long time... And yes, it did: I began writing this post in September 2010; and I try not to rewrite much because it's interesting to see how my perception of the film has changed since then (good luck trying to guess which parts I wrote just now and which in 2010 or in between...). With the rereleased 3D version now playing in theathres, this was the perfect time to finally finish this post. I don't know if I could ever say enough about Titanic, or ever find the right words to express what it means to me, but here's my best shot.

It's been 84 years, and I can still smell the fresh paint. The china had never been used. The sheets had never been slept in. Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams, and it was. It really was.

 Every has their own Titanic story. This is mine: When the film came out, back in 1997, I wasn't old enough to see it in cinema (my parents made sure of that), so I just bitterly listened to my Spice Girls cassettes and tried to shut out everyone around me, going on and on about this cool new movie and Leonardo DiCaprio. When I finally saw Titanic on my twelfth birthday, the counterreaction had already begun, and it wasn't that cool to like it anymore. And anyway, I didn't understand much about films back then. I must have been about 15 or 16, when I watched Titanic for the first time in years, and actually saw what they had been fussing about back in the 90s. Since then, I've watched the film regularly, somehow growing more and more fond of it everytime. It just never seems to get old. Every time I watch it, I feel just as strongly as the last time. If there indeed will be a day when I'll outgrow Titanic, it won't be anytime soon. I can see myself still weeping over the story when I'm 80.
 

 God himself could not sink this ship.

Titanic is a huge film, a great film, and anyone saying something else is still stuck with that counterreaction. Yes, I can accept that it is not for everybody's taste. Yes, I can accept that the love story is a bit much for some people. Yes, I can accept that some see the story and certain scenes as corny and sappy. And yes, I know some people think it's insuperably unrealistic that, for example, Rose didn't die of hypothermia, but come on; it was established a long time ago that being a major character in a film gives you an edge in what you can live through. Just shut it, haters. I ain't gonna listen to no haters.

While I understand (though not necessarily agree with) the criticism, I don't understand or accept the dismissive attitudes many people have towards Titanic, JUST because there is a love story. All that "the most expensive chick flick in history" crap. It's just as much a historical portrayal of a time and an event as it is a love story. It is fucking annoying and so offensive that if something attracts unusually lot of attention from young girls or women, it's immediately labeled as trash. Makes me furious. But ha ha, you stinky little haters. God himself could not sink this movie, and that's a fact.

Ah, forget it, boyo. You're as like to have angels fly out your arse as get next to the likes of her.

Kate is such a babe as Rose. Of course, Kate is always a babe, and actually so much more than just a babe, she's amazing and incredible and awesome. But Kate as Rose is a real package. That wavy red hair, those rosy lips and cheeks, that curvy figure, and that enviably gorgeous wardrobe. On the count to three, name your favourite Rose outfit! One, two, three, the white light pink/light blue one she wears on the night of the lovemaking and the accident! Contender number two is the dark red dress, with all the lace and the exquisite embroidery and the white gloves, the one she wears for the dinner and the "real party" in the steerage. And there are more favourites, but better leave it at that. (The dress in the picture does belong to those favourites, though.)

Rose might be my all-time number one movie beauty, but there is more to the character than her gorgeous looks. Her unwillingness to fall into the mold desingned for her, and to do what's expected of her makes her a very special, empowering female character. Of course she has her damsel-in-distress moments, and she only gets the chance to grow into an incredible, independent woman because a certain gentleman comes along, but there is admirable strenght and fearlessness in Rose all along (I'm all the time writing "Kate" instead of "Rose"...). You go, girl, fight that stupid 1910s discriminating class and gender role system!

You have a gift, Jack. You see people.

