Chris & Denzel

Chris: "My style is hobo-chic. Denzel inspires my fashion."

Denzel: "I call my look last night's outfit."

Carrie

Gini & Andrew

TorontoVerve made #7 on Street Style News' Daily Most Popular Chart:
http://www.streetstylenews.com/most-popular-february-27-2013/

Andrew & Chris: Colour Block Etiquette

Andrew: "My style depends on how I feel. I get a lot of inspiration from fashion blogs like Street Etiquette from New York."

Chris: "My style inspiration comes from the classic 80's era. I love colour blocks. You don't necessary have to put colours together to show fashion sense -- a lot of it has to do with creativity. It also depends on how I feel. I can go crazy or be classy."

Martha

"May I Have the Envelope, Please?" Gab & Dad's Gabrielle Domingues Predicts the Oscars

I must confess my Oscar predictions usually remain cozily within my cranium, evaporating as I watch the show solo, and leaving no one the wiser for my savvy or lack thereof. I have handily avoided putting picks in print; but this year I could not deny this invite from the awesome TorontoVerve – (the first and last time I’ll be courted by anything style-related)!

So bearing in mind that I bring no official accreditation, nor impressive success rate, I herby submit my humble predictions*… *Note: not personal preferences!


Best Picture
The nominees: Amour, Argo, Beast of the Southern Wild, Django Unchained, Les Misérables, Life of Pi, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook and Zero Dark Thirty

Winner: Argo
Actual Winner: Argo

Every Oscar predictions year brings its own unique surprises and head-scratchers to the Best Picture table, particularly since the category was opened to a possible ten contenders. The biggest “WTF?” this year is the snub of Ben Affleck for Best Director, which threw shade on Argo’s shot at top prize. Since its premiere at TIFF, Argo was arguably a contender for Best Picture; but with Affleck’s absence, Argo seemed a goner. But like the true 11th-hour covert operation of the film, advance awards have smuggled it back out and above the pack… How do you like them apples? Its biggest obstacle is Lincoln, which has a nominated director to back it up – by the name of Spielberg. If the Academy votes Abe over Argo, in my opinion it will be to suppress its embarrassment over the Argo issue, and to keep things conservative.


Best Director
The Nominees: Michael Haneke (Amour), Ang Lee (Life of Pi), David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook), Steven Spielberg (Lincoln) and Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild)

Winner: Steven Spielberg (Lincoln)
Actual Winner: Ang Lee (Life of Pi)

My primary pet peeve with nominations/wins is when Best Picture is divorced from Best Director. It seems to fly in the face of logic: How can a film be considered the best, if its direction wasn’t (and vice versa)? Just as in your Oscar pool you may want to split these picks in order to hedge your bets, so too may the awards go to two different pictures in order to spread the love, right some wrongs, maximize ratings…. If Argo is going to win Best Picture, its director cannot win. So logic dictates that its closest competition’s director will. That said person -- the living legend, beloved and immeasurably successful Steven Spielberg -- makes this more obvious and appealing than in other circumstances. Just as the infamous Oscar incident of 1998 with Saving Private Ryan, Steven may again the bridesmaid be.




Best Actor
The Nominees: Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln), Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables), Joaquin Phoenix (The Master) and Denzel Washington (Flight)

Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)
Actual Winner: Daniel Day-Lewis (Lincoln)

One of the few no-brainers this year. Praise for his uncanny and inspiring embodiment of Abraham Lincoln is universal, the viewer believing they are witnessing a historical figure in action which we could otherwise only imagine. Any of the other nominees would readily bow in Day-Lewis’s wake. The closest runner-up is probably Hugh Jackman, but loved as he is, I just don’t see the Academy tossing him the crust of bread for song and dance up against Honest Abe.


