Things that mattered in 2014

Fashion
This year Elie Saab's Spring/Summer collection blew me away but also the gorgeosity of Ralph & Russo's Spring Couture, designers i didn't know about:

But most recently, the one that amazed everyone with its beauty is Valentino's Sala Bianca Haute Couture, all in white and so delicate and immaculate that i'm even posting the finale of its NY show because, look for yourself, it's beauty in movement:

Movies

I have to admit that i haven't watched many movies this year and i had to catch up with some of 2013 because they hadnt been released here. So, i'm including a few from last year that are really worth it but my number 1 of the year has to be 'Under the Skin':

Under the Skin - this blew my mind in so many ways that i still have it on my head. That epic ending, the photography, the Mica Levi OST that creeps the hell out of you, Scarlett Johansson's touching performance, the devastating truth of what the movie wants to tell the viewer is something not everyone fully appreciates. Truly one of the weirdest movies out there and that makes her even more special and unique.

Her - What can be said about Spike Jonze's modern love story at this point? It really touches you in ways you can't comprehend and also you can relate to the loneliness of Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) so much that it kinda hurts.

Short Term 12 (Las vidas de Grace) - Another film that was released on 2013 but i have to include it here. I already talked about it but i couldn't recommend this movie more because it's so touching and beautiful that will steal your heart. And you have a good cry with it as well which is not bad at all.

Nymphomaniac - As a full movie with both of its parts, it really works out. Because if you only watch the first part and then the second, this last one is a little weak. So it's better to watch the complete movie because Lars Von Trier's latest and most polemic movie is something that explores sexuality as well as human nature and the result is kinda great. It has a weak ending but overall i really liked it.

Palo Alto - Gia Coppola's directing debut is worth mentioning because without being a great story, it really depicts today's youth – its boredom, failed aspirations and the not so certain future they have in front of themselves. That's perhaps the greatest thing about the movie, it really captures that time as it is and she also does it with a lot of taste and pretty images. Beware of what's to come from the newest Coppola director.

Boyhood - i was really looking forward to watch it and i have to admit that i really liked it. It shows you how we're only a series of milestones and that we, more or less, we all go through the same process when growing up, as simple as that. I really loved Patricia Arquette's performance and the OST is really amazing but now i can't wait for Richard Linklater to make a 'Girlhood'. Please, it has to be done.


TV Shows

This year i discovered two shows that are already among my favorites like the hilarious 'Broad City' (please watch it because it's really something else) and 'Looking' which is so full of feelings that i barely can't stand it.

Apart from those, 'Game of Thrones' continued to be fucking amazing starting with that epic second episode 'The Lion and the Rose' and its OMFG ending. 'Girls' continued to be something that really gets me to the core and that is very dear to me (with the 'Beach House' ep being the epitome of epic) ;  'Grey's Anatomy' had a really good start after the departure of Cristina Yang's character so i still have faith in the show. 'American Horror Story: Coven' was fucking flawless despite the haters and 'Freak Show' started really bad but it's gotten better and it's fun to watch. And 'Pretty Little Liars' continued to be the guiltiest pleasure ever, which is good.

On the other hand, the much awaited season of 'Orange of the New Black' was a little bit OK, not bad, but not as flawless as the first season but i'm still gonna watch it like crazy when a new season comes out. 'True Detective' was worth watching but somehow i didn't love it as much as everyone else. 'True Blood''s season finale turned to be surprisingly good despite the ending and other shows ending next year are the feel good series 'Hart of Dixie', 'Awkward', which is not as great as it used to be, and the always funny 'Cougar Town' which i will really miss. 'New Girl' though was kinda OK, nothing really surprising. And i finally quit '2 Broke Girls' because it turned to be really boring and it has basically no plot so why bother.


