The Real Jersey Shore . . .

It's not often that I post a review on a movie or television show. I've done it a few times, and only when the I feel strongly enough about the subject to actually tell other people to watch it. I've seen lots of movies and shows I've liked. But there aren't many that I've loved enough to recommend.

As you can probably guess from the banner, I'm posting about HBO's Boardwalk Empire. Based on the book of the same name by Nelson Johnson, the show takes you back to 1920, just as America put WWI behind it and decided to ban booze. Centered around a cast of familiar and fictional characters, each episode features figures like Arnold Rothstein, Lucky Luciano, and Al Capone, and shows just how pivotal the little city by the ocean could be when the country was run by the men who controlled liquor.

 At the heart of the show is an incredible turn by one of my favorite actors, Steve Buscemi, as Enoch "Nucky" Thompson. He's based on the real Atlantic City official Nucky Johnson, but for whatever reason, Terrence Winter decided to change his name and leave everything else intact. Nucky is still conniving, calculating, and utterly in control, literally deciding who lives and dies in his city when it comes to gambling, prostitution, and most of all, liquor import and export. Because of Atlantic City's placement and Nucky's hold on the city's politics, it was a rare opportunity for one man to get incredible power.

This could make the character into a monster, but Buscemi manages to play him with charm, charisma, and a little self-effacing humor. You find yourself rooting for Nucky even after he orders his brother, a police chief, to kill a witness. You root for him because you see him turn around and save a woman from her abusive husband, and at the same moment try to get his protege off the hook for murder. Buscemi brings a lot of humanity to the role, and though he seems to understand that he is not an ideal leading man, he takes command of the screen and makes you watch.

The real star, of course, is the boardwalk. HBO couldn't find locations in New Jersey that looked enough like America in the '20's, so they built their entire set from scratch in Brooklyn. And, it almost feels like a set as the extras walk through it, but in the case the feel is absolutely appropriate: Atlantic City in 1920 was all about the show, with flashing lights and over-sized signs everywhere. If you want to see where America's love with huge billboards really started, look no further.

 And, you knew I had to do it: I have to talk about the costumes. Costume designer John Dunn has combined newly built costumes with extant garments to produce a really beautiful production. Colors are vibrant, tailoring is impeccable, and everything hangs perfectly. He even, where possible, used fabrics from the 1920's to construct new garments, though using old fabrics and garment pieces meant that there was certainly a problem with clothing disintegrating right off the actors!

The suits, in particular, are gorgeous. Pinstripes and tweeds, plaids and herringbones, they are all built for the actors and tailored to perfection. Rothstein and Nucky's suits in particular are amazing, but I challenge you to find any suit that hangs poorly on this show!

And, the women's clothing is pretty extraordinary too, unsurprisingly. From the common shop workers to the showgirls and flappers (not yet called that, of course!), the silks, velvets, wools, and satins are simply beautiful. I'm fairly itching to make a '20's ensemble myself now!

Yes, Atlanic City in 1920 was risque and off-color. It was dangerous and immoral. And, boy, does it look like fun. I for one will keep watching, and I hope a few of you reading this who might be on the fence about trying it will tune in this Sunday.  You won't regret it. But, bring your dancing shoes and make sure to leave the hooch at home; they got plenty where you're going.

 

All images courtesy HBO

Found . . .

Warning: Do not read this if you haven't watched the finale! Spoilers!

For six years, I've watched the castaways on Lost struggle through every sort of obstacle imaginable. I was there when the show was great; I watched it while the story floundered and viewership fell away. And I was relieved when it got good again, when it had me glued to the seat and scratching my head after every episode, transfixed by something so different, so fascinatingly original, I knew it would never be duplicated. And, I was watching every Tuesday this last season, knowing it was coming to an end.

I know last night's finale will polarize fans. It will piss people off. There is a little bit of the whole "Dallas-Bobby's-Dream" quality to the ultimate resolution. But, I thought it was beautiful and perfect, and I was utterly satisfied with the conclusion. I was not confused, as many seem to be today; it made absolute, graceful sense to me.

The island was purgatory. The people who came there weren't ready to go on yet. They had to stay and become who they were meant to, find each other, grow up, fall in love, figure out who they were supposed to be. They were all lost people, alone, foundering. When they fought so hard to get away, at the end of last season, they created the Sideways world, where they got to explore the life the could have had if they hadn't crashed and resolve their issues finally, using everything they had learned on the island. They finally had the chance to let go. This season was all about balance and letting go. In fact, the series has been about that, with black and white, good and evil, pushing a button or not pushing it, believing or questioning. There was a lot of faith in Lost. I'm glad I spent six years with them. I know nothing like this will ever come around again.

The final image will stay with me a long time: the beach, with the downed Oceanic flight 815 just like in the pilot, but as it really was. Silent. No survivors.

Not lost any longer.

The Science of Storms and a Really Big Boat . . .

This Saturday Tabitha and I stopped at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago to see their new permanent exhibit, Science Storms. It was full to bursting and with good reason; there was certainly a lot to see and do;)

One of the first things you'll see is the perpetual avalanche made up of ever swirling and falling garnet dust and glass particles; it made me feel like I was looking at a sand storm on Mars. Then, you're hit with the 40-foot vortex, simulating a tornado, and a long tank full of water that creates a small tsunami every few minutes. These are just a few of the more than 50 mostly interactive experiments and displays in the exhibit. 