Best Actress
The Nominees: Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Emmanuelle Riva (Amour), Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Naomi Watts (The Impossible)

Winner: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)
Actual Winner: Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)

Seemingly a sure-thing, if the lead-up awards are any indicator. Lawrence has been lauded as the stand-out performance in a much-loved film, particularly impressive considering all her cast-mates are nominated as well. Any young actress who can go toe-to-toe with De Niro deserves her day. She may say ‘You talkin’ to me?’ to Jessica Chastain, who carries the thinking-woman’s action thriller with fascinating fire, but political controversy should squelch that spark.


Best Supporting Actor
The Nominees: Alan Arkin (Argo), Robert De Niro (Silver Linings Playbook), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master), Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln) and Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

Winner: Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)
Actual Winner: Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

This category seems a dead heat between two living legends, Jones and De Niro. Both are nominated for much-loved films that have additional acting nominations, both are past winners, both have surly reputations which are scary/tempting to invite onto the stage. De Niro seems to have campaigned in his own way, while Jones is attached to the stronger bet; the Academy also loves biographical portrayals. Ok, I guess I’m Jones-ing.


Best Supporting Actress
The Nominees: Amy Adams (The Master), Sally Field (Lincoln), Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables), Helen Hunt (The Sessions) and Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook)

Winner: Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)
Actual Winner: Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables)

I had a dream that Anne DOESN’T win, but that ain’t gonna happen… I think she’s already on the stage as I write this. As with J-Law, pre-Oscar awards have left Anne grinning like a cheshire cat-woman. Along with her hair, it’s hers to lose. The only possible cat-fight could be with Sally Field, because the Academy likes her, they really like her. But Lincoln was a man’s movie, and her Mrs. Lincoln cray-cray can’t out-wail Hathaway.


Best Original Song
The Nominees: "Before My Time" (Chasing Ice), "Everybody Needs a Best Friend" (Ted), "Pi's Lullaby" (Life of Pi), "Skyfall" (Skyfall) and "Suddenly" (Les Misérables)

Winner: "Skyfall" Music and Lyric by Adele and Paul Epworth (Skyfall)
Actual Winner: "Skyfall" Music and Lyric by Adele and Paul Epworth (Skyfall)

"This is the end." The first time we heard the haunting lyrics and grandiose melody on the radio prior to the film's release, or accompanying the poetic and dramatic opening credit imagery, these four words summed up the Best Song category. The perfect pairing of capturing tone (and even plot) of a film, with belt-it-out-in-your-car popular playability, "Skyfall" and Adele go together like Bond and M. On Oscar night, she will stand tall.


Best Animated Feature
The Nominees: The Brave, Frankenweenie, ParaNorman, The Pirates! Band of Misfits and Wreck-It Ralph

Winner: Wreck-It Ralph
Actual Winner: The Brave

Power up! Loved by the Disney and Gen-Y fan-bases alike, and dominating pre-Oscar awards in this field (such as the ‘Annies’), Ralph is sure to get wreck-ognized as being top of the game in this relatively new category.


Best Documentary
The Nominees: 5 Broken Cameras, The Gatekeepers, How to Survive a Plague, The Invisible War and Searching for Sugar Man

Winner: Searching for Sugar Man
Actual Winner: Searching for Sugar Man

Look no further for the sweet spot in this category… Lauded with many early awards, (including Best Doc by the International Documentary Assoc.), and the biggest box office success in its category, Sixto Rodriguez is the man.


Best Foreign Language Film
The Nominees: Amour (Austria), Kon-Tiki (Norway), No (Chile), A Royal Affair (Denmark) and War Witch aka Rebelle (Canada)

Winner: Amour (Austria)
Actual Winner: Amour (Austria)

While patriotism makes me inclined to root for Canada’s War Witch, it would be très fou to not show Amour love in this category. It boasts four additional nominations, including Best Picture, so how could it not win for Best Foreign?




A special thank you to Gabrielle Domingues for sharing her Oscar predictions with us.
- TorontoVerve

If you can't wait to watch the 85th Academy Awards this Sunday at 8:30pm EST on ABC/CTV, hit play below to check out Gab & Dad's 2013 Oscar Special!




Follow Gabrielle on Twitter.

