The costume vault

The Oscars have come and gone once more, and so I am faced once again with the task of analyzing and reviewing this year's nominees (and eventually the winner) for Best Achievement in Costume Design. The first of these nominees which I'll be covering in this year's retrospective will be Joe Wright's latest period drama; Darkest Hour , a movie that in the end leaves us quite unimpressed by the effort. It's a paint by numbers movie that even though it boasts of outstanding photography, camera work, and incredible acting talent, still manages to waste it all into a boring, run-of-the-mill script that has nothing new to offer. Darkest Hour  focusses on the one month span between Churchill becoming Prime Minister and his famous "never surrender" speech that marked the decisive moment in which Great Britain decided to confront Germany and Hitler head-on. And while it sounds interesting enough on paper, it doesn't help that it feels that betwe...

The nominations for the 90th Academy Awards are finally out and... they are a mixed bag for me. At least in the Costume Design Category, which is the one I'll focus on here today. These are the nominees for Best Achievement in Costume Design: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. Costume Design by Jacqueline Durran I have talked at length before about Disney live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast , and not in a very positive light (see here ). It is no secret that I hate this movie and this Costume Design. So this nomination is really painful for me. Despite that hate, I must recognize that there are some parts of the design that I like and that are worthy to look at. Still, considering the amazing Costume Designs that we've seen this year ( Lady Macbeth ,  Wonder Woman ...), it is terribly unfair that this gets nominated only because it's Disney and because it's a grand and flashy Costume Design. DARKEST HOUR. Costume Design by Jacqueline Durran I still h...