Movie watching thoughts: Beauty and the Beast

I wasn't really having any thoughts while watching Beauty and the Beast last weekend. It was late, part of me couldn't believe I wanted to see this movie since the original barely made a blip on my consciousness (apart from Celine Dion's voice), and all I was really thinking was, oh hey, two movies in one month.

But then Belle tried to escape from the castle, and the thoughts started tumbling out. Usual spoiler alert disclaimer, etc.

• Mainly, I was thinking, if the horse stayed with Belle at the castle (since she had him both when she tried to escape, and when she actually did leave to go back to the village), how did Maurice get back to the village the first time, after he was let go?
• How is it possible that as Tale as old as time started, I suddenly remembered every word, and was able to sing along?
• I really don't remember much of the original movie, but... was Shakespeare around in it? Or guns?
• That little squeal of delight Belle gives when she's left alone in the library is everything.
• Dan Stevens was kind of redundant in the movie, no? I mean, literally anyone could have played him for most of it, and the 2.5 scenes it's actually him were so... blah.
• Although that's not completely fair. He was pretty good in the rest of the movie. The scene where he's getting ready for the dance and ranting about how he just blurted out asking her to a dance was quite cute.
• All that brouhaha over "OMG first gay characters in Disney movies! This is sacrilege!" for... that? 
• Oh, Belle is an inventor in this version of the movie. That's cool, I guess. Did we actually see any of that other than the laundry trick, and her knowing what tool her father needed before he asked for it?
• I couldn't understand the passage of time in the movie. I always thought the curse was one of those that lasts centuries, and time stands still, and no one ages etc. But if the staff at the castle had family in the village, then the curse couldn't have lasted that long? So how long was it, really?
• I definitely couldn't understand the enchantress' deal. She lived in the village, and no one liked her? She suddenly randomly shows up in two scenes, but without explanation or anything? Meh.
• Did we really need that reaction from Cogsworth to the woman who comes and hugs him at the end, who I assume is his wife? I mean, she was mean throughout the movie, but really? The Beast gets a sad backstory for being heartless etc., but she was just mean, period? It kinda, sorta annoyed me.
• Part of me continues to be as big a fan of Celine Dion as I was back in my teens. Which is why, even though Ariana Grande and John Legend do a perfectly competent job of reprising Tale as Old as Time, they really don't come close to the original version by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson. And I did make my cousin stay back for the credits so I could listen to How does a moment last forever.

Movie watching thoughts: Lion

I finally saw Lion last night, which brings the number of movies nominated for an Oscar this year that I have seen up to two (well, five if you count Fantastic Beasts and the two animated movies). Which is still higher than my score in most years.

The only other movies I've seen this year are Dangal and Hidden Figures, and since I never quite got around to writing the post I wanted to write about those two, here are, in no particular order, my thoughts on Lion.** There may or may not be spoilers. So y'know, proceed with caution etc.

• The first 45 minutes of the movie are heartbreaking. There is no other word for it. I have so much more I want to say and think through about that part of the movie, but I don't know how to put any of it into words.
• Sunny Pawar is the most adorable kid I've seen in a movie in a very long time. I wanted to just grab him up in a hug, and I don't even like kids for the most part.
• How gorgeous were even the glimpses of the countryside from the train windows? And @dailyoverview should post practically every overhead shot of India.
• Even the more sinister parts of Kolkata are so beautiful.
• I miss trains. I miss trains in India. I miss India.
• It's mark of how cynical I've become that as soon as Noor and Saroo started talking, my first thought was, why is she being so nice to him?
• When I saw the names of Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Deepti Naval pop up in the credits at the beginning of the movie, I sorta expected them to show up for longer than a scene each.
• Was I the only one who didn't get the logic behind Saroo's adoption? Mrs. Sood told him she wanted to ensure no child who shouldn't be in the orphanage is there. Saroo has a family somewhere, they can't find his family, so they found him a new family? Shouldn't the effort to find a new family be focused on children who have no family at all? Not that Saroo shouldn't have been considered (for lack of a better word) too, but the way that conversation played out just seemed weird.
• Was there a heartbreaking line than "aapne sachi meri ammi ko dhoonda?"
• All the families I know who have adopted children from a different country have travelled to that country. So it seemed a little strange that the Brierleys didn't.
• Speaking of which, the woman who escorted first Saroo, and then Mantosh, to Australia - is that a full time job for some people?
• What was going on with Dev Patel's hair during the second half of the movie? I was alternating between being horrified, fascinated and jealous of those curls.
• I wish we could have seen more of Mantosh's backstory and life in general.
• I have now seen two or three movies with Rooney Mara in them, and I still don't recognise her if I happen to see her in a photo or anything.
• Those were not jalebis in Saroo's friend's kitchen, you guys (was she given a name?). Those were amritis (or imartis).
• Speaking of jalebis, I fully expected Saroo to stop and buy some when he walked through that market area on his return to Khandwa.
• This is probably my urban dweller privilege speaking, but is it really possible that Ganesh Talai had not changed at all in 25 years? 
• The friend I was talking to at lunch today about the movie expressed amazement that I did not break down crying in the first half of the movie. Given my track record, I was actually equally amazed. I will freely admit that I did break down during the reunion scene at the end.
• I will also admit to gasping out loud when I read about what happened to Guddu.
• I did not see the twist about Saroo's name coming. I remember thinking it was weird that his biological mother was saying it wrong in the reunion scene, and then going "huh" when it was revealed that his name was actually... Sheru.

**Man, I write long sentences. I need a Toby Ziegler in my life.