There are some spectacular rapidly spinning, twisting lifts that never look self-conscious, since they are subsumed into the overall rush of movement.
And he didn't even look self-conscious when, in the final segment, a "political party" where younger bloggers and journalists join the hosts at a table and festively trade quips, Ms. Parker asked him to identify his secret "guilty pleasure".
That final coda does not entirely work: inevitably, some of the dreamed-up technological innovations and stylings look self-conscious and the sheer weirdness means that the emotional power of ordinary life is no longer available.
But once we leave the hotel for the forest, some of the film's energy, atmosphere and control is dissipated: the superbly clenched, angular weirdness and explosive gags lose their direction and force and Lanthimos's distinctive weirdness begins to look self-conscious and contrived.
These days, choreographers are constantly being urged to create same-sex duets, but a lot of dance-makers don't really know what to do with the form, and the results can easily come off as either self-conscious or the opposite: cold, so as not to look self-conscious.
Try not to look self-conscious, tending to the accident calmly and quietly.
While a few exceptional individuals can manage to be sexy while making fun of themselves (like the male leads in Woody Allen movies), it's a risky move for most ordinary people, who may unintentionally make themselves look self-conscious or insecure with this type of approach.
Mr. Hernandez sat beside her, looking self-conscious as she told the story.
The solicitor complained about this, too, and meanwhile the suspect stood there looking self-conscious.
In many cases, the result looks self-conscious, sentimental — about ballet and ballet dancers — a fact unquestionably related to Robbins's late training and his worry that he did not belong in ballet.
What's delicious about seeing the decapitated front-runner grovel, cuddle and muddle through TV appearances, striving to be self-aware and self-deprecating, but often ending up looking self-conscious?
