Project Runway: All Stars: Gelato

This week our fearless band of contestants were challenged to make a dress inspired by the taste and color of specific gelato flavors. But wait, there's more! They also had to make said runway-ready dress in SIX hours. That is intense. I can sew quickly, but this time frame is panic-inducing. And if the time contraints weren't enough, Diane von Furstenberg was a guest judge. She's kind of a big deal. All you had to do was look at Michael's face to understand how big a deal. (I about died on behalf of Michael when Diane von Furstenberg told him to call her after the show!)  Frankly I was surprised there wasn't more short-fuses or injuries on this challenge. We only saw one quite deadly evil-eye from Austin when he busted Kara "quickly" sewing one thing on the machine he was using.

Bonus: awesome color coordination.

Speaking of Austin, what in the world was he wearing? I'll tell you what he was wearing: an A top with light-wash 90s jeans. What the what? Fashion-wise I can't think of anything good or lasting that came out the 90s, and bringing it back is like stubbing your toe on the shabby chic dresser you wish you never bought. Yikes. But his dress was lovely enough if not a tad on the "vanilla" side. I mean, he picked Vanilla Madagascar, so that's what we got —vanilla.

The judges top two were my top two as well: Michael with Grapefruit and Mondo with Cantaloupe. I'm still waffling over which one was my favorite.

Michael's dress was so beautifully draped and it looked like a billowy dream coming down the runway, but it lost a bit of it's magic when the model was standing still. The built in mini belt at the front was a genius move to increase the wearability of the dress. I loved the effortlessness of the look. I was utterly confused when Isaac said, "There's something about it that is just too on the nose." What does that even mean? Does he not want the designers to make beautiful things that meet all aspects of the challenge?

Mondo's dress had this non-obvious but literal concept or representing an actual cantaloupe. He's so great with color, and the dress had beautiful movement. Because of the loose nature of the silhouette Mondo's dress had the potential to look baggy and frumpy. But it was surprisingly slenderizing because of the way he cleverly blocked the color. Ok, so Mondo's was my favorite. Additionally Mondo's hair looked particularly great this episode, and his pseudo Daisy Mae outfit was hilarious.

I'm glad that April went home with her Blueberry dres. Her designs in her regular season were always on the edge of being a hot mess and All Stars has been no different. If you can't even make an even hem you probably shouldn't be on Project Runway. Them's the breaks.

I'm surprised Rami wasn't in the bottom three. His Kiwi dress (left) was entirely frightening and overwrought. It looks like overly kneaded dough. I would criticize anyone who wore it in public. In fact, the same goes for Anthony's Green Tea dress (right) as well.

The rest? Kenley made a Passion Fruit dress that looked like all her other dresses. It's sweet, but nothing new and nothing special; Jerell made a Fruits of the Forest dress that, as usual, I didn't understand; and Mila made a Milk with Sour Cherries dress that was styled with a too-heavy belt, but was Isaac's favorite. Meh.

Favorite quotes:
"It's so easy a chimpanzee could do it." Michael talking to Jerell about draping. Jerell's face was priceless.

"She looks like a pregnant cupcake." Jerell about Kara's Chocolate and Cayenne Pepper dress. Indeed, Jerell, indeed.

Project Runway: Miss Piggy

Yeah, yeah, this post is so late it's almost moot. But I still want to talk about it and sometimes family emergencies take precedence over sporadic blogging. Sometimes.

Let's get started. I had mixed feelings about Miss Piggy as a guest judge, and most of the feelings were not positive. The contestants kept talking about Miss Piggy being real person with tastes and feelings. But it's a muppet character. Controlled by a man. It was odd. It was also the first time I felt the show was highly scripted. I assume that these "reality" shows are scripted, but the lies are more condescending with an obvious script. I was particularly shocked when Joanna proclaimed that this was one of the "best challenges" Project Runway has ever had. Um, right. Don't get me wrong, I think that designing for Miss Piggy works as a PR challenge, but I didn't like the way they went about it.

The worst part is that it cues the audience that PR (and maybe even the design process itself) is a joke. As someone trained in fashion, this is disappointing and disheartening.

As far as the actual challenge goes, I think Rami should have won even though I didn't love his dress. His dress, like the character of Miss Piggy, was flashy, a little silly, and a little sophisticated with a nod to vintage fashion.

