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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Interesting premise, but the rest of the movie failed to live up to it
This movie offends me on such a fundamental level that I wanted to give it a 0. But then I remembered some truly bad movies where it's obvious that none of the screenwriters, directors, or actors involved was actually making an effort. In my opinion, these are the kind of movies that deserve a zero score. In the case of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, it is clear that some of the creative personnel behind it were genuinely, and dare I say with great (albeit misguided) artistic passion, sensibility and integrity, trying to express something through it. That's why I gave it 3 stars, for effort.
The reason I didn't like this movie is not because I found it confusing - I understood the plot perfectly, nor is it because I cannot suspend belief for a sci-fi twist - I've enjoyed many a sci-fi and fantasy movie in the past. What irks me the most is the kind of movies that present a sci-fi or fantasy premise, and then do not build on the premise in a logical or consistent way. Of course, some leeway and artistic license are always allowed, or even welcome, since movies sometimes can't and shouldn't be research-paper accurate. But if a movie veers too far away from logic and reason, without utilizing absurdity or parody as a deliberate artistic treatment, then it is just plain pointless and obtuse. And this is a movie that takes itself seriously. The problem is, if one is to entertain, somewhat seriously, the possibility of highly precise selective memory erasing technology, then the least interesting aspect would be to use it to salve relationship pains. Governments and secrets services would go crazy for this kind of technology for espionage, mind control, loyalty conversion, airtight non-disclosure procedure, and a million other usage scenarios. And people would freak out over the enormous ethical issue of invading the sanctity of one's mind. The only imaginary situation where such technology would be even remotely considered suitably justified would be to treat extremely severe case of PTSD, schizophrenia or depression perhaps. The world as we know it simply wouldn't be the same with this premise. To even suggest the idea that people would willingly erase their own memories just to alleviate romantic woes is an insult to the audience's intelligence.
Imagine going into a movie knowing its premise revolves around a time machine that normal people could use for a fee, then finding out in this fantasy world, all the people only want to use the time machine to re-freeze their melted ice-cream, and nothing else. If it's a skit in a comedy, it might be funny. But this movie seems pretty serious about itself, which just makes it look like vacuous nonsense.
Apartment Zero (1988)
They don't make movies like this anymore
I recently went through a sudden bout of Colin Firth obsession and was digging through his filmography when I came across this hidden gem.
Apartment Zero is a gripping, intense, offbeat and immensely original psychological thriller filmed three decades ago. Some of the preferred techniques (like the frequent use of super close-ups and the style of background music) employed here might be reminiscent of vintage films from a bygone era. Much like in fashion, pop music and pop literature, certain cinematic styles, themes and techniques went in and out of fashion throughout time, sometimes induced by influential works of the time, changes in social and ideological landscape, or technological advances. This gives works from a certain era a decided "look" and "feel", which may seem dated when revisited decades later, though I do not think "dated" is necessarily a bad look. Retro can be cool and inspired. Since this film is older than me and I'm not much of a cinephile, I have no idea if this film was viewed as original and unusual when it first came out as it is now, or if films of that period all had that similar style or theme. But I can't help but be hopelessly pulled into the story and immersed in the protagonist's strange and oddly specific world, even though there was no flashy CGI or overly picturesque scenery and set pieces to grab one's attention at every turn. Like many reviewers has said before, the acting by the main characters and the supporting cast was superb. And there was nothing else to distract viewers from the characters and their story. Colin Firth gave an indelible performance that made his typecasting later in his career seem much more lamentable. Nothing was wasted, and the entire thing was a consistent, coherent, and unexpectedly convincing piece of story-telling.
Since I watched this film during a Colin Firth binge, I can't help but notice the evident changes in the style of his films throughout the years, which I think more or less mirror the stylistic evolution of filmography as a whole in the past three decades. I'm not saying these changes are bad, but I do regret that films like this are less likely to be made or enjoy box office success nowadays.
Aquaman (2018)
Where did all these raving reviews come from?
I came in with high hopes since this movie got some pretty good reviews. I left sorely disappointed. The script is wooden with characters making nonsensical decisions solely for the purpose of moving the plot along. The dialogues are terrible, like they're written by middle schoolers. And the perplexing music choices that do not match the scenes one bit!! The only saving grace is the amount of effort and creativity they put into building an underwater fantasy world, which not many movies have done before. I'll give them that.
But I simply cannot understand how this movie got such a high score! Astroturfing maybe?