Wrapping it Up: July

Month with quite a few firsts - I wrote about my very first Russian movie experience and inadvertently I saw one more this month, then my very first Bollywood Essentials post - hopefully there will be more to come soon and then finally, I got down to write about Audrey Hepburn which I have been meaning to do for little while now. But that's mostly what's been going around here, on site. Let's get into what I saw in July.

JULY

My Cousin Vinny(1992)(Rewatch): I was actually watching an Indian remake of this and it reminded me that I haven't seen it in a long time. I just love this movie. Joe Pesci is at his snappy brilliant self in it and don't even get me started on Marisa Tomei, just flawless - the way she talks, she walks, her body-language, her face expressions and most notably, her in witness box.

The Children's Hour(1961): This film is criminally overlooked whenever someone talks about Audrey Hepburn's career and just to do my part for it, I wrote a full review of it here. Combined with Shirley MacLaine, Audrey Hepburn gives a fine performance in this one. William Wyler certainly saw an actress behind that pretty face. 

Funny Face(1957): Anyone who complains that Bollywood movies break out into random dance and music sequences should see this. This is so Bollywood and so 60's and I certainly do not mean it as a compliment. It was all rather stupid and cartoonish, and worst part was it felt like it is done in all seriousness. However, I think Audrey Hepburn might have looked most beautiful I have seen her in this.

Airplanes II: The Sequel(1982): I usually avoid any of these spoof movies because of very few I have seen, I pretty much hate every one of them Except Hot Shots!(1991) and Hot Shots: Part Deux(1993). Generally in an attempt to make them funny, I feel like they are utterly unfunny, boring and just plain ridiculous. In first few minutes, this felt like another movie in line. However, as I caught some of the references to Star Wars and 2001 etc., it caught my attention. Mind you, I am not giving it any favorable opinion, I just didn't hate it as I thought I would.

The Amazing Spider-Man(2012): I probably won't call it amazing but it still was pretty good. First of all, I really like Andrew Garfield in this role and I loved how they set up the everything. Emma Stone has a very small part but off course she is good as well. Chemistry between their characters is probably the best part of the movie. However, It isn't without its flaws. One thing that I will mention is I distinctly remember couple of dialogues between Stone and Garfield from the trailer that aren't in movie and that is just stupid. Others can be considered spoilers. So, I will not get into it here. But still pretty good.

A Room with A View(1985): Helena Bonham Carter looked super adorable in her very first role on screen in it. Otherwise very conventional English Rom-Com, even a little too English if you know what I mean. I had a foolish grin on my face almost throughout though and Daniel Day-Lewis, very early in his career was interesting as well.

Wait Until Dark(1967): Meet World's Champion Blind Lady - Audrey Hepburn as recently blinded Lady as 3 thugs try to take advantage of her blindness and steal a doll full of drugs from her house. This has to be one of the best performances of Audrey Hepburn's career. Even Alan Arkin was brilliant and almost unrecognizable with hair on his head in this. 

The Birds(1963): Right from the word go, this film took a grip on me. Even those titles left an impression on me. Hitchcock masterfully develops a lot of tension in first hour or so with that lingering feeling that something is just about to happen and once those bird attacks start, it just goes to another level. I usually don't get scared easily, even when watching a horror movie but this movie just scared me shitless.

The Raid: Redemption(2012): For first half hour or so, I was really underwhelmed by what I was seeing. I have seen quite a few Asian action or slasher movies and hence didn't think I was watching anything extraordinary. However, in the next one and half hour The Raid: Redemption more than redeemed itself, especially because it goes to a completely another level after hand-to-hand combats started. It really is one of the best action movies I have seen, even more so because it pretty much never goes over the top. 

L'eclisse(1962): Monica Vitti and Alain Delon make a really handsome couple. For the first time in Antonini's trilogy, it's a woman that is facing alienation and aloofness though Vittoria here is much more likable character than his previous two leads. My only problem with it really was last seven minutes, apparently filled with references and allegories which I have no idea of, that ending confused me a little. 

Enter The Void(2009): I was kinda dreading to sit down and watch it especially since Alex included it this list. Though I agree that I will probably not watch it again as well, at least not for quite a while, it isn't because I can't watch it again. It will be because I don't think the pain is worth gain as I am not really impressed by it and surprisingly I wasn't even overly depressed either. It took me little while to understand few things which made it 'Mehh' for me while watching e.g. I realised that he was trying to show that Oscar follows the same path discussed in 'Book of the Dead' that he is reading, while making dinner that night.

