Wrapping It Up: August

Another month, another wrap-up post full of this month's viewings. My very first from Wrap-Up post from India, from home. This is the 20th Wrap Up post I am doing and for the first time I was in real danger of missing the deadline; not because I had too much on my plate but because India got me sick. I probably shouldn't blame it on her though because every time I move to new city, I always fall sick early on. But it looks like I am going to make it despite. Yay Me!! and here we go!

August

Junebug(2005): I haven't seen Man of Steel(2013) yet but except that, I have seen every film Amy Adams did since Enchanted(2007). Variety of the roles she plays contributes heavily in making her my favourite working actress today. Junebug was a vital blind spot from her repertoire and I chose to watch it to end my movie drought of 10 days. Believe me, it was every second worth it and much more. I love Adams in everything she does but this is got to be her best performance and by far. She was just amazing in that role.

Darling(1965): I haven't seen Julia Christie in many roles but from whatever I know of her, I never would have imagined her in such a role. But that's an indicative of her potential that she fit right into that role. This Diana Scott was a very well written character as well. She's a seductress, she is very materialistic but she is always very subtle and always validates herself for her own sake. This was completely her vehicle and she did an amazing job off course; she had to, to beat Julie Andrews for that Oscar.

Mud(2013): First of my in-flight trio and definitely the best one I saw. I haven't seen many 2013 movies yet but it is very well possible that this is the best one I have seen so far. It was a beautifully woven story. I love the way it shows Ellis' struggle to understand the meaning of love, commitment through multiple relationships around him. He seems to be grasping for the last straw as everything around him goes on crumbling. Kudos to Tye Sheridan for bringing all those emotions out.

Blancanieves(2013): Another in-flight movie I saw. If we are strictly talking about a movie, I think Mud will linger with me a while longer but this was definitely the movie that surprised me the most. I had certain expectation from Mud and it delivered to it. I had no idea what to expect from this one and this Snow White story with a spin, set in a Spanish Bullfighting world, presented in style of 1920's silent film turned out to be a beautiful, beautiful film.

The Lion King(1994): This month's Blind Spot which was second animated movie from the Disney's canon in the line-up this year. It proved once again that the warmth, the beauty, the relatability of hand drawn animation enamours me very easily. My four year old niece saw me watching this and she kept saying I shouldn't be watching it because it's a kids movie and I am not a kid. One day I'll tell her there is so much to like in this one for anyone, any age. That's what makes it great. More here.






Barfi!(2012)(Hindi)(Re-watch): It is still a fun film to watch second time around. It has its heart in the right place, there are lot of moments that work just well and has all the three lead performances that I still like. If it wasn't for all the bits copied blatantly from all over the place, I would have loved to praise it unequivocally. And the bigger problem is whatever he took from Chaplin and Keaton and others is so easily recognizable, it is not even possible to turn a blind eye towards it.

Side By Side(2012): Looking at the speed with which the whole industry is changing towards digital, this was the most opportune time for this documentary. Personally, I still lean a bit towards actual film but mine is not an informed opinion and the most convincing argument I can make for it is nostalgia. But it was nice to see so many greats of the industry weighing on this issue. I find it hard to take Keanu Reeves much seriously but to his credit, he did a great job especially giving the viewer all the facts without taking any sides.

Magic Mike(2012): I don't remember exactly when was the first time I saw Step Up(2006) but I definitely know that I never thought the guy doing that would ever go ahead and do this or anything else he has done in last year or two. It really is amazing to see how far Channing Tatum has come since then. I also remember Cody Horn made lot of headlines, good and bad, for her performance. I didn't find anything wrong with her performance.

Ride with the Devil(1999): I have been going through Ang Lee's filmography one by one over the past few months. We all know about his more flashy films but the films that have surprised me the most are his little known films like The Wedding Banquet(1993). Like some of his lesser known films, this civil war drama is not the flashiest of the movies but actually quite a good human story. He got Tobey Maguire to change emotions on his face - that's about the biggest compliment I can give to any film.

