Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

[Dan]

Everybody, go rent this movie now! This is my favorite movie of the year, thus far (followed closely by Garden State). Be warned, it's the sort of movie that you really have to pay attention to and it demands that you think while watching it. It's very smart, though, and very, very heartfelt. Jim Carrey's best performance to date, in my opinion. Kate Winslet's, too.

 

[dilloduck]

Everybody, go rent this movie now! This is my favorite movie of the year, thus far (followed closely by Garden State). Be warned, it's the sort of movie that you really have to pay attention to and it demands that you think while watching it. It's very smart, though, and very, very heartfelt. Jim Carrey's best performance to date, in my opinion. Kate Winslet's, too.

is this a chick flick, adventure?---havent seen any trailers

 

[Dan]

It's kind of hard to classify. It's generally a drama, but it also has a lot of comedy. It is a romance, but it also has some elements of metaphysics and science fiction.

Well, the story is that Joel (Jim Carrey) is a very introverted cartoonist who meets a very outgoing, borderline crazy girl, Clementine (Kate Winslet). They date for months, but they eventually have a really ugly breakup. Clementine hears about a medical procedure that allows her to completely erase Joel from her memory. She does so, and when Joel finds out about it, he decides to have the procedure done as well, mostly out of revenge for her doing it to him. However, once he begins to undergo the procedure he begins to realize how much he truly loves her. The majority of the film takes place inside Joel's head, through his memories with Clementine, and as he sees how much he loves her, he decides he doesn't want to erase her memory, but doesn't know how to stop the procedure. And, meanwhile, there's another plot going on involving the people who are actually doing the procedure on Joel (Mark Ruffallo, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst) and the doctor supervising the whole thing (Tom Wilkinson) that ends up intersecting with the Joel/Clementine plot in ways I don't want to spoil.

It's less complicated than I made it sound, but like I said, you do have to pay attention. Because the procedure works from the most recent memory back, most of the scenes play in reverse order, so you really have to keep track of everything.

Overall, though, it's a romance. There you go, it's a very quirky romance. It's by the same guy that wrote Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, so if you've seen those, you know what to expect.

If you have a pretty fast connection, you can watch the trailers here.

 

[Jackass]

This is my favorite movie of the year

Every movie is your favorite movie this year!!

 

[onedomino]

Everybody, go rent this movie now! This is my favorite movie of the year, thus far (followed closely by Garden State). Be warned, it's the sort of movie that you really have to pay attention to and it demands that you think while watching it. It's very smart, though, and very, very heartfelt. Jim Carrey's best performance to date, in my opinion. Kate Winslet's, too.

I will take your advice, Dan. Jim Carrey's movies have been getting better with each new release. My favorite so far is "The Majestic."

 

[Dan]

Every movie is your favorite movie this year!!

Because I have smart, discerning tastes in movies, and I don't submit myself to the same crap movies that you do!

 

[NATO AIR]

I will take your advice, Dan. Jim Carrey's movies have been getting better with each new release. My favorite so far is "The Majestic."

"The Majestic".... yikes onedomino

next you're gonna tell me "Gigli" was Ben Affleck's best :teeth:

 

[Comrade]

Because the procedure works from the most recent memory back, most of the scenes play in reverse order, so you really have to keep track of everything.

Many of my favorite movies of late play out in reverse or otherwise confusing time leaps like this. In fact, there are at least 10 movies in the last year which mimic this style, it seems like a new trend.

 

[Dan]

Many of my favorite movies of late play out in reverse or otherwise confusing time leaps like this. In fact, there are at least 10 movies in the last year which mimic this style, it seems like a new trend.

Yeah, there are a lot of movies like this, but I can only think of two off the top of my head (Memento and Eternal Sunshine) that actually had a purpose to using this reverse or otherwise non-linear structure. Movies like '21 Grams' don't need that sort of storytelling, and I think that movie in particular was hurt severely by having the story so jumbled. I think the only director that can pull off non-linear storyline in a story that doesn't necessarily need it is Tarantino.

 

[Comrade]

Yeah, there are a lot of movies like this, but I can only think of two off the top of my head (Memento and Eternal Sunshine) that actually had a purpose to using this reverse or otherwise non-linear structure. Movies like '21 Grams' don't need that sort of storytelling, and I think that movie in particular was hurt severely by having the story so jumbled. I think the only director that can pull off non-linear storyline in a story that doesn't necessarily need it is Tarantino.

I was trying to think of them all and you got two!

Tarantino's "Kill Bill" series, and "Butterfly Effect" make five. I'm sure there are another five I can't think of right off the top.

I guess my only point is that jumbling the timeline seems to be a popular screenplay for making movies in the past year.

 

[Dan]

Well, Memento hit it big. Memento's big selling point was its reverse plot. Therefore, studios are making more movies with that sort of plot these days. That's how I see it, anyways.

One recent Hollywood trend I'm getting sick of is the shocker ending. It was cool in the days of Sixth Sense and Fight Club, but at this point, you're going into a movie like The Village knowing that you're going to be BS'ed around for 2 hours before "ZING! Thanks for the money, sucker!"

 

[janeeng]

Everybody, go rent this movie now! This is my favorite movie of the year, thus far (followed closely by Garden State). Be warned, it's the sort of movie that you really have to pay attention to and it demands that you think while watching it. It's very smart, though, and very, very heartfelt. Jim Carrey's best performance to date, in my opinion. Kate Winslet's, too.

Once again I am out of time here - didn't know Jim Carrey even had another movie!
I will take your advice though and get it.

 

[onedomino]

"The Majestic".... yikes onedomino

next you're gonna tell me "Gigli" was Ben Affleck's best :teeth:

NATO, guess you did not like "The Majestic." Too sentimental? That's what I liked about it. I thought the plot of giving up cynical Hollywood for the values of small town America was appealing.

Not sure Bennifer has a best movie. Although, I did like "Chasing Amy;" except for the idiotic suggestion that Affleck's character made near the end of the movie. Fortunately I have been able to dodge "Gigli."

 

[Jackass]

Although the movie started off slow...and I had my doubts..I thought it was a pretty good movie. Stayed interesting the whole way after the beginning. Some humorous parts as well.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

 

[Dan]

Well, well, well, maybe you're not such a lost cause after all, jackass!

 

[NATO AIR]

i saw this movie, and it was fantastic. jim carrey can act his ass off when he wants to... amazing movie.

 

[Dan]

Yes! Though most people still wouldn't agree, I think Jim Carrey is one of the greatest actors working today. The guy can pull off any role he wants. I think he should get at least a Best Actor nomination, if not the win.