Why would I watch the Republican National Convention when I can watch Project Runway instead? The presidential election is huge for America, yes. But fashion is Universal.
This season is going by so fast. Only 9 designers left. Where has the time gone? And LeAnne's model Karalyn is beautiful (still).
Blayne is hilarious. "I want every challenge to be involving Mary-Kate Olsen. I want to marry Mary-Kate. Who doesn't? Besides Tim Gunn." I like him more every episode. Except he called Mary-Kate Olsen a fashion legend. What?
Is it bad I don't know who Diane Von Furstenberg is? Kenley's crying, so it must be a big deal. But Diane thinks Marlene Dietrich is one of the most glamorous women in the world, so obviously she knows what she's talking about. Wow, the movie 'A Foreign Affair,' which I haven't seen, was directed by Billy Wilder (my favorite). I'm slacking and need to see that film stat.
I hope I don't bite my tongue, but this challenge has Jerell's name written all over it. A classy, retro dress? So him.
Wow, Kenley. Stop crying.
Stella is kind of a jerk. Why keep what you're doing a secret? It's not like people are going to want to copy you. All your designs suck. Plus, you're in the same room. They can watch you do it.
Kenley's look is disgusting. I think it's the fabric. It's too flashy for the 'spy' feel that the challenge is going for. However, there is a bit of Shanghai feel. But that's in the shape, not in the fabric.
LeAnne's dress looks fabulous. The jacket looks great, but not with that dress. Tim's a genius in saying, "Shrink it."
Stella's looks horrific in the workroom. I hope for her sake it comes together on the runway.
Man, Nina is gone again? I miss her so much.
The GOOD: LeAnne, Terri (wow, that jacket is fantastic), Jerell (this one's hot, but a bit sloppy)
The MEH: Joe, Korto, Blayne (what a jacket, though)
The BAD: Suede, Stella (who is she, Batman?), Kenley (totally boring, and a miss)
Joe's looks so tacky. I agree with the judges that it's not cohesive, as well as the gap in the back not working.
Kenley, stop interrupting Heidi while she tries to talk. I'd be pissed if I was Heidi.
I'm glad the judges like LeAnne's. She's my faaaaaaaaaaavorite. But the way this is edited, with the judges not saying much other than they like it, leads me to think she won't win.
Korto's looks good, but I agree with what Tim said earlier in the workroom, that the yellow up top looks like a sticking out bra strap. The yellow on the bottom -- great. Top -- not so much.
"Stella was not stellar." This guest judge is awful (not Diane). Nina needs to come back ASAP.
YES! LeAnne won again! Yay yay yay. Two weeks in a row, holler. She's great.
YES! Stella's out! This is definitely the best episode ever. Oh my God, stop talking and get off my show already.
And for reference, here are the winning and losing designs. Try to guess which one is which!
9.03.2008
Project Runway: Double O Fashion
7.06.2007
I'm going to revise my rating of The Apartment from this post.
I reacted prematurely in stating that some of the traditional elements seem dated by today's standards. Over the last year or so, I've watched a lot of Billy Wilder movies, and if asked who was my favorite writer/director, he would be it. What makes Billy Wilder so great is that his movies are timeless. Some Like It Hot is still hilarious. Sunset Blvd. is still a depressing story about clinging to lost dreams. Sabrina still tops any recent romantic comedies. The Apartment still holds up against the finest dramas.
Yes, I called The Apartment a 'drama.' See, that's the whole thing. Looking at The Apartment from a comedic perspective, it's funny, sure. But looking at it as a drama with comedic aspects is when the movie clicks.
This time around I focused a lot more on Shirley MacLaine, who plays Miss Kubelik so fantastically that it's impossible to not see how any man would want to take her home. But there's that other side, the side where she thinks, "I was jinxed from the word go. The first time I was ever kissed was in a cemetery." She's stuck in a place she doesn't want to be, and that in itself is depressing.
But then we see Jack Lemmon, fixed on his career. He loves Miss Kubelik, sure, but that comes a distant second to him willing to get pneumonia just for a chance at a promotion. It's very traditional: he wants a promotion, but he needs Miss Kubelik. Miss Kubelik makes him a better person -- she makes him be the one guy out of 31,000 who takes his hat off in the elevator. Not only do we sympathize with Jack Lemmon's character, but we're cheering for him to break the business shell and become a human being.
