Breaking Smiles and Thrills

Mettel's blogathon has us looking at the movies that make us smile and the movies that give us thrills. I won't waste much time on an introduction, so here's what Mettel has to say about this week's choices and my choices are as follows:

Midnight in Paris - Aw hey, it's the Fitzgeralds.

Midnight in Paris is a movie that makes me smile from start to finish, but nothing has me smiling like an idiot as when Gil meets the Fitzgeralds. Or anyone else from that era, for that matter. It is just so magical. Just imagine if this happened in real life, guys!

My Movie Biography: 2011 and How I Came to Love Jessica Chastain

(2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) 2011. The bestest year ever. Well, in my life so far, but it is not like I have that many years to compare it to. It is kinda hard to write about a year so close to this one, but lemme tell ya, tomorrow is going to be even harder. Anyway, hope you're enjoying the series, and mark your calendars for Sunday. Big things are going to be happening!

• I went down to Wellington for a week with my best bud. It was fun. We went to the cinemas like, four times. I usually never go to the cinemas more than three times on my holidays (I know it is really bad, but hey, I'm in a big city, so how can I refuse that?) We went and saw Tron: Legacy (which we didn't really like), The Social Network (because somehow it was still in cinemas), Morning Glory and Unstoppable. It was so fun!
• One of the worst experiences I've ever had was watching Eat Pray Love when it was excruciatingly hot. That movie is by no means short. And it just does not stop. Ever. Okay it does, but it literally felt like I'd missed Christmas by the time it ended. 
• I get very nostalgic over that summer because I spent the entire thing to the tunes of The Social Network's soundtrack. Sometimes I just listen to 'Painted Sun in Abstract' and it takes me back to those happy times. And then I look outside and it has just started hailing for the fifth time (we are supposed to be in spring).
• That awards season was crazy. It was the first year I really got into it, even managing to watch all of the Best Picture nominees before the show. My love for certain movies changed so much during this awards season. First of all, I kinda resented The Social Network for being more popular than Inception. But what did I really expect? I thought that The Social Network was just gonna sail through and win everything. Then The King's Speech won the PGA. Everyone was now like "The King's Speech for Best Picture!" So I promptly realised that Inception wasn't going to win anything, I went and saw The King's Speech and thought it was pretty average, and then I became team The Social Network. From there on I became the biggest raging The Social Network fan on the planet. Every time I heard The King's Speech mentioned, I would fake gagging reflexes. I knew it was well over when The King's Speech won the SAG, but I refused to let go of the hope that The Social Network might take that award home. My friends and I gathered around the TV and watched The King's Speech win Best Picture. I may have cried.
  Those Oscars tore apart my life, man. Which I realise is pretty silly considering everyone in the blogging world hates the Oscars (seriously, they're still my favourite part of the year). Now I can tolerate The King's Speech, even though I still feel those twangs of pain whenever I hear it mentioned. As I said last night, I still can't decide between Inception and The Social Network being my favourite film of 2010. Ah, to look at things with a clear head...

My Movie Biography: 2010 - The Year of Christopher Nolan

(2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) 2010 was such a messed up year. I'm not sure why, but I'm pretty sure I changed my personality about 5000 times, and everyone else changed 5000 times, too. After that year, I kinda swore not to let much bother me, and just take everything a little less seriously. It seems to be working out so far. Anyway, 2010 as it was in movies:

• I went on my first actual plane ride! I went down to Christchurch, which as you know, was left devastated by two earthquakes which occurred late in 2010 and early in 2011. It was my absolute favourite place in New Zealand, mainly because of this DVD store they had there called "Alice in Videoland". Seriously, that place was magical. There were like, all of these themed room for the DVDs. Like, the horror/sci-fi room was all dark and scary. They had so many classic DVDs. The whole place was seriously like another world...kinda like how I imagine heaven. Plus, I'm pretty sure they had every DVD known to man. Yes, there's a huge difference between that DVD store and our DVD store. Unfortunately, it was damaged during the earthquake, but earlier this year it relocated and opened with an arthouse cinema. I'm definitely going down there as soon as I can afford it.
• I saw Avatar. I'm sure that was supposed to be one of those life-changing things, but it really wasn't. I'm no Avatar hater, but I'm pretty sure I was more excited over this special Avatar cup I got at the cinemas. Sadly, that cup has disappeared. 
• Say what you want about The Hurt Locker, but Kathryn Bigelow winning that Oscar for Best Director actually changed my life. Up until that moment, I had always wanted to be an actress. But when Kathryn Bigelow won that award, I realised how few female directors there were. And I thought, "why do something everyone else is doing? Let's be a director!" I still hold on to that stupid dream now, but don't expect me to be the next Bigelow.
• I did happen to win an Oscar that year. Okay, not a real one. I was a part of our school production and I won an "Oscar" for being the best performer in our group. Is this foreshadowing? 

The Short Life of an Oscar Hit

When Steven Spielberg got up to present Best Picture at last year's Oscars, he said this: "In a moment, one of these ten movies will join a list that includes On the Waterfront, Midnight Cowboy, The Godfather and The Deer Hunter. The other nine will join a list that includes The Grapes of Wrath, Citizen Kane, The Graduate and Raging Bull!" Among the films that joined the latter list were Inception, The Social Network, and Black Swan. The film that joined the former list was The King's Speech. Anyone remember that film? Does anyone still talk about it today in a conversation about something other than why it shouldn't have won? Has it left a mark on cinematic history? Does it deserve to be in a list that includes The Godfather? If you'd have asked the latter two questions this time last year, lots of people would have said yes. Now, reflecting on last year's Oscar season, most people would have given the award to anything but The King's Speech.

