cinematic corner.

* there are going to be many puns in this post. It's just a happy coincidence of the very unique movie/photos/news items combination that happened this week
* I'm not going to address the painful news - to any movie fan - we got this week. So many of you wrote thoughtful and meaningful posts about that. RF is a place of joy and pure fangirlism where you get to catch up on some latest news and marvel at my rapid collapse of sanity and the climb on the geek mountain. This is a place of happiness. And today - of even more blatant than usual dick innuendos.

oh...my...God. Are, are you kidding?

I saw 44 Inch Chest. I understood maybe 70% of the movie but ooh my God. look at him in that suit. That's like...art. I mean...porn.

It was kinda a cool movie - Ray Winstone's wife cheated on him so his gangster friends kidnapped her lover and put him a wardrobe and discuss what to do with him. The whole movie is set in one house and it also features Ian McShane, John Hurt and Tom Wilkinson. It was quite surreal at times but the actors were fantastic.

There was also so much swearing. Also Stephen said stuff like '69' and a whole lot of F-word variations. Yet again my survival is baffling.

At one point he was the sexy chauffeur. I can't even. I can't.

There was this really funny scene in which Tom Wilkinson was describing Winstone's dreams to Stephen and Stephen's bafflement was so precious.

Tonight I'm gonna be watching Savage Grace, which I heard is no good but it features Dillane's full frontal nudity. And I had a long and hard week.

One more time, let's give it up for Chris Pratt:

Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately we don't have any new Leo, Interrupted photos this week but oh, oh, we have this:

There's more:

That's a long shotgun.

....

Fine, fine. Let's class it up. A bit.

I finally started watching Orange is the New Black. It's pretty good, but I thought it was going to be a bit funnier. It's still a very clever show and the characters are so vivid. My favorites are Red, Morello and Crazy Eyes. Alex kinda pisses me off, I guess it's because the actress usually plays those pretentious types and I associate this with her. And the main chick is kinda...meh, but she has her moments. I always feel so bad for Jason Biggs's characters. I think his situation here beats dating Cristina Ricci in Anything Else. Bitches everywhere, man.

Check out new EW cover featuring Amy and Nick Dunne's wedding picture. It's nice but what the hell did they do to Rosamund's teeth? It's like with Ross in that Friends episode he left the whitening gel for too long. Hopefully we'll get a new poster soon, please just one good poster for this movie. That's all I want.

EW also released another, quite horrific version of this photo along with a new look at Matthew and Anne Hathaway in Interstellar.

I'm rewatching Sex and the City (yes, along with Ally McBeal and Shameless). It's the best. Also isn't Steve the cutest? Miranda is kinda a bitch. I mean she is a cool character on her own but when she is in a relationship....I hate when women emasculate men and don't let them be romantic or sweet or supportive. Miranda is the kind of a person who would go on 10 minute rant that she is a successful strong woman if a man bought her flowers because how dare he do something like that. I just don't get that kind of behavior. Women can be successful and strong and still let their men spoil them. They don't exclusively have to be vicious bitches who hate spooning. Who the fuck hates spooning?

Anyways Samantha is always the best:

I was going to see Noah this weekend but then the weekend got away from me. I may catch it this week, because I plan on watching at least one movie per week (which doesn't include Stephen, to maintain some pretense of sanity, oh who am I kidding?), I do most of my studying at work so basically after 8h of work and studying (seriously I don't even stop when I eat) I just come home and collapse in front of the screen while Gustav jumps on me and demands more food.

I have so much to catch up on including 2 months worth of Conan episodes. I should probably stop sleeping altogether. Yet again.

I finished Dark Places. Overall it's a great book, terrific atmosphere but the final reveals and the finale...let's say one of the reveals was cool but the answer to the whole mystery felt like deus ex machina and it was a let down. Also the whole finale was a bit cliche - you know - heroine is hiding, bad guys chase her. But overall the book was definitely worth reading. I'm already midway Sharp Objects and it's so disturbing. Gillian Flynn is really a fascinating writer.

I haven't written about American Horror Story upcoming new season Freak Show for a while and there are so many exciting news there - Neil Patrick Harris is rumoured to be in the show, Wes Bentley joined the cast and John Carrol Lynch is playing the killer clown. Also Jyoti Amge, the world's smallest woman (2 ft 0.6 in) has joined the cast. Here she is with Jessica Lange, who looks stinkingly young here. Except for the hands. I'm not gonna sit here and pretend they are not scary.

Fisti reviews Guardians of the Galaxy and he tells the Avengers to suck it. Chris Evans is coming to grab you, man.

Brittani catches us up on True Blood. Apparently Jason is tied up in a dungeon. What else is new?

Angela wrote a beautiful review for Under the Skin

Ruth reviews Zodiac

m.brown writes about Philadelphia

Irene reviews The Hunt

Alex wrote a beautiful post after hearing of Robin Williams' passing

So apparently Chris Evans likes to do this thing. Enter tumblr:

RELATED POSTS:

Brilliant Alex who runs terrific And So it Begins has this fabulous series where he writes about things he loves in movies that no one seems to be talking about. Alex has kindly let me borrow this idea for my today's post which is the first one in the David Fincher event I'm organizing here on the site in anticipation for Gone Girl. Over the next two months most of the posts on the site - soundtrack Wednesdays, scenes of the week and performances I love - will be all about Fincher's previous movies.

Today I'm focusing on his most recent film, fantastic Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I love this movie and Rooney Mara's performance as Lisbeth is my win that year. I'm still hoping we'll see the sequels one day, but in the meantime let's focus on the brilliant things in the movie that I love:

1. The film barely starts and look who it is. Maester Luwin from Game of Thrones.

2. The cold open. It's short but it's brilliant.

3. The opening credits - surreal, frantic and violent set to Karen O's fantastic cover of Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song which was a genius choice of a song.

4. Mikael buying a pack of smokes and a lighter, having one drag and then throwing everything away. As a smoker I always notice a waste like this. But later it's clear his girlfriend doesn't want him to smoke so this is Mikael making sure he won't - he really needs a cigarette but he also doesn't want to slip too bad. Also the thing I like in this movie - that people actually smoke in it. Nowadays if they show characters drinking in every scene or smoking weed it's all good but God forbid someone lights up a cigarette. Oh, no, that's awful! I swear people had less problem with Walter White cooking meth than with any character in movies/TV nowadays who smokes.

5. This badass image:

6. The introduction of Lisbeth, it's just brilliant.

7. Goran Visnjic's hilarious moment of utter horror after Lisbeth remarks how Mikael doesn't perform oral sex on his girlfriend often enough.

8. The fact that the names in the story and the location weren't changed to please American audience.

9. Christopher Plummer's words about his family. We don't see enough of them to know they are all awful in the movie, but his conviction sells it.

10. This little moment of homage as Trent Reznor, the leader of NIN is a part of the duo that composed the music for the movie. Also? It's ser Dontos from Game of Thrones wearing the shirt.

11. The warm cinematography in flashbacks and the cold atmosphere of the present scenes.

12. Lisbeth scratching the price tag off the gift. It's such a small detail but yet another one that grounds the movie in reality.

13. Mikael buying the cat food for his new friend. He is such a sweet guy.

14.The book Mikael is about to burn deals, among other things, with differences between men and women, one of the big themes of the film

15. The shot of Lisbebth looking so helpless as she leaves the hospital where her caretaker is.

16. The cat cuddling to Mikael on the pillow. This is what Gustav does.

17. How insanely blue Daniel Craig's eyes are in this movie. Also - it's the only film in which I find him attractive.

18. Lisbeth taking care of her friend. She isn't a sociopath. She cares about those who deserve it.

19. The frantic fight at the subway station. It's insane.

20. Normally that scene would be uncomfortable to watch but the way Fincher shoots it makes it downright unbearable to look at.

21. The shocking shot of Lisbeth limping on her way home.

22. Camera showing us what Bjurman wrote on the check. It's sickening.

23. The fact that it is in this moment we see her tattoo for the first time. It's been born out of pain. Another thing - most of the bruises are real - the rape scene took so much time to shoot and so much repetition Mara actually got this bruised during all of this. The actor who played the rapist locked himself in a room after shooting it and spent a whole day crying.

24. The famous upside down shot of Lisbeth. You just know she is planning her revenge.

25.When tattoo artist tells Lisbeth it's going to hurt she just shrugs. She's beyond pain.

26. One of the most satisfying revenge shots in recent memory:

27. 'She's had a rough life. Let's not make it rougher". I love that in a movie filled with awful men there are good guys too.

28. Lisbeth's shirt. It's perfect.

29. This exchange. Mikael is actually slightly disgusted Lisbeth would think he would hurt her.

30. The fact Mikael actually brought her breakfast.

31. This exchange- whenever I think of this movie I think of this scene. Mikael's respectful way of speaking to Lisbeth and her sudden interest and light in her eyes as she hears his proposal.

32. Lisbeth taking the file and then dropping it on the desk because she already remembers everything Mikael told her. David Fincher said Rooney Mara used to do this to him with his notes.

33. This little moment of humor:

34. This exchange. You just know Lisbeth had to answer this question many times before. Just another detail to make her into more realistic character you can feel it's human as opposed to someone fake.

35. Lisbeth being herself and Mikael being amused by it:

36. The scene were Lisbeth shares her findings with increasingly confused and horrified Mikael.

37. The cute way in which Lisbeth is annoyed with Mikael's clumsinesses:

38. Mikael reaction to what was done to the cat. In the movie where one character is unmoved by all the horrific stuff it's good to have a character that shows normal reaction to cruelty.

39. James Bond, ladies and gentlemen:

40. The lead up to the sex scene:

41. And the lovely passionate sex scene set to gorgeous What if we Could?

42.Mikael being utterly fascinated by Lisbeth:

43 Lisbeth making Mikael breakfast in the morning:

44. And this exchange:

45. Martin's clinical torture room. What a horrible place to die in.

46. The cute way in which Lisbeth says 'hey, hey'.

47. Orinoco flow by Enya. Apparently Daniel Craig said that the first thing that plays on his ipod should be used as a song in the scene, he hit play and there it was, accompanied by laughter of the cast and crew.

48. This. You gotta love how brazen Fincher is. He casts Stellan Skarsgård, the guy who usually plays creepy, as a killer, almost pointing out to the fact that it's not who committed the crimes that matters, but the whole investigation is the focus of the film. But he does more - early in the movie while Mikael is having dinner at Martin's house there is a noise. Martin claims that it's wind but given what we find out later it's clear it was one of his victims screaming. I think it would work even better without him later admitting he had a girl in his torture room during the dinner, but it's still a brilliant little touch.

49. The horrific shot of a plastic bag over Mikael's head, shot from his perspective.

50. This line from Martin. He genuinely doesn't know what to do.

51. This great shot of Lisbeth sneaking in as Orinoco Flow is still playing:

52. So many people misinterpret this scene. They claim it's as if Lisbeth was giving away a piece of her independence here, asking Mikael for permission. But she is not asking for a permission to kill, she is asking for a permission to take this revenge from Mikael. Martin hurt him, it's his case and she respects that. She takes vengeance very seriously.

53. This fantastic shot:

54. Mikael not pressing on Lisbeth for information and respecting her privacy. And keep in mind he's a journalist.

55. The code word. It's awesome.

56. Put your hand back in my shirt.

57. Someone saved me too.

58. The scene in which Lisbeth asks Mikael for money. She only needs to ask once. He says yes, without asking what it's for or giving her any hard time. He trusts her. Lisbeth almost cannot believe his kindness after everything she has been through in the past.

59. Even when she wants to blend in, Lisbeth stands out.

60. The quick moment of Lisbeth wiping her lipstick off the cup. She leaves no trace behind.

61. This mirror shot:

62. The girlish smile Lisbeth has on her face after Mikael tells her she looks nice. She is tough but she can be innocent and sweet too. It's what I love so much about this movie and one of the many reasons it's so much better than the Swedish version - Lisbeth is so much more layered and complex in it.

63. The film's fantastic ending, also accompanied by What if we Could? Lisbeth seeing Mikael with his girlfriend and going from hurt to putting on her armor of indifference again and tossing his Christmas gift. Mara's performance is amazing - I love those moments were actors capture so much without saying a single word. It's such a sad, beautiful and yes, empowering moment in the movie.

When people talk about Morgan Freeman nowadays they tend to talk about how his laziness is almost up there on the levels of tardiness depicted by Johnny Depp's recent professional behaviour which is quite frankly embarrassing to witness. They talk how he stumbled from the set of Transcendence right to the set of Lucy without so much noticing the difference, or at least so it looks judging by the quality of his performances and the level of interest he seems to have in the projects. And when people talk of David Fincher's Se7en they always, always sing praises for Kevin Spacey, hailing his John Doe as one of the most memorable cinematic killers and nominating his performance left and right, completely ignoring everyone else who is in this movie. Let's break these two patterns, shall we?

Morgan Freeman's performance in Se7en is my win for best supporting actor in 1995 and I don't think I'd even nominate Spacey, as good as he was. For me the very reveal of John Doe is a dangerous thing - the scale of his genius and the character of his crimes bordering on somewhat supernatural persists the entire movie, the very reveal of him being just an ordinary human being, as crazy and as right (you cannot help but agree with him a little when he talks about people abusing themselves with sin) as he is was always going to be a tad disappointing.

I'm not saying they should have gone the supernatural way - I'm saying had they didn't reveal him it all, we would be getting a different movie but the mystery of it all would be just mesmerizing. An angel of the Lord, actual one, being a possibility of the force punishing the sinners is a tad more scary than just a regular psycho. And that's what I always saw Doe as - not some great killer in the end, but just one of the ordinary psychos, a thought which I assume, along with his anonymity adds to the terror of the movie. Ordinary people can be psychotic, dangerous. The very fact that he doesn't even have a name and is called John Doe, a name used for the people with unknown identity, is to suggest there are people like that out there, ready to snap at any moment.

"If we catch John Doe and he turns out to be the devil, I mean if he's Satan himself, that might live up to our expectations, but he's not the devil. He's just a man."

