Film review: JEZEBEL (William Wyler, 1938)

Julie Morrison (Bette Davis), a headstrong young woman from New Orleans enjoys toying with the cloistering conventions of the time and is used to getting her way. So when he fiancée Pres (Henry Fonda) rainchecks a date because he’s held up at work, she decides to teach him a lesson.

2016 BAFTA predictions.

I never get these right, and if my predictions come true, I'm going to be a very unhappy bunny tonight. But here goes.

Film: The Revenant [sigh] (alternate: Carol. It's Valentines Day. Please, god, make this happen)
Director: Iñárritu, The Revenant (alternate: Scott, The Martian)
Actor: DiCaprio, The Revenant (alternate: Thirsty Redcarpet, The Danish Girl)
Actress: Luminous Sersh, Brooklyn (alternate: Brie Larson, Room)
Supporting Actor: Idris Elba, Beasts of No Nation (alternate: Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies)
Supporting Actress: Rooney Mara, Carol allow me these delusions goddamnit (alternate: Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs)

British Film: Ex Machina (alternate: 45 Years)
Original Screenplay: Inside Out (alternate: Spotlight)
Adapted Screenplay: Steve Jobs (alternate: The Big Shit)
Outstanding Debut: Alex Garland (alternate: Stephen Fingleton)
Documentary: Amy (alternate: Sherpa)
Animated film: Inside Out (no alternate necessary)
Film not in the English Language: Wild Tales (alternate: Force Majeure)
Music: Sicario (alternate: Hateful Eight)
Cinematography: The Revenant (alternate: Sicario) Carol should walk this fricking category
Editing: Mad Max Fury Road (alternate: The Big Shit #ByeFelicia)
Production Design: Star Wars (alternate: Mad Max Fury Road)
Costume: Carol (alternate: Cinderella Sandy Powell dressing up Cate Blanchett for the motherfudding win!)
Make up and Hair: The Revenant (alternate: Carol)
Sound: Mad Max Fury Road (alternate: The Force Awakens)
VFX: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (alternate: MMFR)

Basically, I expect  a lot of The Revenant cleaning up where Carol should be winning, aka Mad Bung Fury Road. But I've already resigned myself to this, and if Saoirse Ronan can pick up a gong for her lovely work in Brooklyn, I won't be totally pressed. Especially as Handsome Domhnall's presenting!

I turned predicting the BAFTAs into a wee competition with my brother:

it will be a tad awkward if he beats me, given I pay a lot more attention to film awards than he does!

*says a little prayer* It's Valentines Day today. Please, please, please, can the movie gods award the beautiful, precise, nuanced romance that is Carol above the subtletly-free, brazen awards hungry The Revenant? Ta.

BAFTA Predictions, 2011.

I'm excited for the BAFTAs tonight! Lovely costumes, loads of film banter and the majority of Hollywood showing up and looking fine, fresh fierce. What more could a movie buff and fangirl ask for? So, here are my predictions for who'll win what!

BEST PICTURE The King's Speech.
Alternative: The Social Network.

Personally I greatly prefer The Social Network to The King's Speech, but I'm not sure, I think the Britishness of the latter may sway it for BAFTA voters.
BEST DIRECTOR David Fincher.
Alternative: Christopher Nolan.

BAFTA don't tend to make a habit of giving both Best Film and Director to the same film (though they have done this quite a lot in recent years, Brokeback Mountain and Slumdog Millionaire bagging both, as did, weirdly, The Crap Locker), so I'm going for different predictions here. It wouldn't surprise me at all of Chris Nolan won Best Director this evening actually, BAFTA could give it to him as a "sorry you weren't nominated at the Oscars" thing.

BEST ACTOR Colin Firth - The King's Speech.
Alternative: Javier Bardem - Biutiful.

As if it's going to go to anyone other than Colin Firth! The biggest lock of the night, to be honest.

BEST ACTRESS Natalie Portman - Black Swan.
Alternative: Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit.

I think Natalie's got this one locked, although I would love, love love for Hailee to win it; she characterised what is and will be the fiercest young character to ever wear braids. Her character really did have true grit.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Christian Bale - The Fighter.
Alternative: Geoffrey Rush - The King's Speech.

I would love for Andy Garfield to be walking up to the podium collecting this prize, but I highly doubt it. Oh, Andy. At least you win something. I know, it's cold comfort. :p Nonetheless, I can't begrudge Bale of his win. He is a terrific actor and was uncannily good in The Fighter. What is it with men with the surname Bale who were born in Wales? They're all exceedingly talented.
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Lesley Manville - Another Year.
Alternative: Miranda Richardson - Made in Dagenham.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY The King's Speech
Alternative: Inception

If Inception takes this, I will figuratively choke up a kidney from the lolage.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY The Social Network
Alternative: True Grit
BEST BRITISH MOVIE  Another Year
Alternative: 127 Hours

BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Alternative: The Secrets in their Eyes

CINEMATOGRAPHY Inception
Alternative: True Grit

COSTUME DESIGN Black Swan
Alternative: Alice in Wonderland

SOUND Inception

Alternative: True Grit

EDITING Inception

Alternative: The Social Network

It'll make me chuckle if Inception actually does win this, as I found the film tediously boring, and surely a sign of good editing is that the film doesn't feel overlong? Anyway.

