Katey Denno …

Not only does she look like she’s been painted by the hand of Botticelli , she’s a superbly gifted Make Up artist to the stars, As well as being a  passionate “Green Beauty” advocator .I asked her some questions to clarify non -toxic beauty and just generally pick her brain..

 Denno’s a real game changer , she’s one of the forefront pioneers making eco beauty go from green to glam .

In between getting beauties like Isla Fisher , Olivia Wilde and Amanda Seyfried (yes pick your jaw off the floor , she’s that good!) red carpet ready , she personally tests and reviews new products, puts up beautifully filmed tutorials , does workshops and… (take a breath this woman does everything) gives good nutrition advice , hello green smoothies -on her self run site The Beauty Of It Is

I was surprised to  learn her path to make up aptly reads like a film script and exposed that her Kind Beauty approach is a mere aspect of her all round kind approach to life .

So you know by her credentials she’s got great advice

enjoy

How did you get involved in Make Up?  

i was a social worker for the first 10 years of my career life and i worked in the realm of HIV/AIDS. I had a lot of clients who were transgendered, mostly male to female. The way they were able to transform themselves through the use of makeup was so amazing to me! it led me to start researching how i could be involved in that world – the world of makeup! i read up on every artist and photographer whose work i admired from all the major magazines, and found photographers to do test shoots with to begin building my book. It was a slow but sure process, and i made sure to remain open to learning everything and anything.

You favour natural products .. why and what are your favourites ? 

As a person who’s concerned with what i put into my body with regard to food and drink, i find it just as important to be conscious with what i put on my body- and the bodies of my clients. There are so many good non-toxic lines on the market, with new ones popping up all the time. One of my favorite online stores is spiritbeautylounge.com – she has the most well edited selection of non toxic products on the market!

Ilia, RMS, Kjaer Weis, Lina Hanson, and then there are products sold elsewhere – burt’s bees, roots rose radish, BITE beauty…

Are there any beauty Chemicals you try and avoid? 

Albumin                                                                         Phtalates

Bentonite                                                                        Propylene Glycol

BHA/BHT                                                      PVP/VA Copolymer

DEA, MEA, TEA                                                      Quaternium-15

Diazolidinyl Urea                                                      Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate

DMDM Hydantoin                                                       Stearalkonium Chloride

FD&C Color Pigments                                     Triclosan

Glycerin/MSDS                                                      Talc

Imidazolidinyl Urea                                    FOR KIDS

Isopropyl Alcohol                                                      2-Bromo-2Nitropropane-1,3 Dio

Mineral Oil                                                      BHA

PEG                                                                         Boric acid and Sodium Borate

Petroleum/Petrolatum                                     Dibutylphtalate and Toluene

best  advice you’ve ever been given ? 

Not everybody has to like you.  This is a tough one for me!

What are the new big trends in beauty/looks for 2013?

I never really follow trends… i’m more into timeless, classic beauty.

Beauty from the inside out seems quite important to you .. whats the best foods/supplements/ lifestyle choices for looking great?

Yes it is! The main issues that folks come to me with that make them feel less than great are skin breakouts, and skin dryness/lack of glow associated with aging.

Eating/drinking lots of fresh leafy greens, richly colored berries, and keeping greasy/heavy foods out of your diet is a great place to start. I’m also a proponent of including apple cider vinegar into your diet (1-2 tsp a day in water) plus 1-2 tsp of coconut oil mixed into your food – whether that’s in a smoothie, or your oatmeal, or cooking with it – will keep your liver clean, and your skin glowing, as well as help stave off any sickness. (i haven’t had a cold or the flu in YEARS!). I also believe in keeping a strong yoga practice to work out tension and find focus – it will show on your face, without a doubt.

I find that a hair/skin/nails supplement is generally beneficial to most, and choosing one made from whole foods is a good idea. The vitamin B and D groups are wonderful for keeping our emotional selves and cells in good health.

following on from that .. if I were to open your fridge .. what would you be most proud of or most embarrassed by ? 

well, my boyfriend is a chef in a raw, vegan restaurant, so he’s in charge of the fridge – and there are countless containers of his great concoctions in there. I’d be most proud that at least 85 percent of food i keep in the house is organic and or locally grown/produced. We try to be mindful not to be wasteful and we only shop for what we know we’ll be eating within the few days that follow, so there’s never that much in there. Most embarrassed – I have an obsession with frozen sweet peas (organic, of course). i love them, so i keep tons of them on hand. when people open the freezer they’re always confused and surprised to find 15-20 bags of frozen peas on hand!

