Memento

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Summary: Memento shut your computer down right now and see this film!
Review: I just saw Memento recently and I must say it was incredible. Quite clearly the best film i've seen since Fight Club. Memento is the story of Leonard Shelby the victim of an attack that killed his wife, and left him with a condition where he can't make new memories and can only remember things for a moment at a time. Since his accident he's been roaming the countryside trying to find his wife's killer. With this great storyline we begin the movie with the death of the killer and move backwards in the able hands of director Christopher Nolan. Telling you that the movie begins this way does not give any of the plot away, but as the movie goes forward we get to see how Leonard comes to that point which is far more interesting. Nolan gets across on the screen what its like to be someone with this rare condition and really develops these characters in the process. He throws aside classic storytelling techniques and comes up with something completely differrent. As each scene changes the audience feels as dazed as the main character then the Director supplements the confusion with a new piece of the puzzle. The film is edited brilliantly and the acting is top notch. Guy Pearce as Leonard is always brilliant(this actor will be a household name in a few years). the rest of the cast is rounded out by Carrie-Ann Moss and Joe Pantliano who were both great in the Matrix. I have no complaints about this film except for the fact that i'll have to wait a few months to get it on DVD. Go see it now!!!

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Summary: A Great And Original Movie With A Surprise Ending
Review: If you liked the Usual Suspects youll love this. It is like the Usual Suspects but that it fits, even with repeated viewing. If you liked this try The Sting, The Usual Suspects, or Fight Club. They all have great surprise endings. Anybody tell me anymore surprise endings? Email me at [e-mail]

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Summary: Intelligent movie indeed
Review: I wouldn't claim myself smart enough to have understood thoroughly the complete movie, but it's indeed the value of this thriller - it lures you to concentrate on the details to an extreme and form your own version of the story plot, conclude and then rebut yourself, as if you are Leonard, the main character with medical 'condition' of short term memory leak, trying to juggle with each piece of the puzzle, with notes, poloroids, and tattoos, not to mention with the help or trap from two supporting characters, named Teddy and Natalie, and yet, in a flashback fashion. Aside from a few places that the movie seems to have triggered some inconsistencies(what movie doesn't?), it's a movie worth watching, talking and debating about. Highly recommended.

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Summary: Do You Recall...?
Review: Most of us remember that cute comprehensive game "Memory", a favorite by Milton Bradley that we repeatedly played as kids to unknowingly develop our concentration skills as well as our memories. The object of the game was to flip a tile and find its match by chance while remembering where other tiles were during the game. The flip-and-find theme of "Memento" echoes of this psychometric activity, only it tests the viewer by repeatedly flaunting Polaroids, tattoos, names, numbers, faces, places and other diminutive but integral pieces of information.

We are introduced in the very beginning of the film to a man named Leonard Shelby (Pearce), only we don't see his face. What we do see is his left hand, holding aloft a Polaroid of a horrific murder site. As the beginning credits roll, Leonard shakes the photo vigorously and the image begins to pale. As the photo fades completely to black, we witness a man being shot point blank - in reverse order. An embedded slug leaps from the victim's head, blood and brain imploding back into his skull. A thin ringlet of sulfur is swiftly vacuumed into the barrel and an empty shell recedes into the chamber of the gun Leonard grasps. As the film continues to rewind itself, we learn that the man whom Leonard has just gunned down is the man he suspects raped and murdered his wife not long ago. Leonard was also attacked by his wife's assailant and sustained damage to his temporal lobe. As a result of his injury, he can no longer form new memories. He recalls his whole life up to the point of her murder, but everything thereafter he forgets within minutes; this personal handicap makes it virtually impossible for Leonard to successfully trail the perpetrator. Fortunately, he's not short on intelligence and devises several methods to stay on the right path. Every person he meets and every place he goes is documented with a Polaroid camera, the quick-pics accompanied by brief memos of the place and/or person. This tactic helps him not only to remember who he' s met and where he's been, but it also forewarns him of people that aren't to be trusted. Besides his extensive photo album, his most important clues and factoids are strategically tattooed on his sculpted physique. All are in reference to one "John G." - the killer.

