Maybe my strong dislike is now being manifested as suppressed affinity, but she just looks so classy in this outfit. It is impossible not to like her. I cheer her on as she steps out for the premiere of her boyfriend RPatz's new film (Daily Mail). I am glad she finally gets to show off her beauty and her boyfriend.
And this kindling of esteem for ole K Stewart must have made me look with more admiration upon Kiera Knightley, of whom I've gotten incredibly sick over the years. But she is really cool in Bend It Like Beckham and she look lovely here at the Laurence Olivier Award nominee luncheon party (jezebel.com). In other news, isn't it sweet: Carrie Mulligan and Shia Lebeouf are dating (jezebel.com). Cuteness!
In keeping with the subject of my previous post, I also thought it might be fun to point out some films that really quite bad, but look oh so pretty. Their storylines are terrible and their acting is usually pretty terrible (though not necessarily), but their art direction, production design, costuming, make-up, and cinematography are pretty darn great. Or in some cases, at least brief bursts of greatness can be found and you can feel glad that the tons of money poored into these movies was well-spent for at least that portion of the film.
Et maintenant:
Marie Antoinette
Lots of people hated this film, and to be sure it is not great. But Sophia Coppola sure has a great eye. It is definitely worth a quite watch for it's neon candied, girly fun, soft pastoral tones, and pop art take on late 1700s french fashion. The slightly punked, revisionist attitude that flows throughout the film is something fun to experience as well, and the film does feature some very well-executed, subtle scenes.
I also personally love love love the scene of M-A and her daughter in their country retreat (sorry that is in German). Skip ahead to 4:43 for the most beautiful part:
Twilight
This film, this whole phenomenon gives me considerable mental, emotional, artisitc, metaphoical, symbolic, and spiritual agony. However, some of the imagery in this film are quite stupendously enjoyable. I personally loved the baseball scene, especially when the evil vampires crash on the Cullen's family show-off time with their wind-blown hair and clothing. Also, love love love the slow-motion as Alice (?) hits the ball and Bella's hair gets plastered to her face. This video has rather blah quality unfortunately.
Van Helsing
This film is ridiculously bad. But Dracula and his vampire brides are pretty terrific and they look GREAT! (The greenish vampire spawn that explode into goo, not so much.) I wish I could find you a non-fanvid of the masquerade scene but I can't. Here is the trailer, bask in its terribleness.
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
Ok, not that this film is anywhere near as bad as Twilight or Van Helsing, but it is pretty weak. I found myself severely dissappointed by this film, so much so that I cannot really make strong enough excuses for it. However, I was crying during Padme's funeral although this might be because she looks so bloody beautiful.
After a recent experience watching The Prestige with some friends, I found myself being mercilessly mocked after expressing my rapture at a the visual beauty of a certain scene. Every time I watch the film, I am always taken by the gorgeousness of the Colorado road that leads Angier (Hugh Jackman) to the secluded haunts of one Nichola Tesla. Angier's carriage emerges from the mists, and leaves him walking through a shimmering atmosphere of ghostly white hanging about textured trees, etched with frost and dusted with snow. Everything is shrouded in a combination of enticing fairy dust, eerie mystery, and sheer amazing magic. It takes the breath away every time, or at least that of this cineast. A fellow watcher makes an incredulous snort as I let out an appreciative sigh with the first image of the beautiful forest surrounding Angier's harmoniously brown figure: "I love that the thing you like the most about this movie is the fog."
Now of course, 'the fog' is certainly not my most favorite thing about such a brilliant movie, but it is certainly a succulent and mouth-watering treat, one that makes you drool inside . . . like a rich creamy chocolate or the delicious cherry on the top on an ice cream sunday. Your heart skips a beat when you realize you will be enjoying this unexpected pleasure, and sigh with satisfaction and gratitude upon consumption of this tasty morsel. However, more to the point of this post, this experience put me in mind of several other times when I've fallen in love with movies because of their appeal to the cinematographically gluttonous. On several occasions I have suggest some to people (namely my dad) what I describe as some 'very slow' films, that have sustained me all the way through to their conclusions with their sheer dazzling beauty. Others (for example, my dad) without my appreciation for these feats of masterful filmic gorgeousness do not fair so well. It seems, as I've been told, not everyone can sit through them which is a pity because most of the films turn out to be beautiful in the emotional, narrative and just overall sense as well.