While Kate is clearly the star of the film, the rest of the cast shines, too. There's really no one who wouldn't give a satisfactory performance. Everyone from Bernard Hill's Captain Smith, the horrible Cal and the awesome Unsinkable Molly to the crew members, snooty rich people and the little boy who cries for his father in the flooding hallway (hello, tear streams), they all do a great, convincing job, bringing alive a variety of interesting characters; some based on real people, some not, but they all make me want to know their backstories, how they ended up on Titanic and what happened to them.

And Leo, oh, Leo. Leo is such a little boy. A damn cute one, though! I can't understand how come I never had a crush on Leo's Jack when I was younger, and on the age when I practically had a crush on everything that moved and resembled a man. I almost feel like having a crush on him now, for crying out loud! If only I hadn't overgrown all that foolishness by now... Ahem. Ok let's change the subject.

When the ship docks, I'm getting off with you.

This is crazy.

I know. It doesn't make any sense. That's why I trust it.

The lines above are probably my favourite lines of the whole film. Those are the last words they say before the tiny little iceberg incident, after which everything begins to go straight towards hell. This is the last happy moment. Often in an epicly epic film like Titanic the characters are easily shadowed and overruled by all that epicness. You're just 'WHOA THAT'S FREAKING EPIC!!' all the time and don't really mind if the characters are blown up or torn to pieces, because that'll give a good opportunity for some more epicness.

Iceberg, right ahead!

 However, when watching Titanic, when the moment I know will once again end all the joy and happiness is inevitably approaching, I want to freeze the frame right there and pretend they lived happily ever after. Because I genuinely care about the characters. Sometimes when watching the movie recently I've almost felt a kind of an anxiety - like I wanted to jump through the screen and single-handedly help the ship turn the couple of extra metres and avoid the damn iceberg and give Jack and Rose their happily ever after they so much deserved. Maybe I should get a shrink to tell me what conclusions I should draw of this kind of behaviour? Oh well, maybe he'd just say I've watched the film a few times too many and am forgetting that there's no use jumping through the screen for rescue because the ship already sank a century ago. And that maybe Jack and Rose never really deserved the happily ever after, because ultimately the relationship wouldn't have worked anyway. We've seen Revolutionary Road, right? They would've ended up cheating, bored and pissed off, anyway! ... Okay, now I'm just kidding. Jack + Rose = true freaking love! (Ok. This I wrote sometime in 2010-2011. I'll get back to the topic later, with some new points of view.)

 Well, I believe you may get your headlines, Mr. Ismay.

I believe you did, too, Mr. Cameron... Or have you established the name "King of the World" already? Hah. I don't like James Cameron. I think he seems greedy and arrogant and unpleasant, and it's a shame, really, that he happened to make this one great movie, because otherwise I'd be free to dislike him all I want. Oh well. I will forgive him some of his greed, because this one special thing happened to come out of it. Just cancel the Avatar sequel and I'll forgive you some more! Hmh? Maybe I'll forgive you for making the first Avatar? Sound good? No? Didn't think so. You greedy bastard. Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to go on and praise your film some more.

You jump, I jump, right?

Titanic is full of legendary scenes and iconic lines. Everyone has moments in their lifes when they feel like going, "I'm the king of the world!", or "I'm flying, Jack!". Seriously, tell me you've never recreated those moments yourself? Haha. I'm just waiting for the day when I get to spit a "I'd rather be his whore than your wife" at somebody's face. That'd be epic!

All those legendary moments, and the whole story, reallly, have obviously spawned countless parodies, some better than others. All the same, it all proves that Titanic is one of the biggests things in popular culture, EVER. It is always safe to joke about and refer to the movie, because everyone has seen it. Really, everyone. If there is one movie that you can assume all the people in the room have seen, it's Titanic. Titanic is just that big. (This section also could've had "Freud, who is he? Is he a passenger?" as a headline. Haha.)

I'll never let go, Jack. I promise.

Titanic is a special film for me. It's one of my ultimate favourites. Some days I feel like it's THE favourite. Oftentimes it duels over the first place with Lord of the Rings. Lord of the Rings usually wins, but, granted, mostly because I actually like Peter Jackson a lot. Sorry, Jim Cameron. Your loss. Ha! I know. That really must have broken his heart.

