All work and no play make jack a dull boy.. All work and no play make jack a dull boy

As if there weren't enough viewing obligations out there, I offer a heads up to those of you who may enjoy a few of Stanley Kubrick's flix. The MFA is doing a retrospective - all in 35mm format, starting tomorrow and running through Oscar weekend. Granted, his "final haunting masterpiece" was more of a piece of crap - but if he only ever did The Shinning, I would still have posted this.

Check it out.... here.

Since I'm apparently getting half of my "best/worse dressed list" wish... some also rans

 If you think the box-bag helps, you're sadly mistaken, loser.

 Being a legend doesn't mean you get a pass; it means you're supposed to know better.

 And on top of it all you add a turquoise bracelet? Really?

 Help me... I'm wearing an (ugly) antique vase .

I think Halle's is technically at the Globes... but she should NEVER be forgiven for looking this bad.

I am getting Verklempt

Who can forget this classic?

I bet Demi wishes SHE could!

 

I mean, bicycle pants, honest to god she is wearing velvet bicycle pants.

 

This has nothing to do with the Oscars, but was too good to pass up

Hi, I'm Charlize Theron...

And I must have the best press people in Hollywood because I bet you don't even remember this hideous dress I wore in 2006.  I had those wonderful press people go out and collect ALMOST every single picture of me in this dress and then destroyed them!!!!!!!!!

Uma, I sure as hell hope you are waving to your lawyer...

...who is in the act of sueing that designer.

 

 

Oscar's Worst Dressed... Remember these old chestnuts?

Sorry if the links are blocked for some of you.

Remeber how crazy Kim Basinger was?

                            Meditation in beige?!?!???? What is this dress?  I won't mention the scarf.

                                                              Old Baloney Tits Paltrow

 Where do you even get an outfit like this?  This makes me yearn for the days of Ted Danson in blackface

             And finally... Geena!  She caught flack for this outfit in 1992 and fashions in 1992 were hideous.

Here is a fun fact:  Cary Grant (my love) used to tan religiously to avoid the pancake make-up of the times. 



Not his best picture, I know but I still love him and his little tan face.

One of the few things I can thank my mother for is my love of Gone With The Wind. 

Never Has One Item Of Clothing...

...so screamed, "Please, punch me in the face."

Which Cher look is is worse?

The one below or this one?

Today's Oscar Challenge...Worst Dress Entries

Ready, Set, Go!

Is it easy to pick on Cher?

Yes, that's what makes it so fun. Remember this gem?

Take it in ladies, take it all in.

Suck it Renee Zellweger.  That is all.

Ok- it's taken me a while to get caught up but let me just say-- Ladies, we have a pretty good field to pick from this year! 

My latest:  Silver Linings Playbook.  I liked this more than I thought I would-- and my only conflict (which was resolved on the way home) was the ending.  When I was leaving the theater I was ticked it was such a "everybody loves everybody" ending.  We all know that mental illness + mental illness typically yields a SH*# storm so I called my own bull#%^t!  It wasn't until the ride home I realized that the crazy road ahead was implied, not glossed over.  These two are going to have to work hard but they are in it for all they have left to give.

Beasts of the Southern Wild-- I commented on a fellow Lady Friend post that to me it felt like an after school special-- with a little "Where the Wild Things Are" meets "Winter's Bone" with a dash of "Inconvenient Truth".  Sorry, as cute as Hushpuppy was, this did not feel like an Oscar movie to me.

We pretty much agree on the rest thus far, but let me say I did love Moonrise Kingdom-- an Oscar movie?  Probably not, but in a sea of over-acting mouthy adolescents typically found it todays movies- I found these children to be delightful.  And I do not normally find children delightful- so well done.

I have saved a big one for last-- I hope to see Le Miserables Thursday (hey- it's not that I didn't want to see it, but I knew it would stay in the theater the longest). 

I can't wait, can't wait, can't wait!!!!

Memories... like the corner of my cell... or well.

I just wanted to share this shot of the year I fell deeply in love with the Oscars.

It was the same night that Silence of the Lambs became only the 3rd film in Oscar history (After It Happened One Night and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) to win the "Big Five"... Film, Director, Actor, Actress, Screenplay.

I was already in love with the book, Hopkins, AND Foster when the movie was made... and then, well, the rest is literally film history.

Hey Jodie.... love your suit. 
Goodbye horses.

