#james being a big Bollywood fan

[zeherili-ankhein]

A major part of the marauders fandom have hc of James Potter being desi, right? I am not a big one myself, but here's a fic idea.

Songfic? Modern AU? Yeah both.

James and Lily just enjoying their post graduation dating life while dancing in the rain on the song Zoobi Doobi

— James teaching Lily the lyrics and the meaning beforehand so she would understand what's it all about.

— Lily having trouble with catching up on the fast lyrics because she is still learning. But enjoying nonetheless.

— Them being all soaked, happy, laughing, loving and forgetting a big war is going all.

— And everything's just Happy.

PLEASE SOMEONE WRITE IT I BEG YOU!!!

(got inspired by the little dancing photo of them in the movies)

Part 1, 2, 3, 4

This is part 1 of my Bollywood x Harry Potter fic ideas

@foreignink

[aion-rsa]

Psych 2: Lassie Come Home Easter Egg and Reference Guide

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The following contains spoilers for Psych 2: Lassie Come Home.

As fun as 2017’s Psych: The Movie was, its 2020 sequel Psych 2: Lassie Come Home will likely supplant it in Psych-Os’ hearts, because it’s got 500% more Carlton Lassiter (Timothy Omundson). But how does it stack up to its predecessor in terms of Psych callbacks and pop culture homages? Using our Spencer powers of observation, we’ve tried to catch every recurring inside joke between Shawn (James Roday Rodriguez) and Gus (Dulé Hill), plus all the episodic-specific bits. It’s a feature-length Hitchcock homage, but it’s also the toughest Easter egg hunt of your life. C’mon, son!

Psych 2: Lassie Come Home Easter Eggs and References

The title is a reference to Lassie Come Home, the 1943 Lassie movie about the beloved dog making her way home from Scotland. A German-language remake came out early in 2020.

It’s always a treat to hear the Psych theme song “I Know, You Know,” performed by creator Steve Franks and his band The Friendly Indians.

Lassiter wakes up to Shawn and Gus hovering above him at the recovery clinic is a throwback to when they kidnapped him for his bachelor party in “Deez Nups” and he came to with them screaming “Surpriiise!”

Morrissey the rescue dog reprises his role from Psych: The Movie in being adorable, incredibly nosy, and oblivious to Shawn’s hissing commands.

Sarah Chalke’s nurse character Dolores is most likely a nod to San Francisco’s Mission Dolores church and cemetery, the location for Carlotta Valdes’ grave in Vertigo.

Right out the gate, Dolores is treated to the requisite Gus nickname: “My name is Shawn Spencer, and this is my partner Bill Poopingtons.” However, Shawn and Gus take a sidebar for a very meta argument about their ongoing bit (while fitting in another bit):

“Gus, don’t be the night your dad fell asleep inside your mom. We can’t just stop doing bits we’ve been doing for ten years. We have fans, they have expectations, there’ll be a huge backlash.”

“Shawn, we are two dumbasses, we do not have fans.”

Compromise: Gus gets right of refusal until they land on a nickname he prefers. And so:

Bill Poopingtons > All the Pips in One

Ding-Dong Ditch > Claude O’Dern > Big Poppa Pump > Lemon-a Lemon-a Lemon-a Liiime

Leggo My Eggo > Norman Brown Butter > Dijon Hounsou

Gus also calls himself Jermajesty, channeling some Jackson Five energy.

“Black Jello” was Gus’ nickname in their adult dodgeball league.

The Herschel House is likely a nod to Herschel Daugherty, who directed over two dozen episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents…

Gus and Shawn are still bickering over driving the drivers ed car, even if we don’t see it in the movie. They do manage to be just as bad at turning the right direction when riding a motorcycle together.

“Now I know this ‘goofy little white guy/sexy black dude’ routine the two of you have going like the back of my scrubs.” Sarah Chalke played Elliot on Scrubs, whose JD/Turk bromance walked so that Shawn/Gus could run.

Shawn calls Dolores “the nurse from Color of Night,” the 1994 Bruce Willis erotic mystery thriller that won a Golden Raspberry for Worst Picture.

The boys get Jamba Juice because you never turn down an opportunity for a Jamba.

Shawn likens Gus’ pubic hair to Eddie Murphy’s mustache in his 1987 stand-up film Raw.

Shawn offers the dismembered hand to Gus to “knuck it up softly,” per their penchant for fist-bumping. 

They later do fist-bump outside the old Psych offices, but not before channeling Han Solo and Chewbacca in Star Wars: The Force Awakens: “Gus, we’re home.” “[Wookiee sound]”

Psych has become a French-themed cat café… for now, at least. It’s not an alternative universe from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but the current subletter’s pop-up business. The proprietor (not the girl from Orphan) is played by Allison Miller, James Roday Rodriguez’s co-star in A Million Little Things.

“I am a psychic. He is a sympathetic pooper.” Poor Gus’ intestinal system gets called out again.

Henry’s (Corbin Bernsen) put-on voice gets compared to Tom Waits, Kathleen Turner, Harvey Fierstein, and Diedrich Bader.

Shawn neglected to tell his landlord that he’d moved, which tracks with his behavior in the series finale “The Break-Up.”

Henry reveals that in addition to telenovelas, he enjoys zeitgeist-y sobfests: “You left behind a slow cooker with a three-pound roast in it. You nearly This Is Us-ed the entire block.”

“This Is Us—Dad, why are you watching that show? They have the same show on ABC but newer”: Shawn’s shoutout to A Million Little Things.

Lassiter mistakes Reese Kessler, his supposed shooter, for country music singer Conway Twitty.

Lassiter’s to-do list includes “tape Galavant,” the short-lived musical comedy fantasy series created by Dan Fogelman (This Is Us), in which Timothy Omundson played King Richard. It also includes items poking fun at Lassiter’s crankiness (“yell at nature,” “chirping bird d-day plan”) and tenacity (“solve black dahlia”), and heartstring-tugging items (“pre-register for ironman” as in the triathlon). He also has written down Shawn’s S.E.I.Z.E. mantra from his short-lived career as Lassiter’s life coach in “S.E.I.Z.E. the Day”: Seize Eggs I don’t know Zebra Eighties.

Juliet (Maggie Lawson) lying to Shawn sounds strange, though not as strange as Lupita Nyong’o—the Tethered Lupita—in Jordan Peele’s Us.

Shawn’s “romantic dinner” for Jules is the menu from A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (jelly beans, pretzels, buttered toast, popcorn, and ice cream sundaes) because it’s all they had at the gas station on the way home.

That prompts an iconic “C’mon, son!” from Gus.

Gus’ ringtone is “I’m Mr. Bootyman,” which is both Henry’s ringtone and the song featured in Buzz McNab’s bachelorette party stripper routine in “Deez Nups.”

Gus’ (technically Jules’) green snuggie bears a striking resemblance to official Psych contest merch.

Lassiter spotting mysterious bleeding figures out his window is an homage to Rear Window.

Richard Schiff (as Dr. Herschel) was Dulé Hill’s co-star in The West Wing.

Potterhead Gus wants to know if there are any people hiding in the pipes of the Herschel House, “speaking in their own tongue, perhaps Parsel.”

The Psych boys’ map of suspects briefly includes the Hell Hag from Gus’ dreams in “A Nightmare on State Street.”

Shawn has only been to Norway once with his brother-in-law Ewan O’Hara (John Cena), but they don’t talk about that… Maybe that’s where Psych: The Movie went after its cliffhanger ending?

Ova’s Norwegian song/chant toast at the Viking’s Ice Den is very similar to the Swedish toast in “Right Turn or Left for Dead.”

Ova’s violent son Per is first described as “the bearded Daryl Hannah.”

Shawn’s excuse to Detective Buzz McNab (Sage Brocklebank) for being in Santa Barbara is that he forgot a frisbee signed by German writer/director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.

Shawn’s first reaction to Jules potentially being pregnant: “You know the windows in the loft don’t even fully close, right? I’m gonna have to replace them, otherwise this is Baby’s Day Out all over again.” As Gus reassures him, he always did get worked up over John Hughes’ worst idea.

At the old Psych offices, Shawn pulls out the jousting lance from “100 Clues”—as well as a pineapple! He looks about to ask, “Should we cut this up for the road?” (his question during the pineapple’s first appearance in the pilot, plus at the end of Psych: The Movie) but stops himself.

When Lassie believes that fellow patient Mr. Wilkerson (Kadeem Hardison) has been walking around, Shawn and Gus have to go “full Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” to interrogate the supposedly catatonic patient.

Shoutout to Jessie Spano’s infamous “I’m so excited, I’m so excited, I’m so scared!” speed speech from Saved by the Bell.

If it’s not Scrubs, the boys are getting compared to Ren and Stimpy.

Mary Lightly (Jimmi Simpson) returns in another incredible, extra-hallucinatory look into Shawn’s brain… this time as a baby, since Shawn’s got fatherhood on the brain.

“We got jackaled!” Gus shouts upon learning that Wilkerson can walk—a reference to “hitting the jackal switch,” or going into stealth mode.

Shawn has always had a thing for singer Jewel, even after the Civil War movie (1999’s Ride with the Devil) and the Bollywood song.

Of course there’s a nasty dance when Shawn and Gus figure out who they think is behind everything.

Gus declares that “I am not going to let you shoot Shules’ baby!” only for the Chief (Kirsten Nelson) to ask, “What’s a Shules?” That’s the fans’ name for Shawn/Jules, a cute nod to a series OTP.

And of course, we can’t forget the fact that Jazmyn Simon, who plays Selene, is Dulé Hill’s real-life wife.

More than once, Shawn quotes The Handmaid’s Tale in reference to Gus and Selene’s baby: “Praise be” and “Blessed is the fruit.”

Dolores compliments Lassiter’s “chest of hair plentiful enough to wake all of Destiny’s Child.”

Shawn comes up with possible names for Gus’ child: Shaft, Shaftie, or D’Shaft—just like Gus’ nickname Sh’Dynasty (with a “God’s comma,” or apostrophe) from “Santabarbaratown.”

They also both coo “c’mon son” to Selene’s womb.

Selene’s proposal to Gus includes his negotiation that he and Shawn have adjacent homes with connecting pools, a callback to Shawn and Gus talking about their dream setup in “The Break-Up”; as well as Pluto! She asks, “Will you make me the happiest woman on this planet, on Eres, and Pluto?”

Shawn tells Juliet that “you’re my person,” the iconic Grey’s Anatomy line (though one would argue that Gus more accurately is his person).

When Lassiter stands (shut up, you’re crying) to meet Marlowe (Kristy Swanson), they place their palms together—like they did when he would visit her in jail, like they did at their wedding. My heart.

Join us on the Easter egg hunt—let us know what references we missed!

The post Psych 2: Lassie Come Home Easter Egg and Reference Guide appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2CDgzPr

[jamesginortonblog]

On the day I meet James Norton the front page story in The Times is about an English police force taking bribes from a crime syndicate. The foreign pages are full of slippery promises from the American president about confronting Russian and Chinese “meddling”. The day before, a report has surfaced about a Saudi prince who, though leading an austerity drive in his country, has been found to be the owner — through a series of shell companies — of the world’s most expensive house, in France.

McMafia, Norton’s new eight-part BBC thriller — filmed in 11 countries, featuring as many languages and based on the journalist Misha Glenny’s non-fiction book about the extraordinary global reach of organised crime — may accidentally be the world’s most relevant bit of TV drama.

“It’s bizarre,” says the 32-year-old, best known for his two most divergent roles, the crime-solving, jazz-loving, smouldering vicar Sidney Chambers in Grantchester and the dangerous psychopath Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley, as we sit down in a heroically anonymous room at a London PR agency.

Norton’s McMafia character, Alex Godman, was created by the writer Hossein Amini (Drive) as the focus of the central human drama on which hang versions of the terrifying global machinations described in Glenny’s book. Godman is the son of an exiled Russian mafia boss, raised in Britain and running a hedge fund. He struggles to escape the grip of his family’s murky past while he’s constantly pulled at by the undercurrent of violence and corruption that flows rapidly, dangerously, just beneath the surface of his world. (From one brooding Russian to another — Prince Andrei in the BBC’s War & Peace was good practice, it turns out.)

Flitting between London, Mumbai, the Czech Republic, Russia, Israel, Egypt and elsewhere, the sometimes hard-to-watch series exposes the interconnectivity of international organised crime and how, even lightly, it touches all of us.

“I’ve never been on a job like it,” Norton says. “Usually what happens is that you feel you’re trying to keep up with current affairs and make it as relevant as possible. In the first week, we were filming in London and all the stories about Trump’s [alleged] collusion with Russia during the election were breaking. We have FSB agents in our show who are working for the state but also facilitating the gangsters, and so we suddenly felt like the zeitgeist was chasing us.”

Since the end of filming, he says, the Paradise and Panama Papers scandals have broken, “and with all the stuff with Trump and Putin and Sessions and Comey, people want to know what high-level corruption looks like. What we hope is that this show is both a great piece of drama, but also that it captures the appetite for people to know why the hell there is such a small minority who are stupidly wealthy.” That seems to extend to the cast: “We had Russian actors on set railing at Putin in Russian and the director was going, ‘What the hell are they saying?’ ”

McMafia may have the most international cast the BBC has assembled. And what a cast. Viewers familiar with Bollywood will be thrilled to see Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a Mumbai fixer (“He had two assistants with mirrors either side of him, checking every angle,” Norton says), while fans of Russian cinema will be elated to find Aleksey Serebryakov (Leviathan) and Mariya Shukshina, often described in the West as the Russian Meryl Streep, playing Alex’s parents, Dimitri and Oksana. If you saw Bridge of Spies, or Deutschland 83, or you happen to be Georgian, you’ll recognise Merab Ninidze, oddly appealing here as Vadim Kalyagin, Dimitri’s old rival. The Brits aren’t shabby either — Juliet Rylance plays Alex’s English girlfriend, Rebecca.

