Wrapping it up: December

Another month worth of movies which brings us to the end of the year 2012. Before all of us, including me, get into the frenzy of the usual stuff that bloggers do around year-end and award buzz that will soon follow it, let us get this out of the way. Movies that I watched in the month of December. Ratings out of 5.

December

12 Angry Men(1957)(Re-watch): It is very rare that when talking about the movies that I use the term "sweeping you off your feet". That term is kept specially for very few movies that literally have done so. Pulp Fiction(1994) was one such movie and so was Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men, one of the reasons why both make into my Top 5. If you want to read me shower some more hyperbolic praise on it, see it here.

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy(2001-03)(Re-watch): After watching The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey(2012) the other night, I had a strong feeling of watching the whole trilogy yet again. After all, I haven't seen this for almost 9 months. I have seen it for almost 25 times by now but still I watch it with the same enthusiasm of the first time and appreciate something else every time. This time because of The Hobbit, I enjoyed all the references to each other in both like Bilbo's story of the trolls, mention of Thorin and Balin in the mines of Moria and fell in love with it all over again.

Amour(2012): Going in for a Haneke film, you are never sure of what to expect. In case of Amour, I had some idea. I knew that it is going to be a hard watch and it is. It maybe even is a little bit too real but to tell you the truth, that's what I loved the most about it. I wouldn't have liked it if it wasn't real. It connected with me as well. As far as I am concerned, this is the best movie I have seen so far in this year. More here.

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia(2012): I have seen a lot of movies that are extremely beautiful to look at. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia is more special even among them. It makes the things that I never thought of as pretty look so beautiful. Also, looking at the synopsis of the movie and its run-time, I never thought I will like this movie so much. The mere fact that it makes you sit for its entire run-time is astonishing. Me loving this movie as much as I did - Miracle.

Rust and Bone(2012): More than anything, this is the movie that gave me that big, amazing Cotillard performance that I had never seen before this. Last 15-20 minutes of this movie made it a lot better for me as they gave little more gravity to Ali's character as well. More here.

Beasts of the Southern Wild(2012): I had been meaning to check this out for a long time, for Quvenzhane Wallis if nothing else and it turns out that everything anyone said about her is true. It really is one of the best performances I have seen so far this year. I don't know if it is a fiction or reality, I don't know if it is some kind of apocalyptic, futuristic world or set in present day(I don't know who these people are, I don't know where they are from) but to tell you the truth, none of it really mattered because their world kept me engaged since the word go.

Holy Motors(2012): I am sure that anyone who likes this movie completely understands anyone who doesn't. It is a kind of movie that can easily draw very extreme response. After all, it raises more questions than answering them. However to me, there was one very important thing that kept me from hating it - Denis Lavant. He was beyond awesome. There was enough characterization in the brief moments between his appointments, to write him off completely.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower(2012): Around first 20 minutes into the movie, I had a problem with the characters being little too friendly or welcoming but by the end of it, they had won me over completely. So much that I loved every single one of them. Amazing cast, great acting, beautiful story with easily relatable and so many palpable emotions. Yet another movie I saw this month that has a legitimate chance of making into the Top 10 of the year.

To Catch a Thief(1955): It is fairly rare that in a Hitchcock movie, I am more interested in something other than what he has to say but this was one such movie. I was completely focused on Grace Kelly this time. As I watch more movies Grace Kelly did, she is giving Audrey Hepburn a serious run for her money as my favourite actress ever. However, for the first time in this movie I noticed a peculiar accent in her. I ain't complaining, especially since Hitchcock infused so much humour in those verbal spats between her and Cary Grant.

Ai Weiwei. Never Sorry(2012): I think thus far, this is my only documentary of 2012. At least, it was good. Even though I thought that he went a little too far, I really respected his intent and more than anything else, his courage and determination. The fact that he became active again after being in custody made me respect him even more. Regardless of which society we live in, we need such men if we really want to keep getting better.

Life of Pi(2012): I read Yann Martel's novel sometime in Spring of 2011 and was so underwhelmed by it that I never felt a hint of excitement for this movie. For a book tauted as to make you believe in god, an atheist in me had a lot of problems with its spirituality. I eventually checked it out despite my reservations and I will give it to Ang Lee that he made it a visual spectacle. Off course, he can not undo the flaws in original story but at least he didn't make getting through it an exercise.