Anyways. Number one favourite or not, Titanic rules, and it has always been a significant part of my life as a film fanatic, and it remains so. I'll never let it go.

Dawson. Rose Dawson.
 
Finally, here is something that has recently (actually recently, as in April 2012 recently) occured to me about Titanic. It is not really a tragedy. Um, okay, strike that. I don't think I can get away with saying something like that about a story where 1500 people die. What I meant was, the tragedy is not that Jack dies and so him and Rose don't get to have a life together. The tragedy is that a life was lost to save another. As we know, Jack saved Rose, in every way that a person can be saved. Without Jack, she would've either jumped to her death from the back of Titanic that night, or lived on to marry Cal and to eventually end her miserable life in some other way.

So, that the paths of those two people came together was crucial to the survival of Rose. Now, what if Jack and Rose both had survived the accident (and they might have, Jack too, had Rose gone with that second life boat Jack and Cal put her in; really, think about it!) and, like they'd planned, run off to build a life together? Maybe they would've been happy, right? Then again, maybe they indeed would've turned into that Revolutionary Road couple I was joking about earlier. I mean, they did not really know each other, or really love each other. Obviously they fell in love, in the way people often do, meaning they were intensely attracted and drawn to each other; but they did not have time (they knew each other for like three days, after all) to grow into love; not the epic, romantic kind of love, but the deep caring kind of love that comes out of years and years of mutual life. I mean, haven't we all experienced those sudden, epic, forceful emotions, when a young, silly heart thinks it knows what it wants and needs? Epic is epic, but epic is also unrealistic.

I'm not saying Jack and Rose did not care about each other, because evidently they did. He filled a void in her painfully empty life, and I'm certain she was just the person he wanted to have on his side in his last moments, just the person he was happy to die for. But the complicated, real life beyond the decks and halls and cargo holds of Titanic might have ruined that young, innocent, perfectly blooming love.

I am sure Rose did grow to really, deeply love Jack; at least the memory of Jack. But it's not like she was never able to let him go and love again. Her heart came to life thanks to Jack, but it didn't die with Jack.

In that way, it is not a tragedy that Jack died and Rose had to go on without him. He had already lived quite a life, while she was stuck in a path where she couldn't find happiness. Ending up on that ship together was the best thing that ever happened to both of them. Jack died, but got to experience something amazing in the last days of his life. And his death had a noble purpose that made it count, and he died knowing that. Rose went on, like Jack as his dying wish asked her to. She never let go, and lived a full, happy life.

Before, I looked at Titanic as the world's greatest love story. But now, I guess, I look at it more as the story of how Rose was saved. I don't know, maybe this is the way everyone else has always viewed the story, but this was kind of an epiphany for me. Maybe I'm just slow. Or maybe I've been too blinded by the epic romance to see the bigger picture.

...Or maybe I've just turned into a cynical old woman, who doesn't believe in epic romance anymore. Haha. (If only... I wrote this previous part some days before I went to see the movie in cinema, and afterwards I almost felt like erasing the whole thing. Screw the mature and sensible and realistic definitions of love! I just can't help it, the Titanic romance still gets me, and it gets me so hard. And god damn my pitifully romantic self, but I fell in love while they fell in love, felt their passion and excitement, and was happy to do so. Surely it is not the best love story ever, or anything, but when it comes to epic, larger than life, mindblowing love, there's no topping Jack and Rose. I so want to be eighteen and fall epicly, even if momentarily, in love and run around a luxorious ship doing things and feeling things I've never done or felt before! Yes! Epic is good, epic is great! Let's just skip the iceberg.)

A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets. But now you know there was a man named Jack Dawson and that he saved me... in every way that a person can be saved. I don't even have a picture of him. He exists now... only in my memory.

