"I don't really know what kind of girl I am."

As a movie viewer, reviewer, and critical watcher, I find myself so often confronted with the problem of expectations, assumptions, and outcomes when going in to see a film, an issue I've talked about on this blog before, most notably in my post regarding my conflicting feelings for I Am Love. However, the problem here isn't so much a purposeful act of contrarianism, but self-imposed limitations in the range of films that I watch, and that I want to watch.

For example, when I see a trailer for a big-budget superhero movie or a goofy family film, I'm not nearly as excited or intrigued as when I see a trailer for a foreign artsy drama or a quirky indie comedy, mentally proclaiming that the former "are just not my kinds of movies".

The thing is though, when movies like the aforementioned I Am Love and other films I less than loved such as Precious and Up in the Air (all of which I was really excited for) fall flat in my estimation, while movies like Kung Fu Panda and Thor end up being highly entertaining and enjoyable, I can't help but question my own presumed taste (even if the formula does work the other way around, with many movies that I knew I would hate absolutely living up to their expectation).

The most recent example, and the one that prompted me to reflect on this topic, is Jurassic Park, which I finally saw for the first time only a couple of days ago. I was expecting to enjoy it, sure (it's not so popular for nothing, right?) but I wasn't expecting at all to love it as much as I did. I thought that there was no way that a movie about dinosaurs on an island could be that good and thus I was rather surprised when I found myself absolutely falling head over heels for it.

It's a problem that I'm not sure really has any solution, besides perhaps toning down my own snobbery and keeping an open mind to even the most unappealing of movies. That's not to say that anyone should go see everything because it "might be good" - I mean, that would be impossible! But, that perhaps good cinema can exist in many different realms and by widening our horizons you can get the best of everything.

Of course, I'm still young, and my tastes are still developing. What I find entertaining now I may find detestable later on - who knows what my cinematic tastes will be like in one, five, ten, twenty years - but I hope I can always examine myself and that I don't get in the way of my own moviegoing experiences.

P.S. This post obviously has nothing to do with the ever polarizing Juno, but the quote seemed appropriate.

Do you find yourself surprised by your own tastes and expectations? Are your tastes still developing? Love Jurassic Park? Hate Juno? Sound off below!

A Quick List of Anticipated Movies

I'll be honest with you all - I've been a bad moviegoer this year. I've seen not more than ten films, and I've missed out on a lot of movies I've wanted to see. Plus, besides The Tree of Life, I've not been floored by any of the year's output (though almost everything has been pleasantly and surprisingly enjoyable).

However, there are quite a few upcoming releases that I just can't wait to get my hands on - so without further ado, a quick look at my top ten most anticipated releases for the rest of 2011.

10. Shame - This would be higher based on the Fassbender/Mulligan factor (both actors I love) if there was just a bit more information about it. For now though, I'm content with my curiosity.

9. A Dangerous Method - Cronenberg is a fascinating director, and with Fassbender as one of the leads, this is a must see. Also, after Keira Knightley's surprisingly powerful work last year in "Never Let Me Go", I'm looking forward to see what she can do with what looks like strong material.

8. Crazy, Stupid, Love - The cast is impeccable. Julianne Moore and Emma Stone? Ryan Gosling AND Marisa Tomei? It's coming out this weekend so thankfully the wait isn't that long!

7. The Artist - It looks so quirky and interesting - the silent film aspect is intriguing and I look forward to something so different and unique.

6. The Skin That I Inhabit - It seems like Almodovar has been trying to make something frightening for the past few years, what with "Volver" and "Broken Embraces" having dark elements. Thus, this all out horror film is extremely exciting - plus, remember what happened last year when an auteur made a shameless horror movie? Brilliance, that's what.

5. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - I love the book, and though I was underwhelmed by the original, the trailer looks like Fincher's going to blow us all away. I can guarantee that I'll be midnight screening this one.

4. We Need to Talk About Kevin - I read the source material, which was unbelievably dark and disturbing, and it's a perfect role for Tilda. Honestly, Tilda's one of those actresses who I would watch reading the phonebook.

3. Contagion - OH MY GOD THIS CAST. I love every single member of this cast and the trailer looks frightening and thrilling.

2. The Future - I've not seen Miranda July's debut feature, but I'm a big fan of her writing (if you haven't read her short story collection, "No One Belongs Here More Than You", you absolutely should), and the trailer showed a lot of promise.

1. Melancholia - Um, did you guys see the trailer? There is absolutely nothing about this that I don't want, right now.

Golden Cornea Awards 2011: The Costumes

I'm not going to pretend to be a connoisseur of fashion or anything, but I can definitely tell you what I like and dislike and movie costumes, when done well, can be extremely enjoyable eye candy. So, without further ado, 2011 in costumes...