Corialanus(2011): I swear I wanted to like this more but it just wouldn't let me. And if not for all the performances, I would rated it much lower. They call it modernized version of Shakespeare but it was very lazy adaptation as if they really wanted to modernize it, they could have dome a much better job. Like change that language maybe - God, it was so distracting. And I probably should tell this to Shakespeare but they shouldn't have wasted one whole hour to turn him. There should have been more of his conflict than his decorated arrogance of first half.

Ruby Sparks(2012): I loved its concept of a looser writer creating a female character of his dream and making it a reality. I also loved both the lead characters played by Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan. First half of the movie was really enjoyable, quirky and different and even made me believe that they will probably take a unusual route. But they took the same exact way you would expect it to take and dipped their considerably in my opinion.

Talaash(2012)(Hindi): Despite a lot of good in it like decent acting by all the three leads and story that kept it taut for a long time, it was the ending that let it down. Interesting part is my roommate guessed the end almost 45 minutes earlier in the movie. So, we didn't hate the ending but it still was a letdown. Though I will happily take away both the songs, Muskaane Zhooti Hai and Jiya Lage naa, from this movie and leave everything else.

The Circus(1928): Good Old Chaplin !! He never fails to make me laugh. The Circus actually started off really well, getting quite a few laughs from me even before Tramp actually gets into the circus. But then it kinda slowed down. It was still pretty good, it's Chaplin after all. But maybe not City Lights(1931) or Modern Times(1936) level material for me.

Rango(2011): From the moment I heard about what this is about, and who's doing it with who, I wasn't interested in it. That's why it took me almost two years to see it and only when it was available on Netflix. I didn't go out and seek it. Well, I can say that I am pleasantly surprised. It was silly and exactly like most other Verbinski-Depp movies but it was quite entertaining and funny too.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey(2012): Don't really go by this rating because the first time I watched LOTR movies, I didn't even finish first one and now I have seen them all 27 times. I really liked this movie, especially Martin Freeman as Bilbo was just perfect but my main problem with this is over-indulgence. I think there were many things in it that really had no business being here. Now if Jackson can do something Tolkien didn't to validate them in the next two, my opinion might change. I love middle earth and what Jackson does with it too much to give up so early. 

The Night of the Hunter(1955): I had heard a lot of good things about this movie. In fact, that is why I saw it as the 300th 'New to Me' movie of the year but unfortunately, it didn't turn out that well for me. It works much better on psychological levels - A priest hunting kids down for money. But my main problem was that I did not believe Robert Mitchum's character and his crocodile tears, even for a second and how someone can was pretty unbelievable to me too.

Margot at the Wedding(2007): I have not seen any Noah Baumbach movie before. I am not even sure why I saw this. I only remember hearing something about this vaguely. So, I don't know if it is his thing or not but this was a messed up movie. It was quite good from acting perspective but every single one of the characters in this movie need some kind of mental treatment. The kind of things they do, they talk are so inappropriate, even children. What's wrong with them?

Lincoln(2012): Their are parts of this movie that I loved but there are also many things about it that I didn't care that much about. I loved the last 40 minutes of the movie once they get into the last stages of voting. All the performances were very fine especially Daniel Day-Lewis and Tommy Lee Jones but I didn't find anyone extraordinary. It felt too slow and long, especially in the first one and half hour.

 

Trouble with the Curve(2012): I really wanted to like this movie. It has Amy Adams in it, more often than not I do not need much more than that. About half hour left in the movie, I was wondering to myself why didn't people like this. I knew it wouldn't win any awards, it wouldn't be anyone's favourite movie but still it was pretty decent. But then last 20 minutes happened. Off course, Amy Adams was great in it but there are people who think she was better than The Master(2012) here. Nah !!

Pitch Perfect(2012): Will anyone judge me if I said that I wanted to like this movie too? I swear, it was only for Anna Kendrick and as it turned out, she was the only thing worth about it. It goes exactly like thousands of other typical Rom-coms out there, taking every cliched turn and characters in it and ends exactly where you know it would, a minute into the movie. It wasn't really bad, it wasn't any good either.

