fearfuljesuit

Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes run a tight race for the Saddest Ever Attempt at Acting prize, but their competition can't ruin, and barely dims, the brilliant audacity of Baz Luhrmann's contemporary conception of this dramatic warhorse.

The genius update should be thrilling for any Shakespeare fan who's not a total snob. The flashy hipness should be a revelation for any teen who's been bored to tears in English class.

John Leguezamo and Chris Rock kick serious booty.

Simply the apotheosis of film noir.

Twisted plot and irresistibly quotable dialogue, courtesy of Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler. Atmospheric cinematography. Stupendous suspense, even after multiple viewings.

La Stanwyck gives a masters class in Diva that Callas could have taken a page from.

Fred MacMurray crushes his nice guy image like a sweaty fedora left on the passenger seat on a hot night.

Edward G. Robinson is. . .even more so than usual.

If you haven't seen Double Indemnity, I envy the film-going experience that lies before you.

Ok, think The Wicker Man meets The Last of the Mohicans meets The Hound of the Baskervilles meets Sleepy Hollow meets Les Miserables, choreographed by Yuen Wo Ping, produced by Ismael Merchant, co-directed by Tim Burton and Ken Russell for Hammer Studios.

And somehow those crazy kids manage to pull it off!

Clever plot, stunning cinematography, mouth-wateringly beautiful costumes, gorgeous and talented cast.

And, as a bonus, just when you think Hong Kong style chop socky fight scenes can't possibly be improved, some mad genius puts Our Hero in a buckskin loincloth!

Vive la France!