When it comes to getting ready for the red carpet what are your go-to fail safe products or techniques ?

i always start with getting the skin into glowing condition by giving a face oil massage before doing anything else.

Getting a good curl going on the lashes is very important to me, and I generally use a few false lashes to take a pretty lash to a gorgeous lash.

Can you recall any teenage make up disasters? ( I personally favoured a terracotta orange bronzer overload .. and an inability to blend down the neck hah!) 

i have to say, i think i did a better job with my makeup when i was a teen! i was certainly more consistently put together – i wore perfectly executed black cat eyeliner every single day.

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This is the story of Sara Pezzini, a NYPD homicide detective who accidentally comes into contact with a sentient artifact called the Witchblade. The artifact bonds to her making her an instrument of balance between two primal forces of the universe, the Darkness and the Angelus. And this is where I think the movie should go. Bring all three artifacts in all at once and tearing New York city a new one in an epic battle between good and evil with poor Sara caught in the middle. Although, I would suggest giving the darkness to someone other than Jackie Estacado. Not that I have anything against Jackie, I would just like to see him get the Darkness at the end of the movie with the promise of either a Witchblade 2 or Darkness: The Movie. So lets put on our thinking artifact and come up with a cast and crew, shall we say for the Darkness, the Angelus, Sara, and a writer and director.

Post Sponsored by Fangrabs.com

Whoever wields the Darkness is going to be a tricky thing to pick. Primarily because it needs to be someone we think would be great for the darkness, but not someone we would rather see as Jackie in possession of it. You would think our runner up for Jackie would be a good pick, but we don’t want the character to come across as that. So mafioso is off the table. Luckily, New York is famous for something other than the mafia… they have serial killers too (Dear New York: I neither support nor claim responsibility for the comment I just made). So who would make a great serial killer and wielder of dark chaotic power? Tom Cruise (from so many movies you had better know who I am talking about) of course. I mean let’s face it, he is a great actor and very well may already be a serial killer (Dear Tom Cruise: I neither support nor do I claim responsibility for the comment I just made).

As for the Angelus, we want would not go with Lauren Franchetti as the wielder. We want the Angelus defeated by the Darkness, the one that never had a name. And this is the story we would go with in the film too. The Angelus in an epic final battle is destroyed by the Darkness who is then destroyed by the Witchblade. So, we need a strong female lead that can kick ass and pull off the ridiculously revealing costume. Our vote is cast for Olivia Wilde (Tron: Legacy, Cowboys vs. Aliens). From her work on the hit TV show House to her recent movies, I have been a huge fan. There is no doubt in my mind she could pull this role off and leave us wishing the credits weren’t rolling.

Now, before we get to casting Sara, the writer, and the director, I think we should do I slight bonus casting for the end of the film. The scene where Jackie becomes the bearer of the Darkness should give us shivers and make us not want to wait for a sequel or darkness movie. To pull this off, you would think I’d choose a big jaw dropping name like Johnny Depp. And Depp might have his merits in this role. We would not pick him first though. Instead, we would go with Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins, Red Eye). His portrayal of Scarecrow and the hit man from Red Eye makes me believe he would be the equivalent of Ledger as the Joker in this role.

Who should get the lead though? Who should be the strong female actor to don the Witchblade, defend humanity from the senseless battle between good and evil, and tantalize us with that costume? Who should play Sara Pezzini, the Witchblade? It has to be a talent capable of carrying us through the movie with her acting and not her looks, who can throw a punch as easily as she can deliver a line, and pass as a hard boiled detective as well. Kate Beckinsale (Underworld, Van Helsing), I believe, can deliver.

For some reason we imagine this film being like a dark, modern, urban fantasy version of Lord of the Rings and we see no reason that Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings, King Kong) should not helm this film. The special effects from WETA would make this film absolutely stunning. Just one request Peter, spare us the trilogy treatment and just deliver a whole movie. This applies to him writing the screenplay as well. So get the source materials and start planning Peter, we want this film by 2017.

THE PLOT:

Somewhere deep in the corn rows of Iowa is the quietest, calmest foster girl that ever existed. She happens to be black and her name is Destiny.

While being passed from home to home, she discovers her love for butter carving via an exhibit by local celebrity butter carving champion Phil from Modern Family (Ty Burrell). It turns out she is some kind of butter sculpting prodigy child, but no one really freaks out about it or anything. She does get some approving white people smiles.