There's something extraordinary about John, though. Patience. And a patient person is always the most dangerous one.

There is so much evil in this world and it's so hard to portray a character on screen who is good and not boring. When there is a wise cracking cop looking like Brad Pitt and evil killer murdering people in truly inventive ways, it's even more impressive that the character I consider the most fascinating and the one that stands out the most is Somerset - the good guy.

He's a tired detective who cannot wait to retire but you can see his good soul every step of the way. He wants to give up, he wants to stop chasing the evil, but he can't. It's who he is. And he hates it. He is still horrified by the evil of the world and while most would become bitter, jaded or indifferent when we meet Somerset, years after he first saw a crime, he still is the only one who asks if the child saw the murder happen. Because those kinds of questions should be asked and those things should matter yet for so few, if any at all, they do.

The tragedy of Somerset is that he knows better than others. Mills is still naive and idealistic but Somerset has seen too much. World is an evil place where so much of it is senseless, relentless. And after years of fighting he finally wants peace, even though he'll never have it - the chase never ends and after one crime there comes the other. It's particularly saddening that he is alone, but it only shows just how full of conviction he is - he could have had a child once, but knowing the world the way he does he had no heart to bring it here.

Fincher's ending is so dark - there Somerset is again, witnessing all this evil being left the last guy standing in this awful world. And then there goes that quote which is so different from all that we had seen that the jarring transition actually makes it hopeful - the world may be bad, but there may be good people in it too. Apparently the ending narration of Somerset quoting Ernest Hemingway was an added compromise that neither David Fincher or Morgan Freeman particularly cared for. The decision came from New Line after poor test screenings regarding the dark ending. I myself liked that ending - there is dark and there is too dark and ending without that quote would just be depressing and not very respectful of the fact there were good people in the movie and mere existence of them shows there is good out there and prevents evil from triumphing completely.

Fincher's use of think first, do later stoic Somerset in the movie iss as everything in this film used to perfection in the finale where for the first time in his entire service he has to shoot a gun - a warning shot - and he actually slaps Doe as he reveals the horrible truth to Mills. Fincher has such a control over his material and even when you think the characters are cliché the actors really do something spectacular with them. To this day I cannot decide whether Pitt's screams and agony right before he shoots Doe are a truly wonderful or truly atrocious acting. But I sure as shit will never forget that moment or forget the look on his face.

As for Freeman he is just so splendidly cast here. It's just so easy to buy him as a good, experienced, knowledgeable cop. And he really does wonders showing how one week of a job, one case, can shock even his character. What I also liked was that Somerset is not too quick to label Doe - while Mills rants about Doe being crazy Somerset actually listens to what he has to say. Here is a man who respects the evil he fights. He knows you can never underestimate it or simply write it off as something you have figured out.

Good guys like that in his movies is one of the most curious things about Fincher's films - Freeman in Se7en, Charles Dance in Alien 3, Forest Whitaker in Panic Room, Andrew Garfield in The Social Network, Daniel Craig in the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Brad Pitt in the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Edwards in Zodiac. Fincher gave us so many incredible villains but he can do the polar opposite too.Just as well. And how often is it in cinema that it's the hero who is the most memorable not the villain?

Now, on to the box scene (I do realize I could make another post on that but let's just make this one Se7en themed) - I noticed something recently and figured I'll share. Early in the movie there is a shot of Tracy looking at David and look at how she is framed:

The whole ending sequence in the movie is just timeless. It's like with the ending of Rosemary's Baby when some people claim they saw the baby. Hell, some claim they saw the baby's eyes and actually attempt to describe them. You see none of those things but the sequence is so well directed after seeing the film you are swearing you saw something that was never there on screen.

The box scene uses trickery too. And the morbid, horrible power of suggestion. You can see blood on the inside of the box and few hair moved by the wind. But as Brad Pitt is going through hell, there is a very quick shot of Tracy:

No, it doesn't seem to be the inside of the box, lack of blood being the giveaway. But after seeing the film people will tell you that we saw Tracy's severed head.

Years later even.

They'll tell you there was even a scene with Paltrow opening the door and Spacey standing in front of her.

How many directors nowadays can put things in our head that we never actually saw in the movie?

(Gone Girl teaser - you'll see impressive example of patience in that one. And a box too.)

PREVIOUSLY IN THE SERIES:

* in the most shocking twist of your lives this is not a reference to Stephen's full frontal nudity in Savage Grace.

I can't. I can't.

*incoherent inhuman fangirl noises* *space dolphin communication*

Wait. This is actually better than the unicorn. On a double rainbow. A unicorn running on a double rainbow. While dozens of baby unicorns fall from the sky on tiny parachutes. (I'm really not high right now, I just really, really, really love love love Stephen)

And it's even more rare that that. This photo is as rare of a gem as RF without inappropriate comments. It's a freaking miracle. If Jesus came down on Earth I'd be less surprised than I am by this picture. And I'm not even Catholic.

Look how hot and scruffy too.

I just cannot believe we finally have a picture of Stephen while filming Thrones - well not filming it per se, just at the time of filming of season 5. I'm actually glad no one took a pic while he was in costume because when I saw the above photo I just sat in front of the screen nodding and sighing, thanking the gods for creating him and as a result I was almost late for work (how am I not employee of the month yet?). Show me him in armor and I'm catatonic for a week.

What's even more unbelievable is that he is socializing. And smiling. *breathes into a paper bag*

Why the fuck did I become a lawyer I should have been a waitress in Belfast.

Good lord, he's already so scruffy. Will it become scruffier? Ah, the mystery. He just gets hotter and hotter season after season. At this rate if Stannis is gonna make it till the last season I'm not gonna - I will spontaneously combust one of these days while staring at him.

This picture is so much gold. John Bradley looks so lost and obviously there is Harington so it means it's hilarious by default but there are at least 3 awesome things here. First of all, look at his hair. I think he is trying to be more manly. By wearing a ponytail. So yeah he is failing. Second of all, any attempts are just so sad because hey, Kit, there's One True King in the photo with you. Also Thorne is there and he is badass. But the best part, good God, he cannot even figure out where to look. Everyone is looking at the camera, even Stephen who probably lives in a cave (in Sexual Paradise) or an abandoned lighthouse (in Sexual Paradise) but not Kit. No, not Kit. Kit is gonna look AT THE WALL.

If he gets any more helpless he is just gonna start randomly falling on the ground. In slight slow motion. Like Gustav when we walk inside the house and he suddenly sees a bike, gets startled, falls down and looks at me to pick him up:

Seriously.

Oh Kit, that ponytail so isn't going to help.

So I was rewatching Sex and the City and this happened:

Naturally I repurposed my gifs and made this set:

*nods aggressively* *makes a lot of indecent noises*

I think he should publicly apologize for ruining all other men for me.

Stephen Dillane fandom is a very starved group. He doesn't give many interviews, he doesn't do promo tours, there are barely any pics of him outside of the set, hell, even on the set. We got what 5 promo pics last season? We see a tweet that he is riding trains and we go insane. And then the first pic like this shows up and it's escalation. Long story short this ice bucket thing made its way to GoT cast...

...so now, naturally, we want, we really really want wet shirtless Stephen.

I haven't even talked about Savage Grace. I only saw bits and pieces of it so far and it looks so bad but the full frontal...I think I'm about to pass out.

Lovely Elina of Films and Coke is my star this week:

That's right. She watched it. She liked it. She saw that sex scene. She witnessed the divine.

So they released those portraits of the characters in season 4. Obviously Stannis is not there because I cannot have nice things. What the fuck with all the Melisandre focus on promo material. If Stannis was a hot girl he'd be there instead of her. But, no, no, why give Sati nice things to look at.

Meanwhile, in Belfast Roose Bolton, Littlefinger and Varys are enjoying ice cream (and they look seriously high) and Sansa, Roose and Theon attended the Killers concert. Roose is very hip, apparently.

There's this gem on Playlist. I laughed so hard I almost cried - "I don’t think (graphic scenes) have ever been without any purpose"; "Dan and Dave are two very sober, thoughtful men.". What's next? Are they are going to tell us cutting Arianne Martell out of the show is 'empowering'? Cause that's seems like the ludicrous thing they'd say.

It looks like Chris Martin has seriously unfortunate taste. Years being married to Gwyneth Paltrow, whose disconnect from the actual real world borders on some sci-fi concept of alien coming over to Earth from her home planet of doing nothing and acting pompous and wiping your ass with money to live among us and marvel at the peasants who actually work for a living while she hosts garden parties and makes pizzas outside in some fancy ovens and wonders how on Earth people can work 8 hours a day and eat actual food instead of whatever that birdfeed crap she eats is. Unbelievably, or perhaps amazingly, now he actually found someone worse. Yes, he is dating JLaw. Chris, you're British. How dare you. You people are supposed to have class. She's gonna puke on you, man.

On a related note, do you guys think if Gwyneth and Blake Lively were in one room the world would explode due to so much of deluded self-importance based on meaningless crap? I think so. It's not gonna be the rapture or plague, it's gonna be this. The end of all things.

Rumor has it that JLaw may be in Quentin Tarantino's new movie. Et tu, Quentin?

With each clip I see from Doctor Who it looks more and more as if it was simply Malcolm Tucker in space, so I'm delighted.

Back to the ice bucket challenge, this week Tom Hiddleston attempted to kill the entire womankind:

I'm gonna rant about Sex and the City now. I'm at this point where Aidan took Carrie back. You know, they should be together because they are both so selfish. I'd dump Aidan right there when he went all 'you smoke?!' on their first date when Carrie lit a cigarette. His outrage was so bad as if she stabbed a puppy in front of him. What the fuck. A person shouldn't stop smoking because some guy doesn't like it, it's your own personal choice. Carrie, as she does all for dick, of course did. And then it gets hilarious - she is dating him, then she fucks Big for three weeks, Aidan leaves her when she tells him, then after some time she figures she wants him again (after he lost some weight and cut his hair and became an owner of a bar btw), yells in front of his window at night that she misses him, he takes her back (have some pride, my God, man) and then she invites Big over to Aidan's country house and then she pukes when she is snooping around his stuff and finds an engagement ring from him, complains about how ugly the ring is to her friends and then says yes to him while he proposes in the street (what the fuck) obviously after buying her clearly a much more expensive ring, but then obviously she changes her mind and leaves him again. Oh my God. And she's not even the worst person on the show! Charlotte can't get pregnant and Miranda got knocked up by Steve completely by accident and then Charlotte goes 'How could you do that to me?'. Jesus, I'd slap that spoiled bitch right there.

Anyways, the show is so insightful and funny I still love it. Even though it has things I hate the most - entitled bitches who emasculate men and men who judge women for what they do even though it's none of their fucking business.

Ladies and gentlemen, Shower Thoughts with Nick Offerman.

This week I experienced that moment when you’re reading Gillian Flynn’s noveland she throws in a paragraph about farm animals that makes you want to have a lobotomy just so you could forget you read that. Good Lord. It was in Sharp Objects which is full of moments like that - suddenly there is a paragraph about something and it's so messed up. The book was really fantastic, though, although I wish the main guy was a bigger man in the end. The heroine of the story was probably the first truly good person among Flynn's heroines. I cannot wait for the adaptation of this one, which is rumoured to be a TV series. It's gonna be like darker, gorier, more complex Twin Peaks.

I'm gonna see Magic in the Moonlight this weekend. Did you guys see it? Is it good? Is Colin Firth at least shirtless in it?

I saw Director's Cut of Zodiac. It didn't make me like the movie more. It's a great film, but the third act is, for me, much worse than the first 2/3 of the movie. I was gonna write more about it here but it quickly turned into 'Se7en vs Zodiac' rant so expect my article on that next week in another installment of David Fincher Blog Event.

Hey, speaking of Blog Events I'm gonna be a part of Fisti's Twice a Best Actress blogathon. That's right. Me, a person who sees maybe 6 movies a month, most featuring Stephen, has roughly, what 20? 25? movies to watch now. Well, this will be interesting.

This week was weird. On one hand they renewed my contract so it means I'm gonna continue to have money to buy myself cute outfits and treats for Gustav. But the other thing is that my 25th birthday is coming up and the department of health figured it's appropriate to send me the info on all the tests women should start doing once they turn 25. 'Happy Birthday, may we have a piece of your uterus tissue?' - I'm paraphrasing but that was the gist of it. My reaction:

Josh writes about Emma Stone in Magic in the Moonlight

Alex writes about his upcoming movie Wait

Dan reviews Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Irene reviews Fincher's Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

MettelRay reviews Guardians of the Galaxy

Ruth shares some tracks from Tron: Legacy OST which was so brilliantly used in GoT season 3 trailer - 1:09. All other men - ruined.

RELATED POSTS:

Zodiac and Se7en. On paper they should be very similar - they both deal with the hunt for a monster - enigmatic, evil man killing innocent people. They both have good characters chasing after the bad guy. Finally they are both directed by David Fincher. But although so similar on the surface, and sharing so many visual similarities, they are completely different. And completely unequal.

I view Fincher's work in 3 separate phases. There is Alien 3, Se7en, Fight Club and The Game - the ones where somehow it was the characters and the story that felt at the core of the film and that was it, no distractions, no tricks (yes, even Alien 3 as I try to view this film the way Fincher wanted it to be made, before the studio started meddling in. While an awful movie, it is most certainly daring). Then there is Panic Room and the subsequent films - where very noticeably, as great as most of these films are, there was a little bit too much of over-stylization, gimmickry, strange camera movements. The visual side was beginning to be distracting - granted, we also had a lot of various stylistic maneuvers in Fight Club, but there the story was brilliant. In Panic Room, a movie with half assed plot, dumb characters and no tension whatsoever made the visual side very noticeable and distracting. Then we had The Social Network - while a terrific modern movie, certainly not the kind of a Fincher's style you saw in Se7en and Fight Club, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo where I thought Fincher was finally close to finding the right balance between the substance and the style.

The third phase is just one movie that happened somewhere in the phase 2 - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - a stunning epic which doesn't fit the rest of Fincher's body of work. I still cannot believe it's his film.

