Thursday, November 22, 2018

Thursday Movie Picks-Non-Linear films


I feel like my brain is non-linear because I seem to jump from one thought to another and still the brain cells seem to be dying and I can’t even blame good old booze. OK, that last sentence I blame on my Lydocaine infusion I had on Tuesday when i wrote this up:). I decided not to go the old movie route and went modern. It will be interesting to see what films are chosen this week and, I bet the last one I chose will be popular. To find out, check out Wandering Through The Shelves to see the others’ picks, here are my 3.

1. PULP FICTION-1994


I saw this film and instantly loved it even though it is not liked by some due to the profuse use of profanity but I didn’t mind it a bit in this film. Just warning you:) because, not only the language, but it is a violent comedy..from shootings to something very, very weird in a business basement. You have 2 hitmen, a mob boss, a gangster’s moll, a boxer, his nemesis and the list continues. This film resurrected John Travolta’s career, brought Quentin Tarantino to the forefront as a director and made Uma Thurman a household name. In fact, at that time, when I was younger and, ahem, thinner, many people thought I looked like her and I dressed up like Uma from this movie for Halloween that year. It’s violent, profane, funny, weird, well-acted and it has some great music, in fact, I own the CD. You know, if they find out that Quentin Tarantino is a serial killer, I would not be surprised.

2. MAGNOLIA-1999


This is one film I need to revisit because I was impressed when it came out. It has a huge cast that, somehow, all end up connected in some way. You have an old man dying from cancer(Jason Robard’s final film role as he was dying from cancer), a sweet-natured cop who wishes for love. You have a rich motivational speaker played by Tom Cruise and a, once famous kid who was on a game show, who is now washed up. I can’t tell you how many actors are in this but due to great writing, frogs and direction, it’s a film worth seeing.

3. MEMENTO-2000


Now this is a great film that is also one I must revisit. I would not be surprised if this will be the popular film this week. It stars Guy Pierce who has retained his long term memory but can no longer retain any short term memory. We know he lost his wife in a murder and he is trying to find out who killed her and the only way to retain his new findings is by tattooing what he has learned on his body. We watch this film “backwards” and with each part, we learn a little bit more. A very interesting and unique way of writing a movie that should have won the Oscar for best screenplay and it should have won for Editing plus be nominated for more in my humble opinion.

What are your 3?

43 comments:

  1. Oh, I absolutely love Memento. It was the first film I thought of when I saw the theme. I had the DVD, but it disappeared (think 'someone' borrowed it --- a son? Lol) . You could watch it in the order events happened. Great movie! And you are right about the awards it should have won.

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  2. I've seen all three of your picks! This rarely happens! I figured Momento would be popular too so I tried to avoid it, but they're all good films!

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    1. OMG! This is rare...the champagne must come out...hahahaaa.

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  3. Good choices though I haven't seen Magnolia, it seems like too much Tom Cruise for me. I hate, hated Pulp Fiction but Memento is a fantastic film. I really need to revisit it since I haven't seen it in years. I really thought Guy Pearce would have had a bigger career with the one-two punch of this and L.A. Confidential but apparently he got caught in a drug spiral. Too bad, he's a talent.

    I went with two older films and one of more recent vintage.

    Out of the Past (1947)-Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) is trying to restart his life in a small Sierra Nevada town running a filling station when a henchman of his old fremeny Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas) shows up and pulls him back in to hunt down Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer) who has stolen $40,000 from Whit and shot him four times. Sterling doesn’t care about the money he just wants the girl back. And we’re off on a time jumping tale of greed, vengeance, hate and treachery. So begins one of the quintessential noirs based on the novel Build My Gallows High with two fantastic male leads and one of the queens of the genre, Jane Greer, in her best performance as black hearted pit viper Kathie.

    Two for the Road (1967)-As wealthy Joanna (Audrey Hepburn) and Mark Wallace (Albert Finney) take a three day journey from their London home to St. Tropez for the unveiling of an opulent home Mark has designed they reflect back on their now 10 year old crumbling marriage. The film follows a non-linear time table as it jumps through the various phases of the Wallace’s courtship, marriage and estrangement.

