Another vote for loving Altman's The Long Goodbye.

Best entrance evah? Harry Lime certainly ranks in the top five, but I still think Tim Curry's entrance in Rocky Horror is my favorite.

That'd get my vote, though Vincent Price's thunder-punctuated "I HAVE ARRIVED!" in House of the Long Shadows is a contender too.

I really have to see "The Long Goodbye", it looks like. Altman's a bit of a hit-and-miss for me, i.e. loved "Gosford Park", "The Player", "McCabe & Mrs. Miller", lukewarm on "Nashville" and "Short Cuts", annoyed witless at "Pret-a-Porter".

This is all true for me, too (except for Short Cuts, which isn't as great as the best Altman, but is better than Nashville), but The Long Goodbye is up there with McCabe & Mrs. Miller. My other fave-rave Altmans not on this list are Thieves Like Us and (to a slightly lesser extent) California Split.

Okay, Moulin Rouge is on VH-1, and I'm reconsidering my previous underwhelmed-ness.

I still think it's got HUGE flaws, and a lot of them. But even the flaws are done in a grandiose way, and I think it's that grandiosity -- along with Ewan's unbelievable way of lighting up the screen -- that redeems it.

But even the flaws are done in a grandiose way, and I think it's that grandiosity -- along with Ewan's unbelievable way of lighting up the screen -- that redeems it.

Yep. I freely admit it's a flawed movie, but that doesn't change my love for it.

Well, I didn't *hate* it the first time I saw it -- in fact, I remember being blown away by Ewan's charisma and being utterly in awe of how the film LOOKS. Visually, it's possibly the most stunning, lush, gorgeous movie I've ever seen, and I thought that when I first saw it.

But the flaws were enough to drive me bonkers. However, this time around I'm sort of enjoying how utterly operatic and gradiose the flaws are.

And the Ewan. Even without getting Ewan cock.

I wrote down a thesis somewhere to the effect that To Live and Die in L.A. is as total and exact a celluloid expression of the middle-80s as can be had. Gay anxiety, excessive displays of teh macho, cynicism, people literally printing money, hair gel, tight pants, short shorts, drugs, psychotic acts of revenge, flames, paranoia, abuse of power, and John Pankow's fishbelly-white butt. Perfect!

So completely this!

The featurettes are amazing. William Friedkin's sheer delight at playing with bad guys to get the scoop on printing money is a joy to behold.

Aww, I should pull out my Moulin Rouge DVD. I keep getting reminded of it.

I overdosed when it came out. Flawed, yes, but flawed in a way I wanted to see 6 times in the theater anyway.

But even the flaws are done in a grandiose way, and I think it's that grandiosity -- along with Ewan's unbelievable way of lighting up the screen -- that redeems it.

One of Ebert's better one-liners, and he meant it as a compliment because he gave the film 3 or possibly 4 stars, was describing MOULIN ROUGE as like being trapped in an elevator with a circus - about as accurate a description as I could ever come up with.

I remember when I saw it with 3 friends (who all HATED it beyond reason), and the first words out of my mouth afterwards were "I don't know whether to be astonished or appalled". I still haven't decided.

I love Baz Lurhmann's style. Sumptuous and multi-layered...If only he'd let the viewer's eyes rest on the fantastic detail for more than 5 seconds at a time. Maybe I'm turning into my grandmother, but that quick-cut device? I'm so over it.

Speaking of flawed cinematic opera...I just watched "Classic Albums: Meat Loaf: Bat out of Hell." What a treat!

Great stuff with Jim Steinman, Todd Rundgren, Max Weinstein. And, of course, Meat. Though I didn't smile as much through his bits...

I love that album, and the subsequent Bat Out of Hell II with a love that knows no shame. It would be such fun to see it turned into a movie.

Hey, if they can make films out of every tv show ever made, and most comic books, can dinosaur rock albums be far behind?