For me Se7en and Zodiac are both part of a different eras in Fincher's film making career - Se7en is more alive, Zodiac is more raw. Se7en is more evocative, Zodiac takes its time and moves at a very steady, sometimes slow, pace. Se7en is sizzling with energy, Zodiac is almost like watching a chronicle. And I always preferred the former - give me wild over steady, especially when we are dealing with a film talking about how primal and cruel people can be.

As much as I love Fincher's current movie making style - there is really no one like him out there and his films, made with surgeon's precision and created with elegant, cold style are truly one of a kind - I'll always miss that frantic quality his first movies had - nothing really comes close in his recent films to the feverish chase in the building and then out in the rain in Se7en, Michael Douglas discovering the strange, painted glowing room in The Game or, yes, the Xenomorph creeping next to Ripley which is probably one of the most iconic moments in the entire Alien franchise. Hell, I'd argue even Marla walking in the room and blowing cigarette smoke has more honest energy about it than majority of scenes in Fincher movies lately.

I still love them, but in The Social Network and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo everything is so measured, so perfectly planned. With his first movies Fincher didn't seem to care this much about perfection and the results were much more spontaneous. It's almost as if two different people made those movies - there are similarities but they are so different. Just like Zodiac and Se7en.

Se7en is a tale of two detectives chasing a mysterious serial killer who kills his victims according to seven deadly sins. It's a very straightforward story - few main characters, set in fictional city, set during 7 days time, simple, but timeless. I'm fairly confident in making the following statement - every single crime thriller about cops chasing killers that was made after Se7en, used it as its inspiration. The film is almost 20 years old and it doesn't feel outdated at all. John Doe's crimes are still horrific, we atill root for Somerseet and Mills no matter how many times we rewatch the movie and we still cannot believe that ending.

Zodiac is a film of much greater ambition and much grander scale but for me that never automatically meant that the film is better. I judge the movie on two things - how impressed I am when I watch it and how often do I want to rewatch it. I've seen Se7en dozens of times, Zodiac - 3. It has nothing to do with the film's length - I was never impressed upon the first viewing and the subsequent ones did not help. I saw Zodiac in theater back when it was released in 2007 and I barely remember that experience. I saw Se7en for the first time when I was 12 years old -13 years ago - and I still remember that. VHS tape with the movie, recorded from when it was on TV, borrowed from my favorite cousin who used to have the poster from the movie hanging on her wall. And I ate strawberries during watching it. I tend to remember a lot of details from the times I watched my favorite films.

When it comes to Zodiac, yes, the acting is good. Yes, the execution is very clever. But the film is riddled with flaws.

In Se7en I see only one - I always thought the film's conclusion was too neat and easy. Tying everything up, in admirably cruel and dark way, but still, way too neat. So Doe's grand plan ends with some detective? If at least he would have targeted Somerset, a man of intelligence and experience, but all of this, the grand finale, just to humble an arrogant young cop?

In Zodiac the biggest flaw was the focus on the movie - some people may like innocent, boring Graysmith, a guy without a single ounce of charisma, but I do not. Whenever I saw this movie I had this felling I couldn't shake off that had anyone else, literally anyone - Robert Downey Jr's drunken journalist, Chloe Sevigny's unhappy wife, Zodiac himself or either of the detectives - driven Toschi or sweet Armstrong - been the protagonist of the movie the film would be so much better. I get what they tried to do - show how innocent Graysmith loses this innocence and dark obsession takes its place. But I didn't think the movie's script did the film justice in this regard nor did it give Gyllenhaal much to work with, The third act of the film is when it always loses me - where all those wonderful characters are sidetracked and we watch wet Gyllenhaal wander around, read stuff, being obnoxious. I just didn't give a damn.

It's basically this guy trying to figure out the killer's identity for the last 40 minutes of the film. But the problem is that we know who Zodiac is - at least for me it was clear, given the way Fincher and wonderful John Carrol Lynch handled that interrogation scene. I don't care if he really was the Zodiac - in the context of the movie he sure as shit was.

I also always found the way Fincher made this movie too neat and without focus. If you want to do character study that's great. but pick a damn character and stick with it. Graysmith, a protagonist in 160-minute long movie, ended up being as bland as he was in the beginning. As for everyone else, there was never enough of them to give you the proper look inside these people's minds. So the film fails here. It also fails as a story of a killer - introducing copy cats, taking the focus away from the characters for way too long. Hell, maybe they didn't even want to make this movie about the killer, but about paranoia - some of the best scenes in the movie are those where you can clearly see that Zodiac essentially held San Francisco hostage with his threats. But the focus shifts all the time and the film feels incomplete.

There is always a rivalry when it comes to the films made by the same director - which one is the best? One of the strangest claims to me is that Zodiac is in any way superior to Se7en. It's stylish, it's admirable and it's well done, but third time still wasn't the charm for me.

I was initially just going to write this article but as I was picking the screenshots it just became too tempting to point out the similarities. It's not this hard to do here as the films are both directed by Fincher, but the approach to the story was so different I was quite surprised I managed to find this many.

This may be the first blogathon ever that as soon as I saw it I knew I needed to be a part of it. I actually tweeted Mettel to pick me as the next participant, so thank you so much for doing that!

I do realize this is not a blogathon about being a fangirl but I'm gonna make my post about that. Because other than gorgeous, each and every one of these actors is very talented too. So everyone's happy. Am I right, ladies?

(also apparently you can feature actresses too, but come on, I could barely manage to limit the list to 10)

You know, fangirls always seem to be criticized but why? What's wrong with adoring an actor? What's wrong in seeing everything with your favorite, even only if just to see him? In my case this actually led me to find and watch some movies I'd never even hear of if it wasn't for my quest to see my favorites in everything they did. So you may look down on fangirls, but I saw Dark Harbor, Dirty Filthy Love and Fugitive Pieces, some of the most beautiful and fantastic films I've seen. And you? Well, you, most likely, didn't.

And you shall never know the joy of loving Stannis Baratheon and seeing him save the day and those dumbasses in the North.

So join me in the happiest post in the history of this site (until the usual pervy parade on Friday) and take a look at 10 actors I would - and most likely did - watch in anything:

Honorable mentions and the numbers of films I've seen with them:

Ralph Fiennes - 22
Lee Pace - 14
Mads Mikkelsen - 8
Jason Statham - 24
Richard Armitage - 7

10. Alan Rickman

I adore Alan Rickman, then again what woman, after seeing Sense and Sensibility, doesn't. I saw a whole lot of movies with him including some excellent ones that are little known like Dark Harbor, Closet Land and Snow Cake. I still think he should have been at the very least nominated for major awards for his outstanding work in the last Harry Potter movie, where in such short time he managed to do so much. He is one of those actors who can do both drama and comedy extremely well and while some of his movies aren't this great it's always magnificent to hear that voice.

Role that made me a fangirl - Colonel Brandon, Sense and Sensibility
Number of movies/TV shows I saw with him in them:34
Hottest in: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 1 and 2
Best film: Love Actually
Worst film: Nobel Son

9. Michael Fassbender

While my love for Fassy has been almost extinguished with his lazy performance and the awful way he looked in The Counselor (Jesus Christ, moisturize, man), I did see a lot of movies for this guy. And he is certainly versatile - there is this super cute movie where he plays a guy taking care of a bear (no, not Shame, sorry, couldn't help myself) and then there is another movie where he plays a guy who suffocates women with stockings. He also continuously dies in his films about which I naturally wrote a whole article. Something you may not know - Fassy was actually in a supernatural show called Hex which is not great but his character there was superhot. If I remember correctly a woman actually died while fucking him.

Role that made me a fangirl - Archie Hicox, Inglorious Basterds
Number of movies/TV shows I saw with him in them:24
Hottest in: X Men: First Class
Best film: Shame
Worst film: Jonah Hex

8. Robert Downey Jr.

I've been his fan for over a decade now, ever since I saw 4th season of Ally McBeal (if you don't think your heart may bursts out of your chest, while he sings Every breath You Take on Ally birthday's, there is something seriously wrong with you). I think Robert is one of the most inspirational people in the world - 20 years of being addicted not just to drugs but also to booze and he completely recovered. To kick one addiction is impressive enough, to kick two? And to completely turn his life around? This guy once shat in his co-star trailer, now he is throwing roses off stage at Comic Con. I wish he was in more ambitious projects but if anyone deserves to just make cash and have good time doing various sequels, prequels and franchises it's him. Him, not you, Johnny Depp.

Role that made me a fangirl - Larry Paul, Ally McBeal
Number of movies/TV shows I saw with him in them: 27
Hottest in: Sherlock Holmes
Best film: Natural Born Killers
Worst film: Two Girls and a Guy

7. Tom Hiddleston

Ah, Hiddles. The youngest in the bunch since he is 33 (there is something really, really wrong with me but I don't care, in fact if I ever fancy a guy in his 20s, shoot me). I got Hiddles fever from his role as Loki, naturally. I just love charismatic villains. And this is so funny because Tom appears to be so nice in real life and so cheerful too. His appreciation for his fangirls is also something to marvel at. His career is taking a very interesting direction with lovely Only Lovers Left Alive and now Crimson Peak which let's pray will be good. Or at least really hot.

Role that made me a fangirl - Loki, Avengers
Number of movies/TV shows I saw with him in them: 9
Hottest in: Avengers
Best film: Midnight in Parts
Worst film: War Horse

6. Jean Dujardin

My French love! It makes so much sense seeing how Jean is often nicknamed 'French George Clooney'. He's very sexy, very handsome and the amount of French films I've seen for him (including the entire show - Un Gars, une fille - which is very popular in Europe - most countries have their own versions of this one) was as pleasant as it was educational and I'm fairly certain it taught me more French than I learned during 6 years when I took lessons from the world's scariest teachers. He has been in a lot of very good French movies such as Little White Lies or Contre-equete. I only wish his movies after The Artist were half as good but you gotta love his brief role in Scorsese's exquisite The Wolf of Wall Street. This still haunts me. Also for some reason men having trouble while talking in a foreign language is adorable to me (Dillane in the Tunnel and his butchery of something as simple as "bonjour" makes my heart skip a beat). And Dujardin doing the press tour for The Artist, not knowing much English was beyond cute. And the way he carried Uggie around! You've gotta love that.

Role that made me a fangirl -George Valentin, The Artist
Number of movies/TV shows I saw with him in them:13
Hottest in: Un Balcon sur la Mer
Best film: The Artist
Worst film: L'Amour aux trousses

5. Idris Elba

Well, naturally. If I was a criminal and detective Luther was chasing me I would surrender in a matter of seconds. My bra would come off too. As great as I'm sure The Wire season 4 and 5 are I still haven't finished them for obvious reason. Elba is constantly being rumored for all those major projects, including being a candidate for James Bond. I think that is a splendid idea, at least that would boost his profile because so far his movies were largely not worthy of his talent. The Reaping. Unborn. That stupidass movie with Beyonce. Ah, the things I sit through for this guy.

Role that made me a fangirl - Stringer Bell, The Wire
Number of movies/TV shows I saw with him in them:15
Hottest in: Luther
Best film: Luther
Worst film: The Unborn

4. Michael Sheen

Like with Alan Rickman, fangirling over Michael Sheen - who never ever gave a bad performance even in Twilight franchise - has led me to some amazing movie finds, most notably Dirty Filthy Love which I literally found in the darkest corners of the Internet and which has, the last I checked, under 1500 votes on imdb and I'd like to think that 1/3 of those is from people I recommended this movie to. Sheen has been in so many different projects, some of them truly eccentric - like Bright Young Things and Heartlands, some of them high profile like the three movies in which he played Tony Blair, some very underrated like The Damned United. It looks like he is finally very very close to the acclaim he deserves for his work in TV Series'Masters of Sex. This is how busy I am - he is there doing all kinds of sex things to women and I still didn't have the time to watch it.

Role that made me a fangirl - David Frost, Frost/Nixon
Number of movies/TV shows I saw with him in them:24
Hottest in: Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Best film: Frost/Nixon
Worst film: The Four Feathers

3. Matthew McConaughey

This man is a godsend. People give him a hard time for all those silly romantic comedies he was in, but you know what? Those films are necessary too. Because sometimes you don't have the patience or strength to sit through something heavy and all you want to do is watch a cute story with gorgeous guy in the lead. And with McConaughey you get to pick - you want him to sing? You want him to be a pediatrician? A guy getting bit by random animals? A guy searching for gold? He has done it all. And he is just so damn cool. In recent years he also proved he has a wonderful acting talent and his choices of roles were truly inspired. And he never forgot about the ladies - with that dance in Magic Mike and running around naked in Killer Joe. That's a good man.

Role that made me a fangirl - Ben Barry, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Number of movies/TV shows I saw with him in them: 20
Hottest in: The Lincoln Lawyer
Best film: Killer Joe
Worst film: Fool's Gold

2. George Clooney

If you were a little girl in the 90's and a teenager in 00's you probably caught a lot of re-runs of ER on TV. And you remembered 3 things - the opening credits, Dr Romano's witty remarks and George Clooney being delicious. To quote Sex and the City, Clooney is never out of style - he's like the Channel suit. He also has a great career - getting out of TV just in time and now delivering the most amazing performances - his role in Michael Clayton - where he looks his best but that's, I swear, not related to my opinion of his performance - is one of my all time favorite performances. He is also fantastic in comedies - he was just hysterical in Burn after Reading and his banter with Brad Pitt was outstanding in Ocean's trilogy. Clooney is not the best director though, but...I think he is forgiven.

