Memento
2001, 1 hr. 45 min., Rated R for violence, language and some drug content. Dir: Christopher Nolan. Cast: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Jorja Fox.

Okay, let's see what all the hubbub is about. . . You mean, I have to think?. . . Hmmm. . . interesting. . .

!backwards told is story The

Hurrah! Memento is easily one of the year's best if only for its innovative storytelling. The movie is fascinating throughout, though it started to wear me down with information overload after 75 minutes.

The reverse motion certainly keeps it fresh. It's a heckuva mystery, knowing the end when you don't know the beginning. Meanwhile, black & white bits lead you otherwise believe what you know, which means that Memento still manages to confuse the viewer. Probably as I have confused my readers with this odd rambling!

The great cast includes Guy Pearce (L.A. Confidential, the new The Count of Monte Cristo) as Leonard, Mr. Short-Term Memory. He has a strange "condition" of forgetting everything in a span of a few moments. He doesn't have amnesia, but an inability to make new memories. Leonard recalls everything up to "the incident" where his wife dies, but after that he forgets anything after a few minutes. He writes constant notes to himself to just remember the basics, his body is one large Post-it note and photos with notes on them are in every pocket of his clothing.

What was I saying? Oh, yeah, Pearce is magnificent in this role. He has a look of innocence in his "condition," yet still manages a twinkle in his eye when he does catch on to his surroundings for brief periods.

The cast also includes Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix) as barkeeper Natalie, an informant for Pearce, and Joe Pantoliano (The Goonies - okay, that's for me, this is for you: The snitch in The Matrix) as Pearce's questionable 'friend' Teddy. Playing Pearce's wife is Jorja Fox of CBS' "CSI."

The verdict:

Moulin Rouge
2001, 2 hrs 5 min., Rated PG-13 for sexual content. Dir: Baz Luhrmann. Cast: Ewan McGregor (Christian), Nicole Kidman (Satine), John Leguizamo (Toulouse-Lautrec), Jim Broadbent (Harold Zidler), Richard Roxburgh (The Duke).

At times bewildering, at times marvelous, I rented Moulin Rouge almost out of a directive due to its many award nominations and wins, yet I fell for the film's story and especially its style.

The plot involves an idealistic young playwright, Ewan McGregor, who falls in love with a beautiful chanteuse at the Moulin Rouge; it's part romance, part pratfall comedy, part drama and all musical. The Bohemian spirit of peace, hope and love is alive and kicking at the dawn of the 20th century (as in, 1900) Paris.

Of course, you have to take some liberties and roll with it being the end of the 19th century, as the songs are very much late 20th century, with some of my favorite adult contemporary from the 80s mixed in with pop culture newbies from 2000. At first this was odd, and the first ten minutes I didn't know what to think. Then, all of a sudden, about 30 minutes into it the film grew on me, and I was immersed till the end.

McGregor and Kidman sing their own songs, and quite well. They really belt them out from deep within the diaphragm with emotion. Their "Come What May," and a montage of cheesy love songs drew me in, then the naughty "Like a Virgin" number had me fondly remembering another suggestive musical bit: Grease 2's "Reproduction."

Kidman, as Ewan's muse, a sultry cancan goddess named Satine, is "paid to make men believe what they want to believe," and against all preconceptions I actually began to believe that she could bring down kingdoms. Sometimes I felt she overdid the acting, but part of the point was that Moulin Rouge went to the limit and prided itself in being almost cartoonish.

This cartoonish quality is matched by the visuals, which are colorful, vibrant and always in motion. For other fans of the rock group Smashing Pumpkins, the sets reminded me of their video for "Tonight, Tonight," which is also set in the turn of the 20th Century.

Besides McGregor and Kidman, the supporting cast does a standup job to keep the film moving. Jim Broadbent ranges from helpful to intimidating in a breath as the Moulin Rouge ringmaster, Harold Zidler. John Leguizamo may be over-the-top as Toulosse-Latrec, but he keeps the screen spicy, enough for Richard Roxburgh to pull off the opposite effect as the dim and amoral Duke, Kidman's wealthy and powerful can't-take-no-for-an-answer suitor.

I give them all the credit in the world for even doing a musical, which nowadays is incredibly (and far too) infrequent, and even rarer done as well as this.

I may not have expected to say this, but I heartily recommend Moulin Rouge, an extravagant spectacle that cancan seduce you.

The verdict:

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