Change Your Image
croberton
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againReviews
Memento (2000)
In my top 10 of all time.
I first watched memento in 2000 and I was astounded. I loved the reversal narrative in which Christopher Nolan unfolded the story. I have watched the movie multiple times because I never tire of the complexity and originality of the picture. Few films can match the impact of Memento, the film etches itself in your mind as a unique experience that clenches you instantly and doesn't release you until the end credits roll. This film should be in the top 10, to have the film in the top 50 isn't high enough for it. Memento is on par with seven, usual suspects, pulp fiction, the matrix , the shawshank redemption, the prestige, American psycho, American history x, Fight Club, Face/Off, The Devil's advocate, Heat, Casino which also should be in the top 30 it is underrated in its position as with heat, The Sixth Sense, Shutter Island should be in the top 30 as well the twist is brilliant. I rate all of these films 10 but some of them will probably not receive the true credit they deserve as being a real classic. I have personally seen over 500 films in my life so far and all of these films include great casts, great tales and top notch special effects. I also love films like Aliens, Terminator 2, The shining, The Aviator, Collateral, Phone Booth, Identity, Road to perdition, Stir Of Echoes, The Gift, The Fugitive, A Perfect World, In The Line Of Fire, A Bronx Tale, Carlitos Way, The Man Without A Face, Crash, The Godfather, Scarface, The Untouchables, State Of Grace, Leon The Professional, The Last Boy Scout, Quiz Show, Strange Days, The Ninth Gate, Sleepy Hollow, Edward Scissorhands, Batman 1989, Batman Begins, Chinatown, The Firm, Nick Of Time, Cape Fear 1991, Goodfellas, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Being John Malkovich, The Craft, Scream, Scream 2, Hellraiser, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Shocker, Darkman, Spider- Man, Spider-Man 2, X Men 2, Gattaca, Men In Back, The Fifth Element, Rush Hour, The Island, Red Eye,Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, Election, Pleasantville, The Negotiator, Fatal Attraction, Orphan, Total Recall 1990, Child's Play, The Dead Zone, Christine 1983, Creepshow, Fright Night 1985, Misery 1990, Interview With The Vampire, Dogma, Good Will Hunting, L.A. Confidential, Shanghai Noon, Shanghai Knights, Wedding Crashers, Shaun Of The Dead, Trance, Stoker, Brothers, Training Day, Lord Of War, Requiem For A Dream, Snatch, A Place Beyond The Pines, Scent Of A Woman, Get Shorty, Drive, Fracture, The Game, Frailty 2002. If you haven't seen all of these films, do yourself a favour and check out these classics if you have the finances and the spare time, you won't regret it.
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
This film is as beautiful as it is disturbing, that is the main message.
In requiem for a dream the four character's lives descend into chaos and distress because of their addictions to drugs, three of the character's descent is due to their own actions. Those characters are Marion, Harry and Tyrone played by Jennifer Connelly, Jared Leto and Marlon Wayans. Jared Leto was in American Psycho(Paul Allen), Fight Club(Angel Face) and this film, all of these films were released in 1999-2000. Leto then went on to star in Daid Fincher's Panic Room with Jodie Foster and Forst Whitaker in 2002. Prior to his three film appearance in 99-00 he starred in Urban Legend a scream styled thriller also starring Rebecca Gayheart(Scream 2) Tara Reid(American Pie) and Robert Englund( A nightmare on elm street.
That film was average but it gave him a decent start to the film industry. The visuals in this film are superior to many films you will ever see or have seen. Darren Aronofsky shows the characters pupils dilating after they experiment with drugs, he depicts the entire process the effect a drug has on the human body. He shows step by step how the characters take the drugs, with syringe shots, bodily cell shots, the opiate injection scenes are brilliantly shown which is exactly what a viewer would want to see in a film of this genre. There are similar shots in this film when compared to Trainspotting(1996). There are rapid motion shots in both of these films with the character's and hospital scenes.
However on the contrary, Danny Boyle's film is delivered on a more amusing tone then requiem is. Requiem has a more somber tone regarding the consequences/toll that the character's experimentation with drugs result in. But the despondent feeling that requiem leaves on each viewer shouldn't diminish the enjoyment and concept of the film. The film is extremely forthright as is trainspotting as to the exhilarating and horrifying fluctuations of incessant drug use. The real differentiation between the two films is the culmination of each conclusion. Trainspotting leaves the viewer with an uplifted cleansed feeling towards their outlook on life since Ewan Mcregregor's character Mark decides to abandon his life as a carefree drug user and move on to a more significant lifestyle that he deserves. Severing the annoyance of pesky acquaintances prodding him for drugs or support when they should be dealing with own priorities then relying on someone who is a mate as they state it in the film as the film was from the UK and is set in London.
