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?

Les Misérables *½

Director: Tom Hooper
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway
Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen
Samantha Barks, Aaron Tveit

Based on the eponymous musical by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg (itself an adaptation of the famous novel by Victor Hugo) Les Misérables is a story about revenge, injustice and doomed love...or at least that's what one gathers it's supposed to be about, considering how bloated and lacking in feeling this adaptation is. The film opens with an impressive shot as the camera rises from under the ocean and we watch a group of prisoners raise a ship in the galleys. Among them is Jean Valjean (Jackman), a man about to be released who has been in prison for two decades for stealing a loaf of bread. Keeping a close eye on Valjean is inspector Javert (Crowe) who reminds him he must respect his parole. Immediately a dynamic of abuser and abused is established and we know that Javert will make Valjean's life a living hell.

Yet the problem is that we know this only by default. Les Misérables is one of the most celebrated works of literature in history and people from all ages have come to know it even if they're not fully aware of it (The Fugitive anyone?) but director Tom Hooper depends so much on the audience's knowledge of the novel/musical that he pretty much forgets to make a "movie" to go with the story. Before we know it, we're back with a clean shaven Valjean who has changed his name and become mayor of a small town (how? Why? We never know). His peaceful existence is suddenly threatened when Javert is appointed as guard in his town. This Roadrunner/Coyote dynamic goes on during the rest of the film as life keeps putting Javert in the reformed Valjean's way even when he's trying to do nothing but good. Among his greatest deeds is the adoption of Cosette, the daughter of doomed grisette Fantine (Hathaway), perhaps the most miserable of them all, who dies after selling her hair, contracting an unnamed disease (*cough* TB *cough*) and killing it with a rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream".

The plot spans over two decades and clumsily tries to fit a ridiculous amount of uninteresting events into its overtly melodramatic structure, yet the problem isn't how over the top everything is but how inefficiently Hooper puts it on film. The film is supposed to be grand, sweeping, majestic etc. but the myriad of topics covered in Victor Hugo's historical fiction simply slip through Hooper's fingers. Les Misérables is an epic and simply put, Tom Hooper is no David Lean. He makes it seem as if the historical context exists exclusively in the service of the romantic plots and the Valjean/Javert dynamic. Things just happen and we never truly understand why. But he also fails in giving all these characters a true emotional background. They too, exist there only to serve the director's vision.

Hooper and DP Danny Cohen shoot every scene as if it was being viewed through a smartphone picture application, creating distasteful compositions that contribute nothing more than "style" to a movie that should've been ruled by substance. If the songs weren't loud and dramatic enough, Hooper's camera zooms so close to the actors' faces that it seems he's trying to make a statement about their tonsils. His stylistic choices (why try to develop an auteur vision if it's so inefficient?) often take you out of the movie and you begin to question everything that surrounds it. Why don't characters seem to age if it's been 20 years? Why are Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter still playing their Sweeney Todd characters? Why does Éponine seem to have been written to be the heroine in a telenovela? Why isn't Russell Crowe's fantastic Javert (the only character who seems to have a moral ambiguity) featured in more scenes where he's not being reduced to a sneering villain?

Les Misérables is sure to make viewers just as miserable as its characters, unless they're willing to pretend the movie's over after "I Dreamed a Dream". During the key sequence Hathaway is shot like Falconetti and she does so much with her face and your emotions, that her work should be considered nothing if not truly miraculous.

The Dark Knight Rises **

Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard
Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Morgan Freeman

