Rating: 
Summary: Can't-can't.
Review: Turn-of-the-20th-Century Paris, by way of the iMac, 15 whirling-dervish cameras, and 1,000,000 jump cuts. I knew I would hate *Moulin Rouge* even before I sat down to watch it, if only because Baz Luhrmann and John Leguizamo were involved (Luhrmann and Leguizamo -- Together Again!). Masochistically, I watched the entire film, no matter how often the impulse came over me to simply eject the wretched thing from my DVD player and sail it across the room. The first thing a perceptive film critic will notice about *Moulin Rouge* is the absence of any real can-can dancing throughout the movie's duration, which arguably defeats the whole purpose of making a movie about the Moulin Rouge. Luhrmann's utter lack of taste doesn't retard his commercial savvy, however: he knows that an honest-to-goodness can-can would bore today's audiences, who've been brought up on the gyrating likes of Madonna and Britney Spears. So, out with the can-can; in with the anachronistic slam-dancing and funky r&b-inspired undulations. The same goes for the music. What? -- you think they'd actually use music that was popular 100 years ago? Fuggedaboudit! The aforementioned Madonna is plundered, as is Elton John, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Nirvana . . . basically anything that has "cool" Pop baggage attached to it. The fact that Luhrmann was either unable or unwilling to find songwriters to write original songs for his movie (well, there IS one "original" song, something about a show playing on the boards for 50 years -- dream on, Baz) only illustrates the irrelevance of his attempt to revive a genre that died a natural death decades ago. The notion of simply making a film about a modern-day nightclub would never occur to an "ariste" like Baz. No. He must legitimize his lack of talent by leeching off the illustrious past, whether that past includes the theatrical traditions of the Moulin Rouge OR the Hollywood musical. Of course, all my comments are based on the general IMPRESSION I got from the movie: the damn thing was so insanely edited that the camera never lingers on any one person, set, or tableau for more than a split second. It begs the question: what is Luhrmann afraid of? Why won't he let us LOOK? As it is, the movie is nothing more than a very long music video -- an OVER 2-HOURS-LONG music video. If that's what you want, I recommend *Moulin Rouge". I also recommend to Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor that they should stick to their day-jobs. (Though they'd definitely win 1st-prize on Karaoke Night at my neighborhood bar.)
Rating: 
Summary: It knocked my socks off!!!
Review: What a movie...I was not expecting anything and pow!!! Within 5 minutes, after the shock of its originality wore off, I loved every second of it. A totally new way of looking at a musical. Madonna can only wish her movies came off this well.
It's like watching your favourite music video continue on for a couple of hours! It moved at a breathtaking pace. I was never bored.
I really wanted Nicol to win the Oscar. (I also think Sissy Spacek would have been a worthy cadidate for In The Bedroom).
Kudos to the production, directions, costumes, and music. Hey, this is the first time in almost 50 years a challenger to the great Marilyn Monroe rendition of Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend has appeared! That alone is worth the price of this rental!! Enjoy...
Rating:
Summary: Seriously ugly film.
Review: How gloriously camp this drivel is. Remember Riverdance and Lord Of The Dance and how everyone thot it was so cool at the time? The same applies to this movie. And the story is up to very little indeed, in fact it is like Grease mixed with Luhrmann's version of R+J. A man and a woman fall in love. Wow! THAT'S never been done before! Very weak and totally unoriginal.This should have seriously just been a Broadway hit and not a big screen hit. But, of course, if every critic and every woman who sees this with all of her girlfriends likes it and if they rave about how good it is because everyone else says it is great and they only went to see it because people are telling them that it is a great movie (apparently a fact, not an opinion!) then they are only going to watch the great movie that it everyone says that it is. Me? I just watch the movie for what it is. No bias or pre-movie opinions. And what I saw was a stinker. Almost everything in this movie seems so forced and shoved in our faces. Every shot is cluttered with overly decorated sets, too many occurrences and detail to register with us in 2 seconds cuts, heinously bad dubbing that is about as unconvincing as Orson Welles masquerading as Mickey Mouse, VERY bad CGI that Luhrmann seems to be in love with and too many androgynous and weird looking characters. This film is all visual, or, if I were unoriginal (like the movie) I would say all style and no substance. Take away the indulgent and increasingly annoying sets/backdrops and all the stupid jumping around and dancing and you are left with what? A tedious movie that is good only because people say it is good. Another victim of `Insider Syndrome'. For me, every set in a movie should, at the same time, be realistic and reflect tone and mood of the scene. EVERY-SINGLE-SET in Moulin Rouge is overly-decorated to the point that we cannot tell what the set is. They are and eyesore, ugly to look at and extremely garish. A representation of everything this movie stands for: indulgence, ego, campiness and pointless extravagance. Lowest marks sorry. Oh and one last thing; how come no one speaks French in this France? The self-important features contained on this DVD only reflect the attitude of the film even further.
Rating:
Summary: Most innovating musical movie ever
Review: I find it incredible how this movie gives an impression of (show)life in fin de si`ecle Paris (absinth!) while at the same time it is one of the most innovating musical movies ever made. I like the incorporation of songs like Sound of Music as well as Elton John's Your Song and even more uptodate stuff. The dancing is great. I couldn't help falling in love with Nicole Kidman who has these beautiful eyes. And she sure can sing! The same can be said about Ewan McGregor. Of course the story is full of drama.