Duck Soup(1933): My first encounter with Marx Brothers. Can I be blunt here and say that I Really didn't like any of the Marx Brothers onscreen? I loved their writing but watching them on screen was painful. I liked their humour and I liked the way they were exploiting it out of very regular, normal situation but the way they portrayed it really got on my nerve, especially Harpo Marx.

Fahrenheit 451(1966): Francois Truffaut's First and only English movie. I don't know if it was Truffaut's direction and writing or it is Bradbury's novel but nothing seemed right to me. It seemed very superficial and shoddy. Even acting seemed very unnatural or artificial. 10 minutes into the movie, I had a pretty good idea how it is going to play out and it followed it exactly.

Total Count:26. 22 First Time Watches and 4 Re-watches .

2012 YTD Count

Total Count: 328. 306 First Time Watches and 22 Re-watches.

Next two months should be the most exciting time for all the fellow film buffs, trying to finish up the 2012 and getting ready for 2013 and the award season. I did spend most of this month focussing on finishing out 2012 and even though I have seen quite a few of what I wanted to, I still am not finished and expect to be still in 2012 mode for at least the month of January. Right now, I am aiming for mid-February to wrap up the year with the Top 10 list, even though my favourite 'first time watches' of this year should be out next, followed by the usual shenanigans of Oscar coverage and 'Movies I am looking Forward to in 2013'. From January, I am also looking forward to the Blind Spot series which should be up at around the end, every month.

Let us Welcome 2013 with open hands and hearts and hope it brings even better health, happiness and future for everyone. HAPPY NEW YEAR FRIENDS !!

So, how was your month ? Did you see anything interesting ? What do you think of the movies I saw ? Any favorites ?

12 Angry Men or How to make a movie in One Room

Have I told you the story of how Sidney Lumet became one of my two favourite directors? I must have but lets not assume anything, I will go again. It's little embarrassing but it's one of my favourites. So bear with me and don't spoil it for others if you already know it. So basically, I had no idea who Sidney Lumet was until he passed away in April 2011. Right after his passing, I heard so much about him and how great he was and I had no idea what made him so great? So I checked his page on IMDb. Going down his filmography, I saw The Network(1976) - I love this movie. So I am saying "Great! He directed this." to myself. Then I see The Dog Day Afternoon(1975), which is even better because I like it even more. If I wasn't before, I am very curious now. But then almost at the end of his long filmography, I see 12 Angry Men(1957) and I want to kill myself. How On God's Green Earth Did I Not Know That Sidney Lumet Directed 12 Angry Men? To say this movie blew me away back when I saw it first is understatement of my life. You see, 12 Angry Men is not just a great movie, it is one of my 5 favourite movies of all time and I didn't know who directed it. After the embarrassing epiphany of who Sidney Lumet was, I made a conscious effort to see as many movies he did as I can as the one's I had seen by then were all brilliant. I have seen almost 20 by now and now Sidney Lumet is the director with most number of movies in my Top 100 with 5 movies making the cut. However before I get into any details about it, a disclaimer first. Now since this is a post where I will go into every detail about the movie and there will be spoilers. This movie is more than 50 years old and one of the best that is out there. So there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn't have watched it. But in case you haven't, go and please do so and then read this post.

Lumet opens with a tracking shot starting from the steps of the courthouse to the actual court room where a 18-year-old Puerto Rican boy is on trial for killing his own father. A kinda bored judge explains all the duties to the jurors and they retire into the juror room where 93 of 96 total minutes of the movie take place. From the initial impressions of the jurors, it looks like an open-and-shut case. After everyone settles down, head of the jury takes a preliminary vote and it comes out to be 11-1 against the culprit. Now, they have to talk and come to the conclusion since the decision has to be unanimous. So, one gentleman that thinks he is not guilty has to change his vote or the unthinkable should happen and 11 others should vote Not Guilty. To make it faster, they decide that each one would speak his own mind and maybe then they will be able to find some way out. Juror 2 is inconvincing, he probably would just go with the group. If everyone else said Not Guilty, he might as well have voted that. Juror 3 makes some argument based on facts and fights till the end but is heavily prejudiced, Juror 4 is another one who has his own ideology - maybe it is a wrong one but he does have one and as it later turns out, he makes the most convincing and reasonable argument, Juror 5 doesn't even have an opinion, Juror 6 is quick to believe anything he hears, Juror 7 doesn't care - He has a ball game to attend tonight and his bigger worry is not to miss it, Juror 8 is the one who votes 'Not Guilty' to start with, Juror 9 is a kind old man with an open mind who is willing to accept that he might be wrong and is also the first one to change his vote. No. 10 is the worst one - he has already decided that the boy is guilty because 'His Kind' always is and anyone saying otherwise is just being over smart. Every one of them have their reasons to believe if the boy is guilty or not.

