The Good, the bad and the Ugly

Fug or fab? CultureMap dishes on Oscar fashion as it happens

Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Jennifer Lopez
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Miley Cyrus
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Anna Kendrick
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Mariah Carey, Nick Cannon
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Zoe Saldana
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
Mo'Nique, Sidney Hicks
Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

7:07: Ok everyone, we're going to turn this over to Joe Leydon for the ceremony commentary. Catch us on the flip side! -SR

‪‪7:04: I think my favorites are Maggie Gyllenhaal, Cameron Diaz, Demi Moore, Carey Mulligan and Elizabeth Banks. As far as fugs, Sarah Jessica Parker's dress did NOT work for me. -SR‬

7:04: Favorite? Meryl Streep!! Fug? Squiddy Vera. Yours? - CG

7:01: Ok, that's it for E!, (although we are watching on ABC now)... Caroline, any favorites? Any standout fugs?‬ -SR

6:58: I haven't seen Cameron Diaz's hair so long since The Mask, but it looks so pretty. Hers is one of my fave golden gowns of the night. -SR‬

6:52: Kate Winslet-- is that pants? A romper? It's undeniably Katherine Hepburn-ish, but please for the love of Oscar let that be a skirt. -SR‬

6:52: Jeff Bridges' wife is so utterly lovely! She seems so enamored, and after 30-plus years, that's adorable. - CG

6:49: Gerard Butler had me at the Scottish accent. You had me. at. the accent. -SR‬

6:41: Demi Moore in a messy, rose-hued column—gorgeous, perfect, simply stunning. -SR‬

6:38: Kristen Stewart looks lovely!! Her dress isn't particularly notable, but her apparent brief respite from constipation is! ‪‪‪‪‪‪Sarah seconds. - CG

6:33: Loving J-Lo's structured, abstract art-ish dress, Gaborey Sidibe's embroidered blue gown, and Rachel McAdams ethereal, swishy number. -SR‬

6:30: Also I don't think soft pink is her color. She should stick to brights. -SR

6:29: Poor Queen Latifah. Nothing makes you feel like a B-lister more than Seacrest interrupting your interview to chase George Clooney. -SR‬

6:29: Elisabetta Canalis, you are not the first (cough, Sarah Larson) and I am willing to bet, you will not be the last. - CG

6:25: After careful thought, I disagree with Caroline that Vera Farmiga's dress looks like squid tentacles. She looks like the tourist-trap flamenco performers in Seville. -SR‬

6:26: George Clooney is doing a good job of representing the old school — signing autographs for plain 'ol fans. Me likey. - CG

6:23: I just read that Mo'Nique is wearing the white flower in her hair as a tribute to Hattie McDaniel, the first black woman to win an Oscar. I liked it before, but I reaally like it now. -SR‬

6:18: A room-wide outcry at Charlize Theron's dress. Even Zoe (Sarah's pup) is appalled. - CG

6:17: Seacrest looks sooooooo tiny next to Kathryn Bigelow. Homegirl is looking fine as well. -SR‬

6:16: Caroline would like to register a public disagree with Sarah's assessment of SJP's gown. I think it's darling. - CG

6:10: Is Miley Cyrius just wearing an uglier version of Sandra Bullock's dress? p.s. Miley—my mother called and says stand up straight. -SR‬

6:14: Oh, SJP. No, No, honey. No. -SR

6:13: I adore Kathryn Bigelow's gown. Also, Ryan Seacrest can barely disguise his disdain for the Cyrus clan and the matriarch's back tats. - CG

6:05: Tim McGraw on Quenton Aaron, "People don't know how good he really is. He's actually a 5'8" white guy." Funny! - CG

6:04: Ryan Seacrest, do not ask the starlet's what their dress is made of! We're lucky they know who made it. -SR‬

6:03: Faith Hill's sheer bustier is a little too much CMAs, not enough Academy Awards. This ain't Nashville... -SR

6:02: This new red-carpet sports-esque technology is cracking me up. I feel like Jay Emanuel is about to tell us who is going to run an interception. - CG

5:59: Still not feeling the gold lamé vibe of Sandra Bullock's skirt, but the top detailing and her hot pink lips are super pretty. -SR‬

5:58: Diane Kruger is one of those true fashion girls who is always exciting to watch. But this weird black and cream Victoriana... as Randy Jackson would say, I'm just not feelin it, dawg. -SR‬

5:59: Where is your precious umbrella holder, Diane Kruger? - CG

5:56: I think Amanda Seyfried just punched her ticket to the fashion A--list. -SR‬

5:56: Dear Carey Mulligan, thank you for for ONCE having your breasts and waist defined where they acutally reside on your body. - CG

5:50: Sandra Bullock appears to have subscribed to the philosophy about dressing like an Oscar to make the universe give you one. -SR‬

