The Night of the Hunter, Like Children it Will Abide, it Will Endure

WARNING! SPOILERS ABOUND (And no plot summary provided)

Yesterday I got an email from a cyber friend from across the country who alerted me to TCM's showing of The Night of the Hunter (1955) that evening. I wrote back saying a few things about the movie and he replied that he'd never seen it.

Readers of this blog know full well that I am no snob (you do know that, don't you?) so my reaction was not, "how can you never have seen The Night of the Hunter." No I thought, "how lucky to be discovering this great film for the first time."

The sentiment was introduced to me by film critic and historian David Thomson when at the Pacific Film Archives he introduced Some Like it Hot (1959). Thomson expressed envy of those who were seeing it for the first time.

Well said. To re-frame an old cliche, you never forget your fist time. Repeat viewings of a beloved film are great (why else would I won 100 plus DVDs?). With each viewing you discover something else you love about a film or at least get to enjoy what you already love about it. But the first time is special indeed. Everything is new including how the damn thing turns out. With any movie the denouement is critical and especially so with thrillers or dramas. As many times as I've seen and enjoyed The Sting (1973) nothing can match my first time seeing the way Newman and Redford...Oops, my spoiler alert was for The Night of the Hunter only.

Film critics and audiences of 1955 owe us big time for a monumental screw up. They didn't like, let alone love, The Night of the Hunter upon its release. First time director Charles Laughton consequently had a snit fit and never directed another movie. Thus the world has been deprived of what might have come next from Laughton the director. It was not until after Laughton's death that The Night of the Hunter was appreciated. Sheesh people of 50 years ago, what's your problem?

So the world has to settle for just one Laughton directorial effort. But what a film! Robert Mitchum was never better. His "Reverend" Harry Powell is one of the spookiest characters of film. A hymn-singing, bible-quoting slippery eel of a thief and totally unrepentant killer. With the word "love" tattooed on one set of knuckles and "hate" on the other he is superficially a beguiling figure. But at least one person sees through him and thank God she does. This wise and heroic figure is the pint sized star of silents, Lillian Gish. She raises wayward children on her humble farm while witnessing an infinitely more sincere variety of Christan love. She's also handy with a shotgun, by God.

Shelly Winters appears as a woman whose husband (Peter Graves) is hung for committing murder in the act of bank robbery. She later marries Mitchum who is far more interested in finding the stolen loot than he is in consummating the marriage. One of my favorite characters actors, James Gleason appears as the drunken old uncle.

Two child actors, Billy Chapin and Sally Ann Bruce (neither of whom went on to have any sort of career to speak of) are probably on screen longer than anyone else and perform ably. It is their stubborn and heroic refusal to yield to either the reverend's charms or threats that are key to one of Hollywood's more unlikely and unforgettable escapes.

Another key player in our drama is Ms. Icey Spoon played by Evelyn Varden. Here ladies and gentleman is a person as villainous as the film's killer. She is a woman in her mid 60's who, to put it bluntly can't shut up. But the worst of it is what she says. Icey will rail against anyone she finds it convenient to blast away at (even her poor husband is not immune, never mind that he may well be within earshot). Everyone. they say, is entitled to an opinion. But hers are unkind and hurtful. Though cloaked in her own law abiding "God fearing" respectability they are inciteful (never insightful) and shallow. The reverend 's new wife is a saint until tangential evidence suggests otherwise. The reverend is a saint until he's the devil himself and then she's leading the lynch mob -- literally. In her own way, Icey is as frightening as the reverend. Her type permeate society, aiding and abetting evil until its exposed, at which point they are first to point fingers and demand justice. These sorts have no real values nor shame.

The Night of the Hunter is thus a good old fashion horror story but one with ample portions of genuine sweetness. It is also a parable with bible-like stories aplenty crammed into its 93 minute running time. But it is also a directorial tour de force. The stylized world Laughton created is full of indelible tableus. The shot of Winters tied to the seat of a car at the bottom of the river, her hair acting like the river's weeds is unforgettable.

There are elements of Gothic horror from scenes in the house where the reverend terrorizes the heroic kiddies. Their ensuing journey down the river seems mythic and if there's any fault to the film its that these scenes could have been extended.