Most of the actors (150 with speaking roles) use their own accents and many their native languages — the show switches seamlessly, and constantly, from English to subtitles, an “encouraging” sign, Norton thinks, that producers and channels are finally wising up to the fact that audiences don’t want to be patronised.

“We had no British actors doing dodgy Russian accents,” Norton begins, then realises that’s not strictly true — “Oh actually, I dug myself a hole there, didn’t I.” Alex, fluent in Russian, occasionally switches languages. “I had to learn it all phonetically. When I was being spoken to in Russian, I had to learn their lines in English so I knew what I was reacting to, and I had to learn my lines in Russian so I could answer them.”

Alex’s father mostly speaks Russian, while Alex battles to answer him in English as a way of asserting this new identity — a scenario lifted from Amini’s experience, Norton says. “Hoss is from Iran, and he said it was the same thing with his parents. They would be like, ‘Speak in your mother language!’ and he’d be like, ‘No! I’m speaking English.’ ”

For Norton, walking on set every day “and having a new brilliant actor from a different part of the world, I felt way out of my depth” in having to be the fulcrum of the story that links them all. But it was also, apparently, a riot, particularly with the Russians.

“They come in and there’s no airs and graces, no polite, English, ‘do you think we could change this line?’ Aleksey is just like, ‘This scene, no drama, it’s shit, we want drama!’ and the director, James Watkins, and I would be like, ‘Um, OK, let’s try it …’ Four out of five times what he offered was just way too big and ridiculous, but then one out of five was extraordinary.” (Norton does Serebryakov in a heavy Russian accent. I can’t tell whether it’s any good, but it is very funny.)

It’s been a glamorous but gruelling few months of filming, so Norton is chuffed to be back in London — he grew up in North Yorkshire, with his parents, Hugh and Lavinia, both teachers, and his sister Jessica, now a GP, but has been based in London for ten years — and performing at the Donmar Warehouse. In the New York writer Amy Herzog’s play Belleville he plays Zack, one half of an American couple in Paris (his wife, Abby, is played by Imogen Poots), battling to keep the lid on a wriggling bag of secrets and lies.

They’re an extreme pair, but, Norton says, “One thing about Belleville is how well observed it is and how much you can recognise yourself and your own relationships in the play. We’re all going, ‘Oh God, which one am I?’ ” Though it’s high drama, it’s a true portrait of the struggles of millennials, he thinks. “It tells the story of two people in their late twenties, who have been fed this narrative that they have to lead this life, have a house at this point, kids by this point and money in the bank, and the truth is there just aren’t enough houses, there aren’t enough jobs, there isn’t enough money — or there is but it’s Alex Godman who’s got it.”

Norton has also recently started doing a bit of work with the charity JDRF, which focuses on research in type 1 diabetes in children. Norton has the condition, as do his mother and sister. He was 22 when he was diagnosed; his mother (like Theresa May) was in her fifties, but his sister was only nine.

“It’s a totally manageable condition, but it’s particularly hard for kids,” he says. “But it’s fine. You lead a normal life. One thing I don’t have in my life is a routine, so I do have to be on it a bit, but no more than anyone else. In Belleville, you don’t know this [when you’re watching] but there are Lucozade bottles everywhere. There’s one in the fridge, there’s one in the bathroom, the bedroom, off stage. If I’m feeling a little bit low, I have a sneaky sip.”

He lives in Peckham, southeast London, alone now because his flatmate, a friend from school, has recently gone to live abroad. He’s local to me, so we briefly discuss our favourite restaurants, but agree not to mention them, not so much because he doesn’t want people coming up to him, but “because otherwise I might not be able to get a table’’.

People will come up to him regardless, which he’s fine with, even though the rumours about him becoming the next James Bond are swirling again. He makes a valiant effort not to roll his eyes when I bring it up. “There isn’t anything to say, it’s very flattering, but … people love to speculate about it and it’s such an important part of our cultural heritage, and so it’s lovely to be in that conversation but beyond that … anyway I selfishly love Daniel Craig as Bond, so I don’t really want him to stop.”

He tells me he’s single: “Jessie Buckley [his War & Peace co-star] and I went our separate ways in the summer, and it was all fine.” As you might expect, it doesn’t last long — shortly after we meet he’s snapped in London snogging his Belleville co-star Poots. “It’s not the easiest job when it comes to a relationship,” he says. “The play finishes on the third of February and I’ve no idea where I’m going to be on the fourth.”

That’s the best and worst part of the job, he admits. “I love that nomadic, unpredictable lifestyle; I get a real thrill from it. I know some people would hate it — I haven’t committed to a holiday with friends for the past six years, I just jump on them at the last minute. I missed seven weddings the year before last. That’s the cost. But it’s so exciting. Right now I’m very happy to be muddling along.”

As Amazon (in a deal with BBC Worldwide) gears up to premiere McMafia in more than 200 countries, I’m not sure that’s what I’d call it. Hurtling might be a better word. McMafia starts on BBC One on New Year’s Day at 9pm. Belleville is at the Donmar Warehouse, London WC2 (020 3282 3808), until February 3. jdrf.org.uk

[weekendwarriorblog]

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND September 6, 2019  - LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE,  SUPER SIZE ME 2: HOLY CHICKEN! and IT: CHAPTER TWO

Lots of COLONS -- there, you happy Edward Havens? :) -- in this week’s featured movies, huh?

Although summer still has a couple weeks left according to a couple of my co-workers, the fall movie season officially starts this weekend, but before we get to the wide releases, I want to talk about the fantastic doc LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE (Greenwich Entertainment), which opens at New York’s Film Forum on Friday. Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, this movie really surprised me, because I never considered myself a fan of Ronstandt, despite listening to a lot of AM Top 40 radio in the ‘70s – yes, I was alive back then. I know I don’t look it, but I’m old.

This movie gave me goosebumps hearing Ronstadt at the beginning of her career, the archival footage of her performances making it blatantly obvious how talented she was and why she became so popular, something that wasn’t nearly as evident hearing songs like “Blue Bayou” on the radio.  What’s even more amazing about Ronstadt is that I didn’t hear about much of her work in the ‘80s, as she started doing more unconventional things like honoring the traditional Mexican music of her father. I mean, she was just an amazing artist but she started drifting away as MTV made major stars out of much less-talented singers. And then of course, there’s the Parkinson’s Disease that made it impossible for her to sing and kudos to the filmmakers for actually catching a rare singing moment with her family. This movie honestly got me quite teary-eyed as it went along, because you watch this amazing talent having her greatest asset taken away from her by this horrible illness.

Anyway, this is another music doc that I highly recommend checking out if it plays at a theater near you as it continues a long run of solid music docs we’ve been getting so far this year. (Oddly, David Crosby was supposed to be in this movie, too, but I don’t remember seeing him in it, but saw his credit at the end. Weird.)

Another doc opening in New York, L.A. and Chicago before expanding further on Sept. 13 is Morgan Spurlock’s SUPER SIZE ME 2: HOLY CHICKEN!... and yes, the irony of Spurlock still calling his movie something that includes the words “Me, too” in it is a little more than ironic, since it was the movement that took him down just a few weeks after the movie premiered at the Toronto Film Festival (which is where I first saw it). But honestly, Spurlock took himself out, as he came forward and admitted a few things from his own past, which basically got the movie dropped by YouTube Red, who had just bought it. Two years later and I’m not sure how I feel about the movie, but when I saw it back then, I thought it was a worthy successor to Spurlock’s Oscar-nominated film. This time around, Spurlock wants to set up a healthier fast food option, choosing a chicken sandwich place but also wanting to stick to some of the guidelines by making the chickens organic and free-range, something that he finds is more difficult than he initially thinks.

I generally like Morgan Spurlock’s docs, which generally includes himself as a personality, similar to the work of his peer Michael Moore, but Spurlock doesn’t always make super-serious docs and always keeps him mind on the entertainment aspect of going to the movies, and in that sense Super Size Me 2 is as entertaining as some of his past films.

Super Size Me 2 is opening at the Cinema Village in New York and Laemmle Music Hall in L.A. on Friday.

The only new wide release this weekend is New Line/Warner Bros’ IT: CHAPTER TWO, which I’m sure I’ll be writing about a lot over at The Beat, so go click on those links so that they’ll continue hiring me to write more stuff! You can read my review here and an interview with actor James Ransone over at The Beat.

LIMITED RELEASES

Because it’s early September and there is a big wide release, there isn’t as much to talk about as far as limited releases.

Apparently, Janice Engel’s doc Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins (Magnolia) was released in Texas last weekend, which makes sense since that’s where journalist Molly Ivins is from, but it will open in New York and L.A. this weekend as well. I wasn’t as big a fan of this doc as the ones above just because Molly Ivins just felt like she was trying to do a stand-up comedy routine. In other words, the film lacked the depth I would have hoped from a political figure.

Chelsea Stardust’s Satanic Panic (RLJE Films), written by my good friends Grady Hendrix and Ted Geoghegan, that follows Hayley Griffith’s Sam, a pizza delivery driver whose last stop of the day is to a group of Satanists looking for someone to sacrifice. Yup, that sounds like something Grady and Ted (who wrote Ted’s second movie Mohawk) might come up with. So Sam must fend off witches and demonic creatures before she can end her shift. The film also stars Ruby Modine, Rebecca Romijn, Arden Myrin and Jerry O’Connell. It will be released in select theaters and On Demand Friday after premiering at the Overlook Film Festival and playing Fantasia in Montreal in July.

Two more movies opening at the Cinema Village(and other theaters) is Rowan Athale’s Strange but True (Lionsgate Premiere), a star-studded thriller based on John Searles’ novel, starring Margaret Qualley from Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood as the ex-girlfriend of a dead high schooler who shows up at his family’s house claiming that she’s pregnant with his child (five years after her boyfriend Ronnie’s death). Ronnie’s mother is played by the great Amy Ryan and brother by Nick Robinson, and the movie also stars Greg Kinnear, Brian Cox and Blythe Danner, which makes you wonder why this is being four-walled and most likely getting a typical Lionsgate Premiere VOD release.

Paul Taublieb’s doc Blink of an Eye (1091) is an inside look at the Daytona 500 in 2001, featuring Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr, and that’s about all I know about it. Waltrip is a perennial underdog who broke his 462-race losing streak just before the 2001 racing season, but when his best friend the older Dale Earnhardt crashes in the last lap of the Daytona 500, he steps up to race against Dale’s son, Dale Jr.

Opening at the Roxy Cinema in New York this week is Michael Oblowitz’s surfing doc Heavy Water, which follows surfer Nathan Fletcher, whose brother is credited for introducing punk rock skateboarding techniques to the sport. That’s about all I know about that one.

Since actor/filmmaker Justin Chon (The Twilight Sagaand Gook) will be in Toronto this weekend with Wayne Wang’s new movie (which is premiering there), he probably won’t be doing many opening weekend QnAs for his new movie Ms. Purple (Oscilloscope), which opens in L.A. at the Landmark Nuarton Friday and at the Quad in New York on Sept. 13. This one is a drama about a brother and sister (Teddy Lee and Tiffany Chu) who seemingly are stuck in Koreatown after being abandoned by their mother and raised by their father, who is dying. It sounds like a real hoot.

Opening in New York and L.A. is Simnon Hunter’s Edie (Music Box Films), starring 86-year-old legend Sheila Hancock as a widow about to be forced into  retirement home for her last days but wanting to do one last climbing trip before she dies.

The Bollywood film Chhichhore(FIP), directed by Nitesh Tiwari (Dangal), will also open on Friday in top markets, taking place in a hostel filled with interesting and unique characters who go on a journey together.

Coming to theaters for one night only (i.e. Thursday) is Melanie Martinez’s musical K-12 (Abramorama/Atlantic) about a girl named Cry Baby who is sent to a disturbing sleepaway school where she is bullied until she finds a friend who helps her fight against the Principal and his “wicked staff.” I haven’t seen this but having suffered through Slaughterhouse Rulez I’m slightly dubious.

LOCAL FESTIVALS

Not local, but the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) starts this week. It’s my favorite film festival on the world (after maybe Oxford) but I can’t afford to go for a second year in a row, so instead of writing about it, I’m just gonna spend the next week and a half sulking and writing about other things. L

REPERTORY

Since it’s September, a new month and a movie season, I’m welcoming a new addition to this section…

ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE BROOKLYN (NYC)

I went to see Hitchcock’s Vertigo in 70mm over the past and saw that they’re starting to do a lot more rep. programs tying to upcoming new releases by directors like Pedro Almodovar and Bong Joon-ho, so I’m going to start including some of their screenings and hoping they won’t disappoint me like the New Bev has the last few months. (And hopefully I can include the brand-new L.A. Drafthouse soon, as well.) The problem is that very often, the rep screenings might sell out before I have a chance to write about them, similar to the New Bev, actually.

Much of the Alamo’s rep programming happens on weekdays at 9:30 PM, but as I mentioned, they have some interesting fall series planned.

This week’s “Weird Wednesday” is Drop Dead Fred (1991), starring Rik Mayall of “Young Ones” fame. Monday’s “Video Vortex” is the 1943 Bollywood horror film Son of Dracula, and next Tuesday’s “Terror Tuesday” is the original found footage horror film The Blair Witch Project from 1999. (There’s a free screening of Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of CherbourgWeds night for Alamo Victory members but it’s already sold out.)