Rating:
Summary: Come what may
Review: This movie is without a doubt the best movie ever made in 2001. Wonderful music, awsome costumes, and perfect actors. I say that when I just have a...VHS recording for HBO ( i am kinda[thrifty]). But then I rented the DVD, and what a difference. The DVD has a much better level of clarity, and sound performence. Plus if you want to activate it, a special feature will give you some behind the scenes info about the movie On the first DVD, it shows the actualy movie itself, plus a couple of added features. Also it has some interviews which are pretty cool. The second DVD, has all sorts of nick nacks for any Moulin Rouge lover. Also hidden deep withen the DVD is a scene where Nicole starts laughing her head off when Ewan is singing 'Your Song'. It took me over an hour to find it, but don't let that mis-lead you. It is very easy to navigate around in the DVD and see the extra features it offers. I also highly enjoyed the un-cut dance seqences. All in all, this DVD is well worth the money, and these are the words from the mouth of a very [thrifty]person. You will love this DVD
Rating:
Summary: If John Waters directed West Side Story
Review: True, the characters are stereotypes--from the myth of Orpheus, according to the commentary--but so what? The story itself is pretty clever. And there's some fast editing, but it intensifies the quieter moments, which grow more frequent as the movie progresses. This is a musical based on well-known songs, but very very loosely. Not at all like those teen movies that capitalize on the bands du jour. It's essentially an original soundtrack. And a pretty good one, selling second only to the one from O Brother Where Art Thou? Unauthentic? Well, notice they're also speaking contemporary English, not turn of the century French. It's a love story on the surface but really is about its own artistic-ness. A suitable approach for the unmarried male director and his male "partner", but one which works against its mainstream acceptance.
Rating:
Summary: Greatness in our time.
Review: "Moulin Rouge" shows us that Nicole Kidman is arguably the greatest actress of our time. In this film, she convincingly displays the whole spectrum of human emotion. From indifference to eternal love, Ms. Kidman, in this film, gives us a most satisfying performance. How she could have been associated with one as mediocre as that Cruise fellow? We should be glad that has come to an end. For the future is bright. This movie shows us how bright that future is. Nicole Kidman might just be the greatest actress to have ever lived. Moulin Rouge tells us that this might be so. Hopefully, Ms. Kidman's future work will prove to us that her performance in Moulin Rouge was not a fluke. Jim Schmidt
www.jimschmidt.com
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST
Review: PACE RATING(out of 5):
P-Plot: 5, a great story about love and betrayal.
A-Action:3, great fast-paced dancing scenes and also the abuse scene with the Duke.
C-Characters:4.5, Beautifully developed and acted characters.
E-Ending:4, A tragic ending following up one of the best stories ever told. Average Score: 4 or 4.5, an exquisite movie.
Rating:
Summary: Best Picture Of 2001
Review: As much as I like "The Lord Of The Rings: FOTR", I still think that Moulin Rouge was the better picture. (and "A Beautiful Mind" was not worthy of the Oscar). "Moulin Rouge" is a sweeping love story. A simple and somewhat redundant plot that pulls at your heart every chance it gets. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGreggor are on fire here as the star-crossed lovers from different worlds. Jim Broadbent is wonderful as the owner of the club. The entire film is an over-the-top fantasy. The visuals fly at you at amazing speeds and the intricate musical production is amazing. Did you ever think you would hear Nirvana's "Smell Like Teen Spirit" woven into a musical? I love the spin on The Police's "Roxanne". Yes, the movie seems sappy. Yes, it's unrealistic and maybe even a bit too contrived. But it's one of a kind, and Lurhrmann let's you know right from the first frame of picture, that this is going to be a roller coaster ride of a film. A highly stylized romantic musical, that makes you hope that Baz Luhrmann will be making films for a long time to come.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly Wonderful
Review: I worked in a movie theatre when this movie came out. When people went into the theatre, half of the people that went in came out halfway through the movie. Initially, it was unclear as to why people would leave in the middle of a movie. This was clarified when I actually went in to see the movie. To be honest, my first thought of the movie was that it was quite feminine and something you'd only have to be dragged to with your girlfriend. I went in of my own free will with some friends from the theatre I worked at. I didn't know what to expect, but within the first 5 minutes of the movie beginning I was hooked. This movie was unlike anything I've ever seen before. It was quite different and had amazing music with some fantastic singing from the two main characters. I was quite surprised. It is wonderful how the film captured the passion of the two in love, and I loved how it sort of incorporated a musical within a musical. I understood why people walked out; this is a movie that is different and something out of the norm. I don't believe ever coming across any movie like this before. The dancing is wonderful, the music is wonderful, the acting is wonderful. The soundtrack is quite fantastic as well. It's pretty interesting how they incorporated different genres of music into this movie and how it brought back a lot of hits. If you haven't seen this movie, I recommend it highly. It is very fun to watch and something that will blow your mind.
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