Memento (2000) - Full Reaction
Added 2023-10-26 03:00:03 +0000 UTCWell this was a trip and a half!! How fun to watch this with Kaiielle (check out her channel!), I'm glad I had her to point some things out, but it's mind-bending for sure! This definitely had a Christopher Nolan vibe to it, but I do love movies that make you think. Hope you guys enjoy! Tomorrow morning we'll post the full reaction to me showing Kaiielle "Hook"!
Direct link in case the above player doesn't work.
Find your own copy to follow a long with.
Comments
I remember the DVD had a hidden feature where you could watch the movie in chronological order which was interesting after knowing the story.
Ricardo Alanis
2023-11-02 23:47:57 +0000 UTCEverybody was using Leonard, even Leonard was using Leonard
Wu Sha Ling
2023-10-31 18:52:12 +0000 UTCTwo wildly different movies starring Guy Pearce that I love are the (underrated) "Time Machine" remake, and the historical horror movie "Ravenous." Hoping for reactions someday to one or both.
WastedPo
2023-10-28 00:32:51 +0000 UTCImagine seeing this at release, and then looking out for more from this amazing director, then hear that we are getting Batman from him. More Guy Pearce - Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert - three drag queens, Guy Pearce, Hugo (The Matrix, Lord Elrond from LotR) and Terance Stamp (General Zod from Superman) on a Australian road-trip. Expect plenty of ABBA.
pinkdino99
2023-10-27 19:22:55 +0000 UTCThat's why watching the film in chronological order is such a different experience. You see Natalie's and Teddy's personalities and character arcs more clearly and common point effect, you start to sympathize with them more than with Leonard.
Stick Figure Studios
2023-10-27 17:18:50 +0000 UTCMy first Christopher Nolan experience was Insomnia (2002) with Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hillary Swank. I discovered Memento later than most people. Definitely a mind-blower, even after multiple viewings. It's interesting that Memento and American Psycho have the same end credit song: Something In The Air by David Bowie. The Prestige. All I can say about that, aside from how good it is, is that I guessed the ending because of an old Hanna Barbara cartoon. I couldn't freakin' believe my luck!
Zane From Canada
2023-10-27 17:03:28 +0000 UTCThat’s my favourite thing about Holden Hardman. Especially when he is watching something with his wife, and the side eye she gives him when she knows he knows something, but won’t tell her😂
Cole Jennett
2023-10-27 15:27:10 +0000 UTCEveryone always says the whole movie is ordered so we experience memory like Leonard does- but for me the moment where this was the most apparent was his interactions with Natalie- when we "first" meet her she's nice and sweet, but by the "end" we hate her and totally forget how she first was- by the end of the movie my mind was melted. Tbh my favorite Nolan movie above everything else he's done
LuMarq
2023-10-27 07:17:42 +0000 UTCNatalie is not really a bad person, aside from dating a drug dealer that she knows is a drug dealer. When he never returned from his meeting and the money vanished it makes sense his associates turned to her and that she was in trouble. She turned to the only person she knew that has something to do with it and used him to get her out of the trouble he got her into in the first place.
Andrew Roach
2023-10-27 06:52:39 +0000 UTCThis is something that I can relate to; years ago, I was in a motorcycle accident, and they had to do brain surgery on me. I was in a coma; when I came out of it, I couldn't remember anything that had happened leading up to the accident, and I also had short-term memory loss for a long time after. I also couldn't talk, but I could write a little, and looking back on the notes that I wrote my mother, it is sad that I put her through that. Every 5 to 10 min, I would ask her the same questions all day, and every time my wife came to see me, I would flirt with her and try to pick her up. I didn't know her. It took about a year to regain my memories; I never got them all back. I love movies like this and Angel Heart. Before I Go to Sleep. Regarding Henry. And so many more that I can't remember
Eddie Perkins
2023-10-27 03:43:16 +0000 UTCI've been waiting so long for you guys to check out this film. Wish I could see the reaction when you guys watched it again... cuz I KNOW you had to. Lol Looks like this is ACTUALLY the closest thing to that it turns out. Noice!!!!
Doc Savage
2023-10-27 02:40:24 +0000 UTCI would also like to see a PRESTIGE reaction.
Stick Figure Studios
2023-10-27 01:13:45 +0000 UTCI love the Charles Dickens story, but I hate that adaptation.
Stick Figure Studios
2023-10-27 01:12:10 +0000 UTC😉😉
kaiielle
2023-10-26 22:53:57 +0000 UTCLol, I love this. Great keeping it up, for the ❤️
Jon Johns
2023-10-26 22:47:14 +0000 UTCI am still up for 'twins' movies, that is, movies that came out around the same time, with similar plots, Armageddon, for example, as a twin to Deep Impact, or, The Prestige & The Illusionist... I would skip Leviathan, but it came out near The Abyss, I am sure there are other 'twins' movies with similar plots...