Here's the thing with awards season: everyone gets quite obsessed with a set of movies, and they're all that matters for a long time. The producers and advertising team manipulate you into thinking these are the best movies ever by drowning their TV spots in "WINNER OF..." "★★★★★!" "UP FOR X OSCARS!" They'll play the most epic orchestral music they can find, show you plenty of tears and hugs and sentiment. The posters won't be advertising the movie...they'll be advertising all the awards it has and the awards it is hoping to get. I am one of those people who does get easily manipulated by awards season advertising...I admit, I was taken in by the TV spots of The King's Speech with Colin Firth announcing "because I have a voice!", going as far to Facebook the quote and say that it was a magical movie. I loved seeing the triumphant looking advertisements for The Fighter and probably got more inspiration from them than I did from the actual movie. 127 Hours had me crying at the very mention of it's name amongst all of the Oscar buzz - not because it was bad, but it was exactly the type of human hardship movie that Oscar likes so much and that was manipulative. I spent around two months of last year talking non-stop about these movies. Now, they'd be lucky to get into the conversation.

It isn't because they're bad movies, because, in fact, I liked all of the ten nominees, and held at least five of them in particular high esteem, but there isn't really any burning need for me to keep talking about them now. Basically, my relationship with these movies ended long ago. With the exception of Winter's Bone (I do own it - I actually own all of the nominees - but just haven't got around to watching it again), I've seen each of last year's nominees at least twice. I watched them when they first came out, and then again when they came out on DVD. After their DVD release though, I haven't watched most of them again. In fact, the only ones that I've watched since then are Inception, Black Swan and The Social Network, three films which I loved to death and had their fair share of Oscar success, but didn't get the big prize. These are three films which I feel have lived out past the awards season and people still talk about them a bit today - and why is that? Inception for the multiple questions surrounding the plot and the big debate over the end, Black Swan for it's stirring look at how someone can transform and Darren Aronofsky's freaking awesome direction, and The Social Network for being one of the best modern movies ever, taking a look at the phenomenon that is Facebook. But what is The King's Speech? It tells a nice enough story about a King with a stutter who eventually overcame his fear, featuring splendid performances from Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush. Problem is, while I don't have much of a problem with the odd period biopic, they don't challenge cinema in any way. They're doing what has been done for ages, and yet they still get accolades. But once those accolades are over, people are unlikely to remember them, because they were too safe.

Let's take 2011, for example. With the Oscar nominations just around the corner, there'll be a lot of deserving movies that will be missing out. As I said in my review of The Descendants, it is a film that will be popular during awards season but people will forget about it just like that. I imagine that would be the same case for films like Moneyball or War Horse. However, Hollywood is showing a bit of a change - they're not so keen to support period biopics like The Iron Lady, J. Edgar or My Week with Marilyn unless it is for the performances at the front. There are a few odd films making their way into Oscar contention, like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (even though Fincher and Co. are trying everything they can to stop it from happening), shockingly an R-rated comedy, Bridesmaids, is making some waves and silent film The Artist is the front-runner to win Best Picture. I have to wonder whether this film might become another The King's Speech, even though it is silent and in black and white which provides a bit of difference, but other than that, is it really that special? Who knows?

2011 has been an odd year in cinema, which is most likely what it will be remembered for - and it would be nice if the Oscar nominations could reflect that as they become the first segment of cinematic history that people will look at in the future. Yet, I can't see the Academy showering love upon Terrence Malick's beautiful, polarizing The Tree of Life. Or what about Steve McQueen's NC-17 look at sex addiction in Shame? Or maybe the 'film event of a generation', the wonderful Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2? The wonderful Nikhat mentioned that 2011 was a nostalgia-filled year, with films like Midnight in Paris, Drive, Super 8 and Hugo...these are films that should stand the test of time because they realise times from the past and teach us modern people about them and what we can learn from them. I know it is impossible to accurately predict the future, but the Oscars shouldn't keep rewarding the best movies of the past two months and start thinking about the movies that will factor in as some of the best movies of all time.

I've always wondered how something like An American in Paris won Best Picture over A Streetcar Named Desire. Or Chariots of Fire over Raiders of the Lost Ark. Or Forrest Gump (a good movie) over the better The Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction. Slumdog Millionaire over an un-nominated The Dark Knight. The King's Speech over The Social Network. And definitely Crash over Brokeback Mountain. I wonder which one of those films is remembered the most now.

The Oscars are an interesting thing - they get easily obsessed with one film, whether it be through the manipulative marketing or by the actual film. Then we all wonder how they could be so blind as to not nominate some great films. Of course, the Oscars aren't everything, but to relatively young newcomers to film-loving such as myself, they are the first records of what was good in year X that I'd go to. So I wonder what 2011 films will make it through the Oscars and into a long, prosperous life?

What do you think? Do you think Oscar hits are destined for a long life of being loved by the masses or do they end their lives quickly? Discuss.

The New Breed of Movie-Lover

Last night, I saw The Social Network for what is perhaps the fifteenth time. Before you ask: yes, I like rewatching films a lot more than the average person...I don't really tire of certain movies. And yes, The Social Network is currently in my top ten favourite movies of all time. Through each of these rewatches, I have realized one thing: The Social Network is one of the best films I've ever seen. I think it is perfect film-making, and one of the best modern films.

A lot of people might have trouble processing why I think that it is one of the best films I've ever seen. The main reason for this? It was made in 2010. It hasn't been around long enough to be the best of anything, has it? Here's the thing: a lot of people like to think that the only amazing movies were made at least 20-30 years ago. Even more people like to think that movies were only good back in the 1930s/40s. Now, I'm not slagging off the 30s/40s, or any movies from the past. If you look at my current top 100, a lot of the movies are from that particular period in time. I am a huge classic Hollywood fan. In fact, they are what kicked off my huge passion for movies. But between all of those black-and-white romance and cigarettes, I was still taking in the newer stuff. Some of which was just as good, if not better, than those older films.

