Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Quite for a long time I was preparing to watch this film. The expectations were high on one side and low on the other. I knew that this film was supposed to be a very good one - according to its reviews, to the peoples` opinion who had already seen it. But it also made me think - if the public opinion wasn`t wrong once again as it had already happened quite often (I don`t mean "wrong" as an objective word but wrong for me). In this film Jim Carrey plays Joel - a man who has decided to erase his former girlfriend Clementine from his memory (just like she had already erased him). And to achieve that he didn`t consume maniacal amounts of alcohol like most of us would do but visited specialists that provided erasing the memories by reliving them. But somewhere in the process Joel understood that he didn`t want to lose Clementine, despite all the problems they had in their relationship. And together with her he wanted to escape from his memories and return to the real world, but he never managed to succeed at that. But the ending was positive - Joel met her once again, without knowing who she was and they fell in love, after that they learned to know the truth about their past but decided that even the upcoming conflicts didn`t mean more than their love. A very beautiful film. A must see.

Meet the Fockers

It`s been a few years since the first part of this film "Meet the Parents" came out, and now the makers of that film decided that the right time has come to milk the cat once again. Milk the cat, get it? I`m so good at recycling jokes that I truly believe that one day I`ll have my own recycling company. But until that day I`ll watching stupid romantic comedies just like this one. Mr. Gaylord (aka Gary) Focker and his fiancee that probably also has a name of her own are planning to get married but first their parents must meet. And knowing the fact that Gay`s father is a house-husband while his wife is a sex therapist, but Mr. Byrnes worked his entire life for the CIA some problems may arise. And so they do, as a matter of fact. The good thing about the crap is that Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand play senior Fockers (not that I liked any of them, but they are good, aren`t they?). There`s a baby involved, a baby that`s not even born yet, and a child at the age of 15 is also here. Why do I tell so much about them kids? Hell do I know, I just want to write something more. The film wasn`t utterly disposable, but it was still pretty lame, and a bit too romantic for my perverted mind. Give me blood, guts and pussy (trademark of the Dwarves) you morons!

Jiri Grosek - A light breakfast in the shade of Acropolis

Pēc tam, kad biju izlasījis otro Grošeka romānu - to, kas par pusdienām, no šī biju gaidījis vairāk.

Andrew Lloyd Webber - Evita

Lai arī es joprojām uzskatu "Jesus Christ Superstar" par vienu no iespaidīgākajām rokoperām un lai arī es atzīstu, ka "Cats" ir kādi 50% baudāmas mūzikas, par "Evitu" neko tik labu es pateikt nevaru. Protams, ka manā kolekcijā šis ieraksts nokļuva tā dēļ, kā tur nemaz nav - "Don`t cry for me Argentina" Madonnas izpildījumā. Jo - ņem vērā - šeit darīšana ir ar oriģinālo Brodvejas mūziklu, nevis Holivudas filmu (lai arī, visticamākais, atšķirības ir diezgan nelielas).

Fritz the Cat

Te nu laikam mēs ar Lienču mazliet pāršāvām par strīpu, bet - what the heck! - bija taču tā vērts, apskatīties, kā tautieši reaģēs! Proti, šo jauko septiņdesmito gadu multfilmu biju paņēmis līdzi pie Noras (un Normunda, kurš gan bija Nigērijā) uz viņas dz.d. un manas v.d. svinībām. Uzreiz cilvēkus brīdināju, ka tā ir septiņdesmito gadu multfilma, kas kā pirmā animācijas filma ASV vērtēšanas padomē izpelnījusies X vērtējumu - visstingrāko, kāds vien iespējams.

Jiri Grosek - Five Facecies a`la Rousse

Did you get the title? I did not. Who cares anyhow? The whole thing is a collection of 5 stories that are somehow connected by a goddess bringing death. The characters include a man working in a museum who`s being turned into a sculpture after he`s seen the goddess with the head of the legendary Meduse in her hands, his wife and some other people.

