For fashionistas, the Oscars is a night Hollywood treats us to a stylish spectacle. Who’s hot, who’s not, and who’s just launched a new trend. The Academy Awards may have covered the best actors, directors,….etc. But I present you with the Oscar Fashion Awards. And the winners are….

WORST DRESSED

Jessica Biel

Great idea gone wrong. The make matters worst she paired dress with black round toe pumps.

Runner Up

Beyonce

She looks like my Great Aunt’s couch minus the plastic cover. She should have gone with an all Black dress.

BEST JEWELRY

Taraji P.Henson

Her statement Fred Leighton necklace set off her white strapless Roberto Cavalli dress.

Runner Up

Angelina Jolie

Emerald earring with matching ring was shocking in the right way

BEST DRESSED COUPLE

Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie

Runner Up

Josh Brolin & Diana Lane

BEST DRESSED

Anne Hathaway in Armani Prive

Most fashion critics slept on Miss Hathaway but her Armani Prive dress work of art.

Runner Up

Penelope Cruz in 60 year old vintage Balmain

This woman know how to wear a ball gown.

SHOUT OUTS TO…..

Natilie Portman

Effortless Beauty: Nataile  broke the night’s trend of red and white with a gorgeous pink Rodarte dress. Stunning!!!

Zac & Vanessa

Best dressed couple in training: Are Zac and Vanessa the next Bradagelina?

Sarah Jessica Parker

Hardcore Fashionista: We would expect no less from the era’s most high profile fashion plate: a Dior Haute Couture gown in “barely mint”.

Whoopi Goldberg

Cougar Vixen: Hater blockers…check. Fierce kitty dress… check. Ms. Goldberg knows how to make a statement. Most may not agree but, Whoopi looks great! I appreciate her own inimitable style, in a wafty leopard-print dress that revealed a long shoulder tattoo and tinted John Lennon glasses.

This week, Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy play deadly assassins in Wanted; David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson re-open the X-Files in I Want to Believe; and the next chapter in The Chronicles of Narnia arrives on DVD.

Wanted
Universal
Single Disc: $29.98
Two Disc: $34.98
Blu-ray: $39.98

Plot: When the father he never knew is murdered in cold blood, a wimpy office drone named Wesley (James McAvoy) is drafted into an elite league of assassins and trained to hunt down his father’s killer. Along the way, he flirts with gorgeous colleague Fox (Angelina Jolie) and makes an enemy of the league’s leader, Sloan (Morgan Freeman).

Opinion: As you can probably tell, Wanted‘s plot is derivative nonsense, swiping elements from a long list of other movies (Star Wars and The Matrix just to name a few) and working them into a screenplay that must have read like gibberish on the page. Fortunately for everyone involved, the task of bringing this script to the screen was handed to Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov, whose previous credits include the visually dazzling (if borderline incoherent) fantasy/horror hybrids Nightwatch and Daywatch. Never one to hold the camera still when he could send it hurtling after bullets and falling train cars, Bekmambetov brings a kinetic energy to the picture that helps you forget—or at least ignore—its severely underdeveloped story. Naturally, these kind of visual pyrotechnics wear out their welcome and eventually I found myself wishing that I could pat Timur on the shoulder and tell him to just chill out already.

Extras: A number of very technical featurettes, which focus primarily on the film’s special effects and action sequences. The best of the bonus features covers the differences between the comic book and the movie, with commentary from Wanted creator Mark Millar.

Verdict: Rent It

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The X-Files: I Want to Believe
Fox
Single Disc: $29.99
Three Disc: $34.98

Plot: When an FBI agent goes missing and her severed arm turns up in the snowy wilderness, the Bureau calls in the one man who knows his way around freaky shit: Fox Mulder (David Duchovny). Joining him in this latest X-File is his longtime partner—and now lover—Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who is dealing with her own crisis of faith as she attempts to save the life of a little boy at the hospital where she’s currently employed.