Her supportive, probably Portlandian foster parents allow her to enter in the annual butter carving contest. As it turns out, this is the year that Phil (whose name in Butter is actually Bob) has been asked to politely step down and allow someone else….anyone else….to be the next Lord of All Things Butter. Although Bob has no problem peaceably giving up his title, his ultra-conservative wife (Jennifer Garner) refuses to allow the family to lose the “prestige” that comes with being the royal family of butter.

Bob thinks his wife is a cunt as much as everyone else does and is fucking around with Quora from that Tron that no one is sure is a sequel or a remake (Olivia Wilde). Owed money from their little transaction, Quora (okay, okay….Brooke) starts harassing Bob’s family until she gets paid, including enrolling herself in the butter carving competition.

The contest commences, judged by Phyllis from The Office. However, Cunty McMature gets made that she lost to the 10-year-old reincarnation of Buddha and rigs it so that she has a rematch against the well-mannered child at the county fair (big stakes, ya’ll!).

Although LaCuntra tries to sabotage Destiny’s butter art, the little-child-that-could lives up to her name and everyone likes her better. Presumably because she is the next Dahli Lama and because she didn’t make a butter sculpture of a president getting sniped.

THE GOOD:

Great performances all around. With a less experienced set of actors, this film really could have gone to shit quickly. The cartoon-y characters read well on the screen and the whole film carries a tone of Bryan Fuller’s Pushing Daisies. Suburban dystopia is portrayed in a loving manner. Butter is American as fuck.

I’m just so America!

Butter also did a great job of keeping itself fresh by switching gears – at times being over the top comedic, other times laughing through observation, and other times giving  you butter porn and art porn with which to rot your mind. Between race jokes and political satire, Butter will leave you with a smart reside even if the meat of it is saturated with on-the-nose humor.

THE BAD:

The reason I picked the term “playfully racial” is because Butter is the type of movie to bring up race issues as a snarky joke, but then back out of it and not address any of the issues further. Does Destiny feel different being black, or does she just say things about white people in her head? Is Butter trying to say something about race, or is it just using race for some quick jokes?

One of these things is not like the other…

I also felt that Destiny’s performance was pretty flat. It was as if I could just project anything onto this hollow girl. There was so much more emotion out of her in some of the outtakes. Admittedly, it’s hard to hold the screen against the likes of Olivia Wilde and Ty Burrell, but at times it felt that Destiny had no personality at all. She didn’t even react to things happening so much as stare blankly at them. Maybe the director was afraid to director her to be “black” or more spunky or something. But seriously, a kid should have some energy or after a while it’s almost creepy.

Don’t be shy! It’s butter, not watermelon. You can tell her to pretend to like it more.

Butter also runs on a little long. Do we need two county fairs? Can’t we just do this competition in one big swoop? Do we really need to get that much into Bob and Laura/Cunt’s relationship when it’s clear she’s just the basic cut-out of the bitchy wife? Skip the small talk and stick to the interesting parts. I didn’t watch a movie called Butter to watch a semi-goth “troubled teen” not want to be in the butter legacy. Fuck off, then!

“I hate being rich!”

THE FINAL VERDICT:

 Butter is a solid film with great casting and performances, but could stand to have the fat trimmed form it (and perhaps pumped into Destiny’s personality). You won’t find anything surprising when the down-and-out ethnic kid wins the contest against the angry controlling wife, but it’s a well-shot journey and the cultural accents and political commentary make the sub-par story line dealing with. Final score: 3 sticks of butter out of 5.

Miley was named #1 on Maxim’s Hot 100 list. WTF?! I hear you say. I cannot believe it either. She looks good but not THAT good.

Emma Stone & Olivia Wilde

Emma and Olivia are representatives for Revlon so they had to show their support for the make-up brand’s charity run/walk event in New York. Even Emma’s boyfriend Andrew Garfield came along for support with his dog!

Lindsay Lohan 

Piers had a very frank interview with Lindsay before she went to rehab. While she was very candid and answered every question, I can’t help but think she was lying through her teeth a number of times. She claims that she doesn’t drink that much, that she could quit drinking at any time and that she has only done cocaine four times. You can read the full transcript of the interview here.

Rihanna

Rihanna debuted a longer, two-toned hairstyle this week at the Brooklyn Nets game. I like!

Reese Witherspoon

Is Reese for real?! She is wearing the cap of the police department which arrested her. Why would she do that?! You would think she would try and forget this whole situation rather than bring it our attention via a hat. She may be poking fun at herself but it’s just a bit silly if you ask me.

It’s the third time I watch this movie, yet every time it’s like the first ’cause of my memory… and I know I love it just as much each time cause all I have to do is check the rating I gave it last on imdb.com.