Contrary to popular belief, Christopher Nolan might very well be the least imaginative working director trying to pass himself off as an auteur. Movie after movie he proves that his need for self-indulgence often interferes with his delivery; his two last movies being grandiose exercises in incoherence. With The Dark Knight Rises he unintentionally forces us to ponder on a basic aesthetic conundrum: should all ideas be put on some sort of artistic medium?
The question arises from Nolan's absolutely reactionary statements, given that The Dark Knight Rises practically borders on fascism. The director suggests that any sort of social uprising comes in detriment to the development of capitalism and that only the rich can save the day. If this was 18th century France, Nolan would be on his way to the guillotine.
Perhaps the notion that art should be limited to "good ideas" is fascist in itself, but it's not meant as censure, instead it intends to explore what is it precisely that constitutes art. Nolan's fascism isn't bad from a purely aesthetic level, but it's offensive as "art".
Leni Riefenstahl's ideas and support of the Nazi party might have marked her as an "evil" figure but no one watching "Olympia" or "Triumph of the Will" can say that they fail as art. Riefenstahl challenged the format of the documentary and despite her supremacist thoughts, she encompassed the beauty of the human body in a way that hadn't been achieved since the Renaissance.
Then we come to The Dark Knight Rises and not only are Nolan's ideas disturbing, but his execution is absolutely clunky. Every cut and dialogue aim to contribute to an operatic feeling, but the only crescendo in the film is suggested by Nolan's tasteless use of aural and visual tricks. Why does the villain Bane (Hardy) need to sound like a Darth Vader parody? Why does the tribal chanting that obnoxiously permeates the film have to be related to the Middle East? Why is such great effort made to remind us about the goodness and inherent kindness of billionaires? How is this ever really about Gotham City and not about Bruce Wayne (Bale) trying to save his status as a symbol of power (penniless or not)? What exactly does Nolan have against women (especially those named Marion Cotillard)?
The Dark Knight Rises fails as spectacle, as entertainment and other than for Anne Hathaway's scene stealing turn as Catwoman (she seems to be acting in a vastly superior film) the only thing rising in this installment are its director's delusions. 

The Only Reasons Why I'm Bothering with Batman.

Style Sunday.

Leave it to Diane Kruger to wear pajamas somewhere and look like a gazillion bucks. This sleep attire-inspired ensemble by Louis Vuitton certainly wouldn't do such wonders for someone without Diane's risky couture choices. The gorgeous golden bag and simple makeup give the look the crowning touches.

As much as Annie rocks the long wavy hair, this pixie cut is highlighting her face in an astonishing way. See how the bright sunglasses and pink lips give her an Audrey Hepburn air, while her stunning Erdem sheath is to die for with its understated print.

Short Takes: "One Day" and "The Debt".

Even if it never makes justice to the book it's based on (the eponymous novel written by David Nicholls), One Day is an often delightful romance powered by pure star wattage and a great - albeit slightly gimmicky - concept. The film follows the relationship between Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Dexter (Jim Sturgess) over the course of two decades, but does so by showing what they do on the exact date they met. We see them grow from awkward college graduates to decently rounded adults; they survive destructive relationships, family tragedies, divorces, career and country changes etc. and the one thing that remains constant throughout is their love for one another.

Perhaps the novel's reach is a bit too ample to turn it into a small romantic comedy (it certainly would've been wonderful as a miniseries that took longer to flesh out Em and Dex better) because as it is, we often have a hard time knowing why the characters do what they do. Even if they never become mere archetypes - he of the fun-loving lothario and she of the obsessive control freak - we feel cheated, like we could've benefited more from knowing what they do on the dates we don't get to see.

Directed with a precise hand by Lone Scherfig (who follows the joyful style she used in An Education) the film has moments of marvel as well as scenes that seem to drag forever. Fortunately most flaws can be overlooked because of the performers. Sturgess is unusually passive, almost lacking in the exuberance needed to turn Dexter into a character we could hate and then fall in love with, however his quiet performance reveals that Dexter is a man who never knows himself fully (his scenes with Patricia Clarkson, who plays his mom, are violently delicate).

Hathaway - who sadly never mastered the required British accent - is all smiles and wide eyed contempt as Emma. As usual, Hathaway grabs a simple character and layers it with the kind of star quality few performers can add (only Julia Roberts lights up the screen with the same ease) while keeping a deep humanity that reaches to you beyond the screen. The film is by no means perfect (although the ending might just leave you weeping) but it works because of its utter sincerity. Few films nowadays are so straightforward about breaking your heart.