Porco Rosso(1992): This hardly ever happens. Very rarely you will see me complain about Miyazaki film but I was a little underwhelmed by this especially because of the ending felt a little loose to me. There still was usual Ghibli warmth in it but there movies do little more than just entertain viewer. Sadly, I did not see that spark here.

Cache(2005): It seems that Mr. Haneke really isn't interested in giving us any answers. Just like Code Unkonwn(2000) we only get questions but no answers. I will love to know who was doing it and why ? How did Georges make that connection ? But it was a fascinating story, it didn't leave me frustrated like Code Unkonwn(2000) and at one point I really gasped out loud, I am sure anyone who has seen this movie knows what I am talking about.

Casino Royale(2006)(Re-Watch): An attempt to school my room-mates. In my opinion, it is best Bond movie made yet, certainly best of what I have seen. Maybe, it isn't what you would expect from a Bond movie, but that is precisely what I like about it. For the first time, James Bond is vulnerable, much more human and Bond Girl has presence and much more to do than look pretty and sexy.

The Double Hour(2009): It might be my own fault that I was expecting more from this. After the twist in the middle that took me off-guard, I kept waiting for it to pick up and explode at some point and it never did, it just kept going at its own pace till the very end. It is not a completely bad thing either as whatever does happen on screen is still quite a story but I was expecting something different or at least something more.

City Lights(1931): With this, the honor of Highest Ranked movie in IMDb Top 250 that I haven't seen goes to M. It was such a heart-warming movie, I instantly loved it. What worked most for me was it is a perfect combination of story, emotions, drama and Tramp's usual shenanigans. His boxing match had me in splits whereas that last scene almost made me cry. Such a beautiful and timeless treasure !! 

The Dark Knight Rises(2012): History is my witness that I never understood Christopher Nolan movies completely on their first watch. I probably shouldn't admit it but this one isn't any different. Having said that, this was everything I expected it to be - it is grand, dark, epic, perfect conclusion to what now is most certainly Best Superhero story of all time. However, what makes me most happy is Anne Hathaway did a great job. I do have few problem which I am sure subsequent viewings will make clear. For now, I firmly stand in Camp Nolan !! My Full Review here.  

Dogtooth(2009): I am little uncertain as to how do I say this properly. For some reason, I didn't feel like it was very difficult to watch but it was truly disturbing experience. Much like Festen(1998). I do not think that I will ever get that image of their brother 'checking his own sisters out' image out of my head. But, I felt kinda cheated by the end.

Contempt(1963): May be it is just me but more Godard I see, more I feel like he is trying to hard for us to take him seriously. After Breathless(1960) last month, even this is actually very good movie but it feels like he is purposely trying to be more obscure. Whatever he was trying to say, I am sure could have been said equally effectively but with much more accessibility. At least I don't think purposely making a movie inaccessible can be considered a good thing.

Dersu Uzala(1975): If I didn't know, I wouldn't have guessed that it's an Akira Kurosawa movie. It is nothing like any other Kurosawa movie I have seen. First of all, of dozen or so of his movies, I have never seen a word spoken in language other than Japanese and here, this whole movie is in Russian. Even look and feel of it is much more like Doctor Zhivago(1965) or Lawrence of Arabia(1962). But, that doesn't mean it is an inferior piece of art by any definition possible. It's a devastatingly beautiful portrayal of a purest of a soul which touches your heart somewhere deep down.

Cleopatra(1963): I am pretty much sucker for History and then with Elizabeth Taylor, I would have been down for anything. But more than anything I wanted to see this because I am not really sure if Cleopatra should be considered a heroin or a vamp. I really do not know the historical accuracy of this. However real problem is 243 minutes and glorious Liz Taylor performance after, I am still not. 

Take This Waltz(2012): I have been meaning to see it for couple of months now and I finally got a chance to see it this month. I will have a full review soon but to give you a glimpse of it, even though I have few reservations I really liked it especially because of the 2 ladies for whom I wanted to watch this movie - Sarah Polley and Michelle Williams. Both have done a great job in their respective departments.

Dirty Harry(1971): For a serial killer movie, it actually felt much straight forward. Even the killer wasn't really formidable and Clint Eastwood was, well, Clint Eastwood. But even then it somehow works because I think for some reason it isn't trying to be intelligent, it is just being cool and suave and it is just that. Even without getting into now cult status of character, actor or movie, I can still say I loved it for just that. I just want to watch it once and count how many bullets he shot from his .44 Magnum.

