Rating: Summary: A Masterpiece Review: Of all the movies of 2001, this is the one I keep returning to. Everytime I watch it I find I see more layers of richness and detail and I find more emotional depth. It's a simple story, but deliberately so, like all the great myths. It turns instantly from broad comedy to romance to poignance and tragedy, sometimes mixing them all simultaneously. There are hundreds of cultural references in this movie, each one adding a mosaic chip of power and emotion to the whole. Take "Like a Virgin" for instance; you have the waiters' dance from "Hello Dolly" combined with a dark Satanic vision of sexual evil combined with Jim Broadbent's hysterically looney drag pantomime to deceive and frustrate the lustful Duke intercut with Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor's love story racing toward its tragic climax. This film-making is bold, brilliant, moving, complex and so original that it will change the movie musical forever. It's the first film masterpiece of the 21st century. (Plus the music is great, and how can you not love a movie where John Leguizamo plays Toulouse Leautrec as a parody of Sister Wendy?)
Rating: Summary: Superb Review: Great movie/great DVD. I laughed and cried throughout it at the theater and do the same at home.
Rating: Summary: Spectacular, Spectacular Review: I totally disagree with Dr. Ravna's cruel and unusual review. i saw this movie in the theater and thought it was wonderful and that both main actors were wonderful singers. The way the director shot this film was marvoulus. The part where they first go to the Moulin Rouge was just many quick three second shots! I hope this movie wins many Academy Awards and it already won 3 Golden Globes. So if you are thinking of see this movie, RUN out to the nearest rental store and pick up a copy!
Rating: Summary: And Now For Something Completely Different. Review: I had heard a lot of good things from friends about MOULIN ROUGE and critics seemed to love it. However, the only promotions I had seen for the film advertised the sexuality of the picture and nothing else. That made me a bit leery. However, after finally viewing the movie, I'm happy to say though the film is full of sexuality (notice I said sexuality and not sex), it's a great movie well worth watching.The plot of the film, about star-crossed lovers separated by different lifestyles is an old one; but makes for a great story when told well (by the way, in MOULIN ROUGE the poor man wins the girl in the end, but in a slight twist, fate intervenes). And in MOULIN ROUGE the story is told exceptionally well. The scenery and costumes are marvelous, capturing all the lively decadence that was the Moulin Rouge. The altered pop music score and soundtrack is brilliantly done and one can only hope that future films choosing to use this format will be as well done. Many have praised and much ballyhoo as been given to Nicole Kidman for her performance and she may end up garnishing an Oscar because of it. However, Kidman isn't the real star of this movie. The real star is Ewan McGregor. He pulls off one of the finest and most believable performances of his career. Not only that, but man can this boy sing? Did anyone ever know how good his pipes were? He could easily pull of a Broadway musical and it would be a treat to see him try. Now, I'm not dissing Kidman; she gives a fine performance and has a difficult role. Nevertheless, McGregor has been overlooked and he's the one who really pulls off the better performance. Besides, it is his character (Christian) and not Kidman's (Satine), that the story really revolves around. The supporting cast is wonderful as well. As for the movie overall. The first twenty minutes are really strange and bizarre. After that, the pace picks up and things make sense. It is as though Baz Luhrmann didn't know what kind of movie he was making, toyed about doing a musical farce, but finally decided to make a pop-cultured, new breed musical. I'm glad Luhrmann finally made up his mind.
Rating: Summary: Garish. No substance. Review: I loved Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet, but I think this project is a failure. I respect him for his ambitiousness and I encourage him to keep up with such attempts for the successes are surely worth it. In my opinion, the film failed in several respects. Foremost, I don't think there is any character development. What fuels Satine's ambition? How can Zidler be so cold and greedy? Louie and that gang, they only appear when it's convenient for the unbelievably weak plot. The life in the club is not developed well either. Basically, I didn't get a chance to know the characters or the "bohemian life" well enough to feel anything for them. The musical aspect of the movie did not seem to work either. To me, this really muddled what Director Luhrman was aiming for. What is the significance of using take-offs of 80's hits? Is this supposed to be some satirical social commentary? There is a shallowness and ambiguousness throughout the movie. Thus, although I wanted to like Satine and Christian, all I could muster was a sense of triteness.
