Pre-order the new "Diamond Eyes" by the Deftones!

I've recently been privileged to hear the new album, and I must say.. it's a throw back to the old days of listening to Adrenaline and Around the Fur -- take my word for it and just order this album. It's definitely going to kick start this summer off nicely.

You can view the video for their new single here: http://www.gunsrazorsknives.com

//Boy meets Girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn't.

4.5 / 5 stars
`09's (500) Days of Summer

Directed by Marc Webb, Written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber; Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel

"This is a story of boy meets girl. The boy, Tom Hansen, grew up believing that he’d never truly be happy until the day he met the one. The girl, Summer Finn, did not share this belief--You should know up front this is not a love story."- narrated by Richard McGonagle

The movie opens up with our narrator explaining to the viewer what this movie is about. Once you reach the end you realize it's a story about love--not a love story. Face it, we all have experienced puppy love or--at the time--what we thought was true love...

Naive love.

(500) Days with Summer (Deschanel) proved to be a painful time for Tom Hansen (Levitt). He loved someone who didn't believe in love--to her it's all just fantasy. But for him.. meeting her was fate. Tom works for a greeting card company where Summer takes the receptionist position. He's immediately drawn to her presence. The first blush of attraction for Summer happens when she rushes into an elevator being occupied by Tom on the (4th) day--she overhears his headphones, which are blarring the Smiths.

Summer: "Smiths?"
Tom (not being able to hear Summer): "Hi"
Summer: "I love the Smiths"
Tom (taking off his headphones) "Sorry?"
Summer: "I said I love the Smiths. You have--you have good taste in music."
Tom: "You like the Smiths?"
Summer: "Yeah." (singing along) "To die by your side, is such a heavenly way to die"--I love 'em."
(Elevator rings, Summer walks out and Tom stands there for a few seconds in awe)
Tom: "......Holy shit."

A little over two weeks later and he's struggling with the fact that nothing has happened yet. We've all experienced our lives not living up to our expectations when it comes to meeting new potential. You hope and wish for great things to happen, but unless you really make the first move, nothing'll ever happen. But in this case Tom gets an opening and thinks he may have a chance. On the (27th) day his friend and co-worker, McKenzie, informs him of an opportunity in the form of an office party after work. But again, expectations are shot down at the bar, when Summer opinionates her views on love being a fantasy. Since Tom thinks she's wrong, she askes what she's missing and Tom says "I think you know it when you feel it."

Keep in mind Tom hasn't yet told Summer of his feelings, but after that conversation.. well, it pretty much kills his confidence to say anything further. After changing subjects and moving on to discussing the TV Show Knight Rider, McKenzie makes a scene up at the karaoke stand due to intoxication. Before being helped into a cab, he spills the beans to Summer about Tom's feelings. Tom shrugs it off and claims that McKenzie's just drunk. Yet Summer asks Tom if it's true. She asks if it was alright that they just be friends--Tom agrees.

Back to work on Monday--the (31st) day--and Tom is at the copier. Summer walks up to the next copier and after putting in her papers, she walks over to Tom. As he comments on friday being a fun night, she kisses him. This brush of first effection--we've all felt. The bloom of this friendship is realistic and missing any of Hollywood's exaggerated "Love at first site" moments. It took Tom 31 Days to get to this point.

What do you think will happen? Will it blossom? Will that flower hold strong against high-forced winds? Buy or Rent (500) Days of Summer and find out for yourself, because this is definitely one of my picks for best film of last year.

Now, about this movie's pacing--it's nonlinear (events are portrayed out of chronological order.) It does this to keep things fresh, and to avoid any sort of "dragging on..." It also helps for some funny moments. Like on a day where Tom is dancing through the streets, headed for work. He reaches the office elevator and enters with a look of happiness on his face--elevator closes--it's now several days ahead--elevator opens--Tom looks like shit. I really loved that scene and it's sad to laugh at his miserable state, but I did--it was intended.

That's not the only thing that makes this film unconventional. I couldn't help but think the film had a scrapbook like quality to it, because this movie definitely has that feeling of recollecting memories.

In one scene, we're treated with two different scenarios: Tom's expectations Vs. Tom's reality.

This is by far one of my favorite scenes in the movie, not only because it's original and I personally can't recall seeing it in any other film, but more importantly.. I've been there. I can't recall how many times I've sat back somewhere--whether it be at a party, or at my old high school--and hoped a certain girl would come and talk to me instead of that group of others in the corner. In short: it's highly relate-able. This isn't your head-over-heels perfect love story, this one is painful.. and what most people will experience more so than a positive experience.

