Hit Me With Your Best Shot: Showgirls

The concept of this series is such: I choose a movie. We all choose our favorite shot(s) from said movie. I link up to everyone's choices each Wednesday. It's an eye candy free for all celebrating those single images in movies that we just can't live without. They're either the prettiest, the most telling, personally resonant, quite unexpected or just plain delightful.

Today's episode: Paul Verhoeven's gaudy masterwork SHOWGIRLS (1995). It's loud. It's trashy. It's colorful. It's spectacularly itself. Something all movies should strive to be. So, very briefly, I considered this shot from the opening sequence.


Because the "HUGE" graphic makes me giggle. It can't have been an accident that that's the word that flashes in neon just as Nomi Malone (Elizabeth Berkley) pulls into Las Vegas. "I'm gonna win."

I almost went with anything from Nomi's first performance like these.


I love how distorted and fleshy the first image is (that's the movie, too) and that Nomi is a blur. Isn't she the spazziest (live action) protagonist of all time? She's basically a rampaging toddler and definitely the most inelegant "dancer" ever captured on film. It's not just that famous pool sex scene that's epileptic. This girl seems constantly beset by seizures, whether she's throwing fries, hitting friends, dancing or lapdancing, shoving innocent human resources personnel against walls, eating potato-chips, buying dresses from "ver-sayce" or running out into oncoming traffic (which she does at least twice during the movie). The second image is unexpectedly demure as she prepares to strip. Aren't the pinks and yellows gorgeous? It's not deep focus (shame) but it's wonderfully composed to allow you to see Cristal's (Gina Gershon) volcanic entrance at the same time in the background.

Speaking of backgrounds. There's so much going on in some of the frames, so many characters milling about with their own stories and agendas that I'm not even joking when I say that it occasionally feels like a Robert Altman movie... if the master had constantly snorted cocaine rather than puffed Mary Jane.


Some of the chaotic teeming energy is undoubtedly aided by the use of long takes. Thankfully Verhoeven lets DP Jost Vacano's camera roam around the room in a few key sequences rather than relying on a million edits. We love long takes, yes we do. Way too few filmmakers ever think to use them.

But I finally had to settle on my favorite dance sequence for the best shot. It's the climax of sorts (though Showgirls really doesn't know when to quit -- abbreviate the two major subplots involving a rapist rocker and a womanizing choreographer and the movie is suddenly zippier), which finally brings our two anti-heroines together in costume, though they've rehearsed this number alone before in one of the movie's very best scenes.


To me that just says it all. It's a blue movie (pun intended), the anti-heroines are dressed identically "You and I... we're exactly the same" but their expressions are so different. Cristal is your devious delicious Bitch Goddess (the name of the show within the show), Nomi is the bizarrely innocent whore/plaything.

Come on, slave girl.

Now, this slave girl is about to push her master down those monster stairs but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

You know the best advice I ever got? You're up there on stage, hoping on a spot. Someone gets in your way, step on 'em. If you're the only one left standing there, they hire you.

That's about it. Thank you and good night, ladies and gentlemen. Elvis has left the building.

'...Best Shot' Players
Give it up for these whores dancers! You click the link. You see the post. They show you what you want to see...

• My New Plaid Pants ass + palm trees + vomiting dolphins... "It doesn't suck!"
• Nick's Flick Picks ♪ listen all of y'all this is sabotage!
  
• Antagony & Ecstasy the solar plexus as phallus? Whaaa
• missemmamm honors Nomi's relentless thumbs and (starry) eyes
  
• Stale Popcorn "the creature from Nomi's Lagoon" great writeup
• vg21random believes in the hair & makeup. I agree. (In fact, I 100% believe that this movie deserved a few Oscar nods: makeup and Gina Gershon as Best Supporting Actress being the two most egregious snubs.)
  

 Other Films in This Series

• Angels in America (2003)
• X-Men (2000)
• Bring It On (2000)
• Black Narcissus (1946)
• A Face in the Crowd (1957)
• Pandora's Box (1929)
• Se7en (1995) 
• Requiem for a Dream (2000)

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Yes, No, Maybe So: Green Hornets and Blue Smurfs

Stepping away from the Oscar bait trailers for a moment, let's take a spin on the color wheel. Will you have blue (The Smurfs) or green (The Green Hornet) or will you going to hold out for something red or purple?