5. Jacqueline West - "The Social Network"

At first it may not seem like much, but this subtlety is its greatest strength. Every character is dressed marvelously and the integration of the costumes with the rest of the narrative is seamless.

4. Laura Jean Shannon - "Scott Pilgrim VS the World"

Every colorful and often over-the-top costume in "Scott Pilgrim" is perfectly suited to the character that wears it. Shannon suits Scott in the perfect band shirts, Knives in the most adorable of Catholic school girl uniforms, and Ramona in perfect hipster chic. Every costume is so much fun to behold!

3. Mary Zophres - "True Grit"

The film doesn't have many costumes, but the ones it does have are simply marvelous. The way that Mattie's clothes are always just a little bit too big and way that LaBeouf's uniform seems to both match and betray his persona are just a couple of Zophres's wonderfully solid achievements.

2. Antonella Cannarozzi - "I Am Love"

The costume design nomination for Cannarozzi at the Oscars was surprising, but totally and utterly deserved. Never before has Tilda Swinton looked so fabulous as in this film, and like "The Social Network" Cannarozzi fits the characters so well, contrasting the stoic suits of the Recchis with the colorful outfits of Emma. Perfection.

1. Carol Beadle - "The Runaways"

This may seem like an off kilter choice for the best costumes of the year, but simply watch the movie and you'll see what an accomplishment they are. Beadle not only captures the era perfectly, but is able to costume the film's characters with a unique voice and vision, too often lost in period recreations. But perhaps best of all is that the costumes, while brilliant, never distract from the movie, and that is the most important accomplishment.

Honorable Mentions: Black Swan's gorgeous and often demented costumes just barely missed this list; I don't think they're very unique but The King's Speech still dresses its characters well; Obviously it's not hard to make Marion Cotillard look stunning, but her black dress in Inception was perfect and the rest of the cast looks really spiffy too.

Surprised by my choices? What were your favorite costumes of the year? Sound off in the comments!

I Am Love, and a Perspective on Perspective

I think it'd be fair to call Luca Guadagnino's film "I Am Love" one of the most critically hypeds of the year. On the internet at the very least, it seems as though everybody who watches it falls head-over-heels with it. So, by the time I finally got around to watching it, I already had this expectation - this idea in my mind that I was going to be simply blown away. As a consequence of this expectation, I also developed a tinge of unwarranted bitterness towards the film. Quite simply, though I was expecting to be blown away, I think a subconscious part of me wanted to dislike the movie, so I could emerge as one of its few detractors.

This is, probably, why it took me so long to really develop an opinion on the film. Immediately after watching, though I was enthralled by the closing scene, I was already formulating what I believed to be the negatives in my head. Of course, it wasn't very easy to think of negatives, but I managed to scrounge a few up - "the story was cliche," I thought, cynically. "Too much melodrama - it's a boring premise cloaked in pretty cinematography and acting." I further went on to think, "if it wasn't Italian, and if Tilda Swinton wasn't the lead, nobody would care."

But, something felt false about these assertions. Namely, the fact that in reality, I didn't actually believe my own "opinions". Instead of officially denouncing the film with a review, I decided to let it simmer, and like the food in the film, the more it did so, the tastier it seemed. The things I liked about the film began to emerge. Tilda Swinton was, as usual, fabulous, in a language that wasn't even her own. Her conflicted and complicated Emma was a brilliant creation.

Besides Tilda, there were other fantastic things about the film that kept nagging away at my more bitter side. That cinematography, that art direction, that score, that Alba Rohrwacher, that final scene - especially that final scene. I began to realize that perhaps, I loved the movie more than I initially allowed myself. The "cliche" story and the melodrama began to seem less and less like issues, and instead, things that allowed the romance to blossom from the film's own cinematic beauty. Even the particular plot point near the end that I once considered ridiculous seemed like a non-issue.

So here I am now, proclaiming that in fact, I find "I Am Love" to be a gorgeously crafted piece of cinema, a romance whose surface simplicity is in no way a hindrance. The characters are complicated, and interesting - the fact that the movie is able to feel so minimal is a testament to how masterfully it was directed. As I said above, Tilda Swinton, who gave my favorite female performance last year, does marvelous work which is to be expected. Alba Rohrwacher's

absolutely devastating final glance at the camera is probably one of the best shots of the year. It's a gorgeous film.

All that aside though - how much can reviews and, perhaps even a little bit of blogging-peer-pressure, affect our perspective of a film? I had to cross this wall that I'd built for myself in order to truly discover how I felt about "I Am Love" and I find it strange that I couldn't respond to my feelings directly. How do you cope with pre-watching buzz and expectations? Respond below, I find this to be a rather interesting and relevant topic for all of us who want to intelligently and personally watch and experience cinema.

2009: The Performances

Because I never did this, and because I like to hang on to the past. Haha!

So these are just my favorites...what about you? React down below!