METROGRAPH (NYC):

I never thought the Metrograph would bring back its initial charter “A to Z” program with more offerings but sure enough, this week begins Welcome To Metrograph: Redux! On Thursday, it begins with John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13 from 1976 and continues Saturday with Ján Kadár’s The Angel Levinefrom 1970. I have never heard of Paulin Soumanou Vieyra but clearly, the programmers at the Metrograph have as they’re playing two shorts programs as well as his 2019 movie Testimony on Sunday and Monday. Also, the Metrograph will continue showing off its love for Anime with a regular engagement for the late Satoshi Kon’s Millennium Actress (2001) after showing Paprika and Perfect Blue the last couple weeks. (You can still see Perfect Blue and Paprika on Thursday, as well as Roehmer’s Le Rayon Vert and Goddard’s Pierrot Le Fou.)  This week’s Late Nites at Metrograph  is René Laloux’s animated Fantastic Planet (1973). Kinda esoteric, no? Playtime: Family Matinees  is Miyazaki’s Spirited Away (2001), so a little more mainstream for the kiddies. Also, some of the Shaw Sisters movies continues through the weekend, and I can recommend both Puppy Love and Starry is the Night, two of my favorites from the series.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

“Marty and Jay’s Double Features” ends on Thursday, so your last options are William Holden’s The Counterfeit Traitor (1962) and Slightly Scarlet  (1956) on Wednesday and Sanjit Ray’s The Music Room  (1958) /Il Post (1961) or Voyage to Italy (1954) and Vincento Minnelli’s The Long, Long Trailer (1954), starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz on Thursday. Joseph Losey’s 1976 Holocaust drama Mr. Klein, the filmmaker’s first French film after being blacklisted in Hollywood, will be screened on DCP starting Friday. Also, “Film Forum Jr.” is BACK this weekend with Buster Keaton’s Our Hospitality  (1923)on Saturday and Sunday morning with live piano accompaniment.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

Egyptian going a bit esoteric this week with “A Short Series about Krzysztof Kieslowski” (which I won’t even try to pronounce), dedicated to the filmmaker behind the famed “Three Colors” trilogy, which will screen (all three chapters!) on Sunday evening. On Thursday, there’s a double feature of A Short Film about Loveand A Short Film about Killing, both from 1988, and they’re both under 90 minutes so no lie in the title. Friday is a double feature of The Double Life of Veronique (1991) and 1981’s Blind Chance.

AERO  (LA):

This week begins the French Noir series “The French Had a Name for it 5” with a number of double features. On Thursday, there’s Quai es Orfèvres (1947) and The Sleeping Car Murder  (1965), Friday is Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case  (1959) and Port du Desire (1955) and Saturday is René Clement’s Purple Noon from 1960 and a double feature of Melodie en Sous-Sol (1962) and The Sicilian Clan  (1969). If it isn’t obvious, I haven’t seen any of them, but I have seen John Waters’ Pink Flamingos, which is the Aero’s Friday night midnight movie. Sunday’s French noir double feature is 1946’s Paniqueand 1947’s Non Coupable. “Heptember Matinees” continues on Tuesday with Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in Adam’s Rib from 1949.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

Friday begins a new series called “Sci-Fi Visionary: Piotr Szulkin”  showing six of the Polish filmmakers films beginning with 1980’s Golemand 1981’s War of the Worlds: Next Century. They’ll also be showing a new 4k restoration of George Nierenberg’s 1982 music documentary Say Amen, Somebody (Milestone Films) about American gospel music starting Friday with QnAs and choir performances following screenings on Friday and Saturday.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Beginning Weds, the IFC Center will screen the new 4k restoration of David Lynch’s Blue Velvet (1986), a movie that I feel it’s been showing as part of its midnight series for months… but if I get to this week’s offerings, and there’s the same bullshit I’ve seen every single week, I’m moving this down to the bottom of the rep section. This weekend’s Weekend Classics: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is John Singleton’s 1995 dramas Higher Learning starring Laurence Fishburne, chosen by “Kashif” and “Marilyn,” while Waverly Midnights: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is Scorsese’s 1999 film Bringing out the Dead (chosen by “Luke”), starring Nicolas Cage.Okay, at least this week’s Late Night Favorites: Summer 2019 is Satoshi Kon’s 2006 movie Paprika (2006), which the Metrograph has been playing for weeks, so I’ll spare the IFC Center from punishment … for now.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

On Friday night, the museum is showing Douglas Trumbull’s 1983 sci-fi thriller Brainstorm in 70mm, and then on Saturday and Sunday, its showing It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World and Spielberg’s Ready Player One, also in 70mm.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

On Thursday, the Roxy is showing Jonathan Demme’s Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense, and then on Saturday and Sunday, it’s showing the Apocalypse Now 40thAnniversary Final Cut.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

This week’s Friday midnight is Tommy Wiseau’s The Room… again. YAWN.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Here I was going to give Tarantino the benefit of the doubt that he’d be back to rep programming in Sept. but why do your job as a programmer when you can just play your latest film and make just as much or more money? Sure, it’s playing The Postman Always Rings Twice from 1946 as the Wednesday matinee the original Disney The Parent Trap (1961), starring Hayley Mills, as the weekend KIDDEE MATINEE. And I do love P.T. Anderson’s Punch Drunk Love, which is playing as the Monday matinee. But otherwise, it’s all Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood all the time. (I guess the Saturday midnight movie is Reservoir Dogs at least?) For this infraction, the New Beverly is being moved to the VERY BOTTOM of this section as punishment, yes, even below the Nuart’s midnight screening.

(NOTE: As of now, it doesn’t seem like the Quad Cinema or BAM in Brooklyn have any new repertory screenings this weekend.)

Next week, the wide releases are STX’s Hustlers and Warners’ The Goldfinch, plus I hear Jillian Bell’s Brittany Runs a Marathon will be expanding even wider. I’ll cover most of those over at The Beat, but I’m sure I’ll have stuff to write about here as well.

[kobemoorfestivals]

Celebrity Responsibility of Product Advertising

Celebrity’s have a major responsibility when it comes to the advertisement of products. In the UK there is a protection law to help consumers identify when celebrities are being paid to advertise a product. 

“UK consumer protection laws prohibit the use of advertorials – editorial content that promotes a product – without it being made clear within the content or in images or sounds clearly identifiable to the consumer that the trader has paid for the promotion.”

Some influencers however, often forget to disclose the correct amount of information they’re legally meant to convey. An example I recently discovered, was via Instagram. 

James Smith of whom I follow, is a fitness instructor, commonly known for debunking several fitness myths and fake product endorsements. As of recent, he made a post tearing down a major “influencer” who has been making quite obvious paid posts toward a non working product. 

Her name is Chanelle McCleary, known mainly for her appearance on big brother. McCleary has a following of over half a million people and she tends to post a lot of her daily life. One post in particular, is of a mirror selfie in her bikini. Now in the description of the post she talks about her experience with this product known as ‘Skinny Jab’ and posts the tagged name of the brand. She talks about the product as if it’s the best thing she’s ever used and would only recommend this.

Sounds very suspicious. 

At the very end of the description, she has put in bold, that the company hasn’t paid her to endorse the product and that it’s just her raw opinion. 

It’s a common practice to have major influencers on platforms such as Instagram endorse products they say isn’t paying them because many companies who do pay for these sorts of posts sometimes disclose to the influencers that they do not need to say they are being paid. It’s very fraudulent considering the UK consumer protection law. 

Furthermore, there are countries who have reinforced the consumer law. India is a major example. 

“The recent Consumer Protection Act holds celebrities responsible for the misfiring of the brands with consequences such as imprisonment and heavy penalties. Bollywood stars, cricketers and global celebrities will be required to independently verify the guarantees being made about products they are paid to promote. The new measures raise the question of how far a celebrity who lends his or her name to a brand can be expected to investigate the quality or reliability of its products.”

New guidelines have been put into place by the head of Advertising standards of India to encourage celebrities to refrain from endorsing misleading products and adverts. 

“At the heart of celebrity endorsement lies a deep sense of trust and credibility that celebrities enjoy in the eyes of the consumers. In India, especially, celebrities are no less than gods and goddesses worshipped and adulated by their huge fan following.”

Overall from what I gathered the laws and responsibilities are far greater in places like India and I personally feel that in the UK we need similar strict laws. This is because many people in the UK can practically get away with fraudulent behaviour and it is dramatically increasing due to the mass appeal social media has. 

Sources:

http://www.marketexpress.in/2017/07/celebrity-endorsements-and-the-responsibility-quotient.html

https://www.out-law.com/en/articles/2018/august/celebrities-investigated-over-online-endorsements/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuAyaKeALU-/

[jeffreyshowlive]

#WWEMacon House Show 5/29/2017 Review 

This was history right here, my first WWE house show back in 2004 was in Macon, GA it was a #RAW show in December that I was surprised with from my sister for Christmas. So I’m back and this time I have floor seats to attend the Centerplex show. I noticed that in smaller cities, merchandise is cheaper and I was salty about that because in Atlanta it be costing an arm and a leg at merchandise tables.

The show kicked out with the National Anthem and it was extra special due to it being Memorial Day and it just set the vibes off right.

Breezango (Tyler Breeze and Fandango) defeated The Colons: On paper this really don’t seem like it would be enjoyable but this was a really fun match to watch. Tyler Breeze was the overall favorite and who everyone wanted to see and I think that’s a thanks to the recent segments as of late on SDLive. Fandango was the most athletic of the night, taking a more serious approach to the match and looked really good in shape. This match wouldn’t have been a success without The Colons they really made the match family friendly fun, humorous, and all around a good opening contest.

Mojo Rawley defeated Aiden English: Aiden approached the ring singing his heart out which is something you don’t see every day and it was class. The crowd was eating up every note that Aiden delivered and it really made him memorable for the rest of the night doing the singing stint. The match was another family friendly match but you can see Aiden athleticism during this match and I really hope he don’t get released this summer it looks like he’s working his ass off. There was a funny time in this match where Mojo wasn’t even really hitting Aiden because I was just that close and it made it hard for us to stay into it after that but it was entertaining.

Sin Cara defeated Aiden English: Post-match after Aiden lost to Mojo, Aiden decided to stay in the ring and get on the turnbuckle and sing some more that didn’t sound as well like the vocals before the match. Sin Cara ended up coming out with this dope attire and the crowd is really enjoying by chanting “LUCHA”. Sin Cara literally made quick work of a fatigue Aiden and celebrated with the kids.

Luke Harper defeated Eric Rowan: Eric Rowan mask is so damn cool with the clown mask and for some reason it made me lean towards Eric Rowan during this match but I had to stay loyal to Luke Harper. I have been going to a lot of independent wrestling shows lately and it just made me realize that the atmosphere and wrestling is all different and not in a good way. Harper and Rowan were going mad soft on one another and when I chanted out “weak” the crowd looked at me like I was crazy. It’s like once you make it to the big leagues you only have the urge to put on a good match and work when you’re on tv maybe but everything was safe and tamed. Very slow match and kept losing interest at times.

Shinsuke Nakamura and Sami Zayn defeated Dolph Ziggler and Kevin Owens: It’s so blatantly obvious that Nakamura is getting a push greater than them all and it’s so funny to watch at times. Kevin Owens barely competed in this match but when he did he put in the work but Ziggler was really the star athlete of this match here. Sami was great fun during this match and being the one to take the beat down before the hot tag. Nakamura has a lot of pressure on him and I really hope this does not hinder him but he did a great job tonight and this was the best match of the night. Nakamura entrance is nothing like WWE NXT the vibe is completely different and that wasn’t a good vibe.

Charlotte and Becky Lynch defeated Tamina, Natayla, and Carmella with James Ellsworth: Intermission is over and we return with some women’s action. This was a nice contest, James is actually a really good manager and really made his presence felt during this match. Similar to Tyler in the beginning of the show, Charlotte was the one everyone wanted to see and Becky definitely wasn’t far off from that as well holding it down in the ring. Natayla barely was in the ring but man did she have a big impact on the ringside apron talking to the fans all night drawing heat to the match. Tamina was really solid its really good to see her back and she looks so good, and Carmella was amazing all night through the match she’s really someone to keep your eyes on. Charlotte locked on the figure 8 for the win and the celebration was so heart felt along with Becky making a lot of kid’s night. Where was Naomi?

Baron Corbin defeated Tye Dillegner: Tye Dillenger shot a promo before the intermission and had us anxious for this match with 10 chants. It’s so interesting how these NXT stars are so damn over in WWE NXT but once they step foot in a WWE environment thing truly change. I just recently went to an NXT show this year and Tye got the largest pop of the night and here tonight he was not well received as well as you would think along with Nakamura. Baron was even getting stronger cheers than Tye throughout the majority of the match but Baron was just better during this match. Corbin has been on the main roster longer and he is probably more known and experienced at this point but he dominated this match physically and mentally and I was not impressed but I appreciated it.

Main Event: WWE Championship AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal via disqualification but Mahal retains the WWE Championship: I can officially say I’ve witnessed Mahal live as the WWE Champion and there was nothing wrong with it and it felt mad natural. Mahal came out to mad heat when making his entrance and shot a god awful promo on purpose to get even more heat. AJ Styles comes out as the hometown hero and this was a good solid main event with the Bollywood Boyz playing a huge role in this match. Mahal was holding his own and looked like he deserved to be in this position and was working the crowd. Bollywood Boyz interfered to cost AJ the match but what if AJ would have won the title back in his home state at a house show that would have been CRAZY! Mahal didn’t stay around and the Bollywood Boyz took the finishers bumps provided by AJ Styles. Everyone goes home happy and Jinder still has his WWE Championship.

I really enjoyed this WWE SmackDown! House Show but I need for RAW to make a visit soon.