The Iron Giant(1999): With every traditionally animated movie I see, I become more and more pro-2D animation than 3D animation. These traditionally animated characters feel much more human to me even though they do not have that finesse of 3D characters. As for the movie, I would have liked it much more if not for the last 15-20 minutes which went bit too far in my opinion but until then, it was nice.

Earrings(2012)(short): I have been hearing, talking, reading about this film since I started following Alex's blog probably around a year ago. Believe it or not, I was pretty stocked to see it and I KNOW for a fact that I wasn't the only one. It isn't often that a guy you actually know has a film coming, Right? Those who follow him, we all knew how much time, energy and effort he put into it, we knew what this movie meant to him and to tell you the truth, it is everything we expected. If you haven't seen it yet, I urge you to see it here. DO NOT leave without leaving comment on his post - We need more like this from him.

L'illusioniste(2010): Rather sad, almost silent but brilliant and heartfelt animated movie that was nominated for Oscar in 2010 for Best Animated Feature Film. Our magician who wouldn't get big shows and doesn't want to do odd jobs because he doesn't think that is dignified, as well as his side story with the girl was told really beautifully.

Drugstore Cowboy(1989): To tell you the truth, this is pretty good movie. I never thought I will say this but Matt Dillon has done a great job in this and even his whole arc in story was well designed. But for some reason, I was left cold by the end and I have no idea why? As I said, I don't think it is a bad movie but I don't have anything more to say on it. Maybe next time I see it, I might have something more to say.

Viridiana(1961): Have you ever hated every single character of a movie and still think that particular movie is brilliant. I just did !! I can certainly understand Spanish government's prompt ban on it, because even I was fuming by the end, as it comments very harshly on poverty, misery and religion in post-civil war Spain under General Franco's reign and still think it was more than worthy of winning Palme d'Or because brilliance of Bunuel lies in highlighting that stark contrast between start and end.

Total Count:28. 26 First Time Watches and 2 Re-watches.

2012 YTD Count

Total Count:182. 172 First Time Watches and 10 Re-watches.

So I reached double figure in re-watches this year. That's good. 28 movies this month that is even better. Usual division comes up to 13 Classics, 15 new and 11 Foreign, 17 English movies. That is good too. But you know, my favorite part this month was catching up 4 movies from this year, 2012. That is as many 2012 movies as I have seen in first 6 months and on top of that 3 of them were in theater. So, that's one thing accomplished from last month. I also went on little binge of few serials I wanted to see. After finishing up The Wire in June, I started with The Sopranos and I have gone through 4 seasons now, 5th to start soon. I also gave in to Twin Peaks this month but I am largely regretting that decision as it went from weird - intriguing - strange - laughing with it - laughing AT it - are you serious!! - shoot me, already!! stages and I still have around 10 more episodes to go(So, remember to pray for me !!). 

As for the next month, I don't think I am going to try anything different this month, just take every day as it comes. I have few things to write in mind and my movie watching this month mostly will be so as to make it possible.

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

The Children's Hour(1961)

About a week ago, I finally got down and corrected one of anomalies on the blog. Despite of all my admiration for Audrey Hepburn, I never wrote anything about her on this blog. I finally did that last week. After watching a documentary The Audrey Hepburn Story(2000) based on her life, I decided this is the opportunity I needed to rectify my mistake and took it with both hands. However, before doing that I went through her filmography once again to check what have I seen and of the remaining movies, what do I need to see? Fortunately, everything I wanted to see was readily available and within a week I ended up watching 4 Audrey Hepburn movies - I decided to let the fifth one go. One of them was The Children's Hour(1961). If you have read my Audrey Hepburn post, I said there as well that in my opinion this is one of the most criminally overlooked movie whenever someone talks about Audrey Hepburn's career. For some reason, I had never heard anywhere of this movie before and if I did not go digging into her filmography, I probably would not have seen this movie for a long time. I can only say that I certainly am happy I did go looking out for this as this is a fine piece of cinema which deserves much more attention that it is usually given.

