Review: "Mirror Mirror"

This review was originally published in my column at Towleroad.

Once upon a time there lived a director with big canvas visual ideas. He would stretch them across just about any surface and start painting. Serial killer craziness (The Cell), muscle queen mythology (The Immortals), and uncategorizable period fantasy (The Fall) were all fair game. Any topic would do including a comic spin on Snow White because why the hell not? 

His name was Tarsem Singh or Tarsem or Tarsem Singh Dwandwar or Tarsem Dwandwar Singh because he could never settle on a signature. He would halfheartedly skim screenplays until inspiration struck. Once the spell was cast, he'd toss the script into the fire, chug absinthe, and speed dial Eiko Ishioka. He'd sketch until the last of the words had turned to ash and only his drawings remained*. The end. 

*not his real process.

Whether you live happily ever after from watching his movies depends on what you go to the movies for. [Continue]

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Linkbender

Stale Popcorn awww. our friend Glenn held a Titanic Oscar.
Guardian fun old interview with Helena Bonham Carter from her first film The Lady Jane (1986)
The Mary Sue new Dr. Horrible Sing-Along films this summer? Maybe.
Prometheus the full second trailer. Not doing a "yes no maybe so" because we already covered this one.
Tom Shone is not looking forward to Prometheus and here's why.

ioncinema Laurence Anyways trailer (in French) and posters. I love Xavier Dolan so I'm excited for this on principle if not quite in actuality.
Telegraph Tim Robey on George Clooney's arrest.
Movie|Line takes a different approach with the 9 most handsomely stoic photos of Clooney from the Sudan event.
In Contention Christopher Plummer in Barrymore... his stage triumph is going big screen this fall.
Antagony & Ecstacy is doing a 1930s week with fine pieces on Leo McCarey (Make Way For Tomorrow) and early horror (Island of Lost Souls) with more to come.
Deadline Scorsese & DiCaprio committed to making The Wolf of Wall Street.
Immersed in Movies has a strange bit about Krypton mythology in the upcoming Superman movie Man of Steel... but since it's about costume design we're intrigued.

My New Plaid Pants (NSFW) has been having a ton of fun wrapping up 2011 cinema with the Golden Trouser awards including "ten great gratuities of 2011 cinema" ... Michael Fassbender keeps popping up and also wins Best Actor.
Hollywood Prospectus surveys the week in celebrity gossip. Minimal commentary pointing to the ridiculous.
The Broadway Blog interviews ubiquitous out actor Denis O'Hare of stage, film and television and grills him cheekily at the end about all the hot men he works with. Who is crush worthy?

Crush-worthy….hmmmmm. I’d have to go with Jamie Bell. Mysterious."

Good choice, O'Hare.

Finally...
Check out this Snow White and the Hunstmen featurette on Costume Design. We're campaigning for 2012 Oscars so soon?

Will the queen's costume's alone win Collen Atwood her 10th nomination -- even before those dual armies?

All in all she's quite the haute couture sort of queen but with an aged rotting edge to her."

We like the sound of those... especially with diva Charlize Theron inside of them.

John Carter Vs... ?

In tribute to my friend JA who always gives good lulz with "which is hotter"... a few loincloth-offs (hmmm) between John Carter (reviewed) and his screen ancestors. You decide.

Criss-cross sci-fantasy menswear

poll by twiigs.com

 
excuse my typo there. Sean Connery. I'd fix it but then the poll would reset to zero. We can't have that and you know what I meant.

Emergency gun-manning in the desert whilst wearing only reddish loinclothes and boots!

poll by twiigs.com

Face paint and/or face blood* is a must have when calling your troops to war!

poll by twiigs.com

 *They bleed blue on Barsoom, bitches.

The Girl With the CDG Statue

Awwwww, Clint Eastwood looks so happy at the Costume Design Guild Awards. They were honoring Deborah Hopper (second from left) and the man himself with their "Distinguished Collaborator" Award. (Many of the guilds like to honor directors outside their own profession at their particular ceremonies... but we like this joint award definition since films are such team efforts.) 

This photo is giving me such 2003 flashbacks with Mystic River's Marcia Gay Harden and The Last Samurai's Ken Watanabe all snuggled up with Clint and Deborah.

Strangely Hopper has never been Oscar nominated despite working with such an Oscar magnetized director. Not even those cloche hats from Changeling won her a shortlist spot. She's been working with Clint since Space Cowboys (2000).

This year's winners, more photos, and a fun "Revenge" moment after the jump.

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6 Days Till Oscar. Remember When...?

Remember when costume designer extraordinary Sandy Powell won her third Oscar for Young Victoria and she was so over it, dedicating it to costume designers on contemporary films who never get recognized? That was kind of great and terrible simultaneously.

Um. I already have two of these."

Sandy Powell is one of the greatest designers in the history of the movies, previously winning for The Aviator (2004) and Shakespeare in Love (1998). But if you ask me she won her first for the wrong film. She beat herself in 1998 as she was double nominated. Velvet Goldmine. Come on.

Winning for the Aviator (2004) and Shakespeare in Love (1998)Do you think Powell can pull off Oscar number four on Sunday?

Consider...

• Oscar loves period pieces, the older the period the better, which gives Anonymous and Jane Eyre the edge.
• Oscar loves gorgeous costume work and a whole unmistakable heap of them, which gives Arianne Phillips work on W.E. the edge. 
• Oscar loves royalty porn which gives Anonymous and W.E. the edge. 
• Oscar loves Best Picture frontrunners which gives The Artist the edge. 
• Oscar loves Sandy Powell and Best Picture nominees in general which gives Hugo the edge.

With such a wide range of possibilities that might be attractive to the voters, I'm guessing it's a five way race which slides this over into the win column for The Artist. But you never know on the below the line categories. Weird things can occur.

Jane Eyre. Formidable competition? Tough to say.

OH. I ALMOST FORGOT. Here are my costume design nominees! which completes the traditional Oscar-like categories in The Film Experience's annual Film Bitch Awards so I've added in the tallies at the end of that page. I'll announce my winners tomorrow I think. Let me sleep on the tough calls.

I'll also start the Final Oscar Predictions tomorrow. Wheeeee, we're almost there.