This is
another time-travelling / altering fate story. Evan Treborn one day realizes
that he has the ability to go back in time by reading his teenage journals. He
travels back in time to moments which he has memory blackouts. He uses the
opportunity to try to save his childhood sweetheart from a tragic life. But
each time he changes the past, he finds that the future is changed into
something that he doesn't like. For example, he ends up in a prison or he loses
his leg. Finally, in the director's cut, Evan chooses to commit suicide inside
his mother's womb because he thinks that the best thing for his childhood
sweetheart and the world is that he was not born.
This is a
radical plot. In Doraemon's time travelling, things usually gets better but not
worse. But in this story, the more travelling to the past, the worse is the
future. That sucks. Evan's mother reveals that she has several miscarriages. It
hints to Evan that his elder brothers and sisters also committed suicide. It is
a horrible conclusion that the non-existence of the protagonist is the resolution.
This is a really dark story.
This is the seventh installment of the McDull movies.
Last time in McDull: Me and My Mum (2014), McDull grew up and became a detective. In this movie, McDull is still a primary school kid in a parallel universe.
The mood of the movie is nostalgic. The story is about how people in a small town react to a global threat: a green alien monster which destroys the world. It reminds me of 20th Century Boys (2008).
The McDull series used to localize the protagonists in Hong Kong. But in this movie, Hong Kong is never mentioned. Probably because the producers want to market the movie to a broader market. The small town actually looks like a village by the sea in Greek. Most of the screen time happens in U.S.A., e.g. the destruction of a city, the robot marathon, and the final battle with the monster, etc.
The old familiar characters are gone. No more McMug, Darby, May, June, Goosie, Fai. But there's a new character called April.
An interesting point to note is the subtle LGBT message embedded in the movie. It all came to me when I saw the rainbow-colored parachute. In addition, how the Rice Cooker Robot defeats the monster is very controversial. It makes it "comfortable" and the monster determines to take the Rice Cooker Robot with him to its planet. But the "massage" sequence is very hardcore. I don't think children understands it but this sequence is inappropriate for them. Moreover, there's a sequence in which McDull insists on wearing cosplay dress and a wig (Sailor Moon) to wander in the city. It can only be interpreted as a LGBT message or it is a completely meaningless sequence.
In my opinion, McDull movies usually have deeper meanings for adults. Sometimes the ending is dark. Therefore, it is not recommended to bring children to the cinema as some children became upset in the middle of the movie and their parents were busy consoling them and missed the resolution of the story. A movie isn't complete without a resolution. So never bring children to a cinema who are not mature enough to stay calm until the every end of the movie.
The theme of this movie is the infinite choices and possibilities in life. This is a what-if movie concerning "what will happen if you do this and that". There are a number of what-if movies before Mr. Nobody, such as Groundhog Day (1993), Sliding Doors (1998), Run Lola Run (1998), etc.
The premise is the recount of Nemo Nobody's life by himself at 118-year-old. A journalist sneaks into his hospital room and interviews him. It turns out that Nemo has lived three different lives, concurrently. This not only confuses the journalist but also the audience.
***Spoilers Alert***
The movie starts with a psychology experiment. And then the dead Nemo/ narrator asked, "What did I do to deserve this?"
Nemo remembers everything because the Angels of Oblivion forget to wipe his memory out before he comes to earth. When he is nine years-old, his parents separate. He has to choose between his father and mother.
The young Nemo says, "You have to make the right choice. As long as you don't choose, everything remains possible."
In the story line that he chooses his mother: at age 15, Nemo meets Anna.
-> Nemo insults Anna's friends and they never see each other again
-> Nemo admits that he can't swim -> they become close -> they are separated by their parents -> at age 34 Nemo becomes a pool cleaner -> Nemo meets Anna again -> she gives him her number -> rain wipes out the number
-> at age 34 Nemo becomes a television host -> his car plummets into a lake and he drowns
In the story line that he chooses his father: at age 15, Nemo meets Elise
-> Elise accepts him -> Elise asks Nemo to spread her ashes in Mars -> they get married -> Elise has depression -> Nemo burns his car
-> at age 34, right after their wedding ceremony, a oil-tank truck explodes -> Elise dies -> Nemo becomes a television host -> his co-worker's car plummets into a lake and drowns
-> Nemo meets the co-worker's widow Anna --> Anna rejects him
-> Nemo takes minute-per-minute pictures of decaying food and flowers (implies that he is obsessed with life and death)
Nemo writes a sci-fi story on a typewriter
-> Nemo wakes up from a freezing state in a satellite station -> he spreads Elise's ashes in Mars
-> the satellite station explodes -> Nemo dies
-> Nemo meets Anna for the first time in a satellite station -> the satellite station explodes -> they die
-> Elise rejects him -> Nemo gets into a car accident -> Nemo stays in a vegetative state
-> Elise rejects him -> Nemo decides to marry the first girl whom he will dance with -> Nemo marries Jean --> Nemo is unhappy and bored with his life -> he goes to a hotel room -> an assassin kills him during his bath -> his body is dumped
It seems that all of his choices suck.