I don't know whether I've been reading or writing to much, but I've had this idea drummed into my head that older films generally are better than the newer films. This, to a degree, is true, considering what a sorry state the film industry seems to be in when some of the highest grossing movies are ones like the Twilight series. Yes, back in the day films were very authentic as they didn't have the computers or technology that we have these days. They were more inventive, considering film-making was so young and they had so much to discover. But, believe it or not, they had bad films back in those days. And some of the films don't stand up so well now as they did back then. People get so darn protective over them, though. If I were to say that I didn't like Citizen Kane, people would probably get their pitchforks and fire and come to my house in the dead of night to kill me. Truth is, I don't like Citizen Kane an awful lot. So do whatever you please: report my blog and have it shut down or whatever. I am obviously what you would call an 'uneducated' person who pretends to like movies.

Here's where we have our problem: just because I didn't like Citizen Kane that much and yet I proclaim a new movie like The Social Network to be one of the best films I've ever seen, then I must be uneducated. Which is correct, if you take that term literally. I haven't been to film school. The closest I've had to a lesson on film is one I taught my music class over a year ago. Still, I know a thing or two about films, and probably a lot more than anyone else I know. How did I learn? By watching them. And I learnt just as much from new movies as I did from old movies.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that new movies never get enough credit. They come out, we say we either like them or don't, and then they fall out of the conversation. They get compared to older films, deemed unworthy, and that is the end. But those older films? They were once new. They once had lovers and haters. They aren't bulletproof. They're just the same, basically. We can keep looking back at what everything once was - which is fine. But just know that cinema is still happening. Just because every second movie is a sequel, remake, comic book movie, found footage movie etc doesn't mean that cinematic greatness doesn't still exist. Some of the movies released in the recent years will be perceived as classics soon. The Social Network should hopefully be one of them - unless Facebook goes under and it'll be extremely out-dated.

I'm someone who likes to look forward to the future. I'm someone who looks to embrace the new. I'm young, so therefore I have a different perspective on things. It is hard being young, because no-one takes you seriously, but I've learnt a lot. Let's just say this:

My name is Stevee Taylor. I'm 16 years old and I come from a small town in New Zealand called Dannevirke. I have had an interest in film for around five years. I'm good at English and I want to be a director. My directing idols are Christopher Nolan, Sofia Coppola, Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher and Steven Spielberg. My acting idols are people like Amy Adams, Jessica Chastain, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ralph Fiennes. I learnt everything I know about films watching new and old films. And I'm ambitious because of watching those films. And just because I really like new films, doesn't mean I'm any less of a film-lover.

10 Movies I Wish I Had Made

As some of you may know, in the future I wish to become a director. But we all know that that's never going to happen, because basically everyone I've talked to about it has told me that I can't do it (well not everyone, but everyone has frowned upon my career choice). However, I am one of those people who will always "chase my dreams" because I don't want to end up being something boring like an English teacher (which is where I am headed, believe you me). Anyway, here's a taste of the films I wish I had made. Not because I think I could do a better job - because I don't think anyone could - but I just wish I'd thought of these ideas and be the woman behind these films. Basically, it's a taste of the kinds of films I'd like to make in the future if I continue to chase my dreams and avoid being an English teacher...

10. (500) Days of Summer

I'm quite an old-fashioned person. I like old ideas. But what I like even more is when they have a fresh spin on them, just like (500) Days of Summer does with the already worn-out romantic comedy. Also, something else I particularly like in films are non-linear story-lines, which you will see pop up quite a few times in this list. The way that (500) Days of Summer zips and zaps back and forth, whilst giving us all a lesson about love and avoiding clichés, is something which I find simply genius. I wish that I had thought of the expectations/reality scene, too.

9. The Disappearance of Alice Creed

While this movie isn't by any means perfect, it represents two particular things I about cinema: the power of minimal sets/characters and being as low-budget as they come. I love it when movies are deceivingly simple, but they have a few twists and turns which can't be expected. And when movies have extremely simple budgets, then I like them even more. I'd never want to be the one making movies for $200 million.

8. Revolutionary Road

One thing that has always interested me is 50's suburbia, and how people seemed so suffocated by it. The best example of that is Revolutionary Road, which also happens to be a movie about a disintegrating marriage - yet another thing I'd love to make a movie about. Yes, I'm a sick person. And another reason why I would have loved to have made this movie that has nothing to do with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet? Having Michael Shannon steal the show.

7. The Double Life of Veronique

I just watched this movie yesterday, as I am becoming quite the Krzysztof Kieslowski fan. The Double Life of Veronique is an extremely clever movie which raises a lot of questions - most of those being existential questions. If there's one thing I love seeing in movies, it's existentialism. Oh, and it's beautiful to look at...not that I could ever emulate the beauty that Kieslowski was so good at creating.

6. An Education

An Education is a personal favourite of mine, which I probably love a lot more than anyone else. This is probably because this movie speaks to me on so many different levels - particularly when Jenny has her little speech about how education is boring and everybody is telling her to be bored. I don't know, it's a film which I find a lot of comfort and beauty in, and also a film which always makes me feel like studying and doing well at school...so obviously, I need to watch this movie again.

5. A Single Man

Okay, so I'm not as fashionable as Tom Ford, but I love style in movies. The more stylish, the better. Also, the more depressing, the better. Call me weird, but I quite like movies about suicide, and movies that make me feel extremely depressed. I am a happy person, though.

4. Blue Valentine

Again, here's a film with a non-linear storyline and a love story that's been given a different take. Oh, and it's another disintegrating marriage story. As I said in my review, this movie is "ingeniously depressing". Which is something that I'd love to try and do in the future.

3. Memento

Yes, this is my favourite film. I rewatched it the other day and all I can remember thinking is how much I wish I could have made this film. Obviously because of the non-linear narrative...that is bloody genius. Alas, I'm not as smart as Christopher Nolan and I'd probably end up getting confused with what I was trying to do. I could never make a film noir as smart as this one.