Opinion: It took X-Files creator Chris Carter ten years to mount another big screen version of his cult TV series and this is the best he could come up with?  Seriously, I Want to Believe feels like the final nail in the coffin for a franchise that stopped mattering somewhere around the turn of the 21st century.  According to Carter, he and his co-writer Frank Spotnitz dreamed up the storyline for this film some years ago while the show was still on the air and, indeed, the script does feel like late-period X-Files: ponderous and slow, without any of the imagination or wit that made the first few seasons such fun to watch.  The biggest problem with the film’s central mystery is that it doesn’t remotely seem like an X-File; would the FBI really drag Mulder out of hiding to solve what’s essentially a kidnapping case?  Don’t bother looking for clues to that vast alien conspiracy that was a staple of the series; there are no close encounters of the third kind here.  In fact, all supernatural elements have been drained away and what we’re left with is a glum procedural about a mystery that’s not particularly…well, mysterious.  The only question about the show’s convoluted mythology that I Want to Believe ends up addressing is: “Are Mulder and Scully doing the nasty?”  And the answer is…yes, frequently.  That’s right, Fox and Dana are an honest-to-God couple now, a development that will probably thrill some fans, while pissing others off to no end.  At least this movie’s enormous box-office belly flop means that we’ll be spared from seeing Mulder and Scully ever becoming–ugh–parents.

Extras: Disc One offers a commentary track from Carter and Spotnitz that works great as a cure for insomnia, not so much as an entertaining extra. There are also three inconsequential deleted scenes, a listless 10-minute gag reel, an Xzibit music video and two featurettes. The mother lode is housed on disc two—a 90-minute making-of documentary that the show’s fans will watch religiously.

Verdict: Rent It (X-Files fans only); Skip It (everyone else)

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The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Disney
Single Disc: $29.99
Three Disc: $39.99
Blu-ray Two Disc: $35.99
Blu-ray Three Disc: $40.99

Plot: One year after their first trip to the magical land of Narnia, the Pevensie children find themselves back in that otherworldly realm, fighting alongside the heir to the throne, Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), to rescue Narnia from the clutches of his treacherous uncle.

Opinion: The problems with Prince Caspian begin with the actor who was tapped to take up the title character’s sword and leather jerkin. Onscreen, Barnes is a cold fish—all matinee idol looks, but no gravitas or authority. he shift in focus to Caspian means that the Pevensie kids have less to do. The loss of Tilda Swinton’s White Witch is also deeply felt; it’s telling that the best scene in the movie features that character briefly returning to bedevil our heroes once more. Perhaps the biggest difference between the first film and this one is the tone; where The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe was a traditional family-friendly adventure, Caspian more closely resembles a war movie and even though it received a PG-rating, it may be too intense for really young viewers. I’ve got to admit that I even got a little uncomfortable watching these teenagers repeatedly charge into battle to kill hundreds of adult soldiers. It’s bloodless killing of course, but that doesn’t necessarily make it any more appropriate for the under-5 set. On the plus side, the production values and the special effects are top notch, the action sequences are solid (but not exceptional), and the theme of growing up and leaving “home” is sure to resonate with older kids. In that respect, it’s an entirely serviceable sequel. But if you go in expecting the same magic found in Wardrobe, you’re bound to be disappointed.

Extras: All the usual making-of featurettes, a blooper reel and deleted scenes, plus a digital copy for your desktop.

Verdict: Rent It

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Also on DVD

Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly attempted to recapture some of that Talladega Nights magic in Step Brothers (Sony, $28.96), which fell just short of crossing the magic $100 million mark when it hit theaters in July. That’s disappointing by Ferrell standards, but at least Step Brothers performed better than the family-friendly laffers Space Chimps (Fox, $29.99) and Meet Dave (Fox, $29.99), which were completely ignored during their theatrical run. The former is a decent animated flick about—you guessed it!—chimps in space while the latter is the latest belly flop for the once unstoppable King of Comedy, Eddie Murphy.

