Silver Chameleon

Friday, March 4, 2011

Versace on the Academy Awards Red Carpet

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 27: Actress Jessica Biel arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Sunset Tower on February 27, 2011 in West Hollywood, California

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 27: Actress Anne Hathaway attends the 2011 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted by Graydon Carter at the Sunset Tower Hotel on February 27, 2011 in West Hollywood, California

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 27: Actress Charlize Theron arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar party hosted by Graydon Carter held at Sunset Tower on February 27, 2011 in West Hollywood, California.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA - FEBRUARY 27: Actress Elizabeth Banks attends the 2011 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted by Graydon Carter at the Sunset Tower Hotel on February 27, 2011 in West Hollywood, Californi

Singer and actress Jennifer Hudson arrives on the red carpet for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards held at the Kodak Theatre on February 27, 2011 in Hollywood, California. AFP PHOTO / MARK RALSTON

natalie portman

THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU

Written and Directed by George Nolfi

Starring Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, Jack Slattery and Terence Stamp

David Norris: If I'm not supposed to be with her, why do I feel this way?

If you knew that being with you meant that the person you love would never realize his or her dreams, would you walk away from them? If you wanted to, would you even be capable? As interesting a question as it is, it is the kind of question that hardly anything good can come from. If you want to stay, you’re selfish. If you want to go, then you don’t think love matters as much as success does. Regardless of your decision, you won’t be happy either way, but I suppose it got you thinking and that alone has its own value these days. Take that question and throw it into the central story of a movie though and you might have yourself with a pretty compelling drama. Or you might find yourself fully dismayed and just watching THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU.

Matt Damon, whose film choices as of late have all fell flat for me, plays David Norris, the youngest Congressman in American history, in George Nolfi’s directorial debut. Nolfi and Damon last worked together on THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, which Nolfi wrote and Damon starred in. Sadly, their relationship did not end there and, if I am meant to take anything away from their latest collaboration, it would be that it was obviously not meant to. The men who work at this particular bureau all wear snazzy hats and sharp suits but they might as well be wearing sparkly fairy dresses covered in pixie dust, given what their jobs are. These men, who may or may not in fact be angels, are making sure every day that the plan in place for every person on the planet is carried out properly. To do this, they must meddle with humanity as inconspicuously as possible. These are the guys who hide your keys in the morning or spill coffee on your clean shirt so that you leave the house five minutes later and either miss or catch the moment you were intended to. And see, I always thought that was the work of garden gnomes.

Damon meets Emily Blunt’s Elise in a bathroom. The seemingly chance encounter was not at all what it seemed and the two hit it off splendidly. Suddenly though, she must flee, and unlike Cinderella, she leaves neither her name nor her slipper behind. That was supposed to be the end of it, or at least according to the plan it was. The kiss they shared was too good to be forgotten though and neither can get the other out of their heads. The bureau simply cannot have this; it is not in the plan. And so the men in suits and hats do everything in their power to keep these two lovebirds apart. They point their fingers at peoples’ phones and messages appear or they flash a look in another direction and cabs go off duty. I half expected them to start wiggling their noses and disappearing in clouds of smoke at one point. They do all this to prevent Damon and Blunt from having a moment that might lead to a kiss, for a real kiss could alter their universes forever. As laughable and trivial as that sounds, it actually happens in the movie.

THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU clearly wants to come off as cool but really only comes off as trying too hard. Nolfi’s direction is sorely uneven but with such a weak script, it could not have been easy to make the actors sound convincing. Granted, he wrote the script as well so blaming the writer is just more blame on him. Nolfi strives to get the viewer lost in the perilous divide between fate and chance, all the while trying to figure where free will fits in to the mix. All he does is pose the question though without drawing any actual conclusions. If we actually have free will, I suggest you exercise it and avoid this movie. If our fates are already decided though, I hope you, like me, were not just meant to suffer through this movie.

karima el mahroug

Skinny Jeans

Thursday, March 3, 2011

How I Ate My Heart Out for Valentine's Day.

Horror fans have a unique way of celebrating Valentine's Day. For a classic example, look no further than the series of Zombie Love Songs that recently were shared here in the Vault. We just have to inject a bit of gallow's humor to make it palatable, and that's more than okay with me.

Another case in point would be the recent event held at the Sugartown Vintage Boutique in idyllic Saugerties, New York, which I was honored to be a part of a couple weeks ago. I got to parade around in some outlandish Mr. Ferley-esque and Henry Hill-ish duds, which was certainly a blast. But at the center of the festivities was the ghastly and gorgeous Captain Cruella, who graced the store with her presence for the purpose of a zombified makeup demonstration. The event was called, appropriately enough, "Eat Your Heart Out".

"I was looking for away I could pool my talents and the talents of Captain Cruella to bring attention to the store, to bring people into the store," said Ashley Drewes, owner and proprietor of Sugartown. "She's a fantastic makeup artist, so I thought it would be really great to have a glamorous event where she demonstrated her makeup, and also an opportunity for people to try on vintage clothing, and have a professional photographer come in and take photos. I thought that was a perfect way to introduce people to the store."

The photographer of whom Ashley speaks is none other than the enormously talented J.D. Fielding, who was on hand to chronicle the festivities for posterity, and of course capture me looking like a 1970s street-level gangster. J.D.'s keen eye certainly brought out the life in what was going on, which might be ironic considering it was a member of the undead who was the center of attention.