Role that made me a fangirl - Doug Ross, ER
Number of movies/TV shows I saw with him in them:31
Hottest in: Michael Clayton
Best film: Gravity
Worst film: Batman & Robin

1. Stephen Dillane

Ah. Ahhh. The one who keeps me watching Thrones no matter how ridiculous that show gets. The joy I experience while in the middle of this freaking mess suddenly Stephen shows up on the screen is not something that can be put in words. And the joy I experienced when he showed up riding a horse and wearing an armor...no, there are definitely no words. I sat through all of this for 10 minutes of screentime this year and you know what? I'd do that for 2. His performance in The Hours remains one of the most beautiful performances I saw in my life and his character there is the most beautiful man I've ever seen on screen. You just cannot be kinder, sweeter, warmer, more loving and more perfect than he is in that movie. He always brings that beauty when playing the good guys, that kindness, gentleness, tenderness. He rocks as a villain too, but as every fangirl you just love the romantic movies the most. Fugitive Pieces. Firelight. Deja Vu. Even small moments like the ones in The Tunnel. He is so handsome and his eyes are so sweet even if he plays a guy who cheats, you can't be mad at him. Then there's the tongue of doom. And the smile. Oh God. The smile:

He captures so much emotion and even if he is usually underused on screen (for shame!) sometimes one look in his eyes is enough to tell you so much about the character he is playing. It's certainly enough to steal the show as this is what usually happens when it comes to movies that feature him. Whether he can't figure out how the coffee machine works, shoots a guy 10 times in the face, contemplates letting go of his wife so that she could be happy even if it means death, champions freedom and Independence or stops at nothing to outsmart Robert Redford, it's such a joy to behold.

Every Friday after a long week I watch a movie. And I could watch something without Stephen in it. But...why would I?

Role that made me a fangirl - Leonard Woolf, The Hours
Role that made me swear off all other men - Stannis Baratheon and pretty much every single other role I saw him in. He made me wanna bang Thomas Jefferson on the table they signed the Declaration of Independence on. Yeah, they are never letting me in America now, are they?
Role that officially ruined all other men for me: Fugitive Pieces
Role that almost killed me: Firelight
Number of movies/TV shows I saw with him in them:16 (so far)
Hottest in: Game of Thrones - and it's getting hotter with each season, though John Adams is really, really close. Fuck, all of them are.
Best film: The Hours
Worst film: Ordinary Decent Criminal

To quote the great Ron Swanson aka Duke Silver Come love with me… and maybe we can walk through fire together. In other words - one gif out of each gifset I made from the films with Stephen that I saw and I try to gif every single one. Because this is what joy looks like. And the middle one is heaven. No, the two bottom ones. You know what? It's all good.

(from the top:
John Adams, 44 Inch Chest, The Greatest Game Ever Played
The Hours, Game of Thrones, Spy Game
The Tunnel, The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall, Deja Vu
Fugitive Pieces, Firelight)

I just want to thank whoever is responsible for this man existing.

Bloggers who have previously shared their almost anything actors/actresses:

Abbi at Where the Wild Things are
Fernando at Committed to Celluloid
Kristin at All Eyes On Screen
Jaina at Time Well Spent
Nostra at My Film Views
KaramelK at Karamel Kinema
Getter at MettelRay

I'm passing the blogathon to one person who seems to understand the agony and ecstasy of being a fangirl - the lovely Ruth of Flixchatter!

Do you know what the sweetest words in any movie are?

....even if the film is shit and they show me Spacey's ass and chest. That's not the ass and chest I spend 2h to see.

I saw Ordinary Decent Criminal. Kevin Spacey was in it doing the worst Irish accent ever. The film was quite bad but Stephen played a cop in it so he was wearing a suit and that's always awesome. I saw that this film had quite decent ratings, then Colin Farrel and Christoph Waltz showed up in it, so I thought maybe it won't be bad, but holy hell if it wasn't for my One True King I wouldn't be able to finish it. Yet again it's a proof I sit through anything for this man. I'd sit through 6h Lars Von Trier movie for him. But, please, please, don't star in that psycho's films.

I finally gifed that incredible scene from The Greatest Game Ever Played. Damn your perfect face and beautiful acting skills.

I also made this Jon/Stannis gifset and it turned out a little too much like Brokeback Westeros but still, I think it turned out nicely. I used scenes of them looking sad next to the gif of the Others army marching. Because if they win everyone is fucked.

This week I accidentally found this interview with Stephen while he was promoting Fugitive Pieces. I seriously needed to lie down after seeing that because I could barely breathe. He is so adorable. He is smiling. He is laughing. He is smiling and laughing while talking about his leading ladies. His goddamn shirt is unbuttoned. Even the interviewer could barely keep it together. How are you even real?

I need to lie down again.

Oh yeah I also found this.

[lying down again]

Control your face, sir.

Is he not familiar with the concept of glasses btw? As in... where they should be? I'm sorry I just ------------------------->>>

I'm sorry, I had a long, hard week. I carried what felt like 30 pounds of legal acts (after actually reading all of that first and writing a whole bunch of stuff). To the second floor. And there is no elevator. That's seriously gotta be a violation of some kind. I'm just one tiny person. And I wear heels. You know if I trip when I'm on the stairs carrying this shit I won't be there to see Stannis in season 5.

Because I'll be dead.

Or possibly on the run - aka meanwhile on tumblr...

I think I'm gonna see Firelight again. Better go like this than by falling off the stairs.

Let me copy and paste my thoughts on Allen's newest movie - Colin Firth was wonderful in Magic in the Moonlight, so hilarious! He also played a Stannis-type character. This is the world we live in, though - the romance was not very convincing and not romantic but people take issue with age difference instead of how weak the script was in this matter, it only worked because of Firth and Stone’s performances. He was playing a highly unpleasant guy but it was still plausible for Stone to have feelings for him, the problem was that the story didn’t really capture the moments they started to look at each other differently - in a real way - and it all felt jarring.

I couldn’t believe that in the scene the film took its title from nothing happened. If I saw a night sky like that and Colin Firth was standing next to me I would have banged him into oblivion. Here - nothing. Where is the romance, Woody? The man was Mark Darcy. Twice. That was just implausible. Why have such a romantic scene if there is no conclusion or even some development for the romance? He took a nap for the love of God!

On the other hand the ukulele playing idiot was so awful in comparison no matter how weak the romance, the ending worked. I judged Stone’s character for not taking that ukulele and killing him with it.

And the theater was actually full for this movie - I'm not sure if it's our Europeans, the ones who don't have glamorous Paris or Rome in their countries, fondness for his films, ladies' fondness for Colin or guys' fondness for Emma but yeah the cinema was full.

I was tweeting with Alex lately and I thought to myself 'Am I the only person in the world who actually loves Anything Else?". I'm starting to think that the first guy I meet who loves that movie I should marry because that appears to be bordering on the miracle. You know how people meet and then they decide they are perfect for each other because they want the same amount of kids or live in same neighborhood etc I feel for me it's going to be 'Oh you love Anything Else too?". No seriously, what is wrong with that movie? It's funny, it's modern, it's entertaining. What am I missing? Am I mad?

No, don't answer the second question. It's rhetorical.

Check out new Interstellar poster.

That new Gone Girl TV spot. Oh my God.

I have been making gifsets out of that like crazy. This is my favorite of the ones I made:

That scene in the snow! You guys who read the book know what it is!

SPOILERSMake his pay. Make the bastard payEND OF SPOILERS

I think Affleck may be scoring the nomination for this one. He is very well cast. As for Rosamund I'm so rooting for her, even in that short TV spot she showed such a range. I already have a very exciting post prepared about, among others, her character but I cannot publish it yet because you guys need to know the story first. The movie cannot come soon enough.

I read the script for the movie yesterday - or to be more accurate, one of the drafts of the script as already from the trailers it looks like some things were changed. The good news is that the story is very much like in the book. The bad news is that if it's the ending that is in fact in the movie it drastically changes the tone of the whole story and I really like the tone of the book story. So I'm hoping the ending stayed just as it was in the book.

So apparently Tyler Perrydidn't know who David Fincher was when he agreed to star in Gone Girl. You know, it would be pretty bad for an ordinary person to not know who Fincher is but for someone who for some reason is in AMPAS that is just a little but too embarrassing to be funny. Also apparently Jelly Beans are a no-no around new Batman's face. On the other hand let's not judge him too harshly - he had some great things to say too and he seems honestly excited about being a part of the movie.

Check out new poster for American Horror Story: Freak Show. The poster is fantastic, let's just hope the new season is going to have a better script than the last one.

No, I did not watch the Emmys. I may try to see it this weekend, but I've been trying to watch Noah for 3 weeks now and so far I've seen the first 10 minutes so I wouldn't count on me actually managing to watch any of that this weekend. I have actual films that I may like - Calvary and Boyhood - to watch and I can't find the energy to see those.

Hey, speaking of the Emmys:

Here's the link.

I ask you - what the fuck?

I saw a dead rat on the middle of the road this week and I'm not sure which was more disturbing - this or Lena Dunham at her newest level of horrid.

I did see Matt and Woody presenting the award, though. They're the best:

There's more.

Can they get their own talk show or something?

Puppy face was at the Emmys too:

I direct you to that Gosling laughing gif at the top of the post.

You have one job Kit. To tell Stephen to make it up to women for wearing a coat in his sex scene and getting him to take his clothes off (in the name of equality, obviously...). Stop taking off your pants and creeping people who happen to be near the water out.

Guys, look - this is Al Pacino's new girlfriend. The great thing? It is possible for a bigger age difference out there than the girl of 25 (more on that next Friday, the actual day of my birthday) and the God of 58.

Look at the comments under the article. Why are people always assuming that it's about the money? You know some women have their own money. I think it's horribly small minded and sexist to assume that a woman going out with an older man is doing this for money. Some of us just don't want to sleep with young, immature guys and we don't find them attractive.

And we probably earn more than them too.

Oh, was that cruel?

Idris Elbatook the ice bucket challenge. While wearing a suit. It's like they are competing in who makes more women faint contest.

Fisti celebrates David Fincher's birthday. I'm a shit blogger. I have 2 month long Fincher event happening now and I didn't even know it was the man's birthday.

Elina reviews Fugitive Pieces and several other movies. But nothing matters comparing to Stephen. Naked. Worshiping the woman he is with. I've gotta finish this post I cannot keep lying down, dammit.

MettelRay chooses 10 actors she would see in just about anything

Alex reviews Calvary

Jack writes about Two Days, One Night, new movie with Marion Cotillard

Ruth reviews Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Brittani writes about True Blood series finale.

This is insane: RELATED POSTS:

Over at filmexperience there is a wonderful series going on called 'Hit me with your best shot' where you get to choose your single favorite shot from the assigned movie and write the reason why you chose it. Today, it's all about The Matrix. I'm gonna go ahead and post 3 but the main one I'm choosing is this:

1. It's so hard to choose a best shot out of the movie with dozens of iconic shots. But the one with the cat was always one of my favorites - I love the whole universe of The Matrix where the things out of our ordinary world are given strange significance. Phones are your exits, pills snap you out of delusion and cause you to wake up in the real world and cats? Well, enjoy the deja vu.

2. This is perhaps the movie's bravest shot - showing the machine treating people like batteries, from the very moment a new human is born. While the idea was very similar to Terminator with the machine defeating the humans and so on, I don't remember an image depicting the tragedy of mankind after losing the war, captured as well in a single shot in any other movie.

2. There are a lot of splendid shots in The Matrix but for me there is one that immediately comes to my mind when I think of this movie - the shot of Trinity from the beginning of the film, right before the car is about to hit her. I'm not sure what it is about this shot. Perhaps it's because we see the concept of answering the phone and disappearing in the Matrix for the first time, perhaps it's the great way in which the scene is executed or perhaps it's the literal close call for Trinity who barely escapes and thrillingly opens the movie.

One of the most amazing things in Fincher's movies is that as dark as they may be they miraculously manage to have hilarious, sometimes even laugh out loud funny moments. Whether it's Robert Downey Jr.'s character genius lines in Zodiac, Tyler pissing and - doing worse things - into people's soup in Fight Club or snarky Harvard president being absolutely dismissive of his students, Fincher's films have really wonderful moments of humor which I always appreciate.

I hate tonally black and white films - just because something is a thriller doesn't mean you have to sit there stewed in dark tension for 2 hours straight. So let's take a look at some of the funniest moments in Fincher's films.

I'm sure Gone Girl will bring a few of those as well. Tyler Perry's "would you look at this stupid motherfucker incriminating himself?" looks at Ben Affleck are already so funny and we just saw a little bit of that in trailers.

(I didn't bother rewaching Alien 3 for this, though, I'm sure there are some great moments of unintentional humor, Benjamin Button was shockingly devoid of funny bits despite all its warmth, the funniest thing about Panic Room was Jared Leto's acting and The Game, while did have few golden moments of Douglas being disgusted, didn't make the cut)

10. Asleep - Se7en

This image of Mills and Somerset sleeping while waiting for the results of the forensics is certainly one of the memorable moments in the dark thriller.

9. The Marked Man - Zodiac

Paul's drunken/hazy state as he talks to his confused boss going on and on how he is the marked man for Zodiac killer because he sent him bloodied cloth and threatened his life. Downey's whole performance in the movie is just terrific and as usual filled with the actor's charm and sense of humour.

8. Dante - Se7en

Relieved Mills finds out Somerset wants to help him and he left him some clues. But then Mills realizes that Dante's writing isn't really to his liking.

At all.

7. Shorty - Zodiac

Shorty is a wonderful comic relief character in Zodiac, but the best part is him and Paul watching TV when the Zodiac supposedly calls the studio. You said it!

6. I didn't do that - Se7en

Perhaps the only time I laughed so soon after the words 'dead dog' were uttered.

5. Fuck me. Fuck me. Fuck me. - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The code word in this one is just brilliant. It comes in so unexpectedly and the fact that Craig is delivering it, who plays this good, kind, sorta clumsy guy only adds to the hilarity. It's just the perfect code - you can just imagine it's what Lisbeth said to him after he asked -

'What's the code word?'
*shrugs*. Fuck me.

4. The Fight - Fight Club

Fight Club is filled with hilarious moments but Norton's fight with his boss - or to say more accurately - him fighting himself - as his boss is watching, horrified, was close to winning here. How many of you daydreamed about doing something like this?

3. The Chicken - The Social Network

The story of the chicken Eduardo was taking care of and one day, with no sinister thought in his head, fed him some....chicken is referred to several times in the movie. But the best part comes when Eduardo finally freaks out - don't fish eat the other fish?!