If you’re still looking for a stocking stuffer for the film buff in your life, it would be tough to go wrong with Casablanca: Ultimate Collector’s Edition (Warner Bros., $64.98), another extras-laden box set from the good folks at Warner Brothers, who are flooding the market with great gift ideas this holiday season. Packaged in this Moroccan-style box is a two-disc edition of the 1943 Humphrey Bogart classic, a branded passport holder, a luggage tag, a photo book, replicas of various props from the film and a collection of archival documents about the film’s production. If black-and-white romances aren’t your speed, Warner is also coming out with the Austin Powers Collection: Shagadelic Edition Loaded with Extra Mojo (Warner Bros., $74.98), which marks the swinging spy’s first excursion into Blu-ray. Relive those pre-Love Guru days when Mike Meyers was actually funny.

Finally, in TV news, Metalocalypse: Season Two (Cartoon Network, $29.98) offers all 19 episodes from the cult animated show’s sophomore year in a two-disc set with plenty of geek-friendly bonus features. Meanwhile, Universal continues to preserve the long history of late-night staple Saturday Night Live for future generations with Saturday Night Live: The Complete Fourth Season (Universal, $69.98), which transports viewers back in time to 1978, when Jimmy Carter was in the White House, Star Wars mania was in full swing and The Blues Brothers made their not-ready-for-primetime debut.

Did the dingoes eat Angelina Jolie’s baby? Find out in Clint Eastwood’s period mystery Changeling.

Changeling
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Starring Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan, Jason Butler Harner
***

Has the LAPD ever been depicted positively in a movie? I only ask because it seems like Hollywood takes pleasure in regularly treating Los Angeles’ finest as a motley crew of liars, screw-ups and psychos. Even when the cops are the ostensible heroes of the picture—think Lethal Weapon or Bad Boys—they always manage to rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage in the process of collaring the bad guys. Apparently, the LAPD has always been the bane of the city’s existence because police corruption plays a role in almost every period movie made about Los Angeles, from Chinatown to L.A. Confidential.

Clint Eastwood’s latest directorial effort—his 28th if you can believe that—Changeling, continues that trend. Set in the late 1920s, the film recounts the incredible true story of Christine Collins (played here by Angelina Jolie, in a performance that seems like a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination), a single mother who returned home from work one afternoon to discover her young son Walter missing from the small bungalow they shared. Naturally she turns to the police, but from the beginning they prove to be singularly unhelpful in locating her child. Months pass without any progress in the case until news arrives that boy fitting Walter’s description has been located in the Midwest. He’s immediately put on a train bound for Los Angeles and his mother counts the hours, minutes and seconds until her son is back in her arms. With reporters in tow, the beleaguered police force—already the subject of harsh press criticism for their rampant corruption—escort Christine to the train station for a joyous and publicity-friendly reunion. There’s only one problem: the boy that steps off the train isn’t Walter Collins.

That’s the irresistible hook that sets up the rest of Eastwood’s ambitious two-hour plus drama. Despite Christine’s repeated claims that the police have returned the wrong child, the department turns a deaf ear to her protests, even going as far as to lock her away in a mental institution until she comes around to their way of thinking. The only person who believes her is Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), a crusading priest and activist who has made it his mission to bring the LAPD’s many misdeeds to light. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Christine or her new benefactor, a horrific crime scene is discovered on a remote farm to the north of the city. It appears that the property’s owner, a recluse named Gordon Northcott (Jason Butler Harner), has been kidnapping and killing little boys, burying their remains in a mass grave. Could Walter have been one of his victims? And if he was, would Christine be happier believing that he was still out there somewhere, waiting to be found?

Changeling was written by geek icon J. Michael Straczynski, who created the cult sci-fi series Babylon 5 and has penned such comics as Rising Stars and The Amazing Spider-Man. This is his first feature film script to make it to the big screen, not to mention the only one that doesn’t involve aliens or super-powered heroes in colorful spandex. But the same elements that distinguish his work in those arenas are apparent here as well, most notably his sure hand at constructing a sprawling narrative that covers a lot of ground with few wasted moments. As each new turn in this mystery is revealed, the film always seems on the verge of spiraling out of control, but Straczynski deftly keeps the various balls in the air.