At the Movies with Gabrielle Domingues

Seeing that this is the week of the Academy Awards, I want to shift my focus from street style to motion pictures. Recently, I met with Gabrielle Domingues of the daughter/father film-review duo Gab & Dad to talk about movies, the Oscars and her special relationship with her dad.

Since they started four years ago, Gabrielle and Philip Slayton have gained a lot of notoriety on YouTube for their special brand of film reviews. She's a stay-at-home mother of two and he's a retired lawyer and best-selling author. As an avid watcher of their show, I discovered that their fresh perspective on film is not only fun and informative - it's a family affair.

TorontoVerve: How did you and your dad start Gab & Dad?


Gab: We always loved going to movies together since I was a little girl so I could credit my dad with instilling my love of film, which continues into my adulthood. We began going to a lot of movies together when I was in -between jobs 4 years ago. Coming out of the theatre, we always had lively banter and often disagreed with each other – just like our relationship. Then one day my dad said that we should do reviews on YouTube – he barely knew what YouTube was.

I was initially against it. I thought, ‘why would anybody care?’, but he was the driving force and purchased a video camera. Our first review was I Love You, Man and we were getting all these responses. We were curious and gratified that people were interested in our reviews so we kept doing it and fed off the feedback. Eventually, our subscriber base grew and we received a lot of positive feedback. But we received our share of negative feedback too. People have very strong opinions about movies so often people disagree with us. And occasionally some don’t express themselves intelligently, which may result in comments like “you’re dumb” and “you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Some people think that we’re sort of elitist maybe because dad’s image is older, distinguished and very educated – he has a bit of a British accent so he might come across as pompous to some viewers and I can be quite verbose.

Most of the reviewers on YouTube are young males and most of the viewers are young males so what they generally expect is, “dude, that Stallone movie was rad!” And we’re more cerebral than that. Not always, but maybe we are a bit more elitist. I don’t know. But on the flip-side that’s what makes us different and a lot of people respond positively to our Daughter/Father relationship and our fresh perspective on film.

[Gabrielle Domingues and Philip Slayton on air reviewing A Good Day to Die Hard]

TV: What do you love the most about doing film reviews with your dad?
 

Gab: It’s an extension of our great relationship. We’re very opinionated and we like to express ourselves. We love it when we agree with each other, which is often, but we also love it when we don’t agree with each other. I can argue with my dad about a movie and it’s not going to hurt our relationship. It’s not personal or sensitive. It’s a great way to share thoughts and feelings with him. And sometimes in our reviews, things get a little personal. We’ll bicker. Occasionally, people will even comment, “Dad wasn’t very nice to you.” It’s almost like our therapy couch and I love to share that with him. Especially now, I’m an adult with a busy life and he’s busy in his retirement – sometimes it’s what brings us together. If we haven’t seen a movie in 2 weeks, we’ve got to make that time. It’s a thread that ensures that we don’t let too much time pass without seeing each other.  

TV: What was it like growing up with your dad?
 

Gab: My parents were divorced when I was very young, so I spent most of the time with my father on weekends. For better or for worse – it was mostly the fun times with my dad. During the week, going to school and getting in trouble was sort of my mom’s territory. On weekends, dad would always have something fun planned and movies were a big part of that. I remember when he took me to see Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan when I was 8 years old. 

During that time, he was a high-powered lawyer and under a lot stress. Occasionally, he was grumpy and insular. I never disturbed him when he was in his office otherwise I’d get into trouble. There was that other side of him that I didn’t cross. So now I like the way we banter about movies and I don’t have to risk getting him mad at me for some real reason. Even though I’m a parent now, I still feel like a kid in some ways in our relationship. I also like to see his relationship with my children. Of course, grand-parents get to have all the fun and none of the hard stuff. My dad and I have always been similar in a lot of ways. He’s my rock. Even when he’s away – he’s in Paris now – I feel slightly abandoned because he’s so far away (laughs). So we’ll Skype and talk about movies to keep the lines of communication open.

TV: What types of films do you like to see together?   

