Can Someone please tell me what is happening with the Melancholia trailer with Kirsten Dunst?

You must watch the trailer for Lars Von Trier's new film Melancholia. You start out thinking that it is some sort of weird, foreign film about a wedding (with lovely Kirsten and cutie Andrew Skarsgard) but then suddenly a planet is heading towards earth that appears to have a negative affect which results in a lot of running around in the rain and Kirsten Dunst being naked near a tub. Now Von Trier is known for his weirdness (In Antichrist not one but two people get castrated) but this looks especially weird and non-sensical.

On the other hand, it is nice to see Kirsten Dunst back on the silver screen though I doubt this will get people rushing to the theater. I think Kiki's best performance was in Interview with the Vampire (this movie could kick Twilight's ass) when she was 10-years-old. She screamed, she cut Tom Cruise's throat, sucked blood and kissed Brad Pitt. I don't know if you can ever beat that (I mean Little Women was close but the worst she does is that is burn Joe's manuscript. Remember Winona Ryder played Joe? That was back when Winona Ryder had an amazing career and didn't shop lift...I mean prepare for a role).

Then Kirsten tried to be normal and finished regular high school. I actually read that she said she knew she could have probably gotten into an ivy league school primarily because she was an actress and not because she had the grades but she didn't want to do that. Kirsten made her debut as an older actress with the brilliant Bring It On and the extremely weird and blond Virgin Suicides. Then came the not-so-great Crazy/Beautiful and Get Over It followed by the epic Spider Man films which introduced that oh-so-important upside down kiss. She also did Mona Lisa Smile at some point in there which is wildly mediocre but one of my favorites because of the costumes and Julia Stiles attempting to do some weird New England accent.

Oh and don't forget the visually stunning but completely inaccurate Marie Antoinette. In the last few years Kirsten has been taking it easy (apparently there was a rehab stint at some point) with just a few quiet films in the last few years like How to Lose Friends and Alienate People and All Good Things.

Despite her need to never wear a bra and her predilection for the hipster look Kirsten has put together a great look on occasion. Here are some of my favorites.

One of my favorite Oscar dresses ever.

Love the hair, dress and shoes!

Love a good sparkly number.

Walking in Paris looking effortlessly cool.

Love the messy glamour.

Oh so French.

The famous kiss.

I Am Super Pumped For The New Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris!

Oh Woody Allen. Whenever I am having a bad New York day like for example today when I am trudging through the pouring rain failing miserably at hailing a cab or when you literally feel like you are part of a cattle train when you are riding the subway (and not like a funny cattle train like in City Slickers with Billy Crystal making jokes on the side. Hellooo) I watch the classic film Manhattan. Allen paints New York in such a beautiful, bold and classic way that you believe that famous John Updike line that "The true New Yorker secretly believes that anyone living anywhere else must somehow, in a sense, be kidding."  I mean Allen manages to make the story massively appealing even though he plays a nearly 40-year-old divorced father dating a 15-year-old gorgeous and so innocent-looking Mariel Hemingway who then dumps her for wonderfully neurotic Diane Keaton who is already having an affair with his married best friend.

Story lines like this are common in Allen films but I think my favorite part of his films is how everybody lives in fabulous apartments and has a house in the Hamptons but seem to always be between jobs or struggling writers but they cannot imagine living anywhere but New York. Plus he managed to make crazy, neurotic New York women become massively appealing sex objects. His first muse was Keaton (Annie Hall, Manhattan,  Interiors, Manhattan Murder Mystery) followed by Mia Farrow (The Purple Rose of Cairo, Hannah and Her Sisters, Alice) and then Mira Sorvino (though just for Mighty Aphrodite but she won the Oscar so we will count her) and most recently Scarlett Johannson (Match Point, Scoop, Vicky Cristina Barcelona).

Pretty much every actor wants to do a Woody Allen film even though they pretty much just play slightly different variations of Woody Allen and Diane Keaton's characters in his 70's films (except for Match Point in which he got all moody and nothing was funny everything was just depressing and British) Though for his last couple of films (except for Whatever Works) Allen has stopped filming in New York in favor of cheaper production costs in Europe those great characters are still there they just have the Eiffel Tower in the background instead of the Chrysler. In my opinion Vicky Cristina Barcelona was by far his best film in the last ten years. Penelope Cruz's performance blows me away every time I watch it.

In his film coming out in June, Midnight in Paris, Owen Wilson plays the classic Woody Allen character and Rachel McAdams plays his fiance. Wilson's character apparently finds himself behaving uncharacteristically when he gets swept away in the enchantment of the most romantic city in the world after midnight. Michael Sheen, Adrien Brody, Marionn Cotillard, Kathy Bates, Alison Pill and Carla Bruni also appear in the film.