I did like Michael's dress; I certainly don't begrudge him his win. I've always liked those oversized and highly structured bows. They remind me of obis.

Kenley, oh Kenley. She's always making the same dress. I was mad that she was in the top three, because the construction of that bustier was abismal.

Mondo's performance was entirely disappointing. His dress was...okay I suppose, but the styling was so completely awful. And look how awkward his model is. But I realized this episode why Mondo never wins. He wants to avoid confrontation so much that he won't fight for himself. The pink glove battle royale is a small example, but I think it's indicative of the whole.

I can't believe Austin wasn't eliminated. His dress was off point, overwrought, and a little sad. But I'm glad he's still in the competition.

I'm sad Gordana got eliminated. She's probably the most down-to-earth, no-nonsense contestant. I didn't love her dress, but Kara's was much worse. I guess she thought Miss Piggy was getting a new character arc as a prostitute.

Favorite quote: "I always say being a lady never goes out of style." Indeed Anthony, indeed.

Project Runway: All Stars: A Night at the Opera

First I would like to thank Rami for affectionately tufting Anthony's hair during the designers' chat in the apartment. Very sweet.

Now onto business. Badgley and Mischka were charming guest judges with criticisms that were insightful and helpful without being harsh. Plus they are handsome and very well groomed. And what a fun challenge with so much potential! That being said, I knew from the challenge announcement who would not do well. And I was right with Sweet P., Kara, and April right in the bottom three. Poor little ol' Sweet P. She wasn't very good at her follow-through or construction under pressure in her regular season either, and that is why she got the boot this time too. I fear that April will be next as she seems to bite off more than she can ever chew, which showed in her horrific construction. Also, I did not hate Kara's dress. I thought I would with that 80s print, but the silhouette with the print had this odd combination of babydoll meets 1700s French fashion that I found particularly interesting and full of potential. I may even try to sketch something out based on Kara's look, but better. Obviously.

Sweet P.

Kara

The surprises for me were Kenley's dress and Gordana's. I thought Kenley might crash and burn doing a powder pink dress, but it really turned out well because of fabric choice and her ability to work with said fabric. Other than the polkadot bow being too large for my taste, it was a lovely 50s inspired dress.

The fact that I liked Gordana's dress came out of nowhere for me. Her aesthetic has almost no overlap with mine. Her dress was a bold 20s silhouette with an "under the sea" feel? Describing it is making me cringe, and I really didn't think it was right for the challenge, but it was creative and interesting and even beautiful.

Gordana

I'm sad to say that I did not like and almost hated Rami's dress. It looked so overwrought and messy and ill-fitting. Not really what you expect from Rami. But I do think that Rami was right about Joanna's lack of nurturing toward the contestants. I would like to somehow see her give the contestants a vote of confidence and/or compliments in their abilities. But at the same time I love her no-nonsense, straight-forward approach to her critiques. Give me my cake, Joanna, so I can eat it, too!

Rami

Since they didn't highlight Mondo's dress at all during the episode, I gasped when it came around the corner. It was dramatic and well constructed and so Mondo. He has quite the honed point of view. I love him and his aesthetic so much. But I'm not sure why Mondo always seems to be the bridesmaid and never the bride. Any thoughts on this matter would be appreciated.

Mondo

I think the judges were right to put Michael's and Austin's dresses in the top two. They were both beautiful. I entirely loved the feather and rhinestone halter on Michael's dress. It held the glamour, the femininity,  and the drama that the judges asked for. And although I think Michael's dress may have been more appropriate for the challenge, I'm not sad Austin's dress won. His gold lamee number had this dreamy, silent film star quality to it. It was old Hollywood all the way.

                                      

Favorite lines:
"Tell Scarlet O'Hara that THAT'S a ball gown." Isaac Mizrahi's catty commentary on how someone's "gown" (I can't remember who's) was not a gown. I'm sure we'll hear more catty, diva remarks from Isaac as the season progresses.

*Gasp!* "Shock and horror!" Joanna's mock shock and my new favorite sarcastic line to throw around.

"I mean, I DID add pockets!" Kara's only defense for her gown, and my new defense for my whole life.

Moonrise Kingdom: The Trailer

O frabjous day, calooh callay! Thank you, Wes Anderson. Thank you for your mere existence. And thank you for choosing to sharing your existence with us.