However, still basking in the afterglow of The Prestige fog, I feel the impulse to celebrate a few of these films. In an expression of my love for them, I hereby provide a few of my guilty pleasures:
The Assassination of Jesse James: The story of this film moves REALLY slowly, slow enough you can easily lose interest in it. But what is great about this is that it gives you plenty of time to gaze at the amazing images, patinas, textures, and spaces that parade past you on the screen. This is one of the few films that most accurately captures the grandeur and sheer bigness of the American western landscapes, which is quite an accomplishment and quite an experience. This film is also peopled with GREAT performances, especially from Casey Affleck and Sam Rockwell.
The English Patient
This movie spawned my love for Anthony Minghella. We should all love him, if for nothing more than the unabashedly bloody gorgeousness of this film. Although a notorious cry-baby when it comes to dramatic films of any sort, I found myself uncontrollably sobbing during this film, not because I was particularly moved by the tragic fate of any of the rather unlikable characters, but more so because of the overwhelming power of the images. See this film and weep openly at its beauty. I dare not even include here a screen capture of a tragic scene at the end of the film, one of the most exquisite examples of its cinematography, because I do not wish to deny anyone the rapturous experience of uncovering it for themselves. This trailer is a little obnoxious, but may it whet your visual appetites.
Enchanted April
Another slow slow film. But its visuals have a magic ability to really fill your heart with love and warmth. Appallingly little happens in this film. And yet what a wizzbang experience! As the characters scurry off to Italy in a mad bid to get away from it all, they find everything! I don't know what it is about this film, but watching it was one of the most vicariously real cinematic experiences I've ever had. When the characters plod through rainy city streets and float around their loveless homes, the audience can feel the cold, dampness that is slowly killing their souls. But as Lottie, Rose and company feel their hearts refilling with life, warmth and love, so does the audience. One can really feel the warm sunshine as Caroline recuperates in the sun, and one's heart glows at Rose's delicate pre-Raphaelite beauty and Lottie's soft harmony with the pastoral landscape around her. The beauty of this film leaves you warm, snuggley, relaxed and with a rekindled love of life.
I could not find a satisfactory trailer, so here is a segment from the film. Skip ahead to 1:00 for the good bits.
Days of Heaven
Really really slow film number 4! This film is similar cinematographically to the aforementioned Assassination of Jesse James, but its narrative is much more expertly constructed. And its visuals are superb, striving to capture the beauty of the Texas panhandle and the grasslands--- in which is emphatically succeeds. Its beauty is only heightened by the quiet, silent nature of its characters and story, letting things unfold with an earthly, peaceful authenticity. If the fog in The Prestige was a tasty treat, this film is a candyland heaven of nonstop visual delights! Director Terrence Malick is said to have been striving to create essentially a silent film, and its silence and slowness give the film's beauty the perfect framing its needs to make it a mind-blowingly visual experience. Aside from Assassination's more dramatic imagery, this is the only other film I have seen that truly approaches consistently capturing the majesty of the American western landscape. (Sam Shepard's performance in this is also something not to miss.)
Apologies for the annoying voice over again.
Girl with a Pearl Earring
This a film about painting, so rather unsurprisingly it is lovely to look at. As the narrative delves into the life of Vermeer, the imagery strives to live up to his artistic standards. Color and lighting fill the movie with painterly visuals, and costume and makeup follow suit. The artistry of both the story and the images carries the audience away. Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth's understated performances mesh well with this aesthetic. It is also quite enjoyable to see Cillian Murphy's small role as the butcher boy.
Heavenly Creatures
This film would not put people off with the slowness of the previously mentioned films. Rather, its creepy and horrific content seems to promise to disturb and unsettle its audience. However, it really is carefully constructed to give you a unique and creative view into something so unsavory, and this is a remarkable experience that one should try to take advantage of if one can. An additional pleasure to the overall genius of this film is Peter Jackson's masterful and imaginative visuals. They are filled with beauty, emotion and meaning, and truly make the film what it is.