Anyway if you haven't seen a Woody Allen film (which means you haven't lived a full life) you should start with Annie Hall but my other recs include: Everyone Says I Love You, Hannah and Her Sisters, Manhattan, Mighty Aphrodite, Anything Else, Match Point, Scoop and Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Sometimes I listen to the Ghostbusters Theme Song in the Morning to Get Me Going

I really love Ghostbusters the movie and its a-mah-zing/iconic theme song by Ray Parker Jr. I actually probably didn't watch the film all the way through until like three years ago but then I became totally obsessed with it. This may be because I am extremely in love with Bill Murray especially in his role as Dr. Peter Venkman. I am always hoping to meet a scientist who will do silly dances outside of Lincoln Center for me but alas it has not happened yet. I did see Bill Murray in an airport last year and it was pretty magical but he was with all his kids so pledging my love to him would have been a little weird I believe. Plus Woody Harrelson was also there and things always get weird with that guy around.

Anyway it is a great New York movie and sometimes I like to listen to the theme song in the morning on my way to work. There are talks of a Ghostbusters sequel but we know nothing could be as good as the original.

One of my favorite lines from Ghostbusters:
Dr. Peter Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions. 
Mayor: What do you mean, "biblical"? 
Dr Ray Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath of God type stuff. 
Dr. Peter Venkman: Exactly. 
Dr Ray Stantz: Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! 
Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes... 
Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave! 
Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria! 
Mayor: All right, all right! I get the point! 

P.S. Other great Bill Murray movies you must watch include Groundhog Day, Lost In Translation and Zombieland.

Selma Blair is Rocking the Pregnancy Look Like No Other

I mean it is not surprising considering Selma Blair has also been a fashion maven and has pulled off some amazing looks. Like this one from the Legally Blond premiere so many years ago:

And now she has successfully applied her great style to her huge belly. She is trendy but not so much to the point that she looks ridiculous and uncomfortable (hello Rachel Zoe) but she also brings in her own unique, funky vibes. She looks so cute in her overalls that she has made me rethink that they should not be banished all together and that everyone should save a pair for when they are pregnant but I think you should only wear them if you are like going to a farmer's market or something.

Here are Selma's great mama-to-be looks:

Classy

Who says you can't weather pants when you're expecting?

Cute

Trendy and cool

Love this color

Patterns are great

Casual but still put together

Beautiful empire waist

Gosh it seems like just yesterday Selma had burst on to the scene in the masterpiece that was Cruel Intentions but believe it or not that was 12 years ago! Ahhhh! Anyway Selma has an interesting career since then with roles in films including Legally Blond, The Sweetest Thing, Hellboy and the series Kath & Kim.

Selma and Sarah Michelle Gellar winning the MTV Movie Award for best kiss for Cruel Intentions.

Looking oh so French

Gorgeous and symmetrical.

So cute.

I forgot she went bleach blond.

Classic prep with her boat tote.

I love stripes! La la la!

I really have an obsession with stripes (almost as much as my scarves obsession but that is totally different post) and I am not sure why. Is it my secret desire to look like a fashionable French woman à la Jean Seberg in Blow Up? However, I could not pull off that haircut and I am not into the small scarves tied around the neck even though I am obsessed with scarves. Conundrum.

Or maybe it is my strong predilection for all things nautical. I really like anchors (I'm wearing a shirt with one one it right now) and stripes because it makes me feel like I am this much closer to owning a yacht someday. Though I did draw a line a few years ago when J.Crew started using actual rope in their designs. That was just a bit too much.

J.Crew 

J. Crew

However I do love a good striped shirt with either jeans, white pants, black pants or skinny cargos which I used to be totally against because it just seemed like you were walking around wearing hypocritical pants but then I realized they were awesome. You can go with aviators for a cooler, more street cred look but classic big sunglasses give you a more worldy look I feel.

Here are some great striped looks:

Jackie O.

Lauren Conrad with a Miu Miu bag

Audrey Hepburn

Eva Mendes

Whitney Port

Amanda Seyfried

Lindsay again rockin' a 70's look

She is not wearing stripes but I really love this couch which is striped.

Lauren Conrad has launched a beauty site!

Well her reality TV show fell through but this hasn't slowed down the fashion designer/New York Times best-selling author (yup that is accurate). This week she launched a beauty website called, cleverly, "The Beauty Department." The site is a collaboration between Conrad, makeup artist Amy Nadine and hair stylist Kristen Ess. The intro to the site says:

This is a site for anyone who’s ever had a beauty question or gotten into a fight with a hair brush and lost. We’ll be covering all kinds of hair+makeup how-to’s, nail trends, skin issues, tools, current obsessions & inspirations, as well as countless quick tips.

The site actually has some pretty useful daily tips for cute hairstyles and makeup (if they can teach me how to do those cute little braids that Lauren rocked towards the end of The Hills I would be ever so grateful). Plus as a girl who really knows nothing about makeup it could be a great asset for me.

Sadly I was actually looking forward to Lauren's reality show because I truly enjoyed The Hills (the first few years) and I think she is a smart girl who has made quite a career for herself. Instead somehow we ended up with the Audrina Partridge show. Seriously television? We said no to the girl who is actually writing books and designing clothes for the girl who was best known for being the "non-blond one on The Hills" and the person who introduced the world to Justin Bobby. And for that we reward her with a television show in which we now get to see all her family members who make Audrina look like a member of Mensa.

Bonus: Years ago I found this hilarious parody sketch of The Hills from MadTv that was so spot on it was ridiculous. You must watch. Ugh except YouTube isn't letting me so I had to post this one which is still pretty funny.