drthorsen Reviews

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Intriguing, thoughtful film

[9/10 · 4 May 2004]

This is an interesting film that in the context of a story about love and loss is able to comment on the psychology of memory, relationships and identity. While perhaps not immediately thought of as a Science Fiction movie, the writer and director are able to derive a technique from that genre and successfully weave film-making and storytelling techniques in a fashion to allow the audience a clear perspective of the queer workings of the characters' memories as they fade. The dream-like, stream of conscious feeling the film creates provides the viewer with an almost hypnotic suspension of belief. Unlike moments in screenwriter Kaufman's earlier works where his unique storytelling devices can feel like tricks for the sake of being clever, his manipulation becomes integral to the story's telling and enables the film and the audience a view on the challenges of memory and our own tenuous relationship with it. Considering the screenwriter's previous work in Adaptation, where he places himself in the film as a character and voices various philosophical criticisms about the process of writing and producing satisfying films in modern Hollywood, I can't help but think that he's overcome some of his own challenges in creating a well-told "love story" without resorting to clique.

The Natural (1984)

Interesting as Fable

[7/10 · 5 May 2003]

An excellent example of the "Hollywood-ization" of a work taken from another medium. As mentioned in other comments, the cinematography and historical realism are both top-notch. The storyline takes on mythic proportions though choosing a one-dimensional good v evil, corruption v purity theme rather than exploring the multi-dimensional and in my opinion, more realistic and human themes prevalent in Malamud's novel. Hobbs here is the straight-up American Golden Boy, played to the hilt by Redford, and ably supported by Duvall, Basinger, Close, Brimley, et al in archetypal characters (atavistic sportswriter, temptress, pure old-fashioned girl, crusty manager). Enjoyable to watch, if only for the nod to the "good old days" of baseball when players were larger than life yet also more accessible to the common fan.

The Hunted (2003)

Lacking

[3/10 · 16 March 2003]

Broached some interesting ideas about human beings place in the food chain and the psychological effects of those rough men who commit violent acts so that we can live free, but never fleshed them out and instead provided essentially one long, illogical and clique-ridden chase scene. The best thing about this movie is when it ended.

Minority Report (2002)

Entertaining but not ground-breaking

[7/10 · 11 July 2002]

Somewhat ambitious film, but borrowed too much from other work and spoon-feeds the audience at times. It was good to see an "action" film take some chances and inject some philosophical topics into a stale genre, but beyond the interesting premise and stunning visuals, it's the standard formula "whodunnit". If you've seen any 3 Hitchcock films, there will be no surprises.

Club Paradise (1986)

Underrated movie

[9/10 · 22 September 2001]

Some hokey gags, but lot's of hilarious banter from Robin Williams and Peter O'Toole, plus epic songs from Jimmy Cliff and others. Lot's of great performances in smaller roles by Brian Doyle-Murray, Rick Moranis, Twiggy and Jimmy Cliff.