There is so many reasons making this movie awesome; It’s visually stunning, it has one of the coolest soundtracks of all time thanks to Daft Punk… it has Olivia Wilde and Beau Garrett as uber babes one can’t take ones eyes away from… it has a cool protagonist and a very good villain.

I never watched the old TRON movie from 1982… I have doubts it’s as good as this one but at some point I guess I should check it out… Personally I think I rather watch the sequel to this if it ever happens. According to imdb.com it’s planned for 2014 but I don’t see that happening as it’s still in the rewrite stage.

I’m glad this is now to be found on Netflix ’cause I’m pretty sure I’ll watch it again given the chance. Just the soundtrack alone is reason enough to watch this movie over and over… right now as I write this review I’m listening to the soundtrack on Spotify which keeps me in the same moody atmosphere the movie just put me. Movies like this make me miss dating… I’m just hoping earth come calling again soon… watching Wilde and Garrett mixed with the genius of Daft Punk just made me Swoon… it may also have a little to do about it being spring.. what do I know… oh, I digresssss…. anyway….

…I rate this movie 8/10 stars..

Who: Anja Rubik and Sasha Knezevic

Wearing: Her in Saint Laurent

Where: Delete Blood Cancer Gala

Who: Georgia May Jagger

Wearing: Just Cavalli

Where: Delete Blood Cancer Gala

Who: Olivia Wilde

Wearing: Max Mara

Where: Whitney Art Party

Who: Erin Wasson

Where: Whitney Art Party

[Source]

This week stars such as Katy Perry, Jennifer Morrison, Olivia Wilde, and more stepped out at events looking classy as ever.  Especially in the heat it can be difficult to pull yourself together to look good whether going on a red carpet or just a night out on the town. Click through and let us know which look you’ll be trying during these warm times in the comment below!

And Now here comes this years inductees in the Monster Entertainment Hall Of Fame with their photos in a special picture frame to indicate their prestige.

Director’s Hall Of Fame Wing Entry: Martin Scorsese

In the actors wing of the hall, I am inducting both a female actress and a male actor. For ther female end, I am inducting Marilyn Monroe because she is a true Hollywood Icon

On the Actors Side, I am inducting the other Hollywood Icon James Dean

On the music end of the hall of fame, I am inducting the one and only Black Sabbath in the the Monster Entertainment hall of fame

In what seems like a love affair with nostalgia, the social scene having been bitten by Jazz Age fever, the annual Whitney Art Party, held at Skylight at Moynihan Station, brought us right back to 2013. This rite of spring, always the nexus of art, fashion and entertainment, did not disappoint.

Sponsored by Max Mara and Belvedere Vodka, and hosted by honorary co-chairs Maria Giulia Maramotti, Hannah Bronfman, and Nichole Galicia, event co-chairs Mark Amadei, Jessica Gersh, and Maureen Nash, the Whitney’s Alice Pratt Brown Director Adam D. Weinberg and the Whitney Contemporaries, The Whitney Art Party drew NYCs career scenesters for a fun night of bidding, drinking and dancing.  With the area around the Skylight deadlocked after the Knicks upset – Jon Neidich sporting a jersey under his blazer to show his support – the brightly projected lights of the Whitney Party was the North Star to the cool kids in what is usually the after 9pm no-man’s land of midtown. The real question is, “Who wasn’t there?”

Well, Olivia Wilde, Adam Driver, Lake Bell, Hanneli Mustaparta, Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld, Ambra Medda, Damian Kulash, Giovanna Battaglia, Rebecca Minkoff, Ashley Platt, Anastasia Rogers, Jon Neidich, Laura de Gunzburg, Lauren Remington Platt, Pippa Cohen, Lauren Bosworth, Urs Fischer, Nur Kahn, Jourdan Dunn, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Kyle DeWoody, Joann Pailey, Henry Joost, Leandra Medine, Olivia Sandelman, Francesca DiMattio, Michael Avedon, Nathalie Joos, Arden Wohl, Eric Cahan, Samira Nasr, Athena Calderone, Erin Wasson, LouLou Roberts, Nicole Trunfio, Karla Martinez, Scott Campbell, Lola Montes Schnabel, Melanie Berliet, Jeisa Chiminazzo, Amy Globus, Nina Freudenberger, Andrea Mary Marshall, Jane Keltner de Valle, Joanne Leonhardt Cassullo, to name a few.