Based on Lillian Hellman play by the same name, directed by William Wyler and starring Audrey Hepburn along with Shirley MacLaine in the role of two close friends Karen Wright and Martha Dobie, since college who have combined their forces to run a small boarding school for girls. There are only 20 girls in their school and these two are sharing all the responsibilities at school - they are teachers, they are headmistresses, they are wardens as well as cooks too. They both have put a lot of blood and sweat into this place to make it worth any reputation and slowly but surely their hard-work looks like is paying off as they are just about starting to make their school profitable. And as it would require for two people to get this far together, they have great understanding and trust between them. Both the girls have put quite a few years of their lives in this Dream Project however, they both have reached a point where it has become necessary to take certain decisions in their personal life that they can not postpone any further. Karen has been engaged to the local doctor Joe Cardin for couple of years now and they need to get married soon, even Joe is staring to be little restless now whereas Martha really needs to find someone and settle down as soon as possible. After some deliberation, Joe and Karen decide that this indeed is high time and they should get married after the end of current school term. Martha reacts to this news rather unpleasantly as she feels that this will mean Karen ignoring the school a little and further increase in her responsibilities, even though Karen and Joe both assure her that will not be the case. However, being a good friend and inherently good person, she keeps her issues aside and is happy for her friend.

Martha also has an aunt named Lily that lives with them and gives them a helping hand in school as well. Lily actually wants to be an actress on Broadway but can't really get past odd role here and there. Now this aunt Lily is a character and is meddling and rather cunning. While arguing with Martha once, she accuses her of being jealous of Karen and having an unnatural kind of relationship with her, she even goes ahead and ascertains that it has always been the case. Unfortunately, two of the schoolgirls overhear this conversation in the other room and off course go on to tell their other room-mate at night. Now, this other girl is Mary - a natural troublemaker who both Karen and Dobie believe is bad influence on other girls and because of her attitude gets punished quite often. However, more importantly, she is granddaughter of Amelia Tilford, one of the most influential and respected families in town. She is also an aunt to Joe. Mary being punished for anything and everything she does has a kind of spite of both her teachers and wants to get rid of them or from them as soon as possible. After hearing about the conversation between Lily and Martha from her friends, she decided to use it against them to get her out of there. So one day, she quietly sneaks out of her school and goes to her grandmother. At first Amelia disregards this as ridiculous but Mary seems to be persistent and also Lily, who is been asked to leave this place as Martha has had enough of her, unknowingly acknowledges of making any such remark. This puts Amelia in very uncomfortable position and she not only decides to take Mary back home for good, she also passes on a word to the parents of other girls in school that Karen and Martha might be lovers. One by one, all the girls start leaving the school leaving Karen and Martha to wonder what exactly happened ? and what follows turns their lives upside down completely.

I am not gonna lie and say that there was any other reason I saw The Children's Hour or even went looking out for it than Audrey Hepburn. Off course, having one more recognizable name, Shirley MacLaine that is, in the mix made it even more desirable but still I probably would not have watched it had it nor been for Audrey Hepburn. So, let me start with her. It is one of those movies where her acting is of much more relevance than her looks and charms and yet again she proves that she does not need them to please the audience, she is quite capable of doing it through her acting. Working yet again with William Wyler who apparently saw an actress behind that pretty face and gave her roles like The Nun's Story(1959) and off course her breakthrough role in Roman Holiday(1953), she does a great job indeed as usually calm and pleasant but determined and straight-thinking in face of an adversity Karen. Shirley MacLaine as Dobie has more dramatic and little troubled role and I am sure that none of us has ever had any doubts of her acting prowess. It's just good to see 60's Shirley MacLaine that I was stunned by in The Apartment(1960). I should also mention James Garner as Joe and Miriam Hopkins as Lily as well. But if someone really deserves to be mentioned here, it is Karen Balkin as malicious and rather bossy among her friends Mary. Mary is just a kid and all she wants is to escape from school where she thinks her teachers are being unnecessarily hard on her. She doesn't really fathom the implications of her actions and keeps on playing the same card to keep her from being punished yet again, this time possibly by her grandmother and this storm blows completely over her head.

Now, I am not going to lie and pretend to say that The Children's Hour is a masterpiece. I wouldn't even say that it is a movie that everyone has to watch. It is a decent enough film with little different story than we usually see with two strong and commendable center performances. But, my only problem is this movie deserves a lot more recognition from everyone than it seems to get. And that is the only reason that I have spent all this time on writing this post - to do my part in helping it get that recognition. Hopefully, this will make you want to watch it and it will soon be there.

Rating(out of 5):

All things Audrey !!