Jumanji(1995)(Re-watch): This is a childhood favourite ever since I saw it first. I remember watching it on VHS when I was 12. I also remember that I saw it with few other school friends in the house of one of them. I have seen it many times since then but this was after a long, long time. Almost 15 years and it is still so much fun. I know it isn't a particularly great film one can say and even I see the flaws in it now. But I still love it as much as I did as a kid and most probably will continue to.

The Kid(1921): This might be the only movie in which someone runs away from Tramp scared. It is usually the other way around, right? It's Chaplin's first feature length and it's short and sweet but says what it has to very clearly. Now after so many years, Chaplin's direction of Jackie Coogan is a stuff of legends and you can definitely see that on the screen. Loved the kid and the way he is completely in with the tramp in all of his schemes though it could have been as good as Chaplin's best works if it didn't loose a little in half an hour or so.

Ishaqzaade(2012)(Hindi):I have been strangely attracted to this film ever since last year for no reason other than it made it to TIFF. I finally saw it this month on Television and I am still strangely fascinated. It's not that we have never had films with the Ishaqzaade's ending but it's just that I never, for a moment, expected this one to go where it did. I was absolutely sure that somehow they will make it to be a typical 'And they lived happily ever after' saga but it kept on surprising me. And so did Parineeti Chopra. Hopefully she will fulfill the promise she has shown.

Raanjhanaa(2013)(Hindi): Second Hindi movie of the month(actually, this is the first one I saw) that surprised me. But more than that, this movie confused me. What happens to Abhay Deol surprised me and got me excited to see where they will take it from there but everything after that just confused. For the whole second half, I don't see any explanation of why everyone is doing what they are doing and it was frustrating after a while. If and when I watch it again, it might bet better but right now, second half is all over the place in my opinion.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag(2013)(Hindi): To tell you the truth, I had only one problem with the film - it's length. It is a descent film that has it's heart in the right place and does good justice to one of the legendary athletes of India - Milkha Singh. Farhan Akhtar in the titular role does great job, especially given his commitment for his role. But there is no reason for this film to be more than 3 hours long. Even sitting in the theater watching it, I must have counted 30 minutes worth of film that easily could have been cut.

Oblivion(2013): It was actually pretty good film. Definitely better than I expected but I doubt if I expected anything at all from this one. Probably that helped the most, having next to nothing expectations from it. It started slowly and took me some time to get into this one(I can also blame this on our speakers who decided not to work properly on their own that day) but once it did, it kept on getting more and more interesting and fortunately didn't disappoint in the end.

The Grandmaster(2013):Third and least favourite of my in-flight trio on my way home. Interestingly in the last couple of weeks, I have read couple of articles about how Weinstein company dumbed this movie down by cutting few scenes in it for the feat of average American finding it obscure. Now I don't know which print I saw. Visually, it was every bit gorgeous as you can expect from Wong Kar Wai. But narratively, I am still confounded by it. I am still not sure who played Tony Leung's wife(For half the film, I was under impression Zhang Ziyi is), who was that Razor fella? Where did he come from and where did he go?

Despicable Me(2010): I know, I know the second one is already out but I can't watch it unless I watch the first one, can I? It is a typical animated film that I don't really care for. It's not a bad film per say, it is sweet and cute and all that but it's a film probably anyone little older will be able to see through and I hate that. The usual defense is it is an animated film. It is intended for kids and I agree but it doesn't have to be Just For Kids. If you put a little more effort into it, something good can come even out of this. 

Premium Rush(2012): As an action movie, I am ready to give it good marks. There was actually a lot in it that got my adrenalin pumping. But other than that, it was very average popcorn flick that I can forget quicker than the taste of popcorn I was eating while watching it. Michael Shannon did a decent job with his role but to tell you the truth, it felt like a wasted talent than anything else. There wasn't much in the story to glue me to my seat or to take it seriously and feel threatened by it.

