MEMENTO (2000)

MILLENNIUM MONTH (MM): MOVIES FROM THE YEAR 2000...
AND IN MEMORIAM
(Post 11 of 11)

Memento

Christopher Nolan's Memento is a challenging film about a man with short term memory loss that is looking for the man that killed his wife. The scenes from the movie are for the most part told in reverse chronological order. This is a good film to see every few years as the intricate details of the plot slip away from your mind and a good one to see as you get older for the same reason. This marked the third time that I had seen it and could remember the general plot that I listed above from the last time I saw it a few years ago, but I was a little hazy on the details including who the murderer was. So I could really relate to the main character! I definitely will watch this again in about five years and enjoy it anew!

Don't forget to have a Happy New Year!

Obituary of person with NO 1001 movie connection I can find: Hedy Lamarr. And no, Harvey Korman's role in Blazing Saddles doesn't count. That's Hedley Lamar. The real Hedy played Delilah to Victor Mature's Sampson in Samson and Delilah. She also played the female lead in Algiers, which was a remake of the French film Pepe Le Moko.  Pepe did make the 1001 list, but the practically carbon copy Algiers did not. Neither did perhaps Hedy's most famous role in Ecstasy, a 1933 film that is remembered mostly for Hedy's nude scenes.

Maybe next edition.

And don't forget to have a Happy New Year! Wait-Did I say that already?

Hedy Lamarr

"Hedley Lamarr"

AMORES PERROS (2000, MEXICO)

MILLENNIUM MONTH (MM): MOVIES FROM THE YEAR 2000...

AND IN MEMORIAM

(Post 10 of 11)

This one was hard for me to watch. I actually started it a couple of times and couldn't get through much of it. A movie about people that fight dogs is really tough for a dog lover like me to take. But I finally did watch it and have to admit it's a very good film. I'd even say it's an excellent film. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu later received praise for Babel, but I think Amores Perros is even better. The first hour is also a little difficult because the characters are mostly unsympathetic, but I admit this multi-layered, multi-character drama became a pretty riveting piece by the second half of the film and should definitely be on the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die List. You just might not want to see it twice.


Obituary of person with 1001 movie connection: Ring Lardner Jr.(1915-2000) was a screenwriter who came to Hollywood during the 40's and won an Academy Award for Woman of the Year in 1942. He was later blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Commission and was unemployable in Hollywood for many years. He finally achieved the recognition he deserved for another Academy Award for his adaptation of Richard Hooker's novel for the movie MASH. Of course, this was a Robert Altman film which means Lardner's dialogue was often changed or sometimes removed altogether. Regardless, Lardner has still got to be considered an important part in the success of that film.

Screenplay by Ring Lardner Jr. credit
on one of the great movie posters of all-time.

YI YI (2000, TAIWAN)

MILLENNIUM MONTH (MM): MOVIES FROM THE YEAR 2000...

AND IN MEMORIAM

(Post 9 of 11)

Yi Yi

You ever have a movie that you think you'll really like and simply can't get into even if it is the type of movie you thought it would be? That's Yi Yi for me. I usually like multi-character character stories, but I just found this one too long and too confusing. Perhaps I should give this one another chance some day. You win some, you lose some.

Obituary of person with 1001 movie connection: When I was looking over the obituaries from 2000, I came across the name Billy Barty (1924-2000) and really wanted to include him somewhere on this list. Billy began his career as a child actor and had an acting career that lasted in spite of (or maybe because of) his short stature of 3' 9."

I first heard of Billy on talk shows on the 70's whenever a short joke seemed to pop up, he was often used as the punch line. To Billy's credit, he always seemed to be able to take a joke in some of the sillier roles he took, but had a long marriage, a family and a more successful career than most actors of greater height.

Billy's movie and TV credits are two numerous to name, but I did need to find a 1001 movie with his name to be official. I came up with two: Billy as an uncredited baby in Bride of Frankenstein and as a baby in Goldiggers of 1933. Close enough.

I did want to mention his most memorable role for me. That was as Sigmund in the early 70's Saturday morning Sid and Marty Krofft kid show Sigmund and the Sea Monsters that I watched. If you were a kid watching TV in the 70's you probably have very fond memories of this one. If you don't fit into that category, you might find this show more than a bit lacking. You probably had to be there for this one.

That's Billy Barty as Sigmund
in Sigmund and the Sea Monsters

ALI ZAOUA: PRINCE OF THE STREETS (2000, MOROCCO)

MILLENNIUM MONTH (MM): MOVIES FROM THE YEAR 2000...

AND IN MEMORIAM

(Post 8 of 11)

Ali Zaoua is a hard-hitting movie about Moroccan street kids and their daily struggles. It is reminiscent to me of Children of God, only on a different continent. But the troubles are the same. The kids have to be tough to survive and if they don't give in to the local gang leader, their life could be in danger. They find hope where they can, but hope is always fleeting and usually hard to maintain. An effective film and the first taste of Moroccan cinema I've ever had.

Obituary of person with 1001 movie connection: Alec Guinness (1914-2000) was known to me and I think most movie goers for three things. First, he was in several of the Ealing comedy classics of the 40's and 50's like Kind Hearts and Coronets and The Ladykillers. He was also known for his more dramatic turns in David Lean films like Lawrence of Arabia, Great Expectations, The Bride on the River Kwai (where he won a well-deserved Oscar) and Doctor Zhivago. And of course, he was also Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars.

All of the above films are on the 1001 list and provide a great opportunity to see Mr. Guinness at work.

Alec Guinness in Bridge on the River Kwai