The movie is filmed almost entirely in reverse chronological order and interspersed with B & W segments of Pearce in a hotel room. We are either listening to his rambling voiceovers or watching him have prolonged conversations on the telephone. The story consists of only two other main characters: Natalie (Moss), a steely bartender, and Teddy (Pantoliano), a shifty snitch. Initially, Natalie appears to be a helping hand in Leonard's ongoing investigation. Soon after she is introduced, we learn that she's a rather shady femme, one with her own desperate motives. Carrie-Anne Moss is back on the big screen after her explosive appearance in "The Matrix" (both sequels II and III are currently being filmed), appearing this time in the smaller but intriguing role of Natalie. Even though her character is a bit gritty, she is not without a sense of humor. In a particular scene where Leonard once again alludes to his chaotic supply of notes, she quips, "You mix up your laundry list with your grocery list and you'll end up eating your underwear for breakfast."

Teddy (Pantoliano) is even more of an enigma. Because of Leonard's note that consistently reminds him "don't believe his lies", we never know whether Teddy is actually trying to help Leonard or put one over on him. Pantoliano's performance seems to be the greatest conundrum of all and he plays Teddy with just the right amount of subtlety appropriate for the audience's continual guessing game of "who's the REAL bad guy here"?

Viewers will have a myriad of questions while watching this virtual jigsaw puzzle of a film, for there is no definitive sequence of events. The difficulty of piecing the numerous segments together in one's mind solicits repeat viewings of "Memento" and the cleverest aspect is the style in which it is filmed - it tests the audiences' collective memory as well as the memory of its main character. Writer/director Christopher Noland has thrown the entire story into a centrifuge - nothing is in the right place, making the action that much more difficult to interpret. Some people may find this directorial technique exasperatingly confusing, others a delightful and worthy challenge. Pearce's character adamantly states at one point that "memories can be distorted. They're just an interpretation, not a record, and they're irrelevant if you have the facts." He inadvertently makes this very claim ring true towards the end, but I won't spoil it for anyone - in fact, figuring that out is half the fun.

For those that are having a difficult time deciding whether to see this film, I'll give you a juicy incentive: Christopher Nolan won screenwriting awards from the Sundance Film Festival, the Catalan Screenwriter's and Writer's Association and the London Film Critic Circle for his innovative screenplay. "Memento" also earned him three awards at the Deauville Film Festival including the Special Jury Prize. Lastly, he was recognized by Variety magazine as one of the top ten directors to watch this season. If that doesn't speak enough about this film, I don't know what will...

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Summary: Memento for the summer
Review: Welcome to the ultimate mind bender. Guy Pearce (LA Confidential) stars as a man driven to find the man who murdered and raped his wife despite the fact he has no short term memory. Because of his inability to make new memories he has clues tattooed on his body, and takes pictures of the places and people he doesn't want to forget. Because of the main character's condition the entire story is told backwards with the ending set at the beginning of the film and the beginning at the end. This movie is completely enthralling, and not just for it's aspects as a who dunnit thriller. Guy Pearce gives a wonderful performance and gives underlying texture to his character. He's a man whose own insecurity about his handicap will send him plunging face first into danger, just so he can prove his disability doesn't slow him down. Carrie Anne Moss also captializes on the promise she showed in "The Matrix" as a woman whose as manipulative as she is vulnerable. She and Guy Pearce share some truly soulful moments on screen. "Memento" is a highly original and innovative piece of filmmaking, and with the approaching summer movie season, shows the kind of intelligence we're not likely to see again for quite some time. For some reason or another Hollywood shows the mentality that people don't like to use their brains as much during the summer. If your looking for an unforgettable film that will leave you and your friends talking for hours after you've left the theatre see "Memento." If your looking for something to run through your ears, the way theatre popcorn runs through your digestive system don't worry; Pearl Harbor is here, and I hear they're making a sequel to Charlie's Angels.

