The Arts & Crafts Movement

When I was fifteen I studied library books on Victorian houses so I could design one of my own. It was three stories, situated on a slope so the basement opened at ground level in the back. In addition to the three floor plans, I drew a side elevation to illustrate the slope and a front elevation with all the detailed decor you would expect on that kind of house (which I now know to be Queen Anne Style).

A few months later I turned it in to my French teacher as a class project (to design our dream house and label the rooms in French). For weeks I was too shy to ask for it back. Finally, the last week of class, I summoned the courage to ask--she'd already thrown it away.

I don't know if I've ever suffered such heartbreak, before or since.

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That is the sad history of my first experience with 19th century architecture. Once I went to college though, things started looking up. The Victorian age was the age of revivals, of which Queen Anne is one. Parallel to this and other revivals was the Arts & Crafts Movement (around 1860-1910). I don't remember which class introduced me to it, but I know that lecture was a mental drool-fest.

Here's what I recall (with a little help from Wikipedia) about the origin of the movement: inspired by the neo-Gothic writings of John Ruskin and the art of pre-Raphaelite painters, it was led by artists such as William Morris, in response to the consumerism and mass production of the Industrial Revolution. I remember my professor showing a Victorian table, such as this one:

source: http://antiquecat.davidweatherford.com

Ornate, isn't it? A picturesque antique, very expensive. Guess what it's made of--paper mache. A whiff of air could almost destroy it. The founders of the Arts & Crafts Movement promoted a return to hand craftsmanship, ordinary materials, and attention to detail and quality, as opposed to cheap, gaudy ornamentation and the grand aesthetic statements of revived Classicism. Although Arts & Crafts textiles were often decorated with organic forms inspired by the Medievalism of the Gothic Revival, its built objects avoided superfluous, artificial decoration, sticking with the purity of the materials and construction method used.

A William Morris textile, source: Wikipedia.org

Gamble House stairwell, source: http://cwis.usc.edu/

The Arts & Crafts movement extends from fabrics, tile, ceramics, metalwork, and furniture, to architecture. There were several sub-movements of Arts & Crafts architecture, all the way down to Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie School, but I'll get to it's North American application in another post. The Arts & Crafts Movement bred the Art Nouveau style, Antoni Gaudi's Catalan Modernisme (another future post, because I adore Gaudi) and Charles Rennie Mackintosh's Glasgow School. It even informed the stark geometric purity of Modernism.

The poster child for Arts & Crafts architecture is the Red House near London, designed for William Morris himself by architect Philip Webb in 1859.

source: http://www.geolocation.ws/v/P/51929534/the-red-house/en

The front exhibits a clear Gothic influence in the high pitched roof and tall lateral windows...

source: http://www.mariabuszek.com

...while the overall effect has an organic, vernacular feel to it from the texture of its materials and asymmetrical construction, to its integration with the garden outdoors.

source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pomphorhynchus/

The structure of every window frame is evident in the brickwork.

source: http://www.williammorristile.com

And of course there's the flourish of stained glass.

Isn't Arts & Crafts architecture full of awesome? It borrows some basic aesthetic forms of a historical period, but also interprets the period's inherent structural purity to catalyze a new era of thinking in design. (This is, I think, what so outraged Louis Sullivan about Howells and Hood's design for the Chicago Tribune Tower [see the post I wrote two years ago]--it used Gothic forms without maintaining their structural importance. The historical style was ripped and re-plastered, relegated to nothing but ornamentation.)

Stay tuned for at least two more posts on the offshoots of the Arts & Crafts Movement!

Sometimes I feel like a Superhuman

Saturday was one of those times. I got on my roommate's exercise bike intending to bike for 30 minutes. Finding myself in the mood, for a dark, intense movie (which may or may not have been the result of an annoying series of texts I was getting), I put on District 9. Right at the 30 minute mark is when that movie starts getting really exciting. I couldn't stop! At 75 minutes I had to force myself to get off the bike or I wouldn't have any movie left to watch with crunches and weights.

By the time the movie was over I had worked out for almost 2 hours. Yes. That's a far cry from where I was a month ago.

I was feeling so energetic that day that after our super-awesome writing group, RAMS in ARMS on MARS (the anagrams of our initials), I started doing high kicks. Or it could've been because RAMS in ARMS on MARS makes me feel like and intellectual superhuman and I had to release some of the pent-up energy. Or it could possibly be because it was late and I act weird when I'm tired.

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Last night I did not feel like a superhuman. That is, I did until I tried to go jogging outside. The weather was beautiful, and I was all set to run a marathon (meaning 3 miles). I learned the hard way that you can't (or I can't, at least) just pick up where you left off with running when you haven't done it in over 2 months. A side stitch brought me back to a walk within the first half mile. When it finally subsided and I started jogging again, that's when my asthma took over. Seriously? I took 2 solid puffs from the inhaler before I went outside! I had no choice to but to walk home as fast as I could. I spent a good 20 minutes coughing up my lungs before I could get on the bike again.

West Texas air is clearly determined to bring me down a few pegs. Thank goodness it can't touch the secret superpowers!

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It's been a long time since I've done an architecture themed post. I'm trying to think of a building I like enough to write on. Are there any buildings you want to know about?

Cinematic Love Stories

Since elementary school, Valentine's Day hasn't meant much to me beyond a Friday night dance and an excuse to write a cheesy love-centric blog post. Except that everything I write is love-centric because I only write about things I love. One of the things I love most is making lists of movies, so here's yet another one.

I generally sneer at contemporary American romance films. I enjoy a good love story and most stories feel incomplete to me without a bit of one, but I detest it when genuine emotion is scrapped for sex. The cardboard characters Hollywood churns out in chick flicks these days also annoy me. Throughout film history and world geography though, there's a handful of love stories that never fail to move me. There are the comic ones with characters you can’t help but adore (in my case It Happened One Night, The Shop Around the Corner/You’ve Got Mail, The Philadelphia Story, Roman Holiday, A Room With a View, Sweet Land, While You Were Sleeping, Pride and Prejudice, even The Princess Bride). And then there are the ones that strike the chord that wrings your heart, carrying you through the anguish of adversity and anticipation for the final tear-fest of joy or disappointment. This kind brings a catharsis that the ones above don't.

