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Memento: The Philosophy of Fact 6

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As I mentioned in the previous review , Memento has been one of my favorite films for decades. I have never really delved into the “deeper” aspects of the film. That is odd for me. Normally, I am profoundly drawn to such things. But, Memento is such a cool idea and is so fascinatingly told, hitting both mind and heart, I never chose to delve deeper. The film stands on its own, as is, without any further speculation. It works as a low-budget noir, as an acting showcase, as a feat of editing, as a story told backward that somehow never becomes obscure. It is surprisingly suspenseful at times. It works as ambiguity that feels like atmosphere instead of confusion. I loved it that way for years and I was right to. What follows does not make it a better film. It does not change the film's worth by a single frame. It only reveals some of the intricacies Nolan was playing with, which is why I’ve been his fanboy ever since. I have seen Memento more than two dozen times. This most recent ...
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Memento at 25

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Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) keeps track of his life through polaroids and the notes he scribbles on them. Sometime around 2002 I was the marketing manager for a small tech company. We were short-handed one day so they sent me out to help a field rep with a server install. It was a small company so the tech and I spoke regularly, at least over the phone. We discovered we both liked movies, so over lunch I asked him the proverbial “seen any good movies lately?’ He mentioned Memento . He said it was a really good movie about a guy with a disability trying to find his wife's murderer. Not exactly a description that makes you drop your fork. But I trusted his taste, so the next time I was at Blockbuster I found the VHS and took the plunge. I bought the retail version of the tape shortly after renting the film. For awhile, as I tend to do, I watched it over and over. Everything was on tape back then. I just rewatched Memento for the first time in many years. In fact I’m still rewatchi...
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Back To The Beginning, With Iran Whacked

[ Read all my Iran stuff here. ]  As of 9AM Eastern -  So this may be how it ends. Not with freedom blooming in Tehran, which vanished from the script almost as soon as the bombs stopped being interesting. It ends, maybe, with a memorandum of understanding, the most boring phrase in diplomacy, which is why it is probably how wars actually end. Nobody wants to admit defeat. Nobody wants to admit the thing they said was impossible three weeks ago is now the thing they are signing in Geneva. So they invent a phrase that sounds like a fax machine became secretary of state. Wonderful. If the reporting is right, this understanding more or less takes us back to where we started, only with Iran badly damaged. Iran cannot have nuclear weapons. The Strait of Hormuz must remain open. Nuclear talks are pushed into a follow-on process. Sanctions relief, including oil sanctions and frozen assets, may be staged against compliance. Lebanon may be folded into the deal. The ceasefire gets exten...
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