The Tudors
This of course is much more popular and well-known than probably anything else on this list, but I could not help but mention it. Despite its rather considerable creative license it takes with history and its raunchy oversexed inclinations, the cinematography on this show is fantastic. It does things with color and darkness that few television shows do and sets it at a visual standard few television shows bother even to consider. I myself can watch the opening credit sequence over and over again, which not only showcases the amazing visual excellence of the film's artistic design and photography but also features some darn great editing. Maria Doyle Kennedy and Jeremy Northam look particularly gorgeous in my opinion. Try to ignore its obsession with carefully lit fragments of women's bodies, and embrace the music which is also brilliant.
The Fall
I do not really know what to say about this film. It rather speaks for itself. Unlike most of the other films I've listed, it is pretty dramatic, engrossing and exciting. It features an onslaught of beautiful, creative and mesmerizing imagery coupled with two fantastic lead performances. Just watch the trailer and you will see what I mean.
These are my top picks! If I think of anymore I will be sure to let you know!
I was generally elated with this year's BAFTA winners: Colin Firth, Kathryn Bigelow, Duncan Jones being adorable, the much ignoring of Avatar. It filled my heart with joy and happiness. Darling little Carrie Mulligan got a BAFTA. . . . ahem, I should say: CARRIE MULLIGAN GOT A BAFTA!!!!! WOOOOOOO!!!!!
I was however really irked that Kristen Stewart won the Orange Rising Star award, because 1) I don't think she really deserved it and 2) I love Nicholas Hoult, who probably would not have won it anyway, but still (and Carrie was up for this as well).
I was all prepared to go on an angry tirade against Stewart and her brainwashed Twilight minions a la Xan Brooks' (the Guardian's BAFTA live blogger): "A pox on those pallid, adolescent vampire fans. Does their power know no bounds?" But hearing her speech and backstage interview made me pause and reconsider.
The poor girl look so deeply ashamed at having won that it breaks your heart. She all but acknowledges that she did not deserve to have won, she isn't as good as the other nominees, and that its all the fault of her rabid and tasteless Twilight fans. Her speech is basically a giant apology, and during her back stage interview she can barely find anything positive to say about the whole experience.
And this is where my Twilight-induced fury ends, because in truth, the girl is talented. As Noel Clarke points out, although the public decided who won, it was the Academy who nominated her, so she's got to have some chops. Maybe I am not content to have her ranked now with the much esteemed past Orange Award winner peers like the amazing James McAvoy and Noel Clarke (less so Shia Lebeouf and Eva Green--- wait Eva Green beat out Cillian Murphy!!?? missed out on an angry tirade there as well), but I find it quite easy to believe that Stewart's career will go on to match them. So cheer up Kristen! Don't be like Bella! Because then we really will have to hate you!
See the BAFTA videos here and here (and also witness how awesome Noel Clarke is as he tries to buck Kristen up).
About the author: The author wrote this poem in the midst of distress over the film Avatar winning best picture at the 67th annual Golden Globes award of 2010. As James Cameron accepted the award and was generally self-important, the author wrote these words:
Avatar I died inside tonight. Stop your speeches wannabes I have No Faith anymore. We don't need you to give us meaning. No applause. I will sleep in denial.
The excellent "women's interest" blog, Jezebel, showcased in a recent post the racist overtones of certain current fashion trends. So-called 'ethnic-inspired' designer clothes are treading dangerously close to racism rather than witticism. Designers are unveiling their lines with names like "Afrika" and with catch phrases like "Gone Native." And what do you know, these clothes feature a lot of feathers, face paint and animal prints!
Animalization of non-white and/or indigenous cultures, as well as pigeon-holing them as 'wild', 'primitive' and 'tribal' has long been a sore spot in studies of race. And any anthropology student will be the first to point out that the idea that populations in undeveloped (read Non-western or third world) areas are 'primitive' is an archaic remnant of backwards colonial thinking, and fraught with all sorts of errors and fallacies. But this does not stop the artistic, cultural, and intellectual (white) elite from making a beeline for these terms when talking about anything "ethnic-inspired." A New York Times article, for example, sends up red-flags galore as it throws about words like "savage," "tribal," "drumbeat," and "stepping on African soil" (as in stepping out in African-inspired footwear) as if none of those words had even been racially charged. I was surprised that such a prestigious and widely-read publication would walk the line so audaciously.