Jon Johns
2023-10-26 22:46:03 +0000 UTCI watched it this way (My DVD early release edition has that option) but only after I had seen the film 4-5 times. Needed something 'new' about it to make it feel 'fresh' so I watched it that way. It's 'okay', not great, the transitions are awkward, whereas in the original edition, they give you a point of reference. Lacking the 'breaks' with the B & W parts is also "missing" since they are all at the start... But, for a 4-5th watch, it's novel... If one is expecting it to be 'easier' to follow, it's not so much...
Jon Johns
2023-10-26 22:43:11 +0000 UTCWowza, Kaiielle, you are a great explainer! And you two did great. I did enjoy KL's 'knowing' looks into the camera, too 😉
Jon Johns
2023-10-26 22:38:50 +0000 UTCTwo of my favorite reactors...one of my favorite movies...I smell a trap...
Steve Mercier
2023-10-26 20:19:50 +0000 UTCGuy Pearce was in a dark version of a Christmas Carol you should watch for Christmas. Guy plays Scrooge.
Zachary K. (Verified Swiftie)
2023-10-26 19:33:51 +0000 UTCI’d get a tumbler
Omar
2023-10-26 14:45:08 +0000 UTCYes Cassie, please refill the tumblers online, I've been wanting one since forever! Also loved Kaiielle's surprise appearance.
Johnny Liu
2023-10-26 12:25:05 +0000 UTCThe fact that he considers Interstellar to be the 2001 of our time infuriates me.
Shehab Dawoud
2023-10-26 11:39:45 +0000 UTCI have enjoyed almost all his movies, with the exceptions of two of his most recent. Tenet was that rarity - a movie so boring I just quit watching it. And Interstellar was just awful, pretentious garbage. And they got the physics problem wrong. The problem they didn’t even try to address and could never overcome was volume.
Just Plain Bob
2023-10-26 11:29:14 +0000 UTCI am starting to feel that way about his movies. Last movie I enjoyed of his was Inception.. Interstellar was boring, Dunkirk just wasn’t what I wanted from a war movie. Not seen Tenet.
Brian McGovern
2023-10-26 10:28:48 +0000 UTCEarly Nolan was too good. Shame he had to go too far with his ideas and his own pretentiousness. Also nice to see Joey Pants, the ultimate ‘That Guy’.
Shehab Dawoud
2023-10-26 10:02:47 +0000 UTCI'm curious to see your reaction, this one is not ordinary! 🤯
Grégory Gautier
2023-10-26 09:31:44 +0000 UTCDef need a second rewatch. And a third 🤦🏻♂️😂
Omar
2023-10-26 07:10:54 +0000 UTCThe Prestige definitely should be on Cassie's short list. I hope she brings Carly along because it's a movie they'll both like and will elicit viewer commentary as it plays out. It's probably my favorite CN move too, though Dunkirk is close but for totally different reasons. (WW2 movies are my jam, baby!) I've not seen Oppenheimer yet but I'm really looking forward to it.
David Collins
2023-10-26 07:05:51 +0000 UTCThe first time I saw this I was quite sick and medicated and had not slept well for a few days. I had a terrible time following it. Resulted in not being very impressed and I never felt compelled to watch it again, but had a little mental note that someday I should, but never really thought I would. Then Cassie made me watch it again. This time, I was in a much better state to keep up and enjoyed it quite a bit more. It has a few issues but they're forgivable because of the sheer complexity of what he's trying to, and for the most part does, pull off. But I fully get why some people can't stand it.
David Collins
2023-10-26 07:00:10 +0000 UTCWhat's interesting about the chronological cut is that you find yourself identifying more with the other characters than with Leonard.
Stick Figure Studios
2023-10-26 06:31:36 +0000 UTC** SPOILERS BELOW - IF YOU'VE NOT SEEN IT YET DON'T READ! ** Cassie, Leonard doesn't set himself up to keep killing John Gs - he believes Teddy is telling the truth, is angry with Teddy for using him - risking his life for his own gain etc. etc. But he can't kill Teddy in cold blood, he doesn't have the stones for it. Even Teddy knows that, he told him he wasn't a killer ("that's why you're so good at it") near the end of the movie. Instead he sets him up to BE his (final) John G. as revenge, knowing that the only way he'd kill someone was if he believed they were his wife's killer. So, he "frames" Teddy by lying to his future forgetful self to set stage for the necessary mind frame that would allow him to go through with Teddy's murder. Queue up the tattoo of Teddy's license plate and telling himself not to believe Teddy's lies. Right before the the final scene where he stops at the tattoo shop, he imagines or daydreams himself with his wife, she's alive and in bed with him, he has all of his tattoos, plus a new one where the empty space had been. The new one says "I'V DONE IT". This is his closure scene. Next scene he stops at the tattoo shop and commits his lie to his flesh, setting in motion the sequence of events that we now know ultimately enable him to kill Teddy without remorse. Teddy was his closure. Imo there are some pretty big plot holes that bring the movie down a notch, but the complexity of the concept is so finely detailed it would take hours and hours to fill them all, so they got "close enough" and the end result is still a compelling watch. I've never checked but I wonder if there is a director's cut out there floating around that might include an extra 30 or so minutes that would help fill in the blanks.