2. Punch me in the face - The Social Network

Here's the thing - Larry Summers admitted to being even more rude in reality than he was in this scene. Can you imagine? Anyways, his total contempt for both the rules of Harvard and the brothers Winklevoss makes for totally hilarious scene. I wish I had Anne of my own to say it to several times a day.

1. Lou - Fight Club

There really aren't the words to describe this scene. When the owner of the bar, Lou, comes down to the basement to throw the guys out, Tyler takes a stand. Lou beats the shit out of him, but Tyler keeps getting back for more until it's him on top of Lou, getting his word that they can continue to come to the bar and fight in the basement. How did he accomplish that? I wouldn't say it was pacifist attitude.

It was batshit crazy attitude.

The cherry on top? When Lou is leaving and his bodyguard pulls a gun on the Fight Club. A gun, because what he witnessed was so messed up his first response is to pull a gun on a bunch of unarmed men and Tyler, covered with blood, lying on the ground.

I should probably be disturbed but that scene always cracks me up.

YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE I'VE BEEN LOU!
YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE I'VE BEEN!

That is the shot I posted for this #cinephilephoto thing on twitter. Obviously.

I realize how it's somewhat ironic that I open the post that's largely about how wrong these nude pics of actresses are with this picture (though to be fair it is my favorite screenshot out of any movie) but....screw that, it's *well it was yesterday but it's a several day long celebration* my birthday. 25th. Which means I'm now closer to 30 than 20. So I'm just gonna stare at it for several minutes.

God I'm so old. On tumblr I'm essentially the creepy old lady, who's into even older people. I bet all those young people look at my tumblr and they feel like they sneaked in into retirement home. For batshit insane cases.

As for my birthday wish you can actually see it here.

I already did celebrate a little bit and it ended up kinda like this:

Whiskey might have been too strong of a choice.

I found this this week and it's so beautiful. I'm just gonna watch a lot of movies with Stephen this week. Firelight again. Just so dreamy.

It's now been established that every single person took the ice bucket challenge but Stephen.

I think it's a punishment for me forgetting about Lee when I was doing that fangirl list.

Yes it is possible for me to make more Gone Girl edits. I'm really proud of this one on the left. It's also in my avatar. Thank you Enemy because if I had to make that spider thing myself that would be too much. Now, don't you worry, it's not a spoiler - Amy is not a spiderwoman (or is she?). It's sort of homage to one of my favorite lines in the book.

I also made the one depicting the opening lines of the novel (and the movie, apparently). I didn't center the brain enough, but fuck it, I think it looks cool.

There are also actual new photos from the movie:

There is a rumour of secret screening of the movie. The opinions are very positive and one person wrote that the film is very funny and 'it's satire on marriage'. That's very odd. I don't really know what to make of that.

I rewatched The Social Network this week. Can someone explain to me how exactly did Andrew Garfield missed out on a nomination for this one?

Stay with me because I have a lot to say.

Why do famous women photograph themselves naked with their phones, taking cheap, grainy pictures of themselves? Shouldn't your naked body be deserving of something better than a quick snapshot with your phone? You have the kind of cash and connections to take an artful classy photograph by some hot-shot photographer. Why do you do something like this then?

Another thing is that I would feel equally awful about a male celebrity who would take pictures like this of himself and put it out there. I'm not a fan of a dick without a context.

Seriously what kind of a world do we live in where young women, at some point of their day think it's a great idea to lie naked on the couch, spread their legs and take shots of their cooch with their phones.Stealing has been around since the beginning of time but THIS is new.

But this is not about the pictures. This is not about the pictures being leaked. This is about the fact there are videos and they were allowed to get made in the first place.

I'm just mesmerized by the world sometimes. How little dignity some women have when it comes to their nudity and sex. For me sex was always supposed to be at least a little romantic and respectful. I don't think it's just for people in love. It's a need. But what is in these videos is just....I can't find the words.

The one with the worst video is Lady Sybil from Downton Abbey. To quote someone from imdb - This is worse than when she came downstairs wearing pants!

I knew things like that happen in porn but seeing these young, successful women degrading themselves like that (I'm not being harsh here, I do think letting a guy...finish on your face or slap you with a penis is degrading and I don't think I'm exaggerating here) was quite shocking. Also now I know where I draw the line between kinky and just plain disgusting.

This is perhaps the first time in my life when I felt like a prude. And you know what? It feels good.

Lena Dunham has something to say about all of this, because of course she does - she is basically comparing this whole thing to rape, saying you are violating these women if you are looking at those pictures. Oh can you just shut the fuck up you colossal twit? Rape is a crime that should be punishable by death. This is hacking by some really immature people and a bunch of women having very little pride and even less common sense.

And another thing - will Jennifer Lawrence personally build all those fabulous prisons for 'people who uploaded the photos'? Because with the lack of room for killers and rapists we most definitely need to lock up horny teenagers with questionable taste in women.

Moving on from all of that....

Here's McConaughey on the set of Sea of Trees. Good God, man.

A little known fact - I find a good looking man driving a car seriously hot. I can't drive a car. I don't plan on ever driving a car because I would be a menace. So it's a great cosmic gift for me for these Lincoln commercials with Matthew behind the wheel showing up on my birthday. They are directed by Nicolas Winding Refn so this is seriously cool stuff.

So I saw Godzilla. It was terrible. Not only did the movie made very little to no sense, it was so goddamn boring. All those talented actors were handed such one dimensional characters, Cranston played his so hilariously at least I laughed a little bit. I think he shouted 80% of his lines.

Kevin Spaceywas on Colbert Report as Frank Underwood. He's awesome.

Poor Leonardo DiCaprio. He finally wore some decent clothes, went to this shark event thingy, tried making a joke and nobody laughed:

AHS Freakshow teasers are seriously horrifying this year.

Meanwhile, in ~~the shitty adaptation~~ Game of Thrones news we won't see Bran in season 5. Well, obviously. They need to find a lot of time for all the tits and brothels.

Would you look at those smug bastards D&D? I hope that woman slapped them both.

Big news for the Oscar race - Steve Carell will be competing in Best Actor category and the studio appears to have no intention to move Tatum. This is some really bad news for him as we all know what kind of performances the Academy loves and Carell fits their taste - comedian doing drama, unflattering make up, playing an outcast in a movie based on actual events - a little more. People say 'he may be nominated'. Oh come on. He is winning that thing! I think we are beyond words possibly and may when it comes to nomination talk. You go get that ~~Dundie~~ Oscar!

Irene reviews The Jacket.

Katy did a fancast Gone Girl and has some pretty awesome choices there. Also there I go again harassing people trying to get them to see Fugitive Pieces.

MettelRay shares a guide for new TV shows this Fall

Pete reviews Foxcatcher

m.brown reviews Under the Skin. This has Scarlett's boobs and he didn't like it. This is serious. It's as if there was a movie involving Stephen and a sex scene and I didn't like the film.

Chris reviews Calvary

Alex lists Top 10 Making-Of Documentaries

Anna reviews Nine Lives, the next movie with Stephen I'll see

RELATED POSTS:

One of the many things I adore about Fincher's movies is how perfectly the man uses the music in them. He directed music videos before the became the movie director so he certainly understands the rhythm and how to make the footage go perfectly with the music. Not only are the soundtracks for his films brilliant, it's also about those particular songs that fit the movie so well, that frame this particular scene so superbly, you cannot possibly imagine anything else accompanying them. Here are my favorite music moments from Fincher's movies.

(click on the x to listen to the song/watch the scene)

HM: In the Hall of the Mountain King by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross from The Social Network, Baby, You're A Rich Man by The Beatles from The Social Network, Goin' Out West by Tom Waits from Fight Club

10. Immigrant Song by Karen O from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The song featured both in the trailer and amazing opening credits takes a bit of time to love it, but once you do you can't forget it. It is like the soundtrack to Lisbeth - fast, frantic and fascinating.(x) (x)

9. White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane from The Game

You may not like The Game. Hell, I think it's one of weaker Fincher's movies too. But that is a great song and it's fantastically used in the movie. The whole soundtrack by Howard Shore is pure class and so is that song. (x)

8. She by Richard Butler from Gone Girl (trailer)

While I do think this particular rendition of the song sounds like a dying cat parade, this is such an inspired choice. The beautiful lyrics actually strike sinister as they describe the character of Amy so well and the shot of Nick discovering the contents of the shed as the song reaches the end is fantastic. (x)

7. A Thousand Details by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (trailer)

I'm not sure, but I do believe Fincher himself cut the trailers for both this and Gone Girl. What I do know for sure is that this song is specifically made for this trailer as it's on the soundtrack and appears nowhere in the movie. It's just brilliant and it made for one of the better movie trailers in recent years. It fits the footage so well and gets you pumped for the movie.(x)

6. Hurdy Gurdy Man by Donovan from Zodiac

This is the creepiest use of the song in Fincher's film, other than the famous Enya moment in Dragon Tattoo. It was also used in the trailer and it even inspired the use of this same exact song in last year's trailer for The Conjuring (x)

5. Closer by Nine Inch Nails from Se7en

The opening credits to Se7en remain one of the most famous and memorable opening credits in the history of film. One thing that makes them so perfect is the use of the remix of the song, just the melody with the line "You get me closer to God" being the one heard clearly by the end, fitting the story in the film so well. (x)

4. Orinoco Flow by Enya from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The superb use of Orinoco Flow in the film's intense scene was all thanks to Daniel Craig who suggested the first song from his ipod that starts playing should be used here. It certainly made for memorable moment and it definitely immortalized the song in the mind of every movie fan. (x)

3. Air by Johann Sebastian Bach from Se7en

This is just so classy. It's when the movie takes a deep breath. As Somerset looks for clues in library and Mills looks at the evidence, the most beautiful from Bach's pieces, at least for me, plays in the background. It's stunning. (x)

2. Where is my Mind? by Pixies from Fight Club

If it was the most iconic image list, it would win, no contest. But here it must take the second place. It is a brilliant moment - with the song fitting the movie so well and being one of the most legendary moments from the 90's. In a movie as fantastic as Fight Club it's hard to choose the most memorable scene but largely thanks to the song, this one takes it. (x)

1. What if we Could? by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

This shouldn't work. The delicate, gorgeous lullaby shouldn't work in a movie like that. But it does. Twice. It's first used in the lovely sex scene between Mikael and Lisbeth and then it is featured in the film's tragically beautiful ending where Lisbeth's dream, the one she finally allowed herself to have, dies and she puts on her armor again. (x) (x)

The Henley Royal Regatta

directed by David Fincher

This is one of the many scenes in the Social Network that are so well directed it just takes your breath away. But it's probably also the most memorable scene for most of the people. Just what the hell is it about this scene? It's not really connected to the main narrative, it's sticks out of the movie but doesn't distract.

That's it - the scene is so well made, so well paced and so perfectly timed it just fits, although it shouldn't. It's a symbol of sorts. It shows the effort, the loss and the hopelessness while wrapping it in such an ironic bow with the choice of music.

"He was using it as a way of saying, 'You miss by that much.' Then to have the Winklevosses miss by that much with Mark Zuckerberg, they missed by that much with Larry Summers, they're missing by that much at Henley and it's the final straw." (x)

I promised myself to connect each of those posts to Gone Girl ad I keep forgetting about it, but allow me to do this now - in the book Nick Dunne comments how much he is dazzled by his wife. So much so, that he often doesn't even register what she is saying, he just looks at her. So I'm gonna say it here - sometimes I'm dazzled by the scene and I don't even know why. I also have absolutely no idea about many technical things when it comes to how movies are made. Allow me to quote Fincher himself:

Question: I’m interested to hear your thoughts in the tilt/shift isolated focus you employed in the boating sequence. It is unlike anything I’ve ever seen on the big screen before and would love to learn what inspired it.

Fincher: We could only shoot 3 races at the Henley Royal Regatta; We had to shoot 4 days of boat inserts in Eton. The only way to make the date for release was to make the backgrounds as soft as humanly possible. I decided it might be more “subjective” if the world around the races fell away in focus, leaving the rowers to move into and out of planes of focus to accentuate their piston-like effort.(x)

You can watch the dazzling sequence below and study it more closely by looking at screenshots:

Previously in the series:

I finally made a gifset of Ordinary Decent Criminal. Time stood still during that second gif. Oh my God.

What is that on the left you may ask. Well that is, apparently, Stephen's actual signature. This appeared on tumblr with the comment 'he's not even trying'. I laughed so hard.

Also the photo of Stephen from his performance as Macbeth showed up and I never wanted to time travel back to 2004 and be there in London so badly before. Good God, I'd get arrested so fast if I were there in the audience.

Look what Peter Capaldi did for his fangirls. Stephen, there are like 50 of us on tumblr. Give us something.

I obviously rewatched Firelight to celebrate my birthday movie-style (and as usual I rewatched Anything Else). If I were to make a list of best romantic movies, that would be in top 3. That scene where Sophie Marceau battles with sexual frustration as she watches him drying himself off as he is naked after swimming (which we see that through a foggy window, never forget, never forgive) was the most relatable thing I've ever seen in the movie.

I work in the courthouse and there is another one in the building next door. There was a bomb alarm this week and the building was evacuated. At 9 am. Everyone went home. Obviously that was in another building, not where I work. Because of course I cant even have luck in bad luck. Because of course if another building blows up, the one I work in, standing right next to it and at least 150 year old, will be fine and won't collapse at all. It was a fake alarm, though, since it's always people who are supposed to appear in court that day making these 'there's a bomb' calls to get out of having to appear in the court. Seriously, this happens at least once a month.

