Right: Lady Gaga & Matt Bomer in American Horror Story – Hotel
Left (inset): Ewan mcGregor in Fargo
My Latest list, of quick write ups, on IMDB:-
Modern (seasonal) Anthology Series on Television
(Link:- http://www.imdb.com/list/ls020472233/)
Nuwan Sen’s TV Sense
Long before Lady Gaga, back in the punk 80’s, you had singers like Madonna, Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper and of course Prince (among many others)!! And prior to that, glam rock stars such as Gary Glitter, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, et al; and even earlier, pianist, Liberace. Prince wasn’t the first, nor will he be the last, of the flamboyant celebrities with a unique sense of style, and great talent.
Prince (1958-2016)!! You shall be missed!! Being a kid of the 80’s, I grew up listening to your music. Unfortunately, haven’t watched any of your movies. But I ought to. One of the most popular singers ever, of the Pop scene. May you rest in peace.
Prince (born as Prince Rogers Nelson), aged 57, succumbed to Pneumonia, after battling the flu, since the beginning of this month. He was found dead, yesterday morning, in the elevator, at his Paisley Park complex, USA.
To one of the greatest artistes ever!! Prince, shall live forever through his music!!
Nuwan Sen n’ Musical Greats!!
The 88th Annual Academy Awards came and went. Leo finally won an Oscar; although this wasn’t the film, I wanted Leo to win an Oscar for (see my post Oscar White, from February 2016, on my website nu Sense on Film); YET, I was genuinely happy for him, when he won (’Twas about time!!), for The Revenant (2015). Besides the great Oscar wins, and some unpleasant surprises [Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), won an Oscar for ‘Best Costumes’; I was like “What Costumes???”, and Sam Smith and James Napier were awarded for, the not so melodic song, “Writing’s On The Wall”, from Spectre (2015); chosen over, Lady Gaga’s, perfect Oscar song, “Til It Happens to You” – of which she gave a brilliantly touching performance on stage, at the Oscar ceremony itself, from the documentary, The Hunting Ground (2015)]; the next best thing about the show, is the arrivals of the glitterati, in their glamorous attire; on the famous Red Carpet. So here are my TOP – 10, favourites, among the actresses (it’s generally hard to differentiate male attire), from this year’s, controversial Oscar ceremony. Chris Rock did a fine job of hosting the show!!
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No.1 – Cate Blanchett, seen here, with Carol (2015), director Todd Haynes; and inset, with co-star from the same movie, Rooney Mara (both Blanchett and Mara were nominated for an Oscar) appeared in a fairy tale style, bluish evening dress. She looked exceptionally regal, that day.
No.2 – Lady Gaga!! Oscar nominee, Lady Gaga, once notorious for her weirdly unique appearances, came dressed like a real ‘Lady’. A class apart, I loved her elegant white trouser n’ robe combo. My favourite Lady Gaga outfit, so far.
No.3 – Alicia Vikander [who won the Oscar, for ‘Best Supporting Actress’, for The Danish Girl (2015)] looked really adorable, in her Mellow Yellow outfit. That 50’s style dress, along with Vikander’s perky sweetness, made her seem like a young Audrey Hepburn, in her heydays.
No.4 – Sexy n’ Simple; Priyanka Chopra looked dazzling, in her white lace attire, teamed up with diamonds. The way she wore the dress, it felt like she were wearing a lace saree. Chopra carried it really well. One of my favourite Bollywood stars, of today, who’s been making big strides, in the music world, as well as on, American Soap Opera’s .
No.5 – Simply Charming; in a red hot number, Charlize Theron, with her ‘open heart surgery’ type, plunging neckline, was to die for.
No.6 – Margot Robbie; seen here with Jared Leto (who himself looked dashing in a, black & Maroon, tux, sporting a flower, for a bow); looked as glamorous as ever, in a gold dress, with long sleeves, and another deep neckline.
