mstick Reviews

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Visually spectacular

[7/10 · 4 June 2001]

Well, this one really was an assault on the senses. Your eyes and ears will be overwhelmed, especially at the start of this well crafted tale.

I enjoyed one of this director's previous works (Strictly Ballroom) and was underwhelmed by Romeo+Juliet, so went into this with a fairly open mind.

Quite frankly the story was ho-hum, but the outstanding performances by Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor more than made up for it. Some will find the very 20th century soundtrack in this 1900-set film irritating, but I found it most amusing (especially the Elephant Love Medley and the fantastic rendition of Madonna's "Like a Virgin")

And a cameo by Kylie Minogue! How gorgeous!

Dancer in the Dark (2000)

Pleased that I saw it, but...

[5/10 · 8 January 2001]

I suspect that I did not enjoy this one as much as most people did. The acting performance of Bjork was quite a standout, and the musical numbers were a breath of fresh air when they happened. On the downside, the camerawork was too unsteady for my liking (several times having to close my eyes to settle the motion sickness!) and the story was just a little too heart-tuggingly manipulative to really enjoy.

Bootmen (2000)

Less bulldust - more tap!

[7/10 · 17 October 2000]

The concept is good - to try to capture the style of the "Tap Dogs" and turn it into a feature film.

Sadly, the transition to the big screen was not entirely successful. In order to reach the big tap finale, we had to wade through an hour and a half of paper thin plot - nice guy fails to make it in the big city, father-son conflict, brother-brother conflict and small scale organized crime racket.

The quality of the acting left a bit to be desired (this is to be expected as the guys were selected for their tap ability, rather than their acting pedigree), and Sophie Lee was ... well, Sophie Lee (I'm yet to be convinced that she is an actor).

The bleak industrial landscape and cinematography were quite good, as were the actors in the small supporting roles.

So when push comes to shove - was the final tap spectacular worth sitting through the movie? Sure was, it's just a shame there wasn't a bit more of it.

The Dish (2000)

Delightful

[8/10 · 17 October 2000]

The "Working Dog" team have not disappointed with this Australian perspective on the Apollo 11 moon landing.

The film is centred on the Parkes radio telescope, and the small band of staff operating it, during the lunar landing mission.

In terms of a history lesson, I (along with many other Aussies) was unaware of the role that this installation played in the broadcast of the landing images to the world.

But - the joy of this feature is in the writing, direction, and acting which allows some very funny lines to be delivered in a very dry, laid back and very enjoyable way.