Rating: Summary: Smells like teen spirit.......... Review: Ugh...........Talk about a terrible film. It's no surprise that Moulin Rouge was so well received in today's pop-culture wasteland by a bunch of pop-culture drones. Baz Luhrmann has taken a classic tale of a penniless writer (Ewan McGregor) who falls in love with a stunning and exotic showgirl (Nicole Kidman) in the famous turn of the century Paris nightclub and turned it into an MTV video full of frantic editing that kills any appreciation one might have for the lovely sets. Every camera shot is soft-focused and stop-actioned and grainy-printed to within an inch of its life....YAWN. And Moulin Rouge is a musical? Nirvana? Modanna? Queen? Elton John? Oh please. No, placing [...sorry] modern rock tracks to an historical event is not "brilliant." Why not throw in Ozzy Osbourne, Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins, Duran Duran, Nine Inch Nails, Sex Pistols, and Public Enemy? Moulin Rouge isn't the next Grease or West Side Story, Moulin Rouge is nothing more than a 21st century Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Rating: Summary: I was looking forward to see this movie Review: Only three movies in my life have I walked out on: 1 - Terms of Endearment 2 - Drunken Master (Jackie Chan) 3 - Moulon Rouge I love movies, and have rented every new release Blockbuster has had over the last 10 years. I'm sorry, but this movie was absolutely terrible. I walked out at the 41 minute mark -- couldn't take it any longer. For you younger people: the green, flaming drinks that most of the characters were drinking are called 'Absinthe'. Absinthe was the late 1800's version of LSD, was very popular in europe, but now very illegal. It seemed to me like the director, writer, cast and crew had found a supply of real Absinthe, and were tripping heavily during the production of this show. Everything was so disconnected, like a jumpled, bad acid trip. The costumes, sets, and camera angles were O.K., but the lighting was always too dark, as though filmed in a dark studio. Nichole had a nervous, bloodshot look that I found disturbing. The lead actor had terrible teeth, too many close-ups. I am sorry to be negative about such a popular movie. No, I'm not a mormon. I really rate this movie ZERO stars, but the website where you type your reviews only goes down to one star.
Rating: Summary: Waste of time! Review: I was completely surprised by this movie. I heard nothing but good things about it. I was so annoyed by the end of the movie I had to watch American pie with a Remember the titans chaser to calm down. Nicole Kidman was great to look at but everything else was terrible. They tried to make the movie interesting by putting in a bunch of freaky people but it only made me feel more distant. Do not buy this movie unless you are into torturing yourself.
Rating: Summary: Best movie I've seen this year. Review: Surprisingly, I loved Moulin Rouge. It was one of those rare films that exceeded my expectations by a wide margin. I'll admit I didn't expect much, as I'm not a big fan of musicals or Ewan McG. And had I known the Romeo and Juliet guy made it, I probably never would have watched it. I know the love story is incredibly formulaic, but the movie is visually and aurally stunning enough to make the whole experience a load of fun. From the opening seconds with the conductor guy flailing around to the old reliable 20th Century Fox theme, I immediatley began to get into the spirit and as a result, enjoyed the the show immensely. I've been humming those cheesy pop love songs for weeks. Great DVD. I've been playing this thing over and over again. It really shows off the format, with excellent, immersive sound and dramatic colors. The soundtrack is so much fun you'll be playing this thing louder and louder each time you watch. See Moulin Rouge with an open mind and you won't be disappointed.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful entertainment Review: I am definitely in the love-this-movie category. It hooked me right away from the magical introduction. I wasn't however attracted to the movie by the trailers. This is not a movie that any kind of trailer, or snapshot of scenes, can accurately convey. You really have to watch it. It has far far too many things in it to be described in a single word - almost like a Christmas stocking filled with wonderful unexpected surprises, it fills you with delight and amazement to go through it. It has been criticised for being a triumph of style over substance. I feel this misses the point. Musicals have always been about conveying emotion and entertainment through song and dance, not about delving into serious issues or the human condition. What kind of substance does the BandWagon, Singing in the Rain, The King and I, have? The frantic choppy editing has been criticised but I think the point of the editing was to induce in the viewer that feeling of being overwhelmed when you step into something bizarre. Yes, it is nausea inducing but it's intended to create that precise effect because that was what being in the Moulin Rouge for the first time felt like for Christian, and we see the Moulin Rouge from his perspective. Yes, it's a pity the dance routines were so cut up that we couldn't see more than a blur of images, but that's what Christian felt like when he was in the Moulin Rouge, that was the whole point. He was overwhelmed by it all. They could have shown a blow by blow account of the dance routine, but that would only have served to show off the dance moves, and not the story as experienced through the eyes of the character. Tremendously enjoyable, unusual, unexpected and original. I've watched many movies, but few that I can recall enjoying or wanting to see repeatedly as much as this one. My one regret? That I will never again be able to see it for the first time.
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