2014 Oscar Recap

I'm back! After a very busy couple of weeks I had to post about last nights Oscars. I hope to get back to more regular posting but this week is my last work week before I go on vacation so we'll see how it goes! 

Firstly, let's get right into the Oscar fashion. I was impressed with just about everyone to be honest. Not a lot of weird or ugly which made choosing favourite gowns a bit tricky. An easy one for me was Kate Hudson. She looks fantastic last night. I love white dresses (that is no secret) and this one seemed to be made for her! Jennifer Lawrence was maybe predictable in this Dior dress, but she knows what works for her and this did! I'm not crazy about her hair cut but it looked nice last night too.

 Lupita Nyong'o looked very beautiful and youthful in her dress. Naomi Watts (in another white dress) looked great too - I liked her outfit on the red carpet but when I saw her on stage presenting, I was blown away.

Can't forget these pregnant beauties who seem to have a handle on how to rock stunning Oscar looks even as they are just about ready to pop! Kerry Washington and Olivia Wilde looked incredible. 

Who was your best dressed?

Tomorrow I'm going to share my Oscar Challenge recap - I managed to fit in 7 of the 9 nominated films!

2014 Oscar Challenge

Bright and early this morning the Oscar nominations were announced, and at that I am pleased to announce I will be embarking on my 2nd annual Oscar challenge! Same as last year, what I will be trying to do is to watch all the movies nominated for Best Picture before the awards show and throw in my two cents on who I think should win. I had a lot of fun doing it although I didn't QUITE see them all.

This year I am already in good shape having seen 3 of the 9 - and the show isn't until March 2nd so I've got plenty of time! The nominees for Best Picture are:

So far with the ones I've seen I would be more than happy with Captain Phillips or Her winning. Both EXCELLENT movies. I feel like I'm going to stand alone when I say I don't think American Hustle should win. It won the Golden Globe and I just don't think it was deserving, especially in the company the other films. Anyway, more on specific reviews later...

Have you seen any or most? Any strong opinions or hunches so far?

Funny Friday: Oscars & Jennifer Lawrence

To cap of this week following the Oscars, I thought I'd share some funny things not just having to do with the Oscars, but also having to do with Jennifer Lawrence. I have said it a million times (or twice) and I will say it again: prior to seeing Silver Linings Playbook I really didn't like her much but now - after the movie, seeing interviews and her awards show flubs - I'm kinda loving her!

The first thing I want to share is a photo The Platform (best known for personalities such as P'Trique) posted on Facebook yesterday, with the caption "Who else thinks this should be an actual ad in the next issue of Vogue? Tumbling is SO chic right now."

Here are a couple of Jennifer Lawrence videos that have been making their rounds on the internet this week. The first, her hilarious press speech after winning her Oscar:


And when she met Jack Nicholson for the first time after he crashed her ABC interview...


Have a fabulous weekend!

2013 Oscar Fashion Standouts

Last night was the Oscars. And what a show it was. Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame hosted and although I woke up this morning to see mixed reviews on his hosting, I personally think he did a great job. That is part of the reason I stayed up and watched the entire show! One of my most favourite things about last night was when a winner ran over in their acceptance speech, the Jaws theme music would play. That idea HAD to have come from Seth, and it was just perfect. 

Next, my guess for best picture was wrong. I went all in for Les Misérables winning, but it was Argo that came out on top. Although I still stand by my choice, I am totally fine with Argo winning as it really was a fantastic movie. After seeing the acceptance speeches last night, I was very happy Ben Affleck. He put in a lot of work and made a great movie. Last note about the awards show itself, there was a 50 year James Bond tribute! I am a Bond fanatic and was very much looking forward to it. Although the tribute was nice it wasn't what I'd hoped. Super short and more about the music than the movies. What was also a bit sad was that there were so many rumours leading up to the show that all 6 Bonds would appear together on stage for the first time. Didn't happen. But we got a lovely highlight real of the movies and a killer performance of Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey!

Now, moving on to the fashion! This was a good show for fashion. Nothing crazy or innovative compared to the previous awards shows this season, but good nonetheless. I had many favourites but my top two are: Jennifer Aniston in Valentino and Amanda Seyfried in Alexander McQueen.

It was hard to narrow down the runners up but here are the stars who also made my list:

Amy Adams, Sandra Bullock, Charlize Theron and Jennifer Lawrence

Who did you think was best dressed last night?