2. The Social Network

There is something about the internet that interests me so much, and if I can ever get around to writing this excellent screenplay I have lingering in my brain (it's not excellent) then it will have a lot to do with the way people use the internet. The Social Network has been described as the 'movie of our generation', and that's another thing that I'd love to try and do, because I'm all for our generation. Plus, I'd have lots of talking...I love listening to people talk.

1. The Virgin Suicides

While a lot of people may disagree, Sofia Coppola is one of my most favourite film-makers. She makes everything look romantic, while being perfectly simple at the same time. The Virgin Suicides is a very simple story of some teenage sisters who are suffocated by their parent's rules and simply being a teenager. There's something about being a teenager that fascinates me, and it's something which I'd love to make a film about. Or I would just love to be Sofia Coppola.

What are some movies that you wish that you had made? 

52 Things I Love About The Social Network...

This day an entire year ago, I watched The Social Network for the first time. You remember how I did this list to go with my one year anniversary between Inception and I? Well it's just the cool thing to do when I love a movie and we've been together for a whole year. The Social Network is a film which perhaps many of you have forgotten about now, after all of the awards season mish-mash was over and we all had to accept that The King's Speech won because it was pure Oscar bait. But for me, The Social Network is a film that I saw twice in cinemas, then watched three times in one week as it came out on DVD, and have watched eight times all up. Basically, it's a film I wish I made, and I'm sure that I could find more than 52 things that I love about it, but I'm limiting myself here!

So here's my 52 things I love about The Social Network...one for every week that has passed since that glorious first viewing (not in any order):

1. That amazing first scene. Music to my ears.

2. Rooney Mara's small, but outstanding performance.

3. The many hoodies Mark Zuckerberg wears.

4. Oh, and let's not forget the lovely Adidas flip flops.

5. Watching Mark run around during the credits before finally making it to his room.

6. The song 'In Motion' backing the wonderful editing between the party and Mark making 'FaceMash'.

7. Farm animals. They are referenced throughout the film more than one would think.

8. Seeing Andrew Garfield rock up. That dude's got swag.

9. Everything that Eduardo Saverin wears. He dresses extremely well.

10. Oh, and let's not forget Andrew Garfield's performance. I'm still kinda pissed that he didn't get an Oscar nomination.

11. Jesse Eisenberg's Oscar nominated performance is revolutionary. Who knew he had so much narcissism and douchebaggery in him?

12. "You're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you're a nerd. And I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won't be true. It'll be because you're an asshole." - I hope that one day I'm given the opportunity to use this line.

13. The sneaky Fight Club reference in the film. Tyler Durden makes an appearance in the film - you've just gotta keep your eyes peeled!

14. David Fincher directed this. And we all know that David Fincher is awesomeness.

15. Give David Fincher an Aaron Sorkin script and that's too much awesomeness for one Stevee to handle all at once.

16. Armie Hammer 2x. Because you know what's better than having one perfectly gorgeous Armie Hammer? Having two of them.

17. "I'm 6'5", 220 and there's two of me."

18. I never feel like Max Minghella ever gets enough credit for his performance...or anything.

19. The Caribbean Night. That looked like a good party.

20. Eduardo's dance. Always has me in fits of laughter.

21. How happy Eduardo is after he and Christy Lee, along with Mark and Alice (in a separate cubicle) do R-rated stuff in the bathrooms.

22. ...and the Josh Pence cameo that follows.

23. Being able to tell the difference between the 'Winklevii'.

24. The song 'A Familiar Taste'. It's so dirty.

25. Also, the song 'Intriguing Possibilities'. It's the best song to listen to when you're typing.

26. Mark's 'praying' after The Facebook goes live. 

27. "I think if your clients want to sit on my shoulders and call themselves tall, they have the right to give it a try - but there's no requirement that I enjoy sitting here listening to people lie. You have part of my attention - you have the minimum amount. The rest of my attention is back at the offices of Facebook, where my colleagues and I are doing things that no one in this room, including and especially your clients, are intellectually or creatively capable of doing.
Did I adequately answer your condescending question?"

28. Forced cannibalism. That poor chicken.

29. "Don't the fish eat the other fish?! The marlins and the trout!"

30. I guess I should mention how good Justin Timberlake is in this movie. I still can't take him seriously, though.

31. The subtle Natalie Portman reference. She was the movie star on campus.

32. Aaron Sorkin's cameo in the film.

33. The song 'Painted Sun in Abstract' - the soundtrack to my summer.

34. That guy who didn't know that the guest speaker was Bill Gates.

35. Mark checking the math - $18,000+$1,000 does indeed equal $19,000.

36. How I wrote an essay on this for one of my assessments this year, and I spent a whole paragraph talking about the colours used in this film. They really are magical.

37. The Sean-a-thon. Everything from that swanky restaurant, to the appletinis, to 'Magnetic' playing in the background. Oh, and "A million dollars isn't cool. You know what's cool?"
"You?"
"A billion dollars. And that shut everybody up."

38. The little punch Mark gives Eduardo when he comes to California from New York. So precious.

39. The club scene. The lighting, the story about Victoria's Secret creator that Sean tells, and 'The Sound of Violence'. Brilliance on so many levels.

40. The "I'm CEO, bitch" cards. I'm gonna get me some of those one day.

41. The Henley sequence. So well done. Only David Fincher and double Armie Hammer's could make rowing look appealing to me.

42. MARK'S FACE!

43. The Winklevii meeting with royalty. Just brutal.

44. The way Eduardo smashes Mark's laptop. "How about now? You still wired in?"

45. "Sorry! My Prada's at the cleaners! Along with my hoodie and my 'fuck you' flip-flops, you pretentious douchebag!" Oh, how I've always wanted to use this line.