I got to be alone in the office today, everyone else went to some lecture. Oh it was glorious. I hope to have my own office one day, I hate interacting with co-workers. I mean even if they are nice people, I just hate having to listen to other people's conversations or phone calls and wonder "ooh maybe I should just jump in and say something?". Or when they ask me shit about my personal life which I don't even share with good acquaintances. Good God, not everyone has the need to relentlessly gossip or chat about their lives and relationships. I'm comfortable talking with friends of my friends on parties or something but I don't really feel the need to share my private life where I work, which I'm sure makes me a total freak in my workplace. I have to call IT again on Monday and it just makes me want to vomit, because they will need to come down and I'm gonna have to deal with even more people in my work space. So just sitting quietly today for 8hours and doing my job in absolute peace was so awesome. I could fucking do it for 12h if I'd be on my own without ridiculous social pressures, people asking me what my future plans are, how many siblings do I have, where do I live etc. I so relate to Ron Swanson. And Stanley Hudson. I share his dream:

Do you see why Mr Dillane is my soulmate? We could be antisocial together <3

Further exploring my fucked up personality, I took another quiz and as usual I'm INTJ. This is so accurate that it's scary. Except for 'trouble showing feelings to a partner in a public place'. That is the opposite of truth. Curious? Let's just say no one ever got arrested.

There is a new poster for Gone Girl and yes, it's as terrible as the previous ones, if not more so. At least Rosamund is in it but good God, it looks so bad. From atrocious photoshop to seriously ridiculous design....who made those? They should be ashamed of themselves.

I don't say it a lot but truly, I could do better than this. Much better. In truth, a drunk money could do better than this.

The worst part is that they don't capture the story at all - what the fuck is this? Affleck staring at her and her looking all calm looking off at the distance? The only thing remotely connected to the story is the fact that Nick talks about his wife's head a lot. And I'm sure the fact this is where he is looking in that poster is by accident.

However there is also a pininterest account for Amy which is actually quite clever.

There are two new awesome TV spots (1,2) for the movie. Tyler Perry looks really great in the movie, I know people are sceptical but he is really a brilliant choice for his part.

I cannot freaking wait. It may actually kill me since I need to wait two weeks longer than others to see it - I only have time on weekends and the weekend it opens my friend who is seeing it with me is gonna be abroad so I have to wait for him to get back.

Fincher said that Gone Girl the book ‘had different endings’. Call me crazy but I saw one ending. David, did you read it while being high?

Seriously everyone is going insane about the ending. Between people who incorrectly claim the ending made no sense, Ben Affleck talking out of his ass about the entire third act being changed in the film and Fincher talking in some sort of strange code let me just say - just wait a month, shut up and watch the goddamn movie. It's Fincher. It's gonna be good.

Meanwhile let me just say that people defending Nick and calling Amy a ‘cunt’ are ridiculous. You are probably also the ones who didn’t like the book ending, which was the only possible ending to this story.

Did you think there are no more photos from that time DiCaprio got off the leash a few weeks back? There are!

I saw Morning Glory, Guess Who is Coming for Dinner and The Accused for Fisti's Twice a Best Actress thing. I really didn't like either the movie or Katherine Hepburn's performance in the first one. I feel when you guys read what I wrote about her you are gonna want to burn me because I get that she is an icon, but come on that was just so bad. I did like her in Guess..... though. The film was very charming and the final scene was very lovely and powerful. The Accused was just horrific. That rape scene must have been 20 minutes long. Awful, awful sequence. The worst thing is that it is not only based on real events - events like this happen in the world probably any other second.

I really like Julianne Moore but if she takes that Oscar away from Rosamund I’m gonna be seriously pissed off. There's this movie called Still Alice and she plays a woman who suffers from Alzheimer. This is the Oscar Bait the size of a fucking Hollywood sign. I'm so sick and tired of people getting Oscars because of "overdue" + "baity" combination. Let some fresh blood in.

Really all I want is for Steve Carrel and Rosamund to win. I know they are going to be great and their movies will probably top my end of the year list. They are just too much like the movies I adore for me to hate them.

There are new Mockingjay posters. I barely recognized Lawrence with her clothes on, pretense of dignity going on and no...stuff on her face. There's also a ridiculous trailer for Serena. I read the summary of the book once, because I can't find the actual book anywhere and it's a shame because it sounds like a great story, but this trailer in addition to being laughable completely lies about what the story is.

That leaked photos scandalwon't die. Apparently a bunch of women from some social justice group is now undressing themselves and taking naked pics of themselves to show solidarity with irresponsible and let's just say it - dumb - women who are celebrities and took pics like these to begin with. By all means, have no respect for yourselves just like they did except do it with all the attention whoring propaganda you can master.

It's like stupid leading the stupid. I want to run. I want to leave. I want to escape from this fucked up planet. I want to get inside a rocket with Stephen Dillane and just live in space. Bye, everyone.

You may not think it's possible but the newAmerican Horror Story: Freakshow teaser is even more horrifying than the last. There's also new poster. This is gonna be seriously scary.

We also have first trailer with the cast! It looks terrific! My God, Angela Bassett has three breasts!

EW also promotes the shit out of it, here is an interesting spoiler-filled article and there is also a lot about the upcoming season in new issue. "Even freakier than a tri-boob? This season’s main villain, a nasty fella (and murderer) named Twisty the Clown (John Carroll Lynch). The evil Bozo has retired in Jupiter and is not thrilled by the arrival of the freak show. “He’s out to make their lives a living hell,” explains Murphy. “He’s wearing a mask on the lower part of his face and there comes a point in the season where takes the mask off and when you see what’s under you will faint in terror.” - well the nightmares are coming

I saw Sin City: A Dame to Kill For which was nowhere near as terrible as people said it was. Sure, it was nowhere near the quality of the first one but at least it wasn't boring. And Eva Green was absolutely fabulous. I will be very surprised if she won't make my 2014 supporting actress line up. The film is worth seeing just for her.

I also saw Made in Dagenham, it was pretty good, but I expected something a little better with a cast like this. Sally Hawkins was good, but I mainly saw it for Rosamund Pike, who was great. Miranda Richardson stole the show, though.

I'm planning on making a special post about Rosamund so I'm gonna rewatch An Education tonight. I also have to rewatch Barney's Version, a movie I absolutely hated but she was fantastic in it.

Apparently Xavier Dolan is making a movie and Jessica Chastain is gonna be in it. Her part sounds very interesting.

Are you guys excited about Royal Baby2? Cause I am! I heard that David Beckham gave William and Kate the advice that they should sleep more. Oh yes. Poor William and Kate with their 100 nannies and beds with sheets made out of jewels and cash or something. At one point last week I didn't sleep for 37 hours and then I slept for an hour and then went to work for 8 hours. So yes, the royal couple are the ones who desperately need sleep.

m.brown reviews Guardians of the Galaxy

Brittani writes about Only Lovers Left Alive

Sofia lists 40 movies she is excited to see this Fall

Anna writes about Synecdoche, NY

Over at Flixchatter Tedranks the movies of David Fincher

Alex lists top 10 movies shot by cinematographer Peter Andrews or Steven Soderbergh, if you will

Nika writes about anticipating Gone Girl

RELATED POSTS:

Movie rating - 85/100
Plot: Young newlyweds Paul (Penny Dreadful's Harry Treadaway) and Bea (Game of Thrones' Rose Leslie) travel to remote lake country for their honeymoon. Shortly after arriving, Paul finds Bea wandering and disoriented in the middle of the night. As she becomes more distant and her behavior increasingly peculiar, Paul begins to suspect something more sinister than sleepwalking took place in the woods.
The heroes: Paul, who is trying to figure out what happened to his beloved wife.
The antagonists: Something bad in the woods.
Best scene: The chilling scene on the lake near the end.
Oh-oh something's not right line: She's not being herself today.
What makes it so great? The film is genuinely scary - it has a very tense, creepy atmosphere, terrific suspense building up throughout the entire movie and so far it's the best horror film of the year.

It's a debut film from female director Leigh Janiak, featuring only four actors (the other two playing Bea's ex boyfriend and his strange wife) and shot with a very small budget. The director was inspired by the works of David Cronenberg, Alien, Rosemary's Baby and Haneke's Amour while making the movie and it definitely shows - the elements of body horror as well as closeness and then divide between the couple are very important here.

The film is extremely effective not only because of Janiak's work but also because of great lead performances from Treadaway and especially Leslie. Leslie, who shone so bright in Game of Thrones actually injecting some energy in scenes featuring her and Kit Harington, was wonderful here - sweet, innocent, loving, only to transform to distant and manic in other moments. She hits all the right notes and manages to be both very sympathetic and heartbreaking and on several occasions quite scary.

The film also has a gorgeous score and very good cinematography. But the performances and the story (which also works as a scary metaphor for pregnancy) are really what matters the most and it's very rare in horror genre when it happens.
Scare factor:

- 4/5 evil pumpkins - once Bea goes into the woods the tension begins and it doesn't let go until the movie's horrific ending.
Gore factor:

- 2/5 bloody Leatherfaces - there is blood and few body horror scenes, but it's nothing extreme. Ladies may find those scenes very unpleasant, though. I sure did.
Is there a twist? Not really, unless you consider the answer to whether it's still Bea or not a twist.
Hint: Do not watch it on your honeymoon.
Unsuitable for: Anyone in a relationship or vacationing in the woods; expecting couples
Repercussions: I'm fairly certain if you wanted to spend your honeymoon in a lake house, you will choose another destination after watching this one.

Whenever there is a new Fincher's movie there is always Oscar talk. Sometimes people do get in but on occasion they're not the ones who most root for to be nominated - what the fuck did Brad Pitt actually do in The Curious Case of the Benjamin Button? Another thing? I was always baffled by Eisenberg being the one who was nominated for Social Network.

Out of the performances listed here only one made it this far in Awards season. But it's not really about that. The real praise comes from movie fans. Fincher's movies, always filled with so many amazing actors and performances, are extremely well cast and provide actors with such tremendous opportunities. So with all of that, being the standout in the cast is an accomplishment in itself.

10. Sigourney Weaver / Alien 3

While the film is a mess, Weaver's performance is, as usual with Alien movies, the best thing about it. The script is a disaster, the execution was butchered by the studio but no one managed to ruin Weaver's work who yet again gave us our beloved, fearless Ripley.

9. Justin Timberlake / The Social Network

Fincher has a real gift for casting his movies. People always raise their eyebrows when they hear of his choices before they see the movie, Gone Girl has several instances of that. And it was also the case with Timberlake. But he was truly fantastic in the role and I cannot imagine anyone else playing his narcissistic and delusional character.

8. Kevin Spacey / Se7en

While Spacey is excellent in the role, I always thought the praise he got at the expense of much better Freeman was a bit much. Still it's an unforgettable performance and you have to give him the credit for suggesting to the studio they keep him out of opening credits and marketing for the film to surprise the audience more when he shows up.

7. Tilda Swinton / The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

While I do love the movie and I find it to be very beautiful and life-affirming, the main two actors, Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, never felt sincere in their roles for me. Thank God for Tilda Swinton who with her brief screen time brought so much genuine joy and energy to the screen. It's like in emotional wasteland she was the single beating heart left.

6. Helena Bonham Carter / Fight Club

Fincher said about her -"When Helena came on set, you could see she was either ready or she wasn’t. When she was ready, no matter what you said, she wouldn’t look at you; she was in Marla mode. She was like this little train burrowing along with puffs of cigarette smoke trailing behind her." And this is who Marla is. For someone so miserable and depressed there is some strange determination to her. Both Narrator and Tyler are such memorable characters but Helena as Marla never once gives them a chance to steal the spotlight.

5. Daniel Craig / The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

This is such an underrated performance. Craig never disappears even though he shares so many scenes with the hurricane that is Mara in that movie. He manages to convincingly portray ordinary, clumsy, sweet guy. And never once you think you are watching James Bond on the screen.

I forgot to use that screenshot in my funniest moments list, when Mikael makes that face as the villain rambles on. It always makes me laugh.

4. John Carroll Lynch / Zodiac

Lynch is in Zodiac for a very short while but he manages to steal the movie with ease from other actors. He only needs few minutes to convince the audience that he is the Zodiac killer. The truth may have never been proved and Fincher probably wanted you to have doubts, but Lynch manages to be so menacing, creepy, odd and threatening that you have no doubts. It's only even more impressive that the same actor played Madge's sweet husband in Fargo. Just think what he will do as murderous clown in upcoming season of American Horror Story.

3. Andrew Garfield / The Social Network

It's not easy to succeed in a role like that - being a supporting player when there are so many vivid supporting players and you get to play the good guy who keeps failing, not athletic twins or energetic entrepreneur. But Garfield, who by the way played a complete asshole in Never Let Me Go so successfully, is so sweet, naive and convincing in the movie. In spite of being outmaneuvered his character never feels like a punching bag. There's a great deal of humour here too - with the chicken story and Eduardo closing his eyes as Sean rambles on because it's actually pains him to hear his bullshit. But the best ones are those moments when Eduardo takes control and snaps at Mark and Sean calling them on their bullshit and Garfield completely steals the show in the process.

2. Morgan Freeman / Se7en

I wrote a great deal about Freeman's beautiful work here. This is my favorite performance of his and he was just a perfect choice for the part. He plays such a calm, mature and good man that it's in the moments he loses control that you really feel frightened watching this movie.

1. Rooney Mara / The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Mara's work here is so fantastic that it's not only my best actress win for that year (beating even Charlize Theron in Young Adult, who played a character so close to my heart in one of my favorite movies ever) but it's one of my all time favorite performances. Mara achieves something that is perhaps the rarest thing for the actress to achieve - her performance is the perfect bland of badass and subtle with Lisbeth being a tough woman who can kill and a helpless little girl who just needs someone close, sometimes being both of those at the same time. Her wordless work in the film's ending remains one of the most brilliantly acted out scenes I've ever seen.

I predict that Pike will top this list once I see Gone Girl. Casting of Mara was inspired. Casting of Pike is a strike of a genius and the best casting decision Fincher has ever made.

A new picture of Stephen emerged on tumblr this week. He is wearing his 'I'm homeless' clothes again.

I don't even know where the jacket ends and the suit begins.

I think I have a new idea for a perfect job - undressing him and then dressing him. In actual sexy clothes. Oh that would be fantastic.

this week Carice Van Houten tweeted that there was a fire drill at her hotel in the morning. What if she is where Stephen is. What if he run out…naked?

