It was my ambition to go to the cinema yesterday but due to spending too much money on an mp3 player, and tiring myself out looking for the right one, I decided to stay home and watch Memento. It's a film I think I've only seen once in the cinema, or perhaps twice at home and not really paying attention. Seeing it last night it for the first time made a lot of sense to me - I don't think I'd ever truly understood the concept. Now, I see clearly how it works. Unfortunately I missed the last 30 minutes so if anyone has it on video I'd very much like to borrow it. Anyway, it's quite compelling, but is it the kind of film one can watch again and again? Is the innovation of it lost on a second viewing? I think you have to answer this for me. Once you get past the 'gimmick' are you left with anything worthwhile? I think so - the film is about the importance of memory, its manipulation, and our manipulation of it: memory being a significant element, theoretically, that distinguishes us as higher animals. So, thoughtful and intriguing, and I still need to watch the last 30 minutes...
Honourable mention today to the pilot of the boat on New Year's Eve who had to speed up and down the Thames with an arsenal of fireworks setting themselves off behind him. When I saw the pictures on TV I was quite impressed. You could barely see the rest of the boat for all the lights exploding around it.
