Browsing the Dish Network this evening, I stumbled upon Moulin Rouge!, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor.

How simply wonderful!

I saw a previous version starring José Ferrer and Zsa Zsa Gabor several years ago and quite enjoyed it. I was somewhat reluctant to see the 2001 version and had only caught snippets here and there. My mum had gushed over it and that is usually a good sign but somehow a musical made up of popular songs sung by dramatic actors just didn’t seem right.

The part I came in on tonight was where Satine (Kidman) and Christian (McGregor) meet on top of a ginormous elephant (I think) and Christian professes his love to Satine and wins her over to his affections. Portions of a couple of dozen love songs from the last forty or so years are woven about into an amazing tapestry of adoration and longing that could have been so awful but was simply magical. I think that the performance of Kidman and McGregor was what did it though; I don’t think I have ever been more impressed with the range and versatility of an actor than at that moment. I’ve been a big fan of McGregor since Trainspotting and Velvet Goldmine and this was quite a shock, but very pleasant one.

All through the rest of the movie so far I have been similarly surprised and wowed. The ‘Roxanne’ scene was fantastic as well. Even if the rest of the show tanks, it will have been worth it for all that I’ve enjoyed so far. Bravisimo!

Yes, you read it right – the bunnies are BACK!

Borat Bunnies

I love the 30 second Bunny Theater.  With that in mind, you can catch up on the rest of the parodies at

http://angryalien.com/

C’mon, what are you waiting for?  They’re only 30 seconds long!

Thanks to a nod from a friend of mine, I’m lined up to see Serenity next Tuesday, September 27th. In case you have been under a rock for the last couple of years, here is the summary:

Joss Whedon, the Oscar® – and Emmy – nominated writer/director responsible for the worldwide television phenomena of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE, ANGEL and FIREFLY, now applies his trademark compassion and wit to a small band of galactic outcasts 500 years in the future in his feature film directorial debut, Serenity. The film centers around Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a hardened veteran (on the losing side) of a galactic civil war, who now ekes out a living pulling off small crimes and transport-for-hire aboard his ship, Serenity. He leads a small, eclectic crew who are the closest thing he has left to family –squabbling, insubordinate and undyingly loyal.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I’m getting in free for agreeing to write a review of the movie. I’m expecting to like it (okay, I’m expecting to love it) but if I don’t, I’ll tell you about it. If I do, expect fan-boy gushing. Lots of it.

First off, let me explain something. I love Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy (hereafter referred to as HHGTTG because I’m lazy). I love the original radio play. I love the books. I enjoyed the TV show once (haven’t watched the whole thing complete because of the Dr. Who style effects).

I say this to point out that I’m a big time fan – not a disinterested movie reviewer like your run-of-the-mill newspaper reviewer. I’m sure there are some reviewers that go into a movie expecting to not like the movie. I’m not one of them.

So, to get it out of the way – this movie rocks. It is WONDERFUL. Outstanding in its field. To be ursurped by only Revenge of the Sith – maybe. Well, probably.

First off, there was a set of previews which was a bit unusual for a preview showing. One of the previews starts off with Wonderful World just like this preview and it takes full on 30 seconds for me to realize that it isn’t a preview for HHGTTG but a preview for ‘Chicken Little’! They had intentionally parodied the first trailer for HHGTTG and it worked great. That was fun – I laughed out loud and long at that.

Oh, this is the first time I’ve seen the new THX opening with audio blurbs from movies over the last twenty or more years. A snippet from the pod races in The Phantom Menace was very recognizable. It will be interesting to see if the DVD has this or the standard breaking glass opening that makes my son cover his ears.

*** WARNING! ***

From this point on, there will probably be plot spoilers! Read but don’t complain that I gave something away.

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Imagine a place where you don’t stand out because you are a geek. Seriously, think about it. The people around you like the same movies you do, listen to the same radio programs, read the same books. Some may like this one more than you do and you may like that book more than they do but you all understand each other.

I got to live it for a couple of hours tonight and it was interesting. I wouldn’t want to live that way, but it was fun to experience.

I had the great opportunity, thanks to my friend Ethan, to go see “The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy” this evening – it doesn’t open to the general public until Friday. I’ll post about the movie in my next post, but I wanted to comment on the theater outing first.

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