He’s helped in that department by the films director and star, who also have little patience for distractions. One of the least showy filmmakers in Hollywood, Eastwood’s preference for clean, uncluttered frames is an appropriate counterpoint to the busy plot. As for Jolie, she repeatedly cuts to the emotional heart of every scene. No doubt drawing on her own experiences as a mother, she convincingly shows us how Christine’s desperation leaves her susceptible to the cops’ suggestions that she’s the one who has made a mistake, but then gives her the ferocity necessary to take her case all the way to the city council.

If I had to rank Changeling against the films Eastwood’s recent output, I’d put it ahead of Mystic River and Flags of Our Fathers, but behind Letters of Iwo Jima and Million Dollar Baby. Even though the movie keeps us involved throughout its lengthy runtime, it would have benefited from some judicious trimming in the final act, which contains more endings than the last Lord of the Rings flick. Straczynski’s normally reliable ear for dialogue also fails him at times, resulting in some laughably clunky line readings. Nevertheless, Changeling succeeds as both a compelling mystery and a period piece that still feels relevant today. Just don’t expect it to be a favorite amongst the LAPD.

Verdict: See It

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Also Opening in Limited Release

Fear(s) of the Dark
***1/2
This freaky anthology of French horror cartoons is about as far away from Disney as you can get. Six different artists and illustrators contributed short animated films to the project and it goes without saying that some are better than others. The standouts include the Kafkaesque tale of a sexually repressed entomologist who begins dating a woman with a dark (and possibly bug-related) secret and a spooky story about a nocturnal creature terrorizing a small village. Less effective is an anime-style hallucination involving a young girl and a mad scientist and the random bits of abstract animation that act as unnecessary chapter breaks. Still, the final cartoon alone—a brilliant haunted house adventure told with virtually no dialogue—makes Fear(s) of the Dark a must-see for any horror fan.
Verdict: See It

Let the Right One In
***
And after those horror fans are done with Fear(s) of the Dark they should make a beeline for Let the Right One In, an inventive, if uneven, spin on the vampire genre, which is suddenly back in vogue following HBO’s True Blood and the upcoming Twilight. Set in Sweden, the film follows the strange friendship that develops between a picked-upon boy and his next-door neighbor—a withdrawn girl with a serious blood addiction. While the two young actors deliver strong star turns, many of the supporting performances (particularly the bullies who constantly torment our hero) are downright amateurish, to the point where they threaten to completely derail the film’s low-key realism. But director Tomas Alfredson saves the day with a terrific ending that contains the best decapitation I’ve seen since Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof.
Verdict: See It

Ben X
***
Bullying also plays a major role in Ben X, a Belgian film about a teenager with Asperger’s Syndrome (a form of autism) who escapes from his ordinary life through one of those massively mutliplayer online fantasy games.  In the virtual world, he’s a heroic swordsman, quick with a blade and smooth with the ladies…particularly a lady named Scarlite, who is his frequent companion on his various quests.  In reality though, Ben is ignored or actively despised by most of his peers, who take great pleasure in his repeated humiliations at the hands of three schoolyard punks.  It’s only a matter of time until the poor kid hurts himself or someone else and flash-forwards that are peppered throughout the movie suggest we’re in store for a major tragedy.  But Ben X never quite goes where you expect it to; writer/director Nic Balthazar has several surprises up his sleeve, although he outsmarts himself in the end with a climactic scene that doesn’t really make logical sense.  Still, full credit to him for working MMOG footage into the movie in such a creative, seamless manner.   It’s fair to say that more than a few hardcore gamers will see elements of their personality reflected in the title character.
Verdict: See It

Legendary movie star/director Clint Eastwood drops by the NYFF to talk about Angelina, L.A. in the ’20s and whether he’s going to give up acting for good.