I highly recommend this film to anyone who has been on the losing end of a friendship they wanted to push further. Face it.. we've all witnessed that scenario. I hope this review doesn't spoil anything for you--after all.. it is only 500 Days of Summer.

//B-e-a-utiful fan made music video

A fan made music video for the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind that is extremely well made. The scenes are edited and cut to go right along with the lyrics. Watch the video and pay attention... you'll see what I mean.

//A late Sunday evening...

...at a friend's place; we watched "I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell."

Upon putting in the film he said, "Man, Tucker Max makes Kenny "fucking" Powers seem like Michael Scott..."--couldn't be more true. I heard all about the "real" Tucker Max--his blog, the book,...the McGriddle--it was all interesting. It amazes me that he garnered enough spotlight to get a movie deal, seeing that he's a confident asshole with no ethical mindset.

But before the main credits even hit the screen, I'm rolling on the floor (not really) at how funny it already is. People love stories. We've been passing them down from generation to generation. That's what I had in mind, while riding this film out. It's not your typical raunchy comedy, it's more of an auto-biography where the events are somewhat compressed to tell a story. I imagined Tucker sitting in the room like a normal every-day friend, telling me a fucked up life experience. I laughed 'til I cried.

If this film has caught your eye the past week, and you haven't gotten around to finally grabbing it at your local Blockbuster... what are you waiting for? If you enjoyed the overrated (IMO) "The Hangover," then you'll most likely get a dozen chuckles from Tucker and his friends.

//Update -- Mention of the film "Dead Man's Shoes"

Sorry for the absentness. I'm currently working full-time as always, so it's hard to keep up with my blog.

I am still movie-watchin', so I'm sure soon there will be a review. Especially for the film Dead Man's Shoes-- a film that has been sort of my most thought-provoked lately.

In short, it's a great film.. sort of on the likes of Taxi Driver mixed with Death Wish. I don't know if that's correct in other opinions, but it surely reminded me of those two films. Paddy Considine (co-star of Hot Fuzz) stars as the main lead, Richard, while also co-writing with director Shane Meadows. A film about a man coming home from the Army to bury his younger brother Anthony, who is somewhat mentally challenged.
Richard is haunted by his brother's ghost, who seems to be informing him of the men responsible.

The viewer slowly gets to see Richard slip into an empty void, as he feels responsible for leaving his brother behind to enlist in the Army. As he slowly stalks and hunts down the men responsible, we are treated with black and white flashbacks of the events prior to Anthony's death.

Unlike most revenge/vigilante flicks, this one is different. Everything Richard's brother Anthony went through because of the gang, gets turned around on them. The gang enjoyed Anthony being their play-thing; getting him high off of various drugs, physical and verbal abuse, etc. Richard enflicts this punishment onto them in such a brilliant way, that we can't hope but feel he's doing the right thing--until the final minutes of the film.

Trust me, there is more than meets the eye with this one.
Brok.

//Chi Cheng -- My prayers go out to you, your family, and your band mates.

The Sanfransico Bee reported Chi Cheng, 38, was involved in a serious car accident leaving him in a coma--on Monday, November 3rd. He currently plays bass for Deftones and is a well-respected poet. Bandmate and singer of Deftones, Chino Moreno, has reported that Chi is in serious, but stable condition. There hasn't been any more updates since Chino's statement, but I'm sure an update will come in the following days.

Chi Cheng-- my prayers go out to you and your family.

From all of us fans, we hope the best for you, and can not wait to have you back and well.

Love you man,

Brok.

//Death is the Road to Awe in The Fountain

5 / 5 stars
'06s The Fountain
Written and Directed by Darren Aronofsky; Starring Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz and Ellen Burstyn

"Death is the Road to Awe."

In the last quarter of 2006, a film titled The Fountain dazzled movie goers around the world—with it’s heart-warming story about love, loss, and spirituality. It was full of adventure and visualistic style. The Fountain is about one man’s thousand year odyssey—spanning over three different time periods; the 1500’s, the year 2000, and the 2500’s—to save the woman he loves.