Aboard Titanic 3D

I know the day is bound to arrive sometime. Sooner or later I will watch Titanic and realize that the magic is gone; that it doesn't make me feel as strongly it used to; that I have finally seen the film too many times and it has lost its charm. I guess it's inevitable. However, today is not that day. I just came back from the cinema after three emotionally exhausting and thrilling hours. Oh dear, what a film. Even on the six millionth watch.

Having been too young back in 1997, this was my first chance to see Titanic on big screen, and I wasn't going to miss that chance. My experience was almost ruined by the most idiotic audience I've ever watched a movie with in my whole life, but not even a stupid bunch of noisy idiots can change the fact that I love Titanic and the story absorbed me in once again, despite the unfortunate disturbances in the world on my side of the screen.

The 3D wasn't necessary, but it didn't bother me very much either. Only the stupid, heavy glasses did, but I forgave them because they ended up being very useful in blocking out everything around me. I couldn't even see the people sitting next to me, and I knew they couldn't see me, so I felt free to let the tears flow, haha. Nearer My God To Thee is a guaranteed tearjerker, every single time, I swear...

Titanic on big screen was everything I expected it to be; constant goosebumps, frequent tears, and looking forward to pretty much every single scene. (The movie has the same effect on me, no matter the size of the screen, but never mind...) It just never gets old, or if it does, not anytime soon. I find it oh so hard to understand people who loathe or feel indifferent about this movie. It's such a great, epic story! The historical framework is fascinating, and the portrayal of the accident so horrifying and touching. And come on, who wouldn't be moved, at least a tiny little bit, by the young and intense love of the wonderfully tragic and incredibly good-looking main couple. Ah, just ah! It's so epic. I swear, the world didn't know epic before 1997.

I've had a massive Titanic post on the works for a very, very long time, and I'm now determined to finnish it. So stay tuned for more, much more ramble about Titanic, which I by the way today name my favourite film of all time. Ask me again tomorrow and I will have changed my mind, but come on, it's the 14th of April, 2012, after all.

Happy birthday, America... and Gloria Stuart!

OH SAY CAN YOU SEE...! God bless America and all the wonderful actors and film makers the country has given us. Including Gloria Stuart, who turns 100 today. One hundred years! She's lived for a freaking century!

She was born in 1910 (as you, who are more gifted in the field of mathematics than I am, might already have guessed), two years before the first and last voyage of Titanic, which is cool for obvious reasons. She was an insanely productive actress in the 30s, I counted she starred in 42 films during that one decade only. (If I counted it right.) I've only seen her in that one little film that tells about that little boat. Anyway, she is awesome in it. Being in Titanic and reaching 100 years means I'll write a post about you on your birthday. That's a promise, ya'll!

(My dear brother saw that picture of young Gloria and he said (using our horrible local dialect): "Ei oo pahan näköönen!" This is hilarious, if you know my 16-year-old, girl-fearing, uncommunicative, geeky little brother. I'm not sure if he was serious. I kind of hope he was. Anyway.)

Shutter Island

Shutter Island (2010)

 Directed by Martin Scorsese. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams.

Long story short: U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels is sent to Shutter Island, to a hospital for the criminally insane, to investigate the escape of a female prisoner, err, I mean patient, as they are referred to as.

I expected a lot of this film. I've read many praising reviews and really really wanted to love it. I didn't. Love it, I mean. I liked it though. So I'm a little disapointed. But only a little.

First, when I watched Shutter Island last night, I was aware I was taking a risk: I was very very VERY tired after an exhausting week at work, so it probably wasn't the ideal time to see a film like this. But I did. During the first hour I was so close to falling asleep that I had to pause the film for a moment to rest my eyes and pull myself together, which in my experience does never too much good for the watching experience. So it's very possible that under different circumstances I might've even loved Shutter Island. But only 'might've'. Liked it more, perhaps.

