Grammys 2015: Best and Worst Dressed

Greetings readers, hello and welcome to a fabulous new entry! Today, I'm going to once again become one with my inner fashionista and grace you all with my fabulous opinions. We all know that award show season is a very exciting time, and let's face it, the frocks are everyone's favourite parts. Is judging celebrities based on what they wear a tad superficial and go against what I should stand for? Yes. However, is it also super fun? 100%. Introduction sorted, let's get into the judgement . . .

Best and Worst Dressed

Best Dressed

Anna Kendrick

Considering that for me, wearing pants is about as bad as life can get, putting Anna Kendrick on my list really is a big deal. I know really that, in essence, it's just a shirtless suit, but it looks like so much more than that. She just looks so classy I can't even deal. Ugh, I don't know, it just works! It's perfectly tailored, and Anna looks super duper awesome! Maybe it's just my 'Into the Woods' feels seeping in, but I feel like she really nailed this red carpet moment. 

Ariana Grande

There's no denying that Ariana really brought it on the red carpet. It's fun, there's an element of sparkle, and overall, she just looks really fabulous! I don't want to be too bold, but I think Ariana might in fact be my best dressed for the whole night! Compared to last year, this is simply a masterpiece. Honestly, nothing I can fault at all. I don't think anyone would've had a 'problem' with this frock (I'm sorry, I just had to). 

Jhene Aiko

I may not know who this chick is at all, but I do know she knows how to dress. I seriously love this ensemble so much! It almost looks like it could be a costume from a production of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' (in the absolute bets way possible). The bodice looks almost as if it's been constructed from flower petals or something, and we all know there's no topping that. It's just so feminine and pixie-like that I can't help loving this dress! Overall, a major success for Jhene.

Jessie J

Jessie certainly dressed to impress on this red carpet. This frock really is super awesome! It perhaps could've been too gothic if the adornment at the top of the dress had gone any further, however this ended up definitely not being the case. She looks sophisticated, and all kinds of fabulous, which is really all one could hope to achieve on a Grammys red carpet. Altogether, an amazing ensemble!

Gwen Stefani

Once again, someone dressed in pants has made my list! Either I've totally become overwrought with stress after starting back at school and lost some significant brain cells, or people were totally making pants work at the Grammys this year (fingers crossed it's the latter!). Gwen's already known for her slightly edgy fashion choices, so this not only allows her personality to come across, but just looks terrific. There's 'no doubt' this is a winner (wow I'm totally on a roll!). 

Worst Dressed

Rihanna

I'm sorry, but this just doesn't work. At all. I'm all for dressing up as a princess, don't get me wrong, but this is just ridiculous. Yes, pink is my absolute favourite colour, but somehow, Rihanna managed to make it look 50 shades of awful. From the neck up she looks great, but then unfortunately the entire dress looks like a gross, puffy lampshade, which let's face it, is flattering on absolutely no one. I'm sorry Rihanna, but you need to fire your stylist effective immediately. 

Charlie XCX

What even is this? I'm sorry, I just need a moment. I mean, I just I don't understand this outfit! Why would someone even consider rocking up to anything dressed like this, let alone the Grammys? Okay, first of all, the only people who can get away with wearing white suits are pimps, and secondly, what kind of dead animal carcass is she wrapping around herself? There is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing positive about this ensemble. I'm sorry, but this is awful.

Madonna

I'm sorry, but what would posses someone, especially someone as big as Madonna, to come to the Grammys dressed as a Spanish matador/part time dominatrix? I understand that sometimes people like to take fashion risks, but come on, this was never going to work out. Maybe she thinks she needs to make a statement on the carpet, but this seriously isn't the right one to make. I don't even know what I can say besides the fact that it's utterly awful and shouldn't exist, because it's just too hideous for words really. Note to self Madonna, this really isn't a good way to get noticed. 

Ciara

If I'm being honest, I'm not entirely sure who Ciara is, and after this disastrous frock, I don't think I really want to know. Seriously, what is happening to the world? Who in their right mind would think that this is at all aesthetically pleasing? The answer is no one. Yet somehow, Ciara thought it would be a great idea to rock up in this concoction. She looks like a dishevelled creature who has escaped from the wild, and trust me when I say that is not a compliment. I'm sorry Ciara, but it's a definite no from me.

