Defenseload

My 15 Top Obsessions of 2012

You know me...I get obsessed with things rather easily. Like seriously, I have obsessive issues that sometimes need to be dialled back before people think Im crazy (case in point: I get asked to put Christmas decorations up. The first thing I think of is to put up tinsel Batmans in honour of The Dark Knight Rises which came out four weeks before Christmas). However, heres some which I havent been able to control over the year. The fact that Ive made a list of 15 and still missed out a whole lot of them is rather disturbing.


15. Independent cinema
Ive always loved independent cinema, but moreso this year, because it has become increasingly easier to get my hands on. Luckily, a lot of the stuff is going through Madman (a supplier here in NZ), meaning I get to catch up on them a bit earlier on the preview discs. While I may not have seen bigger films like Argo or The Hobbit just yet (nor will I until they come out on DVD), I have seen wonderful films like Your Sisters Sister and Bernie already thanks to that wonderful preview drawer. Just keep em coming, Madman.


14. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Ive always loved JGL, too, but the guy has been really flying this year. Sure, there was Premium Rush, which must have been quite a big flop since it has been delayed until March next year here (meaning it will go straight-to-DVD), but he was also in Steven Spielbergs Lincoln, and in The Dark Knight Rises - in a performance which I thought had its own wonderfulness about it. By far the best thing of his year, though, was Looper, which was a freakin awesome film itself, but JGL, weird eyebrows and nose and all, was so badass it almost hurt. I also saw 50/50 for the first time this year, where I completely fell for him. Hes also doing awesome stuff with his HitRecord project and hes just finished shooting his writing/directorial feature debut. Do the wonders ever cease? It would appear not - he also did some Magic Mike moves on SNL. Lawd.


13. The Great Gatsby
I finally read this whole book this year and it is safe to say, it is probably my favourite book of all time. F. Scott Fitzgerald really had a way with words. Also falling under this umbrella is Baz Luhrmanns forthcoming adaptation, which was my most anticipated movie for the year after The Dark Knight Rises. Why? Because a) haters gon hate but I love Baz Luhrmanns films, b) the trailers were just effing divine and they literally inspired a 1920s phase I had going on for a little while, c) Leonardo DiCaprio looks fiiiiiiiiiiine and d) that poster with Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker also looks fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. Im honestly so excited for this film I combust everytime I think about it.


12. Michael Fassbender
I loved him last year but seeing Shame and Prometheus this year just reaffirmed my love. Shame was by far the best performance Ive seen all year, and one of my favourites ever. And even though David had a few issues in Prometheus, I couldnt believe I was watching my darling Fassy up there. Seriously, he is one of the best actors out there right now.




11. Daniel Craig
When I was 11, I had a huge crush on Daniel Craig. With Skyfall and last years The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo being released this year, that crush came right on back. He was brilliant in both of those films, but heres why I love him:





10. Princess Merida
I loved Brave more than most it would seem, and theres one huge reason for that: Princess Merida. With her curly red hair (who definitely made me appreciate my ringlet curls a lot more), cute Scottish accent and badass archery skills, it is hard not to love Disneys latest heroine. Which is also why I dressed up as her for the Christmas parade.


9. Tom Hiddleston
Easily my favourite part of The Avengers. Also, he seems like the nicest person on Earth apart from someone else on this list. And his tweets are incredibly sweet, especially around Oscar time when he got almost as excited as I did when Rooney Mara got nominated for Best Actress. I imagine he and Loki couldnt be more different.


8. Shame
This film floored me in a way that no film has ever done before. It was just so wonderfully put together that it is just about flawless. Plus, Steve McQueens style has left me in a daze that I still cant click out of. That guy knows how to set up a camera.


7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
While The Great Gatsby is my favourite book ever, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky pretty much changed my life. I definitely wasnt expecting it to be that affecting, but by the end, I was bawling my eyes out. I dont need to remind anyone of how excited I am to see the movie, and how high the expectations that I have for it. Which Im sure will be more than met.


6. Lana Del Rey
I rarely branch outside of movie music (terrible, I know), but in September, I decided to give Lana Del Rey a go. Then I bought her album Born to Die, and I pretty much havent listened to much else ever since. I got the Paradise edition for Christmas, so guess what will be accompanying me while I clean shelves? Seriously, I love her style, her voice, and her rather different music. Shes the best.


5. Ezra Miller
Ever since I saw We Need to Talk About Kevin on that earthquakey night of July the 3rd, I have been in love with Ezra Miller. I tried to deny it for a long time because that was just weird as he played a killer in that movie, but after seeing the trailer a few too many times, Ezra Miller became my husband. Hes just so worldly, even though he is so young, and so different. And then theres his cheekbones. Sigh.


4. Matthew McConaughey
This may come as a surprise, but I must say, nothing has brought me joy quite like Matthew McConaughey turning his career around. He used to be one of my least favourite actors, but I saw The Lincoln Lawyer last year which just hinted at what hes capable of. But when I saw the wonderfully crazy Killer Joe last month, I was completely stunned by his work. And then there was Magic Mike and Bernie to back up his roll into becoming a sought after actor. I cant wait to see what he does in The Dallas Buyers Club next year - his dedication to that role is kind of scary.


3. The Dark Knight Rises
I know, you probably all thought that this would be number one. Alas, while I loved going to see this and Ive been pretty much obsessed with it all year, there a couple of others that beat it. However, I would love to go back in time and see it that first time again. Even on my fourth watch earlier this week, I still cried like a baby and had my eyes glued to the screen the entire time. Nolan, you beast.