Leo is a controversial actor in my book. On one hand there are Titanic, What's Eating Gilbert Grape? and Revolutionary Road, and on the other... Well, these recent Scorsese films like Gangs of New York, The Aviator and The Departed that are critically well-acclaimed, but I can't make myself like any of them. It seems to me that Leo is stuck doing these certain kind of roles, which just blend into each other on my mind. I'd like to see him play a bit more light-hearted character for a change - not in a silly comedy but in a clever, witty, light-ish drama, perhaps! (And by the way, I love the friendship between him and Kate Winslet. This makes me like Leo an inch more. The friendship just seems so sweet and sincere.)

Leo on Shutter Island is okay, convincing, but not omg-my-mind-will-blow-away!! material. The first scene on the boat caused some instant Titanic associations... "Pull yourself together, Jack Teddy. It's just water. A lot of water."

Islands are excellent settings, especially for films like this. However, I didn't quite reach the feeling of claustrofobia and anxiety I was expecting. Maybe they weren't even aiming for that. Who knows. Well, Scorsese might. 

First the constant dreams and visions and flashbacks felt a bit tiring, especially those that went on and on and on. But, as they turned out to be an important part of the story, I'll forgive the film for them. And some were actually very nice and moody. The scene in the concentration camp, with the shot of the bodies of a woman and her daughter laying frozen on the ground among other bodies was wonderfully creepy and very very sad.

Scenes on the island, especially those inside the darkness of Ward C, where the most dangerous patients are kept, made me jumpy, and yet, not as much as I expected. Somehow everything about this film wasn't quite as good as I expected. On the top of everything, I didn't immiadiately get the point in the end. Which made me feel very stupid. I can only blame my fatigue and my poor concentration. I'm not that stupid, am I? AM I? Well. With a little help from IMDb my jammed brain finally got it. And yes, after I think about it more closely after good 11 hours of sleep, I see the cleverness of it all. And I know I should watch it again. Maybe I will.

Next, hello sunshine. Great Midsummer, everyone!

"You'll never leave this island."

It's been a hard day's night... of the living dead?

Hi. This is me avoiding school work: first I re-watched a film I knew would be bad. Then I found myself wandering around Internet chasing down information about an upcoming movie that will potentially be VERY bad. My teachers would be proud.

The film I used to waste time was Mars Attacks!, which I had previously seen approximately ten years ago. It was even worse than I remembered! Ha ha. I know it's supposed to be like a sci-fi parody, but at times it just too absurd! And excuse me but what the **** is Tom Jones doing there?? Oh well. Maybe I'm a bore. But for me, Tim Burton has done much much better things, before and after. Oh and I can't believe Titanic was released only a year after this! Just compare the special effects... Well, that's how you see who's spending the money and aming for the highest-grossing film to date. (Yes, I'm carefully mocking James Cameron here. VERY carefully, because I don't want to insult Titanic.) (How come I always end up bitterly mocking JC...? Guess I'm a bad loser. Me being Titanic and the other side being Avatar. Alright, enough now. I should write a whole post about this, get it all out of my system for good...)

It has a pretty funny poster, though! "Nice planet. We'll take it!" Speaking of posters and Tim Burton, here's a nice link I came across. Minimalist posters for the films of Tim Burton. I think some of them are quite charming!


Then the other thing! I'm sure you might me familiar with these already...


I really don't know what to think about these books! I haven't had a chance to read any, but I'm seriously thinking about ordering one, just to satisfy my curiosity. Somehow I find these quite intrigueing... And then I found this article. The Beatles and zombies? This could be very very bad or very very good. They also mentioned that movie is being made based on the Abe Lincoln book, and its producers: Tim Burton and the man behind Wanted, Timur Bekmambetov. And I'm strangely looking forward to this! Here's the cover of the Beatles book.


I'm a Beatles fan, should I find this somehow offending? Well, I think this has as much potential to be very good as it has to be very bad, so I'm hoping for the best. It's becoming available next month, I think, so I guess this might be my birthday present for myself...

