Miss France 2009 - After JP Gaultier Défilé

Je préfère Chloé Mortaud en mannequin pour JP Gaultier qu'en Miss France pour
Mme de Fontenay. Pas vous ?
(merci Naylaah !)

Blow Wave Boy - Trocadéro - Paris

Sofia Fisher at Chanel Show - Paris FW

Rouge

I have seen le "Moulin Rouge" hundreds and hundreds times and I cannot
grow tired of it. Every time I pass near Pigalle (Place Blanche), I cannot stop myself from having
a look at it just to check if its red is always so ... rouge, like a giant lipstick.

THE MESSENGER: The Film Babble Blog Review

THE MESSENGER
(Dir. Oren Moverman, 2009)

There have been many movies in which we see Army men appear at folks' homes to give notice of the deaths of soldiers. It is usually a brief scene with little spoken, but here these men, in the form of Ben Foster as a Staff Sgt. recently deployed from Iraq, and Woody Harrelson as a Captain whose war was Desert Storm, get their own movie.

Under Harrelson's gruff mentoring, Foster learns quickly that a stint as a member of the Casualty Notification service can be as almost as wrenching and painful as front line combat. Harrelson deals with this by going by strict protocol. He sternly tells Foster to speak only to the next of kin and avoid physical contact: "In case you feel like offering a hug or something - don't". Foster replies "I'm not going to be offering any hugs, sir."

Foster's life in the downtime is pretty dire. He is love with a girl named Kelly (Jena Malone) who is marrying somebody else and he spends his time in his dark dumpy apartment drinking while blasting heavy metal music. He becomes infatuated with housewife Samantha Morton to whom he has delivered bad news.

Morton takes the news of her dead husband reasonably well, even shaking Foster and Harrelson's hands while saying: "I know this can't be easy for you". On their walk away from her, Harrelson calls this response "a first".

Foster's infatuation with Morton is initially creepy - he sits in his car watching her through the window and he follows her at the mall. Once he makes contact with her some of the creepiness dissolves but uneasiness remains as they flirt on the faint edge of a relationship.


Her eyes hint at a back story that we never hear but we don't need to - the emotional terrain of lives lost and those left behind sets the film's entire tone.

Unfortunately this semblance of a plot involving Morton is abandoned for a large chunk of THE MESSENGER. Foster and Harrelson go off and get drunk, get in a fight, and crash former flame Malone's reception in a pointless display of untamed testosterone for too much of the sloppy narrative. This is a shame because Morton's scenes are the most moving. There are some other powerful passages in this film, mostly in the first half's house calls (Steve Buscemi has an intense cameo as a heartbroken father of a fallen son), but the film is too disjointed and detached to have the searing impact it aims for.

Moverman's movie just glosses the surface of the psyche of these disturbed men. Foster has proven time and time again that he has the chops to create fully realized characters - witness Six Feet Under and his scene stealing turn in 3:10 TO YUMA - but this soldier is just a sketch and so is its story. As a supporting player, Harrelson is on more solid ground but still suffers from familiarity - the older brother feel of his character is not unlike his turn in ZOMBIELAND.

Though I wasn't feeling it, THE MESSENGER is sure to be regarded as a noble effort. Its attempt to delve into this tense territory is admirable and its sincere tone is intact throughout its running time, but I was too often distracted by its shrugging sensibility in place of a statement. Audiences of late have tended to stay away from downer Iraq war related film fare. This time out it's going to be especially hard to blame them.

More later...

Skye Stracke - Paris Fashion Week

Giovanna Battaglia - Rue St-Martin - Paris

Tina - Rue de Turenne - Paris

I a am Stylist
I wear a vintage Jacket with artic Wolf from Canada
Black leggings and boots from DINSKO (Sweden)
My top is designed and made by me
My bag is from BURBERRY
Fashion is expressing myself and feeling creativ.
My look is vintage, black and classic at the same time.
I love politness and generosity of people.
I don't like people who are too superficial.
If I had 1 000 € I would go to CHANEL Boutik and go crazy !

Black & Blond Gang - Rue Cambon - Paris

Irina - Rue St-Martin - Paris

I wish to be a model. I am looking for an Agency.
I wear a coat by H&M
All my outfit by ZARA
except my bag by H&M and my shoes by ANDRE.
Perfume: "Elle" by YSL
For me Fashion is Style
My look is simple
I love Music and I hate Strawberry Yogurts.
If I had 1 000 €, I would buy those striped blue and white
CHANEL Shoes.
My message to the world: Live Fashion more !