The Croods(2013): I saw this for Emma Stone because she is amazing and I can pretty much watch anything with her in it. It turns out, not Anything! Despite it being an animated movie, I thought she was still good in it as her voice is her most distinguished trait but story sucked big time. I was kind of amused early on, which is why I continued on but I started rolling my eyes pretty soon and by the end, my right eyeball was in the leftmost corner of my left eye and left one in the rightmost corner of right eye. Hey, it's an animated movie! Anything can happen. 

Total Count: 19. 17 First Time Watches and 2 Re-watches .

2013 YTD Count

Total Count: 177. 163 First Time Watches and 14 Re-watches.

19 movies is not much but not too bad a month either, especially considering Junebug was my first movie in almost 10 days. I haven't counted the movies I saw in bits and pieces throughout the month on TV but I have seen so many partially that if I could count two half movies as one, I would probably go beyond 30(I know that's cheating) and most of them were re-watches. So that number would also be little more respectable than paltry 14 in 8 months(Yup, that's me! Last tear that number was 22. So considering that, I am almost well up to speed).

As per me getting back to blogging, I am still not so sure. I am a kind of person who NEEDS to plan ahead and haven't done that for the past two months. Only thing I can assure you right now is, once again, there will be a Blind Spot post and Wrap Up post(That, I have planned well in advance!) and hopefully, I will pop up in between a couple of times just enough to keep you people interested in this place. Let us see how that goes!

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

August Blind Spot: The Lion King

First and foremost, what makes this a Blind Spot movie? In other words, why is this film essential?

The first film I saw for Blind Spot this year was Snow White and Seven Dwarfs(1937) because I had never seen a Disney Classic film before. Over the last seven months, I did catch up with a couple more but I added The Lion King(1994) into the syllabus in December last year to force myself to watch at least a couple this year. Being a 1994 film, this will probably not qualify as a ‘Classic’ but I think this is definitely another one from the same cannon. Plus, another thing I lack is exposure to Shakespeare. This being loosely based on his work was an added advantage for me to justify second animated and Disney movie on the list.

So, what is the story about?

This is 8^th Entry in the Blind Spot series in the 8^th month of this year and every month I feel like at least one of the 5 questions here is redundant. Maybe I need to choose better questions next year but more importantly I think I have chosen the movies well. The reason I decided to do this series this year was to fill up some of the glaring holes on my film knowledge. The bigger the holes, the better they were suited for me and better the chance of them being so ingrained in pop culture that every Tom, Dick and Harry knows about them making at least one question of the 5 redundant. Do I need to tell anyone why Andrei Rublev(1966) or TheTreasure of the Sierra Madre(1948) is essential? Or what’s The Breakfast Club(1985) or Snow White and Seven Dwarfs is about? But that is exactly why they qualify as blind spots.

So the reason I bring all this forward here today, in this is that question this month. Who doesn’t know The Lion King story? Who doesn’t know about Simba and Nala and Mufasa and Scar and Pumbaa and Timon? Until last week, even my four-year-old niece knew this story better than me(There you Go! Another reason justifying it’s Blind Spot status). Not anymore though, not anymore!

What did I think of it? What did I like the most about it and what didn't I like?

I think I have said it one too many times that I prefer Ghibli movies over Pixar and one of the main reasons is because they are still traditionally animated. They may not be as crisp as their computer-generated counterparts but there is an inherent personal touch to them that makes them so much more beautiful and relatable to me. My affection of Hand drawn animations makes it almost impossible for me not to at least like this movie. But I not only ‘liked’ it, I loved it; almost as much as Seven White and Seven Dwarfs. Once again, the animations are so endearing, so completely drawn and so rich in details. Characters are likable, well developed and show range of human traits. Simba and Nala are innocent and cute as cubs but when they grow up Nala becomes very mature and trustworthy ally to make Simba realize his destiny. Mufasa is always very kingly and Sarabi, motherly. Pumbaa and Timon bring fun into the equation whereas Scar is very cunning. With Scar's Hyenas, Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, Disney brings their special touch. Even though they are the ones Scar gets his dirty work done, they aren't really scary.