46. Gretchen: What was Mr. Zuckerberg's ownership share diluted down to?
Eduardo Saverin: It wasn't.
Gretchen: What was Dustin Moskovitz's ownership share diluted down to?
Eduardo Saverin: It wasn't.
Gretchen: What was Sean Parker's ownership share diluted down to?
Eduardo Saverin: It wasn't.
Gretchen: What was Peter Thiel's ownership share diluted down to?
Eduardo Saverin: It wasn't.
Gretchen: And what was your ownership share diluted down to?
Eduardo Saverin: .03 percent.
Me: :''''''(

47. "You better lawyer up asshole, because I'm not coming back for 30%, I'm coming back for EVERYTHING." I shamefully admit that I use this line every day in the most inappropriate situations.

48. When Sean gets caught with the drugs, and 'The Gentle Hum of Anxiety' plays in the background. That was the soundtrack to my March, for some reason.

49. The special features included with the 2-disc edition are the best.

50. "You're not an asshole, Mark, you're just trying so hard to be."

51. The film's end. Mark sits there, staring at his computer, waiting for Erica to accept his friend request, and 'Baby, You're a Rich Man' by The Beatles starts playing. Perfection.

52. That nearly every single line in this movie is quote material. Which means it's one hell of a film. I wish I had made it.

So there's my 52 reasons why I love what is possibly one of the best movies of my generation. Why do you love it?

The 'Favourite Film' Argument...(post #700!)

About two weeks ago, I unveiled my Top 100 Favourite Movies of All-Time. Now, if you've made a list like this, you'll know how freaking hard it is. You have to pick and choose out of all the films you have ever watched which films you'd like to see in your top 100. Then you have to pick and choose out of those selections so you're left with 100 of your favourite movies. And then you have to decide which films are better than which, ordering them all perfectly. It's a hard, but totally awesome job. I particularly loved it when I picked up a free copy of Blue Valentine from work and exclaimed, "I just got my 21st favourite film for free!" What I didn't like was the fact that my fellow staff members looked at me strangely.

A couple of days ago a friend of mine said that Despicable Me was his favourite movie ever. Not thinking about whether what he said was a hyperbole or actually a well-thought out statement, I suddenly just blurted out "really?" He thought this was because I didn't like the film, but I actually really did like the film (seriously, every time I go to my niece's and she suggests that we watch a movie I always pick Despicable Me...I've probably seen it at least five times now). But even though I really enjoyed the film, it would never factor into my  top 100 favourite films, because I simply don't see it as 'favourite film' material. To be perfectly honest, though, if you were to put a gun to my head and ask me to choose between watching Despicable Me or my 39th favourite film There Will Be Blood on a Friday night, I'd probably go with Despicable Me. That's because I don't think after a full week of school I'd be down for any milkshake drinking, just easy breezy entertainment.

So what is it that makes 'favourite film material'?

As much as I'd like to say my entire 100 favourite films list came down to films I just simply loved and could watch over and over again, it really didn't. I'm talking films like Confessions of a Shopaholic or even something which was as generally well-received as X-Men: First Class. Yes, I loved them. Yes, I have watched them more than some of the films that actually made my list. But I just don't see them as 'favourite film material'.

'Favourite film material' is something which can't be accurately determined, and there's no rulebook. Except, it almost feels like there is a rulebook to creating your list of favourite films. Y'know, we feel like we should include those arty movies (otherwise known as 'pretentious' movies) just so people will be impressed with our range. And then comes all of the 'essential' movies. Ones like The Godfather, The Shawshank Redemption and Taxi Driver, plus anything by Stanley Kubrick. No matter if you'd rather watch some guilty pleasure movie or even comedy as well-received as The Hangover instead of the three hours of The Godfather, we can always tell which film would make the list. That's not to say that I don't like The Godfather. I love The Godfather. But I'm one of those people who, when I rewatch a film, it's usually a recent comedy because if I'm rewatching it's usually because I can't be bothered putting my brain in a movie.  If that makes me a bad person, then I am sorry.

Obviously, if you're going to put a film in your list then you better make sure you actually like it. In fact, like is not the right word. You should love the films you put in your list. Because if you don't love at least 100 films out of all the films you've seen, then I don't think you could call yourself a 'movie-lover'. Unless you purposely put yourself through all of the bad movies ever.

'Best Films I've Ever Seen' vs. 'Favourite Films'

I've always been under the impression that there is a difference between the 'best films I've ever seen' and my 'favourite films'. I'm not sure why exactly this is, but it probably has a lot to do with the fact that I'm not really sure what the best film I have ever seen is. However, I do know that my favourite film is Memento, followed by Schindler's List. Schindler's List is a film that I'd be more inclined to say is the best movie I've ever seen, but the fact of the matter is that I just like Memento a little bit more - it's my favourite out of the two.

The problem with the 'best films I've ever seen' is the fact that many people misinterpret it as 'the best films ever'. So, if I were to place Schindler's List at the top of my list, people would be bound to disagree because it wasn't a perfect movie, and then start hammering me about my choice. The problem is that people tend to forget that it's the 'best films I've ever seen', and I have different tastes to other people. People just look at the 'best films' and forget the whole personal taste thing. If one was looking for a best film list, then they should go onto IMDb and look at the top 250. And even then people will still complain about The Shawshank Redemtption being number one. Truth is, there's never going to be a movie which everyone agrees on. And it's then when these 'favourite films' lists come in handy because even while people may not agree with your choices, they better bloody accept them because they're your favourite films, not theirs.

Is it okay to have newer films in your top 100?

Admittedly, I have a lot of newer films in my top 100. Particularly in the higher ranks. I've been told this is wrong, but I don't care. I think this goes with the well-known statement around us film-lovers that films that were made ages ago are simply better than the ones made now. That may be true, but we have had some great movies come out in the last few years. For example, one of the movies I picked in my top 10 was The Social Network. Now, for a lot of people, this was top 10 stuff for 2010, but not top 10 stuff for their favourite films. The reason I ranked The Social Network so highly is because it's exactly the type of movie I'd like to make, and the script-work is literally music to my ears. In fact, I believe that The Social Network is one of the best movies I've ever seen. You may disagree, but no matter what year the film was made in, it all comes down to personal taste, not what other people think. Plus, my top 10 is filled with the likes of Inception, Inglourious Basterds, Mean Girls (if any of you try to say I'm wrong for having this movie in there, I will get as mad as Regina George), and The Dark Knight. All recent movies. All movies that I love. No problem.

