The Last Mile, by j

We’re getting ready to leave on a jet plane (get those margaritas ready!), but before we do- I saw these amazing videos.

Happy Friday!

A 15 year old boy’s poem. What the what?!

Attacking the Word “Gay”

This makes me want to watch “The Newsroom”.

Want to know what “mansplaining” is? You’ve already experienced. Like all the time.

Remember that irritating gossip reporter on ETalk, Lainey? Well, it turns out she gave a Ted Talk and it WAS ACTUALLY INTERESTING. She talks about fidelity, women, slut shaming, perceived homosexuality, masculinity and the phenomenon of mommyhood.

Oscar’s best dressed ladies…by a

Hailee Steinfeld in Marchesa

Everyone was gushing about how “age appropriate” this look was, but I thought it was gorgeous regardless how old she is.

Amy Adams in L'Wren Scott

I love love love the colour, and with the hair, she looks amazing.

Halle Berry in Marchesa

This might seem like a generic pick, because of the old “Halle Berry is always stunning” kiss ass attitude of most critics, but I’m loving the tulle and the champagne colour.

Honorable Mention…

Helena Bonham Carter in Colleen Atwood (costume designer for Alice in Wonderland)

I just have to say, this woman is amazing on the red carpet. She has her own style and is always interesting to watch. I think the media needs to give up on the ridiculous criticisms of her award show fashions-do people really expect her to wear something like Calvin Klein or anything not crazy? That would be no.

Oscar Pics, by j

Well, here are my three favourite looks from tonight that gathered my attention…

Number 3:

Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem

She just had a baby and hasn’t lost the pregnancy weight (or as I would call it, a normal weight).  And I like the red flames. Muy caliente.

Number 2:

Electronica artist "Moby" doing an impression of our uncle

Number 1:

Eli Wallach with wife of 63 years, Anne

Eli was given an honourary Academy Award for his acheivement in film.  One role is that of Arthur in the  film “The Holiday” (Kate Winslet and Jack Black? Ok!).  Best part?  They now give the boring honourary Oscar at another event, instead of making us watch it.

Lovely.

P.S. Did anyone understand a word that Kirk Douglas said?  Maybe not the best choice.  Although I did enjoy the f-bomb.

The perfect ending to an amazing night, Royal York style, by a

By now you’ve read about the majority of our fun filled evening in Toronto last Friday, with great reviews about the performance and the food. Now it’s my turn, and I’m focusing my attention on our post-ballet destination: The Library Bar at the Royal York Hotel.

First of all, I would like to paint a picture regarding our journey from the ballet to the hotel…

Three sisters walking brusquely down the street…

M: What part of the show did you guys like the best?

A: I loved the last scene of Act I, where Nathalie and Mathieu dance under the Eiffel tower to Claire de Lune.

M: Yeah…(whimsical look) it’s just like that time I had that date when I was in Paris…

A & J: *shifty eyes* sure.

As we got closer to the hotel, we saw that there was a lot of activity going on just outside, consisting of  a lot of people, lights, and camera equipment. Being the smart little nuggets we are, we concluded that there was some sort of movie or t.v show being shot at the hotel that night. Once we entered the building, we saw a lot of people, presumably extras, waiting around and warming up, but we just passed them as we headed in the direction of the Bar. However, as we entered the lobby portion, things got weird…

A: (inside thought) wow, there are a lot of people in here…and that guy over there looks very attractive in a business suit, he seems to be having a very serious discussion with those people over there…and why does the lighting in here look weird…

*voice coming from right in front of us*: And…rolling!

A, J, and M: Freeze like multiple deers in headlights, as we are in fact, right in the midst of a scene for this production that they are apparently shooting in more that one location of the hotel. And I realize that the attractive man in the suit is an actor…duh.

After awkwardly bumping into extras (who I’m pretty sure were laughing at us) while trying not to ruin the entire thing, we approached the concierge and asked, quite confused, if the Library Bar was indeed open, as the movie set stood in front of it like a treacherous obstacle course we had to get through. After being informed that the Bar was open, we had to wait until the director man yelled “Cut!“, and then we leaped across the place like three gazelles and made it before they started rolling again. Mission Accomplished. Now bring on a beverage.

