Golden Globes Style.

I know y'all love Angelina and stuff but sometimes she looks extremely constipated. I'm loving that she's pulling the big guns for the Globes though (remember last year's emerald work of art?). This year she's back in Atelier Versace, wearing a luscious ivory dress with a curious red fold. It reminded me a bit of Cameron Diaz's napkin dress from the Oscars a few years ago but Jolie makes it seem almost vampiric, no?

Simple Chanel Couture dress + green earrings = perfection. (Remember what I was saying about redheads and green?)

For the 2006 Oscars, Charlize Theron wore one of the ugliest dresses I have ever seen: a mucus-colored contraption that had her carry a huge crazy bow around. Apparently she got in touch with the people at Dior and begged them to fix that previous sartorial sin. The result is this perfect pink confection. The bow is still there but the way she pulls it off this time screamed "movie star" like no one in the ceremony.

Jessica Biel's mind: I wanna so be like Florence Welch when I grow up! Especially cause sometimes I think I'm a machine and all.

People outside Jessica Biel's mind: are you trying on Victorian wedding dresses for your future nuptials?

Va-va-voom Viola! Seeing her sport this burgundy Emilio Pucci creation after looking like crap in The Help says: good acting!

Jessica Chastain had been flawless in all her red carpet appearances until the time came for her to actually attend big award shows. She was Pepto-Bismol embodied at the Critics Choice Awards and this time, even if she looks much better in Givenchy, there is something that still feels wrong. The dress is lovely in a Marilyn Monroe-meets-Joan Collins way but the hair makes her look like an extra from Nashville.

Oh you goddess of all that's avant garde and amazing...this Haider Ackermann pale blue dress-suit might be one your best looks EVER and you always look astonishing! 

Foregoing her usual Calvin klein fetish in favor of this demure J. Mendel worked wonders for Claire Danes. She certainly keeps it very simple and safe most of the time but this was slightly more playful, despite the simplicity of the black and white.

Am I alone in thinking that Michelle Williams totally looked like Grimace?

It's lovely to see Kate doing something other than dominatrix meets Metropolis looks, so we'll let this slightly boring Jenny Packham go by without any fanfare.

Natalie Portman seems to have been doing an audition for Marilyn Monroe, yet somehow this Lanvin does wonders for her. I loved her all throughout last season and bless her baby and all, but pregnant women rarely get to make the most out of couture, so it's lovely to have her finally showing off what she can do when she dresses up minus baby bump.

This custom made dual tone Lanvin makes Emma Stone look positively diabolical and extremely sexy. Who knows what the hell that eagle's doing below her boobs, those smoky eyes have long hypnotized you before you get to question her.

Marchesa dresses are showy enough without the crazy-ass Lea Michele turning them into sideshow attractions. it would've been lovely to see this in someone less craving for attention, perhaps it would've made more sense (the liquid skirt is still to die for though)

Even if Rooney Mara has made us all get used to her love of black and white, this is quite an unexpected turn by Nina Ricci. The dominatrix meets old time screen siren dress is absolutely astonishing. The top recalls January Jones' Versace look from last year's ceremony but Rooney makes it all her own by toning the sexuality down, in the same way that January turned it up. The simple makeup and the - gasp - severe ponytail, were magical.

Diane Lane in Reem Acra is how all movie stars should look.

Octavia Spencer was lovely in this pale lavender Tadashi Shoji design. The slight folds made her curvaceous body achieve new levels of sexiness. The clutch, ring and smile were the perfect compliments.

I've said it once and I'll say it again: Sofía Vergara should be Vera Wang's spokeswoman. 

Nicole Kidman has found a new ally in Versace. Their dresses make her absolutely ravishing and sexy. Some designers highlight her beauty and if this had been Chanel for example, she would've been more "ivory tower" than milky lusciousness. 

Madonna isn't only perfect for having Andrea Riseborough (in Vivienne Westwood) as her date, she also rocks for making this Reem Acra dress look so fierce. The shiny top screams Joan of Arc, while the bottom alludes to Madge's love of the adventurous. The look, complete with crucifix and fingerless gloves seem to pay tribute to her legendary career and as her Globe win showed us, she is ready to give us much more.

Who of these ladies impressed you the most?

Style Sunday.

The first thing I thought when I saw this dress was "the French are glad to die for love". It's Satine! Nicole Kidman looks better than she has in years in this lush Ellie Saab cherry dress. The length works wonders for her and the tiny flaps on her hips make her look curvier and sexy. Gotta love how the color brings out her hair's fiery richness too!

