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Memento is not Christopher Nolan’s debut film, but it is the film that rocketed him into the consciousness of the film world at large – and for good reason. Memento might be a simple detective tale, a man avenging his wife’s death, but what makes Memento incredibly unique is the way it’s told, and the way it’s told is uniquely Christopher Nolan.

If you haven’t seen Memento before, stop reading this review now and go find the film and watch it – just make sure you’re alert and pay attention or you’ll be lost within the first twenty minutes.

Now, those of you that have seen the film, I’m sure you can agree with me that what makes the murder/revenge tale of Memento so engaging is that it’s told backwards. Normally, if watching this kind of tale, we wouldn’t care that Shelby Leonard can’t remember more that five minutes at a time and keeps notes on what happens as the people around him double cross him. However, instead of letting us watch Shelby’s lement stage by stage as it progresses to it’s ultimate end, Nolan puts the viewer into Shelby’s confusion by telling the story backwards – starting at the end and progressing to the beginning. Doing this makes the significance of what would have otherwise been at the end of the film (but is instead at the beginning) so much more potent – Shelby doesn’t understand the true meaning, and neither do we until we reach the beginning and see the event that led us there.

Memento also has something else that is the hallmark of a Nolan film – three incredible performances. Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss & Joe Pantoliano each give amazing performances in this film, which is an astounding thing. Guy Pearce has to master the art of approaching each scene as though he doesn’t know why his character is there, Carrie-Anne Moss is deceptively innocent until she briefly reveals her true nature, and Joe Pantoliano manages to play the line between smarmy and trust-worthy as though it were second nature.

While Memento isn’t a perfect movie, it excels because of it’s handling. A simple story told well, is always better than a complex story told poorly. Memento is proof of that.


Director: Christopher Nolan




Leonard Shelby: I always thought the joy of reading a book is not knowing what happens next.

William James is called in to be the head of an elite bomb squad in Iraq that only has about 30 days left in their rotation; Eldridge and Sandborn, the other two officers in his unit just want to play it safe and go home but James has other plans. He is an adrenaline junkie who loves the challenge bombs present him and doesn’t believe in “safe”. James is more at home in war than civilian life and this creates a huge conflict amongst he and the other men as he abruptly forces them into his version of the Iraq war.

In my opinion female directors have taken a huge blow lately as two films that were potentially great for us in 2008 both blew - Twilight & Punisher War Zone. Both were franchise films with cult followings and if executed well could have brought female directors to a very prominent light; instead the films were lackluster representations of the great female talent that is out there. That is why I thank God for Kathryn Bigelow & The Hurt Locker.

The Hurt Locker is one of the best and most psychologically intense war films I’ve ever seen. Bigelow infuses each bomb sequence with a tension befitting of the activity at hand; the bomb becomes almost a character in the scene infused with an evil all its own and James’ own personal puzzle. She also manages to make each of the men their own distinct and fully developed character, complete with a motivation all their own – this is something not normally seen in action films, but including this makes the film something different entirely.

I don’t know if Kathryn Bigelow and The Hurt Locker will be remembered come Academy Award time, but she should be. I hope that the momentum The Hurt Locker has been creating will carry forward for Bigelow and the rest of us female directors out there.

Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Writer: Mark Boal
Staff Sgt. James: Jeremy Renner
Sgt. Sanborn: Anthony Mackie
Spec. Eldridge: Brian Geraghty
Contractor Leader: Ralph Fiennes
Col. Reed: David Morse
Connie James: Evangeline Lilly
Sgt. Thompson: Guy Pearce

Staff Sergeant James: There's enough bang in there to blow us all to Jesus. If I'm gonna die, I want to die comfortable.

Bedtime Stories is a children’s book brought to the big screen; from the narration throughout the film to the inclusion of Buggsy the bug-eyed hamster the illusion of this being a children’s book is never broken.

This is a movie about a man who wants nothing but his childhood dream – to run his father’s motel – but has gotten so bitter by a turn of events outside his control that he’s pushed his sister, niece & nephew away until his sister forces him to watch his niece & nephew until she returns from a series of job interviews out of state. While watching the children Skeeter begins to chase his childhood dreams again and recaptures what it was for him to be a child.

While Bedtime Stories is not a great movie by any stretch of the word, it is a highly enjoyable film at least on the first viewing especially if you have a child to take with you. The laughs are genuine if obvious, and it is fun to see people like Guy Pearce hamming it up.

Director: Adam Shankman
Writers: Matt Lopez & Tim Herlihy
Skeeter: Adam Sandler
Jill: Keri Russell
Kendall: Guy Pearce
Mickey: Russell Brand
Barry Nottingham: Richard Griffiths
Wendy: Courtney Cox
Patrick: Jonathan Morgan Heit
Bobbi: Laura Ann Kesling
Marty: Jonathan Pryce