While I debated over a starting bid to a beautiful black enamel covered vintage jewelry piece by Dzine, a mini crunk contest between a Harper’s editor and a PR boy erupted on the dance floor – DJ Brendan Fallis is just that good. Known to hold her own at a party, Erin Wasson broke it down in the VIP Lounge during Harley Viera-Newton’s set. It was that kind of night.

The Whitney consistently supports and highlights up and coming artists in the most innovative ways, and last night was no exception. In what is easily the spring of Gatsby, the Whitney definitely stood out, and raised $450,000 doing it! Not bad.

Olivia Wilde definitely knows how to rock a cat eye. The actress stunned in a green knee-length Max Mara dress when she hit up the glamorous party on May 1, but what really stuck out were those eyes! Her amazing purple liner really made them pop. And now, yours can too!

Olivia Wilde At Whitney Museum — Get Her Purple Look

Being the spokesperson for Revlon, Olivia knows exactly what looks work for her — and this one is at the top of the list.

To get a smoky purple look like Olivia’s, try Revlon Colorstay Blackberry Eyeliner.

The liner is long lasting and doesn’t smear at all, which works perfectly for late night events like the Whitney party. To get the bold look like Olivia’s, start by doing a subtle liner under your eyes — not too dark. Then, add a bold line on the top of your lid.

Once you get to the edge of your eyes, continue the line out, but turn the pencil so that you’re using the thinner side. To keep the smoky look somewhat subtle, don’t extend the line further than the end of your eyebrow.

Top off your eyes with a lengthening mascara like Revlon Colorstay Overtime Lengthening Mascara – it’s not too heavy, but doesn’t need to be with a thick liner.

Olivia’s Gorgeous Fashion At Whitney

Her makeup was complimented perfectly by her outfit. She paired her green dress with strappy black Stuart Weitzman heels, a very unique Anya Hindemarch clutch, a chunky gold and black House of Lavande vintage necklace, and Iwona Ludyga Designs earrings.

Her earrings were hidden most of the night, as Olivia rocked her signature hairstyle, leaving it down in natural loose waves.

One of her best accessories, fiancé Jason Sudekis, was unfortunately absent.

Tell us, HollywoodLifers! Do you love Olivia’s purple eyeliner? Vote!

– Emily Longeretta

More Olivia Wilde Beauty News:

1. Olivia Wilde Goes Makeup Free On A Stroll In NYC
2. Olivia Wilde Looks Beautiful In Black & White On ‘Jay Leno’
3. Olivia Wilde On The April Cover Of ‘Marie Claire’ — Super Sexy

Tron: Legacy
Dir. Joseph Kosinski
Music by Daft Punk

And now for something completely different! (I really hope nobody can sue me for using that…[citation: Monty Python, this phrase does not belong to me, and so on...]) No, you didn’t read that wrong. Who knew Daft Punk did film scores, right? I sure didn’t. When I saw it on the movie poster I said to myself, “Nawww, no way.” Yes way, apparently. And it’s awesome. Totally awesome, and fun, and it works so damn well. I saw it for the first time I believe the week it came out, right before my family was due to go on vacation, and my parents were having a fight, and I said to my brother, let’s get the hell out of here, because I don’t want to listen to them fight three days before we’re going on a family vacation. So we ended up seeing Tron: Legacy, and within the first five minutes I knew I wanted to see it again, because of the first musical segment. And I can watch this movie with my eyes closed.

The Tron franchise has been considered rather sub-par by the larger moviegoing world. The original Tron came out in 1982 and was apparently a flop: the graphics were terrible (well, come on, it was the eighties, and filmmakers just didn’t have the VFX programs they have today), the acting wasn’t great, and the plot was silly. I watched it the same night I saw Legacy, and I didn’t really think it was all that bad. The graphics looked weird, sure, like a vintage Pong game, which I expected, but the music was decent. I rather liked it, actually. That said, I like Legacy much better. Garrett Hedlund’s come a long way since getting his throat slashed in Troy. Plus, Olivia Wilde is no less than gorgeous, and her character Quorra is so quirky. Jeff Bridges is back as Flynn himself, and being made out as a big ol’ Jesus figure–”Behold, the son of our maker!” Oh, and speaking of that, Michael Sheen is an absolute riot to watch as Castor/Zuse. I was watching one of the featurettes in which Sheen described seeing the original Tron and thinking that if he could be in the sequel, it would make his life. He has so much fun with a very limited role. Special-effects-wise, I love the light play–blue/white for good or neutral characters, orange yellow for bad ones–and the light cycles are fantastic! I’d love one of those! The way they can conjure a motorcycle from a baton in mid-air–AHH! So great! Kosinski makes an interesting choice by having the whole film take place in the dark–either at night in the real world, or in the dark of the dystopian Grid. We don’t actually see the sun until the very end of the film.