 

Oscar Challenge Recap

Just under one month ago I set out to complete an Oscar Challenge. The challenge was to watch all 9 movies that are nominated for Best Picture prior to the show. I did not quite make it through all 9 but I did see 6 of them which I've got to say, I'm quite pleased with! I suppose there is still a chance I could see one or two more before the show on Sunday night, but I highly doubt it. I saw: Silver Linings Playbook, Les Misérables, Django Unchained, Beast of the Southern Wild, Zero Dark Thirty and Argo. Each one of these movies was good in their own way but I must say, after seeing Les Misérables, I felt like it was winner. I still feel that way. It's not that it was the best of the lot, because they are all VERY different movies (and this one is 100% musical, not one word spoken, so you have to like that), it's just that it was incredibly well done and affected me long after it was over. It was excellent. That being said, if Django won I would fully understand. It also impressed me.

Did you see any? Any predictions?

For my brief review of each movie, scroll on down, but I want to first share another "Funny Friday" video that is quite topical. I'm pretty sure it's hilarious if you've not seen Les Misérables but if you have, all the better!


Let the Reviews Begin! (in the order I saw them)

Silver Linings Playbook - Great movie. Good, strong, unique story and incredible acting. Prior to this movie I was not a Jennifer Lawrence fan, but I became one after seeing this. Although I really liked it, and can't point out any flaw, I don't feel like it will/should win Best Picture.

Les Misérables - After this was finished, I found my self consumed with what I just saw and was sure, even though I'd not finished my challenge, that this would win best picture. I still believe that. You have to like musicals to enjoy this as there is zero talking, but I love musicals and this musical happens to be my favourite. The movie did not disappoint.

Django Unchained - Another great flick. You do have to like Tarintino in order to enjoy this movie, and if you do, you will love it too! Typical of his work you are constantly visually stimulated by his creativity, and you feel like he has shown you the world as he imagines it. As for the story, it is thought provoking and riveting. To compare it to one of his previous films, I would definitely say Inglorious Bastards style as opposed to a Kill Bill. If this won best picture I would not be surprised or disappointed.

Beasts of the Southern Wild - This movie was definitely more on the artistic side. It's not one that I would necessarily recommend but that's mostly because I don't think it would appeal to a broad audience. You'd have to like a certain kind of movie AND be in a certain kind of mood I think. The first half was VERY artsy, but I really enjoyed the story in the second half.

Zero Dark Thirty - Very tough subject matter detailing the events that followed 9/11 but it was an exceptional movie that was very tastefully done. Jessica Chastain is nominated for her role in this and I was blown away by her performance. I'm thinking she might win.

Argo - As everyone probably knows, this movie is based on a true story. I knew that going in but was not really familiar with the story itself. I thought it was riveting. I also found myself fully engaged and at the edge of my seat the whole time! It was really well told and the acting was superb. I had heard from a couple of people who saw it in the theatre that it was a little long (as in they could have cut out at least 20 minutes by editing it a bit better) but I didn`t really feel that way - likely because I was watching it from the comfort of my own couch! :)

 

Oscar Challenge

It is EXACTLY one month until the Oscars and I've decided to give myself a challenge between now and then - watch every movie nominated for best picture. I've noticed on Facebook that there are a couple of people who are doing this, and that inspired me to give it a go. I mean, I love movies so why not!? Quite a few of them are on my "to-see" list anyway. 

So, can I do it? What will be my favourite? Only time will tell. For anyone who doesn't know, here is the full list of movies nominated for Best Picture:

I've never done this before and I have no idea how successful I will be, mostly because I don't even know if a few of these are still in theaters, but I will give it a shot! As I see them I'll be sure to review as I like to do, and most of all, share whether or not I think they're Oscar worthy! 

Have you seen any? Where to begin...

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Best Oscars Ever?

The Oscars are about to get awesome this year in my opinion! 

Just announced yesterday, Seth MacFarlane (of Family Guy fame in case you're not familiar with him) will be hosting this years Oscars!

"It's truly an overwhelming privilege to be asked to host the Oscars," MacFarlane said. "My thoughts upon hearing the news were, one, I will do my utmost to live up to the high standards set forth by my predecessors; and two, I hope they don't find out I hosted the Charlie Sheen Roast."

I think he is one of the funniest people out there and can't wait to watch him host.  That being said, we've had some OK hosts as of late, like Steve Martin & Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, and Anne Hathaway (who co-hosted with James Franco, who I did not think was as great). But there have been more duds then not - even with people I love, like Ellen DeGeneres. 

I am rooting for him and I'm sure he won't disappoint. As he mentions in his above statement, he hosted the Charlie Sheen roast... which was not as a whole funny, but he killed it! I'm so excited I may start planning my "Seth-MacFarlane-is-hosting-the-Oscars" outfit! Just kidding... 

Now we wait. Until February.