SJP rocks this Oscar de la Renta, which resembles the Alexander McQueen she wore last year to the CFDA awards. Best of all? The jacket she paired it with, looks like she just "threw something on" before attending a red carpet.

Finally Emma Watson blew me away in this truly magnificent Bottega Veneta. The color isn't only perfect for her pale skin tone, it actually makes her glow! Notice the structural beauty of the dress, on top its nude-ish corset, paired with her slick hair makes it seem like she's a bathing beauty and below the cascading pieces of fabric give her a truly regal appearance. I thought this was a Marchesa but regardless of the couturier, Emma looks magical!

What do you think of these ladies? Love Satine as much as I do? Did you go see Harry Potter this weekend?

Style Sunday.

The British were coming at an event held by BAFTA last night in Los Angeles. His royal highness Prince William, who also happens to be President of BAFTA (as if being a future king wasn't cool enough...) attended with his wife, Kate Middleton. Of course, she looked stunning but I keep wondering, where the hell does she find all these wholesome looking Alexander McQueen gowns?

This lavender creation is of course the epitome of classiness but would it kill her to try something a little bit more aggressive and McQueen-ish? Those odd little hats don't count.

Mary Louise-Parker brought her relaxed hippie-ness to the royal table in this cherry Dolce & Gabbana gown. Considering it lacks some oomph for a royal shindig, it's lovely to see her preserve her quirkiness.

Excuse me for saying this but royals should be bowing down to her royal majesty of actressing Nicole Kidman. I love how with the years she's adjusting herself to more sober, but still terrific, looks and how lovely her smile has become with each passing year. This Ellie Saab gown isn't a scene-stealer but Nicole must know that at a royal party, you are not supposed to overshadow the future queen. This well thought dress and demure style make her even more majestic.

Ooh-la-la, god only knows why Blake Lively gets invited to all these amazing red carpets, or perhaps he does, and the reason is merely because she always looks fantastic. This flowy Marchesa gown goes against everything Blake has us used to. Oh no, no boobs or legs! But with the see through loveliness of the fabric and the very Marchesa embroidery she looks like a true goddess. Her simple, unkempt chignon completed a look that reminded me of a Renaissance nymph.

No words describe how magnificent this is and I won't even try.

So, there you go...

Maria Bello was all kinds of lovely in this metallic Donna Karan gown. Gotta love how her tan doesn't make the already shiny fabric look vulgar.

J. Lo probably didn't get the memo that this was a BAFTA event with Prince William and not the Grammys with will.i.am, so she showed up like she always does, flaunting her best assets.

This Emilio Pucci gown will make most women alive envy Lopez's stunning curves but is this the best she could do when she was going to be near the future Queen of England?

How do you even bow before her in this without ripping the fabric and showing Kate your luscious ass?

The Brits weren't the only place for fab fashion this week though...

Anne Hathaway was the fairy tale princess at this year's White Fairy Tale Love Ball, where she opted for a gorgeous Valentino Couture dress. The little details in this dress are best appreciated when you see it in movement, Annie looked like she was hovering while distilling pixie dust. Gotta love her bold red lipstick and romantic hairstyle. Only she can pull off sexy risque and then melt our hearts with this kind of look.

Armani Privé + Cate Blanchett = fashiongasm.

How the hell did she avoid looking like she was part of the red carpet?

This asymmetrical Chanel gown makes the lovely Diane Kruger look like she won best dressed at the 1986 Academy Awards. Make of this what you wish.

Phew, lots of looks this week huh? Can you pick a fave?

Just Don't Go With It.

The movie sucks but my review rocks!

So head over to PopMatters and check it out!

Style Sunday.

This look might not really work completely but it showcases Nicole Kidman at her experimental best. The style icon opted for a weird fitting Proenza Schouler to join her husband for an awards show and even if some parts of it fail, the intention (Those shoes!) makes Kidman truly shine.

She's simply fierce. 'Nuff said.

The dress is L'Wrenn Scott.

Who do you like best?

A Star.

Making me choose my favorite anything from Moulin Rouge! is akin to well making Sophie's Choice. Originally I intended to establish this and then get it out of the way by just being gutsy and picking a particular shot and owning up to it.

I couldn't.

You see, this film is still one of the seminal pieces of cinema that quite seriously define my life. What I'm going to do is of course cheat, I'll say what might be my favorite element of the film and then justify it by going with four shots of her...