No.7 – Brie Larson, going through jet lag, seen here with last year’s ‘Best Actor’ Oscar Winner, Eddie Redmayne; who handed her, this year’s ‘Best Actress’ trophy, for Room (2015); looked bewitchingly beautiful in a blue frilly dress. Glowing with maternal love, Larson, high-fived her little co-star, 9 year old, Jacob Tremblay, before collecting her Oscar.
No.8 – British actress, Sophie Turner, whose work, am not that familiar with, looked stunning in a soft shade of silver.
No.9 – Tina Fey’s purely royal purple evening gown, was spot on. She looked every bit an imperial head (of Hollywood, at least).
No.10 – Oscar nominee, Saoirse Ronan, looked patriotically grandeur, representing her Irish roots, in an enviously glittering dark green. She was nominated for playing the lead in Brooklyn (2015), a movie that deals with an Irish immigrant, arriving in The States, in the 1950’s. She lost out to actress, Brie Larson.
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So here are my Top Ten favourites, among the femme fashion, at this year’s red carpet. Which was your favourite outfit? And what was your favourite Oscar moment??
Nuwan Sen’s Film Sense
Nuwan Sen’s Fashion Sense
#NuwanSensFilmSense (NSFS)
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The Arrivals
As I’ve been doing for the last few years, being a true Film buff, I woke up early, on 23rd of February, 2015, to catch the 87th Annual Academy Awards ceremony LIVE. The 87th Annual Academy Awards was held on the evening of 22nd February 2015, i.e. 23rd early morning, on this side of the Globe.
As I switched on the tele, at 5:30 a.m., the glitterati of Hollywood’s elite sashayed in, in their glamorous attire. The best dressed actresses of the evening included J-Lo, Emma Stone, Lupita Nyong’o, Marion Cotillard, Keira Knightley, Felicity Jones, Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laura Dern, Scarlett Johansson, Rosamund Pike, et al. Among the gents, Neil Patrick Harris, stole the show, when he walked in on the Red Carpet, dressed in a stunning tux, with his husband, David Burtka, walking behind him. Well, most of the male stars were smartly dressed, from director Richard Linklater and his young protégé, Ellar Coltrane, to actors Michael Keaton, Jared Leto, Chiwetel Ejiofor, David Oyelowo, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort and Kevin Hart, to musicians Hans Zimmer and Adam Levine. Best moment on the Red carpet was the typical Mother/Daughter tiff, with veteran Melanie Griffith and daughter Dakota Johnson, where Johnson came on harsh on her poor mother, and Griffith seemed slightly hurt. Yet, it made them so normal. Poor Mother.
Neil Patrick Harris, Hosting the Oscars, 2015
I enjoyed the show as well, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. Though I agree, that he wasn’t the best person to host the Oscars, he wasn’t among the worst either, the way he’s been criticized about on social media. True, I agree that one of his gags was ill-timed. When; dressed in a black, pom-pom laden, elegant, evening gown; filmmaker Dana Perry; who was awarded for ‘Best Short Documentary’ for Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 (2013); dedicated the Oscar to her son, who had committed suicide, Patrick Harris quipped that ‘‘It takes a lot of balls to wear a dress like that’’. Neil Patrick Harris, here, wasn’t being witty, but pretty foolish and unsympathetic. But besides that; and walking in ¾ naked, in tiny-whities, onto the stage, as a parody to Birdman (2014), the movie which ended up taking home the Oscar for ‘Best Picture’; I generally enjoyed the show, despite a few dry jokes, Mr. Harris came up with. I actually enjoyed the gag with the briefcase, he tasked Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer, to guard throughout the night. I didn’t think he was being racist, nor did I feel he was making fun of her weight. Of course, the gag ended up pretty silly, when he finally opened up the case. I even enjoyed the joke with the seat fillers, and Steve Carell.