The following six films have such an effect on me. Two are Hollywood classics, two are foreign, one is a low budget miniseries. While making this list I realized that they all have something very distinct in common, but I’ll get to that later. These aren’t ranked, just in order of when they came out. Most of them are available online, so I linked the titles. Disclosure: this list contains no Nicholas Sparks or Stephenie Meyer.

1. Casablanca (1942) - Casablanca is one of the most brilliant films of all time, but even though I love it for other reasons than the love story (some of Ingrid Bergman’s lines are the film’s weakest point), I couldn’t possibly leave it off. Rick Blaine is a cynical American expatriot who runs a nightclub in Casablanca, the last stop to freedom from those fleeing Nazi occupation during WWII. “I stick my neck out for nobody,” is how Rick describes himself. That is, until Czech resistance hero Victor Laszlo appears, needing forged papers. On Laszlo’s arm is Rick’s old flame, Ilse, who jilted him as he had to flee Paris during the Nazi invasion. What results is a beautiful story of love, honor, and sacrifice for the greater good.

2. Random Harvest (1942) - This film has been called one of the most unabashedly romantic movies in history, and I quite agree. An amnesiac WWI veteran with an unknown identity slips away from an asylum and meets a lively traveling actress, Paula. “John Smith”, as he refers to himself, slowly regains his confidence and creates a new life with her. But when an accident reverses his memory, his blissful life with Paula is swept away, and we are left to wonder whether he will ever be able to reconcile his two selves, two lives. Greer Garson is one of my favorite actresses solely for her radiant performance here, and Ronald Coleman is also brilliant. Random Harvest is a weepy (in the best sense) if nothing else is, but it's oh, so good!

3. A Town Like Alice (1981) - When my roommate urged me to watch this a couple years ago, I was skeptical. A early ‘80s miniseries set in Malaya during WWII? Sounded like a dreary affair, but after 10 minutes my eyes were glued to the screen. Jean Paget is a young Englishwoman living with her brother in Malaya, until the Japanese invade and capture her British settlement. The women and children are sent on a death march around the country, where their little band begins to drop like flies. Along the way, Jean and her friends are helped by Australian POW Joe Harman, and in these unlikely circumstances the two find themselves silently drawn to each other. But after a harrowing series of incidents, Jean survives the war and returns to England not knowing if Joe is alive or dead.

4. Persuasion (1995, or 2007 if you prefer, but the book is better than either) - An adaptation of Jane Austen’s last novel, to me it is the most elegant and resonant of her stories. Anne Elliot is the spinster daughter of a monetarily reduced Baronet. Oppressed and used by her family, Anne suffers the additional disappointment of knowing she lost her chance at happiness eight years before when her friends and family persuaded her to break off her engagement with a poor sailor, Captain Wentworth. As her family is forced to move and rent out their estate, the now rich captain comes back into the neighborhood. With their circumstances virtually reversed, Anne must watch as Captain Wentworth charms everyone else around him while holding her in contempt for how she treated him in the past.

5. Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, eng. “Something Happens” (1998) - This may be a remnant of the 1990s bubblegum era of Bollywood, complete with silly production values (there are certain parts of the film so unbearable that even I have to ff through them), but that doesn’t make the core story any less poignant. Rahul and Anjali are college students and best friends. Even though both are insanely immature, Anjali realizes the extent of her feelings for Rahul just as he begins to fall for a sophisticated newcomer, Tina. Anjali leaves heartbroken, with no way for Rahul to contact her. Years later when Rahul’s daughter is 8 years old, she finds out that her widowed father is not only still grieving for his wife, but for the loss of his best friend all those years ago. She has to figure out how to reintroduce Rahul to the person Tina knew could make him even happier than she did. I will say this for Indian films: the best ones don’t put emotions into neat little categorized boxes as American films do. They’re messy, undefined, and sometimes unsettling--like real life tends to be. Despite the cheese, this film has more moments that wring my heart than any other.

6. My Sassy Girl (2001) - Like Indian cinema, Korean films don’t reign in the weeps, but an abundance of laughs and genuine human experience make this one lovely. Gyeon-woo, a student with no direction in his life, stops a drunk girl from falling onto the tracks of a subway. When she vomits all over the inside of the car, the other passengers mistake Gyeon-woo as her boyfriend and insist he take care of her. Somehow Gyeon-woo and the titular “girl” keep seeing each other and even as she demands one outrageous thing after another, she shows him just enough affection for him to stick around. Every time they start getting close though, the girl’s untold past surfaces once more and her erratic behavior reopens the divide between them.

The commonality between these stories share is that they all involve a significant interlude between the backstory/setup and the final resolution. There’s either a passage of time or an alteration in circumstances that fundamentally changes the central relationship, making it more dynamic. And in none of them is it just a couple of months. In each of the stories there is the nail biting anticipation of when they're going to meet again and what will happen when they do. These characters don’t endure silly misunderstandings, but real obstacles, whether internal or external. The split timeline allows you to feel more involved in the characters’ lives, making them more realistic and empathetic. It allows you to take part in the difficulties the characters face, to deal with those obstacles and still triumph over them.

Note: I know the dynamic character growth is why a lot of people like television show relationships. It seems to me though, that in most tv shows a romantic expectation is established in the first episode and then delayed time and time again by contrived obstacles. Sometimes they mirror real life, but in reality people tend to just get over it and choose another co-protagonist for their life. The difference is that a story in non-serial format allows for more artistic unity. Essentially, it gets to the point without needless filler.

I don't generally read books for the same romantic gratification, but some of my favorites have it anyway. Those include Persuasion again, North and South, Anna Karenina, I Capture the Castle, and Gaudy Night. In the fantasy realm my favorites are Crown Duel, Fire and Hemlock, and The Queen of Attolia.

If you are as much a sap as me, what are your favorite love stories, book or film (sans Nicholas Sparks and Stephenie Meyer)?

The Artist

I think I have the Oscar nominations to thank for The Artist still being shown in my town. Some coworkers and I decided we had to take advantage of the opportunity and saw it this afternoon.