What happens in the next 70 minutes or so is Juror 8 who votes 'Not Guilty' tries to convince everyone that it is not possible to find the boy guilty 'Beyond the Reasonable Doubt' because that is what they have to do to send that kid to the chair. One by one, he brings various things to the front that the defense lawyer should have if he really wanted to save the boy. He, with the help from some others who start to see some point in his arguments, tries to point out that there were multiple loop holes in the case that were left unattended by either side, multiple questions that were never really answered. If they choose not to ignore them like the defense lawyer ignored them, it is not possible to charge the young fella without a doubt. One by one, juries start to see the point in his argument and change their votes until in the end they decide unanimously that it CANNOT be proven beyond the reasonable doubt and hence set the boy free. However, more interesting part here are the side-stories of the juries. As the discussion ensues, everyone's deeper and personal feelings start to surface revealing their very human nature - something as jurors they should be able to keep aside and think objectively. Juror 3 who constantly keeps blaring at everyone and contradicting himself time and again, blames this kid because his own son, who is about same age, wouldn't even look at him. Juror 10 because the kid is Peurto Rican and according to him, they can be nothing else but criminals. No. 7 never adds anything to the discussion but keeps on taunting everyone. He even changes his vote just so they can get out of there quickly. After all, there is a human life that hangs in balance at the other end and most of them aren't ready to look at it that way until they finally are.  

It is ample clear by now that I love this movie to death. It is after all favourite movie made by my favourite director but that's not it. I love it so much that I strongly believe that this is 'THE Best Debut Movie' by any director ever. Sure, Sidney Lumet did work on multiple TV series before that but it is still his film debut. I never thought that a movie that basically takes place in a single room can be so much exhilarating until I saw 12 Angry Men. To amp it further, it creates all the tension, all the atmosphere with the help of dialogues. There really aren't many shocking moments or big moments that suddenly reveal any secret. Well, there is off course that one moment that always makes me jump in my seat - Henry Fonda producing the knife as that is the one that starts the avalanche thereafter. I have seen this movie multiple times but even now, I always wait anxiously for that moment. When watching for the first time, this was the point where I started taking Henry Fonda's Juror no.8 much more seriously. It just keeps on building until the end and slowly but surely, you realize that the tables are turned. With every turn of event, we see that one of the major pieces of evidence being scrutinized as it should have been in the court and couple of jurors joining the other camp. However, I have always found myself analyzing E.G. Marshall's Juror 4 more than others. What attracts me towards him is the poise with which he defends his own stance but even more importantly, he does not hesitate to admit that he was wrong when he is convinced of it. When HE is convinced of it, not because someone else is. His arguments are always valid, pertinent, non-judgmental and he never tries to force his thinking down the others' throat like 3,6 or 10. In my opinion, he is probably the ideal jury.

What 12 Angry Men does the best is through these jurors, it challenges the perceptions, the prejudices of audience. There is a strong underlying commentary on various social issues such as race, class and most importantly, value of human life. Having a power to decide whether another human being lives or dies is an incredibly big responsibility but does everyone realize that? As a director, Lumet was known for eliciting great performances from his cast. We can easily see that he had mastered his craft right from the start. The way he handles all the 12 jurors never fails to amaze me. Every one of them has a distinct personality and quirks and he manages to do that and much more in a very short run-time of 96 minutes. Though Reginald Rose's writing deserves the major chunk of credit for all the tension in the room, some part of it also belongs to the innovative camerawork as well. With multiple and frequent close-ups from various angles to changing to the lenses of longer focal lengths to make the room look shorter, camera does a lot to add to the overall tension and claustrophobia of the movie. In 2013, I will taking part in the Blind Spot Series. If there is anyone who hasn't seen this movie, I cannot think of a better choice to make your list.