[nitrateglow]

Movies watched in 2017 (35-45)

My 2017 movie journey continues! On this installment, I come across some foreign silent gems, mediocre superhero movies that make my sister angry, and the colorful madness of a certain Baz Luhrmann.

The Informer (dir. John Ford, 1935)

May just be my second favorite John Ford film after Young Mr. Lincoln. The Informer is a sound picture, but its storytelling and heavy, thorough use of incidental music make it very much like a silent movie. The use of music is a great example of what is now derisively referred to as “Mickey Mousing,” yet it never feels corny or silly because the music underscores the action and emotions of every scene so well.

While the plot is simple (former IRA member betrays a fellow rebel for money), it explores sophisticated moral and political territory. The ending is deeply moving, even if the religious symbolism is laid on a little thick. Then again, the film is heavy with expressionism, so perhaps that is warranted. Such a shame this movie is so underrated. (10/10)

Macbeth (dir. Justin Kurzel, 2015)

Words alone cannot convey my disappointment. Stills and clips made this film look like it was going to be the most stunning version of the Scottish play to date, but alas, it’s a mostly uninspiring affair. Sure, the extreme long shots of the fog-ridden and rocky landscapes are breathtaking. Sure, those fight scenes look cool. But no one seems to have much passion here—all the actors mumble and murmur the lines, every scene feels like it was shot with the trailer in mind and not because the content suited such a style. (5/10)

The Haunting (dir. Robert Wise, 1963)

The original Haunting is both a horror movie and the tragedy of a lonely, trapped woman. Eleanor may or may not be experiencing the supernatural, but there is no doubt she brought many of her own personal demons to that haunted house with her, mainly her craving to belong and be loved. While I found the voice over a little awkward at times, it eventually grew on me. Julie Harris is brilliant in the lead, one of the best horror movie performances ever.

The Haunting reminded me a lot of another gothic 1960s horror, The Innocents. I preferred The Innocents, but both are great movies about lonely women and their ghosts (literal and/or metaphoric).

And no, I do not ever plan on watching that 1990s remake. EVER. (9/10)

Danton (dir. Andrezj Wajda, 1983)

This was a wonderful movie, which makes me embarrassed since I have very little to say about it. It’s about the extremism of the French Revolution and the ideological conflict between the idealistic Robespierre and the less extreme Danton, who feels he is partially responsible for the Reign of Terror and wants to make things right. Their discourse on the nature of revolution and holding to one’s ideals is riveting from beginning to end. Even though Wajda’s sympathies lie with Danton, the film avoids painting Robespierre as a villain, showing him as a man of high ideals that were not born of power lust or evil. Both men become tragic figures in the midst of a troubled age.

The historical atmosphere is great too. Not since Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon have I seen a movie capture the look and feel of the eighteenth century to the point where it feels as though I have actually stepped back in time and am not merely witnessing a recreation. (9/10)

Japanese Girls at the Harbor (dir. Hiroshi Shimizu, 1933)

One of the things the best silent films excelled at was packing the simplest of narratives with beauty and emotion. Japanese Girls at the Harbor is one such film. At little over an hour, it tells the story of a young woman who commits a crime of passion and falls into geisha-dom as a result. At first, the movie’s story resembles a Mizoguchi film like Osaka Elegy or Sisters of the Gion, where women are forced into compromising situations through poverty or the failings of the men in their lives, but as the notes on the Criterion release say, Shimizu is much more optimistic about the potential to overcome society’s prejudice and find some little piece of redemption once you put your mind to it. The ending has a muted sense of optimism; Shimizu makes no guarantees that everything will turn out okay, but he does have hope.

There are some striking cinematic flourishes, such as the progressive close-up which precedes and antecedes a violent act. It made me think of the scene where we see the monster for the first time in James Whale’s Frankenstein. (9/10)

Moulin Rouge! (dir. Baz Luhrmann, 2001)

Part of me finds Moulin Rouge! brilliant; part of me finds it stupid and totally understands the hate it gets—regardless, I really liked it and am itching to watch it again. I first heard about it when Doug Walker claimed it was one of the movies he found most annoying and overrated, and from his description of the fast edits and some of the annoying tropes used in the picture, I expected to dislike it too. Nope. I admire its audacity, its willingness to be nothing less than bat-shit insane and unashamedly naïve in its fairy tale love story. It’s pretty much a live-action cartoon, complete with freaky close-ups, wild gesticulations accompanied by Looney Tunes sound effects, and general campiness all around. The aesthetic is like George Melies meets the 1950s MGM musical meets the 1990s music video.

That said, it isn’t perfect and I did get annoyed once the stakes started rising. I think the part of the movie which does not work for me is the second half. It’s not that the tragic stuff couldn’t work alongside all the goofy scenes (just look at Bollywood movies, which were apparently an inspiration for this movie), but sometimes the characters act way too stupid in order to move the plot along. I understand this isn’t meant to be a psychological study of jealousy or romantic love, but some of the things they do in the latter part of the movie strain credibility, even for a film in which the leads fall in love after one song.

I also feel the film’s themes aren’t explored in a compelling manner—which would not be a problem if the film was content with being mere romantic escapism, but I don’t feel that was the case. The film seems like it wants to be more than an exercise in style or an escapist melodrama with its protestations of the importance of love and artistic fulfillment. Roger Ebert claimed the movie was about the way we deceive ourselves as to our true nature (ex. Satine acts like she’s a heartless gold-digger, but she’s truly a romantic who favors the heart over her wallet; the Duke tricks himself into believing Satine truly loves him; Christian views himself as the quintessential suffering artist), but I felt that was never really developed all the way through the movie. Also the themes of love and jealousy are given the shallowest treatment. You can tell that despite its insane style and embracing of old-fashioned romanticism, it does want to discuss these things on a higher level, one it just does not reach. When your bad guy is like a parody of an entitled aristocrat who says lines like “OOH, DARLING LOOK A FROG!!”, you cannot take this movie seriously as drama.

Nevertheless, I did think the movie was a stylistic delight; we’re still feeling its influence now. Out of the Luhrmann movies I’ve seen, this one is certainly his most memorable, even if not everything works. (8/10)

A Woman’s Face (dir. George Cukor, 1941)

How this is one of Joan Crawford’s least remembered roles, I’ll never know. While on the technical side this movie is not terribly interesting, it is an entertaining noir drama and a commentary on how a woman’s worth is often linked closely to her physical beauty. And then there’s Conrad Veidt—oh swoon, oh man, I love his sensual, selfish villain! His line, “the world belongs to the devil” just personifies the amoral philosophy of so many noir villains throughout the classic cycle. (7/10)

Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (dir. Sam Liu, 2017)

I watched this movie with my sister @zany-the-nerd, who is a big Deathstroke fan. If you too are a big Deathstroke fan, I can only tell you that the likelihood of your hating this movie is high, judging by my sister’s reaction to his new characterization. As someone with only secondhand knowledge of the comic this is adapted from, I would say this movie is okay on its own. The animation is good, the fight scenes are entertaining, Nightwing and Starfire are adorable. On the whole, I think it needed a runtime longer than 80 minutes. Tara’s relationships with both the other Titans and Deathstroke could have used more development to make the emotional conclusion more effective. (7/10)

David Copperfield (dir. George Cukor, 1935)

David Copperfield is one of Charles Dickens’ best-loved novels; in 1935, MGM adapted it into this wildly successful film version and populated it with tons of great character actors. One of the delights of this version is how much it resembles the original Victorian illustrations of the novel (even the opening titles are designed to evoke the original cover design of the novel’s first printing).

There are some expressionistic flourishes in the childhood segment, illustrating the innocent David’s clashes with the much harsher adult world and how lost he feels as a disadvantaged orphan within it, and these bits look forward to post-WWII Dickens adaptation such as David Lean’s Oliver Twist and Great Expectations, and the wonderful Brian Desmond Hurst version of A Christmas Carol, all of which had shadowy cinematography that bordered on noir aesthetics. Of course, the film is not wanting in humor, which often appears in the form of several great stars and character actors: WC Fields as an offbeat yet charming Mr. Micawber, Roland Young as a very icky Uriah Heap, Basil Rathbone as the sadistic Mr. Murdstone, Lionel Barrymore as Mr. Peggotty, good God the 1930s had such great performers for this kind of material! My favorite of the bunch has to be Edna May Oliver as Aunt Betsy—I cannot imagine anyone more perfect to play that eccentric, strong-willed woman.

One of the big shocks for me was Freddie Bartholomew as the child David. Child actors in classic-era talkies usually make me cringe, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Bartholomew’s performance. He comes off as sensitive and charming without being cloying, and when he was replaced by the blander Frank Lawton in the latter part of the film, I found myself missing him. About the only scenes where Lawton musters any charisma are the ones with David’s love interest Dora Spenlow (a character I found annoying in the book, but rather liked as played by Maureen O’Sullivan here—maybe I need to revisit the book and re-assess the character). There you’re able to see some of that sensitivity return, but otherwise, he just comes across as callow and passive.

To be honest, the book is much too long and complicated to cram into two hours and ten minutes—a three hour runtime would have served the filmmakers better (that or cutting more out, which they seemed unwilling to do). Apparently producer David O. Selznick wanted to make this book into two movies, which would have been an even better idea, allowing both halves of the story to breathe and develop. While David’s childhood in the first half of the movie is paced well, the second half with his adult counterpart feels more like a greatest hits reel, a quick summary. Agnes and Steerforth in particular are barely developed. As a result, the movie feels kind of rushed toward the end, leaving you less than satisfied. But no matter, this is still a charming, well-made movie, and a treat if you are a fan of Dickens in general. (8/10)

Twilight of a Woman’s Soul (dir. Yevgeni Bauer, 1913)

I was first turned onto 1910s filmmaker Yevgeni Bauer when I saw his 1917 picture Dying Swan last year (FYI, that movie is awesome and you should all watch it). Twilight of a Woman’s Soul is an earlier and slightly less sophisticated work, but by the end of its 48 minute running time, I was impressed nevertheless. It tells the story of a rich young woman named Vera whose life is altered after a vagabond rapes her. She murders him in self-defense afterward and runs off shaken and ill (an event which seems to have next to no effect on what happens next, but still satisfying). Time passes and though she is still affected by what happened, Vera does find romance. Engaged to an upright and tender nobleman, she wonders if she should tell him about her past trauma, only to learn that her allegedly loving spouse sees her as only damaged goods after that.

What ensues is not at all what one would expect from a 1910s melodrama and just in case you watch this film, I dare not spoil it for you too much, as I was incredibly surprised by how progressive it was in terms of gender politics and in terms of how it portrayed rape from the victim’s perspective. Needless to say, the woman is able to find healing and peace without the aid of a love interest to avenge her honor. Heck, she avenges her own honor and doesn’t have to pay for it morally or legally!

Like many films made before WWI, much of the story is depicted in a series of tableaux; a medium shot is the closest the camera ever comes to any human subject. Nevertheless, this is hardly a filmed stage play. For one thing, the static scenes are saved from dullness by lovely composition, each set decorated  and lit with a sensitive eye for detail. The editing is also adventurous for 1913. In an early scene, the filmmakers employ a slow-moving forward dolly shot to create a sense of depth in the space of the heroine’s boudoir. The film suddenly, almost violently, cuts away from the rape and the murder that follows it the split second before each event occurs. The acting is also very subdued, not at all the wild gesticulations 21st century audiences expect from a silent film of this vintage.

And that seems to be the running theme of this journal entry: this movie is not what people would expect from a 1913 picture. Progressive artistically and socially, it has me wanting to watch even more of Mr. Bauer. (8/10)

[zeherili-ankhein]

*silently walks over to the mic*

*clears throat and takes deep breath*

DESI JILY AND MARAUDERS FANS I AM BACK.... WITH ANOTHER SONGFIC

Gulabi Aankhen but sung by the band SANAM

That gives so much Jily vibes.

O...

Gulabi aankhen jo teri dekhi

Sharabi ye dil ho gaya

Sambhalo mujhko o mere yaaron

Sambhalna mushqil ho gaya

Translation

Oh... When I saw your pink (green) eyes My heart became drunk Take care of me, O my friends It has become difficult to take care of me

I can imagine James yelling that on the top of his voice while drunk.

This is part 5 of my Bollywood x Harry Potter fic ideas

@foreignink

[klstheword]

Online & featured in today’s Daily Mail magazine - see above 

“Four years have passed since Dan Stevens had the nation choking on their mince pies when, as fresh-faced Matthew Crawley, he had a fatal car crash in the Downton Abbey Christmas special. He called it a ‘terrifying, monumental decision’ to leave the hit ITV drama, but now the gamble’s paid off. He’s since upped sticks with his jazz singer wife Susie Hariet and their two young children to live in New York. Now a full-blown film star, he bulked up and perfected an American accent to play the tough guy roles of a psychopathic US Army veteran in The Guest, and a drug trafficker in A Walk Among The Tombstones. As if determined to show his range, next month he opens in the latest Disney blockbuster, Beauty And The Beast, but before then he’s back on TV in Legion, a big-budget new series based on Marvel Comics characters. It’s essentially a spin-off from the X-Men franchise, the hit superhero films that have starred Hugh Jackman, Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart and taken over £3.5 billion at the box office. Dan plays David Haller, the illegitimate son of Professor X, the leader of the X-Men who’s been portrayed on the big screen by both Patrick Stewart and, more recently, James McAvoy. But David has been brought up unaware that he might have a superhero side. Or as another of the characters puts it, ‘he has the power but he doesn’t understand it or know how to control it’. So Legion is not all about the flying, fighting action heroes battling against evil villains. Instead, the eight-part show, created by Noah Hawley, the man behind Emmy and Golden Globe-winning black comedy crime drama Fargo, is more psychological. Full of gleefully quirky personalities, at its centre is the tortured character of David, who may be more than human. ‘David’s quite a troubled young man,’ Dan explains when we meet on a cool afternoon in Los Angeles. He’s looking trim and relaxed in jeans and a grey sweatshirt, and is reassuringly far from the jittery bag of nerves that is his character in Legion. ‘As a result of being the professor’s offspring he has these incredible powers. But the problem is he’s not cognisant of them at all, and therefore, as far as he sees it, his “normal” human life has been beset by these strange events invading his surroundings, which people tell him he’s imagined. So from quite a young age he’s been diagnosed as being paranoid schizophrenic. He’s grown up being told one set of truths about his condition by psychologists, and then when our story begins, his world is invaded by a group of other people who tell him something quite different – that this is not a mental illness he has, this is real. That these are powers he really has.’