I feel like being repetitive, maybe I have said this before but I will tell you this again anyways. When I was in College, somewhere around my junior year, one of my very good friends used to talk very fondly about a movie called Roman Holiday(1953). Back then, I didn't even know there was a film by that name. She used to say that it is one of the loveliest movies she has ever seen and she is been trying to get hold of that movie but can't seem to find it anywhere. I was in the infancy of my film obsession or shall I say Hollywood obsession since most of my effort then was concentrated towards Indian Film Industry then. Even though I didn't know first thing about it then, that name left a mark on me. Few years later when I come to US, one of the first things I did was to try and find it. Out here, it was easy enough, I found it in the first library I looked - in my own university. I even went home and eagerly saw it. Now, to put the things in perspective, I am not the kind of person who goes head over heels for an actor or an actress. If you ask me, who is my favorite, I can give you a list but for life of me, I will not be able to order them. However, after watching Roman Holiday(1953) one thing changed, probably for the first and only time in my life, I had an absolute favorite Actress - Audrey Hepburn. This was almost 3 years ago. Since then, I have seen about a dozen movies she did and by now with every passing movie, my fondness of her has almost turned into a devotion.

Why do I bring all this up now, you ask ? because, the other day I stumbled upon something called The Audrey Hepburn Story(2000) on YouTube. To tell you the truth, I was looking for How to Break an egg scene in Sabrina(1954) - ohh, absolute bliss that scene is. I didn't find that but did see this. It's a made for TV movie with sort of biographical story of Audrey Hepburn, played by Jennifer Love Hewitt, since early in her childhood till she goes to the top of Hollywood. I probably won't go too much into the details about the movie as I find it hard to fathom that every single person she met was as enamored, as devoted to her charm as I am - someone rightly used the term Lady Jesus on one of the IMDb forum discussions - even though that is exactly what I expected. But this is a first time I have seen something about Audrey Hepburn besides her movies and this gives me a chance to do something I have been meaning to do for long time - write about Her. Audrey Hepburn wasn't just beautiful, there was something soothing, something beatific in her beauty that would touch your soul. It might just be me but every time I see her on screen I take a deep breath, close my eyes for a second and it feels like all my worries just evaporate into thin air. As shown in the documentary, she always thought of herself as non-attractive person, she rather used to think of herself as scrawny, tall with long neck and big feet. But even then when it all came together, it made extraordinary impact on screen. Since this documentary, I have been watching a lot of interviews of and about her and almost unanimous opinion seems to be she wasn't conventionally attractive but the way she carried herself made a lot of difference. Well, that and how soft spoken and modest she was.

Off course, one of the major reasons behind this Audrey Hepburn fever is her films. What started, more appropriately floored me, with Roman Holiday has become a full fledged obsession after close to dozen films by now. Roman Holiday isn't a revolutionary movie in any sense but her enthusiasm, her innocence in it is extremely infectious. Will you believe me if I tell you that since then I have always tried to say 'Thank You' the way she says in this movie. Would you also believe that I saw Sabrina(1954) because of her and not because of either Billy Wilder or Humphrey Bogart. It was actually my first Wilder or Bogart movie. There are a lot of movies that become instantly better just because she is in it - Charade(1963), Love in the Afternoon(1957), How to Steal a Million(1967). There really isn't anything wrong with them at all but at the same time there also isn't much in them either; except Ms. Hepburn off course. It's almost as if she carries these movies with her charm and I am sure there might me few more that I haven't seen yet. I have even set through never-ending atrocity that was War and Peace(1956) because of her. And how can I forget My Fair Lady(1964). If I am not wrong, I believe I had seen this even before Roman Holiday because I remember borrowing it from the same friend that told me about Roman Holiday but all I could remember was one song. So, when I saw it again I really had to convince myself that this is the same Audrey Hepburn that I have been seeing all this time. She was almost unrecognizable in her role of that flower girl initially. I am well aware of all the controversy surrounding My Fair Lady and even I think Julie Andrews probably was more suitable for the role, but Audrey Hepburn does a fine job here as well and I will not hesitate a moment to say that she was criminally overlooked for an Oscar nomination for that role.

