After Oscars

After months of hype and tons of awards show leading up to THE awards show, it's all over, just like that. OK, maybe not just like that, there were hours and hours of arrivals and then hours and hours of the actual show. A lot of people thought the show was boring but I was live blogging on FB so I was having my own Oscar party online. No matter what was happening on the screen, I was having fun. 

I only read one review about Seth MacFarlane and it was positive. I felt the same way. On FB it seemed like a lot of people didn't like him but I found him funny, charming and game for anything. I could have done without the William Shatner bit in the opening but I still enjoyed the opening with Channing Tatum and Charlize Theron dancing and then Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Daniel Radcliffe dancing and singing with Seth. It was old/new school Hollywood. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Not many, if any surprise winners. They acted surprised but they were all the front runners for each category they were in. That being said, I loved Daniel Day-Lewis' speech. This was his third Oscar, he could have been blasé about the whole thing, instead he was incredibly moved and his speech was beautiful. I felt like this year, with his Golden Globe and Oscar win he really let his emotion and personality shine thru. 

Before the awards season I was a big fan of Anne Hathaway and was totally rooting for her but her speech at the Golden Globes turned me off, it was soooo long and then when Les Mis won she took over the mic to thank an agent she forgot. Really? I'm also not digging this gosh darn, I can't believe I won attitude she's projecting. I just don't believe it. 

Now someone I am loving is Jennifer Lawrence. She looks like someone who doesn't play the Hollywood game. She is so genuine in everything that she does that we're even charmed by her falling down to get her Oscar. I love her honesty and freshness. I'm posting a video of her at the end of this post that is just another reason to love her. 

Don't boo me, but I didn't think Argo was the best movie of the year. Unlike most years, I've actually seen a lot of the movies that were nominated, Silver Lining Playbook, Les Miserablés, Life of Pi and Argo. I have to say, of all of the movies, I enjoyed Argo the least. I'm not saying that I didn't like it, I did, I just liked the others more. There was an emotional element that was missing from Argo for me. I would have been happier if any of the other movies won. That being said, my favorite speech of the night was Ben Affleck's. Nothing moves my somewhat cynical heart (who am I kidding? I'm mush) more then true emotion. I love how far Ben has come in his career and how appreciative he was about it all and it's pretty cool to see him up there with George Clooney. 

The Oscars are really just a reason for people to dress up and for us to judge them for it, so on to the fashion!

I liked a lot of the fashion this year, no real disasters (Helena Bonham Carter is always a disaster, so I don't even bother with her). The top two dresses were my favorite of the night. When I saw them onscreen they took my breath away. The stills don't really convey the beauty of their dresses since part of the magic was in how their dresses moved. I haven't always agreed with Jennifer Hudson's style choices but this dress and the one she wore when she performed Dreamgirls were flawless. Her body looks magnificent in the dress which shimmers and shines when she moves. If you get a chance to see Stacy Keibler (aka George Clooney's gf) in her dress on video, you will see why I love it. On tv, her dress moves and looks like it's made up of a ton of necklaces. There's a metallic look to her dress and it's not a flat material, so it reflects light and adds dimension. Just stunning. 

On camera Naomi Watts dress looked more green/bluish but that could be because her dress is so shimmery and glittery that the lights are all reflected. Sparkle was the theme of the night and I was a huge fan. This dress fit Naomi like a dream and it was something new. Nicole Kidman also had on a fitted glittery dress that she looked divine in. What I love about Octavia Spencer is she knows how to dress for her body. I know she's good friends with Melissa McCarthy, she should really give her some tips. Octavia's dress doesn't re-invent the wheel but it's glamorous and romantic at the same time. I'm a sucker for tulle. If I could get away with wearing tulle every day I would. 

When I first say this dress by Halle Barry I didn't like it. But then she walked on stage and it was so extremely flattering to her body I revised my opinion. That being said, I'd love the dress whole heartedly if it wasn't for the squared shoulders. But since she has those shoulders she's my transition to the dresses I didn't like. 

I know Reese Witherspoon recently had a baby but I'm just not enjoying the fit of this dress. It pooches at her belly and hey, if that's her belly then she could have worn a different dress. I also don't like the two toneness of the dress. Kerry Washington wore a black and white one on Scandal the other day that I loved, this I didn't. She did have my favorite hair style of the night tho. I have admitted to my love of Jennifer Lawrence but I was disappointed in this dress. On tv you can't see the details in the material of the small back draped necklace that she has on. So add a veil and this is a wedding dress. I have loved a lot of what she has worn during the awards season and I can understand wanting to dress like a princess (or in my case a Queen), I just wish she hadn't looked like a bride while doing it. 