Past Favorites:
Notorious(1946)
Rashomon(1950) 
City of God(2002)

Rating(out of 5):

My Man Godfrey(1936)

A small downside of being a cinephile (I have no idea when did I start calling myself that but I think it will do and I am really not complaining as well) is sometimes feeling that movies do not amuse me as much as they used to. Well, there was also the fact that I wasn't watching as many movies as I do now as well. So, it is always easy to win in a less competitive market. But, back then then it was easy to fall for a movie. Now, I have kind of raised bars for them myself. But, once in a while, a movie comes along and not only jumps over that bar but also clears it by fair margin. 12 Angry Men(1957) did that by sweeping me off my feet, Ian Holm and Sarah Polley did that by telling a very honest story of loss in The Sweet Hereafter(1997) and so did Waltz with Bashir(2006) by telling a story I never imagined can be told as an animation. So, even though it is little rare, it is good to come across a movie which gives you an experience you never had before or forgotten completely about it. My Man Godfrey(1936) did something similar for me. It made me laugh out loud so many times that I started thinking about when was the last time I laughed so much watching the movie for first time. Now, I know that I am talking about a movie that is more than 75 years old, but it is nice to see a movie with fresh and healthy sense of humour. They don't make them anymore like that, do they?

So, In My Man Godfrey(1936), a screwball comedy set during the depths of depression, Godfrey is a 'Forgotten Man' leaving in the city dump who helps Irene Bullocks win high society socialite scavenger hunt. A little while earlier, he not only has insulted her sister - Cornelia -  but also has pushed on the heap of ash, for asking him to do the exact same thing - appear in this scavenger hunt with her. Now, since Godfrey helped her beat her sister, Irene wants to do something to help him as well. He asks for a job and she hires him as a butler for Bullocks Household. Apparently, they have lost one. When Godfrey appears next day, transformed completely in crisp suit, clean shaven face and polished, sophisticated demeanor, reason why they lost previous butler or butlers becomes very evident - it is because every single character in Bullocks households is nuts. There is Irene, who has a childish temperament like riding a horse right into the house and parking it in Library. Her sister Cornelia is bitter and bitchy probably because she has always had her way in life, who doesn't mind breaking windows on her way home. Then there is their father Alexander who is secretly broke and tired of dealing with Cab drivers demanding their horse parked in his library and subpoena for breaking neighbors window glasses. Their mother Angelica pampers herself with luxury like you have ever seen and even has kept a protege, who can do two things well - eat and gorilla impressions. And their is also Molley, maid who is beyond all the craziness happening around her and warns Godfrey about it as well.

(If you still haven't still watched this movie after more than 75 years after its release, you might want to skip this paragraph. But before that, REALLY ?? You Haven't ? Now that I have seen it, I have all the right to say this to you. Go, Watch it First.) When they meet for the first time, it is rather evident that Irene is taking an uncharacteristic interest in Godfrey despite of him being a bum, primarily because she has never seen someone push her sister on pile of ash. But after she sees Godfrey next day in his best apparel and manner, she is swept off the floor by him. However, he takes pride in his proper behaviour and doesn't hesitate to show her the way out, politely off course. As he goes on going his regular duties, you start to suspect if there is more to him than what meets your eye as it is later confirmed when one of the guests for house tea-party recognizes him as Harvard classmate. Off course, none of the Bullocks realize that he is too good to be a butler since they are too busy in their own indulges. It appears that Godfrey is the prodigal son of Bostonian family just like Bullocks but has fallen out of their graces due to certain affiliation to a woman and now is looking for complete start-over. During his time in those city dumps, she has developed certain affection to 'forgotten men' he was with and wishes to somehow make their lives happier. Now with a well to do college friend by his side, might just be the right time for him to make that happen.

