Moulin Rouge!

I know that I'm sorta late, but I figure even if I don't get posted in Andrew's (at Encore Entertainment) blogathon, at least I wrote about my favorite musical, which is...

Moulin Rouge!

I'd like to focus on two of the most confusing snubs of the decade...

Ewan for Best Actor, and Baz Luhrmann for Best Director. A film as big as Moulin Rouge! depends on two things: the acting, and the skill of a director. (All I can say is thank god Nicole got her nomination!)

In a film filled with ridiculously lavish and crazy, over-the-top production numbers, how are you supposed to keep the film's central message (it's a love story!) clear? If you're Baz Luhrmann, you make sure you get Ewan McGregor. Take the scene below...




Even as Ewan and Nicole spin high up in the clouds, they make sure that the message doesn't get lost in the crazy, over-produced (in a good way) musical number. It also helps that Ewan's voice has that sensual, masculine touch of rogue-ness and the face of a Shakespearean paramour. He's the spark that ignites Nicole's flame (there's a metaphor of worth in there somewhere... look harder!).

Baz, in the tradition of Cecil B. DeMille, keeps everything big. But what Baz also does is keep the realism true in spite of the theatricality. Take a look at this...





Notice the intimacy of a huge scene. Nicole's "I love you, 'til the end of time," is more touching than it would have been between just the two of them in a room. By staging the song "Come What May" in the Duke's production, Baz makes the love of these two seem as huge as the production itself. I'm sure we can all realize that, despite its grandeur, it's one of the most touching and intimate portrayals of love ever captured on screen. Baz knows how to make it big and small, all at the same time.

I hope that made sense. It's hard to explain the greatness of Moulin Rouge! without contradicting oneself a thousand times over.

So there you have it, my favorite (and the best) musical.

What's A Paltrow To Do?

I'm sure you have all heard the news that Gwyneth Paltrow is dropping out of The Danish Girl with Nicole Kidman. Two of the most media-hated stars together in a movie (and about the world's first transsexual!) was too good to be true.

Gwyneth claims she dropped out in order to spend time with her family (she's married to Coldplay's Chris Martin, you know).

So what's a Paltrow to do? Her career is hardly enviable, with her last big "meaty" role in 2005's underperforming Proof.

Advice: Television. It may seem below you, Oscar winning actress Gwyneth, but I just don't see you snatching these good dramatic parts that we all know you can do. Why wait for something good to fall into your lap again? The roles are few and far between for women of a certain age (you'll be 38 soon!) and we all know that TV is a comfort zone for actresses who get the cold shoulder from the silver screen (Sally Field, Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, and this summer Laura Linney).

I could totally see Gwyneth doing some sort of Desperate Housewives series, but not network television. Take Desperate Housewives and turn it over to HBO or Showtime, and I think we have our first Paltrow-success since... since Shakespeare in Love perhaps!

What do you think? Should Gwyneth turn to the small screen, or should she keep trying to find that next big role in cinema?

Favorite Actresses

We all have favorites. People who we just love to love despiteof their credentials or filmography. Case and point: the recent love-fest for Sandra Bullock because everybody just seems to really love that girl in spite of never having turned in a performance that wowed everybody (sorry, The Blind Side.)

I've decided to list my favorite actresses. This is not a list of whom I think are the best actresses (with perhaps some overlappage), but rather a list of which actresses excite me on and off the screen. I've limited the number of actresses to fifteen, and they are actresses currently making movies. If you're reading this, please join in either in the comments or in your own blog and tell me about it so I can link to it!

Here they are...

(order is completely 100% random)

Marion Cotillard

Penelope Cruz

Anna Kendrick

Nicole Kidman

Michelle Pfeiffer

Parker Posey

Amy Adams

Susan Sarandon

Renee Zellweger

Julia Roberts

Reese Witherspoon

Keira Knightley

Jennifer Aniston

Sigourney Weaver

Evan Rachel Wood

The Muse...

One of my favorite story-lines for movies is the muse who inspires the artist...

What are some of your favorite story-lines?

The Delights of Un-Camp

It's amazing how something so susceptible to camp doesn't quite go there. Moulin Rouge! really is in a league of its own.


It's easy to go into camp territory:

1) get some far-fetched story (the life of a dying courtesan in 1800s France who is dying falls in love with a penniless Bohemian writer, and it takes place in the Moulin Rouge, perhaps?)
2) mix in crazy songs (combining Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend with Material Girl anyone?)
3) have actors slavishly devote themselves to their roles
4) insane colors and sets galore (an elephant that doubles as a love nest, maybe?)


But through all of this, Baz never goes there. There is hard to describe, but it's the point of no-return. Silliness over quality, absurdity over poignancy.


What this is all leading up to is... How the hell was Baz not nominated for an Oscar for directing this film?

