Film Review: Memento (2000)

Director - Christopher Nolan

 

"A man, suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife." - IMDB

 

Before I get "Memento was out thirteen years ago. Why are you reviewing it now?" I'm reviewing it because it's probably one of my favourite films and I've watched it again recently. I just love it!

 

One of the main things that stands out about this film, and makes it one of my favourites, is the narrative structure. It's very confusing as it starts at the end, plays a scene, then goes back to the scene before. The whole film continues like this so you have to keep watching to understand what's going on. I like this because I don't think I've ever seen a film like it before and you get put into the main character's, Lenny (Guy Pearce), position as he has a brain injury which causes his to only be able to remember things for a few minutes at a time. It allows you to empathise with him and lets us know what he knows, making the film more enjoyable and psychological.

I also really like this structure as every time you watch it, it's always like watching it for the first time: You always get something new from it. Even the ending surprised me when I watched it again! It also helps to watch the film more than once as it's so confusing!

 

The casting is also very good. Each person plays their role really well. I heard that Brad Pitt was going to play Lenny, but I think that Pearce did it better than Pitt could have (although I wouldn't mind seeing Pitt in the film... Who wouldn't?) even though Brad Pitt is good at playing psychological roles - I really love him in Fight Club.

 

Guy Pearce or Brad Pitt - Who would you rather play Lenny?

 

I love the mise-en-scène (yes I know fancy film words), specifically the use of props, as it's what gives you little clues and makes you go "aaah that's why..." It helps to have these little things in there to link up the plot and give away elements of the story making the plot more exciting. One instance is when, at the beginning of the film Lenny finds two bullets in a car and at the end we find out that it was his car and he put them there. Just little things like that!

 

Overall I think that the story is really good but without this weird structure, the film wouldn't stand out from any other. I've been told that there's a version of the film, on the DVD, played in chronological order which I need to watch at some point!

If you haven't seen Memento, watch it! Because it's so old you can get the DVD on Amazon for fairly cheap! It will change your life! (Well... I'm being dramatic now but you get it!)

My Ebay Basket

| Necklace | Key Cover | The Breakfast Club DVD | Phone Case |

| Poster | Clutch Bag | Earrings | Necklace | Stud Earrings |

 

I've been dying to blog today but I haven't seen any films to review, read any more books or had any inspiration for anything else. In the need to satisfy my blogging addictions, I decided to show y'all my recent bargains which I've bought on ebay (as I buy a lot!)



Uglies Book Review

 

"Tally can't wait to turn sixteen and become Pretty. Sixteen is the magic number that brings a transformation from a repellent Ugly into a stunningly attractive Pretty, and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks, Tally will be there. But Tally's new friend, Shay, isn't sure she wants to be Pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the Pretty world - and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worse choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn Pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever." - Amazon

As the cover says "Before The Hunger Games there was Uglies" and if you like The Hunger Games then you'll like Uglies!

Being a huge fan of The Hunger Games, and other series of books, when I heard about this quartet I had to read it!

 

The story seems a bit silly but it's really good! It's interesting to see how that kind of world is different to The Hunger Games.

Throughout the book there isn't any hanging around! The story gets straight into it and the relationship of the characters. It moves along quite quickly which can be annoying at times as you kind of want to see something develop a bit more and the responses to things. Hence there are a lot of things that happen in the story. It can be a bit hard to keep up with sometimes but I guess it stops you from getting bored of waiting for things to happen and it definitely doesn't drag. I do like how it's paced though; it's a different style of writing and it keeps you wanting to read on.

 

The character's relationships are really well explained and you can connect with them through their feelings for each other. We can empathise with Tally's longing to be pretty as it's something which we envy in every day life anyway. You'd think that in a story like this the characters would be really unbelievable and surreal, a bit like The Hunger Games, but they're not. The characters are really 'real' and you can imagine then being actual people, not just characters in a book.

 

As I do with every book, I read the last page (I just can't help ) so I knew how the story was going to end. The thing is, I didn't expect it to happen like it did. I'm not trying to give anything away, but usually with a story, you can guess how it's going to end. Not with Uglies. I think it's because so much does happen and with every event, your imagination changes in how the story is going to end. The ending was really good and as soon I finished reading it, I bought the second book and started reading that. (I have a kindle so this is quick moving!)

 

I don't know what else to say really. I did enjoy the book, a lot, and I think that anyone who loves The Hunger Games should definitely read Uglies. The Hunger Games are ridiculously easy to read and so Uglies is more of a 'challenge'/interesting read. I don't want to keep comparing it to The Hunger Games but they are very similar stories and definitely attract the same audience.

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Film Review: 500 Days of Summer (2009)

Directed by Marc Webb

 

"An offbeat romantic comedy about a woman who doesn't believe true love exists, and the young man who falls for her." - IMDB

 

For a task in one of my modules for university, I had to pick my all time favourite film and write an analysis on it. 500 Days of Summer isn't my all time favourite, but it's one of them! I thought I'd jazz up my analysis a bit and post it in a blog... Why not?

