items tagged with Romantic Dramas

RENT

During its first 10 minutes or so, the film version of Jonathan Larson’s Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning musical Rent is so thrilling you might want to applaud. As the opening credits unfurl, the movie’s cast – all but two of whom reprise their original stage roles – sings Rent’s signature number, “Seasons of Love,” on a bare stage in dramatic downlight, and performs with fervent, passionate joy.

CONSTANTINE

At one point in Bryan Singer’s original X-Men film, Wolverine stares at the fetishistic black-leather duds he and his teammates are wearing and asks, incredulously, “You actually go outside in these things?” To which Cyclops, in-joking on the character’s original Marvel-comic attire, replies, “What, would you prefer yellow Spandex?” God, yes.

WE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE

Anyone who recently went to see Closer and walked away feeling underwhelmed is encouraged to rent the new-to-DVD-and-video release We Don’t Live Here Anymore immediately.

Before assessing the Hollywood output designed to fill us all with holiday cheer (Jerry Bruckheimer’s action extravaganza, Oliver Stone’s historical war epic, Tim Allen after a Botox injection ... y’know, that sort of thing), let’s take a brief look at a few titles flying a bit beneath the blockbuster radar.

BEFORE SUNSET

Richard Linklater has directed some marvelous films in the past – particularly Dazed & Confused, The School of Rock, and (his best work until now) 1995’s Before Sunrise – but he has never created one as stunningly, ravishingly alive as Before Sunset.
Read More About Linklater Re-Captures Magic In "Before Sunset": Also, "First Daughter"...