Clint Eastwood has been a movie star for almost five decades now, but it’s only been within the last twenty years that he’s also emerged as one of Hollywood’s best mainstream directors. While he’s had his ups (Unforgiven, Letters from Iwo Jima) and his downs (Mystic River, Blood Work), you can generally count on an Eastwood picture to be an impeccably made studio production, at least from a technical standpoint. The 78-year-old actor/director/composer’s latest feature Changeling definitely ranks amongst his stronger efforts. Based on an almost too-incredible-to-be-true story, Changeling follows the efforts of Christine Collins (played by Angelina Jolie), a single mother living in Los Angeles circa 1928, to convince the notoriously corrupt LAPD to find her kidnapped son. After five months of fruitless searching, the police announce that they’ve found the boy and bring Christine down to the train station for a tearful reunion. There’s only one problem: the boy that steps off the train isn’t her son. And when Christine tries to tell the cops they’ve brought home the wrong kid, they belittle her, ridicule her and even have her locked up in an asylum under suspicion of being “mentally unstable.” Eastwood spoke about the film and his career at a press conference following the festival screening of Changeling.

On his first exposure to Christine Collins’ story
“I didn’t know too much about the story before I read the script. L.A. is historically famous for having lots of crazy situations happen, but this one was very unusual. The screenwriter did a very interesting thing: he attached real ’20s newspaper clippings about the story on the back of the script pages. Those clippings really brought the story to life.”

On working with Angelina Jolie
“I didn’t know Angelina very well before making the movie. I had always thought of her as a very interesting actress and a very good actress, but in recent years she’s had so much publicity being on the cover of almost every magazine in the world. A lot of other people appear on lots of magazine covers and it doesn’t mean they’re talented, but in her case, she is really talented. She’s as prepared as any actress I’ve worked with. She came in prepared to attack the character and she was ready to go quickly. When I’m shooting, I like to catch someone before they’ve spoken their dialogue too many times.”

On staying true to the look and feel of ’20s-era Los Angeles
“I was born in 1930 so the vernacular is still fresh in my brain…whatever’s left of it anyway. [Laughs] To do a period film in Los Angeles is difficult because the city has changed so much over the years. At that point in history it was a very centralized city and not a very big one. But we did shoot the entire movie in L.A. and managed to find neighborhoods that were still antique and antiqued them some more.”

On being a composer as well as a director
“Well, the nice thing about the arrangement is that the composer does exactly what the director wants! It makes it simple. When you make a film, you start living with it and I hear certain things and sit down and figure out some sound or melody that I think would go well with a film. I wrote a theme for Unforgiven long before I made the film. It’s not brain surgery. You just kind of feel it along. For Changeling, I wrote the score as we were making the film. Then I’d bring something in while we were editing and fool around with it for awhile.

On his current political leanings
I haven’t been very active in politics recently. I started out as a Republican in 1951. I was a 21-year-old solider in the army and I wanted to vote for Eisenhower. But the Republican party has changed in many ways since then, as the Democrats have. So I’ve drifted towards Libertarian views. Libertarian ideas–leave everybody alone, don’t over-regulate–are appealing to a guy who came up in the ’30s and watched his parents struggle in the Depression. These days you hear politicians promise everything, like they’re on the Oprah show. That has kind of perverted politics. And whatever happens between Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama–who knows?

On whether he ever sees himself giving up acting for directing
In my senior years, I’ve enjoyed staying behind the camera and letting younger actors out there run with the ball. It’s a great pleasure these days to watch talent come along at such young ages. It took me forever how to say my own name [on camera]. Since this picture was completed, I’ve done another film in which I performed even though I said I wouldn’t do that anymore. I started saying that a few years ago and then Million Dollar Baby came along and I liked that role. And then this one is called Gran Torino, which we just finished. It’s with Warner Brothers and it’ll probably come out in December.

Changeling screens at the NYFF on Saturday, October 4 and Sunday, October 5. It opens theatrically on October 24.