    Go (1999)- Grocery store clerk Simon (Desmond Askew) occasionally sells drugs from his cash register at work, so when soap opera actors Adam (Scott Wolf) and Zack (Jay Mohr) come looking for Ecstasy on a quiet Christmas Eve, they are surprised to find Ronna (Sarah Polley) covering his shift. Desperate for money, Ronna decides to become an impromptu drug dealer, unaware that Adam and Zack are secretly working for obsessed narcotics officer Burke (William Fichtner). That’s just the set up for the crazy quilt of a film that follows. Challenging, confusing and funny.

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    1. Yeah...people either love Pulp Fiction or hate it. I had a feeling you would fall into the latter. I almost went with your first 2 picks because they are great. I much prefer the original Out of the Past to the dreck with Jeff Bridges and James Woods. Two For The Road is excellent and a great study on marriage and relationships. In fact, Hepburn and Finley had an affair which was very healing for Hepburn who was going through a bad end to her marriage. I never heard of the last one but it sounds like a fun one

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  4. I've never seen Magnolia. I wonder why I missed that one. But yeah, Memento...

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  5. Hi Birgit - these once more I've failed to see - perhaps I will have a look from your recommendations - cheers Hilary

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    1. One day you will have seen one but I’m so happy you always comment..love it!

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  6. I LOVE Pulp Fiction and Memento. They are two of my all time favourites :)

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  7. Loved Pulp Fiction, I thought John Travolta was brilliant. I'm never sure about Quentin T as I think he is hugely disturbed.
    Have seen Memento, but it hasn't stuck with me and can't remember anything about it. Good choices though, Kae x

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    1. You are so right about Q.T. John Travolta was excellent in this movie

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  8. Memento never really did anything for me. Was kinda a more grounded Clean Slate. Yep, sure that weird thing in a business basement haha

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    1. Oh bummer on Memento. Yup that basement seen make me go eewwww

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  9. I might choose Back to the Future. Nothing else comes to mind right now. I can hardly do linear, much less nonlinear, thinking.

    Be well and safe.

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    1. Back to the Future is great! I’m with you about the thinking part

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  10. I can't think of any old movies with the non-linear approach. I don't know that style was very acceptable back then. You picked some excellent ones.

    The one that came to my mind is a film that I saw a few weeks ago and it kept me confused until all the stories were brought together at the end. That film was The Girl on the Train.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    1. Yes, there are very few old films with a non linear story line. I still have to see Girl on a Train

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  11. R dog and pupl fiction used the non linear route so so well.

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  12. Three great choices.

    At first when I saw Christopher Walken's face I thought, "He was in Pulp Fiction? Ohhhh, yes. That scene."

    Memento was a little confusing in a terrific way.

    Magnolia was fun, too. I don't always like Tom Cruise in his films but I enjoyed him here. And if I ever meet Philip Seymour Hoffman in the afterlife, I'm gonna shake the s**t out of him for throwing away his life and wasting such talent.



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    1. Yes...that scene was so touching with a great punch line near the end...hahaaa sorry for the pun. Tom Cruise seems to be against type here which is great. Hoffman was so great in acting and so F’d up in his personal life. He went the way of so many....

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  13. Arrival is a great recent example of nonlinear storytelling. (Oh, and also, spoiler alert?)

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  14. Cloud Atlas which I saw because i’d read the book and couldn’t figure out how they’d make it. Also, parts were made in Glasgow and it was weird to see one side of a street I recognised with the other side completely CGI.

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    1. I do want to see this movie and I bet the book was much better. That is cool that it was filmed partly in your neck of the woods

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  15. I absolutely LOVED Pulp Fiction! It was so unique at the time.
    Magnolia was interesting but they kind of lost me with the frogs at the end. LOL I haven't seen Memento, but I'd like to. One that comes to mind is Crash (2004). It's a compelling character study with lots of great actors, including Don Cheadle and Sandra Bullock. Have a good weekend!

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    1. Crash is a good movie that gets a lot of flack now which is a shame. Yes...the famous frogs moment...I love it and am confused at the same time.

