30 Day Challenge – Day 8: Favorite Musical

I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t seen a lot of the classic musicals like Singin’ in the Rain, The Sound of Music, or Cabaret. But that doesn’t mean that my pick for my favorite musical is going to be just random. No, my pick just so happens to be one of the top 5 movies I have ever seen. This is Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! I recently wrote a cinematic heaven entry on in, so just go ahead and read that since I go into why I love it in detail. So, I’ll use this space to post some pretty pictures from it.

List: 10 Endings That Made Me Cry (Spoilers!)

I love an ending that makes me cry, but only if it is for the right reasons. The tears have to come because I feels in touch with all the characters and the situation that they have just gone through. And this is not easy to come by these days. Sure, I have cried more than 10 times during the last two years, but sometimes it feels like you have to cry because they are putting down the dog, or because so and so dies of cancer. I’m not saying that I should not cry, but when the movie is over and I analyze what I just saw, the tears weren’t really justified.

So, I thought about the 10 most memorable times I’ve cried at the end of a movie or television show narrowed them down to 10. Most of them are recent movies or shows, with a couple of exceptions, but that’s because, they are fresher in my mind.

So, here are the 10 ending that made me cry (in alphabetical order):

Should Be “Spectacular, Spectacular”

On October 19, the best movie of the last decade will finally be released on Blu-ray (and just in time for the movie’s 10th anniversary).

Here are the special features, according to The Digital Bits:

Moulin Rouge! will include an exclusive Spectacular, Spectacular Picture-in-Picture viewing mode with audio commentary (by Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Donald M. McAlpine and Craig Pearce, and featuring behind-the-scenes footage and stills), the A Creative Adventure featurette, an Introduction by Baz Luhrmann, uncut and unreleased footage (including the Father & Son alternate opening and Nicole Kidman’s first vocal test), 6 production featurettes (The Stars, The Writers, The Design, The Dance, The Music and The Cutting Room), The Making of Moulin Rouge documentary, BD-Live: Live Lookup and more.

I can’t wait to see the opening, “El Tango De Roxanne”, and the finale in glorious HD. *drools*

Update: Here’s the trailer for the UK release of the BD.

Cinematic Heaven: The Red Shoes

The Red Shoes | Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1948

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressuburger’s masterpiece The Red Shoes plays out like two different movies. One is about what goes on behind the scenes of a professional ballet company and the seemingly harsh man who runs it. The other is a love story between two young lovers and the one person who does everything in his power to keep them apart, which leads to one of the most difficult choices one could make: would you rather spend your life doing what you alway though you were meant to do, or living a normal life with the person that you have always loved. Both parts of this are amazing on their own, but together with the ballet that joins them in the middle makes this a breathtaking experience that is among my favorite movies of all time.

As I mentioned, The Red Shoes is both a back stage drama and a love story. It opens with Julian Craster (Marius Goring), a young composer, attending a new ballet scored by his music professor. However, it turns out that he stole the music he had shown him in confidence. Also in attendance is Victoria Page (Moira Shearer), a young dancer whose aunt wants her to meet Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook), the ballet’s director, so that she may have a future with his company. Through a series of events, both Julian and Victoria end up working for the company, at first only as an orchestra trainer and as a background dancer, respectively.

The Decade in Review: The Best and Worst Oscar Winners (Per Category)

Now that we know who came out victorious at the 82nd annual Academy Awards, I thought it was a perfect time to make the list of the best and worst Oscar winners of the decade per category. It wasn’t hard coming up with them since the Academy tends to reward lesss-than-worhty features all time, which makes it easier for the good ones to stick out.

In each category I’ve listed what I think are the best and the worst choices the Academy made, and a reason why they are on the list. I skipped the Documentary and the short categories and I have not seen enough to make a judgement.

Without further ado, here are my pick for the best and worst Oscar winners of the decade.

The Decade In Review: Top 50 Films, Part Five (1-10)

Today, the countdown ends with the presentation of my top 10 movies of the decade. I won’t talk too much but I’d say that this was a good decade to become a movie fan. Not only were there many artful movies that taught me about film and what it can do, but there were also many, but not as many as I wish there had been, Hollywood produced movies that showed why Hollywood is what it is. Plus I’ve got decades and decades to look back to. Hopefully this decade we have just started will improve on this one and we film fans have something to be proud of.

Here are my top 10 movies of the decade:

In Defense of Nicole Kidman, The Best Actress of Her Generation

Whenever it is announced that Nicole Kidman is going to be starring in something, I have to brace for all the negative comments that will be made on the comments section of any website that carries those news. Most of these comments will be Botox or facial expression related. Why the hate? Is it because of all the Botox she has put into her face? Or is it because of the career boost that her relationship with Tom Cruise gave her? I guess we’ll never know, but what I do know is that she is the best actress of her generation.

Review: Across the Universe

Across the Universe | Julie Taymor, 2007

Upon its release, Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe divided the few people who saw it right down the middle. Some saw it as a desecration of something that many people hold dear and that changed the music world, and therefore everyone that was involved in the production must be killed. Others saw it as a creative and imaginative attempt to make todays audiences realize how similar the 60s were today using music that is universally loved and understood by people of all ages. From the first time I saw it I knew that I would fall in the latter category.

Across the Universe is the story of Jude (Jim Sturgess), an Irish man who travels to the United States to look for his dad. Once he get that out of the way, he meets Max (Joe Anderson), a college student who does not belong there. They become friends and Max introduces Jude to his sister Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood). From there on, Max and Jude move on to New York and live with a handful of colorful characters, and also live in the middle of all the protests that arose because of the Vietnam war and soon Jude and Co. would be part of the movement.

As I said before, I loved this movie. It oozes creativity. This all thanks to Julie Taymor’s work. Every musical is inventive and entertaining. This is the best directed musical since Baz Luhrman’s Moulin Rouge!, another extremely divisive movie. To help with the visual greatness is Bruno Delbonnel’s cinematography. The art direction, make up, costumes, and visual effects are also used to great effect to create a dreamy, yet realistic version of the 60s.

Then there are the performances. Most of the performances are fine. Sturgess, Wood, and Anderson do a good job of carrying the film. There are others that were not quite as good, but worked within the context (I’m looking at you Bono).

Finally, the music. I’m no Beattles fanatic, but I do like their music and undertand their cultural importance. I guess that for this reason I find the covers here to be rather great. Every actor in the movie had a nice enough voice and bring their own personality to the performances, which was absoulutely necessary. Props to Elliot Godenthal for his arrangements.

Across the Universe is a great movie. It was always going to be a divisive movie even if the original arrangements had been used. The cast is good enough to carry the film and make it relatable, and Julie Taymor makes that world believable despite all the trippy imagery.