Yes, what makes Moulin Rouge! absolutely spectacular to me (besides Ewan, Baz, the music, the sets, the clothes...ugh this is tough!) is Nicole Kidman.

Watching her first descend on a sparkly trapeze is witnessing purely magnetic star power!

The film not only showed us she could dance and sing, it also revealed her to be a magnificent entertainer. The camera loves her!

Ever noticed how during the entire film, Satine seems almost magnetic? Like every element in the movie is drawn towards her? This shot is a perfect example (looks almost scientific) of how the men in this case all flock to her.

But being able to have this kind of power is a double edged sword, for a star can easily become a black hole as well. Nicole's performance in Moulin Rouge! is the perfect balancing act of how to own a movie, while not tiring audiences of you.

Her ravishing beauty fills every shot she's in...

The cinematographer often seems to try and make his way around the props and costumes to find Kidman at her purest. This scene in particular is astonishingly well made given that we come to understand that Satine's world has become her cage. She was a fool to believe...

But then she never stops looking so magnificent. Part of the film's great appeal is its artifice, if Satine is dying of an STD, she should look like crap, yet Nicole looks great even when she breaks a tiny sweat. How the hell did Baz and Nicole get away with this Garbo-esque fakery, in this cynical time and age and made it sublime?

OK if I don't stop now, I'll end up making screencaps of every single frame in the movie and then post them in chronological order. Damn you Nathaniel for making me go through this!

This incoherent post was part of Nat's splendiferous Hit Me With Your Best Shot series.

(My) Best of 2010: Actress.

5. Hilda Péter in Katalin Varga

Some of 2010's greatest female performances had actresses playing heroines of archetypal myths, fairy tales and urban legends (off the top of my head, Jennifer Lawrence in Winter's Bone, Paprika Steen in Applaus and my number one choice come to mind...)

Few played them with the authority and command of Hilda Péter; playing the title role she's the embodiment of motherhood at its most primal.

In the film, Katalin is vanished from her village, after her husband discovers their child was fathered by another man. Instead of begging for forgiveness, Katalin decides to leave with a mission: to kill the man who raped her years before.

The directorial debut of Peter Strickland bursts with natural beauty (Terrence Malick must've influenced him) and an Eastern European, ominous dread worthy of Lars von Trier. Péter shines in all of her scenes, giving a performance so committed and steady that you never catch her trying. Katalin acts as if commanded by the gods but we know Péter is the driving force behind.

4. Noomi Rapace in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Modern legend has it, that when Stieg Larsson was writing The Millennium Trilogy, he had originally centered it on journalist Mikael Blomkvist. The character of goth hacker Lisbeth Salander was just a peripheral creation.

Then he realized that Lisbeth was getting out of his hands and overtaking his original intentions. When the books were adapted into films, Lisbeth continued her bewitching effect over popular culture as the beautiful Noomi Rapace took on the role.

Making Lisbeth's introverted nature and her violent demeanor, all her own, Rapace delivered an action heroine that had us rooting for her unconventional methods, even when we could detect a morbid sense of evil delight in her deceiving, crooked smile. Because we don't know whether to love or fear her, Lisbeth Salander gets under your skin.

Rapace's "best" performance might not be in the first movie but without her iconic work in the first installment we wouldn't be curious about the rest of the series.

Perhaps in the very same way that Larsson found himself typing her name compulsively page after page.

3. Tilda Swinton in I Am Love

Like some of the greatest screen icons, Tilda Swinton has the ability to take violent hold of the screen and command our eyes towards her, just as she can blend herself in the background with distressing effortlessness.

In Luca Guadagnino's operatic I Am Love, she does the latter, turning in a beautifully quiet performance as Emma Recchi.

We learn that she's a Russian immigrant who married an Italian heir, but other than that her character flowers in front of our eyes with each passing scene. As usual Swinton impresses; her Russian accent over her mastery of Italian is unique to say the least, but the beauty of Emma is how she allows us to watch her being seduced (by food, by the senses, by idealism, by a younger man...) without the self-consciousness that comes whenever "sinful" or forbidden behavior is portrayed onscreen.

If you thought you'd seen Tilda do it all, think again. She makes eating a meal seem like a master course in acting.

2. Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole

Becca is a truly damaged soul who lost all the will to live after the death of her only child. However she doesn't opt for an easy path of destruction, instead she lives her life as penance for not having been there, for not having seen...

