Oscars Round-Up: Good, Bad, & Ugly

As we all know though, the Oscars are just as much about the movies as they are the fashion on the red carpet, don’t you think?  A lot of the time, the colors, styles, accessories, and hairstyles that we see at the Academy Awards and the after-parties inform the trends of the next year (or that’s how it seems to me).  There were a lot of red and pink dresses, and I have to say that I am a huge fan.

While the golden statues are in their new homes today with a worthy group of actors and actresses, today (and probably the next week or so) are all about the Oscar fashions.  Who were this year’s best and worst dressed?  Everyone has an opinion, including me.

My five best dressed are pictured above (in no particular order).  Rosamund Pike's Givenchy (one of my favorite designers) made her waist look so tiny, and the color just worked with her complexion.  Both Scarlett Johansson (in Versace) and Zoe Saldana (wearing Atelier Versace) just gave birth, but they were stunners in their body-con gowns.  I was a huge fan of how bad-ass Scarjo looked with that hair and statement necklace.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, Anna Kendrick's Thakoon Panichgul was a little princessy and sugary sweet but still gorgeous.  And Margot Robbie's Saint Laurent was the right amount of drama and accessorized beautifully.

Unfortunately, there were some looks that didn't do anything for me or made me think "oh my goodness, what were you thinking?"  Those looks are pictured below (also in no particular order). Carmen Ejogo's Houghton design just didn't work for me.  It looked a bit cheap and didn't suit her body type, in my opinion.  Nicole Kidman wore Louis Vuitton, but I think the color made her look washed out.  The style was rather boring too, which was the same problem I had with Kerry Washington's Miu Miu gown.  I felt like I could've gone into any bridal store and picked either dress off the rack.  Solange Knowles wore Christian Siriano (Project Runway anyone?), but the look just screamed cleric's robe.  A cardinal maybe?  And the pattern on Keira Knightley's Valentino just confused me.

Who were your picks for best/worst dressed?

So how did your predictions do? I did respectably by predicting 12 of 24 winners in the best foreign language film, sound editing, supporting actress, visual effects, production design, cinematography, documentary, original song, original screenplay, director, leading actress, and best picture categories.

I was surprised that Keaton didn't get leading actor, but I was so excited for Eddie!  His speech was adorable.  I also have to give some major props to Lady Gaga for that tribute to The Sound of Music (and to Julie Andrews for being such a class act).  And NPH delivered some zingers, but was a fantastically entertaining host.  What did you think of the show?  Did you stay up for the whole thing?

*Pictures by Getty Images.

2015 Academy Award Predictions

There is one award show that I can never miss, and that is the Academy Awards. I sit through the whole show every year on pins and needles as I wait to hear if my favorite movies and actors have won that coveted gold statue. I’m probably just as anxious as the nominees!

I really failed when it came to going to the movies this year, so a lot of my predictions are complete guesses (especially for the short films and categories like sound mixing), so I wouldn’t consider myself an expert by any means. Without further ado…

BEST PICTURE – Birdman (Although I would love to see The Imitation Game or Selma win)
DIRECTOR – Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman
ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE – Michael Keaton, Birdman (Although I could see Eddie Redmayne winning for The Theory of Everything)
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE – Julianne Moore, Still Alice
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – Patricia Arquette, Boyhood (I usually root for Meryl, but I’m switching things up this year)
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – Birdman
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – The Theory of Everything
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM – Ida (Great film!)
ANIMATED FEATURE – How to Train Your Dragon 2 (It’s not often that I’m a fan of sequels, but this one was great)
SOUND EDITING – American Sniper
VISUAL EFFECTS – Interstellar
FILM EDITING – Boyhood
SHORT FILM, ANIMATED – A Single Life (A total guess…)
SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION – Aya (Another total guess…)
DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT – Joanna (And yet another guess…)
ORIGINAL SCORE – The Theory of Everything
ORIGINAL SONG – "Glory" from "Selma"; Music and Lyric by John Stephens and Lonnie Lynn
PRODUCTION DESIGN – The Grand Budapest Hotel
MAKEUP – Guardians of the Galaxy
CINEMATOGRAPHY – Birdman
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – Citizenfour
COSTUME DESIGN – Into the Woods (though it could easily be The Grand Budapest Hotel)
SOUND MIXING – American Sniper

I think that Birdman is going to be a major winner this year (if you couldn’t already tell based on the 5 categories I predicted it could win).  No matter who goes home with the statuettes, it's bound to be a great show.  With Neil Patrick Harris (aka Barney Stinson) hosting how could it not?  And there's obviously going to be some gorgeous gowns on that red carpet to daydream about one day wearing while I snuggle up in bed in my Cornell sweats and a bucket of popcorn.  A girl can dream!

What does your ballot look like this year?

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