Once inside, we found a table and promptly ordered our drinks, a Singapore Sling for J, Vodka soda for M (who was upset with herself that she didn`t get the expensive vodka after she found out it was my treat. So UNgrateful!!), and a Shirley Temple for moi.

Throughout our wonderful and spirited conversation, we were also serenaded with the likes of the Black Eyed Peas and Coldplay, by a dapper looking guy on the classical guitar. The same one that was there the last time we were at the Royal York, and mom made me go up to him while he was playing and awkwardly hand him a tip. I don`t think he remembered that though. Thankfully.

All in all, it was a great evening, and I couldn`t have asked for better a end, or better company.

Thanks girls!

Dress, Please! by a

So we’re into the thick of awards season, and I’ve been bombarded with images of celebrities in their finest (or not so finest…yeah, I’m looking at you, Angelina, for shame!). Here are a few of my favs from the last month or so…

Mila Kunis in Alexander McQueen

Mandy Moore in Monique Lhullier

Leighton Meester in Burberry

Selena Gomez in Irina Shabayeva

Olivia Wilde in Marchesa

Julia Stiles in Monique Lhullier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Movie Review: Black Swan aka holy sh*t I’m glad I’m not a ballerina, by a

So this past Tuesday I went with one of my friends to see Black Swan, the Darren Aronofsky-directed film that’s been generating a lot of buzz going into the 2011 awards season. I was kind of skeptical, I’ll admit. The last movies that I saw in the theatre were Little Fockers and Harry Potter 7, so that should indicate where my cinematic tastes lie. Pretty much on par with those of a 12 year old. From the trailer alone, this movie looked intense, but it was nowhere near the actually level of crazy it turned out to be.

Starring Natalie Portman, Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, and Winona Ryder (there she is!), Black Swan follows the trials of Nina (Portman), a ballerina who is cast as the Swan Queen in her ballet company’s production of Swan Lake. Now doesn’t this sound like a completely non-life scarring kind of plot? Wrong. So wrong. Throughout the course of the film, we see Nina’s descent into insanity as she copes with portraying all of the seductive energy the Black Swan possesses, while fearing that another dancer, Lily (Kunis) is after her role. Nina’s self doubt and paranoia are worsened at home by her obsessive, former dancer  of a mother (Hershey), who devotes an entire room to her paintings of Nina and who coddles her adult daughter, confining her to a room that remains sickeningly childlike. There seems to be no boundaries in this mother-daughter relationship and it just plain creeped me out. Filled with Nina’s hallucinations (for instance, that she is beginning to sprout feathers and literally, turning into a black swan) and a lot of, “did that actually happen?” moments, Black Swan is one dark, trippy film that ends with Nina’s performance of the Swan Queen, where ultimately her insanity comes to a head.

All in all, the film was great. I would highly recommend it, especially as we’ll be hearing a lot about it in the next two months or so. The performance of the actors as an ensemble was insane, especially Portman’s, who underwent a significant transformation in order to portray a prima ballerina. What I wasn’t expecting though, was all the-for lack of a better word- gore. From a broken toe nail, to Portman’s sprouting of feathers, to a particularly disturbing scene involving Winona Ryder, a nail file, and her face (yeah, I’m sure you can piece together what happened there, you’re welcome), there were a lot of face-covering moments. However, I think that these details were almost integral in creating a film that actually made you feel uneasy and unsure of what was real and what was not.

And so, before I went to sleep that night, I had to think of a way to remind myself that this was indeed, just a movie and that Natalie Portman is not a crazy woman, but rather an incredibly gifted actress who happens to be incredibly bad-ass…

Such range. Amazing.

The Lonely Island, yes please, by a

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this comedic trio, The Lonely Island is a smorgasbord (word of the day, use it wisely) of funny. Childhood friends Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, and Andy Samberg from SNL fame make up the group who not only write and produce their own ridiculous tunes, but also write and direct sketches for SNL, mainly of the digital short variety.

And I am obsessed.

And it has nothing to do with the fact that Samberg is the spitting image of Sidney Crosby, only funny. I swear.