Moulin Rouge!

Duncan Gray

The film that brought back the musical is more Tashlin than Fosse, putting 50 years of pop music in a blender, spiking it with absinth, and insisting that all these songs (some defiantly unhip) capture something substantial about love and spring from "bohemian" idealism. Not that I can entirely buy it, but that illusion/quest is central to pop—so after it runs out of its bag of tracks, the appeal is media theory.

Lights in the Dusk

The combination of high & lowbrow elements, the post-modern collage of influences (from opera, to Bollywood, to MTV) & the extended commentary on the nature of stories to express a reflection of something that can't be said are each exceptionally jarring & revelatory. The technique owes less to mainstream Hollywood & more to the avant-garde of Jarman & Potter, with a similarly anarchic emphasis on historical fiction.

msmichel

Luhrmann's best film to date is a sumptuous creation that rightfully should have won picture and director the year it was nominated. The film's romantic mix of old school musical, modern song and extraordinary production value make it a modern classic. Performances are wonderful especially the young lovers played by Kidman and McGregor though Richard Roxburgh may have upstaged them at times. ' Come what may...'

Wee Hunk

If the music isn't good, I just don't care how good the movie is. One of the best songs in the movie is "Come what may", which should have won the Oscar, were it not disqualified for stupid reasons. While Nicole Kidman is picture perfect, it's Ewan McGregor who really steals the show. He does a great cover of "Your Song".

Phil Worfel

I got my first noise complaint in an apartment from playing this one too loud. I loved it. I loved the style the performances and the archetypal love story. Great music covers and surprisingly good singing from Kidman and McGregor. Triumph of style over substance if that can ever be a good thing.

Mugino

I'm very conflicted about Baz Luhrmann. He definitely has a unique flair and his films are beautiful to look at. But the story here was so unbearably "fromage" that I was squirming to get out of the theatre. A woman in the front row was bawling her eyes out by the end which cracked me up. I know that people who love this film are quite rabid in their passion for it, but this just wasn't my cup of tea.

Daniel S.

**1/2. Coppola's 'One From the Heart' is clearly Baz Luhrmann's inspiration here. Some great moments, interesting production design but weak basic screenplay.

CGI Baby

I have finally experienced the cinematic equivalent of getting a load shot on your face with every frame.