Joy Villa

Once again, I seriously have no idea who this chick is, but I certainly do know that she shouldn't ever leave the house dressed like this again. I'm sorry, but why? There's absolutely no way that anyone ever could like this dress. Occasionally on my worst dressed list I'll have outfits that split opinions, some people thinking it's hideous while others choosing to think it's 'fashion forward', but let's face it, there's no argument over this one, it's just horrible. She looks like a fish who's accidentally been caught up in a safety net at the beach, not to mention the little, matching head piece she decided to stick on top. Seriously Joy, you're not Lady Gaga, there's no getting away with this. 

So that's officially the end of my post! Hopefully you agreed with my judgement and possibly found some fashion inspiration. If not, let's just hope the worst dressed list was entertaining enough. Til' next time . . .

Annabel xx

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello blogosphere, and Happy Valentine's Day to all! I'm not gonna lie, I don't think much of this holiday at all, but that doesn't mean I'm going to refuse the opportunity to grace you all with a new blog post. So today, in a slightly cynical fashion, to celebrate this day of romance, I've decided to list some of the worst and most embarrassing Valentine's Day stories known to man. Sound good? I think yes. So without further ado, may I introduce to you these stories from hell . . .

1. Cheesecake Dilemma

The first story is from somebody called Teresa Tree, and she says that on Valentine's Day, instead of getting the usual things like flowers or wine, her husband of 3 years got her cheesecake. Sure, that doesn't sound too bad, in fact, it actually sounds pretty great, except for the fact that she's lactose intolerant and highly allergic to eggs, soy and milk. They divorced later that year. Coincidence? I think not.

2. Used Ankle Boots

Nothing says romance like second hand footwear. According to Michelle Carillo, her high school boyfriend thought that purchasing some used ankle boots was the best way to go about ensuring that love is in the air. I mean, he even went to the trouble of coating them in shoe polish, how fancy is that? Let's face it, nothing says love like presents from a yard sale. 

3. Bad Chicken

Just a heads up, this story gets ugly very quickly. This girl's story starts off well when her boyfriend offers to make her a home cooked meal consisting of chicken stuffed with cheese and vegetables. Sounds pretty nice right? Wrong. After they've finished eating, he begins to feel sick, and spends the rest of their Valentine's night in the bathroom vomiting until about 4am. Wow, there's nothing like Salmonella to kill the mood. So remember boys and girls, the moral of the story is to always wash your hands when you cook chicken (and that's coming from a vegetarian).

4. Slimming Club Membership

I think we can all feel what's coming with this one. On Valentine's Day, Naomi Brash's date showed up at her door, no, not with flowers or chocolate, but with a slimming club membership card. Well this one pretty much takes the cake. I mean, offensive much? Really, word to the wise people, this is not a good move. Any bets on how long that relationship lasted?

5. Ironing Woes

Before we begin, prepare to lose all of your faith in humanity. In Melinda Cooksey's sad tale, she says that when she showed up to her boyfriend's apartment with a nice new shirt, he gave her an ironing kit as a gift, and promptly requested that she iron it for him. I mean, newsflash, this isn't the 50's, sexism isn't cool anymore. This really isn't a great way to get in the romantic mood. Understandably, they broke up the next day. 

6. Fast Food

There's nothing like the smell of a fast food establishment to get you in the mood, right? According to Denise, her boyfriend's grand gift to her was dinner at a fast food joint of her choice. If I'm being totally honest, that wouldn't exactly be the worst thing in the world. But wait, there's more. Turns out, he conveniently forgot his wallet at home, and therefore she ended up paying for it all. 

Congratulations, we've now reached the end of my relatively anti-Valentine's Day post! You can now all be comforted by the fact that no matter what happens today, it can't get any worse than this. Til' next time . . .

Annabel xx

'White Bird in a Blizzard' Review (with GIF's!)

Well readers, it seems like I'm back once again with a new blog post for you all! As you've probably come to terms with by now, I am quite the movie enthusiast. Like seriously, I'll watch anything. My hard drive movie collection is actually getting ridiculously big, and so I thought considering I'm watching so much, why not blog about a bit of it and grace you all with some opinionated ranting? Today, I'll be turning your attention to the relatively recent drama-thriller 'White Bird in a Blizzard'. Was I impressed? Is it worth a watch? Continue reading to find out.

As with pretty much every film I've taken the time and effort to review on here, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Going in, I didn't really know what to expect at all, so was definitely pleasantly surprised to find that it was so much better than your standard fare. I saw the first trailer just shy of a year ago, and made a mental note to keep an eye out for it at the cinemas when it came out. But low and behold, Australia sucks and we never got it out here, so that plan didn't exactly pan out the way I'd hoped. Nevertheless, the internet came to the rescue in the end, and I was able to discover the true awesomeness of this movie for myself.