Using makeup samples kindly donated by the edgy cosmetics company RockABetty Beauty, Cruella got her claws on an assortment of mortals, treating each to her own unique sense of style in the form of a makeup makeover. In honor of the event, the Captain was less... zombie-like...choosing instead to appear more human than most have ever seen her. It's enough to make some speculate that the good Captain might be toning down her ghoulish ways in favor of a more glam look. But Ashley assures us this is not the case.

"I think she's always had a little bit of pin-up in her, or busting out of her," she says. "So I don't necessarily think that I'm moving her away from that. She did come out today wearing one of her zombie contact lenses [Ed. note: It's a contact lens??], so she's still a little creepy. She's still dressed in black, and she still brings the dark and gothic, but she's also sexy and beautiful, which is part of her persona. And I don't think that's going to change."

As all this went on, patrons of the store got to sample some the amazing vintage items on hand. I will say I certainly got carried away in the proceedings, busting out some seriously groovy threads. It was a lot of fun, and a testament both to what a cool establishment Sugartown is, and also what a fascinating town Saugerties is.

"I want people to know that this is a really fun place, where no matter who you are, you can find something really unique and gorgeous to wear any day of the week, or at special occasions," said Ashley. "It can also be a really thoughtful gift for someone else."

"Eat Your Heart Out" was a smashing success thanks to the efforts of Ashley and Cruella, and Sugartown is fast becoming one of the highlights of downtown Saugerties. In fact, I'm proud to announce that I will actually be returning there in just a few weeks to do a public reading. It's called Visions from the Vault: The Dark Poetry of H.P. Lovecraft, and it all happens on Saturday, April 9. Check back right here in the Vault for more information as the date approaches...

* All photos courtesy of J.D. Fielding Photography

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

anne hathaway

2011 fashion

Monday, February 28, 2011

Black Sheep on The Oscars

The 83rd annual Academy Awards began with a riveting montage of the fantastic batch of films that make up this year's Best Picture nominees. As Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross's now Academy Award winning score from THE SOCIAL NETWORK triumphantly backed up the incredible imagery from these films, it felt like it was truly going to be the movies' biggest night. What followed was three hours of missed opportunities and lame ideas that amounted to an evening that didn't even seem the least bit concerned with the films it was meant to honour.

I was hopeful for Anne Hathaway and James Franco as hosts. Yes, it was obvious from the start that the Oscar producers, Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer, wanted to draw in a younger demographic. I'm surprised they didn't just enlist Justin Bieber to get the job done. At least he would have been awake for the whole thing, which is more than I can say for Franco. This is a man who clearly prides himself on walking his own line at all times. Why anyone ever thought he would be ideal to host one of the most mainstream events on the planet is beyond me? A number of people I spoke with wondered just how stoned he was, but all i could see was the look on his face that suggested he would rather be anywhere other than there. Maybe he was nervous being nominated but he had no chance of winning. A smart guy like Franco should have known that.

I do think that Hathaway has a very winning and inviting personality. When she sings, she is enchanting and when she jokes, she is adorable. But when she had to work double time to make up for the lack of personality in her co-host, it seemed to turn her into this combustible energy ball that could potentially implode at any moment, taking all of Hollywood with her. She did still come across as an appreciative person, humbled by the position she held for the night. It was endearing and I just really felt bad for her, having to endure through this clearly misguided adventure.

As awkward as they were, the transitions and pace of the rest of the show was infinitely more clunky. I thought they got the awards out fast enough but they kept singling out past Oscar winners to exemplify the categories that were about to be announced. The virtual screens that I read so much about before the big night ended up being a completely unnecessary distraction. A background is just that; you are not supposed to draw attention to it but yet we did over and over again and for what? To focus on films of yesteryear instead of actually allowing the films of 2010 to adorn the screens, perhaps allowing them to shine on their own night.

There were other choices too that were just too obvious to be ignored. No actor was ever played off by the orchestra, no matter how long they rambled on about self-important nonsense or pretended to be surprised by the win. Apparently actors could swear, quite obviously on purpose, and that would be fine too. Anyone else was fair game. The winners didn't really listen to the orchestra though and just kept going but maybe they wouldn't have had to if we didn't spend so much time listening to lengthy trips down memory lane from random, iconic actors - some were more enjoyable (Kirk Douglas) than others (Billy Crystal).

The producers cut the montages that apparently everyone hates but somehow found time to highlight previous Oscar telecasts and other random moments in Oscar history. This leads me to another major Oscar confusion this year. The show was constantly referred to as the young and hip Oscars. There was no continuity to this theme though. Tom Hanks would be presenting one moment and then Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake, the next. And if they were clearly trying to be so modern, why did they feel the need to spend so much time looking back instead of looking at all the fantastic movie magic that is happening right now? After all, wasn't that the reason we were there?

In the end, the tug of war between old and new also spilled over to the awards themselves, with THE KING'S SPEECH, a period piece about overcoming adversity in a historical context, triumphing over THE SOCIAL NETWORK, that rare film that taps directly into the pulse of of our current experience. By the time the announcement was made though, everyone knew what was coming and everyone just seemed to want it to come.

My suggestion for next year, fire Cohen and Mischer, and hire me to produce.

Here is the full list of Academy Award winners ...

BEST PICTURE

THE KING'S SPEECH

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Colin Firth in THE KING'S SPEECH

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Natalie Portman in BLACK SWAN

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Christian Bale in THE FIGHTER

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Melissa Leo in THE FIGHTER