At the beginning of the show he’s trapped in a mind-numbing routine inside a psychiatric hospital, dressed in a retro tracksuit and with what he calls ‘mid-90s indie’ hair (think Noel Gallagher). But then a beautiful new patient Syd arrives (played by Fargo’s Rachel Keller). The pair feel drawn to one another, and she’s convinced he’s not schizophrenic but actually a powerful mutant. Inspired by her, he escapes and sets about trying to uncover his family history while joining forces with a group of fellow mutants to fight sinister government agents who want to control them. Dan says that, in order to prepare for the role, he embarked on a serious study of paranoid schizophrenia. ‘I had fascinating conversations with sufferers of this condition and also with one psychologist in particular in New York, who gave me a great deal of time and told me some very interesting stories. It turns out it’s not just crazy people in asylums who have this disorder – the psychologist talked about some very, very high-functioning members of society, CEOs of companies and editors of magazines, and all sorts of people who are out there trying to live a normal life in spite of it. I myself had a very good friend from college who suffered from it, and having seen it up close, it’s a terrifying condition. ‘One of the things that’s both frightening and awesome is that to people who have it, the delusions that affect them are very real. There’s not one of them who says, “OK, this part of my world is normal, and this part is crazy,” to them it all feels real. So there’s great confusion about what is actually happening and what isn’t. But having said that, it’s not without a certain humorous side as well – my college friend has quite a wry appreciation of his state sometimes, and we’ve added a comedic element to the show because if you look at it one way, it’s quite fertile ground for comedy. ‘Noah Hawley has a substantially different take on the superhero genre, and it was interesting to see the curve balls he threw in throughout the season. I guess it was to wake us up and keep us on our toes. I had to learn to play the banjo at one point, which came out of nowhere, and there are several dance numbers during the series, including a Bollywood-style routine.’ You’ll see him dance after the arrival of love interest Syd, as his emotions manifest themselves – although the scene may be just in his imagination. ‘It’s actually quite a mindbender of a show,’ he adds.

It’s certainly a far cry from playing Downton’s ever-upright Matthew Crawley, a role that followed on from appearances in TV period dramas Sense And Sensibility and The Turn Of The Screw. ‘Well, gosh, Downton and Legion are quite different shows, aren’t they?’ says Cambridge-educated Dan. ‘I suppose they’re similar in that in both there’s an amazing ensemble of actors to play against. But one is the story of a house in England at the beginning of the 20th century, and the other is a tale of mental disorder and a young man in a fictional universe, so there are really not huge amounts of intersection between the two. ‘The only castle we’re in in Legion is the castle of David’s mind! One place where I really noticed the difference between the two sets is the food we’re offered. The catering on American shoots is superb – it beats the Highclere biscuit tin, that’s for sure!’ Having played a drug trafficker and a gun-toting psycho in two Hollywood films, he says, with relief, that he thinks now, at 34, he’s escaped the trap of being seen only as the actor who played Matthew Crawley. ‘Although it’s not a bad thing to be considered a refined man with good manners,’ he adds. ‘But I also think typecasting comes from your own acting choices, and I pride myself in slipping into different modes for different roles. I think that since I left Downton I’ve been taking on such a range of stuff that it’s not a concern of mine.’ It helps that he’s undergone quite a physical transformation since his days on Downton – he’s lost a couple of stone in weight and allowed Matthew’s blond hair to darken to his own natural brown. ‘I actually put on a bit of weight for Downton because it seemed right for the period, and when it was over I lost it quite easily – I just stopped eating lots of bad things and started eating lots of good things, and it went away! The hair colour had actually been Julian Fellowes’s choice. If you remember in the beginning of Downton, Matthew didn’t come in until the very, very end of the first episode after he gets the letter from Lord Grantham. I’d been cast in the role, but they’d already been shooting for two and a half weeks before I came in, and during that time the producers had realised that almost all the male cast members had dark hair. So I had a call from Julian at the last moment, saying, “We’ve got too many brown-haired boys, would you mind being blond?” I said, “OK, fine,” because I was just pleased they’d asked me to dye it instead of re-casting, and as far as I knew the show was only going to last for one series. And then I ended up being blond for three years, although I must say I had a great time as a blond.’ His final Downton scene in 2012 was the crash that killed Matthew while he was returning from visiting his wife and newborn son in hospital. ‘It was strange lying under a car thinking about the past three years and the family of actors I’d be leaving. But it was time to go, although it was a show I’d been proud to be a part of. ‘I’d had to keep the death a secret because we’d been told there were to be no plot spoilers, so that was a little bit weird in the weeks running up. Obviously I knew, my wife knew, and my mum and dad knew, but we all had to sit on the secret. And the way Matthew went was quite shocking, which did upset some people. I actually watched it with my mum because she said she didn’t want to watch it on her own, she wanted me there to hold her hand! She was OK in the end, but I’m glad I was with her.’ It wasn’t only Dan’s mother who was horrified. Matthew’s death caused heartbreak among fans across the world. ‘I was apologising to people for months!’ Dan says. ‘First after Christmas in the UK, and then when it aired in America three months later, so there was a double whammy of grief. But I’ve had other things come out since, and people are starting to see what I’ve been up to, and beginning to understand why I did it.’ While being involved with the X-Men might in years to come impress his son Aubrey, who’s four, Dan says his upcoming role in Disney’s Beauty And the Beast has won him considerable clout with his seven-year-old daughter Willow. In the live-action remake, in which he sings and – once again – dances, he plays the arrogant young prince who’s punished by being transformed into the Beast. ‘Our family watch a lot of Disney movies but that’s a particular favourite. My daughter loves books, and I think the character of Belle appeals to bookish, wordy young girls, and she’s no exception. I brought her on set on the day we did the ball sequence at the beginning of the film – the prince is dancing with 60 princesses in big meringue dresses and beautiful jewel-encrusted wigs and she almost lost her mind with excitement!’ Willow’s reaction was less enthusiastic when it came to Dad’s transformation into the Beast. ‘She said I look like a hippo! I’m in a giant muscle suit covered with grey lycra, and I wear stilts that take me about 10in taller than I am, to 6ft 10in. I had to work hard to get my body into the right shape to walk around on those stilts – I wish I could have had feet that just screwed on and off but that wasn’t possible, so it was quite a physical challenge.’ Luckily his co-star Emma Watson was used to characters in strange costumes from her time on Harry Potter. ‘There are few actresses in the world who’ve worked with this kind of technology as much as Emma; she’s grown up with it, so it’s second nature to her. It also helped that she was very nice, very intelligent and engaged with the story.’ When Dan’s not working, he’s relaxing in the home in Brooklyn he shares with his family. ‘Upping sticks has been a great adventure,’ he says. ‘I’ve loved New York since I first visited years ago when I was in a play. I stayed with a friend on the Upper West Side, and I fell in love with New York so much I’d walk from his apartment to Brooklyn just to be part of it. It was a wonderful experience. I always dreamed of living there, and I’m very excited to have made that happen.’ And he can safely say he’s finally moved on from poor old Matthew Crawley.   Legion starts on Thursday at 9pm on Fox.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4187644/From-Matthew-Crawley-awesome-superhero.html#ixzz4XhmIlOAb 

Good to read - so much to appreciate in Dan’s intelligent and thoughtful approach to his roles....and... that hand-hold would have been welcome here too!

[putschki1969]

♫ My music history ♫

This post was inspired by @symph0nia-pendragon who wanted me to do this ^_^.

I can’t say I have much of a history when it comes to music, Kalafina is my first love so to speak!! Of course I have liked songs here and there from all kinds of artists in various genres but I have never actively sought out more music from one particular singer/band (until Kalafina came along that is). I have always been more of a sountracks-kinda girl.

Oh well, anyways, let’s give it a shot! Keep in mind though, this is gonna be short (okay, scratch that, it ended up being quite long) and probably boring as hell...

As kids my sister and I would record the score as well as the opening and ending themes of our favourite shows with our cassette recorder. Our tastes were quite different, I was mostly into shows like X-Files, ER and Star Trek all of which my sis couldn’t stand but we both LOVED the old World Masterpiece Theater animated shows. Of course back then we didn’t know they were Japanese anime, we just enjoyed the different stories and the pretty animation. I am not sure about the US/UK but those serials were SUPER popular in Germany/Austria, they got aired back to back for years here. We collected all the OPs, EDs and insert songs and tbh, I enjoy listening to them up to this day, they are just THAT good. They were German dubs though, sometimes completely different from the Japanese original. For example, there was an incredibly sad insert song in one of the German dubbed episodes of “Tico of the Seven Seas”, it was originally the rather cheerful Japanese ED theme but the lyrics were altered to match the scene for which it was used. I am still crying like a little baby whenever I listen to it! ｡：ﾟ(｡ﾉω＼｡)ﾟ･｡ I would love to link you to more of them but I am afraid they wouldn’t make much sense to you. >_< Have one of my favourite scores instead! It’s “Journey to Milan” from “Romeo’s Blue Skies”.

We also collected the soundtracks of other other animes we watched (Sailor Moon, Dragonball, Pokemon, Digimon, etc...). Some American/European animated shows as well, most notably “The Animals of the Farthing Wood”, we were obsessed with this as little kids!! We really liked the score of the theme song and during various sad scenes! Random fact, my first school bag was part of the “Farthing Wood” merchandise. I was so proud to have it! (btw, in case you are wondering what I am carrying here, it’s a “Schultüte”)

Of course we also grew up on the soundtracks of Disney movies and various other animated films. I think we owned all the OSTs that were available at that time. Here are two lovely examples of amazing scores => Lion King - King of Pride Rock (by Hans Zimmer), Pocahontas - Farewell (by Alan Menken); The score of The Land Before Time (composed by the late James Horner) remains my favourite up to this day!! Just listen to “Discovery of the Great Valley”, it’s PERFECT!!!

Around this time I started to become properly aware of different composers and I realised that I really liked a certain style of music. I singled out a handful of composers that kept making amazing soundtracks and that’s how I ended up getting a ton of OSTs by Hans Zimmer, James Horner, John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith. Here and there I like a few other composers but these are my favourites, I just love their style, however repetitive it may be according to some people >_> In some ways I think I am the kind of person that needs recurring themes o.O

And yeah, that’s pretty much what I have been doing up till now. I mostly stick to soundtracks that stand out to me. My sister introduced me to some songs by Yuki Kajiura, including some of her soundtrack pieces. One thing led to the other and I was suddenly knee-deep in the world of Kalafina XD (find out more in my “First Impression” post).

So yeah, aside from Kalafina, the only thing you’ll find in my playlist are soundtracks.

Okay, no, that’s not true. I’ll occasionally like a random song/”musical piece” (probably because I have heard it in some context). They can be songs from all kinds of genres, from all kinds of artists, from all over the world. There is quite a lot of variety actually. I’ve liked the most random things, be it an insert song in a K-Drama/J-Drama, a Bollywood item song, one of Britney Spears�� older songs, an opera aria, a classical symphony, etc...the weirdest things really...

I guess there is some stuff that I really don’t like...jazz for example, I just can’t seem to like it. Any sort of indie, punk or psychedelic music, ughhh, not my thing at all...I am also not a big fan of music that lacks harmony, the more “dissonant” and all over the place, the less likely I’ll find it appealing...

[salmankhanholics]

★ Sohail Khan talks on fashion, Salman and Salim Khan !

Arti Dani | March 1, 2017

Bollywood actor-filmmaker Sohail Khan is the new brand ambassador for the Indian menswear brand Stile by Gulam Ali which opened its first store in Dubai last year. During his visit to the UAE, he also attended a marriage function in Abu Dhabi - of one of Anil Kapoor's family members - that saw the attendance of  Sonam, Rhea, and Arjun Kapoor. Sohail explained he was very close to Sanjay Kapoor (Anil's brother) ever since the duo worked together on Auzaar (1997).

"I had come to Abu Dhabi for a friend's wedding. So Gulam asked me to promote his brand. Incidentally, last year, when we were in the UAE to promote our film, Freaky Ali, we had visited Gulam's store," said Sohail while talking to City Times at Taj Hotel on Tuesday evening.

Talking about his style, the actor told us that he's not much into trends and often takes fashion tips from his kids. "You know, I'm not very fashion conscious. But I do respect the occasion. Generally, I believe in being comfortable and being myself. I mostly wear Toon T-shirts. I get a lot of fashion tips from my kids. When I see them wearing Toon T-shirts, I ask them if I can get a similar one in extra large size. I am very easy with my attire because I don't like shopping. I don't wear a bracelet, watch, rings etc. I may look simple, but then it gets really difficult for others to buy a gift for me," said Sohail while describing his style quotient to City Times.

Meanwhile, Gulam thinks Sohail is a perfect fit for the brand. "Sohail carries Pathani and Sherwani very well. He has that masculine feel and hence he was the ideal choice for us."

