Moulin Rouge


sorabji.com: Last movie you saw: Moulin Rouge
THIS IS A READ-ONLY ARCHIVE FROM THE SORABJI.COM MESSAGE BOARDS (1995-2016).

By J on Monday, June 4, 2001 - 11:06 am:

    I was looking for the thread where Cat posted that she saw it,but I can't find it,saw it yesterday,not much of a plot,but what eye candy,I don't know if it was a comedy or a drama,but it was filmed so beautifully,the best I can say is that it was a cross between Cabaret and Tommy on acid.But really visually enchanting.


By Pug on Monday, June 4, 2001 - 08:06 pm:

    "Tommy" on acid? That's an oxymoron, isn't it?
    Is it as fucked up and depressing as "Cabaret"? If so, I'm in.....


By J on Tuesday, June 5, 2001 - 01:29 am:

    Oh Pug it's all you sweetcheeks,if you really want to wallow.I'm here for you.


By Sober J on Tuesday, June 5, 2001 - 03:20 pm:

    Yes,it was very depressing at the end.


By sarah on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 03:57 pm:


    beautiful cinematography. beautiful production design. beautiful costumes. great style. CRAP screenplay. CRAP. unwatchable. and the musical numbers? i'm sorry, but cribbing Billboard hits from the last 20 years in perverse and toneless amalgamations, i'm sorry, but this does not constitute creativity. dreadful. DREADFUL. if you go to see it, bring your matches, or Glade aerosol spray.




By patrick on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 04:01 pm:

    when i heard a sample of some of the tunes they used...i about puked.

    MAYBE (and clearly thats a big MAYBE) i'll wait for video if i see it all...that way i can play my own soundtrack and just have the teley on in the background


By Spunky toto on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 04:05 pm:

    Is that like putting on the video Wizard of Oz and cranking pink floyd's The Wall?


By heather on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 04:10 pm:

    something about all the additions to spunky is making me cranky

    save it for a rainy day

    or tell me to fuck off


By Nate on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 04:15 pm:

    it is dark side of the moon, s'punkass.


    "if you go to see it, bring your matches, or Glade aerosol spray."

    or both. fire fire fire.



By Spunky on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 04:27 pm:

    ok, I'm not having a good day here at all, I will talk to you all later


By sarah on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 04:28 pm:


    heather, i was thinking the same thing about 2 days ago. waffles used to do that too. but when daniel does it it's ok. why? it makes no sense.




By semillama on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 04:30 pm:

    It's all about vibe.


By heather on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 04:44 pm:

    and frequency


By semillama on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 04:59 pm:

    Exactly.


By Nate on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 05:05 pm:

    i've done it. it must have been so subtle that no one notices.

    spunky is just creamy man sauce.


By Trace on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 05:11 pm:

    FUCK YOU, YOU ASSES


By Spunky on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 05:29 pm:

    I rather like the flexibility and creativity it allows me.


By Dougie on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 05:37 pm:

    Use it sparingly and wisely, Master Spunkhoppa.


By Nate on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 06:56 pm:

    go fuck yourself trace. you too dougie.


By Dougie on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 07:11 pm:

    Nah, hurts too much, me being so massive. You go right ahead though, Mr. Twoinch Gartersnake. Anyways, you're the one always talking about asssex, and I'm sure you've had plenty of practice.


By Cat on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 07:15 pm:

    Do whatever you want with your name Spunkchicken.

    Why are you taking crap from these people? Remember you're our token Republican and you got a rep to live up to.


By sarah on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 07:59 pm:


    actually, she's right. and not only that, but we need the token annoying sorabjiite. it used to be patrick. i can't remember who it was before him. oh wait, yes i do, but he was redeemed. maybe they all are eventually, who knows. anyway, someone's gotta take the reigns of annoyance, so go for it.






By dave. on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 08:15 pm:

    i keep waiting for spunkgulper or spunkbelch or spunkhunter or spunk-fed to slip out freudian-like.


By Nate on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 08:18 pm:

    goddamnit. i'm the only annoying sorabjiite anyone needs. you're just fucking my shit left and right today, sarah.

    i'll admit, doughie, i've tried it once. the problem is once you get into it, you pop right out. having more than a partial kind of ruins the mood. or atleast makes the angles impossible.




