BuzzSugar

Oscar Nominee: Elizabeth: The Golden Age for Costumes

BuzzSugar — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 11:30:36 -0800

In the days leading up until the Oscars, I'll be featuring the nominees in the various visual categories. This week, I'll be looking at the nominees for Best Costume Design. We've already taken a look at the costumes in Across the Universe, Atonement, La Vie en Rose, and Sweeney Todd. As a final treat, check out the breathtaking creations from Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

Of all the nominees in this category, this movie provides the most stunningly impressive costumes. The first Elizabeth movie also earned an Oscar nomination in 1999, but ultimately lost out to Shakespeare in Love. For a second time, costume designer Alexandra Byrne has dazzled moviegoers with her lush fabrics and vibrant colors to create the regal fashions of the times. I wasn't a big fan of Elizabeth: The Golden Age overall, but these costumes are magnificent. The brilliant colors and pleasing shapes - especially when paired with Elizabeth's pale skin and bright red hairpieces - look good enough to eat. Byrne truly made creations fit for a queen.

Many more images to ogle from Elizabeth: The Golden Age if you read more.

View 18 Photos ›

Source

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 07:30:00 -0800

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the titles below you can view Cate Blanchett's award-nominated performance in Elizabeth: The Golden Age and The Jane Austen Book Club, which I featured as one of my February Must Haves. Additionally, the Jodi Foster thriller The Brave One, which I liked well enough, is now on DVD.

The Assassination of Jess James by the Coward Robert Ford
This movie adaptation of Ron Hansen's acclaimed novel brings to life two infamous personalities of the American wild West. Notorious outlaw Jesse James (Brad Pitt) befriends what amounts to a latter-day celeb stalker, Robert Ford. Played by Casey Affleck who has been nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal, Ford is a man looking for fame and will do just about anything to attain it.

I enjoyed this movie, despite some awkward pacing and artifice. The visualizations of the West and solid performances make this a great choice for home-theater viewing.

It's a fun week for DVDs so read more.

Across the Universe
I once described the look and feel of Across the Universe as a shroom-induced dream set to Beatles songs, and I stand by that description. Using the Fab Four's music, a romantic plot line, and trippy visual effects, director Julie Taymor takes audiences through the ups and downs of the 1960s. The result is an ambitious, psychedelic attempt to capture a moment in time, and I give it an "A" for effort.

The burning question you'll probably have when viewing these crazy visuals is, "How'd they do that?" Thus, the two-disc DVD set is highly satisfying with all its making-of featurettes. Also, the commentary by Taymor gives great background on why she chose the '60s as her backdrop and how the Beatles inspired her.

2 Days in Paris
Julie Delpy wrote, stars in, directed, and composed the music for this comedy that co-stars Adam Goldberg. I had a chance to talk with Delpy about this film, and it was clear she has a serious interest in exploring what makes modern relationships tick. The film follows a neurotic yet lovable couple that spends two awkward days in Paris where Marion's (Delpy's) family forces them to confront their relationship issues, not to mention their cultural differences. Overall, the movie is a charming take on all the work that goes into love nowadays. Special features include five deleted scenes and an interview with Julie Delpy.

Elizabeth: Sloppy But Beautiful

BuzzSugar — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 12:09:23 -0700

Cate Blanchett, in some of the most sumptuous costumes and outrageous hairpieces, can do her best to growl and roar through this follow-up to the 1998 soapy historical piece Elizabeth, but unfortunately she can't save the faulty script and sloppy pacing that is The Golden Age. This is a shame because the more Blanchett and her equally amazing costars (Clive Owen, Geoffry Rush, Abbie Cornish) plunge into this material with all they've got, trying to compensate for the film's many flaws, the more the movie veers into camp. Thus, the mediocrity of this Elizabeth sequel is not Elizabeth's fault. It's everything else, from the uneven direction to the eye-rollingly preposterous "history lite" storylines.