Who's the most fashionable Khan? Sohail revealed that the entire Khan family looks up to father Salim Khan, who is an acclaimed writer, as a fashion icon. "We all hero worship our father. He has been a fashion icon for us. If you keep healthy and fit, then anything you wear looks good on you. When he was growing up, his fashion icon was James Dean. He used to dress up like him and even ride a bike when he was in Indore. He has inspired us to dress up well."

Sohail on his fitness plan All the Khan brothers are known for their awe-inducing physique that has won them legions of fans aside from their Bollywood work. So how does Sohail ensure he keeps in shape? "I am extremely fond of eating and that comes from my Pathan genes. I used to play football for my college and school. I don't get much time to play any sports now. I gym for an hour and a half for 4-5 days per week. I love to eat biryani and kheer, but there are times you need to restrict your diet for a film."

Who takes the rap? Salim Khan recently said that he will never write for Salman because if the movie is successful, people will give Salman all the credit, and if the movie fails, they will blame his father. Sohail gave us an insight on the life of Salim Khan and how he constantly helps his sons and other members of the industry with their scripts. "My father can afford to say something like this (about his son). I don't think dad would write for anyone as such, not just for Salman. He is a great guy to go and share your ideas with. He has vision and I know a lot of new directors who share their material with him, and he guides them. He is a part of all our films. Whenever we write our films, we give him a narration. He is more like a script doctor, he advises us what to do. I don't think he has the patience to sit on a complete script at this age. He is bang on with emotions and a lot of people in the industry respect that."

On Salman Khan's next Sohail Khan, who has directed movies like Freaky Ali and Jai Ho in recent times, tells us about his forthcoming projects. As per reports, Salman will play the title role in Sher Khan. "By the end of the year, I am shooting a film titled My Punjabi Nikah. It has a lot of tradition, dance and culture. And next year, I plan to start Sher Khan with Salman. It's a film on animal poaching and deforestation. The script should be ready by the end of the year and we will start the shoot mid next year."

After Aamir and Salman, It's Sohail's turn to wrestle Salman Khan and Aamir Khan created wonders at the box office with Sultan and Dangal, respectively. Now it seems to be Sohail's turn to take to the ring. The actor/filmmaker told us that he might play a wrestler in one of his forthcoming projects. He also added that he is not sure whether it will be a movie or a television series. "I might play a pehalwan (wrestler) in the next film. I have put on weight. They expect me to have 4-5 kg more. We don't know whether it will be a film or mini-series. But I will have to look like a wrestler for the movie."

Sohail in Salman's Tubelight "I am a big Kabir Khan fan. There is so much to learn from the kind of movies he makes. I wanted to experience how he works on his actor. Salman has the title role. It was a pleasure working with Salman, we have worked before as well. Kabir executes his story so well and I wanted to learn that craft from him. Shah Rukh is doing a friendly appearance, but I wasn't around when he was shooting."

Sohail's message to Khaleej Times "I have been associated with Suhail Galadari and Khaleej Times since a very long time. He's a dear family friend and I genuinely think Khaleej Times to be an in-house newspaper for me... we share all our thoughts through Khaleej Times to the Arab world. Congratulations to Khaleej Times for creating such a big awareness and I think it's a thing that you are doing."

Khaleej Times

[unclewoodstock]

The Suplex Summary: 17/4/17

This week, we had the ring implode, a bizarre no.1 contender choice, and the sad passing of a superhero.

Raw

No time was wasted with Braun Strowman coming out too gloat about the savage beating he gave to Roman Reigns last week. GM Kurt Angle tried getting him to leave the building but Strowman was defiant in staying. As the night went on, Strowman showed his terrifying rage by battering jobbers backstage. He finally got the competition he wanted when eventually, Big Show stepped in stop Strowman’s rampage, making the main event set for the night.

Samoa Joe vs Chris Jericho

To get some retribution for being attacked by Joe backstage a few weeks ago, Jericho would go one on one with the Samoan Submission Machine. Seth Rollins was special guest commentator for the match, building for his match with Joe come Payback. Good match from these two, with Joe especially looking like a vicious killer. Joe powered out of the Walls Of Jericho and put on the Cobra Clutch for the tapout win. My only issue was I wish Jericho didn't tap but it's a nitpick for a fun match. With Joe looking good here and cutting a visceral sounding promo on Rollins, their match come Payback is one to look forward to.

Enzo & Cass vs Gallows & Anderson

The Club were meant to be fighting the Golden Truth, but an attack by Strowman put an end to that, not that I was too sad about it. Instead, Enzo & Cass came out to take on Gallows & Anderson. Standard tag match, with Anderson slamming Enzo into the turnbuckle ropes for the ring. Enzo & Cass still remain crazy over, but it would great to have them get some wins for once.

Miz TV with Dean Ambrose

Before Miz was barely able to speak, Ambrose came out to the ring. The Miz proceeds to berate Ambrose about not being a worthy looking superstar. It ended with Ambrose attacking the Miz as he gets away before the Dirty Deeds. Miz seems to be repeating this same plot, complaining about how he is overlook compared to other superstars. For me, it’s kinda getting a little old. It doesn’t help that we have already seen this feud back on Smackdown, I would rather be seeing these two doing other things.

Jack Gallagher vs TJ Perkins

Both Neville and Austin Aries were at ringside for this match. Pretty good match, with Perkins getting the win with the Detonation Kick. Perkins’ heel turn last week may have been a positive step for his character, but he got no response from the crowd which doesn't help. Pairing him with Neville may work in the long one, but right now Perkins just looks like a high school bully’s comedy sidekick.

No. 1 Contender Match for the Women’s Title: Nia Jax vs Alexa Bliss vs Mickie James vs Sasha Banks

The women’s division on Raw got a much needed shot in the arm last week, as the title seems very hotly contended once again. This was just an OK match, the four didn’t seem to gel well together. As imposing as she is, Nia Jax is still a little green. It will take a few more matches before she can pull of a convincing title run. Alexa Bliss got the win as she stole the pin from Jax as she lays out Banks with a Samoan Drop. Bliss winning was a little unexpected, but she will make a great villainous foe for Bayley. Especially as there is only a week to go before Payback.

Finn Balor vs Curt Hawkins/Wyatt’s Sermon of the Snakes

Both segments were back to back and are related so it makes sense to talk about them together. Balor won quickly over Hawkins, an easy match most likely to help him recover from his concussion last week. As for Wyatt, it dawned on me why his “scary” promos don’t do much for me anymore. They are way too overproduced. When Wyatt first debut, his first promo was so simple. It was him in a dark room with a chair in it. He delivered his lines like a pro and it was so effective. Now however, the camera flickers, there is spooky music, creepy imagery, it’s all just too much. Less is more WWE. Regardless, a Balor/Wyatt feud could be interesting clash of characters and gimmicks.

Cesaro vs Jeff Hardy

This match, both before and during the match, was being billed as a rare first as neither men had faced each other. The hype paid off to a degree as this was a pretty good match. Both men were very evenly matched throughout. Hardy would eventually get the upper hand, finishing off Cesaro with the Swanton Bomb. Both men and their ringside tag partners had a tense stand off before shaking hands after the match. With this subtle post match moment, added with constant fan speculation, we could be seeing the Broken Hardys hopefully very soon.

Braun Strowman vs Big Show

The first time these two had a singles match, they surpassed any expectations cynical fans would have had. Back then, they had a very good match, and this time was no different. Both men showed fair amounts of agility for men their size, Strowman even pulling off a nip-up which was amazing to see. The two traded blows and near-falls, before both men went to the turnbuckle. They had teased it throughout the match, but it finally happened. Strowman had Big Show on the turnbuckle, and with shakey legs, imploded the ring with a superplex! Regardless of the previous times it has happened, it is still an amazing spot to see, especially with the poor ref being hurled out of the ring in the process. The match was a No Contest but we ended the show with Strowman standing tall. This night, very deservedly, belonged to him. Smackdown

Smackdown, in comparison to Raw, was a much more underwhelming show. This included a moment that initially caused me to rage quit watching for half an hour.

The show began with Charlotte coming out, demanding a title shot as the best athlete in the women's division. Champion Naomi obliged, as the two exchanged blows. Shane McMahon announced that if Charlotte could beat Naomi, she would get her title match next week.

Six Pack Challenge. No.1 Contender Match for the WWE World Title: Sami Zayn vs Dolph Ziggler vs Luke Harper vs Erick Rowan vs Mojo Rawley vs Jinder Mahal

This was the rage quit moment for me so strap yourself in. To get the good out of the way, this was a very fun match. Lots of action and close near-falls kept the crowd and myself hooked. The quality of the match outshone the fact that this match was lacking in big names. Zayn and Harper to me, seemed like the only worthy contenders from the start. Rawley and Ziegler at a stretch. But the big moment came at the finale of the match. Zayn had the match won, when he was held back from delivering the Helluva Kick by the debuting Bollywood Boys. In the distraction, Mahal was able to slam Zayn and become the new No.1 contender.

The reasons for Mahal getting the push is due to WWE’s gaining market in India. A big Indian star would help garner more fans in the country. If that was the plan though, would it have killed WWE to not make Mahal such a jobber beforehand? I'm not much of a fan of Jinder Mahal anyway, but I'd be more accepting of him if he hadn't been losing 2-3 matches. To make it even more annoying, he cut an anti-American after the match. It's 2017, the “evil” foreign heel is teeth-grindingly outdated. As much as WWE likes to advertise itself as a global franchise, they still insist on this. Mahal now has a month to look like a rap contender for Randy Orton. NXT’s Bollywood Boys will help, but I doubt it will make the Payback main event an utter bore.

Charlotte vs Naomi

This match helped me get over the last match’s previous outcome, both looking solid in the process. Charlotte winning clean may be annoying for some, but it wasn't too bad for me. As Naomi tried for the Rearview, Charlotte countered with a dropkick, before getting the win. It makes for a better narrative for Naomi to be outmatched the first time, only for her game to be upped come the next encounter.

American Alpha vs The Colons

Plus side to this, the Shining Stars are gone. Now we have Primo and Epico announced simply as the Colons. With a remix theme and no more time shares, the Colons have become a legitimate team again. The problem is with American Alpha, the team has lost a lot of momentum. As the only face team on Smackdown, their loss here leaves the tag team division rather underwhelming until the New Day debuts.

Kevin Owens vs Local Jobber

We got the first of hopefully many “Face Of America” open challenges. Owens won in moments, and made the decision to commentate for the main event.

AJ Styles vs Baron Corbin

It feels like the belts are a little mixed up. The earlier 6 Pack Challenge match would make a bit more sense if it was contended for the US title instead. Instead, Smackdown’s main eventers are fighting over a secondary belt. While it elevates the US title, it leaves less big names for the main one. Regardless, both had a good match. AJ made Corbin look especially good, selling his hard hitting offense brilliantly. Corbin would get counted out, but it was due to a heavy blow by AJ over the barricade. A combination of Owens, AJ and Corbin is money for me.

This past week, Raw won for me. Strowman was made to look like a megastar, while Mahal felt like he could have been picked by throwing a dart at a board. Next week could easily swap around though.

RIP Matthew “Rosey” Anoa’i

This past week, we got the sad news of the death of Matthew Anoa’i, best known in WWE as Rosey. He was 47. Anoa’i is the real life brother of Roman Reigns, but got his start much earlier in 2002. He started as a tag team with his cousin Eddie Fatu, as the tag team 3 Minute Warning. Anoa’i would best be known for his gimmick as the comedic sidekick to superhero wrestler, the Hurricane. Him and Rosey would have success with the team, even winning the tag team titles before his release in 2006. My deepest condolences to all of his family and friends.

Be good to your loved one everyone.

Till next time

Nay

[weekendwarriorblog]

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND August 30, 2019  - Labor Day Blahs

I was trying to decide whether to do one of these this week, because it’s Labor Day weekend, and this is likely to be a particularly short column because I HAVEN’T SEEN ANYTHING! In fact, I’m not even doing my regular Box Office Preview column over at The Beat, because there just doesn’t seem to be much point to it. There used to be a time when studios would release movies over the four-day holiday weekend but not so much anymore, and this is a particularly weak Labor Day with no new movies opening in 1,000 theaters or more. No, it’s more about reexpanding movies already in theaters like Spider-Man: Far from Home in order to try to make more money before the summer is over.  But if this is boring, you can also read my 2019 Summer Box Office wrap-up over at The Beat.

The only new “wide” release is BH Tilt’s latest release DON’T LET GO, a thriller directed by Jacob Estes (Rings) and starring David Oyelowo and Storm Reid from A Wrinkle in Time, and it’s not even opening in 1,000 theaters. It might not even get into the top 10.  Apparently, BH Tilt is now going as “OTL Releasing” but I don’t think this movie has as much buzz as Leigh Whannell’s Upgrade, released by Blumhouse’s distribution branch in June 2018 to make $4.7 million opening weekend and $14.4 million total domestic. I don’t see Don’t Let Goopening that big as its plot is far vaguer, and I think if this make more than $4 million over the four-day holiday, it would be considered a coup since it’s only playing in less than 1,000 theaters. Who knows? I might even go see it on a lark.

Interestingly, there are two foreign language films from other countries (because as hard as it might be to believe, they speak other languages in other countries!) getting moderate releases this weekend: Sujeeth’s Bollywood action-thriller SAAHO (Yash Raj Films) and from Mexico, Ariel Winograd’s Spanish language TOD@S CAEN released by Lionsgate’s LatinX division Pantelion Films. I will be the first to admit that I’m not the best person to gauge interest in either movie because they’re not my communities, so I rarely see much marketing for these films.