Another thing I expect from any animated film is not to box your viewers. When we are talking about animated movies, naturally one assumes it to be targeted for kids(When I was watching this film, my 4-year old niece kept asking me “Why are you watching this? Are you a Kid?”). That’s fine, even The Lion King is very much kids movie but just don’t make it a childish movie. A Kids film doesn’t have to be a childish film - I hate it when film makers do that. Fortunately, The Lion King stays out of that trap. I never saw this as a child but I am sure I would have loved it then and even when a 27 year-old watching it for the first time loves it as much as the kid next to him, it is a certificate of its timelessness. It treats the characters with certain level of dignity and maturity, even Timon and Pumbaa who are mainly there for comic relief, plus being based on Hamlet, it also talks about certain themes like guilt, taking the responsibility and facing your own fears and that is what makes it a great watch for a viewer of any age group.

If at all I had any complaint about it, it's it kind of shies away from going dark. Snow White didn't, even after being a kids film. When Simba finally confronts Scar about his past and Scar tries to guilt him for his wrong-doing, he very easily admits of it being his own deed. There was a chance for them to go little more darker but it sorts of keeps safe distance from it.

After having seen it, do I agree with its 'essential' status? And why?

Certainly! I am not entirely sure about this but with Toy Story(1995) coming up the following year which was the first completely computer-generated animated movie, it should be not only the last Disney Classic but also the last or at least one of the last traditionally animated American movies. It is serendipitous that I would choose first ever and last of Disney Classics. Either way The Lion King has its place in the history books and is thouroughlly deserving of it.

At the start of this year, I was as un-initiated to the Shakespeare’s work as I was to the Disney Classics. I have seen quite a few adaptations of his works such as Othello, Romeo and Juliet and even Comedy of Errors but I have not seen much of his actual work in either form or haven’t even read it. It has been my long standing desire to get acquainted to these works but my aversion of the old English, though dialed down significantly over the past few years, and unavailability of it in India in print form made it little difficult. I probably should have gotten to it while I was in US but it never made it to the top of my priorities then. So what I know of Bard’s original work is Olivier’s Best Picture winner Hamlet(1948) and Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing(1993). I probably should not confess this but another reason for including The Lion King as the second animated movie in this year’s line-up, besides it being The Lion King, was I was under the impression that it is a King Lear adaptation, something I have never seen or read in any form. Off course, it being a Hamlet adaptation does not diminish it in any way but sadly leaves King Lear still untouched for me.

Does it open few new doors for me? Does this inspire to watch any other movies?

Even though I included two this year, Disney Classics is still an avenue mostly unexplored for me. Snow White and Seven Dwarfs was the best initiation I can ask for to them but since then it has been a bumpy road. Aladdin was probably the only Disney character I knew and loved as a Kid and Aladdin(1992) movie didn’t disappoint me either but I found Alice in Wonderland(1951) even difficult to get through and anything else, not particularly interested. The fact that I liked 3 of the 4 I have tried should encourage me to get to few others soon enough and lord knows there are many I need to get to.

January Blind Spot: Snow White and Seven Dwarfs(1937)

One of the reasons why I wanted to take part in Blind Spot series this year, off course besides filling up those damn blanks in my film viewings, was I wanted to get a little out of my comfort zone and write about different types of movies. This was a good way of forcing this onto myself. But these aren't just any movies that I selected on whim. All of them are to be considered essential viewing for any serious movie-buff. Since special occasions demand special treatment, I also decided to go with something different than usual plain review. So, now I had 12 movies chosen, special format in the form of Q&A drawn out. All I needed to do was actually watch a movie and write. Believe me, nothing is that simple. Being the very first movie in this series, I wanted to choose it carefully and make it something that almost nobody will have any question calling it a classic, an essential. I went up and down my list, trying to finalize the one. At one point, I thought none of them seems like a right fit while at another, they all looked like indisputable classics. However after some deliberation, I was convinced there wouldn't be a better place to start then Snow White and Seven Dwarfs(1937).
 