That's not all. I had included three 2011 releases in my list, and one hasn't even come out in America yet. These movies are The Tree of Life, Midnight in Paris and Melancholia. Admittedly, Melancholia was a tough choice to include in my list, but I simply adored that movie and it's been haunting my dreams for weeks now. Even though I feel strange about including two extremely new movies, this is what I think: imagine that someone back in 1939 was making a list of their favourite movies, and one of the films that was included was Gone with the Wind. That was a new movie, then. Now it's one of those essential movies. We never really think about the future of the new movies that we've watched. Who knows, in twenty years, people may think The Tree of Life is the most meaningful movie ever made (well, I don't know, but I can see that it will be liked a lot more in the future than it is now). And I just simply love Midnight in Paris more than I could possibly say. Yes, movies do get better with age. But hey, if you include a newer movie in your top 100 now, you may be the one in twenty years who goes "I had that in my top 100 from the very beginning!" Yes, it's the little things like this that make loving movies 5% awesomer for me.

Anyway, back to the point...

So now that I have talked all of my feelings out about having favourite films (I'm sorry if it didn't make sense), I've come to realise that maybe my friend wasn't too wrong having Despicable Me as a favourite film. After all, it comes down to personal taste, and what people have and haven't seen. Maybe there's no such thing as 'favourite movie material'. But one thing is that just because one doesn't have some artsy movie or an old movie or even The Godfather as their favourite film doesn't make them any less of a film lover. Some people just love movies more than others. Everyone has different 'best films they've ever seen'. And after all, I doubt many people have taken at least 20 hours out of their life just to decide whether they liked Memento or Schindler's List more. It was a tough decision, but I decided that Memento deserved the top spot because every time I think about how great it is, I just want to cry. I can watch it whenever - it challenges me. You know, people who have made a top 100 list have probably thought it out more than you would ever know.

But then again, I think it will always be deemed a crime for a film blogger to have 27 Dresses as their favourite film.

So, what do you think about the favourite film business? What is your all-time favourite film, and why? What is 'favourite film material' to you?

How to Sell Your Movie with a Poster: For Dummies.

As you probably know, for the past four years of my life, I've worked at a DVD store. Over these years, there have been a few things that I've learnt: a) No-one liked to keep classic movies in that shop, so I had to fuel my love for classic movies by actually buying them myself, b) No-one likes to order in foreign films because "no-one likes them" and c) When people come in to get a DVD, 95% of the time they make their choice based on the cover alone. While I was cleaning shelves, I noticed how achingly bad some DVD covers are, trying to sell themselves in one average sized rectangle. The worst offenders are generally the blockbusters and the straight-to-DVD B-movies, coz most indie flicks know that whoever is going to watch them probably knows a thing or two about movies.

Here's my guide, for dummies, to how you can market a movie with a poster:

Main Street (2010)
Despite the star power, this movie struggled to get a release (I think it went limited in America, but very few people saw it), and wound up on DVD, with a horrendous poster to match. But whoever designed the poster obviously had a field day with their assignment.

A) "From Horton Foote, screenwriter of To Kill a Mockingbird and Tender Mercies, and director John Doyle." That's cool, but come on, To Kill a Mockingbird was made just about 40 years ago. I get that this person won two Oscars for his work (but did it say that on the poster?), and unfortunately died before this movie was released, but the whole screen-writing thing is hopelessly dire on a poster. And John Doyle...this is his only film. But, oh well, putting stuff like that on a poster can only mean one thing: the production team really cared about their writer and director.
B) "Colin Firth, Ellen Burstyn, Patricia Clarkson with Amber Tamblyn and Orlando Bloom" Wow, what a cast. You always gotta capitalize on a cast. That's first and foremost the thing you should remember when designing a poster. Even if your cast sucks, just make sure you have someone quite famous who maybe has two-minutes of screen time and stick them on the poster. Names will get you everywhere.
C) The next best thing to names are faces. When you have quite a good ensemble cast, you just line them all up and have them walking somewhere (or, in the case of X-Men: First Class, just have some mutants walking, others just standing, all over the place, just so you can get every character on the page). Make sure they have mildly different faces. Like, old Colin looks quite jovial, Ellen Burstyn looks like that happy old lady, and Patricia Clarkson looks like...someone just farted.
D) Ha! Witty! You see, since the title is Main Street, of course the title had to be put on a street sign. Even if the street sign is sitting quite low in the middle of the footpath, and if Colin Firth walks any further and does not see it, he will be hit in a place which...yeah.
E) Good old Orlando Bloom. While everyone is looking like they just stepped out of Coronation Street, he is donning the action hero attire. Just trying to jazz it up a little, eh?

Monte Carlo (2011)
Teens are all about the clichés. More so if they're the target audience for the latest Disney-style flick starring Selena Gomez.

A) "She's having the time of someone else's life." The tagline. It can always draw the audience in with it's dry wit. Especially when you take a well-known cliché like 'She's having the time of her life' and make it even more clichéd by saying 'She's having the time of someone else's life'. Clever, or what?
B) Oh, don't they just look jovial?! Okay, so Leighton Meester, Selena Gomez and Katie Cassidy are three beautiful young girls...except, well, judging by some of the other stuff that Meester and Cassidy have been doing with their careers, they're kinda past this kind of teen fluff that Gomez is well into. So, they're just hanging in the background looking happy, trying to shrug off their spoiled brat Gossip Girl's and their Taken prostitutes, while squeaky-clean Selena Gomez is up the front, y'know, looking squeaky clean. The girls at the back can look happy, but not as happy as Gomez, because she's the only actress anyone under the age of 12 would know.
C) Ah, the clichés! As part of a poster, you always have to show off a little of the character and their story. In this case, our heroine is wearing an elegant ball gown, but underneath, she's wearing cowboy boots! Oh, this tells us SO much about her! Like, she's into the whole parading-around-as-a-princess thing, but she's staying true to her roots! Cool story bro.

