Rating: 
Summary: Elaborate and well-conceived thriller
Review: When I watched this movie in the theater I instantly knew that it would be among my dvd collection. In fact, I turned to my girlfriend about ten minutes into the movie and said it was the best movie of the year. Well I still feel the same, in fact I might actually like it even more. The second viewing, is as rewarding as the first. Those of you who have already seen the movie will probably want to at least rent it on dvd. It was very interesting to watch it again, and answer some of the questions I had when I walked out of the theater. It's a great movie with an intriguing premise and a well-written story. If you haven't seen it, see it.
Rating: 
Summary: Tatoos and Memories
Review: An anonymous, sun-drenched wasteland of motels, diners, and strip-malls is the backdrop for Christopher Nolan's hypnotic tale, Memento.Memento's protagonist is Leonard Shelby, a man living for vengeance; to punish the man who raped and murdered his wife. But Leonard is no typical vigilante. He suffers from short-term memory loss--he cannot make new memories. Leonard is never fully awake, nor fully asleep. He is constantly waking from a dream that he can't quite remember. It is almost never nighttime in Memento. Life is one unending day. Leonard must keep himself in a state of coiled readiness. Pearce's body is lean and sinewy, all tendon and muscle, ready to lash out against threats, real or imagined. Nolan runs the film in reverse, so the end of the story is Memento's opening scene. The movie lurches backwards in jagged chunks of time. Rather than spoiling the fun, this trick includes the audience in Leonard's disorientation while letting them know what's going on before he does. I have racked my brain for a film to compare with Memento, and the best parallel I can draw is to Hitchcock's masterpiece Vertigo. Though very different characters, Pearce's Leonard and Jimmy Stewart's Johnny share a terrible sense of desperation and loss.
Carrie-Ann Moss and Joe Pantoliano give expert supporting performances as Leonard's acquaintances, but the molten core of Memento is Guy Pearce's Leonard, a man teetering on the brink of madness, clinging desperately shreds of reality. As he searches for his wife's killer, he is sad, brave, and demented. Leonard is a man driven to horrifying extremes--such as tattooing important information on his body--to keep his life in some kind of order. One of the film's unforgettable scenes shows Leonard frantically searching for a pen to write down a critical piece of information. Such is life for Leonard--always desperate, always searching, a moment away from oblivion. Memento's conclusion is immensely satisfying, but the greatest thrill of the movie is watching Leonard's tragic struggle for survival. Leonard is like a fish drowning in a tidepool--desperate, driven, and, ultimately, doomed.
Rating:
Summary: 1 out of 3
Review: I went to see "Memento" opening weekend with 2 of my friends. I really liked this film but neither one of them did. They didn't like the feeling of being manipulated. I was as intrigued as when I first watched "The Usual Suspects". Later on you try and see if there were any slips and that's where the DVD will offer endless hours of fun to the hyper critical.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable creativity
Review: There isn't much to say about this that hasn't already been said in the other 260+ reviews. The fact that this many people can review a film and still have it rate close to five stars ought to tell you all you need to know about it. For my money, this is one of the most clever and innovative movies I've ever seen. The scripwriting is phenomenal. The acting is first-rate. There are enough clever twists and turns in it to hold your attention. And it bears repeated watchings, which only tend to make it better. What more can be asked of a movie? Please do yourself a favor and rent -- better yet, buy -- this unique movie. You won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Best film of the year
Review: Granted, 2001 has been a pretty mediocre year for movies thus far, but "Memento" is a film that more than deserves nods come awards time, this is a film that demands to be watched again and again. Guy Pearce and Joe Pantoliano turn in great performances as a man with no short-term memory and a his enemy/sidekick/friend. You will need to watch this movie more than once, because once you've seen the end (or the beginning, as the case may be) you'll want more than anything to go back and observe again how it got there. This DVD is especially nice because it includes, as a special feature, the complete text of the short story the movie is based on. I for one would like to see this idea used far more often on DVDs.
Rating:
Summary: Not just a movie...an experience!
Review: I won't wast any time with saying this movie is good go see it....the best movie I've seen so far this year....how the acting and direction is great and must be seen to be belevied. I won't do that it you want that then read the other reviews. What I will tell you is if you don't see this movie you are only cheating yourself out of a good time. You are also cheating yourself if you read any reviews about it...you will apreciate the way the movie flows if you don't know anything about it. This is the only movie that lets you become the leading charecter and you are able to feel for him.
Rating:
Summary: Buy it - or be sorry
Review: Memento is one of the most innovative and intriguing films of the past 10 years. Other reviewers have certainly given the reader enough information to cover the film (read them). The singular thing about it is the way the film successfully puts the viewer in exactly the same position as the protagonist - unable to "connect the dots". The story is told in short segments - in reverse order, causing the viewer to have to "remember what came next", and - just as the protagonist - I felt almost compelled to take notes, just so I could piece the story together in some coherent way. If this sounds uncomfortable, it is. If it sounds unpleasant, it is not. Rarely does a theatrical experience challenge the audience to this extreme. The over-all look and feel is certainly 'Film Noir'. In most cases, color tends to disrupt the feeling of 'Noir', but not here. The whole experience is so unique that the mood is maintained throughout. Amazingly enough, Memento manages to accomplish all this without ever seeming self-conscious. There is no "look how clever" gloss. The film accepts itself matter-of-factly - and so do we. The cast is uniformly excellent, and the script is sharp and precise. Occasionally, a film comes along, which - because of its complexity or innovation - absolutely demands several viewings. Memento is just such a film. If you rent (rather than buy) it, you will soon find that you've paid the purchase price for repeated rentals. Bite the bullet, and spring for your own copy!
Rating:
Summary: When is a picture worth 1000 words...?
Review: After watching Memento, my wife and I sat up talking about it for a long time. The story is a classic detective mystery with a couple of big twists - first, the detective cannot form new memories, because of an injury he has suffered. This means that he retains information for at most ten minutes, and may well forget the beginning of a conversation by the end, or if distracted. The second twist is a creative result of the first - the director has chosen to let the audience experience some of what life might be like for this character by showing the scenes in reverse order. For the most part, the movie unfolds backwards! One result of this is that performances by Carrie-Anne Moss, Guy Pierce, and Joe Pantoliano shine even brighter, as you see their actions, then the motivations for their actions later on. Layer upon subtle layer, the characters and situations are built, until we arrive at the beginning of the film, and the biggest twist of all. See Memento. It's one of the most creative movies I've seen in a lifetime of cinema. ** NOTE: Rated R - there is a ton of bad language and a couple of brief scenes of brutal violence.**
Rating:
Summary: Very interesting
Review: Memento was surprisingly good. When I rented I figured I would be getting a typical revenge type movie like the Limey and with a few twists and turns like any Cohen Brothers movie. But what I got was an interesting premise and a well acted film. The movie was intriguing, but the only complaint I have is that is was to complex. Taking out a few events or expounding on a few things would have helped this movie out alot because their is just so much going on. Messing with time frames is also something that seems to be in style now but i've never seen a movie go completly backwards. Overall it was an enjoyable movie, but no masterpiece. The director has tons of potential and i'm looking forward to other things he will be putting out.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: Brilliant writing. Brilliant directing. Brilliant performances.
Nuff said. Buy this movie. You will watch it over and over again.
I watched it a second time immediately after finishing it.
| 