In no particular order:
Bill Murray
Tilda Swinton
Francis McDormand
Jason Schwartzman
Edward Norton
Bruce Willis
Harvey Keitel
Co-written by Roman Coppola

Project Runway: All Stars!

I am very excited by Project Runway All-Stars. It's like an unexpected sequel to a good book. You know the characters, you already have attachments and opinions, and now you get to pick up where you left off and have a jolly romp! It's also nice feeling that each designer has already proven themselves and we won't have to wade through as much poor construction and design. We can just bite directly into the gooey center and lick our lips with satisfaction.

I am most excited to see Mondo and Michael. Mondo is one of my favorite designers from the entire PR series, and I just love how he and Michael (why were they so mean to him?!) bonded and are so sweet to each other. I'm also happily anticipating both Austin and Anthony's antics and hilarity. 

Of course, there are two designers that I'm not so jazzed about--Kenley and Elisa. Although I share some of Kenley's aesthetic, she is really an off putting person, and Elisa is just too...hippy-dippy for me. Bless her heart. So I was more than happy that she was eliminated frist with her odd concoction. 

I'm not sure how I'm going to like Angela as the new host and Joanna as the new mentor, but I'm willing to give them a chance. The only things amiss so far is that Angela's pacing seems awfully slow and Joanna doesn't have the warmth of Tim that I've come to rely on. But I will say this for Joanna, she definitely asked the right questions when she came into consult with the designers. Her experience and expertise as a fashion editor shows.

I don't have much to say about the first episode; nothing greatly stood out for me. It just felt good to be watching.  However, I would like to say thank you to Mondo for wearing a boater hat (see pic at the top). His personal aesthetic both cracks me up (short shorts and knee socks!) and makes me intensely jealous.

Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol; A Review

I'll admit that I was skeptical about the newest Mission: Impossible installment, mostly because the second installment was bad enough that I didn't see the third. But I've been having a love affair with (mostly) comedic actor Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Star Trek) for many years now, so I felt compelled to override my skepticism enough to see the movie. And the truth is, no matter how...wibbly-wobbly Tom Cruise appears in his real life, I have always enjoyed his acting a great deal. (Apparently his talent lies in translating his personal intensity into his roles.)

Simon Pegg

And guess what? I loved it.

Under the direction of Brad Bird (The Incredibles), Ghost Protocol has one of the best action/humor balances I have ever seen. When humor arises, Tom Cruise generally plays the straight-man to Simon Pegg's impeccable comedic timing and mild bumblings. But it never gets overly silly or condescending, and it never pulls you out of the movie or becomes distracting. It does what it's supposed to do; it gives the audience a moment to relax and it breaks up the very intense action sequences.

The "team" is rounded out by actors Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton, and both do a fine job. I was particularly pleased that Paula Patton seemed like a normal woman as opposed to the overly sexed-up "sidekick" women that one often finds in action films. Sure she is very beautiful, but it was entirely refreshing that her sexy, sexy, sexiness was not her only asset as a team member.

Of course, no movie is perfect and Ghost Protocol is no different. At times it felt like nothing ever went right for the team, and that the whole movie was about playing catch-up to fix mistakes made in previous scenes. But this was not overly egregious and should not stop any action-lover from seeing the film.

"The Muppets" in Review

I grew up on the Muppets. I love the Muppets. In fact, The Great Muppet Caper is one of my top ten favorite movies of all time, both for its hilarity and its nostalgia.

So with glee I traipsed to the movie theater this weekend with a load of family members to see the newly released "The Muppets" starring Jason Segel and Amy Adams. For the first twenty minutes I was perfectly delighted. It was funny and energetic, and the first musical number was a jolly treat. (Despite the obvious choreography editing to keep Jason Segel from "dancing.") After that, the magic petered out a bit (with the exception of a hysterical soul searching song about being a muppet or a man). The energy dropped off significantly, the celebrity cameo's were mostly wasted, Amy Adams was underutilized with her singing and dancing talents, and Kermit was a total downer. A DOWNER! How dare he.

But even after my indignation, I think most Muppet fans will like this movie, and a lot of other movie-goers will enjoy this movie enough to make it worth the price of the ticket. And wouldn't you know, much to my dismay, the movie got a 98% fresh on RottenTomatoes.com.