But the fashion world is not alone in its faux pas. The entertainment industry has also been tiptoeing close to the edge. Another New York Times article by opinion columnist David Brooks deconstructs James Cameron's infamous Avatar, revealing how it falls into the age-old, 'White Messiah' fable. He explains:
This is the oft-repeated story about a manly young adventurer who goes into the wilderness in search of thrills and profit. But, once there, he meets the native people and finds that they are noble and spiritual and pure. And so he emerges as their Messiah, leading them on a righteous crusade against his own rotten civilization.
He adds:
He goes to live with the natives, and, in short order, he’s the most awesome member of their tribe. He has sex with their hottest babe. He learns to jump through the jungle and ride horses. It turns out that he’s even got more guts and athletic prowess than they do. He flies the big red bird that no one in generations has been able to master . . . The natives have hot bodies and perfect ecological sensibilities, but they are natural creatures, not history-making ones. When the military-industrial complex comes in to strip mine their homes, they need a White Messiah to lead and inspire the defense.
He further deciphers the appeal of this formula:
Audiences like it because it is so environmentally sensitive. Academy Award voters like it because it is so multiculturally aware. Critics like it because the formula inevitably involves the loincloth-clad good guys sticking it to the military-industrial complex.
This fable fits Avatar like a glove, and Brooks goes on to explain how the natives of Pandora (horrendously cliche name for a planet, in my opinion, by the way) are similarly stereotypically constructed.
Another possible offender is The Blind Side, the story of a rich Southern couple (read a brassy Sandra Bullock) who takes in a homeless, giant, black teen and coach him into success and football fame. Now I don't mean to insinuate that this is not a touching story, Michael's achievement should be dismissed or and we should shun being a little heart-warmed by it, but we also should not ignore that it is enjoying the PC position of a socially-conscious and diversity-aware film while simultaneously glorifying white people and sweeping the black community under the rug.
The main (non-Sandra Bullock) character, Michael, though sweet, charming and most importantly pitiable, strays into the stereotypical dumb giant character--- depriving the prime representative of black Americans in this film of considerable complexity and individualism. One critic notes, "Michael is a curiously blank character, his inner life lost in the glare of [Bullock's character's] self-congratulation. His [past] life is a flurry of flashbacks and vague stories meant — like that drug dealer and Michael’s drug-addicted mother, who appears on screen briefly — to conjure a world of violence, dysfunction and despair." So not only is Michael short changed, but the glimpses into the black community are negative and stereotypical of the horrors an ignorant, white, middle-class audience might imagine.
To add to this subterranean prejudice, Michael's redemption is only achieved through the intervention of the rich, white people who 'save' him from his downward spiral. The black community has nothing to offer Michael. He even has to rely on Bullock's character to trigger his excellence at football. She aims a magical speech at his bewildered face behind his helmet and, as A. O. Scott describes: "it works, just as if the young man were a 300-pound robot she had reprogrammed with the flip of a switch." Granted, the white family admits that Michael is changing their lives for the better as well, but not on the massive scale Michael's life is experiencing.
So like Avatar, the white middle and upper classes can enjoy this film, feeling educated about the lot of disadvantaged, black, southern youth and secure in the magnanimity of southern whites who have the all the answers and take all the credit. Is it then surprising that is was Sandra Bullock who took home the Golden Globe for best actress as opposed to a refreshing, atypical black actress from Precious whose role constituted a down-trodden and abused, urban single mother who drags herself out of her troubles on sheer force of will, hope, and the love and support of a community of educated black women? Unfortunately, probably not.
Maybe my strong dislike is now being manifested as suppressed affinity, but she just looks so classy in this outfit. It is impossible not to like her. I cheer her on as she steps out for the premiere of her boyfriend RPatz's new film (Daily Mail). I am glad she finally gets to show off her beauty and her boyfriend.
