Haute Couture + Kandinsky in Den Haag (1)

Today I was trully amazed by Den Haag Gemeentemuseum. I went there with the only purpose of seeing the temporary Haute Couture exposition (until 6 June 2010) and I ended up spending the whole afternoon (and by that I really mean the WHOLE afternoon, as I arrived there at 12:30 and left when the museum was closing). When I have the time to do it properly (this weekend), I will write more about it and post some of the pictures I took - and yes, it was permitted, so I wasn't doing anything wrong as long as I kept my flash off.

The highlights were the Haute Couture and the Kandinsky expos, both temporary, but the permanent collection is mesmerizing as well - at least for those who are not big fans of classic art, as this museum is  clearly modern-biased. Still I would say no one should miss these temp expos, so it would be best to go there before May 24 - when Kandinsky's expo goes off. 

Here's the Gemeentemuseum website, but I tell you, it doesn't do justice to the museum. Really.

Ok, so this weekend I'll write more about it. Time to go to bed now :)

Gastronomie Parisienne

The best thing about Paris is how everything is amazingly integrated with the most classic style and how the most traditional places are still in the youth's agenda. I'm not the most classic person as I'm more inspired by new and trendy things, but classic always has its great value, and that's what Paris is all about. Talking about that, these were the most memorable experiences I had in Paris this weekend regarding gastronomy and its esthétique. Both classic, traditional, though not old. There are fantastic places anyone who goes to Paris should visit, regardless of their age.

Le Procope:

The first café in Paris, which welcomed habitués like Voltaire, Robespierre and other French intellectual characters and is amazingly in continuous operation since it opened in 1686. Le Procope was refurbished in 1988 in eighteenth-century style, receiving red walls, crystal chandeliers, oval portraits of famous people that have been patrons, and a tinkly piano. It's all decorated with ancient books that you can take and read as well. Fascinating.

The menu has a full set of typical French Culinaire. It was the first time I had the guts to try Oysters (when I was a child I believed one could drop dead while eating Oysters) and Escargot (that I used to find repelling). Surprisingly, I didn't drop dead eating Oysters and the Escargot was definitely not disgusting. 

Here are some pictures of the whole experience:

Ladurée:

They claim to be the maison who invented the double-decker macaron, by joining two macaron shells and giving them a creamy filling. The place is amazing, a classic tea room, very classy  decorated in pale tones. It looks like a doll house, you won't believe the tables they set. Everything was absolutely delicious, but when you get there how things taste is actually the least important thing. It's visual food by all means - wherever you look, you want to take things home.

As it was Easter holiday, the place was crowded and I couldn't take pictures inside, but I took some of the table I was at. Luckily there was a small Ladurée Boutique in my boarding wing at Charles de Gaulle Airport, so I was able to take a lot of pictures and buy a gift for myself - a tea called Marie Antoinette, that came in the most beautiful pale pink cilindric carton packaging. I love tea, but what I really wanted was to take home a piece of Ladurée. And when I finish the tea, of course I will keep the box - I wouldn't dare throwing it away.

Off with their heads! - Alice in Wonderland

I know it's a little late to write about Alice in Wonderland, but the movie still isn't showing in Brazil - where most os my readers live - so it's not THAT late. To those who haven't watched it yet, I promise no spoilers :)

I had huge expectations on this film and it was totally disappointing for me. I don't want to dissuade anyone from watching it, au contraire! I think everybody should have their own opinion. But if my advice is worth something, I would tell you to lower your expectations and you'll have higher chances of leaving the movies feeling fulfilled. 

So here are my ups and the downs on Tim Burton's Alice:

THUMBS UP:

- All the aesthetics and effects are amazing, specially in 3D - Tim Burton is all about it, so I'm glad he didn't disappoint in that. I read some reviews saying the 3D was awful but I really don't know what they were talking about as I haven't found a single flaw.

- The costumes by Academy Award winner Colleen Atwood are great, specially in the Kingdom of Hearts. There's one specific dress that I loved which resembled a lot of Alexander McQueen's creations. I didn't find a real image of it, but here's the sketch by Atwood:

- The makeups are stunning as well, in all characters. 

- The soundtrack is SO Tim Burton, I loved it! Specially when Alice falls in the hole.

- Helena Bonham Carter. She is the best, always. 

THUMBS DOWN:

- I found the plot awful. Lot's of things happen but they don't go deep in any of them; Ii's a flat movie.

- All the marketing around it make our expectations higher and higher and the movie doesn't give all the emotion it promises. That's the worst thing that can happen in cinema, in my opinion. The word of mouth is what makes a movie and if people watch it with their expectations too high and it's not that great the reviews tend to be terrible. 

- The characters don't have soul, they lack in depth being totally superfluous to the story. At the end, I didn't care care what happened to any of them, and that's a serious problem. I think it's crucial to sympathize with at least one character to find a film interesting.

- Talking about characters, all the marketing was based on the Mad Hatter (see picture below) so I expected him to be crucial in the story and Johnny Depp to be perfect in that role. None of these happened.

- It ends with a song by Avril Lavigne. Period.