What makes this comedy work is characters and dialogues written perfectly to exploit the slapstick nature of it, but most importantly actors doing their job exactly the way they are supposed to. I really don't know any of the actors, so I can only judge them based on their performance in this movie but they all did a wonderful job. William Powell playing a titular character of Godfrey looks like right out of Butler Academy, if there is one. Every single thing about him is reflection of the position he finds himself in throughout the movie. However, real highlight of the movie for me was Carole Lombard as smitten kitten Irene. Perfection is the only word to describe her in it. Let it be her - apparently heart broken, in her own tea-party or elated her, wiping dishes with Godfrey. You might say she was little over the top but in my opinion that is the perfect way to play this character. Otherwise, how do you say something as ridiculous as "Do You Buttle? " with utmost sincerity. Their mother, played by Alice Brady provided quite a few moments that had me in splits. I simply can not imagine someone can say something like "If you are going to be rude to my daughter, you might at least take your hat off" or "He is the first thing she has shown any affection to since her Pomeranian died last summer" but when she did say that, I was literally on the floor, rolling. Believe me, I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. I should also mention Eugene Pallette playing their father, Gail Patrick playing Cornelia and Jean Dixon playing Molly, who do a fine job as well.

If you want to pick them, I can pick few flaws in it as well. There are more of a plot points, but you can say that Godfrey's plan of city dump a little too simplistic or some pretty slick stock market plan which almost literally saves Bullock family to come on to the road, little implausible. Even though I do agree with this, I am ready to discount this given the slapstick nature of film. And besides, I didn't really mind it as I was little busy wiping my eyes off with tears of laughter. So, don't bother too much, give it a go for laugh or two. They say, it makes your life longer !!

Rating(out of 5):

Wrapping It Up: April

Let us get right into the business. Here is what I saw over the last month April, 2012.

The Hunger Games(2012): And I open my 2012 account with a bang !! Even though I am still a little late, I am 4 months ahead of 2011. First 2011 movie I watched was Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows part II(2011) in July last year. However, even though I was one of those eagerly anticipating it, let us just say that I was hoping for a something little better than this.

Haywire(2012): I opened my 2012 account last week with The Hunger Games(2012) and followed it with this. I love the fact that Soderbergh keeps on diverging into different genres and more than that does a good job of it. Gina Carano was really good actually and she kicked some real ass in it. 

The Seventh Seal(1957): After procrastinating for like forever, I finally saw it for My Movie Year blogathon. For it's status as an exemplary Art movie and movie which made Bergman Bergman, It is surprisingly accessible. If you haven't read it, see my mini review post here. 

Planet of the Apes(1968): An Idea of apes ruling the planet and treating humans as we treat animals does sound promising. However, I thought creative geniuses who wrote the script stopped thinking after this point because it felt like what I call as Lazy Fiction, just exchanging Humans and Apes. 

Ocean's Eleven(2001)(Re-watch): I saw it with room-mates because they were watching it. If you want, I am sure you can find hundreds of fault in it, but I really didn't care. It is still a great fun movie to watch.

Ocean's Thirteen(2007)(Re-watch): Why not 12, you ask ? because I hate it. 13 isn't great either but at least it is watchable and to tell you the truth, I just wanted to check that despite owning it, have I really seen it or not as I just could not remember it. Turns out I have seen it before. What does that tell you about it? I don't know. 

Throne of Blood(1957): This turned out to be the Weekend my memory kept on failing me. After 13 above, I was almost certain that I have seen Throne as well but wanted to give it another go before writing anything about it as I confuse it a lot with Ran(1985). Well, I have certainly seen it now. You can see my thoughts on it here. 

Buffalo '66(1998): I had next to nothing idea about Vincent Gallo until I watched it. After watching it, whatever I have read or seen, I am becoming more and more convinced that this pretty much is his autobiographical movie of the sorts. My full review here.

Pather Panchali(1955): This film will give 12 Angry Men a run for his money as my favorite Debut movie. In his debut movie, Satyajit Ray touched something deep inside me that brought on the verge of crying many, many times in it. I will definitely write about this in detail once I get around the whole Apu Trilogy. Wait for it !!

Aparajito(1956): If there is one thing that I admire the most about Aparajito, that it does not suffer from the 'middle child syndrome' especially after being the successor of something like Pather Panchali. But, Aparajito stands firm independently as a film and that it itself is a great feet to achieve. 

Shame(2011): If there was one movie in 2011 that I wanted to watch badly, it would be Shame. After the recent release on DVD, I was finally able to see it and I love it. I doubt if I will be able to put a complete review together but I am sure that I will love it even more every time I watch it again, though I doubt how often will that be. 