Billy Wilder may not be the most innovative director of all time, but he knows how to make a movie entertaining. In an interview he said, his first nine commandments were 'Thou Shalt Not Bore,' and his tenth was something like, 'Thou Shalt Have Rights to Final Cut.' That may explain why his movies are so good.
9.5/10
9.25.2006
8.31.2006
Double Indemnity - 8.5/10
Akeelah and the Bee - 7/10
Maria Full of Grace - 8.5/10
Training Day - 8/10
World Trade Center - 7.75/10
Taxi Driver - 8.5/10
The Wizard of Oz - 9/10 (what a classic, never gets old)
Sabrina - 9/10
The Lost Weekend - 7.5/10
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - 9/10
The Untouchables - 7.5/10
No, I haven't been busy - this is going back a long time.
Edit 10/18/2006: Wow, I was an idiot. Double Indemnity 10/10, World Trade Center 6/10, Taxi Driver 9/10, Wizard of Oz 10/10.
6.07.2006
The Apartment - IMDb
I'm developing a Billy Wilder addiction. But it's okay, because all his movies are fantastic.
This movie's premise is that Jack Lemmon's character is in the corporate world, and he lets his bosses use his apartment to have affairs, enabling him to advance up the ladder at work. Things get complicated when the Big Boss wants to use the apartment to bed Shirley MacLaine, who Jack Lemmon's character likes.
Jack Lemmon always delivers, and this is a fine role for him. I don't particularly like Shirley MacLaine, but I see her with Lemmon as a fitting screen pair. It's cute, and why he likes her is believable.
In short, this absurd premise for a movie flows smoothly from beginning to end, but I think the elements of traditional comedy have faded through the years and left this film a bit 'dated' by today's standards. Allow me to explain:
Point 1: We find out Jack Lemmon likes Shirley MacLaine.
Point 2: Jack Lemmon loans out his apartment to let his bosses have affairs.
Point 3: Lemmon's boss asks to use the apartment.
Point 4: Lemmon asks Shirley MacLaine out on a date, but she says she can't because she's seeing someone else.
Point 5: ...can you see how it all fits together?
Sure, this is a traditional setup and if it didn't happen this way there would be no movie; however, this happens numerous times, making the movie quite predictable. I can't push beyond that in my head and it takes away a lot from the surprise factor.
Though the comedy values are a little prehistoric, the message of the movie and overall complexities invoked emotionally still stand straight today, and make this movie stand strong. It's so hard not to spoil it... but the way things work out makes me feel a little warm and fuzzy on the inside.
The movie is highly enjoyable, and it even has an amusing jab at Marilyn Monroe, which is funnny if you know her history with Billy Wilder. There's a few good quotable lines and I'd definitely recommend it.
Rating: 8.5/10
White Heat - IMDb
I was loving this movie from the first shot - train robbery scenes almost always turn out good. What starts as a simple hold-up for $300,000 turns into a three chapter wild ride with plenty of gangsters, coppers, and murders to get the blood going for an hour after you see 'The End.' James Cagney is Cody Jarrett, a tough-guy gangster who loves his Ma more than anyone (even his scheming wife [Virginia Mayo]), and is smarter and tougher than your average mobster.
The plot gets going with a train robbery, but once the trail of evidence gets hot for Cody Jarrett, he plans confesses to another crime that happened at the same time as the train hold-up, resulting in him getting a few years of jail time instead of the gas chamber. Smooth move, until he runs into an undercover cop in the pen and befriends him (obviously not knowing he's a cop), planning an escape and a high scoring job for the road. Things get, well, complicated.
It seems like the writers sat down, did one scene, then thought, 'alright, the characters plan for this to happen, so let's go the complete opposite direction, and do this.' The whole movie is like this. Oh, and it all makes sense - no deus ex machina here. Superb writing, and when mixed with Cagney's amazing performance, this film rises up high in the rankings of 'Top Gangster Movies.' No, it doesn't top the list, but it's really damn good.
P.S. Virginia Mayo is really pretty.
Rating: 9/10
All About Eve - IMDb
Not applicable because my (rented) DVD was scratched, God damnit. Right when I was getting into the drama, too. Review pending a new, working copy of the movie.
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