|
Setting a new style with 'Moulin Rouge'
By STEVE PERSALL, Times Film Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published December 20, 2001
VIDEO
New releases
* * *
[Photo: Twentieth Century Fox]
|
Satine “The Sparkling Diamond” (Nicole Kidman) and Christian (Ewan McGregor) fall deeply in love at the Moulin Rouge.
|
Moulin Rouge (PG-13)
Baz Luhrmann's frenetic musical was named best film of the year by the National Board of Review. That may be stretching things a bit but it's still a movie worth seeing. Nicole Kidman stars as Satine, a chanteuse at the Moulin Rouge nightclub who falls in love with a struggling playwright (Ewan McGregor). Tragedy ensues but you wouldn't know it from the look of the movie, candy-coated energy with a modern soundtrack that reinvents the musical genre.
First impressions: "The feelings of romance and rebellion that prompted Elton John and Bernie Taupin to compose Your Song or Nirvana to write Smells Like Teen Spirit aren't exclusive to modern culture. (Director Baz) Luhrmann gallops with that notion through hyperkinetic editing, hallucinatory settings and lush camera tricks, making Moulin Rouge unlike any film you've ever seen . . . (Some) scenes . . . take your breath away. Unfortunately, there are just as many scenes to make a viewer yawn . . . But, if a filmmaker errs, it should be on the side of invention, and that's precisely what Luhrmann achieves."
Second thoughts: The film's emotional pull becomes more evident with subsequent viewings, after becoming accustomed to Luhrmann's style.
Rental audience: Anybody who knows what they're singing in Lady Marmalade.
Rent it if you enjoy: 1950s musicals and MTV at the same time.
[Photo: Buena Vista]
|
Queen Renaldi (Julie Andrews, right) provides her American granddaughter, Mia (Anne Hathaway, center) with “princess lessons,” and a complete make-over in The Princess Diaries.
|
The Princess Diaries (G)
A clumsy schoolgirl (Anne Hathaway) learns she is next in line to rule a tiny European nation. The queen (Julie Andrews) takes it upon herself to groom the wallflower into a royal beauty. Director Garry Marshall keeps the humor defiantly clean, so old-fashioned that a beach party looks like a Frankie and Annette shindig.
First impressions: "The Princess Diaries stumbles a bit when the camera turns away from Hathaway and Andrews. So much attention is paid to the stars that subplots are reduced to mere Post-It Note reminders of who should be smiling at the happy ending. Heather Matarazzo (Welcome to the Dollhouse) adds a few geeky pleasures as Mia's best friend, and Hector Elizondo is stylishly deadpan in his obligatory Marshall-film role."
Second thoughts: Niceness gets stale, but it's good for one viewing.
Rental audience: Young girls, My Fair Lady fans.
Rent it if you enjoy: Good, clean fun you'll forget in an hour.
Scary Movie 2 (R)
Sequel to the surprising comedy hit spoofing slasher-movie conventions. You say Scream already did that? Not like this, with the raunchiest gags this side of an Andrew Dice Clay act. The ubiquitous Wayans brothers from In Living Color share responsibility for one of the most unfunny films of the year.
First impressions: "The most shocking thing about Scary Movie 2 is how routinely the humor plays this time. We witness phony projectile vomiting and ejaculation, see absurd genitalia and watch simulated sex acts of all types. But there's little spark in the setups, and laughter feels like a cheated reflex. The best filmmaking style is displayed only when other movies are being imitated."
Second thoughts: Don't count on Scary Movie 3.
Rental audience: Gross-out comedy fans, Scream freaks.
Rent it if you enjoy: The first Scary Movie.
Back to Weekend
© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111
|
