Martin Brown Movies
The third film from pop-music-obsessed director Baz Luhrmann tweaks the conventions of the musical genre by mixing a period romance with anachronistic dialogue and songs in the style of his previous Romeo+Juliet (1996). Ewan McGregor stars as Christian, who leaves behind his bourgeois father during the French belle époque of the late 1890s to seek his fortunes in the bohemian underworld of Montmartre, Paris. Christian meets the absinthe- and alcohol-addicted artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (John Leguizamo), who introduces him to a world of sex, drugs, music, theater, and the scandalous dance known as the cancan, all at the Moulin Rouge, a decadent dance hall, brothel, and theater that's the brainchild of Harold Zidler (Jim Broadbent). Christian also meets and falls into a tragically doomed romance with the courtesan Satine (Nicole Kidman), who becomes the star of the play he's writing, which parallels the couple's romance and utilizes rock music from a century later, including songs by Nirvana, Madonna, the Beatles, and Queen, among others. Loosely based on the opera Orpheus in the Underworld, Moulin Rouge was shown in competition at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, (more)
- 1996
- NR
In 1966, University of Texas student Charles Whitman climbed to the top of the highest tower on campus armed with a high-powered rifle and proceeded to randomly shoot passerby below. A dozen innocent people died and twice that many were injured. As a black, scathing and at times hilarious political satire, The Delicate Art of the Rifle takes this event and twists it into something fresh and experimental, a narrative that criticizes the current notion of narrative by stripping facts of their historical context and placing them into an absurd realm punctuated by paranoia and arbitrary violence. Hailed by the filmmakers, the Raleigh, North Carolina-based film production company/ artist group the Cambrai Liberation Collection, as a "brazen art-house action-adventure," The Delicate Art of the Rifle is not an easy film, nor is it a perfect film, but those who stick with it will be rewarded with the rare opportunity to see a refreshingly intelligent bit of modern American cinema. The tale unfolds from the viewpoint of Jay, roommate of the sniper Walt Whitman. Jay is first seen after having spent a night on the catwalk of the campus theater. Below him, a group rehearses a "a post modernist fashion show version of Hamlet. Later that day, Jay and one of his professors, Dr. Boaz head out for coffee at Foucault Tower, a 27-story super dorm that contains everything a student might ever need or want. Unfortunately, before they arrive shots ring out and Boaz is killed along with many others. For some reason Jay remains unscathed. Suddenly he hears a disembodied voice from above. It is his best friend Walt. Not realizing that he is the killer, and thinking his friend is endangering himself, Jay rushes up the tower to save him. En route he meets a number of strange characters including a girl with a thing for frosting cup cakes, a psych major in dire need of sleep, and a band of computer dweebs lead by a demented hacker. Once atop Foucault, Jay listens while Walt spins an incredible tale of delusion, paranoia and despair involving a metaphysical virus that erases people from history. Believing it has already taken his girl friend, and realizing that he too has it, Walt makes one final request of Jay before the student swat team moves in for the final confrontation. The story itself ends on a mysterious, even cosmic note. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Marshall Grant, Stephen Grant, (more)
- 1996
- PG13
- Add William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet to QueueAdd William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet to top of Queue
The classic Shakespearean romantic tragedy is updated by director Baz Luhrmann to a post-modern Verona Beach where swords are merely a brand of gun and bored youths are easily spurred toward violence. Longtime rivals in religion and business, the Montagues and the Capulets share a page from the Jets and Sharks of West Side Story when they form rival gangs. Romeo (Leonardo DiCaprio) is aloof toward the goings-on of his Montague cousins, but after he realizes that Juliet (Claire Danes) is a Capulet at the end of one very wild party, the enmity between the two clans becomes the root of his angst. He relies heavily -- and with serious consequences -- on his rebel gender-bender of a friend, Mercutio (Harold Perrineau Jr.), and Father (not Friar) Lawrence (Pete Postlethwaite) for protection and support. Romeo is, of course, exiled, and it looks like Juliet will be forced into an arranged marriage with the bland Paris (Paul Rudd). It ends, as Romeo and Juliet must, when Romeo hears a tragic piece of misinformation and brings his suicide wish to what was meant to be Juliet 's temporary tomb. This time, though, the turf and the weapon of choice have taken a turn toward the surreal. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, (more)
- 1995
This Australian film, created in anticipation of a papal visit, pays tribute to Sister Mary MacKillop, the nun who co-founded the then controversial Sisters of St. Joseph an order dedicated to teaching children of many faiths in the mid-nineteenth century. Her story is told through a combination of commentary and vignette. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Julia, Gunther, and Mary Lou are sharing a house together in Sydney, not far from downtown. The have advertised for another tenant, since it will lower everyone's housing costs. The man they choose is a gent named Bernard, personable and agreeable, who seems to be romantically interested in Julia. Meanwhile, Sydney has been undergoing a wave of bombings of government buildings and offices. Before long, Bernard's new roommates begin to wonder about him, but by the time they get seriously interested in what he's up to, he has taken steps to see to it that they don't hinder his activities. He hadn't counted on his relationship with Julia having any effect on him, however, and the outcome of the resulting stand-off is far from certain. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Craig Pearce