On my tv Kerry Washington's dress looked red, add to that all of the jewelry at the top of her dress and she just looked like she should be under a Christmas tree. I'm just not a fan of bedazzaled clothes overall. Anne Hathaway was my biggest disappointment of the night. She's very fashion conscious. I expected more out of her. The darts at her nipples drove me crazy. You know I have no problems with nipples but the dress just didn't flatter and the darts were distracting. She said she chose the dress 3 hours before hand. She should have gone with her other choice. Maybe if the dress didn't have a weirdly placed seam at the waistline it would have looked better. I don't know. It just seemed like a hot mess to me. 

Speaking of hot messes… This falls into the what was she thinking category? The dress doesn't look like it fits her, it adds 20 lbs to her and her hair doesn't help matters. I am a fan of the Pricilla Presley do, just not here. Melissa McCarthy needs to either hire a stylist or fire one. 

All that being said, fashion is subjective. You might like what I hated and vice versa. I would love to hear your thoughts on the Oscars and the Oscar fashion, there were a ton of other great dresses. 

But before you weigh in, check out this so cute video. Jennifer Lawrence is interviewing with ABC when Jack Nicholson comes up to compliment/hit on her. Her reaction is priceless and this is why I love Katniss. 

Review: Silver Linings Playbook

I thought it would take more effort to make Bradley Cooper not look like one of People's Sexiest Men alive, turns out all it took was baggy sweats, a close cropped hair cut and a garbage bag. Actually, it took a lot of great acting on Bradley's part.

We watched Silver Linings Playbook this weekend. Kim didn't know if I would like it or now. I asked her why, she just said, it wasn't really my type of movie. Maybe because I like romcoms and this isn't? I don't know. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Sure the characters a cuckoo for cocoa puffs but who isn't? I can't stand characters who aren't likable and leave you nothing to root for, that's not the case here.

Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper are two very seriously flawed characters but they are also two people with so much baggage BC should would need a few more garbage bags to hold it all.

It's hard to see JL as a trampy adult when I just watched her as a teen in Hunger Games but she's great in this role. They both deserve all of the accolades that they're receiving. Another treat in this movie is Robert DeNiro. Even in comedies he usually plays a tough guy and here he's a father trying to figure out how to deal with his bi-polar son who doesn't want to take his meds. As much as this story is about BC and JL it's also about how a family lives with a son who has mental issues. BTW, how much does Jackie Weaver, the mom, remind you of Sally Struthers? I thought that was her at first. Weird to see Chris Tucker in a non Rush Hour movie. Loved him too. OK it was just an awesome cast overall, LOL.

This movie was written and directed by David O Russell who's son is also bi-polar. His son has a cameo in the movie as the neighbor kid who keeps trying to interview the crazy next door for school.

I have to say, this movie had one of the best dance sequences over. It was so awesome! I went from full out laughter to giggling to laugher again. Just to see that scene it was worth watching the movie.

Lina loved this movie so much that she wanted to see it again in the theaters. I wouldn't say I loved it that much but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Have you seen it? What did you think? What was your favorite moment?

Les Miserable: My review

This past weekend I finally made it to see Les Mis, I know, I had to wait 5 whole days! It was torture. When the movie was originally announced I figured I would be going by myself. No one locally shares my love of Les Mis, try as I might but Nancy and Kim wanted to watch it also so that made it more of a fun outing. 

The showing we planned on watching was 70% sold out and the seating was bad so we went with a later show and stood in line with others, gabbing, eating popcorn and drinking root beer. All a part of the experience.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

My, what a big sword you have...

I've never had much interest in J.R.R. Tolkien but when The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings came out I enjoyed it so much I went to the theater to see it again. I also decided I had to read the books because I couldn't wait a year to find out what happened. 

My friend Bernadette was very cute, she's from the Philippines and when I said I had to go read the books she said, maybe they should have waited to release the books. I had a great laugh and let her know the books were written a long time ago.