- There are some embarassing scenes. But I won't say more because I promised no spoilers.

- Mia Wasikowska makes a boring Alice lacking a big dose of emotion.

- Anne Hathaway as the White Queen. She looks amazing, but the character is just nothing.

Back home!

I spent this week travelling around the Benelux area and it's a fact: there's no place like Amsterdam. I'm glad I'm back :)

Gaga x Donatella

Gaga's future:

  *Am I the only one who sees the alikeness?

So many films to write about!

I have also watched the following movies this month and I intend to write about them anytime soon:

Alice in Wonderland (disappointing)

Invictus (inspiring)

Wolfman (terrible)

The Lovely Bones (weird)

Some nice movies

These are the movies I saw the past month and enjoyed at least a bit (no spoilers, I swear!):

Nine - Pretty good singing and dancing, and I loved the main character, a fun, charming, crazy artist with no inspiration (Daniel Day-Lewis as Guido Contini). But it's a musical and you have to be into it to enjoy it. From the director of Chicago, it shares some similarities with the former film, like the sexy acts, the celebs (all beautiful high scale actresses) and the role music and dance plays in the story. Good, but not great. Surprisingly, Fergie's performance was the best one in my opinion among a great female cast: including Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Kate Hudson, Penélope Cruz, Judy Dench and even Sofia Loren.

The Last Station - A film about Leo Tolstoy's last years and his marital struggle caused by conflictive points of view - while the writer works in the Tolstoyan Movement and thinkis about the Russian people, his wife, Sofya Andreevna, feels he is not keeping in mind that he also has a family to look after. I thought this would be an historic film showing a lot of the Russian context by that time, but it isn't. It's actually a really interesting film, but more about love than anything else. Instead of being a portrait of Russia in the early 1900s and Tolstoy's role in it, it's really a film about relationships that shows Tolstoy not as a leader, but as a husband. and a human being. It's beautiful, and Sofya Andreevna's character is so strong it's impossible not being sympathetic with her. And it's played by Helen Mirren, always perfect.

Avatar - Not a big fan of sci-fi, but I thought this was a nice one. Nice, but not spectacular as so many people are saying. I enjoyed all the aesthetics, specially the colours, and it tells a beautiful, utopic story - basically Americans satirizing themselves as a nation and playing a mea-culpa on other land's merciless exploitation. You can clearly distinguish Democrats from Republicans on that film as the characters are really ludicrous. It is very predictable in my opinion, but I really wasn't expecting to be surprised.

Telephone - Gaga's new video feat. Beyoncé

On the Video Phone clip, Gaga looks like a little girl trying to shake it lika mama Beyoncé. I actually felt sorry for Gaga for the first time because she really disappears wearing those tight clothes and shaking by Beyoncé's side. BUT OF COURSE, we couldn't expect less from Gaga: she has just launched a videoclip for a song called Telephone, featuring Beyoncé... and it's all about Gaga.

But Video Phone, Beyoncé feat. Gaga, then Telephone, Gaga feat. Beyoncé? Is it a competition? Anyway, this clip is more like a movie, with Lady Gaga on the main role and Beyoncé as an accessory. Both of them look amazing, but the video clearly has Gaga's aesthetics and she's the one you can't take your eyes off. Amazing coreographies, cool looks, great makes, in short, stunning aesthetics. Well, that's Gaga... nevermind the song.

So here's the new video, a bit long (9:32) but REALLY worth it.

And this is Beyoncé's Video Phone, just for comparison :)

Toys made in China

Pictures taken at a toy manufacturer in China, the world's largest toy producer. Found them interestingly creepy:

Pictures from Hemmy.net  / via @facco

Shuella: umbrella for your shoes

This is Shuella, this impressive functional-trendy-stylish-convenient protection for your shoes on rainy days. The ideator is an American woman called Rebecca Miller, who spotted this market opportunity based on her own experience of not being able to find any suitable product to meet this need. 

If you are wearing your best shoes, you definitely don't want the weather to ruin them, but you  don't want some crappy plastic bags protecting them, but ruining your whole look either, right?  So Shuella meets these two female needs: protecting your shoes while making you look sooo nice. This is a real spot on, check out the design - they look amazing!

They come in sizes just like female shoes and can be worn over any size heel. Shuellas are easy to put on and strong enough to walk in with a slip free sole, according to their website. They also include a cloth to wipe off any excess water before you fold them up and put them back in their pouch, which is a convenient way of carrying it in your bag everyday - just in case.

Genious, isn't it? I love this simple ideas that really make our life easier - or at least more pleasant.

I chose the yellow ones :)

Shuella's website here.

The Secret In Their Eyes

This Argentinian film originally called "El Secreto de Sus Ojos" just got the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and it's easily the best film I've seen latey. It's real food-for-thought: a very well-written plot involving crime, investigation, justice, politics, psychology, obsession, and of course, love and passion. The characters are really complex and count with great actors such as Ricardo Darin, who wows everytime. It's definitely a must-see.

I found this trailer with unnofficial English subtitles (yet perfectly understandable) on YouTube:

Banksy

My favourite Banksy's works:

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

In Palestine

  

  

 

More from Banksy here.