By dave. on Thursday, June 21, 2001 - 08:22 pm:

    it's also quite smelly, as one might imagine.


By wisper on Saturday, March 16, 2002 - 01:57 am:

    Imagine if you will: being strapped down to a
    seat in the 3rd row of a movie theater, eyes
    pined open Clockwork Orange style, and
    you’re being forced to watch every single
    episode of the Muppet Show at double and
    sometimes triple speed, through binoculars,
    on acid.
    This is but a taste of the pain I felt watching
    Moulin Rouge, or Moulin Rouge! as it likes to
    be called, because everything is so god awful
    loud about this thing, why shouldn’t the title be
    as well? The only way it could possibly be
    more loud and annoying is if Emeril was
    somehow involved.
    A bi-polar Koachrome migraine.
    It’s clear to me now that Baz Luhrman’s
    parents were somehow killed during the
    filming of a black & white silent film, and he’s
    been trying to deal with it ever since. I swear
    the concept sketches for this movie must look
    like a paintball target, or Toucan Sam’s vomit.
    Here’s your warning sign: Even the gay guys
    beside me thought it was too colourful… and
    that means PRETTY FUCKING COLURFUL.
    Good job Bazzy, you managed to film a whole
    movie in !!SuperSpazmoColour!!, a style that
    was until now saved only for camera or printer
    ads.
    Maybe it’s the years of intense colour theory
    classes talking here, but even seeing clips of
    this movie on tv makes me want to curl into a
    tearfull, whimpering ball on the floor,
    muttering: “colour bring pain… colour bring
    pain!!”

    Have you ever had motion sickness? Have
    you ever had motion sickness during a
    movie? Have you ever had motion sickness
    because of a movie? I don’t think it’s safe for
    small children or the elderly to view this. In
    fact, it’s a safe bet that people with epilepsy
    would have been killed by the trailers alone.
    But if you’re half deaf and colour blind, this is
    the one for you.
    Oh, and then about 30 minutes in (after what
    seems like a year of the old man screaming IF
    YOU CAN CAN CAN CAN!!!!! IF YOU CAN CAN
    CANCANCANCANCAN!!!!… fuck me, the script
    must have been typed in all caps..) Anyway,
    after everything you’ve seen in the
    commercials ends, the action dies and it
    becomes the longest, slowest march to
    Nicole Kidman’s painfully obvious death.
    Okay, I don’t mind the odd movie that gives
    away it’s (obvious, contrived) ending within the
    first 2 minutes. In the first scene, even. Here,
    the first few lines out of a character’s mouth.
    But not one that takes so DAMN long to get
    there. By the end I’m just begging her to die
    already so my eyes can stop bleeding and I
    can look at some nice, quiet Hallmark cards
    (and that wasn’t a spoiler just now, come on,
    you can tell she’s going to die in some tragic
    manor just by looking at the posters). And it’s
    so drawn out that only the loneliest of 13 year
    old girls would have been surprised. Or cared.
    The only thing the ending needed to be MORE
    desperately tear-jerking is a big flashing sign
    at the top of the screen, in a colour that only
    housewives can see (beige) that says: CRY
    NOW.

    Good things? That jedi boy can really sing. I
    was shocked.


By moonit on Saturday, March 16, 2002 - 02:34 am:

    and hes hot too.


By Gee on Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 05:23 pm:

    that's so sad.


    I could watch that movie every day, is how much I enjoy it.


By patrick on Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 05:31 pm:

    the sound track was horrific. enough to keep me away.


By eri on Thursday, March 28, 2002 - 05:51 pm:

    I have been wanting to see it, but haven't yet. I am afraid it would be to visually overstimulating. That would lose it for me. Also I don't like the idea of the movie being drawn out over someones death. I don't like that much. I will probably watch it when it rents for 99 cents or something.


By wisper on Friday, March 29, 2002 - 09:12 pm:

    i've watched Donnie Darko almost every day
    since we taped it off the dvd.
    I can't stop.


By Spider on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 01:06 am:

    Um, so I saw this picture of Ewan McGregor today. A still from Moulin Rouge. This picture, if you must know. And I thought to myself, self, that man is attractive. (Or was it, God DAMN, that man is insanely hot. Sweet mother of Jesus, why have I not seen this before??)