Yet seen through the eyes of Nicole Kidman, her tragic character reaches an unexpected amount of humanity and soul.

Watching the actress take control of this controlling character, is watching something that resembles supernatural possession. Kidman breathes each of Becca's breath. She lives her pain and delivers a uniquely crushing portrayal of self pity and eventual enlightenment.

When Becca achieves catharsis, she does it in the most unexpected of places and under the strangest circumstances, with Kidman acting as her very own exorcist.

1. Natalie Portman in Black Swan

The first time I watched Black Swan I hated it. Its crescendo of ballet, histrionics and horror seemed like a parody in the making. One thing blew my mind off though, and that was Natalie Portman.

Her performance is unlike anything she's ever done before and not because she plays an insane person but because it's the first time where she completely surrenders to the power of her creation.

In the past, whenever she attempted to play "dark", you could see her acting, she's an actress who has trouble hiding discomfort and it usually gets the bes of her. But playing ballerina Nina Sayers in Darren Aronofsky's masterpiece, she tapped on a level of artistry that's both disturbing and inviting.

As Nina goes from mommy's girl to Kafkaesque tragedy, we see that Portman has vanished. How could she not you might say when she's playing a ballerina, who's playing two different characters. Yet the truth is that her performance is effective because it goes beyond technique and mannerisms (bonus points for acting so seamlessly along with the visual effects, something she never achieved in those little space fantasy movies...).

There's one particular scene that lingers long after the credits have rolled and it's the one where Nina realizes what she's done, minutes before her big performance.

Then and there she makes a choice and it's so powerful that even we feel it, for a second Nina stares right into the camera, right into our eyes and she's telling us "I will give you the show of a lifetime, even if it kills me".

As her harsh director in the movie asks her to try harder, the truth is that Natalie has done it all along. The moment the movie begins Rothbart has already put his spell on her, she's been the black swan all along.

The Other Best Actress Curse.

Natalie Portman's Best Actress Oscar win was inarguably the highlight of the Oscars; but, as I cheered about her triumph something else struck me. With the assurance that Black Swan would definitely not win the Best Picture award, Natalie was perpetuating a Best Actress curse no one talks about: the Best Actress Oscar is the only award their respective movies get.

Think about it, during the last decade (and we could even go all the way to 1999 when Hilary Swank first defeat Annette Bening) only two movies have won another Oscar besides Best Actress and only one of these movies won Best Picture (Million Dollar Baby).

Compared to the fact that movies that win Best Actor have 8/11 in the "more than one Oscar" statistic, we really might be onto something here, right?

Let's take a year by year look:

(I also noticed Best Actresses like this fabric and color...)

2000 - Best Actress - Julia Roberts for Erin Brockovich (Wins 1 - Nominations 5)

Best Actor - Russell Crowe for Gladiator (Wins 5 - Nominations 12)

One Best Actress nominee (Ellen Burstyn) was the sole nominee for her film.

2001 - Best Actress - Halle Berry for Monster's Ball (Wins 1 - Nominations 2)

Best Actor - Denzel Washington for Training Day (Wins 1 - Nominations 2)

One Best Actress nominee (Renee Zellweger) was the sole nominee for her film.

2002 - Best Actress - Nicole Kidman for The Hours (Wins 1 - Nominations 9)

Best Actor - Adrien Brody for The Pianist (Wins 3 - Nominations 7)

One Best Actress nominee (Diane Lane) was the sole nomination for her film.

2003 - Best Actress - Charlize Theron for Monster (Wins 1 - Nominations 1)

Best Actor - Sean Penn for Mystic River (Wins 2 - Nominations 6)

Three Best Actress nominees (Keisha Castle Hughes, Diane Keaton and Charlize Theron)

were the sole nominations for their respective movies.

2004 - Best Actress - Hilary Swank for Million Dollar Baby (Wins 4 - Nominations 7)

Best Actor - Jamie Foxx for Ray (Wins 2 - Nominations 6)

Two Best Actress nominees (Annette Bening and Catalina Sandino Moreno) were the

sole nominations for their respective movies.

2005 - Best Actress - Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line (Wins 1 - Nominations 5)

Best Actor - Phillip Seymour Hoffman for Capote (Wins 1 - Nominations 5)

One Best Actress nominee (Felicity Huffman) was the sole nomination for her film.

This is also the only year when all the acting winners were their films' only wins.