2. Downton Abbey
Before the end of the Christmas holidays earlier this year, I decided I would finally watch Downton Abbey to see what all the fuss was about. I was finished those first two seasons a lot faster than I thought I would be. I just love this show so much - it is well written, performed, put together. It has everything. And no, Im not to be deemed as an old lady for loving it so much. Most of my friends are really into it now. But I still cant forgive it for that terribly awful thing that happened in season three (I cried so much for a whole hour after seeing it - and it wasnt just tears, it was full on crying), and now I hear the Christmas special for this year was quite sad. I honestly dont know why I keep watching it when all it does is break my heart.


1. Jessica Chastain
The most wonderfully perfect human being on this Earth. Words cant even describe how much I love her so Im not going to try.

What do you think? Got any favourites here? Or any obsessions of your own for this year?

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My Movie Biography Extreme Obsessions and My Favourite Directors in 2007

So after telling (some of you) all about 2006, Ill move onto 2007 as we edge closer to my third blog birthday. Hopefully you enjoy this entry...

2007 was definitely a blossoming year for movies and I. Here are the most exciting things that happened:

• After going through that rough patch with Jake and Heath, I fell in love with Daniel Craig, all because that poster of Casino Royale was pretty hot. Once I was helping out at a horse show, and when I got bored I would get cinema showing times texted to me because they had Casino Royale in them. I mean, that was true love. I didnt see Casino Royale until three months after, but I did love it. I even bought the book, just because it had Daniel Craig on the front. 
• I bought my first Empire magazine issue. It had Lord of the Rings on the front. I read that issue five hundred times. It is just about in tatters. Now I have over five years worth of issues of the magazine.
• I saw my first R16. Alfred Hitchcocks Psycho. I used to be the biggest advocate for not watching movies underage. People would tell me about how they watched R16s and then Id give them a huge lecture about how they shouldnt have watched those movies because they were too young and that is against the law. Had my mother not insisted that we watch Psycho, then I probably wouldnt have seen any R16s until I was 16.
• I really loved that film, though. She showed me The Birds, and I loved that one just the same. Alfred Hitchcock became my first favourite director. 

• Even though I am dipping my toes in horror this month, when I was 11, I used to be a huge horror fan. I saw Carrie, and it became my favourite film. Okay, it was more of an obsession. I saw it one Wednesday night, and after that, I would not stop talking about it. I had to know every piece of trivia, I had to read the book, I watched some of the scenes over and over again on YouTube when my parents werent home. I even did an entire speech on Sissy Spacek, even though I had only seen Carrie and Coal Miners Daughter. It was a pretty exciting speech. I got into my first school speech final. Ever since then, Ive been in every school speech final. It took me until 2010 to win one, and then I managed to get the speech prize again last year (but there wasnt a final...just a prize for whoever had the best speech). In a way, Sissy Spacek harboured my need to be awesome at speeches every single year.
• Another horror that I loved in 2007 was The Ring (the remake). I had it on videotape (oh the irony), and I watched parts of the movie every morning before school for weeks.
• In this year, I became convinced that I needed to make a DVD collection. I would save up my pocket money, and Id be all ready to buy some ex-rentals from the shop, but Dad said that I could just "get them out when I wanted for free". So I didnt get any. For my birthday, however, Dad bought me The Devil Wears Prada on ex-rental, and I watched it over and over and over again. Words cannot explain how much I love that film. But I used to hate it when Andy started prioritising her career over her boyfriend, so I would always skip that part. Basically, I would watch it mainly for the clothes, and then Id try and buy the same clothes from the Warehouse. That didnt go according to plan.
• I saw Mean Girls at some point through this year. I videotaped it off the TV (my main method of watching movies back in the day). That tape had the first few minutes cut out, so while I watched the film billions of times, it wasnt until when I bought the DVD that I saw those first few minutes. Even now they still seem really foreign. 
• I started my job at Blockbuster in 2007. I felt so cool. I didnt get paid though. CHILD LABOUR!
• Another obsession I had in 2007 (jeez, there were so many) was with Grace Kelly. Which of course introduced me to more Hitchcock films, which legitimately meant that I could call him my favourite director. But yes, Grace Kelly lived an interesting life...which I know because I read three different biographies on her.

• Probably the biggest obsession I had in 2007 was with Hairspray. When I say I was obsessed, I was OBSESSED. I mean, I know that 2007 was considered a great year in cinema because we had films like No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood and Gone Baby Gone, but come on, Hairspray was actually the best. It is just so funny, lively, colourful, inspirational...the full package, really. Wanna know how obsessed I was? At work we had some thieves around the place, so we had to change over the cases to more secure cases on the new release wall. This was one of the most boring, systematic jobs ever. There were over 1000 cases to change. It took an entire week, working from early in the morning to late in the afternoon. Honestly, if I was on the payroll, I could have got at least $500 for this. But what did I ask for? A Hairspray soundtrack. Which was like, $23. Maybe I should just remind Dad about that time and get what I truly deserved...
• The last "obsession" I had in 2007 was actually fairly embarrassing. Pulp Fiction was on TV late one night, so I taped it. I then watched it. I then became obsessed with it. The catch is that I DID NOT UNDERSTAND PULP FICTION. I watched it again in 2010, and it was like seeing a whole new film. No jokes. In fact, all I think I took from the experience was Mias overdose, Mia and Vincent dancing and Quentin Tarantinos appearance in the film. Alas, those three scenes made QT my "new favourite director". Which is really embarrassing. I did try to watch Reservoir Dogs on Christmas Eve but my mother told me to turn it off because it had too much swearing in it. So I didnt see it until 2010.
• Alas, I did get a portable DVD player in this year. Which meant that I could watch movies filled with swearing and stuff without my parents ever finding out. But for some reason, I never finished watching Reservoir Dogs. Obviously, Quentin Tarantino was my "favourite director".

Available link for download