    Anyway, I just finished watching Moulin Rouge, and I'd like to say I agree with Sarah's old post above:
    beautiful cinematography. beautiful production design. beautiful costumes. great style. CRAP screenplay. CRAP. unwatchable. and the musical numbers? i'm sorry, but cribbing Billboard hits from the last 20 years in perverse and toneless amalgamations, i'm sorry, but this does not constitute creativity. dreadful. DREADFUL. if you go to see it, bring your matches, or Glade aerosol spray.


    And I would like to add:

    Seriously, dudes. Seriously. Ewan McGregor.

    Ewan.

    McGregor.

    ...

    Swoon and thud.



    That is all.


By Dougie on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 09:40 am:

    He was in Big Fish, which I rented and watched last week. It was so-so. Helena Bonham Carter, whom I've always had the hots for, and has been conspicuously absent in movies lately -- at least I haven't seen her in anything recently -- was also in it.


By Spider on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 09:58 am:

    Yes, but was he ridiculously hot in it, Dougie? That is the only important factor.


By Gee on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 11:48 am:

    I loved it. I loved the whole thing. it was just enough cheese for my tastes, and I do loves me some cheese!


By Spider on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 12:02 pm:

    Actually, I have to admit I really liked it, too, sorry screenplay though it had. It was just so much fun *looking* at everything and letting yourself being carried away on this ride. The style was just incredible.

    I'm going to see The Saddest Music in the World this weekend, which also has a very stylized look to it. I can't wait.


By patrick on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 12:27 pm:

    hey spider when are you heading west?


By Spider on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 01:05 pm:

    I don't know yet. I just know I have to be in Portland for Orientation on Aug. 3. But I don't know if I'm going to drive out there or fly.


By Gee on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 05:06 pm:

    did you enter the contest to win a trip to Canada?


By TBone on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 05:24 pm:

    Drive, so you can visit folks on the way.


By Dougie on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 05:38 pm:

    Yeah, I saw Ebert and not-the-Siskel do a review of Saddest Music the other night. Looks cool.

    In terms of Ewan McGregor being hot in Big Fish, not really -- he was dressed as a southern gentleman, looking very American. He does have a nice smile though. I think if I were a woman, I'd find Johnny Depp very hot -- I loved him in Pirates of the Caribbean.


By Kalli on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 05:53 pm:

    Johnny Depp is completely hot in Pirates. It doesn't matter what kind of packaging you have, you can't help but wanna do him.

    I've also been having (don't tell the beau) wet dreams about Jimmy Fallon lately too. Don't know where that came from but I hope it goes away fast.



By semillama on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 06:00 pm:

    Yeah, spider. drive. do a sorabji tour through the heartland. Use Mark's trip as an inspiration and visit some of those places.

    Then you can visit with some of the west coast folks while you are in Portland!


By Spider on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 06:40 pm:

    Maybe I'll drive...it depends on, a) whether or not I'm keeping my car, and b) if my brother or someone will go with me.

    Gee, I'm going to be a reading tutor on an Indian reservation in Montana for a year. What have you been up to these days?

    Dougie, I am glad to see the power of Ewan's smile knows no gender/sexual orientation boundaries.

    Johnny Depp *is* hot in Pirates of the Caribbean. I remember this exchange taking place before I saw it:
    By Antigone on Tuesday, July 8, 2003 - 05:09 pm:
    Maybe. But I don't want to fuck Johnny Depp like you do, so there's not as much motivation. :)

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    By Spider on Tuesday, July 8, 2003 - 05:24 pm:
    Hey, I don't! ...
    But then, after the movie, I realized that Antigone had been right after all. Damn him!




By Spider on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 06:44 pm:

    I read a review of the Saddest Music in the World today in which it was said that a minor character carries the heart of his dead son around with him in a jar filled with his tears.

    That is so cool. That's like something out of a Neutral Milk Hotel song.

    I am so excited to see this movie, and I anticipate it becoming one of my favorites. I so hope it doesn't disappoint.


By wisper on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 07:41 pm:

    He is good in Big Fish, as a southern gent.