Gab: Over the years, we’ve seen almost anything and it’s the same with Gab & Dad. I like mainstream films so I’ll drag dad to The A-Team or the latest Die Hard – films he wouldn’t go see in a million years unless I made him. And those are among our funniest reviews because he’s like ‘this is just crap!” But really, he’s up for anything. Some of my favourite genres are Sci-Fi and psychological thrillers and dad may lean more towards artistic, high-art and cerebral films. But when we see movies together, it doesn’t really matter what it is because we’re mainly interested in seeing how the other will react – whether it is his pick or mine. I read more about movies and I know more about their background so he’ll usually trust me with my choices. But when he reacts in a pooh-pooh way, I can get frustrated with that because sometimes I think he just does that to rile me and the viewers up. I want him to be fair to the movies – no matter what they are. But we’ll see anything and it’s all about the reaction. Sometimes a bad movie can be a fun review.

TV: Isn’t it better for the show if he pooh-poohs a film?

Gab: Yeah, the more controversial we are, the higher our views. For our worst of 2012, dad picked Lincoln as the worst movie of the year and I know he did that to be provocative. He doesn’t literally believe it’s the worst film of the year. I mean, I have to roll my eyes and people who have watched Gab & Dad for a long time know to expect that from him now. In some ways, I’m more the voice of reason and more ‘one-with-the-people’ because I more or less understand the general sensibility of film-goers. I can also be hard on popular films and sometimes, I too suffer the backlash. That’s why we stand out as well and maybe that’s why we’re not as popular because we’re always honest. If we see flaws in a popular movie, we’re going to say so and that might turn some people off. We may exaggerate for entertainment purposes, but we won’t ever sell out.  

TV: Your dad is a respected lawyer and law author. Did he have hopes of you becoming a lawyer?

Gab:
 He’s never pushed that upon me, but I think he would have been proud to see that. Being in the law profession, he knew all the negative sides of it and he’s written about it. I don’t think he necessarily thought it would be the best thing for his only child to do. There would be times when we would be debating about something and he would look at me and say, “you’d make a good lawyer.” And I always took that as a compliment coming from him because I think using your intellect and research to convince someone of your point of view is exciting in law, and yet, you can also apply it to all other aspects of your life – like being a film critic.

I don’t think he regrets that I’m not a lawyer. Maybe he’d like to see me more successful than I’ve managed to be for various reasons, but like any other parent, I think he wants to see me happy and I believe he thinks that I have skills and strength that perhaps I haven’t fully acknowledged in myself, and he would like to see me use those qualities to elevate myself further. Like with Gab & Dad, he says, “we should get more publicity and have our own show by now,” but he really means me because he doesn’t need all that at this stage in his life – although he likes the attention. I think he really wants me to find that big thing that I’m passionate about.  

TV: Not only do you review movies with your dad, you also do reviews with your 10 year old son Max.

Gab: When dad was busy, I’ve done a few reviews alone, but I really prefer bouncing off of somebody. So when Max was 6, I got him involved. And that’s something people haven’t seen before: a mother and son film review. But to me it’s logical if we’re reviewing a kid’s movie. What would a kid think? Max’s teacher thinks it’s great for his confidence and it’s fun for me.

TV: You’ve done the show with your dad and son. Can we expect a review or two with your husband?

Gab: He’ll never do the show. He’s always rolled his eyes at Gab & Dad. His attitude is if it makes me happy that’s fine, but he thinks it’s silly and weird. At first, he didn’t want me to involve our son with the show, but he sees that it’s harmless now. He likes movies, but he prefers watching them at home. It’s disappointing that my partner isn’t as passionate about film as I am, but my dad and Max compensate for that.     


TV: More than ever Hollywood has come under fire about gun violence, most recently sparked by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut. What is your position on gun-violence in movies?