Black Narcissus(1947): It has been in my Netflix queue for quite sometime now. But, I was unaware of the fact that it was filmed in India and that was the final push I needed. Though it certainly looked dated in lot of aspects, it still is a classical piece of cinema and I especially loved the dark turn it takes in last half hour or so.

Kiki's Delivery System(1989): I am working my way through Miyazaki's filmography, slowly but surely. Only Porco Rosso(1992) and Nausicaa(1984) left now. I might start looking for other Ghibli movies after that and other anime stuff soon after.

I Vitelloni(1953): Traditionally, I have always taken time to warm-up to every Fellini movie I have seen but eventually loved them. Even though my initial reaction to this is pretty much same, I doubt if I will warm-up to it because I pretty much did not care about none of the characters at all. 

Far From Heaven(2002): For some reason, I am struggling to put down any words here, not because film wasn't good, it was. It does have a nice story, good acting from almost everyone involved but because I have very little apathy for characters like Dennis Quaid in this. If your wife can support through everything you are going through, how dare he blame her ??

Kahaani(2012)(Hindi): With my doubts about the condition of Hindi film Industry in last few years, it is a great comfort to see a worthwhile movie once in a while. It is also a welcome change to see female-centric, non-romantic movie and on top of that Vidya Balan making most of it. If at all I am to find a fault, I thought they could have done with a little stronger supporting cast. 

Days of Heaven(1978): If ever there was a beautiful movie made, this must be it. However, that ending felt like a cheating to me. I was expecting something, to go on for some time more and it kinda just ended on me. But that's Malick for you I guess. You never know what will he do.

Month Python's Life of Brian(1979): While watching this movie, I couldn't help myself but keep comparing this with Monty Python and Holy Grail(1975). I guess I wanted an answer to why is this not considered as good as Holy Grail and to tell you the truth, I still don't have much idea. Only thing I could come up with is it probably lacks iconic characters like Knights who say NI!, otherwise this really is just as good as Holy Grail. 

The World of Apu(1959): And with this, probably the best known trilogy in the history of cinema is over and now I don't have to feel bad that I haven't seen the most widely known Indian film in film-world. But, to tell you the truth, it deserves every single word of praise it gets and little more. 

Harold and Maude(1971): I am not sure if this is a common response or not, but this film presented me with quite an interesting dichotomy for me. I loved Maude, character and Ruth Gordon but pretty much hated Harold and Bud Cort. Another fun fact, I doubt if I have seen anything else by anyone in the whole cast and crew of course except Gordon's Oscar turn in Rosemary's Baby(1968).

Withnail and I(1997): I am not exactly sure what went wrong here, but I did not enjoy this movie at all. I probably went with the wrong expectations as well but still it elicited very few laughs from me. I will agree that I wasn't in the best of the moods but still, it felt pretty laborious to me.

Philadelphia(1993)(Re-watch): Just another movie that I thought I haven't watched yet but it all came back to me as I watched it and even though I do not remember watching it, I am almost sure it was just as powerful first time as it was this time.

The Return(2003): My first foray into Russian cinema and I am certainly glad that I broke this ice even if it is way late that I would have wanted. It also helps to have a great movie to start. It will take some time to get it done but I will have a full review soon as well.

Total Count:23. 20 First Time Watches and 3 Re-watches. (All the re-watches are either memory lapses or friend requests.)

11 classics and 12 new. 8 Foreign, 14 English and 1 Hindi. I am counting 3 Apu movies as foreign as even though they are very much Indian movies, I do not know Bengali.

2012 YTD Count 

Total Count:108. 103 First Time Watches and 5 Re-watches.

I am down from my total for last two months but I believe going forward, this is what a typical month will look like. Also, since the return of Game of Thrones for it's second season and Bones returning after long mid-season break, there are like 6 weekly shows to catch up on. And I am finally going through The Wire entirely, currently watching Season 4 for first time and I am loving every minute thus far. There is a reason why this show is called 'The Best Show Made Ever' and then there also was my big move to the west coast to deal with as well.

So, What do you think about my month ? Did you  see anything interesting this month ?? Let me know in the comments.