Hugh Jackman (X-men, Van Helsing) plays Tommy Creo—a research oncologist—who attempts to shrink brain tumors. He is motivated by his cancer-stricken wife, Izzi—played by actress Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener, The Mummy films)—who hasn’t got much time to live. After the testing on a monkey named Donovan comes back negative, Tommy breaks medical protocol and uses an untested compound derived from a Quatemalan tree. As the results come back negative on shrinking the tumor, positive results do come in the form of rejuvenating Donovan, healing his wounds and improving his cognitive abilities—this still does not impress Tommy.

Back at home, Tommy arrives with Izzi nowhere in sight. He panics until he finds her outside on the balcony roof. She shows and explains to him a golden nebula, that is wrapped around a dying star called Xibalba—a star worshiped by the Mayans—through a telescope. She later brings up the tour guide she had when she made the trip to Guatemala and tells Tommy a story about the guide’s father and how after he was burried, a seed was planted over his body and when the tree bloomed, he became part of that tree.

She explains that she’s writing a book about it, but isn’t yet ready for him to read it—she is leaving the final chapter for him to write and finish. At this point of the film, the viewer should really be interested in this book of hers, because we find out that it is her book, that makes up the 1500’s era of the movie. Izzi’s book is clearly influenced by her struggle with cancer.

It is actually the perspective of the book, in the 1500's, that opens up the film—Grand Inquisitor Silecio demonizes Isabella (played by Weisz) as a heretic and sets out to take New Spain from her. As Silecio kills her followers, Isabella calls apon the man she loves—a conquistador named Tomas (played by Jackman)—to find the Tree of Life, so that they can live together for eternity. This is kind of Izzi’s way of expressing her emotions that she experiences with having cancer. She wants Tommy to save her from the cancer (death by Silecio), but yet this book is helping her except her fate.

“Death is the Road to Awe”—said to Tomas by a Mayan priest

This is said to Tomas, as he arrives at the Tree of Life in the book. I believe this quote is the perfect representation of the film—as it easily identifies with Izzi’s life. She has accepted her death, because learning and believing in the Mayan history, she knows that it will only get better after her death. She will live with the heavens and live for eternity without pain. This quote also strongly represents the film’s pre-production backstory, because at one point, this film almost did not happen.

In April of 2001, writer/director Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream) entered negotiations with Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow to direct an untitled sci-fi epic. In 2002, the film was greenlit with a budget of $70 million and became The Fountain. After the crew began building the set in Australia, actor Brad Pitt—who was signed on for the lead roles at the time—left the project due to artistic differences. Shortly after Pitt’s departure, the production was shut down and the set was auctioned off. Aronofsky’s project was shelved at Warner Bros. for a later time.

In February of 2004, Warner Bros. would resurrect the project only if Aronofsky could rewrite the script with a smaller budget in mind. After the new script was revised, the original draft was sent in to Vertigo Comics to be published as a graphic novel—with artist Kent Williams. With the new script, Warner Bros. set out to find a co-financer and found New Regency. The film received a second greenlight, but with a budget of $35 million—half of the original’s. The film was finally made, making the quote “Death is the Road to Awe” a perfect but mere coincidential reflect off of Aronofsky’s struggle to get the film in theatres.

This movie is so powerful, that I could easily break a tear if my testosterone level would allow it. The soundtrack by Clint Mansell is what makes that even possible. The percussion sets in perfectly for the perspective of the book, and the strings play beautiful tribute to the emotion the viewer is embracing during Izzi’s hardships with cancer. It’s originality fits the film so well, that you can literally listen to the soundtrack alone and watch the movie in your thoughts.

The score is not the only thing that give off the powerful vibe—it is also Hugh Jackman’s performance as Tommy. You get the chills from his dedication to Izzi. At one point in the film, his boss (played by Ellen Burnstyn) yells at him for breaking medical protocol and insists he spend more time with his wife and take a week off of work. Tommy cuts her off and immediately cries “She could be dead by then!” Jackman pulls off the emotion so believeably, you often wonder what he had to think about to prepare for the heartbreaking scene.

You almost feel sorry for Tommy, even though his boss is right, he should be spending time with Izzi. You actually feel more sorry for Tommy than you do Izzi really, because Izzi has accepted death, she’s obviously scared—but at the same time she’s more worried about Tommy and how he is going to pull through with what is inevitable. The chemistry between the two though, that is something that have lead Jackman and Weisz to the Oscars with award nominations.

