This movie was great, where great is "fucking orgasmic." The premise of the movie is kind of complicated in itself: Leonard Shelby, a former insurance claims investigator, lost his memory, his wife, and by most definitions his life on an unspecified day at an unspecified time. Saying he lost his memory isn't exactly true, though, as Leonard still has all of his memories intact. But during his wife's murder, he suffered a head truama, through which he lost his ability to create NEW memories. This would normally make a person pretty helpless, but Leonard finds ways around his condition through tatoos scattered all over his body, notes that he'll often write to himself, and photos that he carries with him at all times, of both people he's met and places he's been.
The system seems to work pretty well for him until about halfway through the movie, where it becomes more and more evident just how deeply manipulated Leonard is by his "friends," some for their own purposes and some for purposes that are more obscure.
The movie runs in reverse, like many have; the very first scene you see is what would be the last thing Leonard experienced--the execution the man who raped and killed his wife. But, as expected, the questions only get deeper as the movie continues backwards, as you see all the things Leonard's forgotten. This really works for the movie--it's like you're in Leonard's shoes. All you have to go on is what Leonard has to go on--his notes. You DON'T know what happens behind the scenes, you only see what Leonard sees, you only hear what he hears, and you only see it the way Leonard himself would remember it, for the short time he does.
All in all, great movie, highly recommended. You think you know what's going on and then the movie turns you around and RAPES YOU OUT THE ASS UNCONTROLABLY for thinking even for a second that you did, because you don't.
All in all, I'd give the movie 5 stars out of 4. That isn't to say the movie is "beyond perfect." But it kicked metric tons of ass.
Moulin Rouge review is next. I'm too self-conscious that I screwed something up in as much as I've written now and would rather see that it's okay before continuing.
It was a spiffy movie.
This movie made me cry. A lot. And I'm woman enough to admit it. Though, as you may expect this isn't exactly chick flick of the year, it's still really goddamn sad. Actually, the movie is a lot of things. At times it made me really happy and at others really sad. One or two scenes were uneffective enough to leave me just feeling uninspired. But literally, only one or two. And that isn't bad.
The movie's a modern musical, and it takes excess and sensory overload to new levels. New and very excellent levels. The star of the movie is named simply Christian, a penniless writer who traveled to Paris to take part in the Bohemian Revolution. Early into the movie a rather large argentinian falls through his roof, joined soon after by a rather jolly midget. This is where the movie sets into motion, and it hardly ever stops.
Christian, through acts of song, is chosen to become the writer for a play, called "Spectacular, Spectacular." Lots of boring details here and there that I won't go into, but he soon finds his way to the Moulin Rouge to meet the star of the play, Satine. Except she thinks he's the Duke who is to fund the play. And she thinks she has to sleep with him. (She's a courtesan who wishes only to be an actor.) But of course before all of this, the Moulin Rouge jams out to "Smells Like Teen Spirit."
Obviously this is not the most historically accurate of motion pictures.
Anyway, Satine and Christian fall in love, but must do so in secret, because Satine is essentially signed away to the Duke, who's funding the play, and who wouldn't be the least bit pleased to find the writer and his maiden sleeping together. Which wouldn't help the play.
But it's hard to speak about the movie's plot, as there honestly isn't much background to it at all. The plot is NOT the focus of the movie. The style, and the music, however...is. The movie redefines style. It's funny, but it's funny in a stylish way. It's sad, but it's sad in a stylish way. They sing, and they SING. IN A STYLISH. WAY. This, combined with the surprisingly strong characters, make the movie absolutely spectacular. It's bright, it's unique, it's sad, it's happy, it's just plain fun.
Plus, the ending theme kicks a lot of ass.
3.99999999999999 out of 4 stars.
R.
quote:
rick got all f'ed up on Angel Dust and wrote:
Aussie movies.R.
What the fuck is your sigpic? A Titanic Dildo? 
quote:
Mr. Wilams's unholy Backstreet Boys obsession manifested in:
What the fuck is your sigpic? A Titanic Dildo?
It's yamato.
But it's obvious where your mind is today.
R.