I said a couple months ago that The Tree of Life is one of my all time favorite movies. I would go as far as to say that it is the most profoundly moving film I've ever seen. How amazed I was to find another 2011 film that inspired a different, but equally strong response. I expected to like it, but I didn't expect to be like "Ohmigosh I love this movie. No wait, I love it even more. Can it even get any better?!?!?! Yes, it can! LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE a-duh LOVE LOVE LOVE♫!...Le sigh."

I seriously love this movie so much. Soooooo much. And I can even tell you why.

In case you didn't know, The Artist is a black-and-white, silent film. If you have any sense of adventure, don't let that scare you away. It's incredibly accessible. At first I wondered if the silent nature would be a gimmick, a cheap attempt to be arty. I will just say that the film absolutely has to be silent. It's not just to prove that silent motion picture is still a valid storytelling format (in the words of Norma Desmond, "We didn't need dialogue, we had faces!"), or only because the story is about an actor during the transition from silent to talking cinema. The story has everything to do with it of course, but way the rare sound effects used are brilliantly integral to the tale, or rather the main character's development.

The story itself is somewhat of a cross between Singin' in the Rain and A Star is Born. A silent film star finds his career in danger with the advent of "talkies", while an aspiring actress gets her start. The protagonist, George Valentin, reminded me a lot at the beginning of Gene Kelly's cocky movie star. He doesn't inspire love immediately, but he's amusing enough to keep interest until you care about him. As my friend pointed out, without dialogue it takes a little longer to care about the characters. That may be true, but the absence of dialogue means that the characters aren't put in neat little verbal boxes. We're not told who they are and how we're supposed to feel about them. Instead, we see who they are, and our reactions to them are more intuitive.

The only thing I know to compare this film to in tone is the films of Charlie Chaplin. I'm not the biggest silent film fan, but I adore Chaplin. Like his films, The Artist has the perfect blend of pathos and comedy. Something heartbreaking may be happening, but there's still humor onscreen. At one point during the climax I couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. I think I did both. Dual emotions are something that are rare in American films these days. (That's something that Asian films, even the ones we may sneer at in the Western world for their cheesiness and low production values, excel at).

There are so many things that are wonderful about this film, so many great moments. There's a dream sequence that is destined to be as classic as the dream sequence in Hitchcock's Spellbound. The two lead actors are top-notch. They mug when appropriate (Jean Dujardin's "I'm a stud and I know it" smirk, and Bérénice Bejo's wink), but they bring both genuine charm and gravitas to their roles. Both look every bit the superstar and their chemistry is perfect. In fact, Bejo (who I just recognized as the ladies' maid in A Knight's Tale--remember, the one who everyone thought was prettier than the lady?) can create chemistry with just a suit jacket on a coat rack!

Even more endearing are James Cromwell's devoted valet/chauffeur and the Jack Russell Terrier, Uggie, who saves the day on more than one occasion and provides some of the funniest slapstick.

I expected to keep an emotional distance, but each minute of film eroded more of that distance. By the middle of it I didn't want it to end. It's been a long time since I've seen a movie in the theater and thought "I would pay to see that again. Tomorrow."

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A few more comments:

My theater wasn't packed. There were maybe 3 rows full of people and half of them were elderly, so there wasn't much ambient noise. The silent picture made it even more still in the theater. As much as I appreciate respectful audiences, it was frustrating when I wanted to bust out laughing and could only snicker because everyone else was silent. Over and over. I'll enjoy watching this at home.

If The Artist doesn't win best picture, I will be surprised and possibly outraged.

2011 was a really good year for the movies! I don't expect to get to Hugo, War Horse, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close all in the theater, but hopefully I can squeeze at least one more in.

Vampires

Last night I killed three vampires.

The dream began late at night. I was hanging out with some girl friends and when we were contemplating going to bed one of them said, "I wonder when the vampires are going to attack us. It's only a matter of time." She picked up the phone and called the office of the vampire leader (a woman) to ask. The vampire leader said something like, "Now that you gave us the idea, we'll attack tonight." Soon the house was flooded with vampires who all looked like young professionals in business attire. The leader had shoulder length hair and wore a maroon skirt and suit jacket.

Want to know how I killed her? I crept up behind her and slit her throat with a pumpkin carving knife.

Let me tell you, it wasn't a pleasant experience. The whole time I was thinking, "I don't want to kill anybody. I don't even know if my hands are even capable of this. How deep do I have to cut?" And then I did it to two more vampires. Actually, one of them might have survived because I barely grazed his skin. He was laying on the floor when I left him, though. I never saw any fangs.

Next I woke up (sort of), and in my half-asleep delirium I was afraid to go back into a slumber for fear the rest of the vampires would regroup and attack us again.

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Seriously, what the crap? My mind must have been feeling incredibly empowered after last night's broom hockey game. But I'm offended that vampires are overrunning our culture so much that they even invade my subconscious! I'm glad I killed them.

2012 Academy Awards

I was really big into the Academy Awards in my late teenage and early twenties years. In recent years though, I've lost interest somewhat. I still follow who wins, but I've become bored with a plethora of nominees and winners that I have no interest in seeing. So many filmmakers are way too impressed with their pretentious, cynical views of the world. Where are the uplifting, positive films? Where are the films that don't fill your mind with scum?

And then the Academy broadened the Best Picture category to up to 10 slots. It's probably an attention seeking, and therefore, moneymaking ploy. The masses can be interested in the Oscars again because their tastes are represented a bit more. What results is, from an artistic standpoint, a watered down list. And you know what? I'm okay with that. Good, solid films that probably won't go down in history are at least recognized for being good, solid films. There are plenty of Best Picture winners through film history that wouldn't be remembered otherwise. Who watches Gigi anymore? Or Lawrence Olivier's Hamlet, or The Greatest Show on Earth? All are decent films that worked for audiences of their time, but none is Casablanca (course, nothing is Casablanca but Casablanca).

The Academy Awards have taken a turn recently. First was with the win of Slumdog Millionaire in 2009--a film that is gritty and difficult to watch, but ultimately uplifting and celebratory. The next year was when the slots were increased, and since then I've been interested in at least half of the nominees. My suspicion is that the economic downturn has influenced the Hollywood powers-that-be to give us some entertainment to be happy about--and feel good about appreciating happy entertainment.