I hope my friend enjoyed his first viewing of The Night of the Hunter. I certainly enjoyed what was probably my fourth of fifth. Yes the "first time" is special. But repeat, shall we say..encounters, can be most satisfying too.

Australia’s Diamonds Are Tickled Pink

The Australian Open isn’t the only thing Aussie on my mind these days. "G’Day USA Australia Week", a celebration honoring the best of Australian business and culture, took place in Manhattan last week, and the star of the show wasn’t my favorite Aussie export, Hugh Jackman. Even better (yes, it’s possible), the belles of the ball were rare, one-of-a-kind pink diamonds.

Diamond miner, Rio Tinto was a supporting sponsor of a glittering, black-tie gala that ended the week-long celebration, featuring millions of dollars of the little beauties on the red carpet.

Pink diamonds from Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine dripped from the likes of Australian supermodel Kristy Hinze, in L.J. West's "Argyle Finest Pink Diamond Bracelet" with 204 marquise and radiant-cut Argyle pink diamonds, and Australian actress Ursula Yovich, who wore Calleija's "Kimberly Rose" necklace, valued at around $1 million. Catherine Martin, costume designer and wife of famed director Baz Luhrmann, wore L.J. West's "Pink and Green Ring" featuring a 3.42-carat, fancy-intense Argyle pink diamond.

“Argyle Pink Diamonds are both symbolic culturally and highly prized globally. We are delighted to be here to tell the remarkable story of the world’s rarest diamonds and to display these fine examples of truly master craftsmanship” noted Jean-Marc Lieberherr, General Manager of Rio Tinto’s Diamonds Sales and Marketing in a press release.

Pink diamonds have been found in very few mines around the world. Australia’s Argyle mine is the world’s only consistent producer of pink diamonds, supplying over 90% of the market with the pink princesses.

Celebs like Jennifer Lopez and Portia de Rossi were given rare pink diamond engagement rings by their significant others Ben Affleck and Ellen DeGeneres. J-Lo gave hers back when the Bennnifer chapter closed for good, but I’m sure Portia’s pink has more staying power.

ballerina

It'll probably be a bit longer before I get to posting my Tokyo pictures as I'm going skiing in the mountains for the weekend. In the meanwhile enjoy couture season and a little bit of Isabeli goodness:

Isabeli Fontana in Vogue Germany Jan09 via ht_photography
How hot are those shoes??!! <3

Feeling Tickled Pink

I'm feeling like wearing a lot of soft pink colours! After looking at this site.

Some fancy things I would like to wear right now.

Oh, I just want to wear chiffon and go around in bare feet (even if I did just purchase huge crazy boots). Yes, I want spring. I'm all ready for it.

Jumping Anaconda! The Perfect Cinematic Warmup for your Super Bowl

Yes, perhaps Cardinals versus Steeler will be interesting but it can't compare with the storied Huxley-Darwin contest of 1932. That great college match up was brilliantly retold in the wonderful film, Horesefeathers (1932). The film's stars included four siblings, Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo Marx.

Has there ever been a more dramatic football sequence than at the climax of this movie? Perhaps. But there's never been a funnier one. Horsefeathers is one of the Marx Brothers funniest films. Second only to Duck Soup (1933) in this writer's most humble opinion.

Groucho is Professor Quincy Adams Wagstaff who we meet at the outset of the film as he is being introduced as Huxley's new president. Zeppo is a long-time Huxley student and Wagstaff's son. (Such a loving relationship. "I married your mother because I wanted children. Imagine my disappointment when you arrived," father tells son.) Chico is an ice man employed at a speakeasy and Harpo the local dog catcher.

So you have the Marx Brothers running amok in a university, a speakeasy and a football game. Can't go wrong.

Thelma Todd as the "college widow" is the love interest. Thelma was a real dish who led a life worthy of a bio pic. Before making it big in pictures she was a beauty queen and a school teacher. Later she became a successful entrepreneur. Thelma resisted when the mob tried muscling in on her restaurant business. Thus her death at age 30 to carbon monoxide poisoning, ruled a suicide, was highly suspicious.