First and foremost, what makes this a Blind Spot movie? In other words, why did I think of this film as essential?
If this is not to be considered an essential, I don't know what is. This was the FIRST and probably the most memorable full-length animated feature made by Disney Studios. Period. What more reason does anyone who has ever seen an animated movie need? This movie gave a different genre all together to the film industry. Being such a legendary movie that has carved out quite a niche for itself, I was more than eager to scratch this off my list and hopefully like it as well. And it was Adolf Hitler's favourite movie. So, there is that too.
 

So, what is the story about?
Now that is a redundant question, isn't it? Who doesn't know Snow White's story? Funny thing is, one of the thing that made this interesting for me is over the last year or so, we have seen so many different versions of this same story. Some on big screen, some on TV, some spin-offs and what not. I wanted to see what is the actual normal version of it, the Fairy tale version because after having seen all the different versions, I was starting to doubt what the original story was myself. At least I got that here. Simple and straight forward story of charming little princess saved by the seven little dwarves from the evil deeds of her step-mother. Now their execution of story, with the occasional singing and dancing etc., felt very play-like. I have never actually seen it myself but this is exactly how I imagine a Broadway play will be like.

What did I think of it? What did I like the most about it and what didn't I like?
I was thoroughly impressed by the way it looked because it was absolutely gorgeous. I guess, I wasn't expecting first ever movie made to be that beautiful. I had so many screen caps taken, I had very hard time deciding which ones to choose for this post and which ones to discard. It is a fairy tale story and with all the goofiness of the dwarves and woodland creatures involved, it is obvious that it was very much made for kids. It does get darker in parts but then again, keeping their target audience in mind, we never see any violence on the screen. It is mostly implied that something bad just happened. I believe targeting for the kid's market would've allowed them to keep the story straight forward and concentrate more on making animations much more detail-oriented and hence real as well which should have been point of emphasis more than anything else. But I guess you can look at it from either way. It also makes it, well, very straight forward and hence kinda bland. 

But then again, I am discounting the fact that this is Snow White. So, it isn't like anyone who watches it wouldn't know what is going to happen next. So, I guess, my point is Walt Disney and Co. must have deliberately chosen the well-known story so that they can concentrate on making animations rather than writing a story to animate. It might have helped him from marketing point of view but I think the idea of letting the animations take the front seat to everything else was an admirable thing to do.

After having seen it, do I agree with it's 'essential' status? and why?
Not only do I just agree with the 'Essential' label, I really believe that it will remain so for many many more years to come as a reminder that this is how it all started. Given the fact that this was first attempt at making an animated feature film, there was no hint of that anywhere in the movie. In fact their attention to the detail was something that really impressed me e.g. first time when Snow White peeks through the window into the dwarves' house, you can see the tiny dot her nose would make on that glass. Apparently, there was a little concern over if animators can make these characters look human since no one had much of a practice with that before and was one of the reasons why Prince's characters is used bare minimum in the movie. To make that point, Disney and his animators made sure that all the human characters in the story i.e Snow White, The Queen and even Prince and Huntsman for whatever little time they are on screen, will have the dramatic bearing  as that of an actor in live action movie. To add to this dramatic response, Huntsman was particularly made ferocious, dwarves were made to look dismal carrying Snow white - something that the cartoons that time were not known to be capable of.

If we are talking about the quality animation, even 75 years after its release and with all the advances in the technology now a days, I think Snow White still holds up really great. Me falling in love with the look of this movie also reiterated the fact that I love 2D animations way more than 3D. 3D animations may look more clear, crisp, there is something in those hand drawn animations that make them look much more personal, much more relatable. One of the main reasons, why I always prefer Studio Ghibli over Pixar.

Does it open few new doors for me? Does this inspire to watch any other movies?
I am sure there are many people who will not believe that I had never seen such a classic. I am sure they will wonder, what did I do as a kid? Don't worry, I off course knew the story. I just never got around to this movie. But what I am about to say might astonish everyone even more. Not only that I JUST saw Snow White and Seven Dwarfs, I think this was my first Disney classic. I am pretty sure I have not seen any of them, I am not even sure what movies exactly constitute as Disney classics. Now with the success of this, I think that door is open for me. I am even looking for suggestions, if you have any.