The film begins as we immediately discover that when protagonist Kat Connor (Shailene Woodley) was 17 in 1988, her mother (Eva Green) went missing. Through a range of flashbacks, we slowly find out more about her life, and are introduced to important figures such as her illusive father, Brock (Christopher Meloni) and her rather dimwitted boyfriend Phil (Shiloh Fernandez).

Initially, whether or not Kat's mother has been murdered or simply left of her own accord is a mystery, Detective Scieziesciez having his work cut out for him. As Kat begins sessions with physiatrist Dr Thaler (Angela Bassett), we gradually learn more and more about her mother, a disgruntled housewife who isn't cut out for a life of domestic bliss.

Infuriated at being trapped in a role she doesn't wish to play, Kat's mother Eve develops a twisted sense of loathing towards her husband, and becomes abusively jealous towards her daughter. Slowly, we see her fragmented demeanour chip away, as she gradually goes mad, her insanity reaching its peak just before her disappearance.

This event however is somewhat shafted to the background, as the main focus of the film is Kat's emotional and psychological state following the incident. Surprisingly, Kat is rather nonchalant about the whole thing, the only indication of her having any emotional connection to her mother whatsoever being the fact that she is continuously having a series of strange dreams about her.

What happens next? Well you'll just have to buy yourself a copy of the DVD, because my plot-retelling is officially coming to an end.

As I hinted before, this movie was actually really amazing. I really only decided to watch it on a whim, but in hindsight, am definitely glad I did. Above all else, I'd say this movie was just genuinely interesting. I guess that plot wise there wasn't that much happening, but in this case, that certainly isn't a bad thing. It focusses more on the characters than the actual events taking place, which is pretty refreshing in world full of dull action movies. Instead of turning this into some sort of horrific murder mystery, director Gregg Araki downplayed the possible foul play and honed in on the intricacies and eccentricities of a bunch of deliberately, not particularly likeable characters.

One of the contributing factors to me enjoying this film so much was the acting performances. Yes, I'll come out right now and say it, I'm quite judgy, however, there were luckily very few flaws in this department. Shailene played her role awesomely, and in my opinion, flawlessly, though if I'm being honest, I totally expected that to be the case. As she's relatively new to the limelight, her acting chops must be pretty spectacular to land this many big-name roles in such a short space of time. However, for the first time ever, we were able to see her play quite a different character, straying away from her usual goody-two-shoes type role. Instead, she was edgier, and frankly, less likeable than we've ever seen her before, which totally worked, and although it may not sound like it, is actually a massive compliment.

Another stand-out actress was Eva Green in the role of Kat's mother. Say whatever you want about her, but there's not denying that she plays insanity like no one else. I knew her only from 'Dark Shadows' prior to seeing this film, and was kind of taken by surprise to see her as a suburban housewife. As she slowly become more and more unhinged, that's when you could see Eva totally come into her element. I'm not gonna lie, she was totally manic, and it kind of freaked me out a bit (which of course was the desired effect, so A for effort). Occasionally, it felt as if Eva's insanity went a little over the top, however there's no doubting she was totally engaging the whole time. Despite the character's lunacy and cruelty, by the end, I still couldn't see her as an anti-hero, which must be really clever acting on Eva's part. Because yes, she's totally flawed and not at all likeable, but you still can't manage to villanise her.

Overall, I'd say that this movie is a definite must-see. It's completely captivating from start to finish, has a marvellous cast, and if nothing else, is just pretty to look at. No matter what you want to get out of it, I'd recommend you give it a go. Just promise, whatever you do, do not take into account anything Rotten Tomatoes has to say, because it's just utterly wrong about approximately 90% of movies. I promise, you definitely won't regret taking the time o watch this film.

So that's about it guys. Thanks for reading, fingers crossed my review was interesting enough to persuade you to watch the film. If not, that's a tad awkward, but nevertheless, just be a good sport and watch it anyway. Til 'next time . . .

Annabel xx

Most Alike Celebrity Doppelgängers

Well hello there blogosphere, welcome back! Today, I'm choosing to once again rectify my lack of recent posting and get Teenage Fanatic back on track. Just before we venture into yet another month of 2015, I thought I'd do something a little random turn our attention to some of Hollywood's stars. Do you ever watch movies or TV shows and get confused as to who's on the screen? I know I certainly do. With so many people looking alike, how are we mere mortals supposed to tell the difference? Hopefully today by acknowledging these creepy celebrity doppelgängers, we'll know what to expect. Without further ado, here they all are . . .