My TOP 5 favorite movie couples

I'm a sucker for a good movie romance. Here are my favorite movie couples of all time!



5. Cecilia & Robbie (Atonement)

If I had to name my favorite movie - strictly just one - I would probably refuse to do that because it's quite impossible, but if I absolutely HAD TO, I think I would say Atonement. It is a very beautiful film, both visually and story-wise. It's one of those films I just need to watch regularly. (The book is excellent, too.) Oh, and it really fired up my love for James McAvoy, who's been my favorite actor ever since. The story of Robbie and Cecilia is not the happiest one, quite the opposite, but they are granted their moments: the library scene (just smoldering hot), their hands secretly touching each other in the dinner table, when they meet after a long time in the cafeteria and Cecelia puts her hand in Robbie's cheek... Oh yes. I really want to watch it again, it's been too long!

"Robbie."
"Cecilia."
"I love you."
"I love you."


4. Jack & Ennis (Brokeback Mountain)

First, how awesome are Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger? Answer: very. Movies this slow usually mostly bore me, but this one I can watch again and again. It's really so much more than a "gay cowboy movie", ugh, I hate that term. It has a lot of beautiful moments, which Gyllenhaal/Ledger act just perfectly. When they meet for the first time after four years and just jump on each other... I could watch that scene a million times.

"You know, it could be like this, just like this, always."

3. Celine & Jesse (Before Sunrise/Before Sunset)

This couple stands out, as their story is less epic and dramatic than the rest - they are actually the only ones on this list, who stand a chance to live happily ever after. Sometimes realism rocks! I ADORE these two little movies. They always make me want to pack my bags and go wander around Europe alone. The chemistry between Celine and Jesse is SO REAL, their story feels SO REAL. This is the kind of thing I want to experience myself! They just click! They are not without their problems of course - there wouldn't be a movie if there weren't problems - but it feels REAL (hi, my name is Broken Record, nice to meet you!) and like it could actually happen in real life. YES. It's awesome. They have talked about making a third one, but only when everyone's stopped waiting for it. There was a gap of nine years between the first two, so I wouldn't hold my breath, but... I like where we were left in the end of the second one.

"Maybe we're only good at brief encounters, walking around in European cities in warm climate."


2. Satine & Christian (Moulin Rouge!)

I might be talking rubbish, but I dare say that Moulin Rouge! was the first movie I really fell in love with. It's also, no doubt, the movie I've watched the most times - I can't give you a number, I lost count a long time ago. This is earth-shattering, life-altering, larger-than-life love... and of course it ends in tears. Maybe that's what makes it so powerful. After all, that's what the whole movie is about - Christian telling their story that ended too soon. Ewan McGregor is just dreamy in this film. He's even better as this romantic, poor, sensitive young writer than he is as Obi-Wan Kenobi (and that's saying something!). His singing is just... aah! I just melt away everytime he starts singing Your Song. Or anything, really. Oh, where's that soundtrack, I feel like melting!

"Come what may, I will love you, until my dying day."


1. Rose & Jack (Titanic)

There's really no other option here. Number one has to be the most epic, the most heartbreaking, the most legendary love story of all. (Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler don't stand a chance here, for my opinion they were never meant for each other.) Titanic is just... well, it's Titanic! I don't think I need to explain myself. There won't probably ever be anything quite like Titanic, for me at least. I was just glancing through some of the lines, and almost got shivers just doing that. Jack and Rose just are Jack and Rose, and you can't really beat that. (I feel like saying something nasty about the main couple of Avatar - see, I can't even remember their names! - but I won't, because it would imply that I'm bitter because of the huge success of a film that relies only on special effects and boys and their toys and the greed of JC and because Titanic should always be Cameron's most successful film and it isn't anymore and it's stupid . And I'm not bitter. Eh... Am not! Much.) Titanic is a very special film for me, and 'epic love story' is practically just another way of saying Jack and Rose. Amen. (And Kate Winslet is my second favorite actor, right after Mr. McAvoy. Leo's not terrible either.)