This year's nominees, which were just announced today, particularly excite me. First of all, all but one is family-appropriate (it's no secret that I don't watch rated R movies unless they are edited). One. Can it be believed? That hasn't happened in a very long time. Here's a rundown of the major categories:

BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

I've seen four of these and The Tree of Life is my favorite so far, but responses were too polar for it to win. Frankly, I would be happy if almost any of these won, but my money is on The Artist (which I desperately want to see, along with Hugo). I am surprised not to see Drive nominated, as that had a lot of buzz.

BEST ACTOR
Demián Bichir - A Better Life
George Clooney - The Descendants
Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt - Moneyball

No opinion, as Brad Pitt's is the only of these performances I've seen, but I'm overjoyed to see chameleon Gary Oldman nominated. I'm sure my sister will be disappointed not to see Michael Fassbender, but he's on his way to superstardom, so there are plenty of years ahead for him.

BEST ACTRESS
Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis - The Help
Rooney Mara - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn

Again, I've only seen one performance. Viola Davis was superb in The Help, and I will probably cry if she wins, because she made me cry in the film.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh - My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Nick Nolte - Warrior
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Max von Sydow - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

I doubt he'll win, but I adored Jonah Hill in Moneyball. I'm so glad to see him nominated partially because it's refreshing to see a major character who looks and acts like a normal person, and otherwise because he was fantastic.

SUPPORTNG ACTRESS
Bérénice Bejo - The Artist
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer - The Help

Octavia Spencer and Jessica Chastain should almost have been nominated together because of how much their performances depended on how they played off one another. The two had fantastic chemistry, and I wouldn't be sorry to see either win.

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Cinematography is one area where I dare to hope that The Tree of Life will win, but it looks like a competitive year for the award. I haven't even seen War Horse, but the cinematography in the trailer alone is awe-inspiring.

DIRECTING
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants - Alexander Payne
Hugo - Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen
The Tree of Life - Terrence Malick

I have no opinion but that these are all the Best Picture front runners (except for ToL of course, but I'm soooo glad Malick was nominated).

Other observations: Only 2 nominees for Best Song. I guess this just wasn't a great year for movie songs. Original Score (Tintin, The Artist, Hugo, Tinker Tailor, and War Horse): I haven't heard any of them--must listen asap! The two screenplay awards show nothing unexpected. Any thoughts or opinions from my faithful readers?

I know that Iron Supplements are true

or, A Catalog of Complaints

I made a conscious decision when I was 20 years old that I didn't want to be a complainer. I slip up pretty often, but you don't see me complain much on the blog. Well, that's what I'm going to do today--complain, complain, complain! Here are my top 10 complaints:

• Blood cells take too long to make.
• I was stupid enough to not think about the consequences of having a near-vegetarian diet (not intentional, meat just isn't my favorite food) for months without taking supplements.
• Which means my brain doesn't work very well these days and my work ethic sucks.
• Having full use of my brain and work ethic is kind of crucial at this point.
• My legs feel like they're the weight of an elephant's, with the strength and control of a cooked noodle, therefore
• It takes me twice as long to walk to my car after work, therefore
• I'm twice as cold when I get there, therefore
• It takes twice as long to warm up.
• I hate being cold.
• I almost fell asleep at my own birthday party.
• On the much anticipated Martin Luther King Day, grocery shopping in a dust storm left me just enough energy to stretch out on my friend's couch and watch a movie. I probably looked like I was about to start drooling.
• I still laid in bed for an hour that night before I could sleep.
• Laying on the couch and watching movies is about all I've been able to do for the last 2 weeks, with a few exceptions when some magical excitability trumped fatigue.
• I can't exercise, therefore
• I'm gaining weight, and
• My mood sucks.
• In short, anemia is kicking my behind.

Okay, that was 17 complaints. Don't worry, I'm done. The plus side is that  it should only be another week or 2 before I start feeling better. Here are some other pluses:

• Flintstones vitamins taste so good! I'm never going to go back to adult ones.
• I also got these orange flavored, orange shaped Vitamin C gummies to help me absorb more iron. They're not sweet like orange candies, but they're still good enough that I have to be careful not to overdose!
• I have an excuse to play the piano for an hour every day, since that's the only exercise I'm going to get for a while.
• It's easier to prioritize time when my options are so drastically limited.
• I've watched 3 really good movies during these periods of isolated invalidity--The Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Moneyball, and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.
• I still had such a fun time with my lovely writing group last Saturday. We ate a delicious dinner, found that we can all wax long and eloquent on the minutia of fictional communication, and watched Midnight in Paris, another great movie.
• I treated myself to Insalada Caprese for lunch yesterday.
• I'm treating myself to Insalada Caprese again for dinner tonight.
• I'm not in acute pain, this is not a chronic illness, and I don't have little ones to take care of.
• I'm seriously blessed!

1 day later. This balance of complaints vs. blessings is looking so sad! I need 8 more blessings, pronto. Here we go:

• Two of my good friends got back from trips in the past week. It's good to have the besties around!
• I had enough energy and brainpower to plan and deliver a talk at church on Sunday.
• There's a song that pretty accurately captures my mood (even though the video has nothing to do with it):
  
  
• Did I mention that I made Insalada Caprese for dinner last night?
• Umm...There's only 2 more days until the weekend. And I don't have any plans.
• Another good friend is making me an after-birthday dinner tomorrow!
• I have the most wonderful family on Earth. And the best friends.
• The Lord loves me so much. He tells me exactly what I need to hear, and what I need to study to help me at this point in my life. So what do I have to complain about? Nothing.

Here's to a New Decade!

My sister and several of my friends passed the big 3-0 in recent years, so I was prepared. I approached what some consider the funeral of young single adulthood with the determination to make it the best birthday of my life! What could be more exciting than having a whole decade ahead of you where you can literally do anything you want? I'm out of the structured years of college, well into my career (I have to admit, money does bring some freedoms). I. Can. Do ANYTHING (and not just by taking a look in a book).

I decided to count down to this special day by celebrating the last 5 years of my life, one for each of the last 5 days. Here are my recent Facebook statuses:

It's not every year that one begins a new decade of life! I'm counting down to the happy day by reminiscing about the last 5 years. When I was 25...I finished my Master's Degree, went on my first 2 major (, fantastic) road trips, did a lot of job hunting, and worked as a valet! Maybe I'll wear my bow tie today.