Katy Perry and Zooey Deschanel

No, you're not seeing double, I promise you these are actually 2 different people. Katy Perry and Zooey Deschanel, I'm not even kidding, could actually be long lost twins. They seriously look practically identical! Plus, they're both musicians and making a name for themselves in the industry, so obviously talent is another thing these two have in common. My theory may sound a tad far fetched, but I'm going to believe they aren't related when I see the DNA test results.

Keira Knightley and Natalie Portman

For years, correctly identifying the Portman from the Knightley has been a difficult task for me to complete. Finally, after about a decade of practice, I've finally cracked the code, however it definitely wasn't an easy feat. In fact, the two look so alike that back in the day, Keira was given the role of Natalie's identical decoy in 'Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace'. Having two celebrities in the same field of work looking remarkably similar was never a good idea Hollywood! Why do you do this to us?

Amber Heard and Scarlett Johansson

Once again, it seems we've got two actresses with pretty much the same face, the only difference this time being that not many people are familiar with Amber Heard. If I'm being honest, the name doesn't really ring a bell. Maybe that's because I'm oblivious, or perhaps I've seen her in a range of movies and just assumed she was Scarlett Johansson. Whatever the reason, there's no doubting these two are freakily similar.

Victoria Justice and Nina Dobrev

I'm not gonna lie, for a while, I was kind of under the impression that these girls were the same people. Seriously, I just assumed that Tori from 'Victorious' was in fact Elena from 'The Vampire Diaries'. So once I found out that they were actually two separate actresses, the confusion definitely set in. Once more, these girls are just ridiculously alike. How DNA even permits these physical similarities to occur is just strange and weird and overwhelmingly confusing.

Heath Ledger and Joseph Gordan Levitt

I have to admit, finding the similarities between these two took me a while to come to terms with. I read somewhere on the world wide web that it was believed that both Heath and Joseph looked alike, and my gut reaction was 'no, of course they don't!', until I looked at photos of them side by side. There's no denying these actors and pretty similar facial features. Seriously, who knew? I've never got them confused before in my life, but now, I have no idea how I didn't notice this earlier.

Ashley Madekwe and Amber Stevens

These actresses may not be mega stars (well not yet at least), but they do have mega similarities. Ashley, on the left, you may know from the hit drama 'Revenge' (which is seriously awesome, so you should definitely watch it!), and Amber, on the right, was recently in the hit flick '22 Jump Street' (which I totally reviewed!). I think you can all agree with me on this one, these two girls look freakily similar. Not even kidding, they could totally pass for one another. In fact, I may or may not have sworn Ashley from 'Revenge' was actually '22 Jump Street for a while there. As their fame rises, so will the confusion.

Justin Timberlake and Matthew Morrison

I wouldn't say that these two look absolutely identical facially, but there's definitely some similarities between these guys. Seriously, the first time I saw JT's video for 'Suit and Tie', I was getting some serious Matthew Morrison 'Umbrella' vibes, to the point where my mum and I both screamed 'Mr Schue!' at the TV. I don't know if it's just the hair, but there's definitely some parallels between these guys.

Courteney Cox and Demi Moore

This is another situation where the similarity of these two actresses may not occur to you immediately, but when you see their photos side by side, there's no denying these girls are certainly alike. Because I've always associated Courteney with 'Friends' and Demi with Ashton Kutcher, there's never really been any reason for me to compare the two, however once I saw photos of them together, I began to realise that pretty much the only thing telling these two apart is their eye colour. If Courteney gets brown contacts, the world will become chaos.

Fergie and Kirstie Alley

I seriously don't know how I didn't notice this earlier, because these two pretty much have the same face, no doubt about it. I guess because they're always in vastly different contexts and I never really associated them with one another, but seriously, they're so alike it's ridiculous! If Fergie ever decides to do television, and Kirstie Alley returns to the small screen, I'll warn you now, all hell will break loose.

Daniel Radcliffe and Elijah Wood

I feel like I'm saying this a lot, but once again, two actors, both alike in profession and alike in face. Seriously, how can two guys starring in fantasy movie franchises pretty much look exactly the same? How did Hollywood allow this to happen? Admittedly, Elijah Wood kinda looks like Daniel Radcliffe if he were a serial killer, but that's totally another issue. Nevertheless, there's no denying the similarities between these two, and if I'm being honest, it's really starting to creep me out. 