Opening on Thursday, Saaho actually looks pretty cool, and if I can find three hours of time over Labor Day, I might actually check it out. It’s being released in three languages versions: Hindi, Telugu and Tamil, all with English subtitles, and that seems very groundbreaking, and it will also be in IMAX theaters. This could be another hit for Yash Raj ala the “Dhoom” series—Dhoom 3 opened with $3.4 million in 239 theaters in 2013 -- and possibly the studio’s widest release since 2018’s Thugs of Hindostan.

Check out the Hindi trailer below:

(Oddly, Saaho was supposed to be released on India’s Independence Day August 15, but then was pushed back to American Labor Day. Bollywood films tend to get day and date releases nationwide to avoid piracy.)

Tod@s Caen (pronounced “todos caen” – don’t yell at me! It wasn’t my idea!) stars Omar Chapparo, the hot Mexican star from Pantelion’s hits No manches Frida and its sequel plus How to Be a Latin Lover. No manches Frida grossed about $11.5 million after its $4.6 million opening over Labor Day in 2016 while the sequel opened slightly bigger this past March but grossed less. Latin Lover was a huge crossover success for Chapparo and Pantelion, grossing $32.1 million.  This is likely to be more in the former category and opening in 365 theaters, it probably can make around $3 million or more.

STREAMING AND CABLE

There aren’t many movies I can recommend, but at least I can recommend the new Netflix series THE DARK CRYSTAL: THE AGE OF RESISTANCE, which is a prequel to the 1982 Jim Henson movie that was made quite lovingly using the same puppeteering techniques as well as some of the same designers from the original movie. Plus the series has an absolutely brilliant voice cast that includes Taron Egerton, Helena Bonham-Carter, Anya Taylor-Joy, Alicia Vikander, Sigourney Weaver, Natalie Dormer, Lena Headey, Jason Isaacs, Theo James, Mark Strong, Toby Jones, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Simon Pegg and many, many more. As someone who wasn’t really a fan of the original movie, I found myself quite wrapped up in this series, having watched the first five episodes so far, and I think fans and non-fans alike will dig it.

You can read my interview with the writers over at The Beat.

(Netflix is also releasing a movie called Falling In Love, starring Christina Millan and Adam Demos... but that title... I just can’t!

Amazon Prime will begin streaming its own fantasy series, the very different Carnival Row, starring Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne, on Friday. It’s a steampunk noir crime series in which Bloom is an inspector trying to solve some Jack the Ripper style murders of the city’s fae and puck population, fantastical creatures who act as the city’s slave labor. I didn’t enjoy this nearly as much as it just doesn’t feel like my kind of thing even though I do love Victorian era stuff usually. I think it just hasn’t found its footing in the couple episodes I’ve seen. I also interviewed a few of the actors which will be on The Beat later today.

LIMITED RELEASES

Okay, I definitely lied as I’ve also seen Kim Farrant’s ANGEL OF MINE (Lionsgate), an amazing psychological drama starring Noomi Rapace as a woman whose daughter died but whom thinks that her neighbor’s daughter is actually her own. Also starring Yvonne Strahovski, Luke Evans and Richard Roxburgh, this mostly Australian film is actually a little like the recent After the Weddingin terms of the strangeness of its premise but it’s handled more like a thriller and Rapace gives another stirring performance. It will be in select cities starting Friday, and I recommend checking it out, especially if, like me, you’re a long-time fan of Ms. Rapace.

Never got around to seeing Gavin Hood’s new movie OFFICIAL SECRETS (IFC Films), because I’m such a fan of Keira Knightley, and in this one she plays Katharine Gun, a British intelligence specialist handling classified information in the lead-up to the Iraq War in 2003. She receives a shocking memo from the NSA seeking help in collecting information on UN Security Council members to blackmail them into supporting an invasion of Iraq.

Hannah Pearl Utt’s BEFORE YOU KNOW IT (1091) stars the co-writer/director as stage manager Rachel Gurner who lives in her childhood apartment with her sister Jackie (Jen Tullock), father Mel (Mandy Patinkin) and preteen niece Dodge (Oon Yaffe) above the theater they own and operate. After a tragedy, the two sisters find out their mother, long thought dead (Judith Light) is still alive working on soap operas and they need to come to terms with that. The movie also stars Mike Colter and Alec Baldwin and it opens in select cities.

Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst also has a new movie as director, a thriller called THE FANATIC (Quiver Distribution), starring Devon Sawa from Final Destination and John Travolta. Travolta plays movie fan Moose who is obsessed with his favorite action hero Hunter Dunbar, played by Sawa. With the help of his paparazzi photographer friend Leah (Ana Golja), Moose tries to find Moose as his interactions with the celebrity become more dangerous as Moose becomes more obsessed.

Liam Hemsworth from “The Hunger Games” stars in Malik Bader’s Killerman (Blue Fox Studios) as a New York money launderer who wants to find answers after waking up with no memory and with millions in cash and drugs, as he’s chased by a team of dirty cops. The movie also stars Emory Cohen, Diane Guerrero (“Orange is the New Black”) and Suraj Sharma from Life of Pi, and it’s getting a small theatrical release in select cities.

Now playing at New York’s Film Forum is Marjoline Boonstra’s doc The Miracle of the Little Prince (Film Movement) which looks at the sustained global popularity of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince in the eight decades since it was first published.

Opening in IMAX theaters Thursday and then nationwide Sept 6 is the Chinese animated film Ne Zha (WELL Go) about a young boy with superpowers who must decide between good and evil.

There’s a couple other things but I’m so behind for the weekend that I’m done.

REPERTORY

A few rep things to mention before we get to the regular theaters. The Wachowski’s original The Matrix will be celebrating its 20thanniversary with a rerelease across the nation in Dolby theaters, so I’ll be seeing that Thursday night. The Alamo in Brooklyn is also screening a special 70mm print of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, and that’s where I’ll be on Saturday.

METROGRAPH (NYC):

On Friday, the Metrograph will begin screening a 35mm print of Eric Roehmer’s 1986 film Le Rayon Vert, but there lots of series continiung through the weekend including the “Shaw Sisters” series which is fairly interesting so far. Angie Chen’s Maybe It’s Love (1984) plays again on Thursday evening –that’s a weird one—and Ann Hui’s Starry Is the Night (1988) will play tomorrow and Sunday and a few others. If you want to see a weird and really bad but very funny horror film, you have to check out Angela Mak’s The Siamese Twins on Saturday night, plus there’s a few more I haven’t seen. The Metrograph has also expanded its “Godard/Karina Late Nights” series so that you can see Alphaville (1965) and Pierrot Le Fou (1965), both beloved classics, through the weekend, as well as this weekend’s offering to the series, 1962’s Vivre Sa Vie. This week’s Late Nites at Metrograph  is Leo Carax’sHoly Motors (2012) and Satoshi Kon’s Perfect Blue but you can also see the late Japanese filmmaker’s excellent Paprika (2006) through the weekend, as well. This weekend’s Playtime: Family Matinees  is another Ray Harryhausen classic, 1963’s Jason and the Argonauts.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

The New Bev ends its month of mostly showing Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood before returning to repertory fare next week, but its Weds. matinee is the 1953 Western comedy Calamity Jane, this weekend’s KIDDEE MATINE is Disney’s The Ugly Dachsund (1966) starring Dean Jones, and then on Monday, you have two chances to see Michael Mann’s 1995 crime-thriller Heat, although you’ll have to see it at 9:30AM cause the usual 2pm matinee is sold out.

AERO  (LA):

Thursday begins a “Sellers and Southern Double Feature” series (?) of Dr. Strangelove (1964) with The Magic Christian (1969), Friday is a double feature of 1999’s Office Space with Kevin Smith’s Clerks(1994) and then on Saturday is a Mad Max TRIPLE Feature of the first three movies: Mad Max (1979), The Road Warrior (1982) and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). Sunday is a special screening of Thom Anderson’s 2003 film Los Angeles Plays Itself, and Monday begins Aero’s “Heptember Matinees” series as in Katherine Hepburn, and it kicks off with 1940’s The Philadelphia Story.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Marty and Jay’s Double Features runs through next Thursday and there are one or two of these double features every day with a mix of classics and esoteric and rare stuff. You can click on the link to see all that’s playing.

FILM AT LINCOLN CENTER (NYC):

“Make My Day: American Movies in the Age of Reagan” continues up at Lincoln Center through Tuesday with highlights like Robocop, David Cronenberg’s Videodrome, Scorsese’s The King of Comedy and The Last Temptation of Christ, Conan the Barbarian, First Blood and more.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

This week’s Weekend Classics: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is the original, classic King Kong, while Waverly Midnights: Staff Picks Summer 2019 is Office Space (1999) and Russ Meyers’ Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970). Late Night Favorites: Summer 2019 is Aliens, Suspiria and Eraserhead, just in case you missed any of those the dozen other times they’ve been shown.

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

Saturday’s “Beyond the Canon” offering is a double feature of Haifaa Al-Mansour’s Wadja from 2012 and Wim Wender’s 1974 film Alice in the Cities. BAM is also showing the second part of its “Programmers Notebook: On Memory”  with offerings like Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, Christopher Nolan’s Memento, Kurosawa’s Rashomon, Sarah Polley’s Stories We Tell, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (of course) and more!

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

“See It Big! 70mm” will screen Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One on Friday and Saturday evenigs but ALSO, they’re showing one of my favorite comedies It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) in 70mm on Saturday afternoon.

ROXY CINEMA (NYC)

Tonight and Sunday, the Roxy is showing the 1965 film Juliet of the Spirits. On Saturday, the theater is showing Agnes Varda’s 1965 film Le Bonheur.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

This week’s Friday night midnight film is Miyazaki’s Spirited Away.

This weekend, the Egyptianin L.A. is taken over by the Cinecon Classic Film Festivaland you can find out what that consists at the official site.

Next week, New Line releases It: Chapter Two, which I probably will have seen by the time you read this but probably will still be under embargo.

[vsplusonline]

From Tom Hanks-Olga Kurylenko testing positive to films being postponed; here's how the Coronavirus is taking a toll on the world of entertainment | The Times of India

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From Tom Hanks-Olga Kurylenko testing positive to films being postponed; here’s how the Coronavirus is taking a toll on the world of entertainment

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Last updated on – Mar 16, 2020, 17:46 ISTShare fbsharetwsharepinshare

01/5How the Coronavirus outbreak is taking a toll on the world of entertainment

The Coronavirus outbreak has affected the entire whole and with the number of cases in India rising at an alarming rate, all the industries involving the entertainment have been affected. From losing out crores due to re-scheduling of release dates of many big Bollywood and Hollywood films to shoots of upcoming films coming to a halt, the ongoing Coronavirus crises seem to have affected the glamorous industry at the large.

Not only this but Hollywood actors Tom Hanks along with his wife Rita Wilson and ‘James Bond’ actress Olga Kurylenko have also tested positive with Covid-19, which has left the entire world in a state of shock. Here we take a look at how Coronavirus is taking a toll on the world of entertainment.

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02/5Tom Hanks-Olga Kurylenko test positive

Last week Tom Hanks took to social media to announce that he has tested positive for Covid-19 along with his wife Rita Wilson. The news had shocked the entire globe and today actress Olga Kurylenko, who has worked with Daniel Craig in ‘Quantum of Solace’ revealed that she is at home as she tested positive for Coronavirus. While this news have shocked everyone, several other celebrities across the globe have been spending time at home and urging their fans to take precautions against the Coronavirus outbreak.

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03/5Films postponed

Several Bollywood films like ‘Sooryavashi’, ’83’ and others have been postponed due to Coronavirus pandemic. Not only Bollywood but even Hollywood films are facing the brunt as big movies like James Bond’s ‘No Time To Die’, ‘Mulan’ and the ninth instalment of ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise releases have been postponed to much later dates. With cinema halls being shut in many countries, movie enthusiasts have to wait for the releases until the situation comes under control.

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04/5Shoots halted

The world of entertainment has come to a standstill as shoots of many films have been halted or suspended due to Covid-19 outbreak. Tom Hanks, who was shooting for a film on Elvis Presley’s life in Australia has been halted as the actor has tested positive. Since then several big production houses like Disney, Warner Bros and others have halted the shoots of several projects. Many Bollywood projects like ‘Bhool Bhulaiya 2’, ‘Jersey’, ‘Brahmastra’ and others have also been suspended and the lead actors have returned back home.

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05/5Box office collections affected

Irrfan Khan’s ‘Angrezi Medium’ faced the brunt of the Coronavirus outbreak as several theatres in many cities remained closed and the film failed to excel at the box office. With just Rs 9 crore from its first weekend, director Homi Adajania took to social media to announce that they will be re-releasing the film once the situation outside becomes stable. Not only that but Tiger Shroff-Shraddha Kapoor’s action drama ‘Baaghi 3’ also lost out on good numbers in the domestic circuit as it would have crossed the Rs 100 crore milestone in a normal situation.

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Bollywood actress figure size

   Top 25 Hot Bollywood Actress With Best Body Figure 2019

Bollywood and the whole India in fact is so proud of its divas. The babes just can make your eyes forget to blink. They are pretty god gifted; no doubt about it, still maintaining such flawless compilation needs some sacrifice and hard work as well. That’s the reason the tinsel town always have a plethora of options for such beauties. Fine, now let’s have look at the babes those are ruling the contemporary era.

25. Nidhhi Agarwal

Next on our list is Nidhi Agarwal and she made her debut in Bollywood with Munna Michael in 2017. Talking about her figure, her magic numbers are 34-27-34 and in addition to this, she is 55 Kg in weight. All this makes her one of the hottest actresses in Bollywood.

24. Disha Patani

We also have Disha Patani on our list and Disha is known to be 25 years old. She started her career with Loafer in 2015 and she also worked in M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story. Apart from movies, she is often seen working in many modeling assignments and her figure is 34-25-34. She has surely got the hottest body in Bollywood.