You gotta give it to John Madden: he's one versatile filmmaker! His constant traveling of genre to genre (he directed Shakespeare in Love and Proof) have turned him into the equivalent of a studio era director, who worked under producers and got little input to create his own authorial signature. With that said, he doesn't hit the mark in his espionage thriller The Debt, a decade spanning film that follows the lives of three former Mossad agents from their first big mission, to the fame it eventually brings them.
The spies are played by Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas and Sam Worthington as young agents trying to catch a deranged Nazi surgeon in the 1970s. Their mature versions are played by Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson and Ciarán Hinds respectively (in a quite good casting decision). They all come together in their old age to settle a secret they've been living with for decades, the film then uses flashbacks to show us what marked and bonded them forever.
The main issue with the film is how Madden tries to trick us, only to then reveal how entire scenes are nothing but lies. This never works because in the film's context - which most certainly isn't an artistic exercise a la Antonioni - all the scenes seem to be fact based. His idea of toying with perception is indeed respectable but the execution is sloppy and often causes confusion (did we see right or were we dozing off mid-screening?).
Mirren is fantastic as usual but the best in show honor goes to Chastain who plays her character with an angsty vitality one would only attribute to someone like, well, Mirren. She conveys such a damaged past that we only have to see in her eyes to understand where she's coming from and why she's doing what she does. Few performances are this magnetic and exciting, anyone looking for a new action heroine, take note.

Grades:
One Day ***
The Debt **½

Style Sunday.

Noomi Rapace evoked old Hollywood glamour in this stunningly simple Giambatista Valli dress. Gotta love how she keeps it so simple in the hair and makeup department and allows the dress to do all the work for her.

Lately I feel that Annie has abandoned me. I miss her in movies and even if she has a ton coming up, she should be in at least a movie a month, no? With that said, I'm not sure if my undying love for her makes me worship her public appearances so much, or this Valentino beaded dress is actually worthy of writing about. You help me decide.

When Naomi Watts gets it right, she gets it right. Even if she always seems to favor nude colors and simple designs, here she proves that sometimes sticking to what you know is the best strategy. This Stella McCartney design just reassures us that Naomi's undeniable sexiness would've made her ideal for that other rumored Marilyn biopic. She exudes class and sensuality with such effortlessness that it's just amazing.

Who of these ladies is your fave?

Style Sunday.

Va-va-holyfuck-voom! Helen Mirren keeps defying reason and gravity and gets hotter by the second. She's a seductive vision in this blood tinted Michael Kors dress. Gotta love she accessorized with a simple brooch which makes the dress look absolutely regal.

Apparently Annie wants to play Kate Middleton in a movie and of course it makes total sense, I've been saying it ever since the future Queen was thrown on our faces for the first time, heck she even played her in SNL but anyway, Annie has a huge advantage going into Kate and that is her love of Alexander McQueen. This stunning sheath proves that few people can carry the house's eccentric elegance with the grace Anne does.

Think Annie will be good as Kate?

Style Sunday.

See, I always wonder how the hell does Kate Middleton find normal looking Alexander McQueen

dresses, she always looks stunning but goes for the blandest designs by the iconic house. Now here we have Annie doing the best of both worlds: the black part of the dress is cocktail style at its classiest but the top (which Anna Paquin has tried before) is ALL McQueen.

Oh Emma. This Dior is perfection. Sigh.

What do you think of these two? Cuckoo over Emma's flapper redux?

Instant Semi.

Y'all know I'm neither a Nolan or Batman fan but this is just ZOMG!

Style Sunday.

The British were coming at an event held by BAFTA last night in Los Angeles. His royal highness Prince William, who also happens to be President of BAFTA (as if being a future king wasn't cool enough...) attended with his wife, Kate Middleton. Of course, she looked stunning but I keep wondering, where the hell does she find all these wholesome looking Alexander McQueen gowns?

This lavender creation is of course the epitome of classiness but would it kill her to try something a little bit more aggressive and McQueen-ish? Those odd little hats don't count.

Mary Louise-Parker brought her relaxed hippie-ness to the royal table in this cherry Dolce & Gabbana gown. Considering it lacks some oomph for a royal shindig, it's lovely to see her preserve her quirkiness.

Excuse me for saying this but royals should be bowing down to her royal majesty of actressing Nicole Kidman. I love how with the years she's adjusting herself to more sober, but still terrific, looks and how lovely her smile has become with each passing year. This Ellie Saab gown isn't a scene-stealer but Nicole must know that at a royal party, you are not supposed to overshadow the future queen. This well thought dress and demure style make her even more majestic.