Among the performances of the night, the one I enjoyed most, was Lady Gaga paying tribute to Julie Andrews, Maria Von Trapp and The Sound of Music (1965), for this musical’s 50th anniversary. Known for her shock value, with her, eccentric and weird, yet authentic and aesthetic, sense of style, Lady Gaga, stunned audiences at the Oscars, in her vintage gown, looking very much a graceful sophisticated lady of elegance and class, as the world has never witnessed her before. Added to which, she sure has a healthy pair of lungs, and sang all the mesmerising songs from the classic movie to perfection. Lady Gaga is no doubt one of the most popular pop stars, since Madonna and Michael Jackson, to grace the face of earth. But her popularity, has more to do with her unique image, she’s created for her self, than her music. Touching was the scene, when Dame Julie Andrews, with her face radiating pure warmth and kindness, walked onto the stage and thanked Lady Gaga, embracing her. This powerful performance of Lady Gaga, definitely should have elevated her status, with the elitist, adding to her already great fan base.
Another great performance of the night, was the tribute to Martin Luther King jr.’s long march for voting rights, from 50 years ago, as well. The song ‘Glory’, from the film Selma (2014), was performed by John Legend and Lonnie Lynn (Common), on stage, which ended up bagging the Oscar for ‘Best Original Song’, that night. The song got a standing ovation, with a teary eyed David Oyelowo, looking on. Oprah Winfrey gave Oyelowo a hug to console him. It was very a touching moment as well.
Thus, though Neil Patrick Harris, wasn’t among the better Oscar hosts, the evening (at day time here) was enjoyable enough.
Winners as Predicted
As I had hoped, Eddie Redmayne won the ‘Best Actor’ Oscar (See my post Redmayne ‘is’ Hawking, in the new bio-pic on Stephen Hawking from earlier this month), for his brilliant performance as Stephen Hawking, in The Theory of Everything (2014). Interstellar (2014), grabbing the award for ‘Best Visual Effects’, was another plus for me. The Special effects were truly spectacular, as was the movie, for a change. Movies now a days, with great computer graphics, rarely tend to be great films as well (see my post The Big Screen – Films Down Under from November 2014). Patricia Arquette winning the ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for Boyhood (2014), was as anticipated. She deserved the Oscar, for brilliantly showcasing a difficult stage of, 12 years of, ‘motherhood’, in the beginning of the 21st century, in my favourite movie from last year, so far (see my post In-flight Entertainment from November 2014). Though Ethan Hawke, too, was nominated for Boyhood, I didn’t think his role was great enough for him to win the Oscar. I hadn’t really predicted as to who might win, until Lupita Nyong’o announced the nominees, showcasing their talent on screen. As soon as I saw the scene with J. K. Simmons and Miles Teller, from Whiplash (2014), I guessed Simmons might take home the trophy, even though I hadn’t seen the movie. And so he did, end up winning the ‘Best Supporting Actor’ Oscar. Once I saw the performance of the song ‘Glory’ from Selma, on the stage at the Oscars (as I’ve mentioned above), I expected it to win for ‘Best Original Song’, and it did.
Unpredicted Winners
The unexpected winners, happened to be, movies I haven’t seen yet. Like for instance, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), which grabbed four Oscars, including for ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Director’ – to Alejandro G. Iñárritu, ‘Best Original Screenplay’, and ‘Best Cinematography’- to Emmanuel Lubezki. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) bagging four Oscars as well, was a total surprise. Whiplash won three. Citizenfour (2014), won ‘Best Documentary’. Citizenfour is based on and the United States, National Security Agency (NSA) spying scandal, of 2013, with regard to, former NSA contractor and American computer professional, Edward Snowden, who leaked classified information from the NSA to the mainstream media, back in June 2013. Snowdon currently lives in exile, under temporary asylum, in Russia. Am really keen on checking out this documentary.