Never Let Me Go (2010)
Yes, this is a very good movie. And yes, we know that there is a better poster out there. This one, however, is pretty bad, but it is the perfect example of following the poster making skills for dummies. Trust me, the DVD cover that we have in NZ is worse...this whole poster is kinda blurred together. I could probably recreate it in Microsoft Word.

A) Names! And what's even better than names? When they have Oscar nominations! But never mind that Andrew Garfield fulla, because, as he doesn't have the old "Academy Award Nominee" above his name, he must not be a worthy actor. But he's helped along by Academy Award Nominees Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley, so he's worthy enough of your attention. Seriously...that's the kind of feeling I get from name dropping like this one. Not that I have anything against Oscar nominations though, they're all the rage on posters!
B) Keira Knightley is probably the most well-known cast member. So it's only natural that she gets to stare into the camera putting her hand up on the window in that fashion (and that doesn't really say that much about her character at all...Mulligan's character is someone more suited to that). Obviously, people will see her face and be like, "that's the chick off Pirates of the Caribbean!" and immediately put this in their mental watchlist. See, to be a good poster designer, you really have to get into the mentality of the person looking at this poster.
C) It's a love story baby just say yes. That's what I think when I look at that romantic shot of Garfield and Mulligan. People love their romances. It doesn't matter if this romance is a little different to that of The Notebook.
D) Ah, because that beautiful shot was featured on the completely normal poster, it just has to be included here. But really small and just as a place-filler. Because on this poster we have the characters, and now we have to have the setting. Not together, though, as that would be the easy thing to do.

Takers (2010)
This movie is pretty bad. And yet, people picked it up like it was the next The Godfather. Just with, y'know, rap stars.

A) Oh look at all those names! Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Jay Hernandez, Michael Ealy, Tip "T.I." Harris, Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen. There are so many great things about this:
-Firstly, they're all male. Hey, Zoe Saldana, the star of the highest grossing movie ever to grace this Earth, was in this movie! But no, with all that testosterone this is the coolest thing to happen to the world after The Expendables.
-Secondly, I haven't even heard of half of these people, but that doesn't matter. Because, if all these names managed to make it to the poster, then this movie must have a great cast!
-Thirdly, famed rapper 'T.I' used his full name Tip Harris on the poster. That shows some swag, man.
-Finally, Matt Dillon is first billed but he don't even get to be on the poster. Because, obviously, he ain't got enough swag like these bros here.
B) Ooooh, Chris Brown. Looking serious. Coz this is a serious acting job. His face is so serious that he looks just like what the public think of him, thanks to him beating up Rihanna. Yeah, no matter how serious this acting job is, we ain't never gonna let you live that one down, buddy.
C) Look how serious everyone else. And look how much swag everyone has. Except for maybe Hayden Christensen, who is proudly brought to you by PhotoShop. He's just sitting there, lightening the mood with his out-of-place top hat and nerdy bow-tie, just living up his status as the whitest guy in the room who doesn't have any swag. That shows character range, folks.
D) Again, the tagline! "Everyone's after something." Ain't that a great burst of philosophy? Especially when you apply it to a whole lot of gangsters.
E) Just look at everything on the table in front of them. A gun, an alcoholic beverage, a bottle of champagne, a martini, a suitcase which is presumably filled with money. Welcome to the 'Swag Parlour', where the men are as clichéd as their possessions.
F) The website! "WhoAretheTakers.com"...Yes, even the website URL has to ask a question which many don't really care to find out the answer for. Oh, how amazing is the internet?

 The Social Network (2010)
Last, but certainly not least, the DVD cover for one of my most favourite films, the amazing The Social Network. Which was given the most bland portrayal of poster making for dummies.

A) "Screenplay by AARON SORKIN, Directed by DAVID FINCHER." Two amazing people, yes, but usually the stars should get a little love, too. But they're so important they get to go right under the title, because everyone knows who they are. Which is unfortunately not true.
B) "A BRILLIANT FILM." "AN AMERICAN LANDMARK." "REVOLUTIONARY. ABSOLUTELY EMBLEMATIC OF ITS TIME AND PLACE." "SENSATIONAL. A ONCE-IN-A-GENERATION MOVIE." "MAMMOTH AND EXHILARATING." If you were around during 2010/2011 awards season, then there is no doubt you would have seen how critically acclaimed this movie is, which is why the poster designers decided to make the critical acclaim their big draw. Critical acclaim is everything, and when you have as much as this one had, then you just gotta shout it out from the rooftops. Or from a DVD cover...whatever floats your boat.
C) A single picture of Jesse Eisenberg's Mark Zuckerberg standing there smiling away while a couple have a little hug session. Wait...this isn't a romantic comedy? No, we're led to believe that Marky Mark is smiling because of all the critical acclaim this movie got. As I said, critical acclaim is everything.
D) We all love Facebook, don't we? So, incorporate the Facebook font into the title for this movie and BAM! People think they're seeing a movie about Facebook but really they're seeing a movie about a douchebag who shits on his best friend but his best friend tells him to lawyer up asshole because he's not coming back for 30% he's coming back for everything. And there's something about forced cannibalism in there.

So, do you have any tips for poster making for dummies?

16 Days of Birthday, Day 13: Music in the Movies

If you were to look through my iPod at the moment, you would be sad to find that I do not have any Justin Bieber. Or any of that rap crap that I am forced to listen to in ICT (i.e. a song that only has the words 'everybody in the club getting tipsy'). Or any emo screamo or whatever the hell it is called. If you were to judge me through my iPod, I think you would find that I'm not a normal teenager. Nor am I one of those hipster kids who only listen to indie music. Instead, at least 75% of my iPod is filled with songs from the movies, mainly full soundtracks.