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Summary: Guy Pearce Is A Revelation
Review: If I hadn't known that I'd seen Guy Pearce in "LA Confidential," I would have had no idea this was the same actor. The roles are that different and he fits seamlessly into either role. I saw this film with my friend Joyce. Although we both had no problem following it in its unique method of telling a story backwards, I liked it a lot more than she did. I thought it was very inventive and the whole concept of a man who is incapable of storing a short term memory was terrific. How others would be able to manipulate such a man provided intriguing possibilities as well. However, as we were talking about the movie later, much as we got into the style and verve of the piece, it is not something that stays long with you. I have no desire to run out and buy my own copy or see it again the instant it becomes available on DVD. That is the test of a true 5 star film! I am eager, however, to see Guy Pearce in whatever he chooses as his next role.

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Summary: The Best Film So Far This Year
Review: Welcome to the ultimate mind bender. Guy Pearce (Lt. Exley of LA Confidential) plays a man with absolutely no short term memory who must solve the rape and murder of his wife. Because of his condition the story is told backwards, from the end to the beginning as we learn things and are as confused by them as he is. An attack on himself and his wife has left Pearce without the capability to make new memories, so he tattoos the evidence he needs to remember and takes photographs of the people he doesn't want to forget. This movie also provides it's audience with more then a simple murder mystery. The characterization of Pearce reveals a man who's insecurity about his illness will send him plunging face first into peril, just to prove his handicap doesn't slow him down. Carrie Anne Moss (Trinity from the Matrix) costars and also turns in an emotionally complex performace. She's as manipulative as she is vulnerable and shares some truly soulful moments with Pearce on screen. As the summer movie season approaches such inventive, and challenging films as Memento will be in very short supply. As for some reason, Hollyood feels when summer comes around people don't like to use their brains as much. If your looking for an unforgettable film that'll leave you talking with your friends for hours after you left the theatre see Memento. If your looking for a film that will go through your brain, like the theatre's popcorn goes through your digestive system don't worry; summer has arrived, and I hear they're making a sequel to Charlie's Angels.

Rating:
Summary: A tour de force
Review: Memento is easily one of the most intelligent films to come out in a long time. From the weird perspective to the excellent peformances, Memento simply does everything right and is a class act all the way through.

The premace is quite unique. Lenard's wife was murdered. After witnessing her death, Lenard looses his short term memory and must hunt down her killer by leaving himself little notes. Director Nolan makes the audience feel Lenard's by showing the film in short clips that go in reverse order (along with some black and white scenes interspersed in between but I won't reveal what those are). This style works very well and keeps you guessing right to the very suprising ending. Those who complained that the Six Sense's ending was predictable will have nothing to complain about here. You won't get this one. Trust me.

The performances are top notch as well. When I heard about the character, I was afraid that Lenard would be portrayed as a babbling idiot (as characters with mental diffeciencies often are in films). I was pleased that it didn't turn into Rain Man meets Alfred Hitchcock. Pearce does an excellent job and plays his role with humor and sarcasm. The supporting cast is great as well.

It's been a long time since a film as clever as this one has come out. Memento proves that you don't need a $140 million dollar budget to make a movie great. You just need a great script, director, and cast.

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Summary: Absolutely amazing
Review: If you see one movie this summer, let this be it. I agree with someone who already reviewed this that if you see it without knowing anything, you will be truly amazed. But even if you know what it's about see it anyway, i did, and i still loved it. I'm definitely going to hit the theaters again...I still haven't quite figured out what happened...the ending is rather open-ended. Guy Pearce is fantastic as are the supporting cast members. Mad props to whoever made this movie..

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Summary: I love this movie
Review: To me, the mark of a good movie is that it makes you think. Well, after seeing Memento I couldn't stop thinking about it for days. The plot and the way the story is told have been discussed at length already, but what marked this movie out for me was that there is so much more to it than just those things. It can, if you allow it to, present questions on the nature of reality, on the way we experience the world, and on how we choose our freinds. Leonard's condition is both terrifying and very funny and the direction and acting make the most of this, keeping you contstantly in the dark as much as Leonard is. Every scene puts a new interpretation on the scene that came before it (i.e. after it in 'real time'). By the end I was utterly confused, my mind racing with the possible interpretations. Every time I pass the video shop I have to prevent myself from renting it again. First rate stuff, a movie for thinking people.