Movie #378 - Finding Neverland

Finding Neverland
2004 - Rated PG - 1 hr 46 min
Director: Marc Forster
Starring: Johnny Depp, Kate Winsley, Julie Christie, Radha Mitchell, Dustin Hoffman, Freddie Highmore, Ian Hart

An error on Blogger erased a few of my posts, including the original of this review. Grrr.... I don't think I remember what I wrote.  Never thought I'd have to, you know?

Anyway, here goes.  I like this movie a lot, for both it's telling of the backstory of one of the world's most famous stories (JM Barrie's Peter Pan) and for the poignant relationship that grows between the famed playwright and a widow for four sons.  Actually, the four sons have a pretty impactful relationship with him as well.  The bittersweet conclusion of the movie really gets me, too.  I've always been a fan of the story around the story and this is a really great entry into that category.

And Johnny Depp has a Scottish accent, so there's that too :)

Movie #187 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2004 - Rated R - 1 hr 48 min
Director: Michel Gondry
Starring: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst

Oh.... this movie.

I fell in love with this movie the first time I saw it, and my love has not waivered.  By now, I've watched it a dozen times and I still have to go by Kate Winslet's hair color to make sure I know what point in time we're in. 

The concept of this movie - the ability to wipe away the memories of a lost love from your life - is a highly polarizing one, but a fascinating one all the same.  Would you do it? Should you do it? And what happens if during the procedure you change your mind, like Jim Carrey does? The sequence of them hiding in his early memories is so imaginative and so much fun to watch.  By the end, you're really hoping they'll win.

The best part about this movie is that it doesn't just involve the procedure.  It covers the before, during, and after. And even throws in a case of extreme after with Kirsten Dunst, who reacts to it in a way surprising for her character but not surprising in general.  To go from worshipping the process and its creator, to suddenly being its victim.  She does a brilliant job with this, and sets into motion the resolution for Carrey and Winslet as well.  I'm glad it doens't just end with them forgetting each other.  It's too far-fetched to think people who loved each other once wouldn't gravitate back to each other.  Here, it's handled very well and very realistically.

One of my faves, by far.