Let's apply the Film Experience's trailer treatment Yes, No, Maybe So™ to both starting with The Green Hornet (2011).



Yes It's directed by Michel Gondry who made movies as visually singular as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep and as energetic and fun as Dave Chappelle's Block Party. Plus, Christoph Waltz is the villain and we already know what he can do in that department.
No But... I'm confused. Could this look any more generic? It looks like Stephen Sommers or Mark Steven Johnson directed it, yes? The plot seems to be some weird mishmash of Batman and Kick-Ass instead of a Green Hornet story. Finally that 3D tag at the end just depresses. I have nothing against 3D but it's just starting to feel like a desperate peer pressure crutch at this point, like wearing the same brand name jeans/shoes as everyone else lest the kids at school make fun of you. If you're a gifted stylist like Gondry, do you really want to be aping other people's looks?

Maybe So Perhaps the trailer purposefully looks generic to rope in people who are scared of visual originality (i.e. unfortunately large percentage of moviegoers)? Also, remember when Jay Chou (Kato) was lusting after his hot mom Gong Li in The Curse of The Golden Flower. No? Okay I'm stretching but maybe he'll be good? But then I'm back to no. Because why does Kato still have to be a manservant in 2010? Think about it: Kato has the knowledge, the weapons and mad crime fighting skill. Plus he has to teach the bumbling rich white boy. So why isn't the white boy the sidekick? Please to explain.

And... The Smurfs (2011)



Yes Well, the cast (not featured here but for Neil Patrick Harris) is interesting.
No Jesus! Is that really Tone Loc's "Wild Things" playing underneath the lalalas? This was made in what decade exactly? If this is all they got did they really need to release a teaser already?
Maybe So Live action mixed with animation once produced Who Framed Roger Rabbit and that's a totally classic comedy so maybe...

oh, never mind. NO to the lot of ya.

Are you a yes, no, or maybe so on these two?
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WWCW?

What Will Carey Wear?
If any actress this year has been prepped to be a new fashion icon, it's Carey Mulligan. This has more than a little to do with "star is born!" hoopla (more than hype) and "next Audrey Hepburn" nonsense (such pressure!). Even if her clothes don't always fit (as the Fug Girls have griped) She's had quite An Education in red carpet this past year. I imagine the pressure is on to be the Best Dressed Best Actress at the Oscars tonight.

I bet if you pie chart her color choices these past several months black is incredibly dominant, with red being a close second. So I'm guessing she plays it sleek/safe tonight. Which is fine. I'm just hoping the future performances don't play it like that. Go for the gold every time, Carey.

I'm so looking forward to her next few years. She's already wrapped shooting on two 2010 pictures: the sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (I'm hoping they don't try to sell us on "Greed is Good" again. Bitter pill considering...) and the dramatic literary adaptation Never Let Me Go.

Most Likely To Return To the Kodak in Feb/March 2011?
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Halfway House: Merryweather Knows Best

halfway through the day we stop a movie halfway through. What do we see?


37 minutes into Sleeping Beauty, one of the greatest fashion decisions in all of filmdom occurs. Behold the wisdom of Merryweather.

blue

So much better.

If the cinema had existed in the 14th century Merryweather would have become the next Edith Head. If only she could serve as a judge on Project Runway.
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Color Story: The Red in The Deep End

BeRightBack here, with a little Labor Day post brought on by rewatching the 2001 thriller The Deep End.


I was impressed this time not only what I'd remembered about it - Tilda Swinton's gritty, understated work in the central role - but also the careful manipulation of color.


As the film forces Tilda's character to plumb inner reservoirs of strength, the blues that have muted her trademark hair are interrupted by sudden reds -- a blazing coat, a split lip.

This culminates in a climactic scene in an overturned red sportscar, opposite a handsomely bleeding Goran Visnjic, her red hair filtering the light, refracting her character's strength and beauty, illuminating the heart of the film and her performance.


Definitely worth the second look. Happy Labor Day!

Penélope's Embraces (and Other Wonders)

The new trailer to Almodóvar's Broken Embraces is up over at Guardian. Looks terrific and much like other Pedro gems such as Law of Desire and Bad Education it appears to be cinematic in all senses of the word (visually, thematically, environmentally).