FILM MUSIC Inception

Alternative: 127 Hours (oh good god I hope not)

So all in all, I don't hope for much. I'd much rather The Social Network or True Grit won Best Film over Inception and The King's Speech, and I would lovelovelove for Hailee Steinfeld to win Best Actress. Or anyone other than Natalie Portman, to be quite honest. And Inception to not get anything important. I would like BAFTA to pleasantly surprise me by giving How to Train Your Dragon a Music Win and Toy Story III a screenplay win, but, I doubt it!

TV review: GLEE S1E20: Theatricality.

Never one to fall behind on the latest crazes, Glee begins with Principal Figgins, in the deluded belief that vampires exist, bans Tina from dressing gothly due to her attire's links with Twilight and vampirism. Despite the Twilight craze being lost in Tina, "My mom won't let me watch Twilight; she says she thikns Kristen Stewart looks like a bitch", her and Mr. Schue's protestations are ignored, and all black clothing is banned in McKinley High. 

The rest of the Glee club offer her suggestions for different ways of dressing, bike chick, cowgirl, hoodrat, computer programmer, but Tina disregards them all. But Mr. Schue's assignment for the week - Lady Gaga - gives her, and all the rest of the girls (plus Kurt) some new costume ideas of their own.

I found this week's episode of Glee somewhat disappointing given all the hype built up for the episode. For one thing, I'd expected Lady Gaga to actually make an appearance in this episode, which she wasn't. 

Furthermore, for all the reputation it'd gained as the "Lady Gaga episode", there were only two covers of her songs - a fun, frenetic Bad Romance cover, and an acoustic rendition of Poker Face between Lea Michele and Idina Menzel. The former and the latter form the main plotline of this week's episode, wherein Rachel meets and tells her maternal mother of her identity, leading to some half-arsed soul-searching and lamenting over missed opportunities. 

Whilst there is a startling physical resemblance between Michele and Menzel - the face shape, the hair, the eyes, the two failed to summon any huge amount of chemistry when they were acting; the only real chemistry coming when they sang together.

In Theatricality, Finn's mother, who has been dating Kurt's father, moves in with them, and Finn is less than pleased to find himself sharing a room with Kurt (whom harbours feelings for his soon-to-be step-brother). Frustratedly cursing the decor that Kurt has so meticulously chosen, he disregards all the ornaments as "faggy". Kurt's dad is understandably furious when he overhears, thus throwing Finn out. It's good to see Kurt's father sticking up for him, and Mike O'Malley's acting in the scene was great.

As ever, the musical sequences are the best thing about Glee. The Glee club rise to the occasion commendably on the Lady Gaga uniforms front, Dianna Agron looking particularly head-turning in her pink number. (the pink streaks in her hair and the ball in her hand are a particularly nice touch).

As has been the way with Glee, things end on a predictably cheesy note. One of these days, I will probably tire of Glee, but for now, even when it doesn't get out of second gear, it still entertains me.

You know you love me wasting money on tat

Now, I'm usually quite a big fan of Miss Selfridge. My best friend Anna shops there and I think you'll all agree with me that she always looks amazing. That said, I couldn't help but feel cynical when I heard their blatant marketing plot of designing 8 outfits "inspired by gossip girl". The outfits aren't bad at all, but nor are they particularly characteristic of Serena, Blair, Jenny or Vanessa. Between those four girls, they cover the mumsy chic, sexy and sassy, rock chic and boho queen looks, so it's expected that any item of clothing will fit into one of those four style boxes somehow.




Nothing worth gossiping about  at all, I'm afraid.

I just watched Miss Pettigrew Lives for Another Day.

Fun, frivolous, with another heart-winning turn by Amy Adams (the scene where she sings the no.1 is astounding), and with some eye-poppingly pretty costumes!

Film review: ATONEMENT (Joe Wright, 2007)

Britain’s bestselling author Ian McEwan is a wonderfully rich and articulate writer, but he has often struck me (and I know I'm probably alone here) as a man of too many words. Enduring Love, despite its unique and gripping plot, was overly descriptive, and even his recent novella, On Chesil Beach, could have done with being 50 pages shorter. I felt exactly the same way about Atonement when I first started reading it, there were too many “rhymes”, too many adjectives, to a point where it almost seem to obsess with the minutiae and try to hold the story back.

Then I realised that this time, it was intentional. Bringing the surprising turn of events that served the book so well onto the big screen was a huge challenge, but Joe Wright, who’s 2005 effort Pride & Prejudice ranked amongst one of the loveliest films of that year, was more than apt a man to do it: talented, engaging with his actors, focused and precise, he has given Atonement the big-screen fare, and more.

Mastery in Costume and Avatar Design.

The Costumes.

The Avatars.


Anyhoo, whilst we're on the topic of Audrey Hepburn, I have to show you something divine that I got given as a present. You see, on Saturday, I played the violin (awfully) at a wedding of my Form Tutor, and she gave us presents in return, which was really unexpected! Not, however, that I'm complaining, because here is the present, and as you can guess, I was over the moon the receive it. I adore Audrey, I adore the painting on that image, and I adore the present. Go here if you want to see the others in the collection, they're absolutely stunning.