"When the ship docks, I'm getting off with you."
"This is crazy."
"I know. It doesn't make any sense. That's why I trust it."

Brothers

Today I was meant to see The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, but they didn't have any in my nearest Makuuni. Shame, I need to go check again soon! I really want to see it, though I'm afraid I won't like it. Terry Gilliam can do very weird things, sometimes too weird (e.g. a film called Brazil...). But there are at least four reasons to see the film: Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law. Enough for me!

So, plan B was to watch this film that has been on my must see -list for quite a while now.

Brothers (2009)

Directed by Jim Sheridan. Starring Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal.

Long story short: Captain Sam Cahill is captured by the enemy in Afganistan. Back home, his family is told that he has died. Sam's brother Tommy, who's just recently got out of prison, does his best to take care of Sam's wife Grace and his two daughters. Eventually Sam returns back home, but he's not himself anymore. He's messed up, paranoid, haunted by what he did, refusing to tell Grace what happened (and looking like a skeleton, I might add).

So. It's Spiderman, Padme Amidala and Jack Twist all together in this excellent drama about family and war. First I have to compliment the cast. That nerdy Peter Parker is all grown up, I've never seen Tobey Maguire like this before. He's excellent, and I'm a bit surprised this wasn't acknowledged in the Oscars. He's very greepy at times, but also well showing the love he has for his family. Natalie Portman then... Everytime I see her in other films than the Star Wars prequels, I can't help wondering what made her act so badly in those three. Because she really is more than able to channel emotions in a believable and touching way! What was that cheesy, corny, phony "Anakin, you're breaking my heart!" horidness?? My guess is, George Lucas, mostly. With all due respect, George, of course! I love Star Wars anyway. And finally, the wonderful lovely Jake Gyllenhaal with those eyelashes I can't get enough of! Ah. No, but seriously, I liked that he played a bit darker character this time, with a bit of an edge! Those tattoos looked good on him, but despite his bad boy image, he still had warmth in him. But well, no matter what he does, his performance in Brokeback Mountain will always be his best in my book. Can't beat Jack Fucking Twist.

The characters were all great, real and easy to like. I just loved those two little girls! And even Sam and Tommy's dad got some of my sympathies, although he was a bit of an a-hole. The plot was interesting, and I was gripped by it the whole time. I cried a bit, I laughed and smiled, I was shocked, I was nervous... The end came too soon, I wanted to know more. I don't know if that's a sign of a bad ending or a good movie (a bit of both, probably), but I felt too many things were left unfinnished. Despite that, a very good film. I can warmly recommend it to everyone.

"I don't know who said 'only the dead have seen the end of war'. I have seen the end of war. The question is: can I live again?"

I read that they are planning on doing another Ring movie - in 3D, of course, are there other options nowadays... Why am I already sick with this 3D phenomenon? (Maybe because it makes my eyes hurt. I'm afraid my last Harry Potter experiences will be ruined because of it.) What's wrong with 2D? Nothing. Sure, sometimes 3D works well, but come on. If they really are going to re-release Titanic in 3D (and I'm sure they will, James Cameron likes money a bit too damn much. It's a shame he did Titanic, otherwise I could dislike him without boundaries...), I of course have go and see it, because Titanic on a big screen just has to be experienced, but couldn't they release a good old 2D version too? Please? Pretty please? It would make more money, my dearest James!

Hmm. I believe I was talking about the Ring sequel. Although I believe it might be a prequel! Since they kind of eliminated the change of Samara returning in the second one... But well, they said they found a loophole. Great. Anyway, that sweet little girl crawling out of the tv and practically out of the screen too sounds pretty scary. No way I would see it in cinema. Or who knows.