It's less than two minutes long but it gives the impression that the whole movie consists of shots of Penélope Cruz through screens, mirrors, doorways and her own hair. Which is maybe the best thing a movie could consist of these days. It opens Stateside in 140 days but many of you overseas readers have already had the opportunity to see it. I'm green with envy but wearing red in keeping with the Almodóvar theme.

Links
Film Doctor on the movie love within Public Enemies
Animation World Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson!) interviews Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) about his caree. He even discussed Family Dog (pictured left) at length, which is one of my favorite cartoons in the whole wide world, and new live action film 1906.
Pop Hangover "the all new Fleetwood MacBook"
Hollywood Reporter Wim Wenders halts production on Pina Bausch dance film. I hope they restart later as a last tribute.
Vodkaster makes a subway map of the IMDb Top 250. Cool idea. I shall eventually explore. [thx]

And finally, the The Moment has a piece on the fan community's digital relationship with movies, home edits and what not. I actually found this one hard to read (formatting, too much info... I'm not sure). But it got me to thinking about my favorite fanmade "supercut" . It's my favorite because it's basically like hearing my thoughts spoken aloud and it doesn't require typing.
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Forbes 100: On Actresses and "Power"

As you may know, the annual Forbes 100 is out. This 'Celebrity 100' list is also referred to as "World's Most Powerful Celebrities". Which... well, I wonder. The list ranks the celebrities based on their media visibility and earning power. Media + income = power. All lists are subjective but it seems strange to assume that visibility equals power. It can but I doubt it automatically does. Is Lindsay Lohan a powerful person because the paparazzi follow her around? If so, what does she hold sway over... legging trends? Can she get movies greenlit? She didn't make the list but it's just an example.

Another funny/strange thing: It only goes to show you that becoming enormously popular at one time in history can keep you on these lists in perpetuity. Witness the staying power of Sandra Bullock and Harrison Ford on lists such as these.

Here are Forbes top movie actresses...

01 Angelina Jolie
There's no disputing her fame. Would that her influence was as indisputable. Celebrity philanthrophists are often subjects of loathing from many pockets of the media and various segments of the general populace. Why that is I'll leave it up to social theorizing in the comments [A History of... Angelina Jolie]

08 Jennifer Aniston
She was my favorite member of Friends back in the day but I realized as soon as she transferred to the cinema that I was a fan of "Rachel" rather than Jen. Sometimes when thinking of Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow and Courtney Cox in tandem it becomes clear that Brad Pitt is to blame for her ubiquity. But then I think of my beloved Juliette Lewis and... well, the world isn't fair.


58 Sarah Jessica Parker
Sometimes Square Pegs only need to ignore the round holes and find a new board on which to play. What a difference HBO and "Carrie Bradshaw" made. [More on Sex & the City]

64 Meryl Streep
Her top earning status as she enters her 60s fills me with utter glee despite the fact that Mamma Mia! was terrible. Once, long ago, (very early 90s to be more precise) the same media that now kisses her feet used to belittle her for speaking out about the inequality in pay between actors and actresses.

71 Reese Witherspoon
Earned $15 million last year. Usurping all of Jake Gyllenhaal's time? Now, that's power.

73 Cameron Diaz
Forbes is pushing the notion that we should have her on our Best Actress Oscar lists for My Sister's Keeper. What say ye?

74 Nicole Kidman
She takes a beating in the American media but she's still an international draw. Plus she's, you know, awesome if you care about the cinema rather than just 'the movies.'

85 Anne Hathaway
She only made $7 million for Get Smart? For some reason I thought she pulled down more than that already.

87 Drew Barrymore
Still a double threat as Producer/Actress. Every time we hear about Drew's next project, the roller derby film Whip It!, it's mentioned in connection to Ellen Page's rising stardom post Juno. But have you checked out the supporting cast and their character names? Drew as "Smashley Simpson", Kristin Wiig as "Malice in Wonderland", Juliette Lewis as "Dinah Might", Eve as "Rosa Sparks". I only hope the movie is half as fun as the milieu and moniker imply.

92 Sandra Bullock
Forbes implies that her return to romcoms justifies her placement. Is she headed for a major comeback this year with The Proposal and All About Steve?



