I’m one of those people who loved the film “Moulin Rouge,” the eye-popping 2001 musical with a soundtrack that ran the gamut of pop music. The story was set in 19th century France, but the characters knew the words to songs like “Like a Virgin,” “Roxanne” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” “Maybe I don’t hate musicals so much after all,” I thought, after watching “Moulin Rouge.” “Maybe I actually love them.” Eventually, though, I returned to earth. I watched “Chicago” and “Dreamgirls,” and although these films weren’t awful, neither one made me think, “Oh, yes. I love musicals.” “Moulin Rouge,” it seemed, was an aberration.

In some ways, it’s odd that I don’t like musicals. Given that I love music and I love movies, combining the two seems like a brilliant, can’t miss idea. Which is maybe why I’m something of an optimist when it comes to musicals. Even though most musicals annoy me, I’m always hoping that the next one I watch will move me as much as “Moulin Rouge,” and so recently I loaded up my Netflix queue with contemporary musicals, hoping to strike gold. Not all of the films were musicals in the conventional sense, but each used music to drive the plot and underscore the emotions of the characters.

First I watched “Across the Universe,” director Julie Taymor’s ambitious attempt to use Beatles songs to tell a love story set against the tumultuous backdrop of the 1960s. A young British man named Jude moves to America to search for his father; when he meets and falls in love with Lucy, he decides to stay, and moves into a Greenwich Village apartment with Max, Jo-Jo, Sadie and Prudence. Drama ensues, of course, as Max is drafted and ends up in Vietnam, and Jude grows increasingly annoyed with the student activists that Lucy chooses to associate with. “Across the Universe” is a flawed but impressive film. The plot is overstuffed, and so certain themes are given short shrift, but it’s always fun to look at and the music — all Beatles songs, sung by the characters — is terrific. The movie does something I didn’t think was possible: interpret Beatles songs we’ve heard millions of times, such as “Revolution” and “All You Need is Love,” in a new way. So even when the film is dramatically incoherent, it’s fun to listen to.

After “Across the Universe,” I watched “Once,” the Irish film that picked up a surprise win for best original song in last year’s Oscars. “Once” is about as different from “Across the Universe” as you can get. “Across the Universe” is a bright, visually inventive fantasy, while “Once,” filmed on a miniscule budget, is a realistic look at a chance encounter between two struggling musicians in contemporary Dublin. The plot is very simple: a 30-something man who often plays his guitar on the street for loose change meets a young woman who is an accomplished piano player. They are both attracted to each other, and begin playing music together. In an ordinary film, these two would end up happily ever after. But “Once” is not an ordinary film. It’s about how two people can fall in love but not end up happily together, and that’s OK. There’s a lot of music in the film, all of it very good, particularly if you like folk-inflected ballads and lilting rock songs.

I decided to go back in time and watch “The Jazz Singer” and “The Three-Penny Opera.” “The Jazz Singer,” released in 1927, was the first talkie, and stars Al Jolson as a cantor’s son. His father wants him to become a cantor and sing in the synagogue, but Al Jolson would rather sing jazz in nightclubs, and runs away to Chicago. Eventually he returns home to New York, where he lands a Broadway role but must also reconcile with his dying father. Will he skip opening night and take his father’s place at the synagogue? Or will he shun his family and go on with the show? I won’t reveal any secrets, but if you can’t figure out what happens you’ve probably never seen a movie in your life, although this is the first film where I’ve heard the lead character wail, “The songs of Israel are tearing at my heart!”

Anyway, I expected to hate “The Jazz Singer,” because I have a tendency to dislike cheesy old movies, but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s a fascinating relic, a technical achievement that also provides an impressive showcase for Al Jolson, who I’d heard of, but never seen. He sings and dances in this film, often while wearing blackface, and even though I was prepared for the use of blackface, it was still fairly shocking and offensive. Still, watching “The Jazz Singer” deepened my understanding of film history, and so it’s a must if you care about that sort of thing.

“The Three-Penny Opera,” released in 1931, is German director G.W. Pabst’s adaptation of the Brecht play, which features songs by Kurt Weill. Supposedly Weill and Brecht were unhappy with the film, but I found it perfectly delightful, perhaps because I’ve never seen or read the play. And if you’re like me, and you loved Bobby Darin’s version of “Mack the Knife” when you were a kid, well, here’s your chance to hear it sung in German. The play itself is a fairly pointed critique of capitalism (the play’s message: thieves and bankers — they’re one and the same!) which makes it the perfect thing to watch during a time of economic collapse.

I’d read different things about the 1986 British musical “Absolute Beginners,” an ambitious attempt to revive the big screen musical helmed by Julian Temple, an accomplished director of MTV videos. The film is about British teenagers during the 1950s, with a pulsating score that features David Bowie and Sade, among others, flashy sets and energetic dance numbers. It’s fun to watch, but, like “Across the Universe,” a bit too ambitious: It wants to be about EVERYTHING. It wants to tell the story of its characters, but also make some kind of definitive statement about an era. At first it’s about a penniless photographer whose girlfriend becomes a successful fashion model and starts dating some skeezy older man. Then it’s about the rise of racial tension in post-war London. These are both good subjects, but maybe they deserve separate films, because the love story seemed a little trite when juxtaposed with the violent riots toward the end. Still, any film where the lead character exuberantly sings “I’m selling out!” can’t be all bad.

My favorite film of the lot was the 1979 film “Quadrophenia,” which isn’t a musical, exactly, but was inspired by The Who album of the same name, and makes excellent use of the music off that album. “Quadrophenia” is more of an angry young man movie, and depicts the aimless existence of Jim, who likes to ride around on his motorbike with his friends and get in fights with rockers. Jim is a mod, you see, and mods fight with rockers. I thought this was some kind of joke, but apparently mods and rockers were always fighting in 1960s England, presumably because they liked different music and had different haircuts. (A friend of mine described these conflicts as “rock and roll hooliganism,” which is a perfect description, and not just because it finally gave me an opportunity to use the word hooliganism in my blog.) Anyway, “Quadrophenia” is a beautiful film, even if you don’t like The Who. But you’ll like it better if you do.

Anyway, I’m moving on to the Marx Brothers. But if you have a favorite musical, let me know.