What the Daft Punk score does for Tron: Legacy is put the watcher right into the heart of the digital world, really enhancing our experience of the film. Daft Punk has a reputation for some of the best techno music out there, and their use of digitization and synth kicks the film experience up several notches. We didn’t get that in the prequel; its music was mainly orchestral. That said, Legacy‘s score isn’t ALL synth–there’s some well-placed string parts and a big finale with brass and winds and the whole shebang. It’s hard to take or analyze this score as a whole, because the tracks are written like individual songs. They don’t really blend together, and there is only one real theme. Scenes with the same characters can (and usually do) have totally different feels. Listening to the soundtrack alone is like having a big dance party. It’s great motivational music for when you’re, say, writing your senior thesis. Speaking of, I got away with writing a final paper on this movie my junior year. We had to write about how there’s been a shift in movies to transferring the human into the digital world (we had just watched Avatar in class) and I was just like, Hey Professor Tratner, can I write about Tron?? He was game, all the way, and it was fun. But I digress. Again. At least it wasn’t in the direction of LOTR, right? Also, Daft Punk has a cameo in the movie, as the DJs in the End of Line club.

There are no character themes, per se, in Tron: Legacy. Daft Punk’s score seems to be more focused on creating the fallen, dark world of the Grid, and as Sam and his father start to succeed, the Grid theme gradually wins ground back as the movie progresses. So yes, really just one overarching theme for the movie. I guess you could say it’s the theme for the Grid itself, and Flynn, and eventually Sam (it’s a very efficient theme; the track name on the CD is called “The Grid,” so there you go). It starts off right as the movie does, backsetting Bridges’ spoken intro, a pulsing digital beat, one note. As soon as he says, “I got in!” the music bursts into the main motif: a sequence of three repeating notes, first going down and then back up, and culminating in a major cadence. At this point it’s pure synth, fully reinforced by backing chords, and literally pulse-pounding. It made my bones vibrate in the theater. It sounds triumphant and weighted and important, which it is. I had trouble figuring out the meter of this segment at first, because in the first triad, it sounds as if the music uses an extra beat. That made more sense in my head, so I’m sorry if nobody gets it…I get very stream-of-consciousness when I’m doing this. The wham-bam peters off into a solo piano melody as the camera pans in on Sam’s bedroom and we see Flynn explaining how he got to the Grid and what he was trying to do there, and after a while it fades into nothing. This is really the only time in the film when we hear the Grid theme with Sam and his dad together; as soon as this scene ends, Flynn disappears, and Sam grows up into a jaded, lonely delinquent who plays pranks on his own company. Sam’s song, “Son of Flynn,” ironically, has no connection with Flynn (the name or the man, really). It’s a minor sequence of eleven notes backed by bass, and it’s hard to keep track of the downbeat once the bass kicks in. This makes it, and Sam, feel erratic, disconnected, and a little off. He’s truly separated from his father and the company his family built. Sam’s song also has sneaky elements, which come back at certain points in the film. He’s very good at breaking into places and doing unexpected things, so it fits.

The Grid theme all but disappears after the first scene, and this is rather telling for the film. It represents the Grid world in its heyday, when information was free and open, and programs lived happily, coexisting with superior programs called ISOs. Since Flynn got stuck inside, though, his doppelganger CLU has taken over the place, killed the ISOs, and turned the Grid into a dystopia where programs fight each other to the death (or deresolution, as it were) for the fun of it. It’s sort of devolved into an arena for gladiator games, and CLU has begun to use Flynn’s presence as a way to breed anarchy. Flynn was, in his mind, a tyrant, and the programs who live in the Grid deserve the same freedom to leave the computer world as the users do to come in. They all hate users (people) as their oppressors. Most of the tracks in Legacy are minor and off, and oddly sinister. When Sam accidentally transports himself inside, the music is dark, minor, perc-heavy. It feels like a sick dread feeling in the pit of your stomach, a “Holy s***, what have I done?” The “Arena” track, which backsets Sam’s venture into the world of the Games, embodies the feet-stamping attitude of the programs in the Grid now–they want blood! What’s cool about “Arena” is how it builds on itself–it’s the same motif (six notes, really) over and over again, but each time it gets louder, and it’s offset by heavy synth drums in a syncopated rhythm. It certainly suggests anarchy.