The Tiger and the Snow

Roberto Benini - Jūs turpināt mani apburt! Protams, es apzinos, ka Benini ir šis tas kopīgs ar Vudiju Alenu, taču, ja godīgi, mani tas ne mazākajā mērā neuztrauc. Vismaz es nevaru neatzīt, ka divas viņa filmas, kuras esmu redzējis, ir ierindojamas starp emocionāli visspēcīgākajiem kinodarbiem, kādus es jebkad esmu redzējis.

Bad Religion - The Gray Race

Šādu mūziku, kādu spēlē "Bad Religion", es reizēm klausos ar lielāko prieku, kad uznāk pareizais noskaņojums. Vai 1. maijā sēžot darbā ir pareizais noskaņojums, lai klausītos agresīvu un ātru pankroku? Domājams gan. Tādas dziesmas kā Dead Kenedys ietekmētā "The Gray Race", melodiski poppancīgā "Them and Us" vai Offspring-iskā "Pity the Dead" ir tieši tādas zāles, kādas man šodien nepieciešamas. Reizēm Bad Religion mēģina arī kādu liriskāku noti, kā, piemēram, dziesmā "The Streets of America", kur var saskatīt pat zināmu līdzību ar Pearl Jam mūziku (jā, es zinu, ka my baby`s in love with Eddie Vedder) un varbūt pat ar Green Day un U2 kopdarbu. Protams, pancīgajai mūzikai ir viens liels trūkums - lai arī šajā albūmā ir 15 dziesmas, sajūta ir tāda, ka to ir kādas 3-4, jo atšķirības starp tām ir diezgan minimālas, lai arī lipīgums ir labs un, piemēram, "Drunk Sincerity" ritmiņš man šķiet ļoti simpātisks.

Bunuel y la mesa del rey Salomon

Luis Bunuel was one of the greatest directors that ever came out of Spain. And when I got this film I thought it was one of his works. But I was proven wrong - because I thout it was something like "Bunuel`s mesa del ray Salomon" but "y" in Spanish, as it was proven by "Y tu mama tambien" means "and". So it`s more like "Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail". With the exception that this isn`t a real adventure film and that the grail is replaced with king Solomon`s table which can tell both past and future. On Bunuels journey his two friends are with him - painter Salvadore Dali and poet Luis Garcia Lorca. The film is totally surreal, quite in the same style Bunuel did in the 1930s together with Dali ("The Andalusyan Dog" is surely the best example). It`s not clear when all the things happen - is it some twisted today with them all having jumped out of the thirties, or is it some twisted 1930s with modern Japanese tourists. Anyhow, this film is bizarre. Although at the beginning I thought this to be somewhat similar to "National Treasure" this film reminds me of nothing. And I don`t know whether this means something good or bad. By the way, what was "The Andalusyan Dog" about? I guess the same thing. And that would be? ...Um,... don`t know.

Water Drops on Burning Rocks

I have absolutely no idea why this isn`t in the factoid already. Weird, I was sure it was here. The film has a script written by Rainer Fassbinder and it ain`t no surprise to a person who know who Fassbinder was and what this film is about. First, burning rocks are represented by a young lad that`s invited to visit a man who ain`t that young anymore. So they start talking and the older man seduces the younger one and they become lovers. The young guy had a girl he wanted to marry but it doesn`t work out because of the older man. So they live together and the young dude gets more feminine day by day. But then the old man`s ex arrives - a transsexual person that was a man once but changed sex so the man would want him/her again. The young mans girlfriend comes to visit him to free him from the Water drops. But she also gets seduced by the Man. And in the end the young guy commits suicide, but the old man has sex with the young girl and the transvestite. Happy end, indeed. I don`t really know if saying "i kinda liked this film" would be a good thing in the exact case, but it`s true. The film may be a bit too perverse for my taste but it doesn`t necessarily make it worse. Or does it?