Most random finding on this list: Jennifer Love Hewitt is at #99. Other than her power to stay on television year after year after year after year (Jennifer Love Hewitt in the reboot of Murder She Wrote... coming your way in 2038!) I had no idea that she wielded any, let alone that she was the 5th most powerful TV actress . I didn't know that she was more powerful than three Desperate Housewives and that Gossip Girl... more powerful yet than Eliza Duskhu who is infinitely hotter and shares Hewitt's power to stay on the airwaves.

You know what I'd like to read? A list that seeks to quantify the overall influence of celebrities as opposed to their income or household name status. Who has trickle down power? I always think of that "cerulean" scene in The Devil Wears Prada when I think of cultural influence.

This... 'stuff'? Oh... ok. I see, you think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select out, oh I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean.

You're also blithely unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar De La Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves St Laurent, wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets? And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of 8 different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic Casual Corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. From a pile of stuff.

Wouldn't more specialized celebs like, oh, Parker Posey in the 1990s or Björk or Tilda Swinton make lists that quantify cultural influence? They're famous, referenced, idolized, admired, stolen from, imitated and occasionally worshipped in fashion, music, media, cinema. They're not interchangable with the next up and coming starlet. But, alas, they aren't ... Jennifer Love Hewitt.
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May Flowers, Sex and The City

May Flowers

I'm not sure that Georgia O'Keeffe would have loved Sex & The City but I'm pretty sure Sex & The City loves Georgia O'Keeffe. Those lady flowers are everywhere.


While it's true that you can't really make a wedding movie without a floral arrangement, Sex... doesn't just use flowers for the bouquet toss.

Just give me the damn symbolic vaginas
-The Bachelor (1999)

Flowers cling to Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw like she's a one woman photosynthesis factory. It'd be a stretch to say that every costume includes them but more often than not costume designer Patricia Field has dipped Carrie in vats of them: green florals (buying an apartment), red (bragging about her boyfriend), purple (single again), huge gigantor white florals just because. She's a photosynthesis factory and a color wheel.

Subtlety has never been Sex and the City's strong suit. The movie is all about the act of handing her ladyparts over to Big permanently, so they must be fully visualized. She even beats Big over the head with them!


Carrie has never been a shrinking violet, she's always an exhibitonist. She parades it around. She turns heads with it on the street. She even writes best selling books about it as you know.

The other women are not without their own floral motifs. Charlotte (Kristin Davis), always the most subdued, doesn't wear a lot of flowers but she's named her daughter "Lily" so she's done her part. Her sexuality was always goal oriented anyway.

The older women get floral representation too, albeit with less saturation. Carrie's envious editor (Candice Bergen) has given up. She's framed hers and hung it in her office.


Samantha (Kim Cattrall), who kept Sex in Sex and the City (the TV show) even when it forgot its libido late in the run, isn't having a lot of sex (in the movie). She wears no florals but in one key sequence she decides that she must have a pricey bit of jewelry at auction.

This flower ring is the essence of me. One of a kind.

It's a symbolic vagina for a symbolic vagina (oh, the folds and layers!). See, her boyfriend Smith Jerrod also wants to purchase the ring and Samantha's entire subplot becomes a tug of war between them. Smith wants her ladyparts for himself. She wants them back.

This leaves two characters and they're both conspicuously lacking in the flower power. 'Saint Louise from St Louis' (Jennifer Hudson) has no vagina. Poor thing. She's only there to help Carrie, so I guess they figure she doesn't need one?

And finally there's Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) who definitely has one but is being punished for pretending she doesn't. Her vagina is furious and only comes out once (barely visible: black on dark brown) to warn Big away from Carrie's vagina.

My vagina's angry. It is. It's pissed off. My vagina's furious and it needs to talk.
-The Vagina Monologues

Miranda is all work work work and 'let's get this over with' mood killer. Unless she learns to let Steve in, she'll never be able to wear bright floral prints again!

P.S. We'll find out if Miranda is back in bloom when Sex and the City 2 opens next year on this very weekend.
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Movie Themed Easter Eggs

Easter is here. Are you feeling festive? Time for Arts & Crafts! In the past we've made Pan'scakes and Spider-Man cookies. Time for easter eggs. All holidays lend themselves to movie obsessing and Easter is no exception. Think of the long history of bunnies in the movies. Plus, who doesn't love brightly colored edibles? Here are a few movie themed easter eggs you can make with your kids, godchildren, nephews, nieces or your adult friends who behave like children.