There is a brief appearance in Horsefeathers by the lovely and too little known Theresa Harris as a maid. Lovers of films from Hollywood's Golden Age will instantly recognize Ms. Harris who appeared in dozens of films in the 30's and 40's, usually as a maid. You can see her in such celebrated films as Morocco (1930), Arrowsmith (1931), Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933), Baby Face (1933), Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Jezebel (1938), The Big Clock (1948) and Mary Stevens M.D (1933). She was a good actress, with excellent comic timing and a fine signing voice. Why the short shrift? She was an African American. One is tempted to say that she was born in the wrong era. But it wasn't her birth date that was too early, it was integration in Hollywood that was too late.

So Todd and Harris are nice bonuses to this laugh riot. From Wagstaff's introductory remarks to faculty and students in the form of a song: "I don't know what they have to say / It makes no difference anyway / Whatever it is, I'm against it. / No matter what it is or who commenced it, I'm against it! / Your proposition may be good / But let's have one thing understood: / Whatever it is, I'm against it. / And even when you've changed it or condensed it, I'm against it!"

Through Wagstaff's taking over a science class and, with the aid of his real life bros, introducing true anarchy.

To pitching woo with Ms. Todd (and see if you can figure out the deal is with the umbrella).

To the climactic football game ("Is there a doctor in the house? "I'm a doctor." Hi ya, doc!") Horsefeathers packs more laughs into a 68 minute running time than most current sit coms manage in a whole season.

And I'd be remiss if I failed to mention the film's lasting impact on my own football viewing. Whenever I want my team to run the ball I recall Chico's own signal calling at the line of scrimmage: "Hi Diddle diddle the cat and the fiddle, this time I think we go up the middle."

Classic comedy.

SAG Fashion Wrap with Lisa Rinna: Nick makes Lisa CRY!!

Here is the entire show from my last TV Guide Network Fashion Wrap w/ Lisa Rinna, where we discussed the "Best" and the "Least Best" of the SAG Awards last Monday---This week was especially a fun week at the TV Guide studios with Miss Lisa and the "gang"---so much fun that I made Lisa Rinna CRY!!!! Yes, it's not easy to make Lisa Rinna cry, but I, Nick Verreos, did!!! Well, she cried from laughing so hard....Click above and hope you enjoy---and hope I don't make you guys cry...
Oh, and see you Monday February 9th for the Grammys TV Guide Fashion Wrap.

Menswear Videos: DSquared and Gucci

Menswear Runway Fashion Shows: Milan

The Twins taking their DSquared bow, in their white dinner jackets and high-heeled boots

DSquared2:
The twins at DSquared designed another romp of a collection featuring their hot sexy and very pumped up boys. Lots of vests, bow ties and shrunken shearling jackets. Since it's a Fall/Winter Collection, there wasn't ONE half-naked model down the runway, which, if you follow DSquared fashion shows, is usually a VERY COMMON sight!

DSquared2: Shrunken Shearling

DSquared2: Don't throw your vests out of your closet just yet

Gucci:
Think 1960s rock band musician meets glam rock punk trust-fund baby. Tight, skinny and very shrunken (Is SHRUNKEN the theme of choice for Menswear 2009/10?) Skinny ties, lurex shrunken suits and lots of tight skinny pants. It looked fabulous on the 18 year old Manorexic male models but I wonder how those looks will look on the 50 year old men who will actually be able to afford a $800 pair of pants or an $6,000 suit. This collection has Mick Jagger written all over it!

Gucci: Shrunken cardigan, skinny tie and skinny pants

Gucci: Shrunken suits

Click BELOW for both the DSquared and Gucci Menswear runway fashion shows

Bring Out the Bangles for Spring

While I would certainly love to “Walk Like an Egyptian” again, the bangle craze sweeping the nation this spring isn’t in the guise of an 80s girl band – it’s all in the wrist. If the recent runways are any indication, the ‘in’ way to accessorize this season is to layer big chunky bangles elbow deep and clink your way into sartorial bliss.

“Bangles are making a comeback,” stylist Edward Enninful, who used them at Alessandro Dell’Acqua’s Spring show for Malo, told Style.com. “The clothes were so urban, clean, and refined, we decided to pile bracelets on to give the collection a tribal edge.”

