Over Generics - Hollywood Films

  And while we're on the subject, what is up with all these movies coming off the conveyor belt with the same tiresome storyline every time! (Just went to the movies last night with my husband and my brother).  Like we've seen that already, and yet they still make them and Americans keep paying to watch them.  Shameless I tell you, shameless.  That's my word of the day, in case you haven't noticed. ;)

Teen Romance - Let's put two of the season's hottest actors together - the guy is troubled, but sensitive, and searching for meaning.  The girl is grounded and artsy - but she has a secret - she is dying! And of course she doesn't tell the poor bloke until he is head over heels in love with her and she is the only thing in his life that ever meant anything! (Remember Me, Restless, Here on Earth) A refreshing new take on the old spin: maybe this time the guy dies instead and the girl goes on study paleontology or she gets better, they get married, and they have 10 kids and a farm.


Psycho Thriller -  Weird things are happening to this one fella.  He keeps having strange dreams, and there is this pesky guy that keeps turning up in the most inconvenient places.  Oh no!  Now he has murdered someone and blamed it on you!  Except, wait a minute...its all your head and you are actually a psycopathic killer!!!!  (Secret Window, The Machinest)  A refreshing take: that pesky guy actually is just some kind of weirdo and you have to catch him in the act of a crime, so people will stop blaming you and looking at you funny.

The Romantic European Va-cay -  The couple goes on a trip to Europe and discovers that one or the other is involved with covert CIA activities and knows French, German, and Pig Latin and a black belt in Karate.  Or in the case of Angelina Jolie: you are the most elegant and impenetrable woman on the face of the earth and using a poor math teacher for a cover.(The Tourist)  I like Angelina, but come on, I just don't sympathize with statues.  And I think Mr. and Mrs. Smith could go under this category too, except without the va-cay.  Refreshing take:  How about real people just go back packing around Europe or something, and they learn about themselves?



Horror Flick - Director uses every possible quiet moment to build tension and get you freaked out of your mind and just when you think that at least the most likeable character is going to get away ... A man jumps out of the shadows with a chain saw and hacks him/her to pieces.  (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, 28 Weeks Later, and every other horror movie!)  Actually I have seen a couple that didn't do that, and they are intelligent and worth watching: 28 Days Later, Monsters.  I'd put more down if I knew them, but that's the only two so far that make the cut.  The Exorcism of Emily Rose was well done, but I wouldn't recommend it just because it freaked the pants off me.  

Juniper Sling

I love the ad that Penhaligon's put out for their old/new perfume, Juniper Sling.  I've never worked in marketing, but I've always admired a good advert, well done.  Mind you, it is a tad shameless, but in perfect keeping with the classic "Penhaligon's" brand and reputation for classics.  I'm so tired of perfume ads showing some limpid looking female lounging around - like just because the girl is pretty, that's going to make me want to buy?  So I can lounge around looking limpid too?  Yah, no thanks! 

Le Cinematique

I haven't been able to write in a while because, first, I was moving in to my new apartment, and second, I was without internet for the first couple of weeks.  I have to say that as inconvenient as being without the net can be, I actually got a whole lot more of other stuff done during the day!  It's had been pretty chaotic here lately, but finally I got to sit down with my hubby last night and watch one of my favorite films, Bringing Up Baby, starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn.  The comedic timing in this movie is absolutely superb and Cary Grant as Dr. David Huxley and Katherine Hepburn as Susan Vance, make one of the best on-screen couples I've ever seen.  Its always been one of my favorites because they remind me of my husband and I. 
Style-wise, I couldn't think of anything sharper than channeling these characters.

Prof. David Huxley
He's a professor and devoted to his work as a paleontologist, not fashion, so his style should be elegant but uncomplicated; respectable and unfussy.  I would think he might put his loyalty in several brands that can dress him properly. 

I would go with a Harris tweed jacket and a pair of Alden oxfords. (I originally had a suit from Brooks Brothers, but Raymond suggested that it looked a little too flashy for a Professor, which I think he is quite right).  I think I got a little confused between Huxley and Cary Grant himself.  Anyway, this is much better- and more elegant too. I think his scent would be Guerlain Vetiver - but it wouldn't be his choosing - something his sister gave him as a gift?  Sometimes you just have to rely on others! 

Susan Vance
She's a child of old money and while I wouldn't call her some kind of spoiled heiress, she certainly can flit about without anything to stress over, financially speaking; but that's part of her appeal and  what causes the hilarity to ensue.  Susan is very high-spirited and child-like. 

I would say that she would start her day with a sprit of Annick Goutal's Songes and be a devoted fan of American brands like Diane Von Furstenburg and Ralph Lauren; perhaps a running account at Bloomingdales? 

And some shoes that are fun and a little bit quirky!

These are from Kate Spade. 
And if you are really going to be the new Susan Vance, you have to be able to rock a hat too.  I love this one from Anthropologie.

Add a dash of confidence and persistence.  She gets the man that she wants in the end!