These are the three ripple tanks that can be controlled from the balcony above. It was fun to watch people step into the rippling light and try to figure out where it was coming from;)

The exhibit covered fire and lightning too, as well as sunlight and energy currents, all contributors to weather.

I had to get a picture of some of the very cool, steampunk-esque antique weather and electrical instruments.

 The 40-foot high vortex tornado.

The most amazing thing (in my opinion) in the exhibit was the 20-foot Tesla Coil suspended over our heads. Roughly every 15 minutes the Tesla Coil would go off, and believe me, wherever you were in the exhibit (or, indeed, in the museum) you stopped to look over. You have to respect electricity so powerful you can hear it.

Of course, we stopped by Main Street, but no ice cream that day; the line was out the door!

Then, it was on to the massive U-505, a real captured German U-boat from WWII. I tried to captured the scope of just how big this thing truly was, but you would have to be standing next to it to truly appreciate it. Captured in 1944, it is the only German submarine in US soil, and now stands as a memorial to those killed at sea during WWI and II.

It was also our first opportunity to take A's tour; he works as a guide on the U-505, and the tour inside the submarine with its timed light and sound cues was quite effective and pretty cool as well. The capture of the U-505 gave the Allies their first look at a lot of German technology and probably shortened the war by several months, saving countless lives. If you have the chance, I highly recommend getting tickets for the tour, but come early!

All in all, our trip was a lot of fun. I usually say that MSI is not my museum; I'm much more a Field Museum girl, with its pyramid and dinosaur bones. But, I enjoyed the excursion, and I'm looking forward to going back to catch the exhibits I might have missed.

What about you, dear readers? What's your favorite museum?

Oscar Fashion Review (the Unfortunates) . . . .

There are always those who take a red carpet risk and pay for it. I definitely saw a few out last night at the Academy Awards.

Sarah Jessica Parker can always be counted on to be daring in her style choices, and often I applaud her for that. But, last night? That bizarre Chanel sack with the strange neck strap was equalled only by her bed-head; the back was perfectly coiffed, but the front looked a little "There's Something About Mary". The whole look aged her about 20 years. And, Miley Cyrus not only wore a bland cream dress from Jenny Packham, she could not stand up straight! The entire night! I wanted to grab her shoulders and roll them back!

Diane Kruger, you are gorgeous. Why would you do this to yourself? There is nothing flattering about this Chanel Couture dress. And, Charlize, usually so elegant and beautiful, seems to be sporting lavender roses over each boob in this dress from Dior, and it is not a great idea.

I'm not sure what I like less about Virginia Madsen's look: the matronly dress or the school-teacher hair. Then, there's Rachel McAdams; from the pale hair to the boring watercolor Elie Saab dress, she just looked washed-out and unmemorable.

I liked the idea of Jennifer Lopez's Armani Prive dress, but I couldn't stop thinking about the fabric being the same stuff they use in little girls' faery wings; that iridescent plasticky sheer. Dear Tina Fey and Elizabeth Banks: your are funny, beautiful women. Don't do this to yourselves again. Sincerely, me. Those Michael Kors and Versace dresses did not do you any favors.

Maggie Gyllenhaal always takes a risk on the red carpet, and I usually don't like what she chooses. This Dries van Noten dress was actually pretty tame by comparison, but I still felt the print was too casual for the night.

Those are my picks for my least favorite looks last night. Now, it's time for you to weigh in:

What did you think of the fashion at last night's Oscars?

Oscar Fashion Review . . .

It was certainly a sparkly night in Hollywood last night.

The 82nd Academy Awards is always one of the best oportunities to see what the next big trends in fashion are going to be, and last night was no exception. The verdict? Lots of wrapped, draped dresses, lots of mermaid shapes, and lots of bling.

Some of my favorite looks from the night: (above) Zoe Saldana wearing a very interesting purple number from Givenchy that I suspect is going to polarize the critics; it looks a little like a party decoration at the bottom, but I still think she pulled it off. Amanda Seyfried looked elegant and beautiful in Armani Prive, especially when standing next to co-presenter Miley Cyrus who needed some serious lessons in posture.

Gabourey Sidibe looked gorgeous, rocking it in a blue Marchesa gown, and I hope she holds out against the Hollywood machine that will start working on her to slim down to a size six, or something. Demi Moore's Atelier Versace dress was lovely, but a little too close to her skin color. Still, I liked it.

Wow, Queen Latifah. Beautiful. And, Sigorney? You can still bring it, and you do in this Lanvin number.

Pale colors were everywhere (with a few notable exceptions). Anna Kendrick's pale pink dress from Elie Saab was girly without making me want to gag; even the little roses and the lace arounnd the leg slit were well done. I love Sandra Bullock's Marchesa dress, but then, I'm always in her corner (even when she does movies like All About Steve).

I suspect Vera Farmiga's Marchesa dress is another one that will polarize the critics. I'm not even sure how I feel about it, but it was a rare pop of color in a night dominated by whites, peaches, greys and blacks, so I had to stick it up here. Love it or hate it, it's daring. Helen Mirren in Badgley Mischka. I want to look that classy when I'm her age.

Cameron Diaz, more often than not, looks fabulous on the red carpet, and last night was no exception. I can see knockoffs of this Oscar de la Renta dress being ordered. And, Penelope Cruz can always be counted on to wear something impeccable and bright in this Donna Karan gown.

All in all, a pretty good night for films, and a good night for fashion. Stick around for my reviews of what I felt were the worst looks of the night . . .

What do you think, dear readers? Agree with my picks for the Best Dressed?