Designers like Christian Lacroix, Zac Posen and Marc Jacobs used the look with their lines, and if you haven’t gawked at Madonna’s bangled appendages for the new Louis Vuitton ads, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see that the iconic bangle wearer has brought the trend well into the 21st century.

Bangles have gone in and out of style over the years – from Nancy Cunard, the rebellious Jazz Age heiress, to Madge’s Dress You Up In My Love era in the 80s. But the bangle has been around for thousands of years, originating in India and Pakistan.

Indian tradition dictates that women wear bangles called Chudi to signify their recent marriage. Wearing a single bangle is frowned upon, perhaps because that familiar ‘clinking’ sound is such a part of Indian culture – even Bollywood incorporates the ‘bangle clink’ in many of their movie soundtracks.

Bangles are made from a variety of materials – from affordable plastics to more luxurious precious metals like silver or gold - all good news for us frugalistas who want to stay hip to the trends but not to our falling bank balances.

So whether you want to add a little flair to your “Manic Monday” or clink it up for a night on the town, layered bangles are a trendy, colorful – and most of all - affordable way to make your own jewelry statement for spring.

Clink on, jewelry hounds. Clink on.

Menswear Runway Fashion Show Video--John Galliano Fall 09/10

Paris Menswear Fashion Week--Galliano's Flight of Dandy Fantasy

As is tradition, Menswear Designers show their collections to the world in Milan and Paris right before Haute Couture Fashion Week. And of course, this season was no exception. One of the highlights I wanted to show you was John Galliano's collection. It was a decadent flight into his vision for what men should be wearing come next Fall/Winter: Imagine the mythical "Pan"--Half-man half-goat then throw in some Colonial Dandies in 18th-century decadence (and 21st-century micro-mini underwear), add a dash of "Slumdog Millionaire"/Bollywood music and throw in 20,000 candles and an acre of crystal shards and glitter....and well, you've got yourself a very entertaining vision only Galliano's mind could conjure up. And some actually very wearable shearlings, vests and fierce jackets (oh, I swear I wasn't going to say FIERCE!)
Click BELOW for John Galliano Fall 09/10 for Men runway videos

Jewelry Explodes in Paris

The Paris couture shows are taking the runways by storm this week, and while folks generally take a gander at the often-outrageous looks and wonder who on earth would ever wear such nonsense, I find couture gawking the perfect indulgence – especially in these trying times. It’s like rolling around in a vat of Cherry Garcia or having that third - ok fourth - margarita.

So imagine my dismay when I came across the Karl Lagerfeld show for Chanel. It’s all white. It’s suit skirts. It’s a jewelry wasteland. Of course there were fabulously intricate white hats that dazzled the well-heeled crowd, but I’m not in the mood for white right now, Karl. This economy blows. I’m no longer getting my hair highlighted. I want an escape, not a reminder of how bland life is now that I'm off the $4 lattes.

























Thankfully, Christian Lacroix is my new ‘white’ knight in shining couture. Not only are there colors exploding all over his catwalk, but the jewelry is an over-the-top display of decadence the likes of which I’ve never seen before. It’s like going down a bauble-filled rabbit hole on crack.
















































Dinner plate-sized hoop earrings, stacks of mismatched lacquer and crystal cuffs, multiple layerings of giant necklaces, gilded heart-shaped lockets, faux fronds of coral, beaded everything but the kitchen sink… Clearly, words don’t do the show justice, but Style.com’s reviewer comes close:

“(The show) was a pleasure to witness and something to be inspired by. Even if only the very few will own a part of this collection, there's an idea in there for every fashion watcher: If you've got jewelry, it's time to bring it out and try piling it on all at once.”

























So perhaps we mere mortals can take a lesson from the ivory tower of runway fashion. If you’ve got it, flaunt it. Anything goes. If you’ve still got those rubber bangles from the 80s, put 'em on with your diamond necklace and that beaded choker you're afraid to wear for fear it makes you look 'easy'.

I may be getting a little couture-crazed, but if you don't want to scare the neighbors, you at least have to get the full effect of the Lacroix jewelry dreamscape by checking out the dizzying pics on Style.com. And be sure to pair your viewing with a nice pint of New York Super Fudge Chunk. You’ll thank me for it later.

