Watch this movie (exclamation mark)

Valmont · 03-16-2005, 07:40 AM

Have you seen the movie Memento?
If you didn't, then jolly rent it and watch. Watch it a few times.

What you think?

sde · 03-16-2005, 07:44 AM

hmm .. never heard of it.

Quote:

Genre: Drama / Mystery / Thriller (more)

Tagline: Some memories are best forgotten

Plot Outline: A man, suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and tattoos to hunt down his wife's killer. (more) (view trailer)

User Comments: can't believe how much I'm still thinking the day after (more)

i'll check it out

Valmont · 03-16-2005, 07:57 AM

It is a mature "intelligent" movie. That's why dare to reccomend it. Not "hollywood like" mature.

technobard · 03-16-2005, 08:44 AM

I hate to say it, but I pretty much hated this movie. I have friends who liked it, so I'm sure a good percentage of folks (if interested) will enjoy it. Without giving anything away, I got the impression that the movie makers were patting themselves on the back about the technique, while everything else was secondary. This does not a good movie make.

Valmont · 03-16-2005, 08:48 AM

What was secondary?

technobard · 03-16-2005, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valmont

What was secondary?

The characters, a real plot. It's not that I don't like a different technique now and again in a movie. I actually enjoy it. Movies like:

The Sixth Sense
The Usual Suspects
Identity
Jacob's Ladder

were good because of the surprise ending. In the first two cases, the ending transformed the story you thought you saw into something entirely different. Memento's ending, while surprising, didn't transform it so much as explain what all the fuss was about in the first place. To a lesser extent, Identity and Jacob's Ladder did the same thing. The difference (in my mind) is that Memento over did it. There was nothing there but technique.

In the end, I'm sure it all comes down to personal preference. Sorry, this movie really got under my skin.

Valmont · 03-16-2005, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Memento's ending, while surprising, didn't transform it so much as explain what all the fuss was about in the first place.

Do you know what the fuss was all about? There were plots in plots...

technobard · 03-16-2005, 10:57 AM

I got it, I just didn't like it.

Valmont · 03-16-2005, 11:35 AM

Quote:

...didn't transform it so much as explain what all the fuss was about...

Then you should know that the movie takes all the snippets (including the black and white ones) to explain bit by bit. No instant transformation is needed, unlike with many hollywood movies.

The sixth sense has major flaws in it. Does it takes him 6 months to realize he's dead? Where did he sleep? Not in his bed next to his wife...

The Usual Suspects was very predictive to me. I knew that guy did it since the first boat fight. His limbo dance walking never fooled me.

Belisarius · 03-16-2005, 12:57 PM

If I might recommend another movie(s) in the intellectual vein, if you are willing to try something different, I'd suggest Ghost in the Shell and Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence. They really give your brain a workout. Plus they're just downright gorgeous to look at (although the first is getting a little bit dated now). They're what turned me onto the cyberpunk genre. You can follow the core story pretty easily, but you could spend a lifetime dissecting all the various aspects of it. They're a couple of the very few movies I've seen that actually gets better the more I watch them.

Valmont · 03-16-2005, 01:24 PM

Is the movie available on DVD? I don't want tapes anymore. All SF on DVD for Val

technobard · 03-16-2005, 01:29 PM

Valmont, sorry if I touched a nerve. Everyone has different likes and dislikes. No big deal. I spend some of my spare time trying (though not much lately) to write fiction. Story structure is important to me when it's a big part of what's going on. Ideally (for me), it blends into the background, but when it doesn't I either love it or hate it.

Belisarius, I've never seen the Ghost in the Shell stuff. I've heard they were good.

Valmont · 03-16-2005, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Valmont, sorry if I touched a nerve.

Don't worry techno, I am a serious person in general. The disadvantage of chatting over the web, is that we can't see eachothers eyes or expression in general. So from here on the web, I look grumpy, but in reality I am smiling.

Although, if you were visiting me, I would have forced you to watch the dvd with me again. I'll threat you with some snacks and ice cold beer

.

technobard · 03-16-2005, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Valmont

Although, if you were visiting me, I would have forced you to watch the dvd with me again.

Now you're resorting to torture.

It's been a number of years since I was in The Netherlands. I visited Gouda and nearby areas for a week back in 1996(?). It was mostly work, but a couple of my local work buddies showed me around a little. Maybe one day I'll get to go back. If so, I'll take you up on the snacks, but I'll have to pass on the movie.

Belisarius · 03-16-2005, 04:20 PM

Yes, the Ghost in the Shell movies are on DVD. In fact, the original was just re-released as a super-deluxe ultra-cool platinum director's cut edition thingy.

The second movie is in Japanese, though, with English subtitles (although early copies were slightly botched in that they close-captioned the sound effects in the subtitle, it was only a minor annoyance).

And yes, they're very cool. You do have to like your action movies to be heavily laced with dialogue and philosophy though.