Style Sunday (SAG Edition)

Julianne Moore seems to do no wrong. Her choice of Chanel for the SAG seems to be doing her usual love of white and black (the Emmys last year were the rare exception) but adding a little something extra. The playfulness of the flowers and the sideswept hair might make it one of her best looks yet.

The lovely J.Law looks like a real grown woman in this sensational Dior gown. The color is marvelous and the classic hair and makeup are perfection. Can you believe she was recovering from pneumonia?

I love that Marion and J.Law seem to be doing the same Dior show, this maritime beauty recalls something Catherine Deneuve or Grace Kelly would've worn.

Any Jennifer Garner sighting is a good thing in my very humble opinion, even if nowadays it merely means she's supporting her husband. I don't know who she was wearing yet, but I believe she decided to dress as the Oscar her husband was snubbed for. God I adore this woman.

I am over Anne Hathaway this season, but I love the Audrey Hepburn feel of this Giambattista Valli. Her pixie cut and red lips are to die for.

Va-va-wow! Jessica Chastain is delicious in this fiery Alexander McQueen. Don't you think based on these looks, she and J.Law could be cast as 1940's noir vixens?

Tina Fey is the cutest and her sense of style has grown beautifully in the past few years. This Oscar de la Renta might not be far from what she usually does, but the simple belt adds a touch of class we'd never expect from Liz Lemon. Brava.

Nicole Kidman is a queen and this Vivienne Westwood gown makes her look absolutely magnificent.

Oh my dear January Jones, people will probably never understand that you are a magnificent creature sent to us from a distant future where fashion reigns. Your looks will be forever misunderstood and where wicked creatures saw you doing a Grace Jones parody in this stunning Prabal Gurung, time will reveal you were playing with structures and shapes in a way no one else would dare to. Soon, they too, will bow to you.

Who were your favorite ladies?

Style Sunday.

Amy Adams was a revelation in Vionnet at the Critics Choice Awards ten days ago. The lovely actress was able to convey an elegant sexiness she never has displayed before.

Speaking of which, I profiled her Oscar career for PopMatters.

Sheet-y Saturday (Fave Posters of 2012)

In no particular order (both because I'm lazy and because I really like them all)

Portrayed the exuberance and joi de vivre the film teasd about having but ended up lacking. It's an image of pure joy captured in a single moment.

Merida gives her back to the world proving just how she's setting herself apart from all other Disney princesses. Brave move indeed.

After reading Pattinson and then Cronenber, you're like "wait, what?" but the matinee idol's look of quiet despair hooks you.

If ever a movie's visual idiosyncrasy was captured by its poster, it's this. 

You can not look at this and not giggle. If only the rest of the marketing campaign had been this Hitchcockian...

Saul Bass brilliance for a noble cause. 

It's like a flyer from an actual strip club. You just wanna do jello shots after looking at it.

Like the cover of a 70s exploitation movie or a bad paperback. 

Promises a mystery larger than what the movie actually contained. 

This redacted title with no movie star names, no "from Oscar winning director" and no release date might be the greatest movie poster of the year (maybe I did have a favorite). Simple, effective and haunting.

What were your faves this year?

Weekly Update (Is This Becoming a New Thing?)

This week, I:

- Reviewed Cosmopolis over at PopMatters.
- Discussed Silver Linings Playbook's amazing Oscar achievements.

What have y'all been up to?

Naomi Wow.

Naomi Watts is quite uneven on the red carpet but during this awards season she's on a roll! At last night's Critics' Choice Awards she was elegant simplicity in this black Emilio Pucci column. I have noticed the stars don't really go all the way for this ceremony and Watts was gracefully somewhere between the tastefulness of SAG and the sexiness of the Globes.

The lovely Pucci however is no contest for her stunning Alexander McQueen from the People's Choice Awards. She had never been this sexy on any red carpet. The makeup, hair and accessories are perfection!

Are you thrilled about Watts this season?

Silver Linings of Oscar Nods.

I imagine this is probably what Bradley Cooper looked like yesterday morning after receiving notice he'd been nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his work in Silver Linings Playbook. If I wasn't so lazy, you'd know how much I loved this movie, however due to my lack of reviewing mojo, you'll have to trust me on this one. The movie surprisingly achieved a historical feat which I pointed out on Twitter:

#SilverLinings is the first movie to get acting nominations in all acting categories in 31 years. "Reds" was the last.
— Jose Solís (@josekicksass) January 10, 2013

(Follow me if you haven't yet...)

Anyway, besides my joy over SLP, I was ecstatic that my favorite movie of the year received nominations for Best Picture, Director, Actress, Screenplay and Foreign Language Film! (My fave movies and performances of the year are coming soon...)

Now, check out what else I've been up to:

- I wrote about some of the best male performances of 2012 - including Cooper - over at PopMatters, where I also reviewed Game Change and Following.
- Over at the Statuesque awards blog I wrote about the best under the radar cinematography of 2012.

Now, go read and comment!

I Have But One Oscar Wish.

Who Else Could've Imagined These:

Fassbinder?

Almodóvar?

Jarman?

Pasolini?

All That Glitters: or My Absolute Favorite Red Carpet Looks of 2012.

I tend to have very little patience/taste for shiny things but my favorite red carpet looks of 2012 - listed in no particular order- were all extremely shiny. From the moment I saw J.Law in this Prabal Gurung dress I knew we had found the movie star we had been craving for years. How she makes unattainable elegance and girl-next-door-ness feel so inseparable is one of her biggest mysteries. In this stunning sartorial creation she recalled her sure to be iconic Katniss Everdeen; in fact this dress is even more memorable than her fire gown from The Hunger Games.

I love Kylie Minogue and I love that she finally overcame that alleged curse of singers being terrible actresses. Not only did she stun in Holy Motors, she also defined the Cannes Film Festival glitz in this delicious Dolce & Gabbana creation. 

Why are Meryl Streep red carpet appearances the exact opposite of her movie roles? One always assures me quality, the other offers a problematic number of hit and misses, semi-decent picks or plain horrors. It was a relief to see the Queen of the movies arrive in this luscious liquid gold Lanvin when she attended the Oscars in early 2012. Not only was she age appropriate and elegant (something hard to pull off with so much glitz) she also seemed to be predicting the golden accessory she would leave with that night.

Diane Kruger is a goddess. Diane Kruger can do no wrong. Diane Kruger is perfection. This Vivienne Westwood she wore - to watch Amour of all things - is so heavenly that I want to stare at pictures of her in it forever.

Were you paying attention to the red carpets last year? Who were some of your favorites?

Small New Year's Update.

I haven't been up to nothing. Lots of goodies coming up! In the meantime go check out my review for The Frogiveness of Blood over at PopMatters.

Also, follow this link to sign up for Film Riot over at Ology!
I'll be hosting an event there quite soon and you're all invited to participate, the movie talks are quite interesting over there.


In the meantime, to apologize for my constant absence, I give you what I've decided is the greatest photograph of all time:

xoxo