However, it isn't just her charm, innocence and charisma that has won me over every time. She may not be considered as one of the best actresses ever, but if you ask me she has definitely made enough movies to make a strong case for her. First movie that made me stop my fan-boyish ogling and take her seriously as an actress probably was Breakfast at Tiffany's(1962). Even what they say in The Audrey Hepburn Story above strengthens my belief. After watching Roman Holiday - which mind you is a great piece of acting in itself and she does have an Oscar to prove it - I actually went through her biography on her IMDb profile to look for some of the other essential movies in her career and Breakfast at Tiffany's was one of the most prominent in it. I was already adoring her but since that day, I started respecting her as an actress. If you need any more proof of her acting prowess, try and see The Nun's Story(1959) which is a great example of her restrained acting. Throughout the movie she is in Nun's costume, covered from head to toe with minimal make-up and off course no accessories to accentuate her beauty. By giving one of the finest performances of her career here, she proved to me that even though all these factors added to her screen persona, she was just fine without them. Or even better, go and watch World's Champion Blind Lady in Wait Until Dark(1967). Seriously, watch her pull off that role of a recently blinded lady and tell me that she is not a good actress, just a pretty face. Even The Children's Hour(1961) with her and Shirley MacLaine - This film is so criminally overlooked every time anyone talks about Audrey Hepburn's career that I think I will go ahead and right full review of it soon, just to do my part for it. Only thing that is left for me to watch now is Two For the Road(1967), Paris when it Sizzles(1964) and just because it was her last film Always(1989) maybe.

My adoration for her goes beyond her beauty, it also goes beyond her acting talent. What makes me admire her even more is she seems to be a genuinely nice and polite person. Only reason I say seems to be is I have extremely limited resources - this documentary, few videos here and there and IMDb Trivia section. But there isn't a single person who has one complaint about her. Well, according to the documentary, Truman Capote had something to something to say about her but by the end, she even won him over too. Now, as I have been saying, this documentary may not be the most reliable of the sources - after all, they released Sabrina before she won her Oscar. But even then the gist remains that she was a universally loved character. After being in the industry for almost 40 years, I do not know of any controversy she was involved in, neither do I see any blemish on her character. For someone who is considered to be one of the most famous actresses of all time with such a beautiful face and lot of fame very early in her career, she had every reason and a long history of colleagues to misbehave but this blue-blooded actress never did. In another scene in that documentary, very early in her movie career, she says that "Ohh, I would love to misbehave. But I wouldn't know how" and I can't help but think Isn't that the story of her life ?

Wrapping it Up: June

It has been quite an eventful month. I completed a year of blogging U, Me and Films this month. Once again, I will say Thank You to everyone who commented on the post that day, or tweeted me or re-tweeted me. It really was overwhelming and definitely is one of the reasons that has helped me keep writing. I also put up '1001 Movies' page this month, as I promised few months ago. If anyone is interested, you can see it on the top bar. However, let us get right into what did I see over month of June.

JUNE

The Double Life of Veronique(1991): I am not really sure if it is Kieslowski or Irene Jacob but there is something transcendental about Jacob's face, about expressions on her face that keeps me staring at her face ardently. Kudos to Kieslowski to bring it on screen as a complete package with gripping story and palpable emotions. It surely was a great start of month.

Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikandar(1991)(Re-Watch):This has a lot of nostalgic value. One of the movies that I loved as a kid, even before all this movie geekery started. It hasn't aged too well and feels too formulaic now but sometimes you have to listen to your heart and not your brain. 

Modern Times(1936)(Re-Watch): I was almost sure that I have seen this as a kid but I could only remember this in parts. It all came back to me while watching but I am happy that I saw it once more as you can almost never get it wrong with Chaplin.

Jules and Jim(1962): To tell you the truth, in the first 15 minutes I felt like Trauffaut was being a little too intellectual, on the verge of being pretentious. With the entry of Catherine, however it warmed up to me in the middle part until the end. But again in last 15-20 minutes, Catherine's behaviour had me pretty much turned off. There is a lot to like about this movie, in direction, story and technical aspects of it but if you do not care about the way it ends, especially being such a dramatic end, I don't think bodes well overall.

Police Academy(1984): I have no freaking idea why did I see it ? To tell you the truth, for some reason I always thought this was Jackie Chan movie and I usually love most of them, if nothing else for some great action. This was nothing like it, not even 'so bad it's good' way, just plain BAD.

Notorious(1946)(Re-Watch): Because it is my favorite Hitchcock and one of my all-time favorites and because of this.

