Movie Night And My Love For Tom Hiddleston

First of all I would like to apologize for how late I’m posting. I’ve been having some issues with my internet lately, and that combined with exams are annoying the Friday spirit out of me. : (

In any case, TGIF!

Since I’m posting late, I’ll tell you about my plans for the evening. It’s exam season and instead of studying I am at my parents’ place treating myself to a movie and a pizza since they will be out to dinner. With Dominoes Pizza to the rescue, the only thing I have left to worry about is which movie to watch. Now when I’m by myself, I usually enjoy watching movies I’ve already seen. I just love seeing some of my favourite actors/characters again and I love being able to predict when exactly the perfect punchline or hilarious moment will arrive. I also enjoy the process of ‘fangirling’ and ooh-ing and aah-ing over my favourite actors, especially the dashing Tom Hiddleston (he played Loki in the Avengers) or even Bradley Cooper or Ryan Gosling and who can forget Johnny Depp pf Javier Bardem? Yes, I know most of these actors listed are male, but a girl can’t help it. I do adore Scarlett Johansson, Sandra Bullock and Emma Stone, though.

Now if you’re home for a movie night, order yourself some junk food and get settled on the couch with a bunch of pillows and all your remote controls around you. The objective is NOT to get up unless you want to go to the loo, and even that is pushing it. Now I’m going to tell you about a couple of my all-time favourite movies along with movies I have recently seen that I think you should definitely check out. Of course, my tastes and yours may not exactly match, so you can always just go for your favourites instead.

My all time favourite movies include:

1. The Avengers. Action, superheroes, killer special effects and Tom Hiddleston. Need I say more? This movie is one of the best I’ve ever seen in my lifetime. An incredible star cast, a brilliant plot with good humour and some feels, The Avengers is definitely my unbeatable number one.

 

2. She’s The Man. This movie combines two of my favourite things: comedy and Shakespeare. Amanda Bynes is absolutely brilliant in the lead and god do I miss her. This movie is a modern-day version of William Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’ and will have you in splits. A must must must see.

3. The Proposal. Sandra Bullock is a wonderful actor and she proves it yet again here in her role as the Super-Bitch Boss. Yeah, I’ll admit Ryan Reynolds does nothing but stand there and look pretty, but this movie is definitely something you need to see.

 

4.Olympus Has Fallen. I just saw this movie yesterday and loved it. It’s got Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart, so it’s already a win. Again, great special effects and lots of action and not really for those who are squeamish. It’s a little too USA-centric, but then again it is an American movie and a very well made one at that.

5. Hope Springs. Starring Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones, it’s about an elderly couple who are trying to bring the magic back into their marriage. It’s sweet and quite funny, but again not for the whole family.

6. English Vinglish. So I’m now going into a couple of the Hindi movies I adore. If you haven’t seen it yet, this movie is a must watch. Sridevi has done a wonderful job as an ordinary Indian housewife who is on a journey to empower herself through finally learning English.

7. Karan Arjun. Yes this movie may be the cheesiest of all the cheeses you have had, but it’s a classic. It’s from back when Salman Khan was still tolerable and Shah Rukh Khan’s pre-plastic surgery days and is about two brothers who are reincarnated to take revenge after they were murdered in cold blood. A little unrealistic (by a little I mean a lot) but I still love the plot, the music and the sound effects that go all ‘dhishum dhishum’.

8. Taare Zameen Par. This movie is perfect if you’re looking for a good cry. One of Aamir Khan’s best movies to date, it’s about a little boy who is dyslexic and does his best to cope with the situation. He is sent to boarding school since his parents believe he’s misbehaving, but he was actually dyslexic and no one finds out until the new art teacher (Aamir Khan) recognizes the signs. A story of learning and love, my dad shed a few tears in the theater too.

9. Om Shanti Om. I actually really loved this movie. I seem to have a thing for plots that include reincarnation, and I have no idea why. It’s based in the 70s and is about how a small time actor (Shah Rukh Khan) falls for a star actress (Deepika Padukone), but ends up witnessing her murder and also getting killed in the process. He is reincarnated and becomes a top actor in the present day but is plagued with images of his previous life and starts trying to catch his lost love’s murderer. Shah Rukh Khan may also have a thing for these kind of movies actually. I really love the colours and the sets and the songs are quite lovely, even though Deepika Padukone looks like a mannequin throughout the film.

10. Delhi Belly.Words cannot describe how funny this movie is. Comedy with a serious plot and MAGNIFICENT direction. I really can’t ask for more. Add Imran Khan to the mix and you have an instant hit. I love how genuine the characters in this movie are and how realistic the situation is as compared to reincarnation and murder. A MUST watch.

So there you have it, that’s my list. Now I’m sorry if I haven’t named some of the more recent Bollywood movies, but have you seen what they come up with these days? Complete and utter, mass-produced, bullshit. What is the difference between Salman Khan’s character in ‘Dabangg’ and Ajay Devgn’s character in ‘Singham’? I’ll tell you. NOTHING. There’s no plot, no characterization and definitely no substance. What’s the similarity? They both made a shit-ton of money, which I don’t understand. I have no words. None.