Movie Themed Easter Eggs

Materials needed: eggs, food dye, vinegar, water and the ability to measure and boil it, spoons, glasses, white crayons, black crayon or black marker, red candle, hand/eye coordination and some degree of artistic ability.

Get started! Boil water. Insert eggs (leave boiling for 10-12 minutes). Take water off stove without burning self. Rinse eggs in cold water. Put eggs on cooling rack. Leave for a few hours. Return. Mix different colors of dye into glasses (1/4 tsp food coloring / 1 tbsp white vinegar / 3/4th cup hot water) into which you can dip zee eggs. Ready... and GO.

Spider-Man
This is the first "character" easter egg I ever made. I love Spidey. Before you dye Spidey, use your white crayon to heavily draw in those crazy big pointed eyes. If you want him edible after you're done draw in the webbing with a white crayon, too (this part is optional but it looks color than what I've done here). If you don't plan to eat the egg just do the eyes before dropping him in the red dye. While you're doing all of this you should be reciting the following phrase "Spider-Man 2 is better than The Dark Knight" until the phrase feels natural and true. Because it is. You've been brainwashed otherwise so this is like counter-programming. It's a public service from The Film Experience.


You need to leave Spidey in the dye a long time because he comes out too orange otherwise. Wait until he's good and red and remove him from the dye. If you've opted for edible spidey, you're done! If you've opted for the more photo-realistic spidey (er...) you have to draw in the webbing with your black marker. Voila!

Dr. Manhattan and Watchmen
It's good to have something contemporary. "You know, for kids" (Watchmen is so child appropriate don't you think? my review) Most of the characters are difficult to transfer into egg form. I'm guessing you could figure out Roscharch but I opted for Dr. Manhattan. White out the eyes like you did for Spidey only more oval like. Drop in blue dye. Leave Dr. Manhattan in that blue dye for a long time. He needs to look radioactive. Remove and ink on his symbol.


You should make multiple Dr. Manhattans. He can't be bound into just one body!

The other Watchmen option is the famous logo.

Drop your white egg in the yellow dye for a long while. Get it bright yellow. The smiley face you'll need to draw on either before (with black crayon) or after with a marker. Then light your red candle. Once it gets warm, tip the candle and let the wax drip on the egg. It doesn't always go where you want it but it'll make a blood splash / streak. Give it to someone you saw Watchmen with or merely throw it on a wet city sidewalk in the rain and admire or relive the movie.


Joker
This one is messier and I don't think I really pulled it off. But what the hell... do you wanna know how I got these scars multi-colored fingers? Too much playing with eggs and food dye is how! If one of your eggs cracks a bit while boiling and looks icky, you can still use it though you definitely shouldn't eat it! This egg is perfect for a zombie or for Edward Scissorhands (I screwed up on those eggs so I can't show them. Disgraced!). If you want to do the Joker leave the hard boiled egg white and just draw on his makeup with black marker or crayons. Remember that red candle trick we used on the Watchmen logo? Same thing applies here to form that sickly mutilated smile. Messy works. The last step is to blow out the candle, dip some green easter egg grass (very small amount) into the hot wax and immediately smoosh it on the top of the egg to make his stringy green hair.

Yes, you'll probably burn yourself but what is art without sacrifice?


Brainstorm in the comments. What excellent egg remains to be made? If you make any you're proud of send me photos and I'll do a follow up post. Best egg wins... our admiration. We are destitute and have nothing to give away.

If you'd like to share these Movie Eggs for Easter with someone who might love them please email this post their way OR download any of these jpg postcards I've made below and just attach 'em to your emails! Wheeeeeee. Instant holiday fun.

Happy Easter from the Film Experience
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Now Playing: Apocalyptic Duplicitous Bromances

L I M I T E D
The New Twenty This is only playing here in New York at the tiniest screen known to mankind (Hi, Quad!) For a first film it's quite good. Ignore the generic 'we'll get the gays to see it!' poster (if the leading man looks familiar think Beyonce's "If I Were a Boy" video) and somewhat clumsy title. The plot is a little shapeless but the characters are quite likeable and engaging. The sex lives and friendships of this makeshift family, some gay some straight, are more realistic than you usually see in movies. All that plus the film doesn't push its jokes -- some of the characters just happen to be funny. That's the way we like our laughs in ensemble dramas. B

Hunger If you've been reading lately you know that I highly recommend this one, the true story of a hunger strike in the early 80s in a hellish prison. It's politics are only viewed from one angle but cinematically it operates on several. The artist Steve McQueen is gifted behind the movie camera. (previous thoughts) A-

The Great Buck Howard "Malkovich! Malkovich! Malkovich!" This time he plays a "mentalist"... that's almost like the time Jack Nicholson played a wolf. Is the casting too on the nose?