Paris Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2009: Dior and Lacroix

Paris is abuzz with the Haute Couture runway shows, and in a time of economic recession, reporters have one question on their minds: Why and how would someone want to spend $30,000 on a jacket or $150,000 on a gown? To that question , John Galliano, of Christian Dior answered THIS on Style.com: "There's a credit crunch, not a creative crunch. Of course, everyone is being more careful with discretionary purchases. I am. But it's our job to make people dream and to provide the value in quality, cut, and imagination" You go Girl!

Chrisitan Dior

For his Dior Spring/Summer Haute Couture, Galliano was inspired by Dutch and Flemish painters; Vermeer, Van Dyck and Monsieur Dior of course. You can see in the re-working of his 1947 New Look Jacket Shapes and his full skirts and ball gowns toward the end of his collection. Dior's women DO NOT SIT for cocktails, they stand and look fabulous holding a Vodka Martini! Forget about sitting for dinner in front of a table--try doing that in one of those Haute Couture fitted dresses with full-circled front "attachments" with eight inch wide Horsehair encircling almost every single hem. And be sure not to miss the Carla Bruni-Sarkozy soundtrack in his runway show (click below for the videos). Bless. John. Galliano. Marvelous!

Christian Lacroix

For Spring '09, Christian Lacroix continued doing what he does best: His masterful and one of a kind creations blending the feminine with the romantic with obvious nods to historical costume references, and deftly mixing 8 different fabrications IN ONE seemingly simple and elegant cocktail number. Perfect for that Dubai debutante in need of a dress for attend just another Friday night party!

Click below for Part I and II of the complete Christian Dior Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2009 videos, as well as an edited video of Christian Lacroix's Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2009 show

Anonymous Doesn't Like Me!

I had a recent post about distractions in movie theaters linked on IMDb's Hit List. As always when I have a post linked there a lot of comments were left. In this case many of the comments were in disagreement with me. That's fine, of course.

However I continue to be surprised and disappointed by how vitriolic some people are. They can't read something they disagree with and move on or just leave their contrary opinion. They get nasty. I was called an "elitist" and told to "get off" my "high horse" and accused of having the "attention span of a four-year-old."

Of course 99% of the time such comments are left by cowards who hide behind the cloak of anonymity. I suppose if a person is small enough to resort to name calling you've got to expect that they're too small to stand behind their words.

The Internet is positively teeming with blogs and message boards where people talk tough from their computers. I'd venture that a lot of them are quite nice when met in person. But when its just them and the keyboard and cyberspace they feel free to let the venom flow. It's too easy to resist, I suppose. For all a person knows the barbs directed their way could come from a 17 year old in Davenport, Iowa, or a 38 year old professor of literature in London or a 52 year old sex offender in your very own neighborhood. Your just who you say you are and if you don't say then you're anyone from anywhere. Let it fly!

I've also noticed a general increase in the nastiness of public dialogue. I used to disagree but respect the voices on the political right. Then along came the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter who make attacks personal. This was brought to the Oval office with the ascension of Karl Rove and the politics of division. Suddenly people who disagreed with the government's actions were accused of being anti-American. I hope that as the Republicans re-tool themselves in the wake of the ass kicking they took last November they decide to drop their more bellicose elements. Hopefully the Limbaughs can become as marginalized as hate groups have been and we can have civil dialogue based on the issues. I though John McCain took a step in that direction with his concession speech.

Meanwhile maybe we can have more civil dialogue on the Internet too, though in this case I know now I'm guilty of wishful thinking.

I welcome anyone to leave dissenting opinions from those expressed on this blog. But if you're going to blast away, be proud and do it from behind your name. And save the name calling for the playground.

The Greatness of French Cinema, 15 Examples From 15 Different Directors

In my previous post I positively gushed about French cinema and promised the list that follows. I had a made a particular point about how French film is more about making the audience think and feel than making the producers a quick buck. Story, character development and exploration and avant garde cinema photography, style and editing are at the heart of French film making.