Uliana Sergienko - Rue Cambon - Paris

A slav Princess ...

Pierre Cardin - Avenue Montaigne - Paris

Irina Lazareanu - Bonne Nouvelle - Paris

Igor - Avenue Montaigne - Paris

I am a Performer-Stylist

My look is trash
Fashion is extravaguant
If I had 1 000 € I would buy apair of those beautiful orthopedic shoes.
I love Soup.
My message to the world: make love !

Maja - Rue Cambon - Paris

5 under seems nothing for Maja "the Graphic Wizard"

Flirty Valentine's Day Hair!

just an idea for my ladies with short hair styles!

flat iron & products available here:
http://www.flatironexperts.com/KQC-X-Heat-Tourmaline-Ceramic-Flat-Iron-p/kqcxheat.htm?Click=3574

Karl Lagerfeld - Rue Cambon - Paris

Ah ! Celui-là !

Coralie - les Beaux Arts - Paris

I am a Student at Mod'Art School
I wear a Jacket by ALEXANDER McQUEEN
Satin Pants by BERSHKA
Top by ZARA
Shoes by D-SQUARED
Bag & Scarf are Vintage
If I had 1 000 € I would buy YSL and CHANEL Shoes.
I love Shopping. I don't like stingy people

Juliette - Rue Cambon - Paris

I study Art
All my outfit by ZARA except my bag by PULL&BEAR.
Perfume: "Angel" by T.MUGLER
I would love to work in Fashion world.
If I had 1 000 €, I would buy a Chanel Bag.
My message to the world: Live in hope !

Serious Series Addiction: The Wire, Lost, & The Prisoner (1967)

Despite this being “Film Babble Blog” I do babble about TV shows every now and then. This is one of those times.

I had only 2 New Year’s resolutions this year – to exercise more and to finish all 5 seasons of The Wire. I dug my wife’s old exercise bike out of the garage and set it in front of the TV so I could do both. I had begun The Wire sometime last year but put it on the back burner, not because I didn’t like it but because of the many movies that were ahead of it on my list of priorities.

After hearing so many folks refer to it as “the greatest TV series ever” I decided it was time to fully see what all the fuss is about. Over the last few weeks I’ve been pedaling away on the bike devouring one episode of David Simon’s exemplary Baltimore crime drama.

I am now on season 5 episode 4 and have lost over 10 pounds in the process.

I learned that a friend of mine was also making his way through The Wire after he got the full series as a Christmas gift. Talking to him on IM he spoke of other friends that were catching the bug as well.

Then, just this week, Onion AV head writer Nathan Rabin posted a piece for their ongoing “Better Late Than Never” feature about finally watching the show’s first season so it seems the show is slowly but surely searing its way into our collective pop culture psyche.

If you’ve never seen The Wire – it can be a daunting undertaking because it’s very complex with a lot of characters and can be hard to follow at first. It seemingly gives equal time to the good, the bad, and the ugly from sleazy politicians to the cops on the beat right down to the lowest level druggie scum with a level of authenticity that’s astounding. It stands with The Sopranos as a novelistic epic and as one of the most engrossingly addictive shows ever.

The Wire isn’t the only show I’ve been pedaling to recently. Since I’ve had to wait for discs of it to come in the mail from Netflix I’ve been checking out what’s available now on Instant.

I noticed that J.J. Abrams’ popular FOX television show Lost was just added so since I’d never seen it I decided to give it a whirl.

Well, I’ve watched most of season 1 and while I certainly think it’s entertaining in a Gilligan's Island as if written by Stephen King way, I’m not sure if I’m going to keep on plowing through. With their 6th season starting next week, there’s no way I can catch up anytime soon and the idea of trying just tires me out thinking about it. But once I finish The Wire, who knows?

Another series that has been on my “to do” list for a long time is The Prisoner – the original 1967 BBC one not the new AMC re-imagining (though that’s recorded and waiting on my DVR).

I’ve only watched a few episodes of the new Blu ray edition (very nice looking transfer) of the series and so far it’s been a real treat.

Former spy Patrick McGoohan trapped in an idyllic seaside village in which large creepy white balls descend and suffocate those who try to escape, the show earns its cool cult status right from its snazzy swinging start. Check out its awesome opening sequence:

So those are some shows that have been keeping me from the movies lately. Don’t worry though - I’ve got some fine babble concerning actual films coming soon so please stay tuned.