 

The film has a very interesting narrative and non-linear structure which makes it stand out and one of my favourites. There are lots of flashbacks and jumps in time but I like how the screen shows us the day number which it is in the film. Using this numbering system stops the film from becoming really confusing, although you do have to keep track of the number order.

 

You get put into Tom's (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) mindset throughout the film a lot. The story is told from his perspective, although this appears as a narrator and makes the film feel more like a story or a fairy tale. We see a lot of montages used in the film which lets us into Tom's head and shows us scenes of what we expect a perfect relationship like theirs to be like - what we want.

I love the split screen scene in the film. Tom gets invited to Summer's (Zoeey Deschanel) party and half of the screen shows his expectations of what will happen at the party and the reality. It leaves us feeling disheartened for Tom but it's such a good scene!

The film's soundtrack is also amazing! I love Us by Regina Spektor. It's such a cute song and being the first song we hear, it sets the tone for the film. The soundtrack fits perfectly and every time I listen to a song from it, I have pictures in my head from the film. Although I do think that it's the kind of summery film that lends itself to the soundtrack. I hear song now and can imagine it being in the film. Stella Del Mattino by Einaudi being one!

I know a lot of people don't like Zooey Deschanel but I love her. I think I love her so much because of her performance in this film. Summer is a girl who doesn't believe in falling in love and she hides a lot of things and I think that Deschanel plays it really well. (Feel free to disagree and please don't send me death threats. I'm just expressing my opinion ;) )

 

So yeah. Just go watch 500 Days of Summer because it's an amazing feel good film. I usually watch it every time I feel ill and it cheers me up. I have no idea why since it's a bit depressing at times but whatever gets you kicks!

I'll probably do a review of this on Box Office on Friday at 3pm so feel free to listen in!

Life Update: I am Cinderella.

So I'm just incredibly excited at the minute and I needed to share it somewhere and there isn't enough with 140 characters on Twitter!

 

So this afternoon, myself and 4 friends (3 from my uni course, the other a flatmate of a course friend) finally found and signed for a house for September! We decided to live together not long before Christmas and started house hunting a few weeks back and after seeing some awful houses, we found a really nice one today in the Woodhouse area of Leeds.

I'm really really excited about moving out, and as daunting as it seems, I'm doing it with 4 of my friends and I know it's going to be one of the best and most memorable experiences of my life! Everyone says that the friends you make at uni are the friends you'll have for the rest of your life, and we're a bit of an odd bunch, but when have I ever been in with an average crowd? I love my housemates! (that could have changed within a year though!)

 

I feel like I've grown up so much since starting uni! I was thinking about this on my way to uni today on the bus: a year ago I was being taken to and picked up from 6th form and had my life controlled basically, but now I'm free to do whatever I please and left to be more independent so what else is there to do other than move out? It'll be the last transformation to becoming a young adult in the world! Kind of like Cinderella before she went to the ball!

 (Yes I'm comparing myself to Cinderella...)

 

Honestly though, at 6th form, I thought that I was really mature and independent and could look after myself, but university is such a life changing experience! I realise now that I was wrong and growing up has yet to come! I'm starting to be ridiculously cheesy now, but it really changes you so much! Maybe not so people can notice it, but I feel different in myself. I don't really know how to explain it! A year ago I knew I wasn't really ready to move out; the thought of it terrified me, but now I'm so excited! I'd move out next week if I could! I guess now I get the bus everyday on my own and have to look after myself really! It's just the little things like paying for yourself and like I said, getting the bus... It's weird how things that seem so small can make a big difference in your life.

 

I'm only at the start of my second semester of my first year at uni and I'm already having the best time of my life! If you follow me on Twitter you may have seen me tweet about uni and how I've found my people and place in life, and I really have! I've always felt like a bit of an outsider. I've always been a bit weirder than everybody else and just never felt like I fit in as much as I do at uni! I've met so many like minded people and I've gained so much more confidence in myself because of the experiences I've had (although it has made me a tad lazier...). I often felt like I was never appreciated and like no one ever wanted to listen to me but there's always someone with ears open for whatever it is!

 

Uni is an amazing experience and I do encourage people to go! I don't know what I want to do when I leave but I'm just enjoying my life and youth! Because when are you going to get to do it again?

 

 

I realise the title of this post is 'life update' and it's just turned into a rant about uni, but there's not much different going on in my life right now besides that! I bought a kindle yesterday? I've found my liking for reading on the bus so I figured it'd make life easier... I'm really happy right now! Not much besides that! I've had a roller coaster 2012 and 2013 is off to an amazing start! I'm definitely happier than I was a few months ago. I'm finally settled and life's looking up!

The most cheesiest thing I've ever written but I needed to get it out!

 

Ciao for now!