Boom, then crash...

This post is part of Nathaniel's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" series in which the participants must post a single image from a movie he or she deems as the "best shot" for any particular reason.

The Get Down, the latest from Baz Luhrmann, is a new (and very expensive) Netflix show about the birth of hip hop set in the Bronx of the late 1970s. I admit that I was surprised when I heard Luhrmann was working on this, but upon further thought, the time period and topic lend themselves well to Luhrmann's highly stylized and frenetic direction.

The pilot, the only one actually directed by Luhrmann, is chock full of Luhrmann's visual panache and manic style, but the latter at times felt a bit too much especially in the first half of the extra long 90-minute episode where viewers are still trying to get a sense of the world and its characters. The tone is all over the place and the hyper editing threatened to make everything practically incoherent. Thankfully the performances held up and I'm intrigued enough to further follow the stories of Ezekiel, Shaolin, and their ragtag group of friends.

As for my best shot, I chose something that came from one of my favorite sequences in the pilot. This was one of the few times Luhrmann and company slowed it down a bit, giving us a better sense of the main character and just letting the power of words do most of the work.

Best Shot

Here Ezekiel is challenged by his teacher to recite a very personal poem he wrote talking about his dead parents. It's an evocative moment that appropriately starts off visually evocative as well with the camera panning to the left obscuring Ezekiel at the same time he's finally opening himself up. I love this particular shot as well because it highlights an Ezekiel who is literally split down the middle just as his journey seems to be. On the one hand there's his pursuit of his crush Mylene and on the other is his unlikely partnership with Shaolin. It'll be interesting to see how exactly the show handles this moving forward.

Looking Forward To...

The Great Gatsby (2013)
Release: May 10, 2013
Distributor: Warner Brothers
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clark, and Tobey Maguire

Above all things, this story is about love.

The Moulin Rouge. A nightclub, a dance hall, and a bordello... A kingdom of nighttime pleasures where the rich played with the young and beautiful creatures of the underworld.

The last film of director Baz Luhrman's Red Curtain Trilogy had its wide release premiere exactly 10 years ago today after being out in limited number of theaters for two weeks. That film is Moulin Rouge! and it is one of my all-time favorite films.


The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.

Taking place in the turn of the 20th century Paris, the film features a young penniless writer (Christian) played by Ewan McGregor and a beautiful courtesan (Satine) played by Nicole Kidman who both fall in love amidst the crazy trappings of the Moulin Rouge, the idealistic notions of the Bohemian artists, and the sinister intentions of the Duke. Did I mention that it's also a musical? And it's a grand one at that with chock full of anachronistic, yet impeccably chosen pop music accompanied by lush and eye-popping production numbers and choreography.


There was a boy. A very strange and enchanted boy...

This film was the first time I had ever seen McGregor in anything so I always associate this film with him. Truth be told, just as Satine fell for him almost at first sight (or at first listen to be more accurate), I too fell for McGregor's sensitive and romantic Christian. McGregor provided a much-needed grounded quality to the whole film. Of course there's Nicole Kidman who is just fabulous here. As amazing an actress she has been even before and after this film, Satine is still probably my favorite role of hers. She made me laugh out loud as she overly got turned on by Christian's "poetry reading" and then made me sob in the end lying lifeless on that stage. It was truly a tour de force multifaceted performance that I still can't believe didn't win her an Academy Award.


Similarly, I was impressed by the great mixing of slapstick comedy and heart-wrenching drama in the film. Who didn't smile at Satine trying to hide Christian from the Duke or laugh uncontrollably at the "Like A Virgin" performance? In the same vein, who was left breathless by the "Roxanne" tango number or heart-ached when Christian confronted Satine on stage near the end?


We're creatures of the underworld. We can't afford to love.

And I haven't even mentioned all of the other great supporting actors in the cast like John Leguizamo as Toulouse Latrec, Jim Broadbent as Harold Zidler, and Richard Roxburgh as The Duke. All three, like Kidman and McGregor, had to go from outlandish to serious throughout the film. The arresting score, the extravagant costumes, the confident cinematography, the masterful editing, the intricate sets, the cast of hundreds, the trippy visual effects... I can go on and on and on, but I think you get the idea.

Now all of the images above are just a few of my favorites from the film. I'm withholding one particular shot, my favorite, which I'm saving for its own post later today.

Movie Meme: Day 15

"31 Day Movie Meme"


Day 15 | Best musical

"The hardest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return."

Well I don't know about "best," but this is definitely one of my favorite musicals ever. Moulin Rouge! is a treat for the eyes and ears as it should be since it's the third film in Baz Luhrmann's lush and captivating Red Curtain Trilogy.

Way before Glee made mash-ups and covering pop songs cool, Moulin Rouge! used those for its electric soundtrack to match its eye-popping and grand visuals. Like Christian to Satine, it really was love at first sight with the film.

Nicole Kidman has never looked as radiant as she did as Satine, the beautiful courtesan that falls in love with Christian, the handsome penniless writer played by Ewan McGregor. This was actually the first film of McGregor I had seen so this would always be the film that I associate with him even with the multitude of characters he has since played. And when both of them are singing? Forget it, I'm gone. As cheesy as The Elephant Love Medley is, it remains breathtaking whenever I listen to it. Don't get me started on "Come What May."

Now if only these two would just reunite for another musical, it would just be the greatest thing ever.