    That movie, however, is a steaming bowl of crap.

    Tim Burton, you're still fired.


By Dougie on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 07:46 pm:

    I've never understood why girls get all goopy over Jimmy Fallon. My wife thinks he's "cute." Johnny Depp I can understand, but Jimmy Fallon? Tina Fey's hot though. I dig that scar she's got. I wonder how she got it?


By Dougie on Thursday, May 13, 2004 - 07:48 pm:

    Agreed, wisper. I wonder why they got two British actors to play southerners -- not that I care -- Ewarn and Albert Finney were good, but who had that brainstorm? Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing that movie, Spider.


By patrick on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 01:09 pm:

    jimmy fallon is cute in that boyish way. its the messy hair. all chicks dig him cause he's goofy cute.

    and yeah. tina fey....


By Spider on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 03:51 pm:

    Ew, I think he looks like he needs a shower.


By Spider on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 04:03 pm:

    BTW, I just saw (wait, do I want to admit this....okay...) Van Helsing (what can I say...I wanted to see Richard Roxburgh in something else after seeing Moulin Rouge)...

    ANYway. I made the mistake of seeing it alone in a near-empty theatre, because if you are going to suffer through it, you'll need your friends and/or a responsive audience to laugh with. The whole thing is a non-stop "What the...how....I don't....WHAAA-?" moment.

    Like, how/why do Dracula and his Brides reproduce via egg sacs? And why do they reproduce at all, when they could just, you know, "turn" some village folk or whatever. Seriously, haven't the writers watched Buffy? Vampires are sterile. And just how was one character's comment of "Yes, it makes sense that a dead thing would give birth to other dead things" supposed to clear it all up for us? I mean, WHAT?

    Also, really bad CGI.





By Kalliope on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 04:13 pm:

    I was reminded last night of my Steven Tyler infatuation back in high school. I thought that one had been completely forgotten.. Heh.

    Yea, I'd say its not so much that jimmy fallon's hot, as he is cute. Its a much different lust I have than say for David Bowie.

    And if Hugh Grant could ever fix his fucking teeth...


By Gee on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 04:18 pm:

    bad movie. bad, bad, bad movie.


    I heard that Kate Beckinsale said she wanted to do this role because she wanted to do something different after "Underworld". Right. Because that movie had vampires and werewolves and...uh, wait.



    the best thing about "Van Helsing" movie was that I spent the entire flick trying to figure out who friar Carl was, and then finally, hours after I had left the theater, I remembered that it was my beloved Faramir.

    David Wenham, the future Mr. Gee. who, by the way, was also in "Moulin Rouge!"


By Gee on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 04:21 pm:

    mmm. I love the way he said "Quality" in TTT.


    "QualiTy."

    mmmm.


By semillama on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 04:27 pm:

    I'm so glad you're posting again Gee.


By semillama on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 04:38 pm:

    From HellPope Huey -

    Why you should see Van Helsing

    The thumbnail sketch reasons: its a visual
    rollercoaster ride and a HALF, hoo BOY, is it!; a
    pretty damned good homage to all of the old Universal monster films with a few fun Tim Burton-esque touches; and it DOES expand on who and what the character of Van Helsing was "about" in an original manner, so it has as much story to it as any of the subsequent post-"Dracula" flicks such as "House of Frankenstein"
    or the Hammer stable. The opening segment is in black and white, heh and the Universal emblem is woven right into it in a classic, classy manner. Don't miss the CLOSING credits, either; they're eerily animated and a component worth staying for. There are some funny lines to it and a few oddball "extras," such as a brief sequence with Mr. Hyde, of all things. The section where a twitchy monk shows Van Helsing a new array of weapons is a hoot and not a small tip towards the James Bond device. (There's a line emitted briefly in the background during that scene which had me laughing for 20 minutes and I couldn't explain it if I WAS prone to give it away, because it hinges so fully on a physical action taken by the monk.) Its operatic in its tragedy and its hokey elements would have done
    Bela proud. It is a good melding of all the old cliches, ON STEROIDS.