Wow!

Last post of the decade...wow!

These are my WOW! moments of the decade. They could be good or bad... let's see. (The number of runners-up varies, but I'll try to limit it to five!)

The Wow! I want to see more of you! award goes to...

Anne Hathaway - The Princess Diaries

Who didn't want to see more of Anne Hathaway after The Princess Diaries? She's fun, she's cute, she's enjoyable. The best part of Anne Hathaway is that you can tell she's having a good time. She's not one of these mopers that complains about fame or paparazzi or whatever. She's just a joy. And talented.

Runners-up:

Amy Adams in Junebug

Keira Knightley in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Carey Mulligan in An Education

Jamie Bell in Billy Elliot

Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air

Too many others to name! What a good decade for break-outs that (seem to) have potential.


The Wow! I want to see less of you! award goes to...

TIE! Megan Fox - Transformers and Paul Giamatti - Every film he is in

Megan Fox- Yuck! I can't see what other guys see in her looks-wise. And I can see what everyone else sees in her acting wise: nothing. Zip. Zero personality, stale line reading, a total and utter bore. Everything Anne Hathaway is, Megan Fox is not.

Paul Giamatti- I cannot describe the pain you bring to me when you act on screen. It's either your innate annoyingness or some Paul Giamatti character you're putting on that makes me ill. Please, leave the next decade alone!

Runners-up:

Orlando Bloom in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Hayden Panettiere in Heroes and I Love You, Beth Cooper


The Wow! ensemble in a film award goes to...

The cast of Moulin Rouge!

In a movie that could have been downright silly, this cast, including Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor at their absolute best, makes this film a drama, a musical, a romance for the ages. Kudos!

Runners-up:
The casts of...
Chicago
The Aviator
Adaptation.
Juno
Up in the Air

The Wow! male performance in a film (lead/supporting) award goes to...

Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Johnny Depp was always a kooky kind of guy, but the films he were in were never kooky enough (in the right way). That is until he landed the role of Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean. This was the vehicle Johnny Depp needed all along to show us how funny and offbeat he was as an actor. Here's looking at you, Johnny.





Runners-up:
George Clooney in Up in the Air
Nicolas Cage in Adaptation.
Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge!
Sean Penn in Milk

Sorry supporting men, you just didn't do it for me. Better luck next decade (if this blog is still even around!).


The Wow! female performance in a film (lead/supporting) award goes to

Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge!

Not a huge surprise here I'm sure, but I don't care. Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge! is to the aughts as Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice was to the '80s or Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind was to the '30s. It's that good. It's the performance many will look back on to define the '00s as a decade in film.

Runners-up:
Renee Zellweger in Chicago
Julianne Moore in Far From Heaven
Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada
Carey Mulligan in An Education
Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Kate Hudson in Almost Famous

So many runners-up! I know I said there would be 5 runners-up, but these were all too good to pass up!


The Wow! I laugh at this (in a good way) every time I see it award goes to...

Mean Girls

Without a doubt the best comedy of the decade, Mean Girls will always be the definitive high school film from this decade. End of story. I'm not posting any runners-up, Regina George wouldn't like that.


My own All That Film Awards for the year 2009 will be up on February 6th, 2010. If the date changes, I'll keep you posted! Before that, here's a 2010 preview of the blog...

A revised list of the best films of the decade!
Oscar coverage, including predictions and desires!
Golden Globes coverage! I find these awards to be the most fun, don't you?
Random musings on actresses!
Hopefully some more reviews on here!
Thoughts on any Broadway shows I see!

NINE ON OPRAH!

The multi-Academy Award winning cast of Nine, the new musical by Rob Marshall, will be on Oprah on Wednesday!

Holy crap. This is so exciting- but before I go on, no mention of Sophia Loren, Judi Dench, or the man himself Rob Marshall was made in the commercial. Or Fergie.

No Sophia on Oprah !? Damn. That would've been pretty epic. However, Nicole Kidman is 50% of the allure of Nine. Unfortunately though in the preview there were some stupid tabloid "When did you meet A-Rod?" questions for Kate Hudz, but I'll stick through even that for Nine. Let's hope each star gets to show some of their singing talents like Penelope did on Leno.

By the way, Penelope's singing? I thought it was just okay, I mean she does not have the sexy/funny/enticing voice of Jane Krakowski, but who does? (30 Rock shout out! Problem Solvers!) Anyway, Penelope sounded a bit like Richard Gere in Chicago. I mean, not literally, but there's the question of "Why was she chosen over somebody with a better voice?" Also, will I listen to that again and again on my iPod (well, not I personally, of course I will! But what about other non-musical diehards?). Thoughts on this guy(s)?

Anyone else looking forward to this interview? Or just Nine itself? Or neither? Tell me in the comments!