Country Strong *

Director: Shana Feste

Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Garrett Hedlund, Leighton Meester

Tim McGraw, Marshall Chapman

Calling a bad movie "the devil's work" is one of the easiest, most economic quips one can use to describe a cinematic work's lacking qualities. Yet the levels of mediocrity and plain incoherence in Country Strong are such, that perhaps not even the devil would be willing to take credit for it.

The movie feels essentially as if you grabbed Nashville, squeezed all the poignancy and humanity out of it, and reworked it as a parody of Dynasty.

The story is so filled with stereotypes and thinly shaped characters that at no moment are you unaware that you're watching a movie, and a very bad one at it.

Paltrow stars as alcoholic country singer Kelly Canter, who checks out of rehab early and sets out on a cross country tour. Why would someone sign an artist straight out of rehab, for what seems like a multi million dollar tour? Who knows? The film seems to be content as long as there's a nice musical intermission to make us forget our troubles (and those of the characters).

Joining Kelly in her journey are two rising stars: bad boy Beau Hutton (Hedlund) and beauty queen Chiles Stanton (Meester), yes, that's what they're called...

All of them are such thinly disguised stereotypes that sometimes you wonder what's the point of the entire film.
We know that Kelly will be jealous of Chiles because she's younger and because she gets all the boys' attention. We know that Beau will be a sexual symbol who exudes masculinity and punches people to get his points across.

What we never really know though, is why are they even in the company of Kelly. All along we're supposed to think of her as a superstar and her supporting characters aren't even famous in their hometowns.

Director Feste seems to have forgotten that movies need more than cute concepts, beautiful artists and self contempt to actually work.
Her characters are so shallow that not only do you wonder how are we supposed to believe they are artists, we start by wondering how do they even stand up from the screenplay.

For all of its propensity to disappoint, the one thing Country Strong gets right is the music, Paltrow may never seem non-New England-ish enough to convince us she's the yee-haw ready Canter but she belts out the tunes like a pro.

Even GOOP dissenters might agree that what she lacks in conviction in this movie, she more than makes up with her Dixie Chick-ness...and that's perhaps all that can be rescued from a movie that's not even sure it wants to help itself.

Golden Looks.

Last night's Golden Globes were as predictable as well, the Oscars (not a faulty winner anywhere though) so let's concentrate on the only source of real pleasure we can always be assured to get from award shows: fashion.
This time around I'll concentrate just on the things I loved. It would be too easy to start condemning celebrities for how bad they looked (ScarJo, that hair...) and well today I'm in a great mood. So without further ado:


Everyone and their moms wondered what mom-to-be Natalie Portman would wear and she defied all our expectations by looking positively angelical in this Viktor and Rolf column dress.
The soft pink made her look divine and that embroidered rose kept calling the attention to her tummy and her breathtaking smile.
She didn't even need that Globe to look this divine.


January Jones in Versae kept reminding me of Madonna circa 1990. The classic siren hair, the red lips. Whoever says she's an ice queen will probably melt with this look.


I would've never guessed this dress was Vera Wang. Perhaps I'm used to seeing Wand gowns in petite, often flat chested girls which was why this look on Sofia Vergara was mindblowing.
boy has she come a long way...


I most certainly don't like Angelina Jolie but I couldn't help thinking how beautiful she looked in this emerald green Versace. The way it brought up her eyes was astonishing.


New mom Nicole Kidman was a vision in cream Prada. The statuesque actress pulls off looking regal like very few women can.


Olivia Wilde was just perfect in Marchesa. The chocolate degradé and the sparkles which could've been too prom-like worked wonders with her loose hairdo and simple makeup.


Jennifer Lawrence keeps impressing us with her poise and natural beauty. If someone ahd told me the little girl from Winter's Bone could pull off Louis Vuitton like this, I would've deemed you insane. Now I'm dying to see what she'll wear during the rest of the season.


Many actresses tried to pull off the slightly granny look - think Meryl Streep accepting her Oscar for Sophie's Choice and Kate Hepburn in Long Day's Journey Into the Night - but failed miserably (ScarJo and Sandra Bullock I'm looking at you).
The sexy Leighton Meester did it beautifully in this simple Burberry that looked quite "normal" on the surface but had a stunning leg opening.