Anyway, you've officially reached the end of my post! I'm actually starting to wonder if any in Hollywood has a face of their own, or if all famous people are just carbon copies of one another, who knows? We can try and spend a whole lot of time figuring out how the DNA of these stars caused them to look so alike, but let's get real, none of us can be bothered to do that. So instead, we'll just continue on with our lives and remain in a state of confusion. Til' next time . . . 

Annabel xx

'Into the Woods' Review (with GIF's!)

Hello and welcome back blogosphere! Today, I'm getting back into my reviewing mode and sharing with all of you what I thought of the new Broadway musical to movie adaptation of 'Into the Woods'. Once again, I'm actually pretty delayed in posting this. Being the musical fangirl I am, I practically made it my mission to go and see this film the day it came out (January 8th), and then of course to let it sink in another time, I watched it again the next day. So yeah, I apologise for the delay and all that jazz, but let's face it, I doubt any of you were hanging on the edge of your seats waiting for my critique. Nevertheless, my judgement of the flick awaits you below. Did I enjoy it? Did it live up to my admittedly sky high expectations? You'll have to wait and see.

Okay, let's get real, of course I loved it! It's a musical, so it's already got that going for it, plus, it's got one of the best casts ever, so what's not to like? Inevitably, the movie adaptation slightly pales in comparison to the original musical, but that's pretty expected considering it's impossible to fully capture the magic of theatre on screen. However, director Rob Marshall did give it a pretty good go. It was entertaining, it was funny, and it was quirky, a truly stellar combination.

So before I start getting into the nitty gritty of what I like about this film, I feel it only necessary to give you a sense of what it's about with some short plot retelling.

The movie begins as we are introduced to a Baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt), a loving couple who long for a baby, yet are cursed with childlessness by a not-so-wicked-witch (Meryl Streep).

However, the story has only just begun, the witch requesting that the couple venture into the woods and retrieve for her 4 items intended to restore her youth - a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn and a slipper as pure as gold. In exchange, she has agreed to reverse the curse and grace the two with a child, leading to their immediate acceptance of her proposal.

On their journey, the Baker and his wife meet a number of travellers, these being stock standard fairytale characters Little Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford), Cinderella (Anna Kendrick), a pre-beanstalk Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) and Rapunzel (MacKenzie Mauzy). Of course things don't go exactly according to plan, the collection of fairy stale protagonists straying from their original story lines and mayhem ensuing.

Of course, I'm going to have to stop there as to not reveal too many spoilers and ensure all hell doesn't break loose (trust me, I know how passionate musical theatre fans can be), but have no fear, my review continues.

As I've already hinted, this film really doesn't disappoint. When I discovered that Disney were going to tackle this project, I have to admit, I was getting a little worried. Were they going to completely ruin it and take away everything we know and love? The answer is no. Have no fear 'Into the Woods' fans, nothing is watered down or made more accessible to younger audiences (hence the PG rating), although there are admittedly a few minor alterations. For instance, in this particular adaptation, there is no person with the role of narrator. Instead, this job is done by James Corden as the Baker. Why? I'm not entirely sure. But in my opinion, this is probably for the better. In the stage production as narrator works brilliantly, however I'm not exactly sure how well this would translate to film, and could've very easily been executed poorly.

One thing you can definitely say the film had going for it was entertainment value. Not even kidding, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. From Johnny Depp as the wolf dressing as Little Red's granny, to Chris Pine and Billy Magnussen belting 'Agony' in a babbling brook, there was never a dull moment. Perhaps my favourite portrayal in the movie was by Emily Blunt, who wonderfully played the Baker's wife (which is a massive feat when in a movie alongside film veteran Meryl Streep). She managed to be both vulnerable and funny, and brought a subtlety to the role which worked exceptionally well on camera.

Overall, I am pleased to say this film was an overwhelming success. What would I be able to pinpoint as my favourite part of this flick? Chris Pine, hands down. He is seriously the best and most chauvinistic Prince Charming I've ever seen in my life (in the best, most comedic way possible). No, of course it wasn't perfect, but as far as stage-to-screen musical adaptations go, this is pretty much as good as it gets.  Safe to say, I'll definitely be rooting for this flick at the 2015 Oscars.

Well that about sums it up for this musical-movie review. As I say, I highly suggest you purchase a movie ticket as soon as possible, and of course revel in the awesomeness that is 'Into the Woods'. Trust me, you will not be disappointed. Til' next time . . .

Annabel xx