Máncora A Peruvian road trip film about a young brother and sister and the sister's husband following their father's suicide. Apparently "lines are crossed".

Skills Like This an indie comedy that had festival audiences chuckling. It's about a frustrated writer who suddenly robs a bank.

Valentino The Last Emperor a documentary that follows the closing act of über famous orange designer Valentino Garavani and his business partner Giancarlo Giametti nearly 50 year career. I always hold out hope that there will one day be another fashion documentary as good as Unzipped (1995). Could this be it?

Sin Nombre A sociopolitical thriller about Mexican gangs and a teenager from Honduras on a freight train bound for the States. It wowed critics at Sundance, winning both Best Director (it's a first feature for Cary Fukunaga) and Cinematography prizes.

E X P A N D I N G
Sunshine Cleaning It has occasional trouble navigate its need for quirk (the bane of self-conscious indies). I have no idea why it steals a character wholesale from a better film -- in this case Alan Arkin all but reprising his Oscar winning Little Miss Sunshine performance -- but the rest of the supporting cast handles their roles beautifully and without much fuss. In it's best moments, particularly those involving a love affair between Amy Adams and Steve Zahn, it plays naturalistic and humble. Emily Blunt and Adams are completely watchable, sexy and winning but I suppose that's no surprise at this point. B/B-

W I D E
I Love You, Man Paul Rudd is, according to EW, the most adorable movie star on the planet. I missed the part where Amy Adams was dethroned but I love the Rudd, too. Jason Segel co-stars in this bromantic comedy. Is this popculture movement a trend or a fad? It depends on whether or not this movie is a smash I suppose.

Knowing If you stop seeing bad movies, you can do your part to prevent the apocalypse. Or at least the final destruction of our beloved cinema (my review) D


Duplicity Remember that awesomely hostile sexual chemistry Clive Owen and Julia Roberts had in Closer? It's back in full force only this time twisted slightly to service comedic spy games. They really are a sensational screen couple (and relatively close in age: take note Hollywood. This helps). I'm already eager for a third date with them. Although a second date with this movie might be helpful because it's so damn confusing. Also quite fun. B+

Are you at the movies this weekend or staying in with DVDs?
If you're doing neither, explain yourself oh foe of cinema !
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Tues Top Ten: Green Skinned Wonders

This list is dedicated to two crushes from childhood that never went away: First, Yvonne Craig (i.e. Batgirl!) who once played an Orion slave girl on Star Trek (prized for their eroticism). Second, Daryl Hannah... who is more caucasian than green but she doesn't think so. Leonardo DiCaprio may get all the press for being an environmentalist but Daryl is the hardcore real deal. I absolutely love her and you should, too. Plus you know: "California Mountain Snake" ... (red and yellow but you know -- snakes = green in the broader sense. Wha--Where am... Oh yes, the list).

Ten Best Green-Skinned Movie Characters

10 Speaking of snakes... One of the scariest things I ever saw as a kid was Medusa in The Clash of the Titans (1981). Don't stare too closely at her lopsided [shudder] key-lit eyes. You know what can happen... I'm so thankful that model work and stop motion haven't completely died in the movie making world because they are so much freakier than CGI as visual effects go. Yes they are remaking that one... and supposedly it's happening any minute now. The Parisian action director Louis Leterrier is helming. His last film was The Incredible Hulk so he must have a viridescent fetish. (How do you say "Orion slave girls" in French?)

09 I know Marvel and the Media have told me that I must prefer Leterrier's Incredible Hulk to Ang Lee's Hulk but I rarely do as I'm told. One reason to prefer the first Hulk (review) is that he seemed more phosphorescent and if you're going for scientific experiments gone awry which accidentally grant superhuman powers, why not saturate? Commit to the absurdity! (see also: Dr. Manhattan)

08 Buzz's run in with those squeaky aliens in Toy Story...

The Claw. The Claw is our master. It decides who will go and who will stay.

is still one of the funniest bits from any movie ever. I cherish the memory. I saw it with my brother and we had no idea what to expect (Pixar wasn't yet synonymous with instant classics). We laughed so hard that we missed the next few jokes that followed it.