This is what happens with my brain when all I get is one picture of him during the filming of the show. It wonders. It goes beyond usual heights. It's pervy in an imaginative 'fire drill, you say?' way.

That's not good.

Anyways, a girl who looked exactly like Sansa sat in the streetcar right in front of me this week. Why God, why couldn’t it be someone who looks like Stannis? Seriously, that chick even had red hair. I was stunned. No way it could be Sophie Turner, though, because 1. it was on the streetcar 2. it was in my country (which is closer to a shithole than an actual civilized country like England or USA; we're also kinda trapped in the olden days, I mean I have a fucking VCR in my room) 3. she got off in my neighborhood and I live in the place that is basically on the edge of society.

It's not like I live in the ghetto - there's the beach and pretty woods and there's always a lot of tourists everywhere here, so it's kinda a place that's picturesque.

Even though they do find a lot of severed body parts in these woods.

Seriously. It happens.

Anyways...

I had a tough week. Had barely any time for movies, but I did start watching Secret State and Stephen was in about 3 scenes so far. Jesus, it's like a repeat of Thrones. Charles Dance and Edmure Tully are in it too so it's even more like a repeat of Thrones. Plus side? Stephen wears a suit. And he is playing a villain. Naturally I root for him. And that smile!

I desperately need to chill and watch something with Stephen tonight. I don't care how awful the movie I just need this man on my screen. Between all the work in the hellhole and all the studying of the world's most boring legal acts and all the annoying people I dealt with this week - including IT folk which to me is what Library folk is to Leslie Knope - I'm exhausted. I'm just so fucking exhausted. Here comes the weekend during which I sleep 20hours in 2 days which is more than I sleep during weekdays...combined.

This week I read that Joe Wright dumped Rosamund Pike right before their wedding because she sent out wedding invites with the pic of them in a hot tub. What the fuck? I mean the man made some wonderful films but I always suspected someone who also made The Soloist must have some serious issues. Yep, I was proved right.

Good God, if she sent an invite with a pic of his dick, but this, seriously? This woman is gorgeous and her voice is super hot. She also appears to be very smart, articulate and evidently has a sense of humour. So he can go to a strip club (apparently he frequents those) but she can't send an invite she wants? Men *snort of disdain* - am I right?

More screenings for Gone Girl were held. The common opinion seems to be that 1. the movie is good 2. Affleck is very good 3. Rosamund really embodied Amy. People keep saying how this isn't the kind of role Academy awards go to but as Amy she gets to show every single emotion there is. SPOILERS It's only halfway through that people realize most of them were faked. But the actress still gets to do those things! END OF SPOILERS So I'm so hoping the film is indeed a success and makes a splash during award season.

New sorta poster was released and it's a slight improvement but did they seriously just slapped the word "loveless" in the middle of it? Wow, that's inspired. It's as if I took a pic of myself right now with word 'tired' written on my forehead.

Wait there is another one - that one is actually slightly better because at least they figured to highlight the word 'LIE' so that's something.

And why are these posters so dark? It's bad enough you can't see shit in trailers but do posters also have to be shot looking as if it's the end of the world and darkness is all that is left?

There is a terrific interview with Fincher in Playboy magazine. Seriously, go read it, it's hugely entertaining and so informative. David had this to say about Rosamund - "I wanted Faye Dunaway in Chinatown, where you think, This person has experienced avenues of pain that no one can articulate. Or Faye in Network, where it’s, You’re never going to get to the bottom of this, so just stop. It’s crazy how much Rosamund reminds me of Faye." Well, this is awesome.

Meanwhile, while the marketing has been embarrassing themselves (though these are not the worst posters this week, more on that later) at least one thing came handy here - that above image of Rosamund as Amy from Loveless poster. I cropped it out and I conjured this. Then I figured it looks good so I started making avatars that kinda look like posters, it was quite a bit of coloring because I usually make this stuff up as I go along:

You know what? it took me about an hour to make all of these, so how much time did it take for marketing team to make their poster? 5 minutes?

You will probably have to wait for my review of the movie for several weeks cause I plan on filling it up with graphics, just like with Under the Skin review.

Word is that the final Interstellar trailer will be attached to Gone Girl. Meanwhile, here are the new posters. The one with McConaughey is so bad. I never thought the poster with some random space thing would be better than the poster actually featuring him.

In another bad news, Matthew will not be in Magic Mike sequel. So I'm probably never going to watch it. This is so stupid, he was the best thing about the first film.

Big Eyes trailer wasn't as awful as I thought it would be. The music was though, what the hell was that? Anyways it looks like one of those mediocre biopics we get every year - not horrible, but not great. And mediocre is the most forgettable. Though you gotta feel the relief of no 1. crappy CGI 2. Johnny Depp in Tim Burton's movie for once.

But in the absence of shit fake looking aesthetic in the movie by Tim Burton we get all of that in Into the Woods this year which wins 'worst poster' title this week. It's Meryl coming for your potential Golden Globes and Oscars.

Ryan Gosling is a father. Here comes a flood of buzzfeed 'articles' with him looking all hipster pushing a stroller.

Idris Elba’s new movie features him as an“unstable escaped convict”. Well, here come fucked up and inappropriate thoughts one more time.

I saw Honeymoon, about which I wrote on Sunday. It was really great and I hope Rose Leslie gets to do many more good movies like this one.

I also saw The Other Guys. At first I was like 'so how is this funny?' but then it really got funny. I laughed so hard when Ferrel asked for his gun back. Keaton's reaction - or a lack of one - was priceless. Walhberg was actually really funny too.

Check out another nightmarish trailer for AHS: Freakshow.

The quick snippet with actual footage from the episode 1 was released and you can see fabulous Jessica Lange in it:

There's also more hype around the main villain this season - Twisty the Clown

And then there are these gorgeous cast photos:

Elina reviews Lucy

Alex writes about the director Andrea Arnold

Jack writes about Obvious Child

James reviews Honeymoon

Brittani participated in Back to School blogathon

Wendell writes about Desolation of Smaug

RELATED POSTS:

The first reviews for Gone Girl arrived. Here's what the critics are saying about Rosamund Pike's performance as Amy - my most anticipated performance of the year:

"Pike, so often a decorative supporting player, delivers a career-defining performance here. She's a revelation, showing a complete command over Amy - with any luck Gone Girl should bag her an Oscar nomination come awards season." - Digital Spy (x)

"Rosamund Pike’s dynamic turn as his fierce wife Amy – the missing woman of the title – should belatedly make the gifted English actress a star." - ScreenDaily (x)

"The author's clever, cruel and cool work also gives Pike the role of a lifetime in the shining, secretive Amy, while still making her human and comprehensible." - The Wrap (x)

"Pike, who’s so often quietly admirable in films of varying quality, has waited more than a decade for a role this juicy, but what amazes you is how methodically she seizes on it: not with the hungry pounce and rip of a wild cat, but the rhythmic constrictions of an anaconda. Amy is the best thing Pike has ever done: her performance is taut and poised, and at times almost masque-like. While her diary voiceovers swoon with emotion, her face gives you almost nothing.

It’s possible that Amy’s darker monologues may induce in female viewers the same double squirm felt by men listening to Edward Norton’s Fight Club voiceover: the shock that someone would ever dare to say such things out loud, coupled with a pit-of-the-stomach throb of recognition. There is a key speech in the novel in which Amy describes the fate of the "cool girl"– the archetypal sexy girlfriend who morphs, unbidden, into a pliant wife — that Pike delivers with a note of venomous triumph that makes you want to cheer." (x) - Telegraph

"About Pike I must—at the behest of the movie’s publicists—say less, although her acting is also a study in acting. In those few moments when the mask slips, she’s tight, frightened, childishly vulnerable, desperately grasping for a sense of control that the universe has denied her. I loved looking at her" - Vulture (x)

"Rosamund Pike, delivering a ghostly yet dominant performance that's the year's biggest surprise" - TimeOut (x)

"Pike is phenomenal as the enigmatic Amy." (x) (even this laughable review by Indiewire praises her)

"Pike, who has been notable in several roles over the past dozen years (Pride & Prejudice, Jack Reacher) but has rarely played full-blown leads, is powerful and commanding. Making Amy even steelier and more brazen than one might have imagined, she evinces no vulnerability but, rather, a strong sense of self-worth, as Amy seems to dare others to size themselves up against her. Physically and emotionally, Pike looks to have immersed herself in this profoundly calculating character, and the results are impressive." - The Hollywood Reporter (x)

"Still, as its title suggests, “Gone Girl” belongs to its leading lady. Pike is the sort of elegantly composed blonde beauty with whom Hitchcock would have had a field day, and some may well quibble that the actress’s cool British hauteur doesn’t fully capture Amy’s America’s-sweetheart side. Yet as evidenced by her years of solid supporting work, she also possesses the sort of ferocious charisma that magnetizes the screen, and it’s a thrill to watch her fully embrace the showiest, most substantial role of her career. Hers is the low, seductive voice we hear coaxing us through the story’s early passages, and hers is the character who ultimately exhibits the most dynamic range: In any given scene, her Amy can seem vulnerable, aggrieved, calculating, heroic, overmatched, viperous and terrifying." - Variety (x)

Are you ready for Amy?

The role of Amy Dunne is every actress' dream - rich, complex and fascinating character, a character that gets to show the whole range of emotions, a character that is on its way to become iconic. A hopeful girl turned unhappy wife, spoiled only child, brilliant and angry woman but most of all - an enigma. And finally - Gone Girl.

Reese Witherspoon, Charlize Theron, Natalie Portman, Emily Blunt, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde, Abbie Cornish and Julianne Hough were considered for the role of Amy Dunne. While some of these choices could work - Cornish or Blunt - and some would have been awful - Witherspoon, Mara, Portman, Wilde - I cannot imagine anyone better suited for the role than Rosamund Pike, an actress who was in movies for many years now but still didn't get to have a big break.

Well, it's all about to change.

”Fincher zeroed in on Pike for the role because he had “always liked Rosamund in movies, but [he] didn’t really know her”—a mysterious quality she exhibited that “made her very interesting.” When it came time to officially cast the actress, who had returned to Scotland by this time, Fincher opted to alert her via the most casual means possible. Writes W’s Lynn Hirschberg, “Weeks after returning to Scotland, Pike received a text message from Fincher, saying, ‘You have the part,’ which she accidentally erased.” (x)

Pike was once a Bond girl and she also starred alongside of Bruce Willis, Ryan Gosling, Johnny Depp and Tom Cruise. She did everything - costume movies, science fiction, action, thrillers, dramas, comedies. She is very versatile, gorgeous and talented. Fincher said that she reminds him of Faye Dunaway and he didn't have second thoughts about offering the part of Amy to her.

Let's take a look at her five most impressive performances so far:

5. Pride and Prejudice / Jane Bennett

Pike was dating the director Joe Wright at the time of making of the movie - perhaps that is why he shot her as almost impossibly angelic, delicate and sweet. She is all those things in the movie, embodying her lovely character with all the charm and grace. The proposal scene, while having otherwise irritating saccharine quality to it, strikes so real and powerful precisely because of Pike's performance and how genuine she makes her character's joy.

4. Made in Dagenham / Lisa Hopkins

In a very underseen movie Pike plays a trophy wife to a wealthy and cold businessman, who dismisses the idea that his wife can have an opinion and life of her own. Pike doesn't have a lot of screentime but she does so much with her part - energetic and proud when speaking her mind and sad and melancholic when she talks of her life or gets silenced by her husband. There's is a wonderful moment when she stands up to him near the end of the movie - Pike needs just one look and one word to put him in his place.

3. Fugitive Pieces / Alex

In wonderful film Pike plays a charming, lively girl who falls in love with Holocaust survivor and a writer (beautifully played by Stephen Dillane). She is all light and he has all this darkness in him. Alex tries to help him, get him to open up, but heartbreakingly fails. She has many fantastic moments in the film but I was especially impressed with her last scene when some time after they divorced and Jakob is having a book party Alex comes over to see him. You can just see her sadness about what has happened to him and about their love lost in her eyes.

2. An Education / Helen

I always name this performance when asked 'what are some of the worst Oscar snubs?'. The film got an Oscar attention, but Pike who created an interesting character basically out of thin air, didn't end up getting nominated. Her Helen is gorgeous, elegant and fun. But she is also very silly and everyone prevents her from realizing that fact. Pike captures the confusion of those moments and she shows that Helen does - on some level - understand it and hates - and at the same time loves - being shielded like that. Pike also adds a lot of humour to the film and ultimately creates a very sweet character. She is so innocent - like a child that just wants to play with toys and doesn't ever want to face the real world.

1. Barney's Version / Miriam

While I think the movie is very flawed and tiresome, in spite of Giamatti's Golden Globe win in a ridiculous category fraud - this is in no way a comedy - it is worth seeing just to witness Pike's lovely, warm and beautiful performance as Miriam. She is absolutely enchanting - so enchanting in fact, that Giamatti's character falls in love with her instantly...during the party after his wedding to another woman. Pike plays a strong, compassionate and charming woman who is not afraid to be vulnerable and let love in her life. She also has such pride and dignity and warmth about her. She's quite simply a vision of lovely.

Other posts in David Fincher Blog Event:

While it's still a little over a week till the whole album is released four tracks showed up on soundcloud today. I think this will become my favorite of the three scores Reznor and Ross did for Fincher. Sugar Storm on its own is so gorgeous. I can almost taste sugar and snow while listening to it. Just like You sounds like something straight from David Lynch's movie and I think The Way he looks at me plays in a certain montage that is bound to make everyone lose their shit.