    That sainted bastard Blackout dissed it up front, yet has not SEEN it. The critics on Yahoo give it a C, most viewers a B; I think that speaks fairly well of it, although I always decide for myself. I fully agree that a wad of FX with no story is a waste of time, but
    the wholesale tendency to trash most current fantasy films is rather bogus. "Titan A.E." was no intellectual weight-lifting contest, but it had a base rationale and classic sci-fi/Errol Flynn-type swashbuckling going for it and was thus worth my time.
    In the case of most such films, the same could be said. Until you reach the realm of "The Lathe of Heaven" or "2001: A Space Odyssey," that's what these particular movies are FOR. Even the best Harryhausen offering was about "Look out! There's a MONSTER in town!," yet there's scarcely a dog in the lot.

    It seems to me that many view these flicks with some high standard or preconceived demands and that's a shame. I use one general mindset for campy fantasy, another for Kurosawa, yet another for the recent, very enjoyable "Hidalgo" and a fourth for straight character plays such as "To Kill A Mockingbird," "The Pawnbroker," the quirky, violent "Things To Do In Boulder When You're Dead," Anthony Hopkins' sobering
    "Remains Of The Day" or the gradually more dark
    performance of Andy Griffith, of all people, in "A Face In The Crowd." You'd probably not stop to watch this last film and that would be a mistake; its Griffith's best work as a bumpkin radio star who gradually turns into a megalomanaical monster, also stars Patricia Neal in a similarly uncharacteristic role as his horrified promoter and gives you a slice
    of Pink Americana that will be especially chilling to SubGeeners. We know our enemy!

    Its disingenuous to act all snooty and jaded when you should KNOW "Spider-Man 2" isn't going to rival "Cleopatra." If you go to Burger King and bitch because there is no tempura, get fisted! A movie is perhaps the greatest art form because it generally weaves so many of all the OTHERS into itself at once. Any 12 musicians will give you 12 variations on even a traditional song, much less what they might emit if asked to write something entirely their own. (BTW, Alan Silvestri's soundtrack for "Van Helsing" is huge, excellent and a meaningful component; its a real step up from his work for "Back To The Future.")

    A Critic tells you whether or not its Art; a Reviewer tells you whether or not its any FUN. "Van Helsing" is FUN and well worth at least one good, solid viewing. Hey, it even has VAMPIRE titties, whoo hoo! Its seemingly being judged prematurely, on the wrong terms and that's a shame, as its a very fine work of its
    type. I hope it makes a fair profit, because the craft, the hard work involved and the affection for Universal monster history are all quite evident. How can I not give a respectful nod when Frankenstein's monster is presented as SHELLY'S version, a thinking, moral being? Its a minor aspect, but hey, they Did Right and the small touches are always oh so important. If you don't "like" such fare, you won't like it; if you do, its hard to imagine you wouldn't
    grin real big like the girlfriend and I did afterwards and say "What a rush!"

    --

    HellPope Huey,
    First Church of the SubGenius, Deformed
    Damned if you do, damned if you throw hamsters at passing cars


    "The future of music is in this room...
    ... and there's no one there."
    - Owner of The Jam Box,
    a practice-warehouse for Seattle
    bands

    "Nothing is a complete load."
    - "Futurama"


By Spider on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 05:14 pm:


By Spider on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 05:30 pm:

    The thing is, Van Helsing wasn't even especially fun, because the ridiculous quotient was just off the map. Like, why the hell would you and your buddies set a trap for a werewolf, with you as bait, but give only yourself a gun with silver bullets? So all those guns your friends are carrying are effectively useless.

    And um, like, if I remember correctly, that particular scene was set during the day....when the werewolf would have been human.

    And since there was a werewolf of some kind or other throughout the entire movie, it seems there are some werewolves out there that don't require a truly full moon to appear. Or this is an alternate reality in which a full moon lasts for several weeks.


    You know what I'm saying? I like fantasy and science fiction and horror. I totally buy a world in which Dracula and Frankenstein and the Wolfman exist. But that world should be internally consistent.

    That said, there were good points. Gee is right: David Wenham was good and cute. Richard Roxburgh was slinky and fun and looked great in that 3/4-length black coat. We got to see Hugh Jackman's bare chest and arms. Some of the dialogue was actually funny. But I'm glad I paid only(!) $6.00 to see it.