**SPOILER ALERT FOLLOWS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE:

The sad part of the film comes when Izzi dies seconds before Tommy gets word that Donovan’s tumor is shrinking. The scene where he runs back into her room to push the doctors away, is such a gut-wrenching performance. We finally see Tommy break down, and realize that it is all over.

Being at the funeral does not help either, as he is clearly in anger of not being able to find the cure in time. As he walks away in the middle of a speech, his boss follows him to comfort him. He cuts her off from saying anything and says “Death is a disease, it's like any other. And there's a cure. A cure - and I will find it.” He goes back later to her grave and plants a seed—in remembrance of the story she once told him.

Five hundred years pass, and we see Tom—it is obvious that he, back in 2000, found the cure for death. Here is where the visuals in the film really shine. We are treated with the most unique way of viewing the vastness that is outer space. Jeremy Dawson and Dan Schrecker provided the visual effects for The Fountain by teaming up with specialist Peter Parks to create the look and feel of the 2500’s era. Parks specialized in macro photography—he brewed chemicals and bacteria together to create reactions of which Schrecker and Dawson filmed in the course of eight weeks. To create space, Parks took advantage of fluid dynamics, which affected the behavior of substances that he photographed. “When these images are projected on a big screen, you feel like you’re looking at infinity. That’s because the same forces at work in the water—gravitational effects, settlement, refractive indices—are happening in outer space the very same,” Parks explains. Seeing the final result with Tom floating through space, is truly beautiful eye-candy.

Tom is now an astronaut, traveling in the year 2500, towards a golden nebula (Xibalba) in an ecospheric spacecraft. Inside the spacecraft is a tree, a tree that you would think to be the Tree of Life, but in actuality—it is the tree that he planted over Izzi’s grave five-hundred years ago. In this part of the film, you see that Tomas has thousands of rings tattooed on his arms, which I think is a really cool element in the film.

It is like his calender—a way of keeping track of the years that have passed since he has lost Izzi. It is also a great way to show the audience that Tom, is the future Tommy, because back when Tommy was in surgery with Donovan in 2000, he lost his wedding ring—in the future, you see that Tom has tattooed the wedding ring on his finger. I just love the look of it too, it gives Tom a distinctive look from his past-self.

During his travels, he is frequently tormented by memories of Izzi saying to him “Finish it.” He does not know what she is asking of him—but during visions later on, he realizes she means the book.

He goes back in his thoughts and remembers reading up until the final chapter that was left blank. In his head, he starts to fill in the lines of how the book could end. Tomas kills the Mayan priest and makes it to the Tree of Life, but once he drinks of it’s sap, flowers sprout from his body and he dies lying next to the tree. In the wake of finishing her book he also begins to realize what will happen when he reaches Xibalba. It will explode and in doing so—he will die. Leaving him to live with Izzi in the afterlife which finally gives him peace. He realizes his thousand-year journey should have been over years ago—if only he would have spent time with Izzi, instead of trying to find the cure—he would have died of a normal lifespan. Which would have brought him to Izzi quicker.

**END SPOILER

The Fountain is one of my favorite films, and I think it is the most original to come along since `04’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I highly recommend this film to anyone who likes movies about “coming to terms” with one’s guilt and struggles. It is a film that has a specific plot and meaning—but it is a film that was made to have many interpretations. It is definitely a breath of fresh air.

--Brok Spiker

Peter Parks quote from Steve Silberman, Wired News

//Why do people have to steal?

I was just recently informed that my review for the movie The Number 23 was found on a chinese blog site.

http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_48c169bb01008yc6.html

Why the hell do people have to do these kinds of things? It seems to me that they didn't even try and make it their own, because it still has my name at the bottom of the article. Now, since my windows isn't updated to decode Chinese lettering, I won't be able to find out what exactly is said other than my review--so maybe they are just giving kudos and discussing about it, I don't know. It just gets on my nerves that people do this

//Don't Fix Something That Is Not Broken

Hollywood, when will you strive for new things?

It was a hot summer day back on August 31st, 2007—not only for the summertime-heat, but for the angst I was going through getting ready to see my favorite movie’s modern remake of Carpenter’s Halloween. Let us jump back a year or so shall we? In 2005 Rob Zombie (known for his directing debut House of a 1000 Corpses) announced officially that he was going to helm the Hollywood remake of Carpenter’s 1978 Halloween Independent blockbuster. This was a terrible idea, seeing as the 78’ Halloween was a smash hit with nothing wrong with it.