07 Alligators (in general). Confession: I make a beeline at the zoo to see the alligator/crocs even though they never ever ever move. I wait and wait. They don't move! I love them onscreen even more (they move!) whether they're wrestling with Tarzan underwater, starring in comedic horror movies (Alligator) or trapped in supporting roles in cartoons (The Rescuers, Peter Pan)

06 Oola and Jabba The honeymoon was over even before the Jedi returned. Those crazy kids just couldn't work it out. She found him too possessive. He hated her independent streak. So he fed her to the rancor monster. What an a******.

05 This is more of a sideways fantasy than a reality. Plus no green-skin. There's talk of a Green Lantern movie very soon but the thing that would be brilliant that they'll never even consider doing is a hugely dense and populated sci-fi television series of Green Lantern Corps. Think of how many stories they could tell. There's more than just Hal Jordan to the Green Lantern mythos and we've got plenty of spandex single hero movies already. Try something new. The Pitch: Battlestar Galactica meets Dollhouse meets the superhero genre. Earth not included.

04 Kylie Minogue as "The Green Fairie" in Moulin Rouge! (retro) The most inspired / deranged pop star cameo ever? Maybe. Has anyone reading tried the newly legal absinthe? Did she appear to sing you showtunes? If so please tell me she knows more than just one song.

03 Yoda Make this list he must.

02 Even if I hadn't just been back to Wicked, there's no denying The Wicked Witch one of the top spots. I'm only denying her the top spot so that she'll terrorize me with an "I'll get you my pretty" or some such.



01 Kermit the Frog. The Muppets are Love.

Who would you include in a top ten green list? I admit I found the pickings a little slim. Blue is definitely more of a movie color.

previous top tens: overdue for Oscar, best TV of 2008, female directors, etc...
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Red Carpet Lineup (Taraji P Henson x 8)

Taraji ("hope and love") Henson seems to be everywhere this season.


She went form fitting sexy for the Director's Guild, "busy" for the Producers, and got all architectural, if you will, for the Art Directors. Suddenly she was shiny and sassy for the Editors (does this mean she understands how important they are to any actor's success?). But then dull and simple for the Writer's Guild -- writers get no respect! Then sleek for the Costume Designers. She's like Queen of the Guilds. Only maybe she's not so sure about her newfound royalty yet since she seems to be having trouble moving away from anything outside the grey/silver/black family. Her color palette elsewhere doesn't change much either: SAG white, Golden Globe black, BFCA silver.

Can we get her in some color for Oscar? She busted it out for two NAACP events (left). How about for the Kodak? Can you tell it's my pet peeve that so many people dress in black for the Oscars? With 50% of the attendees in tuxes it gets a little monotonous. The ladies need to bring the color! Cross your fingers that she does. Pull focus, Taraji P Henson. It's your big chance. And if you're truly married to that season long subdued palette we've been seeing, go with the silver.

Shiny! Shiny!
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How about you Oscar watchers... do you love the sophistication of black and white gowns or do you regularly long for eye popping color?

Red Carpet Lineup (Kate Winslet x 12)

Oscar night rapidly approaches. Any guesses as to what color Kate might likely be wearing on Sunday night? I'll give you one guess. One guess only.


If you get it wrong we will all be forced to point and laugh at you!

Seriously what is up with Winslet this year? 'Why so serious?' When you peruse these photos from (left to right, photos from JAMD) London, Santa Barbara, the Golden Globes, SAG, Oscar Luncheon, Berlinale, and BAFTA) you can only presume that she will be wearing something black, probably with sharp angles or cut outs. Either Kate isn't using a stylist or her stylist is on holiday. But not the kind of holiday that involves houseswapping with Cameron Diaz. Which all begs the question: What possessed Kate to suddenly perk up all electric blue for SAG?

Hmmm. On second thought she's never worn black as an actual nominee...


It was hot pink for Sense & Sensibility, green (appropriate!) for Titanic, red for Iris, periwinkle for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and pale green for Little Children. What color will The Reader inspire her to don?
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