‎4 more days and counting. When I was 26 I landed my first real job in the great region of West Texas, grew up a little, didn't die traveling alone to San Diego and Harrisonburg, saw my oldest friend married, and discovered that some boys actually like Twilight (I still can't imagine why).

‎3 more days until a new decade! When I was 27 I went up the tallest structure in the Western Hemisphere; co-created the most delightful PJ Shrimp; bungled through 2 new leadership positions at work and one at church (and learned so much from them); and almost got killed 3 or 4 times in Amarillo by a candy-striped truck driving, non-seatbelt wearing, cigar smoking, rifle shooting, Mozart headbanging, cactus ramming, longboard riding kid!

‎2 more days! When I was 28 I met amazing authoress Shannon Hale (and kinda made an idiot of myself); went on epic hiking adventures to Julie Andrews Meadow and Stewart Falls (and tried to fulfill a life goal by climbing behind the falls, but it didn't work); discovered that every day is the best day of my life; and chanced upon a Halloween costume that was practically perfect in every way!

Only one more day until a new decade, so today is my day of 29! 29 was the year of wedding festivities and a series of reunions with my long-lost, much missed extended family. I saw 4 shows on Broadway, hundreds of kids sledding in Central Park, and kicked my way through 3 ft of snow up a steep hill on the north shore of Manhattan to get to a transported Medieval European Cloister. I drove through the worst haboob Texas has seen since the depression, played Fireball Tennis, and started documenting the insanity of my subconscious. It's been a good year!

I have to say, the actual day wasn't the most pleasant of all time. I've been beaten down by illness lately (my secret birthday wish was to be able to feel my legs again), and work shook me up a bit. Despite that, I'll have fond memories. I am so blessed to have very caring friends. As I was contemplating getting out of bed I heard shuffling in the hall. I opened the door to find my roommate Spikes and friend Sully trying to take a poster to the doorframe--so I would smack my face on it when I walked out this morning! I helped them move it to the actual door so I can enjoy it for the next week. I got another surprise when I went into the garage and found "I'm sexy and I know it", along with the more typical birthday wishes, painted all over my car windows.

When Sully asked if she could throw me a party last week, I told her she could as long as it was a surprise party. So the understanding was that I knew I was getting a party, just didn't know when. She and Spikes kept me guessing all evening! I knew they were taking me out to dinner but I didn't expect the big group waiting for us at Carino's. I wondered if there would be another party afterward, and Spikes made me pull my hat over my eyes while she went to an ATM and got gas. I could tell from the series of turns when we were back in our neighborhood, but when we pulled into the driveway she said something like, "What the fashizzle? A homeless person just hit my car with his body!" She pulled out again, did some weird turn (apparently they weren't ready for us yet), and parked again. I knew what awaited me by then, so I told Spikes I was too scared to turn the light on. She flipped it on, and there everyone was again!

This year will, without a doubt, be even better than what came before it. I've already made a list of what I expect to accomplish in my New Year's post. Even more fun are my goals for the next decade.

• Get married and start a family (my powers of persuasion are much stronger than they were last decade, so I may be able to convince some unsuspecting chap)
• Make funny home videos and laugh at them
• Publish a novel
• Ride an elephant (now that the camel is done)
• Travel to a foreign country I've never been to before--anywhere outside the United States, Canada, England, France, and Italy (Barcelona, Granada, and Cordoba are on the goals for life, but my heart won't break if I don't see them in the next decade)
• Fight a duel. Blindfolded. (courtesy of Abinadi)
• Last, some old ones--build a snow fort, and walk behind a waterfall! Once upon a time I wanted to surf, but I think I'll replace that with scuba diving or indoor skydiving.

But first things first. I'm still working on being able to feel my legs.

Christmas at Downton

I'm sure by now you're all sick of hearing about Downton Abbey, but I couldn't resist one more post. I am happy--no, overjoyed--to report that the Downton Abbey celebratory season special did its best to stitch up the tears in the story fabric made by that awful series 2. My expectations were in low places after the series finale, but it didn’t stop me from watching the Christmas Special the day after it aired in the UK.

The plot involves four events: a Christmas celebration, a hunting party, Bates’ trial, and the Servants’ Ball. You’ll notice that only one of those is a remnant of the series 2 soap. The others are household events reminiscent of our dearly departed series 1.

Things the Christmas Special did right (spoilers ahead, obviously):

• Lady Rosamund. She’s such an awesome character and so well played by Samantha Bond that it makes me lament that she's barely showed her face before this. Hers was also the only story thread debuting in this episode, avoiding the plotcram that the beginning of series 2 suffered from. 

• Daisy. Not only did I like Daisy’s thread the best in series 2, but the way it resolved in the Christmas Special was fabulous. I adore her relationship with Mr. Mason. This episode was a real character developing moment for Daisy.
• Mary/Robert/Matthew/Carlisle/Pamuk. Mary, Robert, and Matthew actually started talking! And did something with their shared information! The break off was handled well, as were the reactions to Mary’s secret. In fact, I didn't even expect anything of this nature to actually happen in this episode. I thought the torture would be drawn out through series 3 with Mary marrying Carlisle and suffering, Matthew seeing her misery and suffering for it, and Carlisle ultimately being subjected to a melodramatic death or divorce, etc. I'm ecstatic that Julian Fellowes decided to nip that train wreck in the bud.
• Cora and Robert. Thank goodness their relationship isn’t stupid anymore. I LOVED the scene where Cora breaks the old (but so crucial) news to Robert. And Cora's Servant's Ball dress was lovely. Robert thinks so, too.

 

• Sybil and Branson. I know, they weren’t even in it--and that’s why! I needed a break from the annoyance.
• O’Brien to Thomas: “I don’t often feel selfless, but when I talk to you I do.” Good for you, Sarah!
• Edith. She wasn’t in it for long, but her scenes were solid and I hope they lead to future development.
• Isobel. This may be the only episode in the entire show, including series 1, that I cheered for Isobel. Bravo, way to give your son advice!
• The ending, the ending! It’s about. freaking. time. This seriously makes me as happy as the ending of North & South did all those years ago, and the progression to it was just right. Although, like North & South, there was one element of unreality. Mary would've been freezing her tail off (not quite as bad as the Victorian faux pas of making out on a train station platform)!