The problem is Hollywood, and you know what they are going to do—they will fill the movie with a ton of violence, unnecessary nudity, and a handful of obscenities. Sure this seems to be Zombie’s calling card, but what made the original a classic was the not-so-violent-and-bloody-vibe that it had, but I’ll get into this a bit later.

Now let us have a look at the five problems with Hollywood today: Greed, Originality/Creativity, Content, Casting, and Respect—in that order. The main problem with Hollywood is that they are greedy black suited monsters. All they want is to make a dollar, by banking off of old successes and remaking them for the modern audience. A great example would be director Gus Van Sants’ remake of the 1960 blockbuster success, Psycho. Casting Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates versus Anthony Perkins as the original—was a major failure according to the majority of critics and audiences.

IMDb.com’s users voted Van Sant’s `98 Psycho a score of 4.6 out of 10 with 14,953 votes, whereas Hitchcock’s original scored an 8.7 out of 10 with 103,401 votes, ranking it in the Top 250 at the #22 spot—that’s impressive. With that in comparison, the remake failed miserably at meeting the expectations of die hard fans—of course most fans of Hitchcock’s Psycho probably boycotted the thought of even green-lighting the project.

Hollywood, in the midst of all their movie remakes and TV adaptations, has a major problem with originality and creativity. Not only do they remake old classics, but they re-hash the same stories over and over. For instance, all of the football movies where the team is down on their luck, and this is happening, and that is happening, and then “WOOO!” they end up winning the state championship after being at the bottom of the food chain in the beginning of the movie. We’ve all seen those films or the typical “boy meets girl—boy loses girl—boy gets girl”.

The problem with the Big Coats, is that they never give the underdog a chance to flourish. A lot the highest rated movies are originals and very distinct from those that fit in the same genre. They do not want to take chances on a movie that has never been seen before, but rather take a chance on one that has already once (or twice) made millions. There are plenty of novels and original screenplays out there—you Hollywood, should use them.

What really bugs a lot of veteran movie goers is today’s content. Some miss out on a potentially good movie just because it is rated R. Language through-out, unnecessary nudity and other obscenities—are what fill some of today’s modern movies and remakes. Take Rob Zombie’s remake of John Carpenter’s Halloween for example, like I said earlier in the opening statement—this movie was full of obscenities. Excessive language, three sexual scenes along with a scene of torture and rape (although this was included in the unrated version of the film, it was still probably viewed by youngsters), and way to much violence involving stabbings and other killings. Now what you had with Carpenter’s original was little if none of that. Everything is implied, not shown—which is what Rob Zombie should have high-lighted in his pre-production stage. They need to go back to the drawing board and realize shock value is not what makes a good movie.

When it comes to casting certain actors or actresses to replace their predecessors however, how can anyone replace the original? Think of it like this: what if they remade Gone With The Wind and found an actress to replace Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara—a lot of people would be going a-wall yes? And who could replace Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver if they ever thought of revisiting it in the modern-day theater? To be honest, it is like having your favorite musical group replacing several members with new members, including the vocalist. They might as well change the name of the band and their signature sound right? That is what Hollywood should do—come up with new material.

I think one of the main reasons why I hate certain Hollywood remakes, is the disrespect they show towards the beloved originals they are stealing from. A perfect example would have to be 2006’s Disturbia. SPOILER: (If you have not yet seen this movie, you may want to skip this paragraph) In Disturbia, you have a kid that loses his father in a car accident, leaving the teen with a lot of trauma and personal problems. Those problems can easily escalate into the outside world, beyond personal, in his case it does. His teacher makes a rude comment about his father and the teen punches him, landing him under house arrest for the entire summer break. What would you do if you were stuck in your house with a pair of Binoculars? You would spy on your neighbors that’s what. As he does this for a while, certain people start to take notice, like the girl next door (hint: Grace Kelly), who ends up paying him a visit. As they form a friendship and spend some quality time spying on neighbors, they witness what they believe to be a murder—putting them in this cat-and-mouse game to find the truth.

Now, does this seem familiar to anyone? If it does not, go and rent Hitchcock’s Rear Window. You have a man who is confined in a wheelchair with nothing to do but spy on his neighbors—he witnesses a murder, falls in love with Grace Kelly and together they solve the mystery and put the criminal behind bars. What is great about Disturbia however, is that they do a wonderful job updating this “idea”, but what they fail to do is give any mention to Hitchcock’s design—not in the credits nor to the press during interviews, there is no word or mention of Rear Window ever being an influence—which I would call plagiarism.