Fallen Angels(1995): I haven't seen any other Kar Wai Wong since In The Mood for Love(2000) which I loved. So, I jumped on it when I saw it available on Netflix. But, this was a little too weird for me, especially the part with the mute guy even though all the usual Kar Wai Wong stuff like beautiful cinematography and very distinct background score was all there.

Belle De Jour(1967): Another Bunuel after The Discreet Charm of Bourgeoisie(1972) and That Obscure Object of Desire(1977). It wasn't as good as Discreet Charm but God, Catherine Denueve was amazing. I will probably never understand the whole surrealism thing, even this idea of housewife spending her weekday afternoons as a prostitute because she is bored didn't go down easily but it was so bizarre and I mean it in a good way.

Much Ado About Nothing(1993): This movie has caught me in dichotomy. On one hand, I actually enjoyed it quite a bit and thought Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh were really good in respective parts and I liked twists in the end too. While on the other hand, couple of things irritated me to no end like that language - I know that probably was authentic Old English but did they really have to use it? Also, I am no Shakespearean expert but who in this freaking world thought of Keanu Reeves and Denzel Washington as Brothers ??

Election(1999): My third Alexander Payne after The Descendants(2011) and About Schmidt(2002) and this surely was best so far and this is coming from someone who loved The Descendants(2011). Check out my review here.

Breathless(1960): Let me first start with saying that I quite liked it, especially lengthy conversations between Michel and Patricia. But there were few things that did bother me like that jump Cutting which may have been revolutionary then but it bothered me. And first 10-15 minutes of it - too much randomness. But, it settled down really well with Jean Seberg's entry. In the end, this will probably a movie that I understand and appreciate the importance of but do not get the appeal of.

2 Days in Paris(2007): It is completely inappropriate, way over-sexed and even racist at times, ohh and sexist too. But it was Hilarious !! Adam Goldberg was perfect for this kind of role and Julie Delpy seems to be getting hang of it after Before Sunrise/Sunset. I think I am now ready for 2 Days in New York(2012).

Iron Man(2008): And this is not a Re-Watch. I had never seen this before and I have seen Iron Man 2(2010) in theater. My room-mate wanted to watch all the Avenger movies after watching it since he has seen none of them. I sill haven't seen any of hulk movies yet, but otherwise probably the best of the lot yet.

L'Avventura(1960): Continuing my 'Foreign movies made in 60s from 1001 movies list', I ventured from French New Wave into Italian existentialism with Antonioni. For some reason, I could connect with this a lot more than any of the French movies I saw this month. It seemed much more plausible, much more natural, controlled.

Gods Must Be Crazy II(1989): Last month I saw first part of this movie and it was probably the most hilarious movie I have seen - I said that I never laughed so long and so hard in my whole life. I went into second part with little less expectations. It wasn't LOL kind of movie that the first one was but it was still very innocent, genuine and still good for few laughs.

The Audrey Hepburn Story(2000): Even though every single person that knew Audrey Hepburn was as enamored, as devoted by her charm as I am is little hard thing to digest but that's what this film tells me. However personally that is not the biggest success of this movie. It is the fact that despite my devotion, I have actually never written anything about her is soon to change. I really don't have much to say about this movie as I kept imagining real Audrey Hepburn at that place and once she is there, there is almost nothing I think is wrong with it.

Last Year at Marienbad(1961): I had no idea what was I watching for 90 minutes. It seemed to be getting somewhere by the end, but my brain was completely turned off by then to process anything. It just felt too tedious and laborious to reach from where it started. It might be my own loss that I could not keep my attention as I could not connect the dots in the end, but even that incessant background music was annoying the hell out of me by then. I don't want to call it a bad movie though - it was stunning visually, even the idea and execution was very unique but maybe next time I will have little more patience to understand it.

Doctor Zhivago(1965): I first heard of Doctor Zhivago and Boris Pasternak in an article about how he was harassed by the soviet government. I have been meaning to read/watch this ever since. It also spent quite a bit of time in my queue only because of its 199 minuted of running time. But, I am really glad to have finally seen it. I am still sure that if I read the book, it will affect me much more deeply but even movie touched me somewhere deep down.

Judgement at Nuremberg(1961): I usually don't but DVDs without watching a movie first but I have been looking for this for a long time and one day while I was waiting for The Hunger Games(2012) to start, I found it lying in one of the discount bins at one store. I am really glad that I bought it then because even though it was lying around for few months, I am sure that this will be in my top 100 list very high whenever I decide to revise that list. However, I will refrain from saying much further as it is difficult to say anything without getting into the politics of it for which I don't think this is right place.