I devoured the books, I definitely didn't think they were the best thing ever written, way too much description and too many characters with multiple names, my favorite part of the book was the appendix, I loved knowing what happened to everyone afterwards but I did enjoy the story and eagerly anticipated every LOTR movie and watched them all twice in the theater. I remember bouncing in my seat when Legolas did something badass and yet, I was sort of ambivalent about The Hobbit.

Les Miz Monday (updated with new video)

Since Les Meserables is coming out in a few weeks the publicity machine is out in full force but I've been able to contain myself and keep it all for one post.

The world premiere was last week in London and I am lady gaga over her dress! I've always thought low cut backs are sexy. 

Samantha Barks looks amazing in her dress. She's making the most of her red carpet experience and I love it! She was amazing as Eponine in the 25th Anniversary special and am so happy she's in the movie. 

The big red carpet disappointment is Amanda Seyfried. Do any of you like this dress? Here's a link to the rest of the dresses.

Les Miz Flash Mob

I normally try to spread out my Les Miz love posts but I saw this today and had to share. If I ever get married, I am telling you now, I want something like this. No need to rehearse yet, you have time. They called this a flash mob but no one is dancing but they are singing! I love it! Only wish they had better camera work, where's the videographer?

A heart full of love...

As you know, I'm very excited about the release of  Les Miserables, the movie.  Lei-Lei is even in one of their movie posters. But I've been curious as to how Hugh Jackman would sound as Jean Val Jean. I think he's a great singer, I've heard him sing during the Tonys but this is an iconic role. So I was thrilled to learn that they've finally released some videos of the rest of the cast singing.

Ben Affleck Entertainer of the Year

I was surprised when I saw EW picked Ben Affleck as their entertainer of the year. I decided to look back at his early work to laugh at how he got there but there's not really a lot to laugh about. One of his earliest movies was Dazed and Confused, not my type of movie but it's still a classic. My brother Andy made me sit thru it. Of course it's his type of movie.

Then he began his Kevin Smith years with Chasing Amy and Mallrats, I love Kevin Smith movies, well, most of them (I skipped Jersey Girl) and let's not forget Good Will Hunting a movie he co-wrote and starred in with some guy named Matt Damon.

He Ain't Heavy, He's Alfie Boe

It's one month until Les Miserables comes to our movie theater featuring Hugh Jackman. I love Hugh and think he's a wonderful talent but he's going to have to sing his butt off to erase the memory of Alfie Boe in my head.

Alfie played Jean Val Jean in the 25th Anniversary edition of Les Miz. While rehearsing for the show he became great friends with Matt Lucas who played Thenadier. They were such good friends that Matt opened his home to Alfie while he and his wife were house hunting. The only requirement was that Alfie sang for his supper. Here they are singing, "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother." Talk about talent! He's sitting in the kitchen belting this out!

Nancy and I are hoping to see the midnight showing Christmas Eve but I can't find any info on it. Anyone have any information about it?

The Twilight Effect

Twilight: Breaking Dawn part 2 is coming out this week. I wasn't interested in reading the books, I've read some fantastic books featuring vampires, werewolves, etc. and while Twilight had a lot of buzz, among my fellow readers I was told it didn't compare to the books I already read (and I already admitted to being a book snob).

I did check out the movie when it came out on DVD because my sister loved it. I was unimpressed. Then about 6 months ago we did a Twilight Marathon at my sister's, and the movies weren't as bad as I thought they were going to be. I know, what a rave, LOL. Once the last movie comes out on DVD I'm sure I'll watch it at my sisters house. She won't give me a choice.

Les Misérables

There weren't really any current movies I wanted to talk about so I thought I would post about the movie I'm most excited about this holiday season, Les Misérables!

I never had any interest in Les Mis. It always came across as a dark story and I'm a shiny happy kind of gal. I watched it because my friend wanted to. She was switching back and forth between the 10th Anniversary DVD and the 25th Anniversary one and my only thought was ugh, they sing the entire thing? Well she went to bed before it was over so I took them both to my room to watch and wiki'd the story while I watched and slowly but surely got pulled into the story. The next thing you know I'm watching it every day and googling all kinds of factoids and looking up youtube videos of the various behind the scenes footage. I probably watched the DVD a month straight (I prefer the 25th Anniversary edition with Alfie Boe) and whenever nothing is on TV I will pop in the DVD. You'd think I knew the words, I don't LOL.