Ooh-la-la, god only knows why Blake Lively gets invited to all these amazing red carpets, or perhaps he does, and the reason is merely because she always looks fantastic. This flowy Marchesa gown goes against everything Blake has us used to. Oh no, no boobs or legs! But with the see through loveliness of the fabric and the very Marchesa embroidery she looks like a true goddess. Her simple, unkempt chignon completed a look that reminded me of a Renaissance nymph.

No words describe how magnificent this is and I won't even try.

So, there you go...

Maria Bello was all kinds of lovely in this metallic Donna Karan gown. Gotta love how her tan doesn't make the already shiny fabric look vulgar.

J. Lo probably didn't get the memo that this was a BAFTA event with Prince William and not the Grammys with will.i.am, so she showed up like she always does, flaunting her best assets.

This Emilio Pucci gown will make most women alive envy Lopez's stunning curves but is this the best she could do when she was going to be near the future Queen of England?

How do you even bow before her in this without ripping the fabric and showing Kate your luscious ass?

The Brits weren't the only place for fab fashion this week though...

Anne Hathaway was the fairy tale princess at this year's White Fairy Tale Love Ball, where she opted for a gorgeous Valentino Couture dress. The little details in this dress are best appreciated when you see it in movement, Annie looked like she was hovering while distilling pixie dust. Gotta love her bold red lipstick and romantic hairstyle. Only she can pull off sexy risque and then melt our hearts with this kind of look.

Armani Privé + Cate Blanchett = fashiongasm.

How the hell did she avoid looking like she was part of the red carpet?

This asymmetrical Chanel gown makes the lovely Diane Kruger look like she won best dressed at the 1986 Academy Awards. Make of this what you wish.

Phew, lots of looks this week huh? Can you pick a fave?

Style Sunday.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley might be getting trashed by the critics for her acting but if being beautiful got you Oscars she'd fuck up Kate Hepburn's record in five consecutive years. With that said, most of her appeal is owed to her supreme fashion choices, this Naeem Khan dress for example is so simple and elegant that you wonder why she looks so damn amazing. Her hair and makeup were absolutely perfect!

I feel I've been neglecting my beloved Annie lately so I was thrilled to see her look so radiant in this colorful Prada dress. The color blocking rarely works this well with column gowns but she pulls it off magnificently.

Doesn't she?

Sheet-y Saturday.

Where we take a look at posters for upcoming features.


I've decided that there's just no way this movie will suck. The book is fantastic (an instant favorite in my all time list) and well, you know how I feel about Anne Hathaway.

The marketing campaign so far has been flawless, even if this is just a variation from the first poster, what a variation!

The instantly iconic image of Anne and Jim Sturgess embracing is now decomposed and made out of Polaroid snapshots, one for each year that the movie covers.

Just, wow, I'm already sobbing a bit thinking of the final product.

People, read the book!

A Felicidade.

Head over to The Costa Rica News by clicking here and read my review for Rio.

Then come back here and let's samba!

Oscar Fashion: Best Dressed

This column is dedicated to my friend Luke, who knows how much I hated the Oscars this year but still wanted to hear my opinion on fashion. Hope you enjoy sir.

10. Jennifer Lawrence in Calvin Klein

At first glance I was so disappointed with Lawrence's look. She had been so flawless and risky all season long, wearing bold colors in even bolder designs (girl's got the legs) so when she showed up in this simple red column with practically no accessories and free flowing hair I was like "what?".

As the night went by however, she looked just radiant! The silhouette is perfection and unlike other actresses, she never looked constricted or restrained by what she was wearing. Can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

9. Sandra Bullock in Vera Wang

This is how it's done Anne Hathaway's Valentino (I felt terrible typing that by the way...Annie knows I worship her)

8. Natalie Portman in Rodarte

The Best Actress winner was the image of pure joy and her simple fashion choice proved to be flawless. I'm not sure what everyone was expecting of her given that she's pregnant and all which must make dress choices much more difficult.

However the color was stunning (anyone else had flashbacks of Keira Knightley in 2006?), the hair was lovely and she accessorized like a pro.