More later...

Chanel Défilé - Rue Cambon - Paris

Skye Stracke - Paris Fashion Week

Juliana - Avenue Matignon - Paris

I am a Student in Paris - La Sorbonne
Nearly all my outfit is from ZARA
Lots of Black, leather gloves and green.
My perfume is "Marrons Glacés" by Laura Mercier
For me Fashion means creating a fantasy with my body and what I put on it.
What I wear is a way to imagine that I am a different Character in a different
place. It's like leaving out a dream.
I think my look is "Domineering Librarian" ...
With 1 000 €, I think I could get YSL Imperiale Pumps That Lady Gaga wears
all the time !
I love those moment of inspiration, when I feel like I know what I am doing
with my studies. When I feel that way, I can be more energetic.
I don't like Hugg Boots in Paris.

High Heels and Bicycle - Avenue Montaigne - Paris

Boy with Glasses - Paris Fashion W

Winter Chapka - Paris FW

Walter Van Beirendonck - Paris FW

Il est assez rare que j'assiste à des défilés. Je préfère rester dans la rue juste comme un observateur.
Je ne sais pas si le destin des bloggers est fatalement de faire partie du cirque de la Mode où tout est
une question de vie ou de mort. L'essentiel pour moi est de garder un peu de recul et une dose intacte
d'humour. Le styliste belge Walter Van Beirendonck a de l'humour et c'est pour cela que j'ai passé un
bon moment à regarder ses modèles. J'adore ses chapeaux géants. Il faut juste faire très attention
quand on passe les portes.



Walter van Beirendonck - Paris Fashion Week 01/2010

Cerutti - Paris Fashion Week

Chang at Rick Owens Show - Paris FW

Chang Sion Paik is working for MAPS Magazine in Korea.
He is wearing his own designed jacket.

Sara & Diego at Rick Owens - Paris FW

Anker - Rick Owens Show - Paris FW

Anker is working for NAG Store of Copenhagen

Kanye West & Amber Rose - at Kris Van Assche

At Kris Van Assche Défilé today - Paris

A Life Of Quiet Desperation Fashionably Rendered

A SINGLE MAN (Dir. Tom Ford, 2009)


College professor George Falconer (Colin Firth) lives his life in a neat orderly manner. Every item is his home is arranged appropriately and every piece of clothing he wears is impeccably pressed.

He is living what Thoreau called a life of "quiet desperation" (a quotation our lead is undoubtedly aware of and not just because he teaches English) ever since his lover Jim (Matthew Goode - seen in flashbacks) of 16 years died in an automobile accident 8 months previous.

It's Los Angeles 1962, in the days after the Cuban missile crisis, and the influence of beat culture is strong on Firth's students, but the fear of war and total annihilation is stronger. Firth's inner torment distances him from the communal worries of the day.

From the outset of the film we see that he has decided to get through the routine of one last day before he takes his own life. He buys bullets for his handgun and tries to figure the best way to kill himself without leaving too big a mess for his maid.


Firth's dignity and poise is intact as he flirts with a Spanish hustler (Jon Kortajaren) in a liquor store parking lot and as he converses with one of his students (Nicholas Hoult) who may be interested in more than class consultation.


However Firth does lose his well cultivated composure during a dinner visit with long-time friend and ex-lover Charly (Julianne Moore) who has had a thing for him for years. Moore ponders the relationship he had with Jim; "wasn't it really just a substitute for something else?"

Firth jumps up and exclaims: "There is no substitute for Jim anywhere!"

There is a washed out quality to the film - grey grainy tones make up most shots but color rushes in with red hues heightened when sensuality is implied. With such subtle touches abounding, it's a definitive "art film" that's an impressive debut for a Fashion Designer best known for magazine layouts.

Firth's performance is an intensely nuanced balance of grace and pain. It's some of the sharpest acting out there now and it will be shocking if he's not nominated. Maybe not an Oscar, but Ford's direction deserves notice too for it recalls the work of Julian Schnabel while showing its own promise in illustrative invention.

Although a bit slow paced, A SINGLE MAN has its indulgences in check and is a quietly absorbing work of refined beauty. It's a passionate portrait of grief that knows that there isn't a substitute for a lost lover any more than there is a substitute for life.

More later...