Movies, Movies, Movies

Since it's the 4th of July and half of 2011 went by, I say it's an opportune time to post my (very biased) mid-year movie reviews. I call it very biased because it seems like I am never in agreement with most movie reviews posted online. Those movie reviews always find something to not like about in every movies, and somehow all of the reviews agree with each other. So how is it that all movie critiques think the same...? (insert Spock eyebrow twitch) Besides, I did write a "movies to watch this year" post earlier, and of course, there are updates to be made. :)

The Rite

It was very Exorcist meets Omen, but hey, I like a good horror-thriller movie. And by a good horror-thriller, I mean the kind that doesn't have limbs flying off every 5 minutes. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind watching splatters (in fact, I do like Tarantino); I just can't take those splatters seriously. :)

Water for Elephants

Apparently it's not Christoph Waltz-in-Inglourious Bastards-scary. I'll watch it at some point.

Source Code

Jake Gyllenhaal does the same thing over and over again until he gets it right. Then the last 10 minutes confused the crap out of me, Inception-style. That was definitely one of those times when you wish you had a remote in a movie theater. 

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

I thought it was way better than the second and the third ones. Maybe it's the lack of octopus-looking bad guy that made it better. I mean, dude with octopus stuck on his face does not exactly scream "badass pirate." On the other hand, Black Beard really was a badass pirate. Speaking of which, you know how in every Pirates movie, a character who dies ends up being not really dead? I call for Black Beard making a comeback in Pirates 5...if there is one. 

Kung Fu Panda 2

Confession: I haven't seen this one yet. I suppose I will be expecting some skadooshing. 

X-Men: First Class

My favorite movie of the year so far. :) 

Cars 2

My excitement level went down a notch when I found out that most of the Radiator Springs cars are just going to be in it for a few scenes. To top it...my favorite car will not be making an appearance. sigh.

Super 8

That was one pissed off alien, and unlike some other alien flicks where aliens just breaks crap for 2 hours for absolutely no reason, this Super 8 alien had a very good reason to be very pissed off. By the way, when is Star Trek 2 coming out!?

Oct. 21 -- The Three Musketeers

It's Paul W.S. Anderson - Milla Jovovich duo, so at least the action is bound to be crazy-cool. I wonder when would the actual The Three Musketeers movie will be made -- the one that's true to the book. Oh wait, it's bound to be ridiculously long and ridiculously dark...so awesome, right? (maybe not?)

Nov. 23 -- Hugo Cabret

It's a movie about a boy, a train station, a robot, and set in Paris, 1930's. Yeah I have no idea what it's about, but Martin Scorsese is the director so I'm guessing that seemingly crazy combination of things will come out to be something awesome. 

Dec. 16 -- Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
First off, it's Sherlock Holmes. Professor M is played by Jared Harris, recently known as David Robert Jones from Fringe Season 1. My new favorite actress, Noomi Rapace, is in it. Seriously, who wouldn't be excited?

Dec. 23 -- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Fincher version)
I love the original Swedish trilogy so much that I'm a bit skeptic as to how this remake will turn out. I'll probably watch it regardless, though.

Happy 4th of July!

xx-N

Timeless Fashion - Spring/Summer 2010

To all of my non-fashion-obsessed readers: I'm so sorry that my blog is turning into a fashion blog these days. I blame my teams for their premature defeats -- let's put it at that. Schalke got booted from the UEFA Champions League after semifinals, and while I like Barca, I'm sort of rooting for the Bundesliga teams. In the basketball front, Lakers and Celtics were done after...which round was that? Yes, I know me liking Lakers and Celtics is very frowned upon and it is equivalent to me saying that I like both Yankees and Red Sox. Alright crazy NBA fans, you can throw imaginary popcorns at me. I mean don't throw real popcorns at me, I like eating them and I'm no Spiderman.

Anyway, so this post is a sequel to Timeless Fashion - Fall/Winter 2009. In the ideal world, I can keep all of my fashion magazines...which is so not the case. Thus, me turning some magazines into collages.

Enjoy!

xx-N

Paint It Black

All the Glamor in the World

Amusement Jewelry Park

Sweet'n'Edgy

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty

If you adore art and lucky enough to be in the City (by that I mean New York City) sometimes between May 4 and July 31, 2011, I suggest you include the Met in your list of places to go. Here's why. I intentionally used art instead of fashion, because McQueen's work surpasses fashion; it really is a work of art. I won't go into details on what the exhibit is about, because the website does a much better job at it. In short, the exhibit has loads of dresses designed my Lee Alexander himself, and you have to be mad to not go have a look because to quote Barney Stinson, it's Legen-wait for it-dary.

NY Times Fashion&Style ran an article about this exhibit too, and there was this passage that I thought was not the accurate description of McQueen's work.

There are streaks of sadomasochism and misogyny in Mr. McQueen’s work. The concept of using as a model a woman with prosthetic legs or of having a robot squirt paint viciously over a dress still seem discomforting. And Sarah Burton adds a further menacing note when she explains that a robotic Perspex armor-like shell worn by a model in a Givenchy collection designed by Mr. McQueen could have electrocuted the person wearing it.

I have seen most, if not all, of McQueen's work, but I seriously have no idea which collection or dress this passage is referring to as being sadomasochistic and misogynistic. I suppose demanding someone to wear Armadillo heels to walk around the city can be a bit sadomasochistic, but who does that? Not even Lady Gaga walks around the city in that shoes, because if she did that, we would know.

Honestly, this ensemble screams nothing but "I'm gorgeous." To top it, what is wrong with using a model with prosthetic legs? I really have to disagree with the idea that not looking like just another emaciated model is discomforting. I first fell in love with McQueen's work because of its originality and the underlying concept that beauty lives in all shapes and forms. I love that Lee Alexander had women with prosthetic legs model his collection. People don't go on prosthetic legs by choice. You don't choose to be born without a leg or two, be sick, or be injured. I love how Lee Alexander let the world know that these women are not "disabled;" instead, they are very able and beautiful.

I did some reading, and as it turns out, Lee Alexander refused to invite Victoria Beckham (who went as Posh Spice then) to the 1999 collection, because he thought Posh Spice's celeb-status would overshadow the appearance of a model with prosthetic legs. Aimee Mullins, the Paralympic athlete, modeled the hand-carved cherrywood prosthetics designed by Lee Alexander. Seriously, how is this sadomasochistic or misogynistic? I think it's quite the opposite.

As for squirting paints, it's all in good fun, right? The almost-electrocution incident could have been easily avoided if any of those artists had an idea to ask an engineer for a consult. I have no idea exactly what that almost-electrocution dress looks like, but all it really takes is good insulation. Anyway, that's enough of me writing; here are some more of the looks that will be showcased at the exhibit. Enjoy!

All images are taken from here.

So beautiful, don't you think?

xoxo-N

PS: According to British Vogue, this exhibit is the Met's Costume Institute's most popular exhibit ever. Is it just me who keeps thinking, what is Lee Alexander himself was still alive to witness all these?