The ‘Best Actress’ Oscar. Though, Felicity Jones from The Theory of Everything was nominated for ‘Best Actress’, I didn’t feel she’d win. And I wasn’t sure who’d win. Am a great fan of French actress, Marion Cotillard, yet I haven’t seen Two Days, One Night (2014), so I couldn’t judge. Thus when Julianne Moore won the ‘Best Actress’ Oscar, for Still Alice (2014), another film I haven’t seen, though unexpected, it wasn’t a surprise either. In fact, I would have been surprised, if Felicity Jones did win. She was great in the movie, but her role as Hawking’s wife wasn’t exactly Oscar worthy.
Among others:
‘Best Foreign Language Film’ to Paweł Pawlikowski’s Polish film, Ida (2013).
‘Best Animated Short Film’ to Patrick Osborne’s Feast (2014).
‘Best Live Action Short Film’ to The Phone Call (2013).
‘Best Short Documentary’ to The Crisis Hotline: Veterans Press 1 (as mentioned above).
‘Best Animated Feature Film’ to Big Hero 6 (2014)
‘Best Sound Editing’ to American Sniper (2014)
‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ to Graham Moore, for The Imitation Game (2014). Moore gave a heart whelming speech, regarding his youth.
Mr. Turner (2014), Unbroken (2014), Foxcatcher (2014), Inherent Vice (2014), and the neo-noir crime thriller, Nightcrawler (2014), not winning a single Oscar, though I haven’t watched any of them.
Boyhood (2014)
The Best Film from last year, I’ve seen so far (NSFS)
Biggest Oscar Disappointment of the night
I was really disappointed when Boyhood didn’t win for ‘Best Picture’, along with a ‘Best Director’ Oscar for Richard Linklater. Although I haven’t seen Birdman, which I’d love to, Boyhood is a unique experience, rich in it’s context and an innovative study of family life today. A movie that shall age well, maturing as time goes by, and be remembered as one of the best movies, to ever come out of the 21st century. A film that film students would love to dissect and analyse. Richard Linklater has proved to be a true genius, through Boyhood.
But when Linklater lost out to, Birdman’s Alejandro G. Iñárritu, for ‘Best Director’, I had a hunch, that Boyhood might lose out to Birdman, yet again, for the Best Picture’ Oscar, for Year 2015. Sad!!
Another disappointment, was when Hans Zimmer’s hauntingly beautiful score for Interstellar was passed on, for the ‘Best Original Score’ award, to Alexandre Desplat’s background score, for The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Besides these two, one other disappointment, that didn’t even make it to the Oscars, was, that Fury (2014), though an excellent war film, made with a unique sense of realism, was unfortunately, not even nominated in any of the categories. It might not have won any award anyway, but should have been nominated for it’s storyline, and various technical categories, at least, if not in the main categories (see my post The Big Screen – Films Down Under from November 2014).
Honorary & Humanitarian Awards
Hollywood legend, Maureen O’Hara; Japanese Director, Hayao Miyazaki; and French screenwriter & actor, Jean-Claude Carrière; were awarded the Honorary Awards, this year, as was the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, to singer/actor, Harry Belafonte.
With end of the month of February, Oscar Season 2015 comes to an end.
Nuwan Sen’s Film Sense
Nuwan Sen n’ The Oscars
Nuwan Sen’s Film Sense
Nuwan Sen n’ The Oscars
Being a true Film Buff, I woke up early today morning to catch the Oscars Live, at 5:30 am here, beginning with the fashionable elite of the film world, sashaying in, in their best. Altogether, the Red Carpet and the Award function, went on till 10:30 am. A very elegant and classy affair.
Enjoyed the show hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. Birdman (2014) bagged the BEST PICTURE Oscar, a movie I haven’t watched, but would love to.
All in all a fun evening. Shall do a proper post on this later. For the time being let the pictures do the talking.
Congratulations to all the Oscar winners of 2015, for their incredible work from last year.
Nuwan Sen’s Film Sense
No Nonsense with Nuwan Sen 