My absolute favorite look of the night belonged to my beloved Anne Hathaway in Armani Privé. If the curve hugging from, in all of its Metropolis meets Joan of Arc glory, wasn't stunning enough, she had an open back that made your jaw simply fall to the floor. Just wow!

So, who was your fave? Did you enjoy HBC's cookiness? Don't limit yourself to clothes though. Any winners you particularly disliked?

Style Sunday.

In this edition the gorgeous Leighton Meester in gray x 2.

First she shows some leg (and her amazing body!) in this unconventional Versace. At first I would've never guessed this design was from the house of Donatella because of its conservative patterns and Burberry-esque details (maybe the leg thing gives it away a bit...)

Then she dons this stunningly simple Vionett with a leaf cut and colorful appliqués.

This young lady is truly giving Blake a run for her money in the style department.

In which V do you prefer Leighton?

Tick-tock.

"If only there was a device of some kind to keep the time..."
- Blair (Meester) after Serena (Lively) tells her she's always late for school.

I've said it a million times before but I'll say it again: this woman is doing some of the best comedic work in TV.

Going the Distance ***

Director: Nanette Burstein
Cast: Drew Barrymore, Justin Long
Charlie Day, Jason Sudeikis, Ron Livingston, Natalie Morales
Jim Gaffigan, Christina Applegate

There is something about Going the Distance that probably makes it the kind of movie you either really like or just completely despise. Something about how ordinary it is makes it feasible for you to be swept off your feet or offended by its brand of comedy.
It's a basic story about boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy tries to get back girl but it does so in a way that seems unique if only because it's so lacking in the kind of cynicism that rules the genre nowadays.
By no means the savior of the romantic comedy, at least it's refreshing because it buys its own clichés so much that you can't really accuse it of being too smart for its own good or too naive.
It tells the story of Erin (Barrymore) and Garrett (Long), she's interning at an NYC newspaper, he works for a music studio. They meet on a random night after an incident involving a Centipede machine and a few scenes later we see Erin trying to sneak out of Garrett's room after what seems like another one night stand.
But Garrett has the clever idea of asking Erin to join him for breakfast and pretty soon they realize they might wanna see each other again. They make things clear from the start though: he's just gotten out of a relationship (with Gossip Girl Leighton Meester who has a hilarious cameo) and she's due back in San Francisco to attend grad school after the summer is done.
Despite their best knowledge they end up falling in love and then must endure the long distance relationship mentioned in the title.
What follows is a series of hilarious moments in which we see them Skyping, texting, phone sexing and paying each other the random visit in order to see if they can make this last.
The movie isn't about long distance relationships as much as it is about people holding on desperately to whatever humanity they can find in these times.
That statement might make it sound like a profound study of love but the truth is that the movie perhaps would never even dare think of itself that way.
It's interesting to see the way in which the director gives the film a natural flow; the characters don't talk like smartasses and even their vulgarity seems part of who they are, as opposed to being profane for the sake of shocking, like most "adult" comedies do (you will love hearing Drew Barrymore say "fuck" and "dick" without blushing).
The way in which it deals with sex is refreshing (it's not an issue but it's not vapid either) and while it might not be the greatest romantic comedy ever, its approach to how people act nowadays feels groundbreaking.
Something about the characters' seeming immaturity gives Going the Distance enough punch to make you laugh your ass off while providing it with the sort of melancholy that springs from laughing to keep from crying.
In its apparent craziness and nothingness, the film taps onto the terrifying fact that even if dating has changed and sex is no longer taboo, even the most skeptical find themselves yearning for "the one".
It might not be The Way We Were but except from an overdone scene featuring Applegate (who otherwise is a true scene stealer) this movie might just steal your heart.

J'adore Blair Waldorf.

"Blair, come and meet Lou Doillon"

"Maybe you can ask Lou Doi-LLON to be your new best friend, because I'm done."


Why the hell is the brilliant work of Leighton Meester in Gossip Girl snubbed for all awards?

While Watching the "Country Strong" Trailer...

...a few things caught my eye. Here they are in chronological order.


Yay the first trademark Gwyn "ugh followed by eye roll" I'd seen in ages!


This whole moment featuring Garrett Hedlund (yowza by the way) and Tim McGraw was very Brokeback Mountain and for the first time I found anything that reminds me of that movie to be slightly sexy.


OMG it's Blair!