Things it did wrong:

• Not enough Dowager Lady Grantham. Now that I'm thinking of it though, I realize Violet did have several solid scenes--those with Daisy (delightful), Rosamund (impeccable), even Lord Hepworth. Perhaps it was the scarcity of zingers. Even when they're not exactly true to character, I relish Maggie Smith’s one-liners.
• Thomas. When is Robert going to stop letting the wool get pulled over his eyes? If Thomas’ character doesn’t do something different soon, I’m going to completely give up on him. He has such potential and it ends up being the same thing over and over. Although I very much enjoyed his scene with Violet.

Things it couldn’t fix:

• Anna and Bates. Even the likable actors can't make this anything other than the most boring story ever (in fact, their bland performances seem to confirm it), although it works well to set off the rest of the plot. 

When I said the Christmas Special mended some of the tears, I was particularly thinking of the fact that some of series 2's stupidest plot threads, Bates’ trial and Robert’s near-infidelity, both intersected with the conflict which has been part of the show since the beginning--Mary’s past mistake and Robert’s reaction to it. At least some use has been made of them.

I have some hope that Julian Fellowes will descend again from Mount Stupid for series 3, but I'm not going to hold my breath. My predictions are these:

• It’s wishful thinking to hope that Carlisle won’t exact his revenge. My guess is, it’ll be in a way that none of the Downton family ever foresaw. He’ll either come after the estate, or team up with “Patrick” to try to oust Matthew as the heir.
• Bates’ situation will be long, soppy, and boring until he’s acquitted at the end of the series.

 My hopes:

• More Rosamund. I don't care how, just use her.
• More Edith. Give her somewhere to go that isn’t a dead end, for once!
• More Anthony Strallan. He has such pretty blue eyes.
• Matthew and Mary won’t wait forever to tie the knot

Last, I'm going to gush a bit over Michelle Dockery. There's no shortage of actors whose careers I follow with a microscope, but it takes a lot more for an actress to impress me (the reason[s] why is another topic entirely). Michelle Dockery is superb. I could be biased because she's my age and looks to be almost my height, but I don't think so.

I haven’t seen her in anything other than Downton (and a distressing minute of screen time in the soulless film Hanna), but Lady Mary Crawley is a part that calls for a wide spectrum of attitudes and emotions believably coming from the same individual, and Dockery delivers far beyond anything that could be expected. In fact, she regularly out-acts Dan Stevens (and I’m by no means complaining about his skill, either) the same way Richard Armitage out-acted Daniela Denby-Ashe in North & South and James McAvoy put Anne Hathaway to shame in Becoming Jane (but what else could be expected when an American attempts to play Jane Austen?).

Here are a few things Michelle Dockery uses to full advantage:

• Voice. I've seen opinions that her delivery is flat, but it's perfectly in character. Dockery has a low voice, and she uses it to portray Mary's blunt nonchalance, even when, as the show progresses, that nonchalance is a thin cover up for the feelings battling underneath.
• Eyebrows. I've long had a thing for eyebrows, especially Aamir Khan's eyebrows. And Michelle Dockery knows that optimizing facial expression means working the eyebrows.
• Wit. Mary Crawford is the clear inheritor of her grandmother’s quick tongue, and although her remarks are of a different timbre, Dockery makes you believe she could one day be Maggie Smith and more.
• Posture. I could comment on her general gorgeousness, but much of the effect is created by how confidently (sometimes with a dual vulnerability) she carries herself in those costumes.
• Emotionally charged scenes. Like I said before, Dan Stevens is a fine actor, but she is the one to watch in their scenes together. Every frame registers a different one of Mary's subtle, conflicting, complicated thoughts and feelings as they are fleetingly etched on her face. And there's nothing forced about it. Her truthful performance makes Mary the most sharply defined and easily empathized with character on the show.

Michelle Dockery is primarily a stage and television actress but if it would do any good, I would write and beg her to make her bid for the big screen. My hope is that she will make an impression with her upcoming bit part in Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina (which I am looking forward to, despite my reserve about Kiera Knightley in the title role).

I'm not so concerned about Richard Armitage. Have you seen how brilliant (and musical) he is in the trailer for The Hobbit?

Finally, if your as much of a Downton junkie as I am, this website is hilarious.

*screencaps courtesy of Ravenclawwit

2012 Resolutions...so far

2012 has begun on a marvelous note! Not only did my friend Abercathy throw a sensational New Year's Eve party (with a wacky version of charades, chocolate covered pretzels, and lots of sparkling grape juice), but we skipped town after midnight to shoot fireworks. Some of us weren't content with just fireworks though, so we played us some FIREBALL TENNIS (the brainchild of a friend who will henceforth be known as Mr. Insanity).

This was without a doubt my most memorable New Year's celebration yet, and the last few days of leisure before returning to work this week were unquestionably fabulous--full of Willow, good food, and good friends. Now I have something even better to look forward to next week (which I'll write about next week).

I debated actually making resolutions for the new year, since next week I'll be making goals for my 4th decade of life. But I couldn't resist the opportunity to catalog all the phenomenal things I'm going to do this year! Read 'em and weep.

• Make gnocchi successfully
• Moderate persistent Insalata Caprese craving
• Complete at least 100 pages of rubbish manuscript
• Get a crockpot and cook meals in it
• Amp resistance to personal blood-sucking demon (a.k.a take more iron pills)
• Avoid occupational termination
• Eat less sugar, more vegetables
• Reunite with thermals and Ingrid Michaelson
• Publish a scholarly article
• Pursue literary love affair with Leo Tolstoy
• Stop being upset about classic literature/musical cinematic adaptation casting decisions by focusing on happiness about classic fantasy cinematic adaptation casting decisions
• Have epic adventures in San Diego, Boston, Houston, and one more unknown destination (possibly Anaheim or Raleigh-Durham)
• Cultivate relationships with amazing, marvelous, and wonderful people (I might be able to squeeze in the awesome and intelligent ones, too)
• Learn lots of stuff

Lastly, my most practical lesson learned this holiday season: when loving parents ask what you want for Christmas, don't ask for something you know you'll eventually buy yourself. Ask for things you really need but forget every time you go to the store--like thumbtacks and plastic sheet protectors. Or a crockpot.