7. Jennifer Hudson in Versace

Va-va-voom Miss Hudson! The Oscar winner looks absolutely hawt in this orange Versace.

See how her dress is a bit of Sandra Bullock's and Gwyneth's all rolled into one bomb of sexiness.

The accessories are perfect, the hair is incredible and you just gotta love the boobs. Beyoncé's "style" must be rolling in its grave of tackiness.

6. Anne Hathaway in Givenchy Couture.

Anne changed dresses a LOT and while some weren't fully successful (that weird Tom Ford from the end) this vanilla construction was a delight.

The bodice recalls the Versace January Jones wore to the Emmys once but while Jones is all about the cutting edge, Annie fits more of a princess mold.

This dress was shown on the runway as a wedding dress and Hathaway makes it look positively regal.

5. Gwyneth Paltrow in Calvin Klein

The Oscar winner/country singer was stunning in this metallic CK column. She let her hair down and in all honesty looked like what Oscar would look like if he was a gorgeous woman.

The Louis Vuitton brooch was a bit off putting though, it was one of those situations when you like and then hate something. Good that you almost can't see it!

4. Anne Hathaway in Atelier Versace.

See what I meant about the Givenchy looking like Versace?

This is the kind of dress the house of Donatella is magnificent at: simple, sexy and delicately elaborate gowns that look as comfortable as shorts with the grace of couture mortals can't afford.

3. Anne Hathaway in Oscar de la Renta.

Disco was back for a few seconds as Anne rocked the stage in this beaded Oscar de la Renta which could do flashy nice things and made her look more beautiful than she did all night long (although it must be said she was all sorts of stunning in her masculine tux as well...)

2. Mila Kunis in Ellie Saab

As you know, I've had a love/hate relationship with Kunis' red carpet choices. Sometimes she looks stunning but more often than not she looks like she's trying too hard.

This lavender Ellie Saab was wonderful. Notice the gorgeous lace details on her cleavage and the way in which the dress flowed making her look radiant and quite sexy.

She was classic Hollywood with a slight edge and all throughout the night I kept telling myself "this is the classy version of this".

1. Cate Blanchett in Givenchy Couture

My prediction was right. This woman is a goddess among stylish women. The truth is her dress couldn't be more simple if it tried but it's such a well designed gown that like Cate's work, you find yourself uncovering layers and layers of what makes it so wonderful.

For starters the color! This delicate mix of lavender, violet and white makes for a warm look that's also aggressively imposing.

Next, that flowered frame is a thing of real beauty. It's sexy withou being vulgar (like ScarJo's back window) and reminds us that we are indeed watching a lady.

The yellow details on the shoulders accentuate her tasteful earrings and the simple bracelet completes the look. Also, Cate's hair has grown into something absolutely stunning. If this was a better world it would be her and not Jennifer Aniston who'd inspire fashion choices the world over.

Some have complained that the dress is a bit too weird and pastoral, when it's actually evoking and utterly magical.

So Luke, agree or disagree? Who would you add or remove? And the rest of you guys, get out your inner fashionista and let's discuss this! After all we know the clothes are usually better than the Oscars themselves right?

Oscar Fashion: Meh

The first sight we got of Anne Hathaway was in this confusing red Valentino (she walked the red carpet with Mr. Garabani himself whose skin color matched the gown).

This reminds me of one of Anne's first Oscars, where she wore a drapy, complicated Marchesa, it didn't work that time, it most definitely didn't do much on this occasion.

I love Pe and you all know it.

I wasn't even expecting her to be at the Oscars because well, she just gave birth (love the boobs by the way...) so when I first saw her my heart stopped and I felt a rush of joy.

However when I saw what she was wearing I was less than thrilled. This L'Wrenn Scott is beautiful but it reminds me too much of Miss Universe or a European awards show where people do wear things like this.

However I felt it looked odd for the most stylish red carpet in the world...it was just a bit too much, yet so little effort at the same time?

Mandy Moore is all sorts of cute in this Monique Lhuillier but Marion Cotillard did it better.

So am I right on sticking these ladies in fashion limbo?

Do you love or hate any of the looks?