The most sinister track in the movie is Rinzler’s theme, Rinzler being the corrupted Tron, who has been “programmed,” so to speak, to serve CLU, not the users, which was his original purpose. It’s a repeated minor triad going down, and feels like a shark circling in the water, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Rinzler’s theme also appears second-most often to the Grid’s theme. We hear it a lot when CLU is onscreen, or when Sam finds himself in a sticky position. As the film goes on, it becomes less uniquely Rinzler’s and more of the “orange side’s theme.” It’s a big element in the end air-fight scene, until Tron starts to remember who he is. Then Rinzler’s music gets a little corrupted, and as Tron says, “I fight for the users!” it stops the Rinzler music cold. His theme remains unresolved as he sinks down into the Sea of Simulation, and this, plus the color change from orange to blue, blows the door wide open for a sequel. Incidentally. Kosinski recently committed himself to that sequel, as did Hedlund. Very exciting.

Aside from the dark and sinister, we have some very emotional elements to Legacy‘s score. For these, Daft Punk abandons the synth and plays around with a lot of orchestral motifs. Most remarkable (and least expected) is the track called “Adagio for Tron.” This track is the background for Flynn’s explanation of how he got stuck and what he lost–Tron was “killed” right in front of him, and immediately after, CLU committed genocide on the ISOs. It’s purely strings, with a solo cello, and it’s desperately sad. It really exemplifies what the Grid has lost, not only programs and a protector, but the possibility of a future for the Grid itself and for the real world (the ISOs were essentially genetically perfect, and it was Flynn’s hypothesis that they would have provided cures for disease on the other side). It is also during this reunion scene where we hear the first whisper of the Grid theme since the opening, only now it’s an emblem of what once was and hasn’t been for a long time.

The Grid theme does come back, though, bigger and better than ever, in the track called “Flynn Lives.” It’s a sad moment, because we know Flynn gives himself up, reabsorbing CLU to save the Grid and Sam and Quorra, but the music imbues his sacrifice with life and triumph and depth we haven’t seen yet in the film. It begins with violins as a backdrop, and builds with slow brass beats. The Grid music starts in brass, completely devoid of synth this time, and gradually builds with deeper chords and culminates in a big, cymbal-crashing cadence, an octave higher than expected, and with a prolonged end chord. Then it immediately fades to the piano whisper we heard at the very beginning in the Flynns’ home, as Sam retreats to the real world and disconnects the Grid. The track makes me teary when I listen to it, even without the film. Flynn lives, man! And he’ll be back! The finale music, as we see the sunrise (Quorra’s first, and our first in the movie), is soft and has great finality, but also a sense of a new beginning, as sunrises tend to bring. It’s mostly strings, with a digital undertone, and it’s quietly beautiful.

I feel like Legacy is a much more diverse film than it seems on the surface. I’ll admit the plot’s not great (Let’s get my dad back towards the big shiny light! Yeah…no). But it is a true exemplar of how far digitization can really go in a film. I LOVE the visual effects, and I really do feel like I’m in a computer program. This was compounded in the theater by the fact that I saw it in IMAX 3D. Blew my head off, it did. And the digital stuff doesn’t stop with the graphics; it’s in the music too, thank you Daft Punk. It’s true film immersion, a real commitment to the subject and the craft. I love it for what it is. Plus it’s got some great one-liners, and a very cute Boston terrier. Hope this sequel actually comes through!

Okay, so next time I’ll do Iron Man, given that the third installment in that saga comes out on Friday (Holy crap it comes out on Friday. Which is technically tomorrow at this point. So psyched!). I’ve really got to get back in the swing of things here; I’ve been incredibly remiss…See you all next time.

It’s nice to take some time in our busy lives and just have a bit of fun. Butter is just that – unapologetic fun. It took me about 20 minutes of watching this film before I finally got its humour. At first I thought ‘this is ridiculous’ and then I realised ‘YES, this IS ridiculous, and I love it’. Jennifer Garner is brilliant at a role that I feel was made for her. Olivia Wilde is hilarious. The best of them all, however, is Yara Shahidi – what a cracker. She plays the orphan who turns out to be a fantastic artist and I fell in love with her.

Don’t take this film too seriously. Just love it because it’s fun.

8/10

This weekend, celebs like Katy Perry, Claire Danes, Sofia Vergara and plenty more gathered in Washington D.C. for the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

With President Barack Obama also in attendance, the stars were dressed to impress for the high-profile occasion. Check out all the fashion from Saturday’s big event in the gallery below!

If, like us, you couldn’t get enough of all the gorgeous fashion at the White House Correspondents Dinner, you’re in luck: Bloomberg and Vanity Fair hosted an after-party, giving us a glimpse at a few more head-turning looks.