Books of 2011

Hello, 2012! Once again, it's time for the yearly roundups. It's been a fantastic year for reading, although it looks like my taste is becoming more pigeonholed. And I only read 7 off my 100 item reading list. It's harder to stick to the list when some of the books on it lead me to so many wonderful tangents! But back to the favorite 10. I recommend these first 7 unreservedly.

1. Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy (1870s) - One of the most astounding works of literature I've read, but it's length is not for the faint of heart. Based on this novel alone, I'm with Virginia Woolf--Tolstoy may be the greatest of all novelists.

2. Fire and Hemlock, by Diana Wynne Jones (1985) - Possibly one of my favorite fantasy novels, but I'll have to read it again to be sure. It has also been named by other reviewers to be Diana Wynne Jones' most complex and philosophical work, and all in the guise of a retelling of the old Scottish ballad, "Tam Lin".

3. Coronets and Steel and Blood Spirits, by Sherwood Smith (2010/2011) - A 23-year-old graduate student finds herself in the midst of a generations-old power dispute in a tiny central European country surrounded by myths and magic. I want another sequel!

4. The Queen’s Thief series [The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, A Conspiracy of Kings], by Megan Whalen Turner (1996-2010) - I read somewhere that Turner is planning two more books in the series. Thank goodness, because this is one series that deserves it!

5. To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis (1997) -This comedy of errors encompassing time travel and Victorian society is delightful, and requires a particular sense of humor.

6. The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (2008) - This Newbery Winner is inspired by and structured after Kipling's Jungle Books, but instead of a child raised by wolves in the Indian jungle, this child is raised by ghosts in a graveyard. Like Diana Wynne Jones (who he was friends with), Gaiman never writes the same book twice, but all share his inventive, slightly dark humor. Gaiman is a master of atmosphere and is becoming one of my favorite fantastical wordsmiths.

7. The Help, by Kathryn Stockett (2009) - Occasionally there's a good reason for mega-bestsellers to exist. This one is nothing deep, but it's an enjoyable and rewarding read.

8. The Man of Property, by John Galsworthy (1906) - This is an elegantly constructed study of the upper middle class in England during the early 1900s, but I only recommend it for readers who've read most of the Victorian canon of social satire and crave more.

9. His Majesty's Dragon, by Naomi Novik (2006) - Finished this one in the nick of time to put it on the list! As much of a fantasy lover as I am, I've read surprisingly few dragon books. I've seen this one called a combination of Anne McCaffrey (the Dragons of Pern series) and Patrick O'Brian (Master & Commander), and that combination intrigued me. Laurence is captain of an English naval ship during the Napoleonic Wars until he captures a French frigate carrying an unhatched dragon egg. The hatching brings a whirlwind of change as the dragon, Temeraire, chooses Laurence as his handler and Laurence is hastily reassigned to a socially outcast branch of the military, the aviator corps of dragon riders. But Laurence realizes his newfound friendship with Temeraire is worth all the sacrifice. The early part of the novel suffers somewhat from the lack of major conflict, but Novik sets a quick pace and renders vibrant scenes of both action and interaction. In the end, it's the relationships between men and dragons that makes this read rewarding.

10. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck (1939) - It's on here because it's a masterpiece, but reading such a depressing book is not something I can bring myself to do more than once a year. I doubt if I will ever reread this.

Honorable Mention:
The Alloy of Law, by Brandon Sanderson (2011) - Read it if you crave more exciting plot and the creatively utilized powers of Mistborn, but don't expect much substance or character development.
The Hunger Games, by Susanne Collins (2008) - Finally got around to it! Without a doubt the most riveting book I've read and a novel premise, but some things about the characterization and worldbuilding (or lack-of) bugged me. Reading synopses satisfied my curiosity about the sequels.
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, by Stephen King (1982) - This novella, the first I've read of King's, is as good as the movie but to be perfectly honest, I'd rather just watch the movie. Some things are simply more powerful cinematically.

Best rereads: The Story Girl, The Golden Road, and Jane Eyre were the only books I reread this year. Of course they're all worth reading.

I also read several nonfiction books for either curiosity or research. If that continues maybe I'll do some kind of review next year, but reading solely to learn about something means I don't have any kind of informed opinion of the subject matter. I can rate on little more than enjoyability.

Films of 2011

Without preface, here are my favorite films watched in 2011!

English Language

1. The Tree of Life (2011) - Some art just strikes a chord. This is such a one.

2. True Grit (2010) - Old fashioned fun with fantastic characters and the Coen brothers' dark comedic touch.

3. The Help (2011) - Up there with the best of chick flicks.

4. Creation (2009) - Lovely exploration of Charles Darwin's struggle with the death of his daughter and the completion of On the Origin of Species.

5. Jane Eyre (2011) - From another post: Several of Jane Eyre’s iconic scenes may have been edited out or truncated in this theatrical version (as in Pride & Prejudice 2005), but what is left is a superbly crafted mood piece. Jane Eyre has plenty of Gothic elements but, oddly enough, many of them were downplayed or cut out altogether. It’s Fukanaga’s unique touches that bring back the spirit of the novel, rather than rehashing what we’ve seen before. And I’ve never seen Jane and Rochester acted so well (the Michael Fassbender love among my sisters still hasn't let up).

6. The Man Who Knew too Little (1997) - How have I never seen this fabulousness before? Bill Murray has the unique distinction of starring in 2 mainstream comedies of the last 20 years that I actually like. Seriously, wow. I'm now convinced that my distaste for modern comedy is not because I have a contrary fetish for '40s screwballs. It's because it's either not that funny, or the crassness takes all the humor out of it. Case in point: I have oh, such pleasant memories of the first 5 minutes of The Other Guys (the "aim for the bushes" scene), but the rest of the movie was kinda trash. But who am I to judge? I still think poop jokes are funny.