Crazy, Stupid, Love(2011): I was little skeptical about it since I usually can not stand Steve Carell, especially when he is being himself. But I really like all the three other leads and I had heard lot of praise for it. So, I gave it a go and it is just what name suggests Crazy, Stupid and Fun and lot of it, even Steve Carell was so much better, not at all like him.

Arsenic and Old Lace(1944): I am little confused as to how to describe this. I didn't think it was a terrible movie but for some reason, I was infuriated by the end of it. You know Cary Grant in it in the end, I was feeling just like him - I wanted to charge up the stairs, scream at the top of my lungs, hit people, break things and I swear I am not like that usually. I guess it was little too much slap-sticky for me to take but then again, I really don't think it was a terrible movie.

Driving Miss Daisy(1989): Morgan Freeman and Jessica Tandy were both solid and it was absolutely pleasant otherwise. I had couple of small issues with it like in the end when she starts to deteriorate, it felt like it happens out of nowhere and I had no idea of any timeline. But, still worth watching for two leading performances.

Videodrome(1983): I usually don't say this foe any movie, but I HATED this movie passionately. There wasn't a single thing I liked in this movie, all around boring and pathetic. I wasn't scared, I wasn't least bit intrigued, I was only appalled and disgusted. It did become a little better in second half of it but once there comes a point where I stop watching a movie and start finding out flaws in it, and after that it is really difficult to get me back into it.

Broadway Danny Rose(1984): Another movie that warmed up a bit in second half whereas first half was stupid and very predictable. Woody Allen was being himself once again and there are very few occasions I can bare him alone for one and half hours and this wasn't one of them. Mia Farrow was saving grace here, very different from what little I have seen of her. I don't mean to sound acerbic as in the end I wasn't really disappointed because of second half but I am not really singing praises of it either.

Can on a Hot Tin Roof(1958): Tennessee Williams certainly knew how to make portray dysfunctional families in his provocative plays. It still isn't Virginia Woolf(1966) or even Long Day's Journey into Night(1962) but Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman and Burl Ives just kill it. Dialogues certainly got to be the best aspect of this play but you know what, turn it off completely and I still can look at Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman all day long.

Pineapple Express(2008): It is got to be one of the most completely ridiculous, no-brainer and just outright stupid stoner comedies - Seth Rogen and Company doing what they can do best. Most of the times it just disgusted me but it really was so bad that it was good. Half the time I had no idea if I was laughing because I thought it was funny or because it was just plain bad and I had enough of it but I seem to have enjoyed it.

La Notte(1961): It's little too early to comment properly on it as I saw it less 2 hours ago and there is a lot to contemplate. Most important thing I need to think about is what makes it a part of trilogy with L'avventura(1960) and L'eclisse(1962) which I haven't seen yet, as there aren't many common elements that jump out, maybe except theme of alienation and longing. But if there was one thing that I admired about it, it was it didn't seem to be in any hurry to reach to any conclusion and despite that kept me interested in it all the time. All the three leads gave beautifully restrained performances, even Antonini's direction was stand-out.

Total Count:27. 24 First Time Watches and 3 Re-watches.

2012 YTD Count

Total Count:154. 146 First Time Watches and 8 Re-watches.

Usual division of this month comes out to be 12 classics and 15 new. 8 Foreign, 18 English and 1 Hindi. Considering how hectic this month was personally, especially first 15 days, I am actually surprised that I saw more movies this month than last two and it has been very peculiar too in a sense that I finally saw many movies that have been in my watchlist for a long time. Some of them turned out to be better than I expected(The Double Life of Veronique(1991) and Judgement at Nuremberg(1961)) whereas others left me tad disappointed(Last Year at Marienbad(1961) and Breathless(1960)) but that's always part of trade. 

I was actually planning to see quite a few of 60s foreign movies this month but I ended up watching only 6. I am going to continue it in the next month as I have got hold of quite a few by now and if Netflix didn't expire 5 movies off my queue by 1st July, I would have seen them this month itself. It also brought my foreign movie numbers down as I wanted to compensate for 3 foreign movies last month but it wasn't to be. I am also going to try and watch few 2012 movies this month as I have seen only like 4 till now and half of the year is already gone. Hopefully, there will be couple of trips to theater as well, one is already booked(The Dark Knight Rises(2012) off course) and second one looks pretty set too(The Amazing Spider-Man(2012)).

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