23. Urvashi Rautela

Talking about Urvashi, she started her career with Singh Saab the Great and since then she worked on many different projects. She also got the title of Miss Universe India 2015, Miss Asian Supermodel 2011 and Miss Diva 2015. Apart from these, she received many other titles and the credit goes to her perfect figure which is 34-27-35.

22. Amy Jackson

Amy Jackson surely doesn’t need any introduction. Born and bought up in Liverpool, the actress started her career in Indian cinema with Madrasapattinam in 2010. The actress is fond of chocolates and biryani but at the same time, she is also a fitness freak.

Her figure is 32-23-35 and she is 5 feet and 7 inches tall. In addition to this, she weighs about 52 Kgs. Amy has a huge fan base in India as well as in the UK.

21. Zarine Khan

We also have Zarine Khan on our list and she is also known as little dimple girl. The actress started her career with Veer in 2010 and she also worked in a Punjabi Film called Jatt James Bond in 2014. This 28-year-old actress has a figure of 36-25-36 and she never fails to impress her audience.

20. Shruti Hassan

She is a singer and actress with good looks and a slim sexy and toned body. She made her debut as an adult, in the Bollywood movie Luck, which was a flop. Shruti Hassan later acted in commercially successful Hindi movies.In a recent poll conducted by Chennai times, she has topped the list of desirable women. She is a person with proper curves and figure and a good smile and hair

19. Kriti Sanon

Kriti Sanon,who is 26 years old and a B. Tech graduate was into modelling and then entered the Telugu film industry. Her debut film in Bollywood was Heropanti, for which she won the Filmfare award for best actress- debut. She is five feet 8 inches tall with figure measurements of 32-24-32, which easily makes her one of the sexiest actresses with a perfect figure. She is a good dancer and also knows the basics of Salsa.

18. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

AishwaryaRai is about 5 foot 7 inches tall and a slim build. She has won the Title of Miss India and Miss World and she has been able to maintain her figure by turning from flab to fab, even after Childbirth through workouts. She has appeared in many English movies as well.

17. Shilpa Shetty

Shilpa Shetty is one of the actresses who is lean, looking as gorgeous as she was or even better than how she looked in her first film Baazigar in 1993, even at this age. People admire her for her toned figure, slender waist and flawless skin. She has been able to shed her post pregnancy weight of about 20 kgs and come back to her original structure within a period of 10 months.

16. Lisa Haydon

Lisa Haydon is an Indian- Australian and has played a part in movies like Aisha, Rascal and Queen. She is a person who leans towards the western idea of beauty. Her long legs, tanned skin and athletic structure have made her the perfect choice to perform an action role in her next movie Santa Banta Pvt Ltd.

15. Bipasha Basu

Bipasha Basu is about 5 feet 8 and a half inches tall and is of a slim build. She is one of the bustiest Bollywood actresses and her figure measurements are 36-26-34. This,along with her sexy smile and beautiful eyes, have made her one of the most beautiful actresses in Bollywood, though she is 37 years old.

14. Neha Dhupia

She is an Indian actress and a former beauty queen and is known for her curvaceous appeal in Hindi movies, even at the age of 31. She went on record saying that she had been approached by an American insurance firm with an offer to insure her shapely booty. Neha Dhupia made her debut in Hindi in the film Qayamat: City under threat.

13. Esha Gupta

Esha Gupta,who made her debut in the film Jannat 2 is 5 feet 7 inches tall and has a build that suits her height. Esha is the title holder of Miss International and has a dusky complexion, which she seems to love.

12. Chitrangada Singh

Chitrangada Singh, is about 5 feet 5 inches tall and is slimly built. Her figure measurements are 34-24-36. She is the brand ambassador for many well- known brands and is also busy in Hindi movies. She has an hourglass body shape. She is aware of her assets and has the ability to flaunt it to her advantage, though she is 40.

11. Malaika Arora Khan

Malaika is one of the actresses with fittest body and she is supposed to be very particular about her fitness routines and the food she takes. She combines yoga and workout sessions at the gym to maintain her body. That is how, the 43 year old’s,  body shape is equivalent to any other young heroines in Bollywood.

10. Jacqueline Fernandez

Jacqueline Fernandez is a Srilankan beauty struggles like nothing in terms of acting, and especially while delivering the challenging bollywood lines. Still, she has handful of offers these days. Should I need to explain the reason? I don’t think so.

9. Kareena Kapoor Khan

Bebo is ever spicy. The begum used to be a chubby actress, but undoubtedly Kareena is the protagonist introducing the size zero concept in B-Town, for which every actress in the whole industry is dying for.

8. Priyanka Chopra

The big Priyanka Chopra sister is pretty confined though when it comes of body shape. I have never really seen her putting any weight. In fact, she getting faint on set news has touched my ears many times. Her flawless body is certainly a big factor in her successful global presence.

7. Nargis Fakhri

The rock star girl is a perfect eye candy in B-Town. She is yet another girl in B-town proving your flawless body is enough sometimes in getting a job. Can you believe, Nargis is thirty plus? I bet you can’t believe for some coming years as well.

6. Shraddha Kapoor

The very adorable, too sweet Shraddha undoubtedly bags full mark for her body. This Aashique girl is certainly the most talented and future female super star in B-Town. Shraddha is going to flaunt her envy making figure in some upcoming flicks like ABCD 2.

5. Alia Bhatt

Mahesh Bhatt’s darling daughter Alia’s general knowledge skills might be the most preferred fun topic in B-Town, but seriously she has got a killer body. It just gets irresistible with Alia’s never mind attitude on-screen. Kudos the way she transformed herself as well.

4. Kangana Ranaut

Queen of Bollywood is such an attention dragging diva. Very talented Kangana have always been the top preferences of a director when it is looked for an ultra glamour babe. Her talent, and mouth opener beauty has made her one of the most versatile actresses in tinsel town.

3. Deepika Padukone

The dimple beauty has the perfectly chiselled body. She is sportive, tall and has the attitude. The year 2014 era is said to be Deepika’s era, and a big credit goes to her flawless body. Well, Deepika never minds being called hot that makes her even hotter.

2. Katrina Kaif

I don’t really need to explain anything. Just go and watch out the very famous item song (perhaps the best in Bollywwod history in my view) ‘Chikni Chameli’, and you can get all your answer. However, Katrina was just unmatchable in Dhoom 3 in terms of having a perfect shape.

1. Anushka Sharma

We know bollywood babes sometimes exaggerate things when it comes about their body, but I believe Anushka really don’t get fat, no matter how much she eats. Indian Vice captain’s love interest has all qualities to claim the top spot in this line-up.

While talent is important to shine in any field, Beauty is another ingredient that is necessary to succeed in Bollywood. Only some of the actresses with a good figure have been listed above. Please comment your views 

[101percentindia]

Girl Trafficking In Hindi Cinema

My first brush with the law.

As a freelance journalist, my first and last brush with the law happened around an online article on trafficking. I had written about a wonderful documentary on women. One of the persons mentioned in the film and in my review, filed a defamation charge against the director of the film, the editors of the online magazine and against me for writing. The said person is shown approaching a police station, pretending to be a lawyer, to purportedly ‘rescue’ small girls and give them back to their ‘mothers.’ I later learnt that part of his earnings came from filiing false suits against any Tom, Dick and Harry he felt had defamed him in some way. Instead of putting me off, this incident challenged me to probe deeper into this thriving trade in human trafficking and also to find out how Hindi cinema has dealt with this serious issue.

I went deep into the economics and sociology of trafficking and the details were mind-boggling. Newspapers and magazines are rife with factual stories and case histories of real-life incidents. The human trafficking industry has a reported annual income of $8 billion, and the UN estimates that it may employ as many as 40 million women. Although human trafficking is illegal in almost every country, thousands of girls each year become sex slaves. Even when rescued by social workers, voluntary agencies and sometimes the local police, many of them go back to where they came from, mostly prostitution.

My experience of having watched umpteen films on trafficking, specifically four recent ones, shows that Indian filmmakers’ insight on the subject has evolved over the years. They have moved away from Gulzar’s Mausam, through Sagar Sarhadi’s Bazaar and T.S. Ranga Rao’s hard-hitting Giddh. They are bolder, forthright and not really bothered about what the CBFC has to say.

Related: Busting Child Prostitution In Varanasi | 101 Underground

The ugly world of bride trafficking. Image source: hindustantimes.com

Paro (2017) This short but poignant film draws attention to the illegal business of bride trafficking which goes on unabated, as there are no complaints or if there are, the police look the other way. Vijay Kumar, says he made the film based on a real-life experience, “No one calls the bride by her name because she leads an anonymous life within the family, tending to her bed-ridden husband who is unhappy about the entire situation, but helpless as his mother holds family decisions in her control. The custom of selling the girl as a bride is called Paro Pratha. What shocks is the fact that she accepts her life as a predestined reality and does not know that another kind of life exists beyond this market. She is just a commodity to be bought and sold again and again. All of them have the same name, Paro.” The film is made in Haryanvi because the story, based on true events, happens in a village near Rohtak where Vijay Kumar grew up. If a man buys a paro for Rs.50,000, he will sooner or later, try and sell her off for Rs.60,000, which brings human beings down to the economic laws of supply and demand.

Bollywood and its use of social causes. Image source: hindinews18.com

Mardaani (2014) I went with a friend to watch Mardaani not knowing what it was about but because I am a fan of Rani Mukherjee. Though the movie turned out to be a very unexpected experience. Rani as Shivani is a committed officer of the police force with a supportive husband who backs her despite odds. It’s the story of a powerful ego struggle between the police officer and the kingpin of the trafficking trade. Shivani is taken off the case but she continues to pursue it with the help of a couple of juniors.

I personally had a problem with the title of the film - Mardaani. It’s a well-known acronym for Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi and was bestowed on her because of her manly qualities. But why must a police officer be termed “mardaani”? Is she not equally trained in taking on offenders as much as her male colleagues?

Another issue for me was the climax which shows Shivani pushing the girls to punish the young ring-leader by bashing him up so badly that he lands in a wheelchair. Can, and should, a high-ranking responsible police officer allow the victims to take the law in their own hands?

I felt the director was taking his audience on a jolly ride into girl-trafficking though the motives were distanced from this social issue. They were focussed on showcasing the versatility of Rani Mukherjee as a protagonist who can carry a film without the support of a hero, pure commerce to rake in the money and enlisting itself at film festivals through the subject of trafficking.

Related: The Madam Of A Brothel Told Me, “All That Matters In Life Is Big Boobs And Long Hair.”

13-year olds forced into prostitution. Image source: thecommunityjournal.com

Lakshmi (2014) I had similar problems with the title of this film. It’s ironical because in every second Indian middle-class home, the girl is named Lakshmi, perhaps in the hope that she will augur good fortune for the family. The film is hard-hitting but after a point, it becomes too in-your-face. The process of initiating the 13-year-old girl into prostitution is graphically detailed. The brothel madam teaches her to apply some ointment before servicing her clients to ease the pain. Lakshmi is also given hormone injections to flesh out her body before time, and is repeatedly raped by the pimp Chinna (Kukunoor) because she tries to escape. I personally found the repeated violence on Lakshmi and the other girls visually repulsive and voyeuristic and felt they could have been avoided. Add to this the terribly melodramatic climax that takes away the soul of the film.

At a special screening of Lakshmi for sex workers in a red-light area in Mumbai, Kukunoor was accosted by a group of extremely overwrought sex workers who wanted to know who played the nasty pimp in the film. “Agar woh mil jaye to hum ussey aisa sabak sikhaayenge ki naani yaad aa jayegi” (If we find him, we will teach him a lesson he’ll remember). When they learned that the director himself had played the pimp, the women attacked him till he had to be whisked away. He may have begun with the right intention but did not quite expect this negative reaction.

Love Sonia - a breath of fresh air. Image source: indiawest.com

Love Sonia (2018) The latest in this line is Love Sonia, directed by US based Tabrez Noorani. It’s about a 17-year-old village girl Sonia, who is very closely bonded to her younger sister Preeti. Their world is shaken when Preeti goes missing, actually having been sold by her poverty-stricken father to flesh traders. Sonia goes looking for her and lands up in the same situation. This journey exposes the violent underpinnings of trafficking in human flesh, mainly of very young girls. It travels through the international den of trafficking and sex trade to Hong Kong and Los Angeles.

My personal grouse is with different aspects of the film - the camera focussing on the pained face of the sad father (Adil Hussain) because I feel it rings false. No father can be forgiven for selling his daughter. Scenes are very graphic and violent and many among the audience may not be able to take it. The good thing about the film is the lack of stars, except Richa Chada and Frieda Pinto (if we can call them stars). It is mainly a female dominated film with a peppering of Manoj Bajpayee who does a menacing act well.

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The question is – are such films genuine attempts to draw attention to trafficking? Or are they trying to piggyback on trafficking to gain easy access to film festivals and awards? The subject lends itself to the voyeuristic instincts of a sex-hungry audience and this can function as a temptation for a new, or a struggling filmmaker to shift focus from social responsibility to titillation and sensation, which will make a producer happy. These films offer scope for a lot of skin show, vulgar dialogues, sensual body language and doses of sex and violence. They are full Bollywood masala - vulnerable girls, shady agents, sex workers, brothel madam, pimp, muscle man, NGO worker and last but not the least, the client.

In the final analysis I feel, though we have moved away from the likes of Mausam and Bazaar, we still have a long way to go. But these recent films prove that cinema is not only for entertainment but also for information, awareness and social change.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are independent views solely of the author(s) expressed in their private capacity and do not in any way represent or reflect the views of 101India.com

By Shoma A. Chatterji Cover photo credit: washingtonpost.com