Musique

1. Blood Orange - Champagne Coast

2. CrazyP - Heartbreaker

3. Beck - Blue Moon

4. FKA Twigs - Two Weeks

5. Freeform Five feat. Roisin Murphy - Leviathan

6. Wild Beast - Wanderlust

7. Madonna - Living for Love

8. Kevin Drew - Good Sex

9. Miguel - Simple Things

10. Caribou - Our Love

Blog
Most popular entries of the year:

1. 10 years of 'Mean Girls'
2. Romaticization of Mental Illness by Kelsey Weaver
3. Tavi Gevinson photographed in her bedroom by Petra Collins
4. Re-watching 'The OC' 10 years later
5. #RKOBH (Rich Kids of Beverly Hills)

Things that mattered in 2011 | 2012 | 2013

sources: fashionmazia, wwd, impawards, collider, mytakeontv, & youtube

Palo Alto (2013)

(Spoiler free)
I was really looking forward to watch 'Palo Alto', Gia Coppola's directing debut based on a book of short stories by James Franco (not too keen on this last thing, though).

The trailer, as it was everything that i had seen from the movie, showed a very similar style to her aunt Sofia Coppola, beautiful shots, girls hanging their heads through a car's open window, all very Sofia-esque. Which i adore, but that didn't say much about Gia Coppola as a director. But let me tell you that, even though she has inherited lots of similar things from her, Gia Coppola is definitely something else.

It's easy to compare them, the film it's beautifully shot, the use of music is on point and the style is somehow alike but that's pretty much it. Whereas Sofia creates a more dreamy, gloomy world, Gia is more accurate in depicting reality. Not that Sofia doesn't make it, she embellishes it and i adore that, but Gia goes straight to the core of things.

Gia Coppola gets into the world of accommodated highschool students and really achieves to create that environment, the intimacy they have on their bedrooms, the boredom they experience, the absurdity of their actions like getting arrested just because you've seen the girl you like kiss someone else. It's like a secret camera into the world of these group of young people and she really achieves that. It really reminded me to The Teenage Gaze by Petra Collins, it has that whole mood and both really achieve what it is to be a teenager.

On the other hand, the story is just fine, somehow it leaves you expecting that something is going to happen but just as life itself, and especially in that age, everything is boring and not much happens aside from small victories by oneself; like finally admitting you have a crush on someone or leaving friends behind. Some have compared Gia's work with Larry Clark's 'Kids' or to Gus Van Sant, i wouldn't go that far, but she's definitely creating her own signature style and being a Coppola that's not easy.

About the cast, Emma Roberts proves again that no matter the haters, she really can give solid performances, Jack Kilmer is really a surprise and i totally liked Zoe Levin, who could be a true Sofia Coppola girl and reminded me to 'The Virgin Suicides', i think i liked her character the best.

Many will find the movie boring and with no substance, but i definitely liked it though maybe, just maybe, i expected a little bit more from the ending. But if you're a Sofia Coppola lover or are into small stories with a lot behind, you have to definitely watch it.

Also, the soundtrack is really good and i can't stop listening to this version of Blood Orange's 'Champagne Coast', i'm playing it non stop so enjoy the song, see some beautiful stills from the movie that i adored behind the cut, and give Gia Coppola a try because she's not the new Sofia, she's another talented Coppola in the making:

'Palo Alto' directed by Gia Coppola

Gia Coppola is not only another Coppola family member (daughter of the late Gio Coppola and granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola), but also the latest one of the Coppolas who is making the brave move, brave because after 'The Godfather' director the expectations are really high – of making her first feature lenght film. She had already directed some fashion short films for Diane Von Fustenberg or Opening Ceremony and now she's adapting the first book of short stories by James Franco, titled 'Palo Alto'.

The movie narrates a series of tangled stories of troubled kids and troubled teachers starring James Franco, Emma Roberts, Jack Kilmer (with a cameo by his dad Val Kilmer) and even her grandauntie Talia Shire is appearing in the movie and by the looks of the trailer it looks good. It gives major Sofia Coppola vibes so that's a good and a bad thing, bad because she needs to have her own signature style but maybe there's a lot more that we can't see from the trailer. Check it out because it really made me want to see it, and behind the cut, there's the super cute fashion shortfilm 'Non Plus One' for Opening Ceremony, starring her uncle Jason Schwartzman and Sofia Coppola's muse Kirsten Dunst (who were already a royal couple in 'Marie Antoinette') and with music by Schwartzman's band Coconut Records. It's all in the family.

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