Written, pencilled, inked by: HPL
Hey folks...got a few more movie reviews here for ya.
First up is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It stars Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet and is very confusing upon first viewing. It throws alot at you emotionally, and while you are trying to catch everything then it grabs you by the shoulders and spins you around in a circle to make you dizzy and off-balance. It reminds me of two other movies like it, Click with Adam Sandler and The Butterfly Effect with Ashton Kutcher. The biggest thing all three of these movies share is the fact that the "hero" is losing or has lost everything in his world that makes sense to him and every time he tries to put the pieces back together as they were before, it simply makes things worse. Here, Jim meets Kate's character (Clementine) and they fall head over heels for one another quickly--too quickly it seems as the whirlwind romance is over as quick as it began, and Carrey's character finds out that Clementine has had a procedure done to completely erase him from her memory, so that she can move on without anymore hurt. He decides to do the same, but through the course of the movie, they come to realize that they do love each other, despite their faults and differences. Yet this discovery is bitterwseet, because even as he realizes their love can continue, the programmers are busy wiping his brain clean of all memories of Clementine. In the end they meet again, and decide that even though they are very different, they can make things work if they just try. I enjoyed this movie, though I think it will take a second viewing to soak all there was to catch in.
The second movie I watched last night was Manhunter. It starred William Peterson (yes, of CSI fame...whoopy lol) as Will Graham, a former police detective/profiler who successfully caught Hannibal Lecter (or Lecktor in this film). Thus it holds a special place for me as a Lecter purist, as it is his first screen appearance. Hannibal is played in this movie by Brian Cox, though in the other three movie installments (Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon(a remake of Manhunter) and Hannibal) Dr. Lecter is played by the unbeatable Sir Anthony Hopkins. Anywho, this movie is better the second time around for a few reasons...first, the first time I saw this movie I was with my friend Brooke who was/is rather attractive so that was a distraction that was not available this time around (not that I'm complaining about being distracted by the presence of beautiful women...bring on tha wimmens!) and secondly, I realized that the film is rather dated. It seems mired in the 80s...whereas director Michael Mann's hit show Miami Vice thrived on the pomp and flash of the 80s, the overtones here seem to take away from the film's overall "punch". Therefore I was able to enjoy it more once I realized that (along with Anthony Hopkins missing) was the main reason I had not enjoyed it on my previous viewing. Kinda like if you realize WHY you don't like a ceretain ice cream or food, you appreciate the food more because you realize it has merit, though not for you and your taste buds. Overall, with those above-mentioned "problems" changed, I looked at the film in a brand-new light...even though I still don't hold this film in as high regard as the Hopkins films, I could see Brian Cox channeling the same kind of spirit that Hopkins would later pin down famously.
I highly recommend both of these films for when you have a night in and nothing to do...they will both make you think, and give you great entertainment. And that's the whole reason behind movies right?