I can't add much to the title of this post except to say that I have intentionally left out a few of the better known French films, including some my favorites of all time. For examples I have omitted Renoirs's Grand Illusion (my favorite of all French films) and Melville's Army of Shadows (second favorite) as well as such films as Truffaut's 400 Blows, Carne's Children of Paradise and Godard's Breathless. In some cases its because I've already written about that film on this blog (such as Army of Shadows) or because I like the lesser known film better (such as Carne's Port of Shadows).

I restricted myself to one film per director partially to show the breadth of French cinema but also to help myself narrow it down. This could have been a very long list indeed. Anyway I offer these films, all available on DVD and hope that you discover or re-discover one. I've linked them all to IMDb, as per my custom. The order is chronological.

Le Million (1931) Rene Clair. What a fun movie! Comedy, romance, musical numbers, even a touch of intrigue. A struggling artist on the brink of eviction wins the lottery but can't find the ticket. Sacrebleu! The fun never stops. The songs and romance flow right along with the narrative. Absolutely delightful!

Boudo Saved From Drowning (1932) Jean Renoir. It took Hollywood until the late 1960's to make a film like this. Michael Simon is Boudo, a tramp who jumps into the Seine. He is rescued and taken in by a mild mannered book store owner. Boudo makes quite an impact on the family -- a leopard can't change its spots. It is great commentary on society and the human condition. Funny too.

Port of Shadows (1938) Marcel Carne. Jean Gabin was one of the greatest stars of all time. If you never seen him before or only in Grand Illusion check out this film. Gabin plays a military deserter who finds love and a rather odd company of protectors and rivals. The performances are matched by strong atmospheric cinematography. A noir ahead of its time.

Forbidden Games (1952) Rene Clement. Utterly heart breaking, sweet, sentimental and about a central truth of war. Two children are thrown together at the outset of the Nazi invasion of France. One an instant war orphan, the other part of a large farm family. In the wrong hands its the type of story that can go horribly wrong and be maudlin or too depressing. It's simply and honestly told here and not easily forgotten.

Madame De... (1953) Max Ophuls. Opulent. Gorgeous. A beautiful movie to watch. Best to see on the big screen but what are the odds of it coming soon to a theater near you? It's a costume tradition but that's selling the story short. There's real depth to the story and its characters.

Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962) Agnes Varda. At last a female director and an outstanding one at that. It's Varda's tale of a woman who awaits word of medical tests that could bear the worst possible news by killing time in Paris. There's not an ounce of sentiment to the character of Cleo, a popular and vain singer. What she does with those two hours! Great character study.

Le Doulos (1962) Jean-Pierre Melville. Just out on DVD this is in my mind the best of Melville's many outstanding hard boiled crime films, which is saying a lot considering what preceded and followed it (Bob Le Flambeur, Le Samourai, etc.). There is double dealing aplenty as a recently released crook seeks the proverbial last big score. Jean Paul Belmondo is among the strong cast.

Band of Outsiders (1964) Jean-Luc Godard. How to see the Louvre in 15 minutes. One of a seemingly endless stream of films from New Wave directors that was supposed to be the trend setter and barrier breaker of them all. Never mind that, just enjoy the hi jinks of two young wannabe crooks and a the girl they enlist in their capers. There's a number of scenes not to be missed highlighted by the cafe dance (pictured above). Paris in a brooding, bleak, black and white was never lovelier.

Two of Us (1967) Claude Berri. A young Jewish boy is sent to live with an elderly family on a farm during World War II for his own protection. Fair enough, but what if the the man of the house is an anti semite? Fortunately this Petain-loving patriot doesn't know the young lad's true religion -- at first. The two form one of the more unlikely and extraordinary friendships in film. Michael Simon stars 35 years after playing Boudo. His gruff exterior hides the the real heart behind this heart warming story.

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) Luis Bunel. If you like surrealism, symbolism and riffs on decadence this is your film. By turns frustrating and hilarious it is ultimately a series of interesting statements of society, at least circa 1967 when everything was changing.

La Cage Aux Folles (1978) Edouard Molinaro. There was an adequate remake starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane but as is so often the case the original is superior. Two gay men who live together and own a nightclub where transvestites are featured must hide their true natures when one of their sons marries. A hilarious set up is fully realized.