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  16. Hi, Birgit!

    As much as I like the elements you dislike in Pulp Fiction, somehow I never got around to watching that film. Thanks for reminding me. One thing is clear. You don't ever want to make the mistake of kicking sand on Christopher Walken at the beach, or on Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Samuel L. Jackson or Harvey Keitel, for that matter. :)

    The trailer for Magnolia is excellent. I can't believe I never heard of that movie because I love Wm. H. Macy, P.S. Hoffman and director Paul Thomas Anderson (no relation) and have seen and enjoyed other films he directed including Hard Eight starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Boogie Nights featuring Heather Graham (and her bosoms) as "Rollergirl" and Punch-Drunk Love, my pick as Adam Sandler's best acting performance (opposite the dishy English actress Emily Watson).

    The trailer for Memento also got me interested. Here again it is a film I didn't know about. It seems like one I'd enjoy.

    Thank you very much for your support during my bereavement, BB. Barring another family disaster, I am now ready to resume full time blogging with a new music post coming tomorrow. Thank you also for the kind and comforting emails, dear friend!

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    1. Dear Shady...I am so glad I could speak with you and that you trusted me with what you went through. I will always be there when you need me. I know you will love to see these movies as I think they a4e right up your alle6 and I hope you let me know what you think when you do. I actually like all the parts of Pulp Fiction even the WTF moments

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  17. Whoops. I managed to miss all three. I remember Pulp Fiction got a lot of press.
    Hope the Lidocaine infusion helped.

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    1. That’s rare but maybe one Da you will see one of them. Yes, the infusion helps with my pain which is so good.

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  18. Birgit,

    We tried watching 'Pulp Fiction' once but just couldn't get into it. I know it's a hugely popular flick and that's why we gave it a try. Maybe, we ought to try it again. The other two films we haven't seen and to be honest the trailers didn't grab me. I checked with Netflix and Amazon Prime to see if they were available to stick on our Watch List but neither show up. What's up with the Lidocaine infusion? Sounds like whatever it is for you're not yourself, so I hop you're feeling better today. Have a pAwesome week, it's going to be a cold one!

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    1. No Pulp Fiction would not be one for you and the other 2 I am not surprised is not your bag of tea. The infusionreally helps take the pain down. When I have it, I get very stoned...hahahaaa. It take a day to “come down” and I sleep but it is worth it because my pain decreases.

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  19. Quentin Tarantino was picked by the studio to make the next trek film Pulp Fiction style and I for one want to see it but is it still a runner? I dunno. Yeah and talk about wild, this movie has it all and I've gotta ask what were those two idiots thinking picking on gang boss Marcellus Wallace? Were they f**King nuts cos we know what happens when Brad tries to pull a swiftie with the drug deal. - Awesome movie, I hope Tarantino doesn't pull out of Star Trek4

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    1. I had no idea he is to do the next Star Trek....this will be different for sure

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  20. That is a fantastic list! All three are among my all time favourites. Above all else, the singalong in Magnolia has always stuck with me - what a perfect scene.

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    1. Thanks and yes that singalong...forgot about that which is why I need to revisit

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  21. I don't like Pulp Fiction at all. Tarantino worked in a video store and worked his apex on Pulp Fiction which didn't seem-wasn't derivative of anything... so vulgar - merging violence with hip and mainstream. So "good" there were tons of copycat movies.. vulgar shocking more "shocking" really.


    I haven't seen the other two.

    #1 Mulholland Drive. All over the place... . perfectly falls into place.
    #2 and #3... Twilight Zone shows

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    1. Yeah people either like or ha5e him and his movies. He is one freaky dude. Twilight Zone movies work and have not seen Mulholland Drive

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  22. When I saw the title to this post, I instantly thought of Memento. That was the only non-linear film I could think of. I liked Magnolia too...remember buying it back in the day, but then never felt like watching it again.

    I hated Pulp Fiction, along with the majority of Tarantino's stuff, but it wasn't for the profanity. Although, looking like Uma Thurman would be just fine.

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