By Spider on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 05:43 pm:

    One more annoying thing:

    Ok, so you've got Van Helsing swinging from a rope on a hook which he's shot through Mr. Hyde, who's standing on top of Notre Dame cathedral. (Got that? The rope is anchored in Mr. Hyde, who is evidently strong enough to support the weight and force of a full-grown man swinging wildly through the air.) Mr. Hyde is still alive, btw.

    But then, when Van Helsing lands on the ground, he tugs on the rope, and only then does Mr. Hyde fall.

    Whatever!


By moonit on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 06:58 pm:

    so, I shouldn't use my free movie passes to see it then....


By Spider on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 09:52 pm:

    Actually, if you have to see it, it's best to see it for free.


By Cat on Friday, May 14, 2004 - 10:45 pm:

    I just read "Dracula" for the first time. I don't know how they could translate it to a movie without ruining it.

    But then I say that about sex as well.


By moonit on Saturday, May 15, 2004 - 12:20 am:

    well thats a good thingy Spidy, cause I just picked up my tickets. And I got a free choc top icecream. mmm icecream.


By moonit on Saturday, May 15, 2004 - 08:47 am:

    Okay so I saw it for free and I was pretty disapointed. I hate all movies at the moment.


By Spider on Saturday, May 15, 2004 - 10:56 pm:

    Cooomme what maaaayyyy......

    Coooooooooomme whaaat maaaaaaaayyyyy...


    IIIIII will looove yoooouuuuuuuu...

    until my dyyyyyyyyyyyyyiiiiiiiiiiiiiing daaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy



    Lord help me, I have crossed the line: I LOVE this movie. Dammit, I wish I had listened to my cousins and gone with them when the movie was in theatres...then we could have seen it together, and sang the songs together, and swooned over Ewan McGregor together...*MOURN* Thank God for used DVDs for sale on Amazon -- my own copy of the boxed set should be arriving at my door in ~4 days.

    Watching the extras on the DVD, especially hearing the director and writers explain their reasoning behind using modern songs, really helped me appreciate the genius of the movie.


By TBone on Sunday, May 16, 2004 - 06:55 pm:

    When my friends finally hazed me into watching Moulin Rouge, it was already out in dvd and my roommate had it. I went home and immediately watched it again.

    ..and again.

    ..and again.

    Not so much for Ewan McGregor, though thoroughly I enjoy his acting in a very macho, non-gay, platonic sort of way. I just really dug the movie. I didn't see it in theaters because I kept hearing the song they were overplaying on the radio, and out of context it was really annoying and made me think the movie was going to be something else entirely.


By Gee on Tuesday, May 18, 2004 - 10:58 am:

    I will swoon with you, Rhi! I will swoon with you all!!


By kazu on Friday, June 4, 2004 - 05:08 pm:

    Spider, did you see the Saddest Music in the World? I saw it last night. I purposely avoided the reviews. I loved it. Visually, it was spectacular, very interesting to watch. It was like, I was interested in where the story went, but as the movie went on, I was more eager to see how it was going to look on the screen. The visual element really carries it; stimulating, but not overwhelming.


    Oh, and I loved Big Fish, though it wasn't by any means a strong script. It was really the flashback story parts that I loved. They made me cry and cry and cry some more. (Of course, I first saw it right after my nana died.) And I loved how Ewan MacGregor looked. I love that old-school, clean-cut type of handsome. Like Gregory Peck in the early 60s. *swoon*


By TBone on Friday, June 4, 2004 - 06:07 pm:

    I liked Big Fish too.


By Spider on Friday, June 4, 2004 - 06:10 pm:

    I did see it! I don't know why I didn't post about it.

    I really liked it, and I agree with everything you said about its visual style. I thought the scene when the mill burned down was shot really well, with the "special effects." And I loved how crazy and rich all the characters' backstories were. The only thing I didn't like was the off-color bits...I found them off-putting and out of place. Except, now that I think about it, they all served to make Mark McKinney's character even more of an asshole.

    Apparently, many of the director's films are in this same style -- I wonder if it's possible to dig them up somewhere.


By kazu on Friday, June 4, 2004 - 06:22 pm:

    I was recommended Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary by a friend.