Taking place 27 years into Queen Elizabeth's reign, she is, technically speaking, 52 years old, though you certainly wouldn't know if from looking at the lovely, spry Blanchett. There is a lot going on in Elizabeth's life which starts to resemble a tangled web of melodrama, not unlike an episode of The Young and the Restless. The Queen is now dealing with both a jealous Mary Queen of Scots (Samantha Morton) and a righteous King Philip II of Spain (Jordi Mollà). Add to this mix the roguish explorer Walter Raleigh who needs the Queen's support to continue his expeditions and you've got yourself a slushy spittoon of fantasy/history. To see what I mean, read more

The smart, saucy Queen's getting it from all sides here, strategizing wars and wrestling with her conscience when it comes to approving death sentences. Then, of course, there's her crush on Raleigh who flatters the Queen to her face and seduces her favorite lady-in-waiting, Bess (Cornish) behind closed doors. For a while it looks like the Queen simply can't win, and then, of course, she does, and it's all very neat and tidy.

In conversations with other people after the screening, the puzzling question on everyone's lips was "Why?" Why make another Elizabeth movie? It's possible any one of the storylines explored in the film could have made for an intriguing tale. But smashing them all together in one movie simply doesn't work in this case. Thus, there are really just two reasons to see this movie that is so disappointing it hurts my feelings: 1) If your love for Cate Blanchett is so blinding you ignore all other aspects of a film, or 2) to gape at the absolutely marvelous costumes that will surely receive an Oscar nod in '08. Otherwise, rent Elizabeth again and let well enough alone.

Source

Fall Movie Preview: Girl Talk

BuzzSugar — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 07:15:00 -0700

Well it's September, folks, and the summertime movie season is officially over. Now we have a whole new crop of films to check out in the coming chillier months, so in preparation for that, I'm giving you little glimpses of this fall and winter's must-see movies with my Fall Movie Preview series. Today's roundup: films for and about the ladies.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age
This absolutely luscious-looking film brings together two gorgeous actors, Cate Blanchett and Clive Owen, for the follow-up to the 1998 period piece Elizabeth. This story follows the Queen Elizabeth's (Blanchett) relationship with Sir Walter Raleigh (Owen). Check out the beautiful trailer before The Golden Age hits theaters October 12.

More lady stuff if you read more

Jane Austen Book Club
This upcoming dramedy is exciting to me for these reasons: 1) The Jane Austen theme, and 2) the stellar cast which includes Emily Blunt, Kathy Baker, Maria Bello, Maggie Grace and Hugh Dancy. I read the book on which this is based and was only mildly impressed, so perhaps the story will be more intriguing when brought to life on film. The narrative follows - you guessed it! - a book club in which the reading material is only Jane Austen books. With Austen's stories as a backdrop, we follow along with the real womens' lives - their joys, friendships and heartaches. The Jane Austen Book Club opens September 21, so check out the trailer and see what you think.

The Brave One
Opening this Friday September 14, The Brave One has Jodie Foster playing radio host Erica Bain who falls victim to a horrific beating that her fiance (Naveen Andrews) does not survive. She purchases a gun and becomes obsessed with finding her attackers. Yet now armed with the gun, she starts to use it on various violent perpetrators she encounters in the city. Terrence Howard plays the official on the hunt for this "vigilante." I'm curious about movies like this that explore the relationship women have with personal violence - and revenge - so I look forward to seeing The Brave One.

Margot at the Wedding
I've watched the trailer for Margot at the Wedding many times, and somehow I'm still not sick of it. It just looks so real and quirky and touching, and it stars some interesting folks, like Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jack Black. Bonus: it was directed by The Squid and the Whale director Noah Baumbach. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kidman play sisters: one is the know-it-all with a son (Kidman) while the other is about to marry a schlubby dude. And know-it-all sister can't seem to keep her mouth shut about what she sees as an ill-advised marriage. I look forward to the familial roller coaster when Margot at the Wedding opens October 19.

The Brave One image courtesy of Warner Bros.
Jane Austen Book Club image source
All others source

Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen in Elizabeth: The Golden Age

BuzzSugar — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 07:30:00 -0700

Why you should watch this trailer for Elizabeth: The Golden Age

Cate Blanchett
Clive Owen
It looks gorgeous

This long-awaited sequel to the 1998 Elizabeth, which was also led by Blanchett's forceful presence, will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September as their Gala presentation, which is the festival's highest-profile slot. This chapter of Elizabeth's story follows the queen's relationship with Sir Walter Raleigh (Owen), among other highly dramatic things. The movie is in wide release October 12, but to experience this just-released trailer in the meantime, read more

Source