I am aware that this problem with Hollywood remaking old classics will never stop or even slow down. Occasionally remakes DO turn out good and sometimes surpass their originals. Especially having the advantage of new and improved effects (Peter Jackson’s King Kong anyone? Yeah—the effects were boss). Regardless, I still feel they should stop remaking existing movies and focus more on original stories. There are plenty of talented screenplay writers out there and plenty of original material—they just don’t give it a chance.

Thank God for Independent films.
--Brok Spiker

//Take a seat and drift into the mind of Charlie Kaufman.

5 / 5 stars
`04's Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Directed by Michel Gondry and Screenplay by Charlie Kaufman; Starring Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo and Kirsten Dunst

"Random thoughts for Valentine's Day, 2004. Today is a holiday invented by greeting card companies.. to make people feel like crap."

The first line of the movie.. and pretty much the one line, that I think, sums the beginning of this movie up. Director Michel Gondry really cooks up a visual feast for the eyes in this one, along side screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malcovich, Adaptation) who never fails in writing an off the wall movie. Most movies of our time, are filled with too over the top CGI, where as Gondry's style of direction, is standing alone. Not many directors out there, put the theory of camera tricks in their films.. especially those directors that have just a cinematographer doing the work for them. Not that any of them are bad, but directors who put alot of stock into their vision, get the best results.

Eternal Sunshine is a movie about two thirty-somethings, Joel Barish and Clementine Kruczynski, played by comedic genius Jim Carrey and actress Kate Winslet. These two endure love, disagreement, and pain (in that order) over a 2 year period and begin to grow tired of one another. This movie forces us to ask ourselves, "If we could, would we have certain memories erased from our brains, to stop the pain that we experiance when losing a loved one?" This is the movie's main concept, which works very well, being that it's relate-able to most human beings.

The brains behind this possibility, is Lacuna LTD., a surgical clinic ran by Dr. Howard Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson). After a tough breakup, Clementine finds Dr. Mierzwiak, and what he does. And being the impulsive person that she is, she decides on the surgery. Sometime after this, Joel goes to Barnes and Noble where Clementine works, and is baffled to find her ignoring him and there with another guy.

Being torn by this, he takes comfort with two friends of theirs, Rob and Carrie. While Carrie is trying to explain to Joel, why Clementine is the way she is, her and Rob get into a fight over a very important piece of paper, that Rob gets out of a near-by dresser drawer.

Dear Rob and Carrie Eakin:

Clementine Kruczynski has had Joel Barish erased from her memory. Please never mention their relationship to her again. Thank you.

LACUNA, LTD. 424 GRAND STREET, NY, NY

After reading this card, Joel confronts Lacuna, and is in disbelief of what is said. After he leaves, he stresses over Clementine, and cannot believe she'd do something like this. Not knowing what to do, he decides to go through with this procedure as well. As he forces himself into Dr. Mierzwiak's office, his assistant Mary (Kirsten Dunst) tries to stop him, and insist he wait in the waiting room. Joel cuts her off by saying, "Okay, I want it done, Now!"

They record Joel talk about the history of him and Clementine, and easily make a map of his brain activity, by having Joel react to everything he owns that has some association with Clementine.

Joel: "Is there any risk of brain damage?"

Dr. Mierzwiak: "Well, technically, the procedure itself is brain damage, but on a par with a night of heavy drinking. Nothing you'll miss."

Let the mind trip ensue, because here is where Michel Gondry's brilliant directing style shines. Never before have I seen a film directed like this, nor have I ever saw a film that got so much out of its characters in only a couple of hours. It's like watching a book, in that it has so much detail, you'll be dazzled.

The score constructed by Jon Brion is something to talk about. With it's heartwarming, robotic like, piano notes and it's acoustic bass & guitars, to the tracks written by some of today's pop icons, Beck and Polyphonic Spree. Beck contributes only one song, titled "Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime", which I think counteracts very well with this film.

This film will touch you unlike any film in the world, and will force you to rethink some of your most cherished memories of your loved ones. This film may confuse you, but you'll be left wanted to watch it again and again and in doing so, you'll find out things that you didn't the first time.

This is by far my favorite film, and my first movie review, so I hope I've lifted some eyebrows, and caught some of your attention.

