Reviews

Moulin Rouge tells the story of Christian (McGregor), an innocent young poet who defies his father and moves to late nineteenth century Paris to live a penniless bohemian life, and winds up falling in love with Satine (Kidman), the "Sparkling Diamond" of the Moulin Rouge, a nightclub. Satine, who is dying of tuberculosis but doesn't know it, dives into an ill-fated relationship with Christian, despite the only rule of the Moulin Rouge: never to fall in love. The storyline is cliche, but it is told in such a unique way that you feel as if you're being told a love story for the very first time.

Everything about this film is beautiful. The visuals are even more outlandish and artistic than those of Baz Luhrmann's last film, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, but they seem to work even better for this film. The scenes cut so often and are so mixed up that the movie could have easily been a mess, but Luhrmann somehow managed to put them all together perfectly.

The music is also wonderful. I have always had a soft spot for film musicals, and it's refreshing to know that they haven't gone completely extinct. The music is also fun because it's mostly made up of contemporary pop songs, featuring such artists as Sting and Elton John, as well as a few classics like "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" and "The Sound of Music." It's amazing how well the songs fit; it almost seems as if they were written for the movie.

The acting is astounding. Nicole Kidman is wonderful, and has a surprisingly good voice (yes, it is her singing). And Ewan McGregor is indescribably amazing! He is immensely talented as an actor and has a beautiful voice. He really has a talent for making the audience feel the intense emotions that pour out of his character. Richard Roxburgh, Jim Broadbent and John Leguizamo, who play the Duke, Zidler, and Toulouse Lautrec respectively are all very entertaining, providing the comic relief. All of the actors portray their characters in a very exaggerated, melodramatic and operatic way, which confirms the fact that this film is a modern opera.

This movie swept me off my feet. Everything about it is perfect; I wouldn't change a thing. When it came to the end of the movie, it felt to me like waking up from a wonderful dream, wishing it could have lasted forever. But it is obviously the type of movie where you either love it or you hate it, because it's so unique. If you tend to go for simple movies, or movies with a diverse, constantly twisting plot (not that I don't love that genre), you probably won't see much in this movie. But if you like original, artistic, intensely dramatic films, this is one you don't want to miss.

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Definitely my favorite classic. There are some that come close, such as Citizen Kane, Spellbound, and Psycho, but none quite compare to this amazing movie.

The first thing that you notice is the outstanding cinematography. You have to remember that this movie was made in 1940, when they didn't have the technology we have now. But that first shot of the water beating up against the rocks grabs you and for one split second you wonder if maybe this isn't part of the movie but rather something filmed just recently. But then you see the familiar face of Laurence Olivier, reminding you that this was made 60 years ago, a fact that forever amazes me. The only oscar it won besides Best Picture was well deserved.

Another thing that makes it such a wonderful film is the acting. I have debated on whether Laurence Olivier's character, the tortured Maxim de Winter, is the pitiable character or if his second wife played by Joan Fontaine is really the one to feel sorry for. Every time I watch it I see it from a different point of view. Joan Fontaine is excellent. Laurence Olivier is wonderful, but that's no surprise. The only thing that bugs me is that it seems in every movie he's in (well, at least, everything I've seen him in), he always plays the same type of character. But he's extremely good at it, so I suppose it doesn't matter.

But although Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier are wonderful, Judith Anderson steals the show! The first time I watched the movie, I was immediately grabbed by her stunning performance as the sinister Mrs. Danvers. You hardly notice the other characters when she's in the scene. She acted the part so well that it's strange to imagine that she was any different in real life.

With a wonderful storyline, and a very surprising ending, Rebecca well deserves the title as the only of Hitchcock's films to win the oscar for Best Picture. Although it may not be the most famous of all his films, it is without a doubt the greatest

This show is so well-made, that it almost doesn't fit in with other network shows. Although the main plot is about extra-terrestrials and other paranormal activity, the show goes much deeper than this. The characters are what makes it so much more successful than all other science-fiction programs. On one hand, you have FBI Agent Fox "Spooky" Mulder, a believer in the paranormal who is seen by just about everybody as completely insane and, as he puts it, "the FBI's most unwanted". But if you look deeper, you'll see a very troubled man haunted by his sister's abduction by aliens when he was only a child. This whole incident left his childhood shattered by guilt, as he felt responsible (and believes his parents think him responsible too) for his sister's abduction. And then, on the other hand, you have Agent Dana Scully, a skeptic who always feels her science challenged by the cases she deals with. She is a strong-willed, extremely smart, down to earth woman, but even through all these things, she isn't anywhere close to perfect. She is extremely reserved, and has built a strong brick wall around her emotions, which is good for when it comes to work, but when personal issues arise, she has a hard time breaking down the wall, so everything just builds up inside. However, she is extremely faithful to Mulder, always at his side through thick and thin, and would never let him down. They're complete opposites, but opposites attract, and these two agents who used to just be friends are finding themselves attracted to one another. The sexual tension between them was first noticed around the end of season 5, and has kept rising and rising. Altogether, Chris Carter has created a wonderful show who's spirit will live on long after the final episode. It is a definite Classic-to-be.