I pretty much listen to my iPod every night, usually while I'm blogging, because I pretty much hate silence. And with all this movie music on my musical device, it all ties in, doesn't it? There are quite a few songs which I always have to listen to every time they come around on shuffle. Because everyday I'm shufflin'. And here they are:

According to iTunes, my most played song on my iPod is 528491 by Hans Zimmer off the wonderful Inception soundtrack. Now, all of you people probably love the track Time (more on that soon), but 528491 has to be my favourite. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: put this on your iPod, stick in your headphones, turn this song on full blast and close your eyes...it is more epic than the movie itself. The song has so many layers and it always reminds me of Cillian Murphy's eyes - mainly because this song is used while the camera is looking straight at him.

I'm also a huge fan of the track Time, don't worry. This song is so amazingly beautiful and it just adds more epicness to an already epic ending. To be honest, Time was probably the soundtrack to my latter half of 2010. I used to listen to it like five times a day.

The Social Network's soundtrack, composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, has quite a few songs on my most played list. The one that has been played the most is surprisingly track #14, Magnetic'. This is the one which is played during the first meeting between Sean, Mark, Eduardo and Christy Lee, even though in the movie it's given a bit more of an Asian vibe to fit with the sushi bar they're at. I don't know why I love this song so much...I think it is probably because it's so frustratingly fun, just like the character of Sean Parker.

There are so many other songs that I like from The Social Network, though. If I were to rank the songs on the album from best to worst, the list would go something like this:

1. Magnetic
2. In Motion
3. A Familiar Taste
4. Intriguing Possibilities
5. The Gentle Hum of Anxiety
6. Soft Trees Break the Fall
7. In the Hall of the Mountain King
8. Pieces Form the Whole
9. Painted Sun in Abstract
10. Penetration
11. Almost Home
12. Hand Covers Bruise
13. On We March
14. It Catches Up with You
15. Complications with an Optimistic Outcome
16. Eventually We Find Our Way
17. Hand Covers Bruise, Reprise
18. 3:14 Every Night
19. Carbon Prevails

Haven't listened to The Social Network soundtrack yet? You can do so on Youtube here. I reckon that this soundtrack is probably one of the best modern soundtracks out there...it's just so damn perfect for the movie!

The Black Swan soundtrack by Clint Mansell (inspired by the work of Tchaikovsky) is one which I bought pretty much straight after I watched the movie around Oscar time. While most of this score is basically Tchaikovsky's work, Mansell does some amazing things with it, such as playing the Swan Lake songs in a distorted manner and giving his own paranoid twist to them. Two of my particular favourites are:

Perfection - This song is probably my favourite because it is the exact music played from the time Nina kisses Thomas to the very end. And if you've seen the film, then you know the ending is pretty damn epic, but still very beautiful. In five minutes, this song seems to capture every emotion that little Nina could possibly be going through at that point. Which makes for an amazing, heart-stopping and pretty song which is the perfect end to an almost perfect film.

Opposites Attract - Okay, so this song is the one that is played during that sex scene between Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis. But it is also the song which is played in the trailer, which I heard a lot when I was at work, therefore my ears really warmed to the song. It's a pretty cool song which has this really weird strain of evil in it...very good, very good.

In Kick-Ass there were two very awesome John Murphy songs which were incidentally both in Danny Boyle movies.

The first is Kaneda's Death, Pt. 2 (Adagio in D Minor), which is from one of the most underrated movies ever, Sunshine. It can be seen in Kick-Ass when Hit-Girl is trying to save Big Daddy...what an epic moment. If any of you keep up with the trailers, then you'll probably recognise it from The Adjustment Bureau's trailer. This is one stirring song which always makes me feel like someone on the moon bouncing around. Don't judge me.

The second in In the House - In a Heartbeat, from the scene where Jim is trying to save himself and his friends. The song starts out all nice, but then it goes totally badass at the end making for the perfect track to go with any action sequence. Which is shown in Kick-Ass, too, as this song is used in a scene which nearly made me forgive Nicolas Cage for all of his past mistakes: the one where he is setting fire to the warehouse. So badass.

Another Clint Mansell song that I really like is Lux Aeterna from Requiem for a Dream. Of course, this song is pretty much a staple for any movie lover as it is now used everywhere. But who remembers it in Requiem? That traumatic piece of music backing an already traumatic scene. While I'd like to blame Darren Aronofsky for wrecking my life forever after watching that movie, I think it's all Mansell's fault. This song still terrifies me.

The Theme from Schindler's List is a particular favourite of mine, too. Well, obviously, since the movie just so happens to be one of my favourites and John Williams' score work couldn't have been more impeccable. With Itzhak Perlman playing the violin, Williams manages to put every shred of pain, sadness and the heroism from Oskar Schindler into this achingly beautiful piece of music. It always makes me feel like crying, usually because when I hear this song I always think of Oskar saying "I could have done more!"

And just for randomness, here are some songs which I like that just so happen to be in movies (but they're not from scores or anything like that):


Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap - from (500) Days of Summer


Black Sheep by Metric - from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World


Hero by Regina Spektor - from (500) Days of Summer


Letters from the Sky by Civil Twilight - from I Am Number Four (movie sucks, the song is amazing)


I'll Try Anything Once by The Strokes - from Somewhere


Where is My Mind? by The Pixies - from Fight Club


La Boquilla (Dixone Remix) by Bomba Estereo - from Limitless


Stand Up by The Prodigy - from Kick-Ass


Little Green Bag by George Baker Selection - from Reservoir Dogs


You've Got Me Wrapped Around Your Little Finger by Beth Rowley - from An Education

What are some of your favourite pieces of music from the movies?