Requiem is set in the area of Coney island New York. Ellen Burstyn and Jared Leto's character have brooklyn accents in the film. Whereas Jennifer's and tyrone's character's have regular voices. Both these films are detailed and psychological in the vignettes they show of the characters drug use and the aftereffects of their usage. Overall both films are classics of their genre. There aren't many films that focus on the positive and negative affects of drug usage as splendidly as these two films do. The majority of the character's in both films survive their behaviour which is pretty realistic.
For someone to actually succumb to their drug use involves heavy abuse of very potent substances. In trainspotting the four characters Mark, Begbie, Spud and Sick Boy diverge from each other at the end of the film. They finalize a scag deal and split up to pursue the rest of their lives solely. In requiem each character comes out of the abysmal experience of drug usage as well but for both films their next odyssey is unexplored. In Trainspotting Mark's Journey is clearly laid out by Boyle but in requiem Aronofsky doesn't delve into the character's next pursuits. Aronofsky concentrates on the fact that all four people have conquered their drug use and will likely go on to live more fulfilling lives in every aspect. With that being expounded both films end on a relatively high note.
These two films are among my favorites and they both leave an indelible mark on the perspective of drug use in real life and in film. Since these two films were released I haven't seen a film that has covered the same terrain has these two do. The impact of both films is undeniable because the candor shines through in both films whether you entirely adore both films or have some qualms about the film's real messages. All in all, I believe these films deserve the recogniton they've received from both the critics and audiences worldwide. Kudos to both directors for stepping outside the boundaries of what is expected in a film and giving audiences an insightful vision to a world that is full of ecstacy and agony.
Fight Club (1999)
This film is one of the best of 1999 and of the films on the top 250.
I hadn't seen Fight Club when it was released in 1999. I discovered the film many years subsequent to its release. I originally watched the film for the first time on late night TV. There are many clues in the film as to what is actually happening, but whether someone picks up on them or not on the first viewing is another thing altogether. For myself, I did not catch the many underlying clues the first time but the majority of viewers don't and won't no matter how clever you are. This film was brilliantly assembled with the dialogue, vernacular, and visual style. Fight Club has a non stop pace in its 2 hour and twenty minute running time. The Sixth Sense, Go, Election, Memento, and Election are similar in the sense that they all replay scenes that clarify the real meaning of the film or key scenes/information for each viewer. All of these films are very rewarding in that respect because each of these films enighten the viewer instead of frustrating them with a feeling of insipid, senseless visuals and dialogue that leaves no lasting memorable experience. All of the actors portrayals in Fight Club are exceptional even the supporting actors comprised of David Fincher usuals for those who have seen his other various other films in the 90's. The narrative in the film is intricately layed out so that even if you believe you have the full picture on film you don't until you've seen the entire film. Go features disparate characters who are connected and who intersect through one anothers lives through a drug deal gone awry and a rave party. The Sixth Sense features Bruce Willis as a child psychologist who has an intense meeting with a former patient of his at the beginning of the film and from there on set his goals on aiding an adolescent who has similar cerebral disorders as the patient who he failed to assist who broke into his home. Election features Reese Witherspoon as an overachieiving high school student who is attempting to win the presidency at carver high. Matthew Broderick plays a teacher who intevenes against her quest as president and enlists the aid of another student who is a jock to thwart her possibility of becoming the next school president. He basically is envious of her capabilities and that is why he alters the election scenario. In memento, Guy Pierce is trying to locate his wife's killer with clues that he has tattoed on himself and notes that he writes himself because his memory fades after a few minutes. The film is shown backwards and makes the audience feel as confused as Leonard(Guy Pierce) does. The film is shown backwards because Leonard's mind is backwards. The technique of showing a film like this is fascinating and unique. This film is the only film to utilize this technique setting the film apart from any other film.
1999 and 2000 for the prevalent years of the psychological film. The films that I've seen from those two years up to this day include The Matrix, The Sixth Sense, American Beauty, The Gift, Election, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Dogma, Memento, Snatch, American Psycho, Requiem For A Dream, Charlie's Angels, The Cell, Go, Final Destination, Cruel Intentions, Traffic, Sleepy Hollow, Stir Of Echoes, The Ninth Gate, and Analyze This. That is the full amount of films I can recall from those years that were linked in the style and overall impression that they left audiences with. I grew up with these films, I was 10-11 when I saw most of these films and the quality of these films is in no comparison to the inferior quality of the films produced today.