An excellent film. It is about a mixed British/Pakistani family in 1970s Britain. The cast, script, storyline, pacing — everything — is excellent. It is a funny movie with a serious undertone. Or a serious movie with a funny undertone. Either way, brilliant. Highly recommended. It might not be on the top 10 list at any of your rental stores, but go out of your way to find it and you won’t be disappointed. (*****)

I like Matthew Broderick. I like him a lot. But he really tests my loyalty sometimes. The special effects in this movie aren’t really that impressive in a post-Jurassic Park context. The love-subplot is stupid. And, for that matter, so is the main plot. But the original Godzilla movies were never really all that good either, I guess. (*)

For all its weirdness, I actually liked this movie. It will almost certainly turn into a cult classic. I don’t generally like musicals, but it was fun trying to recognize the pop songs in this very, very odd production. Some of the songs were changed so much I couldn’t even pick them out. Visually, the movie is stunning, from the lavish sets down to the incredible costumes. Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor are really rather good, and they even sing their own songs in this movie. I disagree with the people who say that it would have been better with an original soundtrack. On the contrary, I think an original soundtrack would have made it “just another movie”. (****)