Gab: I feel strongly that’s it’s a very unfair correlation that’s made between gun-violence in the media and real world. Violence in films can be gratuitous and film-makers should be responsible, but if it serves the story in a crime-thriller, then violence has to play a part. It would be extremely ignorant or surreal to try to remove elements of violence from media. Just like the notion of taking cigarettes out. Their hearts are in the right place, but to have no character in cinema or TV that ever smokes a cigarette is not realistic or fair to the vision of story writers, who imagine a chain-smoking character. It’s not the responsibility of film to portray a morally perfect world that we should all aspire to. Also, there are millions of people who aren’t buying guns to hurt people and who are also avid movie-goers and TV watchers. Anyone who gets an idea from a film to hurt people is someone who has lots of other issues and problems that have nothing at all to do with movies. Anytime the finger is pointed at film, it’s usually a convenient scapegoat that’s completely ignorant in my opinion.

Even country-wise, Canadians watch the same films as Americans, but compare the violence statistics. That to me is such an obvious counter-argument that I really can’t believe when the opposite argument gets any traction.      

TV: So the Oscars are around the corner, which film or actor do your think got snubbed the most?


Gab: The consensus is that Ben Affleck not getting the Director nomination for Argo is the biggest snub and it seems really bizarre now because he’s won all the other awards for Best Director (Golden Globes, Screen Actor’s Guild and the British Academy Film Awards). That will officially go on the record as the biggest snub. For me personally, I think the film The Sessions really was overlooked. It’s a small film that sadly people didn’t go see. Helen Hunt is nominated, but she won’t win and John Hawkes not getting nominated is a huge miscarriage of Oscar justice. Yes, it’s Daniel Day Lewis’ year, but still, John Hawkes should have been there. Also, The Dark Knight Rises not getting anything in visual-effects or cinematography at the very least is very disappointing to me.       


TV: How will you and your family watch the Oscars?

Gab: I watch the Oscars by myself because I really like to go in the cone of silence. I sit on the couch and order everyone in the house to leave me alone – that includes my 1 year-old daughter Rosie, whom I want nothing to do with for those 4 hours or so (laughs). She’s in my husband’s hands. I really enjoy absorbing the show by myself. I don’t want to miss a thing and I certainly don’t want people talking. I have some friends who are into it, but not as much as me. And in the past, I’ve gone to Oscar parties, but I actually don’t enjoy it because it’s too distracting – people are eating and chatting and I just want to be in the zone. This year, my son has expressed interest in watching because he knows how much it means to me and he loves movies. I’ll let him watch for a bit, and if he starts to lose his concentration, I will dismiss him (laughs). The Oscars are still a solitary enjoyment for me and that’s the way I like it.


The 85th Academy Awards airs this Sunday at 8:30pm EST on ABC/CTV. Be sure to return tomorrow when Gabrielle exclusively shares her Oscar predictions with TorontoVerve.

Follow Gabrielle on Twitter.

* Gab & Dad photos furnished by Gabrielle.

Connor & Zoe

Angela: "Vintage & Boho-Glam"

"My style is vintage and boho-glam inspired."

Angela is co-owner of Fitzroy Boutique located on Queen Street West.

"We specialize in Australian labels that are wearable, effortless, cute and boho-glam -- all under $200."

For more info, check out Fitzroy Boutique's blog.

TorontoVerve made #10 on Street Style News' Daily Most Popular Chart: 
http://www.streetstylenews.com/most-popular-february-14-2013/

Coincidently, we captured Juli's, Fitzroy's other owner, street style last winter.

Megu, Rika & Hatsune: Hunting for Vintage Treasure

We met Megu, Rika and Hatsune on Ossington Avenue as they were hunting for vintage treasures. The fashionable trio are professional pickers from Japan and plan to sell their classic finds back home.

Megu

Rika

Hatsune

Shutsu

Ivona

Cory: Fassbender Style

"Although I don't think I dress like him much, I like Michael Fassbender's style."

Kellie

"My style is inspired by what I see on fashion blogs -- particularly Atlantic Pacific because
Blair Eadie has a unique way of mixing colours and accessories."

Kristina: "Urban Class"

"I come from Moscow so my style is influenced by Russian fashion, which is highly modern, trendy and classic."