It ain't Project Runway

Cesar Galindo soars, Iman's a bore on premiere of The Fashion Show

Cast of "The Fashion Show"
Photo by Mike Ruiz/Bravo
David Caldwell, from left, Rolando Tamez, Cesar Galindo and Dominique PearlDavid
Photo by Heidi Gutman/Bravo
Cesar Galindo
Photo by Heidi Gutman/Bravo
Galindo's winning design
Photo by Heidi Gutman/Bravo

After Bravo lostProject Runwayto Lifetime, the cable channel came up with a replacement called The Fashion Show, which debuted its second season Tuesday night. Although well produced, it's a pale imitation of PR, and honestly, we probably wouldn't be watching it if two Houston designers — Cesar Galindo and Rolando Tamez — weren't on it.

Just as in Project Runway, contestants here make eye-rolling pronouncements like:

"When I was 7, I just knew I wanted to be a fashion designer"
"I think I have a really good chance of winning this competition"
"To win this competition would be a dream."

But the premise of The Fashion Show: The Ultimate Collection is a little different: The 12 designers are divided into two design "houses," each asked to create a cohesive collection based on a theme — in this episode, featuring the aspects of co-host Iman's personality.

I've always admired the Somali-American supermodel and wife of David Bowie — until now. She tries to be haughty — snarling the creaky line, You're out of fashion," to a departing contestant — but she sounds like a cartoon villain. And though, at 55, she's still gorgeous, she's photographed in harsh light that sharpens her features and adds to the witch-like quality the show seems to be aiming for in her portrayal.

Galindo, the Houston native who has been a New York designer for more than two decades, is by far the most accomplished contestant on the show. The 44-year-old designer tells viewers he entered the competition to reintroduce himself to the fashion industry after his longtime partner died, but his talents so outshine everyone else's that he should be a judge instead of a contestant.

It's no surprise that he wins the first competition with a beautiful one-shoulder gown in speckled gray fabric. He whips it up so quickly that he has time to help other less talented designers finish their outfits in time for the runway show.

Tamaz, who is on the same team as Galindo — they call their fashion "house" Nami, which is Iman in reverse — also wins praise for a cocktail dress that judges say represents the spirit of Iman. So expect to see both designers with Houston ties around for a while.

One thing in Tamaz's favor: He has the best head of hair in the show. His long brown locks put Iman's to shame.

Maybe that's why she's so cranky.

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Movie Review

Animated Lord of the Rings prequel offers nostalgic return to Rohan

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Hèra (Gaia Wise) in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

The Peter Jackson-led Lord of the Rings movie trilogy in the early 21st century was such a smashing success that people have been trying to recreate that magic for a long time. First came the ill-conceived The Hobbittrilogy, which made lots of money despite mostly poor reviews. The recent Amazon TV series, The Rings of Power, has gotten generally good reviews, but doesn’t seem to hold a place in the wider pop culture consciousness.

And now comes The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, an anime-style film that seems like an attempt at both reclaiming the world in animated form from the weird 1978 film, and a nostalgia play for fans of the original series. Set 200 years before the events in J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, it nonetheless takes place in two very familiar locations that are recreated to appear exactly like they looked in Jackson’s films.

The story centers around Hèra (voiced by Gaia Wise), the only daughter of King Helm (Brian Cox) of Rohan. An early conflict with Lord Freca (Shaun Dooley) leads Freca’s son, Wulf (Luca Pasqualino), to develop a deep grudge against Helm and his family. Wulf pursues that ill will for years, eventually driving his foes into a fortress in a valley to make a final stand against his aggression.

Based on information found in the appendices of Tolkien’s novels, this is the rare instance when choosing to use animation holds back the creativity of a film. Typically, animation allows filmmakers to do things that wouldn’t be possible in the real world, but director Kenji Kamiyama and his team seem beholden to the look of Jackson’s films. While the animation itself is great, it doesn’t offer the fluidity of live action, and so the action scenes are often stilted and flat.

The story itself is not very compelling, as a quartet of screenwriters have concocted a plot that relies on revenge and heroism tropes that allow the audience to predict almost everything that happens. There are a few surprises to be had, but as the conflict revolves around a strong-willed female and her unwillingness to be told whom to marry, it’s generally clear how the story will be resolved, with only the specific details left to be discovered.

It also would have been great if the film weren’t so dependent on nostalgia for the original films. The two main locations are ones that played a big part in set pieces from those films, and their usage here doesn’t measure up favorably. Eowyn (Miranda Otto) serves as narrator, and other characters/actors from the original trilogy also make appearances, leaving little room for this film to establish itself on its own terms.

The majesty of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, with its New Zealand vistas and incomparable visuals created by Wētā Workshop, set a high bar that none of the subsequent projects have been able to meet. The War of the Rohirrim is a competently-made film, but it doesn’t hold up to scrutiny with the Oscar-quality work of 20+ years prior.

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The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim opens in theaters on December 13.

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