Tracks: Sugar Storm, Background Noise, The Way He Looks at Me, Just like You

Artist: Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Movie: Gone Girl

Here's the tracklist:

SIDE 1A
1 WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO EACH OTHER?
2 SUGAR STORM
3 EMPTY PLACES
4 WITH SUSPICION
5 JUST LIKE YOU
6 APPEARANCES
7 CLUE ONE

SIDE 1B
1 CLUE TWO
2 BACKGROUND NOISE
3 PROCEDURAL
4 SOMETHING DISPOSABLE
5 LIKE HOME

SIDE 2A
1 EMPTY PLACES (REPRISE)
2 THE WAY HE LOOKS AT ME
3 TECHNICALLY, MISSING
4 SECRETS
5 PERPETUAL
6 STRANGE ACTIVITIES

SIDE 2B
1 STILL GONE
2 A REFLECTION
3 CONSUMMATION
4 SUGAR STORM (REPRISE)
5 WHAT WILL WE DO?
6 AT RISK

Other posts in David Fincher Blog Event:

Another horrid week and I'm publishing this on midnight on Thursday which means it's now 5 hours until I need to be up again and then it's 8 more hours of work this week for me.

I mean seriously - I'm taking few days off for the first time in 5 months (!) in 2 weeks. And it's not to chill - it's to go across the country to take an exam which I'm almost sure I'm going to fail. I've been learning for months but this thing is impossible - you have to get 120 out of 150 answers right, there are 4 options, only one is correct and sometimes they differ with one word. And then if by some miracle I pass there is the second stage which is writing a ruling on whatever horrible legal cases they will sadistically think of this year. And the thing is that because of my 3 days off I now have 5 days - not 8 - to finish 17 cases for the judge next week. And then I'm back home studying for the exam. I'm gonna cry blood, you guys. Because my brain will be leaking.

Yes, I do need that hug.

I saw Parole Office this week. Steve Coogan was in it and he is always funny but as usual there was only one reason for me seeing the movie. The one true King.

Stephen played a villain - this time a bad cop. And he kept a guy's head in his freezer. *giggling happily because Stephen is so versatile* *and hot* *so hot*

Lena Headey is in this movie. At one point Stephen comes on to her and she rejects him.

I knew she was fucking crazy.

You know what I realized this week while in the middle of another Moore/Pike Oscar race rant? That no matter who wins Oscar for Best Actress this year they are already too lucky. They both played Stephen's wives. They both had sex scenes with him. That's like riding on your personal unicorn and winning a lottery.

Only hotter.

I'd trade hundreds of Oscars and my own soul to do what she got to do on the right ------>

Someone made a gifset of Stannis' sassy lines that didn't make it/probably won't make it to the show:

Those dumb as fuck showrunners, oh my God.

They deprive me of Stannis' sass and Dillane's nudity. The audacity!

Gone Girl reviews are wonderful. Save for Indiewire and Buzzfeed, the sites which hire, apparently, illiterate simpletons. Their reviews are not only terribly written but these people have completely misunderstood the whole story. These reviews were worse to read than 'the ending was bad' comments. Also from Buzzfeed - "Pike is good, but she’s a little too aristocratic for the role." What the fuck does this even mean?

Why are they publishing a review anyways? Shouldn't they post pictures of Gosling with the sticker Hot slapped on them?

Word is Tyler Perry is amazing in the movie. I knew it. He is already hilarious in the promos with his mixture of pity/amusement over Affleck:

Boom, lawyered.

God, Nick, you're such an idiot.

I wish I got to laugh at peasants with my lawyering. All I do is sitting behind the desk and writing things wondering whether to use 'nonetheless' or 'however'. Or checking if I put commas in the right places because if not, my boss will call me to tell me to print it again because the comma was missing. Because God knows the convicts who read those rulings in their shit stained cells care about commas.

Thank God the money is good.

Oh yeah I finally bought a curling iron. How do you use it with your left hand? I'm practicing bravely but my hair looked super insane this week. I'm again horrified that birds will randomly fly in to start a nest there.

Getting back to the world that is happier - because anything is happier than my job and my hair even the world of Gone Girl - They finally started doing something inspired with marketing and that is them releasing Amy's clues on the film's twitter account.

There's a new TV spot with foreign critics opinions, it's notable because with each of those promos we see more and more of Gone Girl's own 'what's in the box' scene with Nick discovering the shed. Affleck's acting looks fantastic.

Meanwhile terrific "Time" TV spot is finally available in HQ. The climax of this one is so awesome, with Rhonda quoting Amy's diary and then Amy herself saying the words and then again with the shed moment but the most intense part is Margo's frightened 'Nick!' scream as she is being taken away by the cops. Where did they find this Carrie Coon girl? She seems fantastic in her role here.

You can listen to entire soundtrack here - it's easily my favorite soundtrack of the year and my favorite out of Fincher's movies soundtracks. There are so many amazing tracks - Sugar Storm, Appearances, Like Home, Technically, Missing. SPOILER I thought the music during the montage scene revealing Amy's brilliance, freedom and master plan was going to be 'The way he looks at me' but now it's kinda obvious it's Technically, Missing. I love that track, the electric guitar and the cool very elegant vibe this track has suit Amy so well. It's gonna be such an amazing scene oh my God I'm gonna crap my pants you guys.END OF SPOILERS

There's also the first clip from the movie which they showed during Rosamund Pike's visit on Today show. She is such a trooper - 7 months pregnant and promoting the film. She's gonna be (along with Chris Pratt) on Tonight Show tonight! Anyways the chemistry between her and Affleck looks awesome, I'm already buying their romance more than in the book because the entire book I was like 'what does she see in this spineless twit?!'

On a related note Pike is truly impossibly gorgeous. And her voice! Oh my God. I want to be in threesome with her and Stephen.

Can someone stop that idiot who is attacking celebrities? Grabbing a woman like that without her permission. I wish Kanye would kick him in the nuts.

Colin Farrell and Vince Vaughn are going to be in season 2 of True Detective. It sounds awesome. I love Farrell - he is a very good actor and he was so fantastic in last year's Saving Mr. Banks. Hell, he even managed not to embarrass himself in Winter's Tale. Now that's an accomplishment.

Godzilla honest trailer is pure gold. I laughed so hard during Watanabe montage.

Maps to the Stars was the only movie without Stephen in it I saw this week. It was pretty awesome actually and Julianne Moore absolutely owned it. But how many times are we going to have to witness Mia Wasikowska being odd and feral in films?

I didn't have time to see anything this week other than that. I did catch new episodes of The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon swallowing the spit ball was so freaking hilarious.

Alex features fantastic Kevin Bacon in his In Character series

Ruth reviews The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them

m.brown reviews They Came Together

Nika writes about Honeymoon

Fisti is back and he is shitting all over Transcendence

RELATED POSTS:

"Filmmaking isn’t if you can just strap on a camera onto an actor, and steadicam, and point it at their face, and follow them through the movie, that is not what moviemaking is, that is not what it’s about. It’s not just about getting a performance. It’s also about the psychology of the cinematic moment, and the psychology of the presentation of that, of that window."

Well, here we are guys, days before most of you get to see Gone Girl and about 2 weeks until I get to see it (no, seriously, fuck my life) we reached the end of my David Fincher Blog Event. Hopefully you guys liked the series and perhaps it even got you in the mood to watch or rewatch some of his movies.

Fincher, a guy who is nicknamed 'the prince of darkness', is for me the most talented director working right now. And hopefully through one of my lists it was also evident that this guy has a great sense of humour, a knowledge that may come quite handy when you realize just how many hilarious things there are in Gone Girl.

But don't worry, it's still dark, creepy and morally repugnant. Fincher you know and love.

With Gone Girl I may be looking at the new champion to this list but right now this is how I'd rank the films directed by Fincher so far:

(and Across the Universe podcast will have a very special podcast episode about Fincher next Wednesday, so make sure you listen to that one!)

9. Alien 3 - 40/100

While Fincher has completely detached himself from the movie, there is no denying he still figures as the director of it. While Alien 3, butchered by the studio who were at odds with Fincher every step of the way during the production, is not a good movie, there is still plenty to love in it - there's Weaver being fearless again, awesome design of the creature, Charles Dance in a supporting role and very dark ambiance of hopelessness and isolation.

And you gotta love that after Cameron turned one of the best horror franchises into silly action movie (I don't like Aliens, sue me) with the second film, Fincher single-handedly unmade all that happy ending crap...in opening credits.

8. Panic Room - 65/100

I was recently rewatching this one and all its flaws are even more evident now after I've seen newer Fincher's films - while right now he can be truly called the master of directing the movie and someone who really makes all the technology and inventive editing and camerawork work for him, in Panic Room it comes off as silly and insanely distracting. The camera acts like it's on acid and even the fun opening credits don't impress anymore. Add to that the story that is simply not very engaging and ridiculous characters of the robbers and you get a very mediocre movie.

But Jodie Foster is as usual reliable and it's nice that Kristen Stewart haters, who of course bash her without ever checking out any of her great roles in little known films, at least have this one movie outside of Twilight they saw with her in it about which they can go 'well she wasn't bad here'.

7. The Game - 69/100

While The Game is one of those mindfuck movies that doesn't have a script strong and believable enough to support all those twists and turns, it's still very well directed, entertaining movie with several fantastic and unforgettable set pieces.

It's a rollercoaster ride, if that rollercoaster would occasionally threaten to collapse while you were on it, due to poor construction. The story could have been stronger but Deborah Kara Unger plays a one of Fincher's tough and awesome ladies so well and Michael Douglas is great as the lead of the film.

6. Zodiac - 80/100

Gasps all around. Look, it's a good movie. I know many of you place it at the top, but I can't understand you doing that as much as I'm sure many of you can't understand why I have what I have on number 1 of the list. Zodiac is a very well crafted film - it has great structure and despite its chronicle format it's never boring. Well, almost never boring.

It's Jake Gyllenhaal. This guy plays the most boring protagonist of all of Fincher's films and frankly it was just difficult for me to care once he becomes pretty much the sole focus of the movie in the third act. But up until that point it's all very good - there are fantastic supporting roles here - Ruffalo, Downey Jr and Elias Koteas are all wonderful but it's Anthony Edwards' good cop performance and especially John Carroll Lynch's movie stealing turn as the man who we cannot confirm that but he definitely is the Zodiac killer that is the film's most unforgettable aspect.

5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 88/100

This film gets tons of hate and ironically it's one of the two that got the most acclaim from Academy. While it's not perfect - Pitt and Blanchett really could put a bit more heart into this one considering how their characters are supposed to be the the heart of the film - the film is a beautiful chronicle of what life is and what makes our lives so beautiful and tragic.

A sorta anti-Forrest Gump, Button lives his extraordinary life somewhere close but never in the centre of historical events. And while his aging in reverse life may be one of a kind, his experiences - those of love, loss, tragedy and adventure - are universal. I never thought a man of such surgical precision as Fincher can make a movie that is this profoundly moving and sentimental, but in a good sense of the word.

4. The Social Network - 93/100

While The Social Network is not the kind of story I usually like - young entitled rich people getting even more entitled and richer - this is perhaps the most exquisitely directed movie I've seen in my entire life. It moves so fast yet so patiently, slithers through events carefully, introduces characters, meditates on their decisions only to suddenly explode with rage and heartbreak. And all of that accompanied by insanely well written lines and groundbreaking score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.

With this movie Fincher got a new audience. All those teenagers who now call him his favorite director. All those kids who shared how much they loved the movie about Facebook on the actual Facebook. It's also the first of the intensely clinically, meticulously done movies Fincher has made that opened a whole new chapter in his filmography.

3. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - 94/100

While it gets so much unfair criticism and bad rep I loved The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The first adaptation of the novel, for me, has absolutely nothing on this one. Fincher's version of the tale of two good people surrounded by the hordes of evil in modern world is amazingly well crafted and it features a terrific ensemble, the funniest use of music in any of his films and so far (but not for long) the fiercest heroine of his films.

The film for me is much more of a romance than Benjamin Button was - there is absolutely no chemistry in Fincher's only straight up drama film - but here Craig and Mara are both excellent, creating two wonderful performances and unforgettable characters.

2. Fight Club - 98/100

Fight Club is probably the film with the best plot twist I've seen. I still remember watching it for the first time all those years ago, my jaw dropping to the floor during the big reveal scene. But Fight Club is so much more - it's one of those rare movies that are better than the books they are based on and even more amazingly - one of those very few movies that capture the entire generation. The Social Network did it for those of us growing up in Facebook era, but before that Fincher managed to do that with this one - the frustration, depression and the broken dreams of young adults in the 90's, stuck in rat race, luiving day by day, never really accomplishing what they wanted to.

It's a timeless tale really and Fincher's masterful direction of the movie is what makes it bulletproof to the threat of ever becoming outdated. With insanely quotable lines, frantic, energetic pace and unforgettable performances, Fight Club is one of those movies the overwhelming majority of movie fans simply adores.

1. Se7en - 99/100

Fincher is the only director to have two movies in my top 10 of all time and it's really not a surprise. Se7en for me it's one of those movies you simply have to know when you love films. It's pure classic and one of the most influential movies ever made. Every single cop chases killer thriller released after wouldn't be the same without that movie.

20 years after being made the film still astonishes with the story, performances and even with its surprises as even today the film's shocking ending remains so uniquely dark and uncompromising. It's a masterpiece.

Other posts in David Fincher Blog Event:

(144) Well, this is not gonna be appropriate. At all.*

63 things I love about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (that no one talks about)

Performances I Love - Morgan Freeman in Se7en (+ few words about John Doe and the box)

(145) The unicorn and the double rainbow* + links

Visual Parallels: Zodiac + Se7en

10 Actors I Would See In Just About Anything (aka welcome to Fangirl Heaven)

(146) Okay, that was a little too inside + links

Hit Me with Your Best Shot: The Matrix

Top 10 Funny Moments in David Fincher's films

(147) 25 + links

Top 10 Music Moments in David Fincher's Films

Scene of the Week - The Social Network

(148) Freakshow + links

Screaming Sunday - Honeymoon

Top 10 performances in David Fincher's films

(149) Wedding invite with a hot tub photo? Amy! That's a no-no! + links

Are you ready to meet Amazing Amy? + 5 essential performances by Rosamund Pike

Soundtrack Wednesday - Gone Girl

(150) Technically, Missing + links

Ranking Fincher's films