Happy watchin',

--Brok Spiker.

Quotes from The Newmarket Shooting Script series for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

//A movie worth staying in your thoughts.

5 / 5 stars
`05's Stay
Directed by Marc Forster and Screenplay by David Benioff; Starring Ryan Gosling, Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts

"Stay with us Henry, stay with us."

With the sound of rubber gliding on a highway, us viewers are stuck like claustrophobics, in-between rubber and metal. The viewer's point-of-view, is inside of a tire. Suddenly a burst.. then a spark. You've just witnessed the first 5 seconds of the film; a car wreck. You experience one of the most creative ways to show-off a car crash, in film history (in my opinion). Enter, Henry Letham... a mysterious figure, who seems to have come out of this accident, unscathed.

As Henry walks towards the camera, there's a smooth transition to the next scene. Meet Sam Foster (Ewan McGregor), a man in his 30s, or so it seems.. a man, who like most smart people living in a city, is shown riding a bike to work. After Sam arrives and heads into his office, we see a figure standing by a window, awaiting an arrival; but not from Sam. As the figure turns around, we see that it is Henry, and to find out, he's not so happy that Sam is there.

Henry: "Who the fuck are you?"

Sam: "I'm Dr. Sam Foster.."

Here we find out that Sam is not his personal psychiatrist, but a substitute "shrink" as he calls him. Henry is not happy that his previous doctor, Dr. Beth Levy (Janeane Garofalo) has given up on him. As Henry gets calmed down, he and Sam start to talk; slowly, Sam gets Henry to talk about the accident, and why he thinks it's his own fault. Henry pushes things to an end, as he mentions something about hail, and needing to go home before it starts. Here the camera slowly lifts away from Henry, and looks out the window, where we see Sam and what seems to be his girlfriend Lila Culpepper (Naomi Watts), sitting on a bench.

(Note: this movie doesn't cut from scene to scene like most movies; the scenes flow, and transfer in on eachother. So you may see a character in a completely different place, but out of nowhere, they appear somewhere else.)

After a small conversation on the bench. It starts to hail, and what you thought was real, turns to question. "How did he know that?" you ask? You don't know.. and possibly may never find out. That is what the beauty of this film is, it forces us to ask plenty of questions and to ponder dozens of theories. I'm trying not to give anything away, because if I let even one single part of this film slip through my fingers, it'll ruin its mysteriousness for you.

This movie is simply about a man involved in a car accident, who feels guilty of the outcome and forced to do whatever it takes to receive forgiveness.

"Your troubles will cease and fortune will smile upon you."

David Benioff (Writer of Stay) really wrote a touching movie about coming to terms with one's guilt.. and learning to forgive, before being able to rest assured. Be open minded when watching this movie, it's very complex, and has many moments that are left wide open for theories and discussion.

Marc Forster (Director of Finding Neverland) directs a lucid like journey through a man's head. Each scene is filled with beautiful colors, and tied in together so smoothly, that you almost love the movie right away for the cinematography. And I could never forget the wonderful score written up by Asche & Spencer. The music is almost as distorted as Henry's own view on reality... very sticky stuff. It stuck in my head for months until I finally found the soundtrack... now I can listen to each scenes' theme. This music is so greatly matched with this movie, that I could close my eyes, put on the soundtrack, and watch the movie in my head. Great stuff.

To you IMDb-heads, ignore the bad reviews, they simple didn't get it for it's masterful storytelling, and beautiful imagery.

Henry Letham: "Do you know the Tristan Rêveur quote about bad art? It's "bad art is more tragically beautiful than good art 'cause it documents human failure."

So I'm closing, let me say.. You will be shocked. You will be moved. You will be confused. And most importantly, you will be thinking of this film years after each viewing.

Stay is 2 on my list of favorite movies, right under Eternal Sunshine, and if you watched that and appreciated it like I did.. you'll love Stay, because it'll stay with you for years and years.

--Brok Spiker

Quotes from IMDb.com, The Internet Movie Database.

//Sin is your worst enemy.

4.5 / 5 Stars
`07's The Number 23
Directed by Joel Schumacher and Screenplay by Fernley Phillips; Starring Jim Carrey, Virginia Madsen and Logan Lerman

"Be sure your sin will find you out." - Numbers 32:23

As so it does for Walter Sparrow, played by Jim Carrey, in this psychological thriller about a dogcatcher who's fately put in the path of a tattered red book called The Number 23, written by an author only known as Topsy Kretts.

