|
|
|
plot summary: Jim Carrey plays Joel, a quiet, introverted fellow. Kate Winslet plays Clementine, an outgoing, vivacious bookstore clerk. This is a movie about their relationship. And that's all I'll say. :)
collector's edition DVD review: Okay, anyone who's read my original review of Eternal Sunshine... (if you haven't yet, just scroll down) will not be too surprised to hear that I consider this new 2-disc DVD collection to be a must have!
"But, Janice," you might be saying to your computer monitor, "I already bought this DVD when it came out last fall! Why should I buy it again as part of this Collector's Edition?"
Okay, sure, the first disc's bonus features don't differ from the fall's widescreen release (commentary by director Michel Gondry and writer Charlie Kaufman, a "Making-Of" featurette, a conversation with Jim Carrey and Michel Gondry, deleted scenes, Lacuna infomercial, and the music video for Polyphonic Spree's "Light & Day"). But, the second disc contains enough extra treats to make a second purchase worthwhile:
• "Inside the Mind of Michel Gondry" Features delightful interviews with this renowned eccentric French director --- watching this only increased my love for this genius.
• "Anatomy of a Scene: Saratoga Avenue" This is really fascinating. It gives you such an enormous appreciation for the amount of teamwork that goes into moviemaking --- they take you from the actors, and how they inject their own improvisations and emotions, and then take you to the special effects team, and they show you the different tricks they used (did you notice that Kate's leg disappears in this scene?) and explain why they interjected certain things (like the car falling from the sky). They even go so far as to show how Jon Brion came up with the score for this particular scene. It's all very cool, and incredibly interesting.
• "A Conversation with Kate Winslet and Director Michel Gondry" After seeing the conversation with Jim on the original DVD release, I was glad they decided to re-release it with an additional conversation with Kate, because Kate deserves just as much love, IMO. It's so surreal to watch her conversing with Michel in her natural English accent, and then to make fun of the French director, mimicking his accent, and then to see clips of her from the movie, speaking in an American accent...it just drives home how remarkable her performance is! Plus, she's just so freaking awesome.
• "Deleted / Extended Scenes" There's about 20-minutes of deleted/extended scenes, including some stuff involving Joel's ex-girlfriend, Naomi. The part I liked the best was the extended scene from Joel's first night back at Clementine's apartment. It's just as sweet as what made it into the final cut.
My only complaints? The DVD packaging is oh-so-very cheesy: the original film poster over a silver-y sleeve with words like "ORIGINAL", "BRILLIANT", "MAGICAL", etc. written all over it. It's, uh, not exactly subtle. Also, the "collectible photo book" that comes with it is nothing more than a booklet with stills from the movie, with movie review quotes printed across them...again, it just feels like it's trying too hard. I mean, if you're looking at the photo book, you've already bought it! You don't need any more convincing that it's a great movie!
If you love this movie, I would suggest the following: give your old copy to a friend who's never seen it, and then go out and buy this collector DVD set for yourself. (janice.01.05)
movie review: Seriously. Turn your computer off and go see this movie. No, not later. Go now!!! Here's a link to Yahoo! Movies so you can look up movie times.
This is definitely one of my favorite movies EVER!!! And I think it's better if you go into it without knowing too much. It makes the ride much more fun, imho.
This movie is so beautiful. I haven't felt this way about a movie since Punch Drunk Love or Amelie. Like those films, Eternal Sunshine... is whimsical and surreal. It's sweet, touching, beautiful, moving. It has its funny moments, but it'll make you cry, too. I cried more times than I can count during the movie. (If you're a crybaby, too, bring some kleenex!)
Jim Carrey absolutely blows me away in this movie! Ordinarily, I don't consider myself a fan of his. But this film? Definitely proves he can act! Good lord, he is so amazing in this.
And Kate Winslet? I love the girl anyway, but now I love her even more! First off, she does this flawless American accent! I kept listening for her to slip up and she never does! And secondly, she's so absolutely believable as Clementine. Her character is one of the most fully-developed real female characters in recent film history. She's not just the "token girlfriend", some piece of one-dimensional eye-candy. She's fully fleshed-out, complex, and just down-right loveable!
And the script...oh lord! Despite the surrealistic premise, the romance between Joel and Clementine is so real! It feels like a true relationship, not the typical "Hollywood" love story. It's so beautiful and wonderful and heartbreaking and depressing and just perfect. Just thinking about certain scenes gets me choked up days later. spolier alert: [[When Joel is crawling beneath the bedsheets begging to keep just this one memory? I cried. When Clementine is talking about the "ugly" doll she had as a child? I cried. The flashbacks to Joel's childhoods? I cried. Okay, anytime Joel cried, I cried. The end when Clem says "Okay?" and Joel replies "Okay", oh, how I bawled! I cried A LOT!!!!]]
The score is amazing, thanks to Jon Brion, the same fellow who did the soundtrack for Punch Drunk Love. The story is so innovative. The set and costuming is pitch perfect. All this and David Cross is in it too!
However, there is a complaint! Kirsten Dunst annoys the hell outta me. She can't act. All she can do is bounce on a bed (see: Bring It On, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Crazy/Beautiful, and now add this...). Every scene she was in made my skin crawl. And unfortunately, she's in this quite a bit. Ugh.
Wait, why are you reading this? Why haven't you gone to see it yet? I'll probably run into you there at the theater, 'cause goodness knows, writing this review and thinking about the movie has made me want to go see it again! (janice.03.04)
rating
related links