David Collins
2023-10-26 06:24:20 +0000 UTCLove Memento. Some years ago I made the mistake of buying the Blu Ray that allowed, via secret menu, the movie to be played in chronological order... not recommended, even if you seen the movie as it should be. EDIT: I've now watched the reaction after making my post above and you both touch on watching it chronologically in the post-movie discussions. Whilst I don't recommend it, if you're going to do it bear in mind only a few of the released blu rays have it included and it's normally not a visible menu option. When / if you buy a suitable disc you'll be able to search online how to access it (the copies I've seen don't include instructions).
AdrianF
2023-10-26 05:29:33 +0000 UTCThis movie is another good example of Nolan doing to his audience what the protagonist in the movie experiences - like how in Inception he plants an idea in the audience's head at the end that he might not be back in the real world, The Prestige (I won't say this I'm typing as listening to the conversation at the end didn't know you hadn't seen it, yes you totally need to see that). In this by reversing the order of the movie and chopping it into short chunks he creates Leonard's experience by you not knowing what is going on in each scene, particularly at the start of the movie but you get a feeling about people, like he says at one point, but that feeling is completely warped from the truth
Martin Nicholls
2023-10-26 05:04:58 +0000 UTCGreat reaction. Add me to the list hoping for a "The Prestige" reaction in the near future. It's probably my favorite Nolan movie, until I can watch Oppenheimer a few more times to see where it falls on my ranking
Choof
2023-10-26 05:04:00 +0000 UTCfirst time I saw this I was initially confused, didn’t know what was going on, but as the movie continued I was more and more fascinated; needless to say that after this Christopher Nolan had me hooked
JL_83
2023-10-26 04:25:00 +0000 UTCYou two make for a great pairing. Great job. Love the film. I saw it theatrically on a lark when this first came out and raved about it to everyone. When it finally came out on DVD, I bought it and loaned it to everyone. Great fun. The cut where it's all in chronological order is interesting to watch once, but the power of the movie is in having both of the stories meet 'in the middle'.
Matt Rose
2023-10-26 04:00:00 +0000 UTCYeah Leonard was looking for purpose. He deliberately tricks himself at the end because he knows he won’t remember so there is an element of Leonard is letting himself be used because it keeps him going. He did make up the whole story about Sam Jenkins in his head in order to process his guilt but also as something to enable him. In a way Leonard is a bad person because he is completely hell bent on his quest but also it turns him selfish and also causes him to have no disregard for other people. As long as he gives his own life meaning he doesn’t care
Night King01
2023-10-26 03:52:17 +0000 UTCHey Cassie, your "find your own copy" link for Memento is taking me to Hook. Thought you might want to know. EDIT: I see it's been fixed now. I would delete this comment but I got a like from Cassie so I can't do that now. I only wish it had been for something clever. :D
David Collins
2023-10-26 03:41:36 +0000 UTCSaw this in the theater when it was first released. I loved it then and love it now. It was based, I believe, on a short story written by Christopher Nolan’s brother. I thought it was brilliant to play the movie backwards, so that the audience is in the same position of the protagonist - not knowing how we got here or what just happened prior to the place/time we find ourselves. One of the DVD releases actually included a psych test as an extra. If you answered the questions in a certain way, it unlocked the movie in chronological order. I was really surprised at how well the story holds up when watched chronologically. Great movie by a great director.
Just Plain Bob
2023-10-26 03:22:43 +0000 UTCI still think you can make a good argument for this being Nolan's best movie. I'll never forget when this came out. I was in college at the time and just starting to have my horizons broadened about all the different kinds of movies that were out there and this definitely signaled a new and distinctive voice in American cinema. Really looking forward to this reaction, especially how you respond to the ending. :-)
Stick Figure Studios
2023-10-26 03:18:35 +0000 UTCLovely, I do enjoy the text memo reaction summary paragraph, I'm glad it's being kept. I look forward to watching this reaction 🙂
Mannygogou
2023-10-26 03:18:03 +0000 UTCHands down both hands down it would be more hands if I had more hands down worse movie ever there's not even a decent story behind it it's just all around traumatizing
JollymonSing
2023-10-26 03:07:40 +0000 UTCSo long since I’ve seen this. What a trip!
Wes
2023-10-26 03:06:20 +0000 UTCOh this will be fun
Jason Dolan
2023-10-26 03:06:11 +0000 UTCYes yes yes!
Dave
2023-10-26 03:03:43 +0000 UTCSO FUN. SO MIND-BENDY. Bet you're still thinking about it! Thank you so much for letting me show you this and for hosting me in the PIB space! 💜
kaiielle
2023-10-26 03:02:07 +0000 UTCQuieing it up now 👍🏽
Omar
2023-10-26 03:01:50 +0000 UTC