Sadly, I was never sexy...

Hey! I was hot once too...once.

Ummm.... I definitely got better with age!!

I said put your hands UP; not take your clothes OFF

Most men would struggle to make "Nazi" sexy... I am not most men.

Hi Ladies... Commence the Catfight...

Set Your DVR's Ladies

Starts This Friday

Here are some of the more noteworthy offerings. Interestingly enough the TCM daily schedule is arranged by movie studio so the first few days are all Warner Bros. Productions.

(To see the full month, please click on the TCM logo to the right for a full PDF schedule)

 

Friday, February 1st
12:00 PM -  42nd Street ('33)
1:30 PM  -  The Gold Diggers of 1933 ('33)
4:00 AM  - Jezebel ('38) - YAY!!!!

 Saturday, February 2nd

3:15 PM -  Key Largo ('48) Noteworthy if for no other reason than to see how damn skinny Bacall is.
8:00 PM -  Casablanca ('42) Noteworthy for only like a million reasons.
12:00 AM - Mildred Pierce ('45) Oh my God how I love this movie.

 Sunday, February 3rd

6:30 AM - Streetcar Named Desire ('51)
3:00 PM - Mister Roberts ('55) This is my all time favorite Jack Lemmon movie.
11:00 PM - My Fair Lady ('64) Come on Dov-ah, move ya' bloomin' ass!
4:00 AM - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ('66) I am, I am afraid of Virginia Woolf.

Django!!!!!!!!!

Ok Oscar lovers....I saw Django last night.  So far THIS is my favorite Oscar movie of the season.  I still have to see Les Mis and ZD30, but I can't imagine liking Les Mis more than I like this.
Before I talk about the movie as a whole, let me dissect some of its pieces. 

First up Christoph Waltz... I know he probably won't win, but I wish with all my heart that he would.  His performance in this movie is a true original, derivative of nothing.  What a wonderful complex and loveable character her created here.  He is slyly subversive, unfalteringly polite and florid with his language.  I really enjoyed that he was so much more "civilized" outwardly than the unsavory Americans...He’s the Old World instructing the New in the fine points of etiquette and speech while enjoying the savage opportunities of the day.  The way Dr. Schultz uses his way with words and his ability to hide behind the law are just played to perfection by Waltz.  And as an aside, I wanted to bang the hell out of him the whole time :-)

Leo DiCaprio - What a tricky role he had.  Of course we must hate him and do, but I feel like he really played the duality of cruel slave owner and impeccable gentlemen perfectly.  Leo was able to shift very quickly from the hateful glint in his eye to the warm open expression of a good host.  I love his performance and thought that he really went for it.

Kerry Washington - Like most poor damsels in distress, she had the most thankless role.  She was always either, in danger, preparing to be in danger or having her hopes dashed.  Unfortunately for poor Kerry, I didn't see a character there just a plot device to get Django where he needed to be, getting the revenge he needed to get.

Jamie Foxx - He played Django in a way I didn’t expect.  All quiet and steely.  While he was very good, I can't help but think that Christoph and Leo outshined him in their scenes together.

Sam Jackson - Awesome, perfect and wonderful!  Sam Jackson's eyes are so capable of conveying menace and hatred...they are much scarier than the words that come out of his mouth.

As a whole, this movie plays to Tarantino's best themes.... Revenge, violence, flowery dialogue and just enough absurdity.  LOVE THIS MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS- The horse tricks Django performed at the very end of the movie were such a hysterical surprise... I could have watched 5 mroe minites of just that!

Lincoln, Django, and the Academy… Slavery is so en vogue

I will be among the many to point out that, this year, we have 2 well nominated films this year that examine the issue of slavery, directed by two men who have previously, and also with great accolade, directed films about the holocaust. If Schindler's List came out the same year that Inglourious Basterds was released,  there would have been endless articles contrasting Spielberg’s, devastatingly heartbreaking historic tale with Tarantino’s fantastic story of revenge .. but this year, we turn our eyes and the page to the mid 1800’s, and 3 battles: North vs. South, freeing the slaves, and I think, the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.  But I’m getting ahead of myself.  