In any case, I hope you check out some of the movies on my list and maybe enjoy them. Don’t forget to order that junk food though! Have a great Friday night.

Cheers! : )

Cosplay Confessions

TGIF.

Okay, so I want to start off by saying thank you to everyone who has viewed/liked/followed our blog and submitted things to us to post. We started this blog to build a community of writers and bloggers who all want to share their opinions and interests and learn a little something new about this psychotic little ball of dirt we call Earth.

I’m going to talk about a couple of things today and the first thing I want to share with you is something that is pretty close to my heart: COSPLAY.

Having originated in Japan, Cosplay is short for ‘Costume Play’ and the concept basically involves people dressing up as their favourite comic book/video game/movie/fiction characters and role-playing as them. Anyone can play any character, women can play men and vice versa and there are practically no limits to how much you can dress up. You can wear a hat to represent your character or go full-out in the costume they usually wear, but remember, the goal is to BE the character. You have to get down their walk, mannerisms and popular catchphrases.

For example Captain America right above has made a great effort to: A, source the costume and B, channel Steve Rogers for the goody-two-shoes patriot that he is. Just look at that neatly combed hair.

Sometimes you may not be able to source such a great costume, but it’s the sentiment that matters. Home-made means you really are committed, no matter the result. In fact a lot of cosplayers prefer making their own costumes as buying them from stores or online doesn’t always guarantee a great fit.

As you can probably tell I am obsessed with the Avengers, hence you’ll be seeing a lot of them on this post. Though my main object of worship happens to be Loki, I guess I can do with adding a couple of the others in.

Speaking of Loki, I think one of the best Loki cosplayers on YouTube happens to be the lovely Jenn Jones. In fact she’s one of the best cosplayers I’ve seen, hands down, even when it comes to characters other than Loki. She is the co-founder of Parle Productions, a group of cosplayers in the UK who are simply marvelous and portray several different characters in their videos on YouTube. They’re all about fun and entertainment and are such a lively bunch it makes you want to hug them all.

Now this is what Jenn looks like normally:

This is a video of her as Loki:

She has also portrayed Nick, from the videogame Left 4 Dead:

And Gambit from the X-Men comic books:

In fact the entire Parle team are extremely gifted at what they do:

Cosplaying is not just a hobby, it’s a part of our culture and somewhat quenches humanity’s thirst to be creative and showcase their talent. A lot of people argue that cosplaying is a part of theater as it involves costumes, tremendous play-acting skills and a whole lot of commitment and practice. Cosplay in India has only become popular in recent years, especially where cosplaying anime and comic book characters are concerned. You generally see a lot of cosplaying in Comic Cons around the world, some of the most popular being present at the San Diego Comic Con. However since India has begun it’s own Comic Cons in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, the scene is definitely getting popular.

I attended the Comic Con Express in Bangalore in 2012 and it was incredible to see the number of people who had turned up in costume. Some had done a fabulous job on the costumes and others not so fabulous but everyone had a really great time. Incidentally, 2012’s Bangalore Comic Con was the first annual one in the city but had the most footfalls recorded at 25,000 people.

The Joker in this image was really wonderful and kept asking strange questions and laughing like a maniac. I had goosebumps while interacting with him.

In any case he, along with Jenn, have inspired me to cosplay in this year’s Bangalore Comic Con and I seriously can’t wait. I bought a wig for a character I’m thinking about playing, but I still might change my mind and choose another character. The possibilities are endless.

I’m so sorry for the overdose of images today, but cosplay excites me so much I can’t control it! So have any of you guys cosplayed before? If not, do you think you might want to try it out this year, and if you do what character would you want to be? Do comment and let me know! I’ve found some really good DIY costume/make-up videos for you in case you’ve always harboured a little dream to be the Black Widow from the Avengers or if you have a thing for Loki {which I most certainly do).  If you want to search for other characters’ costumes, you can buy them on the internet or watch a DIY video on YouTube.

So here’s a DIY Black Widow costume:

I also have a Loki make-up tutorial (because I love him) for you which will turn the girliest of girls into the very menacing God of Mischief. I will definitely be trying this one out… once I have enough money to buy make-up. My addiction for shopping has reared its ugly head and has left me quite broke.

I wish you all the very best in your future cosplay adventures and sincerely hope you send me photos if possible of yourselves in costume. If you’re thinking about attending the Bangalore Comic Con Express this year, please do come because I’ll definitely be there and we can hang out and take pictures and stuff. Remember, “All the world’s a stage…”

*Credits for the photos of Parle Productions and Jenn Jones go to their respective owners. Thanks so much. You guys really are lovely.

*All photos (other than the one of myself in the white wig) don’t belong to me. Credit to the photographers. : )