After spending some time reading, he finds similarities between him and the books main character, Fingerling; a detective who as a little boy, loved detective stories.

"Imagine me if you must, as someone you once knew. Someone perhaps you like, or better yet.. imagine me as you. As a kid I was at the top of my class, not because I liked studying, but because I realized that an education was my best shot at getting out. Ya see, the stork dropped me in a small, dust-bowl-of-a-town.. there wasn't anything wrong with it, as far as boring towns go, I'm sure it ranked above average. I had friends, but.. I always felt alone. No one ever left.. and I wasn't going to die here, as much as I loved him, I didn't want to be anything like my dad. He seemed so distant, its sad. Numbers were his life. He was an accountant and I guess he expected me to take over the business he had built, but I had other plans.

My mom was tickled pink on my 8th birthday, when I announced I wanted to be a detective. Can't say the same for my father, he really put the kabosh on his master plan and it fueled his hatred for the widow Dopkins; she lived next door. Sounds odd but, her dog Alfie.. was the reason I became a detective. The grass is always greener on the other side, atleast.. according to Alfie, that's why he was always in our yard. It was my job to catch him, but I never crossed the fence into the widow Dopkins yard, that was my father's rule. On my 8th birthday, I broke the rule... now I must admit that my lonliness and obsession with detective stories, fueled fantasies.. so I'm not sure of the details; except one..."- read by Carrey's character during a visual sequence showing Fingerling's childhood.

By this point, Walter is mystified by how much he and the character Fingerling, have in common. Fingerling got his detective name from a book he once read as a child called "Fingerling At The Zoo", which Walter also read as a kid. Even most neighbors have dogs these days, but Walter's neighbor had a dog named Chief. "Mischief" his father liked to call him, he always got out, which ultimately led him to become a dogcatcher.

Sparrow's wife Agatha replies, "but Fingerling was a detective."

Walter argues, "I used to collect detective magazines."

As his wife thinks he's innocently overreacting, his son Robin, gets in on it pointing out even more similarities. Everything in Walter's life, his birthdate, his license plate number, his home address; it all adds up to twenty-three, Robin's comments puts Agatha in a protective role of going along this ride with her husband and son, to find out what this book means to their family. A Mysterious murder, a not-so innocent man, and a guard Dog are among the weird vile, that fill the screen. All contributing to an ending so shocking, it'll make you ponder some of the things you've done, and gotten away with.

Weirded out yet? Confused at what I'm trying to get across? I'm not trying to explain anything, I'm just giving you a taste of how creative this movie is.

If you love voice-over acting, you'll be excited to know this movie is chalk-full of it. Movies with voice-over acting, are as close as Hollywood's ever going to get to capturing that feeling of reading a very discriptive book. You can explain so much in little time, without showing it. Same goes for films with little dialoge; in films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, you're subject to many quick-as-a-flash shots of characters, whether it be cuddling, fighting, etc.. you don't need to hear any dialoge to understand what you're seeing.

This movie will keep you locked in for the remainder of the ride, as you're treated with a very visualistic style of directing. In one flashback scene of Fingerling's childhood, the camera glides from Carrey's shoulder, to inside the book, all in one smooth transition. As you're now in the book, things pass by the camera as if they are straight out of a pop-up book. Somewhat stuck in between 2D and 3D. All of the cinematography when inside the book.. gets darker and darker as the characters do. At one moment, the director's using very bright contrast on a scene that's slightly still non-depressive, but quickly goes into the darker gray tones to show the characters decline from sanity.

As for the score, there's nothing I feel I need to say about it. It's perfect for this film and this film only. The score and the film do very well of being on the same page. Very moving.

I think this movie is the only movie to ever have a negative and positive ending stapled together.
You'll be shocked, just as if you would watching some of Hitchcock's best thrillers, because this movie very well has a Hitchcockian vibe to it.

I leave you with one last line from the movie,

"There's no such thing as destiny. There are only different choices. Some choices are easy, some aren't. Those are the really important ones, the ones that define us as people."- Walter Sparrow

I suggest you do what I did, buy this movie. Even if you don't rent it first.. let it be one of those movies you buy not knowing how it was going to turn out. I assure you... it won't be one of those mistakes.

Are you afraid that your sins will come back to haunt you?

--Brok Spiker

Quotes from the "Number 23" DVD subtitles