What Lincoln offers us is historical and political perspective and insight into process, which keeps you rapt despite an ending written centuries ago.  Daniel Day Lewis is unrecognizable, and at this point in my Oscar movie viewing, unrivaled in his performance.  He anchors a compelling tale of a crusade for justice and ideals, the crafty business of politics, the violence necessary to end a violent trade, and the growing pains of a nation. And Lincoln offers, too, all that a great film needs to be great – a supporting cast who more than held their own (yes, we really like you), well timed score, beautiful sets and costumes, thoughtful cinematography, and a great crescendo – again, when we know the ending. 

Dear Helen Hunt, I hate you. The End

Silver Linings and Bradley Cooper

Ok, Silver Linings.

I liked the movie and awful lot.  I can see myself watching this endlessly on cable this summer.  However, as soon as the credits rolled, Sean looked at me and said "THAT is an Oscar movie?".  I have trained my husband well as I don't think it is an Oscar movie either.  It is a very good movie, but when we are talking about Oscars, it just didn't meet that criteria.  The only performance I can see and understand being nominated is Jennifer Lawrence.  She was fantastic and I personally think she is taking home the Oscar for this role.

Now onto the sticky wicket I call Bradley Cooper. 

Zero Dark Thirty

I had not the slightest interest in seeing this movie and had it not been for its nomination, would have likely waited for its appearance on HBO months from now. I felt the same way about The Hurt Locker.  The next time Kathryn Bigelow directs a movie and I find myself saying, "-eh, I'm not so interested in seeing that." I'm going to write that sentence down on a piece of paper and literally eat my words on the way to the theater.

Before discussing what I liked, I think it's important to point out what was not in Zero Dark Thirty, because those elements are as essential to its compelling story line as what is included. Bigelow took my preconceived notions about what a movie focusing on this topic would be and turned it on its head. With the same brilliant, laser focus she used in The Hurt Locker, Bigelow is able to tell an amazing war story without talking about the war itself.

Justice versus revenge.

When the ends justify the means.

The blurred lines between right and wrong.

Worst Oscar Snubs of All Times

We've all been there, well prepped for the Oscars, all filmed up, in our Sunday best. We eagerly monitor the  Red Carpet, offering applause of approval for those who emerge dressed in impeccable  Versace, Oscar de la Renta and Givenchy, and throw up our arms in disgust as some douche-lord decides that this is the time to branch out and try something outside the box (please refer to previous DDL insert).

Ah, the never-ending supply of "what were they thinking?"

But the truest disappointment often comes from the Academy itself... either in its nominees, or worst yet, in its final decisions.

So, I offer you here, the opportunity to lash out against the (albeit sacred) Academy for its greatest miscalculations.

Dear Academy... WTF? What were YOU thinking?  

My contribution.  Ellen Burstyn (Requiem for a Dream)  loses to Julia Roberts (Erin freaking Brockovich)

 

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Ok, I watched this movie last night and have some of the following random thoughts... don't worry, no plot spoilers here for those that haven't seen it.

The Good:

· The movie is visually rich and filmed really well. Wonderful fantastical imagery.

· All of the actors in the movie are not "actors" at all, just regular people.  That was interesting and impressive to me.  It is also surprising that the guy that played Hushpuppy's father didn't get nominated for something.  He was really good.  Just as good as the little girl that is nominated and their scenes together were the best part of the movie.

· No doubt that little girls is adorable and amazing.  I will never know how to spell or pronounce her name, so to me she will always be that "Q-Girl".

The Bad:

· Near the start of the film Hushpuppy narrates something along the lines of (and I am paraphrasing from memory here) : My name is Hushpuppy, I live in the Bathtub with my Daddy".  That one sentence is unfortunately the whole plot of the movie.

Beasts of the Southern Wild...still searching for answers.

Anyone who would like to discuss their thoughts on Beasts of the Southern Wild is welcome to do so here.

I am still, two days later, not sure how I feel about this movie. It made me uncomfortable for certain but I put that down to having a severe aversion to clutter of any sort. While I understand the point of the 'Beasts' metaphor, I'm not sure it added anything to the movie. No spoilers here but feel free to chime in as you knock this one off of your queue.

I JUST CAN'T WAIT

Here we go ladies. That time of year we all look forward to. Time for underfed starlets to prance around and pretend they are completely unprepared for their win. Time for the losers to pretend they didn't think they absolutely had it LOCKED UP. Time for Anne Hathaway to once again act as though she ran a half-marathon to get to the stage. Time for all of those handsome tuxedo-clad gods to pretend they like women...that's right it's almost Oscar time.