The Last Metro (1980) Francois Truffaut. In occupied France a Jewish theater owner is being hid from the Nazis by his actress wife played by Catherine Deneuve. Inevitably further complications ensue as the show must go on -- that is, plays in the theater. Our man in hiding is trying to run the show from his hideout meanwhile his wife is falling for her co-star. A new DVD release is scheduled for March 24.

Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987) Louis Malle. A boarding school in the early 1940's seems happily secluded from the war that is ravaging Europe. Even to a the newly arrived Jewish student. Inevitably, the war intrudes. Meanwhile the Jewish boy befriends a fellow student. Malle based the story on his own war-time experiences. One of the great films of our time.

Read My Lips (2001) Jaques Audiard. One of the better thrillers ever made, period. The good citizen, a 35 year old hearing impaired woman, hires the bad citizen a 20 something ex con, at her company. A plot is hatched, trouble ensues, danger, romance and surprises. Vastly underrated.

I Loved You For So Long (2008) Philippe Claudel. The highlight is an extraordinary performance by Kristin Scott Thomas. We meet Thomas' character as she is being picked up at the airport by her younger sister. We slowly learn where the older sister has been for so long, then why, then the real reason. But mostly we learn about her and the people around her. Fascinating.

Nick Verreos talks Obama Fashion

While attending and hosting the California State Society and FIDM Presidential Luncheon and Fashion Show, I was interviewed before the show by VOA reporter Amra Alirejsovic. We spoke about Michelle Obama's fashion choices and how they will impact the fashion world. And because of my collection inspired by first ladies ranging from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama, we discussed the impact of past First Ladies and fashion.

It is a great report which shows wonderful highlights from the show.

*If you are having problems viewing the video above click HERE

Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi Launches Jewelry Line

Joining Heidi Klum as a model-turned-reality show host-turned-jewelry designer, Top Chef’s, Padma Lakshmi, is launching a line of fine jewelry, which is inspired by (big surprise) cooking ingredients.

"It's inspired by things like seeds and pods, like cardamom, lentils and cloves," the Indian-born Lakshmi told WWD.

"I wanted jewelry that isn't big or grand. I wanted to make something with an exotic lilt and a nod to my background."

Called “Padma”, the day to night collection consists of more than 50 styles of 10-karat and 14-karat gold jewelry, including necklaces, rings and cuffs. There are delicate bracelets with citrine briolettes, four-row gold cuffs with charms, and dangling gold earrings reminiscent of that delicate culinary carnage - a fish bone. Other details echo Lakshmi's Indian heritage.

If you want to ‘pack up your knives’ and order a Padma piece for your jewelry box, the line will hit Bergdorf Goodman in May with prices ranging from $375 to $6,600.

In the meantime, it’s getting down to the wire for this season’s Top Chef hopefuls in New York. Catch the series on Bravo! and regale in Padma’s signature look of disdain.

Thinking and Feeling, Could it Be French Cinema?

Movies make me think.

Sometimes they make me think things like: I can't believe I spent $8 on this piece of crap. Or, that's two hours of my life I could have spent doing something useful.

Movies make me feel.

Sometimes they make me feel ill at the the waste of $8. Or they make me feel I'm wasting too much watching utter rot.

However there are more occasions that I think about themes and ideas introduced intentionally or incidentally in the film. Other times I feel. Things like joy, humor, optimism or less identifiable emotions.

I suppose the point of all this is that movies at there worse are like so much else in our disposable empty calorie culture. At their best they inspire our intellects and touch our souls.

All these rather heavy musings were occasioned by two parts of my day. In the first part I was being bored silly at an utterly useless workshop for substitute teachers (my day job while I take classes at night is as a sub). I distracted myself by concocting a post for this blog that was to be about French cinema with 15 examples of outstanding films from France. The second part was in the afternoon when I watched Francois Truffaut's, Jules and Jim (1962). (Pictured above.) It was on TCM last night and I DVRed it. Sadly (and this is a whole other story) my recording ran short and I missed the last five minutes. My fault entirely. Will now have to rent it.