Nicole Kidman offset her strawberry blonde hair with a crewneck periwinkle Emilio Pucci gown with graphic, sparkling embellishments, plus a Bottega Veneta clutch. Olivia Wilde had a flapper moment in a chocolate pleated Valentino gown with ruffles at the hips and a lace headband.

PHOTOS: Vote on whether striking stars’ beauty looks worked — or not!

And perhaps best of all, Paul Rudd accessorized his tuxedo with the retro mustache and shaggy hair he’s growing out for the Anchorman sequel, proving that ’70s style wasn’t confined only to the ladies.

Tell us: Which look was your favorite: Kidman’s, Wilde’s or Rudd’s?

–Alex Apatoff

Stefan Ruzowitzsky’s Deadfall is that frustrating thriller that tries hard to succeed on an emotional level but has far too many contrivances for it’s own good. After a strong first sequence introduction during which we meet Eric Bana and Olivia Wilde’s brother/sister team, fresh from a lucrative casino heist , the director attempts to spin an intricate web of characters and family orientated strife that you just know from the outset is going to lead to some kind of final stand reckoning. Underlining that sinking feeling of having to sit through telegraphed plot points, is that this all takes place on the biggest family day of the year, Thanksgiving.

What further contributes to the frustration is that the film is well shot on some great Montreal locations with some fine actors all of whom belong in a better film. Sissy Spacek’s effortless warmth, Eric Bana adding some of that much missed ‘Chopper’ menace and Kate Mara’s purposeful underdog are the pick of the bunch. Veering wildly off course is Charlie Hunnam and Olivia Wilde’s snowy dalliance which is cheapened by two cynically placed sex scenes designed to titivate, but just come off as painfully obvious and crass. Furthermore, and even in a film when the temperatures are sub-zero, there’s an entire scene of Olivia Wilde in just bra and panties. Please.

The through line of the entire film – sticky father/child relations with a side order of incest is frilled up with a series of work-a-day set pieces that do little more than join the dots of what is a disappointing thriller that struggles to match it’s own eye catching introduction. 2/5

Well it happened again… I watched a bunch of movies in a few days, but did not have the time to actually write reviews. This tends to happen because I am working all the time. Anyway, onto the review. After watching all three seasons of Arrested Development for the first time, I decided to watch The Change-Up with my brother, David, because Jason Bateman was in it. It has been awhile since this movie came out, and I heard generally-alright reviews of it. And I have to agree, and also want to say that it was funnier than I originally imagined. We watched the “unrated” version, which was full of cussing, and an all-too-uncomfortable scene near the beginning, but it felt like the typical R-rated comedy with just a few scenes added in. The general premise is “Freaky Friday with men, where Dave (Bateman) accidentally switches lives with his best friend, Mitch (Ryan Reynolds). This creates a lot of problems for both men, especially Dave as he is an important lawyer with a wife (Leslie Mann) and three kids including two newborn twins. Mitch’s life… well… it wouldn’t be funny if he was not the polar opposite: basically-unemployed ladies’ man who is unable to commit to anything and won’t complete a task if it gets too hard. Obviously, throughout the movie, it is less about both of them trying to survive, and more about both of them trying to work together to make sure that Mitch doesn’t mess everything up. Yes, Dave, in Ryan Reynolds’ body, has to shoot a “light porn” scene, have sex with a pregnant woman, and try to help his friend hook up with his own co-worker, since he is in control of his body.

For the most part, the only one battling moral dilemmas and facing critical issues is Bateman, as his job and marriage are on the line. It is funny though to see the straight-laced lawyer try to live the life of a bachelor. Leslie Mann and Olivia Wilde play the women in the two man’s lives, and the movie is overall funny. It’s directed by David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) so it isn’t necessarily uncharted territory for him. It’s a fine movie, worth watching, but if you get the unrated version, just wait for an avalanche of swears and some uncomfortable jokes. They happen, but ya know, R-rated comedy, it is bound to happen, especially from the writers of The Hangover. One thing I want to point out is that when the body-switching happens, Bateman and Reynolds do a great job of changing their vocal quality, mannerisms, and inflections to match the person they are supposed to be (the voices stay with the correct bodies, of course). It is one of those situation comedies, and it works well here, especially for a male audience.

I think it’s the responsibility of films and television to accurately represent people, and the diverse group of people out there. And I think as more people see different types of lifestyles represented on TV, they’ll understand that this is just a realistic part of our world and our community. So, I was very proud to represent bisexual characters. -Olivia Wilde [x]