5:50: Zoe Kravitz is so grown!! And so stunning! We like seeing her sophisticated instead of unshowered. - CG

5:48: Older, goregous and elegant redheads get me confused. Constantly getting Susan Sarandon and Sigourney Weaver confused. - CG

5:43: As long as we are trying to steal some hot men back onto our team, I'd like to humbly request Neil Patrick Harris. -SR‬

5:43: As a man-loving woman, Tom Ford's looks seem like such a waste. Le Sigh... - CG

5:40 Maggie Gyllenhaal in print—Dries van Noten!— is soft and divine. She still has that different-ness that she likes but seems to have accepted a more mainstream Hollywood glam. -SR‬

5:39 I'm not usually into gray tones on the red carpet, but Elizabeth Banks's structured, slightly retro gown is simply stunning. -SR‬

5:36: And Tina Fey wears black. Shocking. - CG

5:34: Oh, Ryan Reynolds.... I have nothing to say about his tux, but damn he looks good in it. -SR‬

5:26: I know that structure is in, in, in, but Vera Farmiga looks like the underside of a squid's tentacle. - CG

5:26: Nicole Richie looks somewhat severe with her bun. I much prefer her usual loose hippy-chic waves. - CG

5:24: Mariah Carey did her whole "I want to be naked!" thing, but she actually looks classy and Oscar-appropriate. Methinks the navy color helps. -SR

5:20: Anna Kendrick, whose choices often confuse and bewilder me, looks gorgeous. -Caroline

512: Love the electric blue color of Mo'nique's gown! Maybe people will talk about how great she looks and not her unshaven legs this time. -SR

5:11: Hello, Culturemappers! Let's get ready for some fashion. Caroline and I are watching the E! Network live feed and ready to dish on the gowns. -Sarah

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Movie Review

28 Years Later revives zombie franchise for new generation

Photo by Miya Mizuno

Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later.

The 2000s brought two of the best zombie movies ever made in 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. Both films, despite being made by different filmmakers, featured intense action with fast-moving zombies, harrowing sequences, and real emotional connections with their main characters. Now the original director and writer — Danny Boyle and Alex Garland — have returned with the first of a possible three sequels, 28 Years Later.

The rage virus from the first two films that turns humans into insatiable monsters has successfully been contained to the United Kingdom, and one group of survivors has managed to band together on a small island off the coast of England. We’re introduced to the group through Jamie (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), his wife, Isla (Jodie Comer), and his son, Spike (Alfie Williams).

Isla is sick with an unknown illness, while Jamie is set to take the 12-year-old Spike on his first trip to the mainland to hunt zombies. That trip not only gives Spike an education as to the different types of feral zombies that now populate England, but also a clue that other people have survived there. When he discovers that one of them may be a doctor, he makes plans to take his mother there in hopes of finding a cure for whatever ails her.

While the first two films were notable for their brisk pace that kept the potency of the stories high, Boyle and Garland almost go in the opposite direction for much of this film. The first 90 minutes are relatively slow, with only a couple of sequences that raise the blood pressure. The final half hour or so go a long way toward filling that void, so it’s clear that the filmmakers were biding their time for the story to come in the sequel. A bit more balance in this film would have served them well, though.

What they do show involves some weird, wild stuff that is objectively upsetting, even for fans of the genre. The zombies have evolved in strange ways, giving them a variety of body shapes and abilities to suit the environment in which they live. These storytelling choices may thrill some and have others scratching their heads. Another human character living on his own (played by Ralph Fiennes), appears to have gone the way of Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, with a revelation that is bone-chilling.

Boyle, who’s directed everything from Trainspotting to Slumdog Millionaire, doesn’t have a signature style, and he makes some choices in this film that test your patience. He occasionally employs an odd technique in which the film stutters, for a lack of better term. It’s a bit jarring, especially since it doesn’t seem to improve the storytelling. He also inserts scenes from older films involving medieval warfare that emulate the bow-and-arrow weaponry used by characters in this film, but the exact connection he’s trying to make is unclear.

The young Williams has a lot put on his shoulders in the film, and he proves to be up to the task of carrying the story. He isn’t precocious or annoying, instead reacting almost exactly like you’d expect a boy of his age to do when faced with extreme situations. Taylor-Johnson and Comer are good complements for him, drawing him out with their polar opposite characters. Fiennes makes a huge impression in the final act of the film, while Jack O’Connell makes a very brief appearance, teasing a bigger role to come.

It’s difficult to fully judge 28 Years Later because it’s designed to only give you part of the story; part 2, The Bone Temple, is due in 2026, while a third film will follow if the first two do well. This film has its moments and winds up on the positive side of the ledger, but it’s also a frustrating experience that could have used a more stand-alone story.

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28 Years Later is now playing in theaters.

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