In any event both the mental construction of the list and the viewing of Jules and Jim brought home to me how the complete raving success that is French cinema. This success being manifest by the manner in which so many of their films are designed, not to make a buck, but to make one think and feel.

Jules and Jim had me thinking about the nature of relationships (and not incidentally my great fortune in finding a life partner I actually want to spend my entire life with). Relationships are subject to the very fluctuations that cause our life to ebb and flow. How do we maintain a love for a friend, or even a relative, let alone a lover for years and years? Especially as our interests change as do our viewpoints, outlooks, goals and dreams. Is it not more natural to flit from one partner and friend to the next? Then again sometimes we meet someone with whom we grow together. Or have friendships that are built on such solid foundations (the love of the same sports team, for a silly but real example) that they are destined to last.

There was a conversation in the film about war and the war that people often wage within themselves. Are men natural born fighters? If not in actual battle, then in sports? If not there do they channel this aggression in other ways? Eternal struggles? Is it so much harder for males to tame their inner fighter? Is that at the heart of so much conflict? Are we really just battling ourselves? Is it us we are really having a hard time coming to terms with? Our mortality? Our sexuality? Our weaknesses? Or our very souls and questions of our existence? How do find peace with others when our battles are within?

This is just part of what Jules and Jim did to me or for me. I also marveled at the way Truffaut told the story of the two friends and the woman who does not come between them but exists between them. The story has, at times, a bit of farce to it but is grounded in real human conditions and circumstances. Everything from camera angles, use of stop action, shrinking part of the screen, make the story a joy to behold.

Truffaut, like so many other French directors was a master at using the medium of the film to create powerful, exhilarating narratives. Just a few other names: jean Renoir, Jean Pierre Melville, Louis Malle, Max Ophuls, Jean-Luc Godard, Marcel Carne, Rene Clair and so on.

I have to confess I didn't really need to include all those names, it just turned me on to type them. Doing so called to mind some of the lasting images they've committed to celluloid.

Think how excited I'll feel when in my next post I name 15 great French films. Think of the dilemma I've created for myself in selecting so small a number.

Thinking feeling, theme of the day.

SAG Jewelry - Golden Ears, Bejewled Necks and a Case of the Blues

Are you as tired of seeing giant earrings on the red carpet as I am? I understand the sentiment. Hollywood doesn't want to overdo it with a huge diamond ensemble or a Titanic-sized necklace during these trying times, yet it IS the red carpet, after all, so stylists compromise with.... the ubitquitous giant earring.


















Last night's Screen Actors Guild Awards had big earrings a kimbo - from Christina Applegate in Lorraine Schwartz wagon wheels and Paula Abdul in diamond danglers to Amy Adams in giant H. Stern gemstone chandeliers and Lisa Rhinna's flower look. And they are lovely, don't get me wrong. But imagine my surprise when new trends presented themselves for a change - like basic gold earring statements from the likes of Angelina Jolie (the poster child of basic), Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss and the hilarious Jane Krakowski.


















And the new looks didn't end there. Bejeweled necklines made a glittering show on Anne Hathaway, January Jones and Eva Longoria - perhaps inspired by Michelle Obama's diamond statement on Inauguration Day?


















Colorful, off-the-shoulder looks were everywhere, and blue emerged as fashion's big winner. Best Supporting Actress, Kate Winslet, stunned in steel blue Narciso Rodriguez and Chopard diamonds; and Desperate Housewives, Teri Hatcher and Marcia Cross, added blue gemstone earrings to their SAG looks. And the usually gothed out Evan Rachel Wood channeled classic Hollywood in teal and a unique diamond eagle brooch. Her split from Marilyn Manson is the wise choice that just keeps on giving...


















So OK. Gold earrings, jeweled necklines and the color blue are certainly not big red carpet revelations, but can we admit that they are a welcome change from the big earring brigade that seems to scream 'lack of imagination' when it comes to accessorizing a high profile look these days? Thank you.

I'm looking forward to more of this 'mixing it up' when it comes to the Oscars, OK ladies? Let's just hope Oscar voters do the same when they see Meryl Streep's name on the ballot this year. She's great - and she nabbed the SAG this year - but let's give someone else a go, shall we?