2006 - Best Actress - Helen Mirren for The Queen (Wins 1 - Nominations 6)

Best Actor - Forrest Whitaker for The Last King of Scotland (Wins 1 - Nominations 1)

One Best Actress nominee (Penélope Cruz) was the sole nomination for her film.

Curiously this year four Best Actor nominees were their film's sole nomination.

2007 - Best Actress - Marion Cotillard for La Vie en Rose (Wins 2 - Nominations 3)

Best Actor - Daniel Day Lewis for There Will Be Blood (Wins 2 - Nominations 8)

This is the only year when all Best Actress nominees were accompanied by other nominations.

2008 - Best Actress - Kate Winslet for The Reader (Wins 1 - Nominations 5)

Best Actor - Sean Penn for Milk (Wins 2 - Nominations 8)

One Best Actress nominee (Anne Hathaway) was the sole nomination for her film.

2009 - Best Actress - Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side (Wins 1 - Nominations 2)

Best Actor - Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart (Wins 2 - Nominations 3)

One Best Actress nominee (Meryl Streep) was the sole nomination for her film.

Which brings us to Natalie Portman. Out of her film's five nominations she was the only one who even stood a chance of winning. After the Academy found ways to not love Black Swan as much as other organizations had (denying it Score, Screenplay and Costume nominations) it became clear that if Portman lost the movie would go empty handed.

This strange phenomenon would be less significant if it wasn't because it establishes something everyone keeps saying to no avail: Hollywood doesn't offer women interesting roles.

7/10 Best Actor winners during the past decade where in Best Picture nominees, with women it was just 5 and as obvious as it is that The Blind Side really didn't need another Oscar, what then about the editing in The Hours? Or Black Swan's breathtaking cinematography?

For that matter was Gladiator a better movie than Erin Brockovich?

The fact that Oscar voters just feel the need to reward one category out of this actresses' films might be saying that they think they were the only worthy thing in their films and that their award will be enough for the whole movie. But again, why wasn't Monster nominated for Best Makeup for example (when at least 70% of Charlize's performance is owed to that).

This would seem less conspicuous when measured against the number of Best Actor wins that often seem to provoke "en masse" vote for other categories.

Speaking of this, out of Meryl Streep's 13 Best Actress nominations, she's been the sole nomination for 5 out of these occasions. What is this really saying about Hollywood? Am I seeint too much into this blockade of opportunities for Actresses? When's the last time a Best Actress carried an entire Best Picture as opposed to having a film about men winning the top prize?

If we examined this we would run into even fewer cases where this happened which would include: Gone With the Wind, Mrs. Miniver, Annie Hall, Terms of Endearment, Driving Miss Daisy, The Silence of the Lambs, Shakespeare in Love and Million Dollar Baby.

Eight out of 83...hmm maybe I'm not being paranoid right?

If so what can this mean for filmmakers making movies about women? Let's be honest, in other years films like The Blind Side, Winter's Bone, The Kids Are All Right and to a lesser degree Black Swan would've never factored in the Best Picture race and movies about women competing for the main prize would be out of the question.

So young filmmakers of the world if you want to win a Best Picture Oscar make biopics about disabled men! Stay away from Amelia Earhart! Oh wait, that already happened...

What do you think about this? Do you think actresses will eventually be leading forces behind Oscar winning movies? If Meryl hasn't been able to do it, what are the chances of less beloved actresses ever achieving this?

Oscar Fashion: Worst

Nicole Kidman should've worn the same dress she wore to the Grammys instead of this messy, Melissa Leo-like, disaster.

This ivory Dior design would've worked without those strange hip hugging flaps which make Nicole seem as if she's been eating too much doughnuts.

In fact, one of my friends said "leave her alone, she just gave birth". 'Nuff said.

Scarlett Johansson is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood and she seems to hate this so much that she wore her grandma's curtains to the Oscars and didn't bother to comb her hair.

This peekaboo Dolce & Gabbana fails where Mila Kunis' did, instead of being sensuous and inviting, it's actually scary and tacky.

That weird back cleavage is perhaps the worst part of all as it draws attention to ScarJo's awesome butt for all the wrong reasons.

This L'Wrenn Scott dress is actually wonderful but the closed neck and the awkward emerald make Amy Adams look like a ghost of Oscars past (think 1980s).

Anyway it's not like she wore the thing Melissa Leo did (she's not included here because it would've been too easy).

What's your take on these ladies?