Alexandria's Little Corner of the World

Last night was the Oscars. And the winners were:

Best Picture - The Departed
Best Actress - Helen Mirren, The Queen
Best Actor - Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Best Supporting Actress - Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Best Supporting Actor - Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Best Directing - Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Best Adapted Screenplay - The Departed
Best Original Screenplay - Little Miss Sunshine
Best Documentary Feature - An Inconvenient Truth

And my verdict on the show: Boooooooooooring with a capital ZZZZZZZZZZ.

Ellen was a safe choice as a host, but not particularly entertaining. She made cheesy jokes and the staged skits (eg. giving Martin Scorsese a script or having Steven Speilberg take her picture with Clint Eastwood) were even worst. The show was boring and bland. There wasn't a single moment of spontaneity during the scripted parts.

And the speeches were for the most part, uninspired.

So to get to the really fun part: the fashion.

The Good
Jennifer Lopez was a surprisingly well dressed. Anyone who knows me would never mistake me for a J-Lo fan, but last night she was glammed up to the nines and rather than her barely there attire or her overdone style, last night she was just right. She was part Grecian goddess and part thirties-glam. A good mix on her.
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New mama Maggie Gyllenhaal was just the picture of grace in her one-shouldered navy and black gown. She looked so serene and poised that I could even look the thick band of black beads or ruffles at the hem of her dress, which she could've done without.
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Last year's Best Support Actress winner Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener) was a sight in silver. The strapless silver number trimmed with a thin band of diamonds was just beautiful and made her porcelain skin seem even more porcelain.


Bow to the Queen! Helen Mirren was a winner in more ways than one last night. Firstly, she gets top marks in my books for someone who knows how to dress her age. In Hollywood that is apparently not quite common sense. She didn't dress in a matronly manner nor did she let it all hang out, saggy boobs and all. She dressed with class and style, in a gown that complimented her body and didn't expose too much of herself. And at the end of the night, she had a little golden guy to go along with her golden gown.


While I am not usually fond of beige or nude as a colour choice for evening gowns as it washes most people out, Emmy Rossum's one shouldered beige number had just enough of a hint of pink to not wash her delicate complexion out. And the silver band right below her chest was a nice accent to break up the outfit.


At the after-parties, Diane Kruger partied in a purple tiered purple number that wouldn't necessarily work on other women, but on her, it worked nicely.


And supermodel Tyra Banks is a stand out in this red satin number. You'd think it was a slam dunk to look good when you're a supermodel, but you'd be wrong, as evident by her colleague Linda Evangelista (see below). Perhaps the way the top half of this dress is cut there were some chances for a "wardrobe malfunction," but after many years on the runway, I'm sure that Tyra was a pro and properly taped her dress in the right places.


Normally I am not a fan of Diane Keaton's manly style of dressing. But this time around she looks darn good in her black dress, enough that I'll even let the tinted glasses go. I'm just happy that she's not in a suit or her trademark gloves.


The Almost Good
The usual fashion starlet Cate Blanchett was an almost perfect 10 in her beaded silver number with the decorative brooch-like decoration on her shoulder. If only something had been done with those curly wisps at the front of her head. It looks like a cowlick that couldn't be sorted out.


Last year's Lead Actress winner Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line) had the opposite problem of Cate: Pefect, straight long blond locks but a rather uninspired, boring dress. And no jewellery made the whole look even more plain.


The Bad
Nicole Kidman looks like a copy of Charlize Theron at last year's Oscars:


The red bow is practically bigger than Nicole's teeny tiny head. This picture makes Nicole's head look even tinier.


Supermodel Linda Evangelisa is a walking of example of when bad dresses happen to supermodels. Come on Linda, you're a supermodel. You have a better body than half of the population yet you choose to wear this moo-moo?! It does nothing for your figure. I could wear that dress on one of my fat days and still look good!


Meryl Streep, you really should have borrowed something from the wardrobe department of The Devil Wears Prada. It would've been a marked improvement to this number you apparently pulled blindly out of your closet. I know that you like the Bohemia look, but can you do that on your own time not at the Oscars? Did you make any effort?


This year's Best Support Actress Jennifer Hudson (Dream Girls) was no dream in this brown and silver creation. It is clear that you are well endowed, but this dress feels like it's two sizes too small for those assets. And what's with the silver bolero jacket? The collar is so big and ruffly it looks like you parachuted onto the red carpet with it. And please, don't pull a Meryl Streeep and stick your hands in your pockets.


I don't know what to make of Kirsten Dunst's outfit. From the waist up she looks like a prep school student with her bangs and her collared dress. From the waist down it looks like tumbleweeds are gathering at her feet.


And the men of the Oscars ...
My first love, George Clooney, who looked like a classic Hollywood gentleman. (swoon, swoon)


And my runner up, Leonardo DiCaprio, whom I've never given a second look to before seeing The Departed, but I was missing out all these years!

Labels: Hollywood