    [minor spoilers]

    I agree about the off-color bits, but I'll check my intial reaction and think about what he may have been trying to do (i.e. like increase McKinney's assholishness).

    "I thought the scene when the mill burned down was shot really well, with the "special effects."

    I kept thinking how incredible it was to watch. Afterwards, I said to my friend that if it was more conventionally executed, it totally wouldn't have worked and in fact, would have royally sucked. As in (using a mocking tone), "what are they going to do? Oh look the building is burning. And he's still playing the piano. oh would you look at that blah blah blah"

    Similarly, with the brother-sleeping-with-the-siste-in-law he's never met. That would be stupid and contrived in a more conventional film, but it works. Roderick was my favorite. I mean, I just fell for all of it with him. The line where he confronts Narcissa about what she's doing with their private saddness in public nearly broke me. And how he channels all of his emotion into the Gravillo persona.


    The themes in the movie were profound, but not presented as such. The balance of absurdity with the various *ideas* about what sadness is and how you experience it and how you express it. Wonderful.


By Spider on Friday, June 4, 2004 - 07:16 pm:

    I totally agree.

    Why do you think that one scene with the funeral was in color? I think color was used in another scene that was supposed to be a dream later on, so I was confused about the use of color in the funeral scene.

    Roderick was my favorite, too. He kept his son's heart in a jar filled with his tears. That's all I needed to know.


By kazu on Friday, June 4, 2004 - 07:26 pm:

    I really don't know what to make of the use of color in that scene. I'll probably see it again with Sem in Ohio, so I'll think about it.


By Gee on Monday, June 7, 2004 - 10:21 am:

    I finally found an affordable copy of "Strictly Ballroom", so yay.

    I don't understand the connection between "Strictly Ballroom", "Romeo & Juliet", and "Moulin Rouge!". I understand they're all directed by the same guy, but a trilogy should involve more than that, shouldn't it?


By Spider on Monday, June 7, 2004 - 11:42 am:

    It's a trilogy based on the idea that the story isn't told in a straightforward way but by, like, a gimmick of some kind. In "Strictly Ballroom," the story is told by dance, in "R+J" it's told by highly stylized language, and in "Moulin Rouge!" it's told by song. So it's like you as the audience never forget that you're watching a movie because of this gimmick and you in fact enter into a contract (Baz Luhrmann uses this phrase over and over again in the Moulin Rouge commentary) when you watch these movies to suspend your disbelief and accept that in this reality, people really do burst into song (or whatever).


By Gee on Tuesday, June 8, 2004 - 10:51 am:

    Oh. I guess that makes sense, though I'm ultimately dissapointed.


    Thank you!


bbs.sorabji.com
 

The Stalking Post: General goddam chit-chat Every 3 seconds: Sex . Can men and women just be friends? . Dreamland . Insomnia . Are you stoned? . What are you eating? I need advice: Can you help? . Reasons to be cheerful . Days and nights . Words . Are there any news? Wishful thinking: Have you ever... . I wish you were... . Why I oughta... Is it art?: This question seems to come up quite often around here. Weeds: Things that, if erased from our cultural memory forever, would be no great loss Surfwatch: Where did you go on the 'net today? What are you listening to?: Worst music you've ever heard . What song or tune is going through your head right now? . Obscure composers . Obscure Jazz, 1890-1950 . Whatever, whenever General Questions: Do you have any regrets? . Who are you? . Where are you? . What are you doing here? . What have you done? . Why did you do it? . What have you failed to do? . What are you wearing? . What do you want? . How do you do? . What do you want to do today? . Are you stupid? Specific Questions: What is the cruelest thing you ever did? . Have you ever been lonely? . Have you ever gone hungry? . Are you pissed off? . When is the last time you had sex? . What does it look like where you are? . What are you afraid of? . Do you love me? . What is your definition of Heaven? . What is your definition of Hell? Movies: Last movie you saw . Worst movie you ever saw . Best movie you ever saw Reading: Best book you've ever read . Worst book you've ever read . Last book you read Drunken ramblings: uiphgy8 hxbjf.bklf ghw789- bncgjkvhnqwb=8[ . Payphones: Payphone Project BBS
 

sorabji.com . torturechamber . px.sorabji.com . receipts . contact