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...

Fairy tales are a complicated and delicate issue to tackle in this new bright century that we find ourselves in. How to break through the age-old stereotypes that pretty much define the genre and still retain the magic, charm and simplicity that are so often associated with this form of storytelling? If you are looking for an answer, you won't find it in this new take on the Cinderella story. 2015's Cinderella is a rather unimaginative, retrograde and conservative adaptation of the age-old classic children's story. What you will find, is a gorgeous and detailed visual interpretation of the fairy tale format. It's in this aspect, that the movie truly shines. From the detailed sets to the precious cinematography and the amazing costumes; this movie is the definition of visual candy. It looks amazing, even though it will probably give you cavities. THE MAGIC OF COSTUMES The costume design for this movie was created by Sandy Powell, a heavy-weight of the...