7. I Know Where I’m Going! (1945) - With The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life & Death, and A Canterbury Tale, Powell & Pressburger were some of the most skilled British filmmaking contemporaries of Hollywood's Golden Age. I watched a slew of their films this year, and I Know Where I'm Going! was my favorite. Wendy Hiller (who actually played a sharper Eliza Doolittle in 1938's Pygmalion than Audrey Hepburn's fair lady) plays a headstrong young woman on her way to a Scottish Island to marry a rich, older man. Both the people around her and the forces of nature seem to want to keep her from her destination. Does she really know where she's going, or is her stubbornness going to keep her from finding happiness in an unexpected place? Mixed with a legendary curse on the local Laird, the story results in a richly atmospheric conclusion.

8. Sita Sings the Blues (2008) - This film has two things going for it. First, the creator, Nina Paley, released it in the public domain, so you can watch it anywhere. Second, it's like nothing I've ever seen before--a retelling of parts of the Ramayana juxtaposed with Paley's own experience with marriage, using several different styles of animation, including one replicating traditional Indian Shadow Puppets, and several bluesy musical numbers. Both funny and insightful. Don't judge this marvelous film by my inadequate description, just watch it.

9. Hereafter (2010) - This film was much more organic than I expected, but considering Clint Eastwood directed, I shouldn't have been surprised. Those expecting a typical Matt Damon role were probably bored out of their minds, but although I had no idea where it was going I found the film very moving and, particularly in the subplot with Bryce Dallas Howard, realistic (after suspending disbelief about Matt Damon's psychic abilities, of course).

10. Since I haven't made it to the theater in months, there are several movies that might be on this list but aren't (Midnight in Paris, Hugo, Tintin, War Horse, The Artist, possibly Moneyball) Rather than filling this spot with one of the many films I liked but didn't love,  I'll give a shout out to my favorite tv shows of the year. The first one is, of course, "Downton Abbey". But only the first season. The second show, I just watched this week: "Sherlock". Benedict Cumberbatch (soon to be Smaug!) and Martin Freeman (soon to be Bilbo!) as modernized counterparts to the world's most famous detective and his friend are marvelous. I normally don't care for crime shows, but in this one the investigations are well integrated with a superbly written character story. At 90 min a piece, the (so far) 3 episodes are paced almost like movies. And the dialogue is pure gold.

Others I enjoyed: Son of Rambow, Unfaithfully Yours, The Adjustment Bureau, Source Code, Black Narcissus, Days of Heaven, Dean Spanley, Red, The Secret of Kells, Doctor Zhivago, Waterloo Bridge, X-Men: First Class, Rango, The Way Back, Meek's Cutoff, Super 8, Larry Crowne, and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.


Non-English Language

2011 wasn’t my greatest year for foreign films. That’s probably because my favorite Indian actors haven’t had as much output the past couple of years, and the films they do put out are unconventional roles for them. So I've cut my list to 5, with only the first 2 as absolute loves, and the 1st one is actually a rewatch.

1. Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (2005, India-Telugu) - Hyderabad is where it's at in South Indian cinema, as far as I'm concerned (as opposed to Bollywood, which is based in Mumbai). Magadheera is full of awesome (remember when the jeep flew into the helicopter? Let me give you a refresher), and I adore NVNV. Siddharth has all the charisma of a young Shahrukh in his role as Santosh, a spoiled NRI (non-resident Indian) who falls for Siri, a country girl he meets at his cousin's wedding. The first half has all the goofiness and contention that you would expect from an Indian romcom (no, that wasn't just a trick of the light or even a fantasy sequence--Siddharth wears that ostrich suit for real), but it's the second half that makes the film resonate. Siri's brother (played by the same awesomeness of an actor who drove that jeep in Magadheera), because of their traumatizing childhood experiences, won't give her up to a spoiled rich kid so easily. Santosh has to prove he's made of substantial stuff. Why don't I own this film?

2. Baran (2001, Iran) - I resisted watching this one for a few years because my previous experiences with Iranian cinema were sooo depressing. But Netflix kept throwing it in my face, so I finally caved. I can't say this is a happy film, but it's so sweet that it doesn't matter. Lateef is a teenager with a job serving tea to construction workers, until one of the workers is injured and his son is sent to take his place--or rather, Lateef's place, moving Lateef into manual labor. Lateef has it in for his replacement and continually tries to sabotage the boy's work until, one day, Lateef discovers that the boy is actually a girl. In a family of Afghan refugees the girl, Baran, has to work in order for her family to survive. Gradually, Lateef falls in love with Baran, resorting to any measures to help her, and although she doesn't say a word the entire film, it is clear from Baran's face that she cares for him as well. This is a very touching film about love and sacrifice, with visual images that leave a lasting impression.

3. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005, Germany) - I first heard of Sophie Scholl, a member of a anti-Nazi non-violent student resistance group, a few years ago from the book Hitler Youth: Growing up in Hitler's Shadow. This film is a sharp and thought provoking account of her titular last days: her resistance involvement, arrest, and trial. The acting is tip top. I love hearing stories of German citizens around WWII who worked against the tyranny of their government.

4. Raincoat (2004, India-Hindi) - This may be inspired by O'Henry's "Gift of the Magi", but like most Indian adaptations, the final product has only the most basic of similarities to the original. Ajay Devgan and Aishwariya Rai play former lovers who meet to catch up, but as neither one's life has turned out like expected, they find it difficult to be honest with one another. The story is spare and naturalistic, in contrast to Bollywood's usual opulence, but I liked it because of the lovely music and the chemistry between the stars. It's one of Aishwariya's best performances.

5. M (1931, Germany) - This is a telling specimen of how shocking early cinema can be. It’s as high quality as a 1940s Hollywood film, but it covers a subject that wouldn't have been dared in America--a serial killer of children. Even farther than that, it delves into the psychology of the killer and makes him almost sympathetic in his derangedness. This would be impossible were it not for the masterful performance of Peter Lorre (who may be recognized from Casablanca or Arsenic & Old Lace). This is a seriously creepy movie for it's time!

Others I enjoyed: The Owl and the Sparrow (2007, Vietnam); I’ve Loved You So Long (2008, France); Dhobi Ghat (2010, India-Hindi); Dabangg (2010, India-Hindi); Yahaan (2005, India-Hindi)