Totally random one that had been sitting on my queue for a while: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert!
For those totally unfamiliar with the movie, it's the story of two drag queens and a transsexual who are driving from Sydney to Alice Springs (middle-of-nowhere Australia) to do a show at a hotel there. They encounter engine troubles, small town residents, closed mindsets, aborigines, tourists and other hazards of the Outback! (PS - The titular Priscilla is the old tour bus they are driving, which picks up a nice coat of pink paint along the journey.)
OK, the most memorable part of the movie by far is certainly the costumes. A very well-deserved Oscar for Costume Design here. You see several different shows that the characters put on, and never is a costume repeated, on any of the 3 performers! It's some impressive design work!
The acting is awesome, too! It's great to watch the leads, since all 3 have done so many other well known characters. Hugo Weaving is the 'main' character, the one organizing this trip into the desert, and we've all seen him in Lord of the Rings (Elrond) and the Matrix (Agent Smith). Terrence Stamp does a wonderful job with the transsexual role, Bernadette. For those that don't recognize the name, he's been around for-ev-er and has done all sorts of roles (including General Zod in the Superman movies). Very sensitively played. And then there's Guy Pierce in one of his first movie roles, 3 years before L.A. Confidential. All 3 leads are well done - no one is too cliched or ham-handed. Guy Pierce of all 3 is the most stereotypical, but he works with his character well, and becomes very believable.
Other things you notice about the movie, are the great scenery they are driving through (including a canyon they hike in full drag) and the music in the background. Both are wonderful touches - very fun.
Overall: 4.5 of 5. Even Zach admitted that though it wouldn't be the first movie he'd EVER pick up off the shelf just because (or 2nd or 3rd or 500th), it was a very entertaining one.
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