OMG it's Serena!
OK it's not but isn't Gwynnie doing her best Blake Lively impression here? Or wait, is Blake doing Gwyn all the time?

Also this...


Totally reminds me of this...



I was slightly worried that even if this movie is an obvious awards bait (already being touted as the female Crazy Heart) we didn't get the "Academy Award winner" title before Paltrow's name...
Usually movies aiming for Oscar, squeeze every AMPAS reference they can get out of their whole cast and crew. This movie therefore should have more of a "if you liked the two time Oscar winning Crazy Heart and Jeff Bridges Oscar winning performance you are going to love Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow doing something similar and singing soon-to-be Oscar nominated songs!" vibe, instead of just plain mentioning who stars in it.
For that matter I'm already dreaming of Gwyn performing at the Oscars, it never will happen obviously but wouldn't it be amazing if she did a number with her husband?


The hair is glorious by the way!


Watching Gwyn and Tim gave me a very dark thought...
Unconsciously I wished that Tim became a good luck charm for actresses to win an Oscar. Which means that for a second or two I was OK with Sandra Bullock's win!
What's wrong with me?


Finally "that's how it's done."

I'm incredibly excited about this movie even if country music doesn't really do a thing for me (I love the Dixie Chicks but country connoisseurs say they don't count...).
What are your thoughts? Is Gwyn back? Doesn't Leighton look magnificent? Where the hell did this Garrett man come from? Are you singing the title song already?

Date Night ***

Director: Shawn Levy
Cast: Steve Carell, Tina Fey
Mark Wahlberg, Taraji P. Henson, Jimmi Simpson, Common
William Fichtner, Leighton Meester, Kristen Wiig
Mark Ruffalo, James Franco, Mila Kunis, Ray Liotta

Hollywood often has the mind of a child; they often team up rising stars and robots or famous legends and musicals, assuming that putting together A and B will always result in a hit.
More often than not this strategy implodes all over them but when they decided to put together the two funniest people in showbiz things actually worked out in the most unexpected ways.
Tina Fey and Steve Carell star as Claire and Phil Foster, a married couple from the Jersey suburbs whose existence revolves around their house, their kids and their jobs.
Watching their attempts at rekindling their sex life-with only five hours of sleep between the forced foreplay and the time their kids jump on them to wake them- is hilarious but also bittersweet.
As funny as they make the normality of their house scenes (you never see them as something other than the Fosters) they also keep the characters grounded and the comedy sometimes gives way to deep sadness.
After they learn a couple they know is getting a divorce, both decide it's time to relight the flame for good. They decide to venture out of their comfort zone and go have dinner on a Friday night in Manhattan.
They dress up, arrive at the hippest seafood place in the city and are sent to the oblivion of the bar until a table becomes available-if ever.
Trying to impress his wife, Phil steals a reservation from a couple that never shows up, called the Tripplehorns and after their fabulously overpriced dinner is over, they are approached by two men (Common and Simpson) who ask them to walk out with them.
Thinking this has to do with the stolen reservation (and an embarrassing moment involving will.i.am) the Fosters are surprised to learn the two men are actually looking for a flash drive the Tripplehorns stole from a big mobster.
Soon they're on the run across the city trying to clear their name and preserve their lives, in the process having the most exciting night of their lives.
Anyone who says they do not know how this movie will end is lying, the plot's predictability is obvious from its title. The one thing that might surprise you is that Fey and Carell create the chemistry one would've deemed too good to be true.
He's a master at his kind of goofy, heartwarming comedy (when he's called "androgynous" by a guy in a strip club his droll stare is priceless!) while Fey's own kind of dorky sexiness serves her to deliver her OCD bitchiness with enough oomph to make her more likable than not.
Together they have no fear of being absolutely ridiculous (scenes with Henson who plays a police detective make one wonder how did the actress contain her laughter with these two around) and awkward (an often shirtless Wahlberg gets the best out of the dynamic duo).
What's so special about Date Night is the fact that despite your best knowledge of how silly and preposterous the situations might get you are always willing to invest into the main characters.
It's not like one of those movies where you laugh against your better judgment, this one doesn't care to steal a random giggle from the audience, it makes your stomach literally hurt from laughing so much.
Even when they are involved in an oh so typical dance with a pole sequence, you won't be thinking "this is so stupid" but "boy, I wish I could bring someone to see this with me".