I think the way how the shocking truth is revealed (i.e. Old Nemo tells the journalist, "We are imagined by 9 year old child, faced with an impossible choice.") is similar to the way the truth is revealed in Fight Club (1999) in the end. It makes you wanting to watch the movie all over again, bearing the truth.
Color is an important cue in the movie. The three wives of Nemo are represented by three different colors: red for Anna, representing passion; blue for Elise, representing depression; yellow for Jean, representing greed (I personally don't find Jean representing greed. I think she represents unrequited love. Nemo randomly picks her as his wife. She loves Nemo but Nemo doesn't love her back. It's pathetic.)
In my opinion, there are quite a number of memorable quotes in the movie. For example, "Everything we see exists, we can see it. I can see mommy's eyes, but I can't see my eyes. The little baby can see his hands, but he cannot see himself. So, does he really exist? Do I really exist?" (This explicitly is a question on existentialism.) "In chess, it's called Zugzwang...when the only viable move...is not to move."
I think most people find the movie confusing is because of its non-linear editing. The story itself is profound, yet the editing makes it even more complicated. (By the way, a very good non-linear narrative story is Memento (2000).)
Doctor Who Season 3 Episode 10
Ratings:
Premise: Good
Plot: Good
Characters: Average
Dialogue: Good
"I have to admit that I have so many interest. So many interests that I don't have time to became an expert in each interest. My strengths are learning fast and good at doing research." (version 1.0 is here)
Reviewing my achievements, over the past 5 years, I have taken lessons on Intermediate Electric Guitar, Attractive Presentation Skills, Wedding Planning, Acrylic Painting, Art Therapy, Intellectual Property Management, Real Estate, Air Pistol (one of the Olympic games)... I have also done a number of voluntary services serving the young, the elderly, and the minority. And I am currently independently conducting a Meaning of Life project, which involves intensive researching, and studying of Theology, Latin, Spanish, and hopefully Konic Greek, and Hebrew. The books I have read and information I processed is massive. And I expect that this will be a life-long project.
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream (Bung, bung, bung, bung) Make him the cutest that I've ever seen (Bung, bung, bung, bung) Give him two lips like roses and clover (Bung, bung, bung, bung) Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over
Sandman, I'm so alone Don't have nobody to call my own Please turn on your magic beam Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
Bung, bung, bung, bung
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream Make him the cutest that I've ever seen Give him the word that I'm not a rover Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over
Sandman, I'm so alone Don't have nobody to call my own Please turn on your magic beam Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
Bung, bung, bung, bung
Mr. Sandman bring us a dream (Yes) Give him a pair of eyes with a come-hither gleam Give him a lonely heart like Pagliacci And lots of wavy hair like Liberace
Mr Sandman, someone to hold (Someone to hold) Would be so peachy before we're too old So please turn on your magic beam Mr Sandman, bring us, please, please, please Mr Sandman, bring us a dream
Marvel
has Captain America: Civil War where Captain America vs. Ironman vs.
Spiderman. While DC has Batman vs. Superman plus Wonder Woman.
I have watched all Marvel Movies (including the Guardians of the Galaxy, Deadpool,
Antman, X-men, Ironman, the Avengers, except the TV franchises, Wolverine
series, and the new Spiderman franchises) and all DC Batman Movies (except the
TV franchises). I haven't watched any Superman movies before this movie, but
I'm interested in watching them now.
This movie has the same old same old theme as Christopher Nolan's Batman series, i.e. whether Batman is protecting the city or destroying it during the course of his battles with the enemies.
The first
scene of Batman V Superman is the death of Bruce Wayne's parents. And here
again we go through the same old story behind the bat cave, which was vividly
depicted in Batman Begins (2005).
And then
there is Superman's fight with the alien. A giant spaceship in the sky. It
reminds me of Doctor Who Christmas Special: The Christmas Invasion (2005),
where a giant alien star is in the sky.
To be
honest, I think Christopher Nolan's Batman is very remarkable. I like the combo
of Christian Bale as Batman and Michael Caine as Alfred. Even though Ben
Affleck's resume has a good job in portraying a suspiciously evil
character in Gone Girl (my review on Gone Girl is here), he does not have the physique as Batman. He looks fat
and clumsy in that Batman suit. I remember Jeremy Irons' performance in Die
Hard: With a Vengeance (1995). But I like Michael Caine's Alfred better,
because he looks much older and wiser. Henry Cavill is very good-looking. But
his character as Superman is dumb. He could have passed the spear to Batman or
Wonder Woman. People said that Jesse Eisenberg tried too hard. But I think he
did a good job in using his awkwardness to portray a psychotic sociopath.
It's ashamed that the screenplay did not give him a background story in depth
as we did not understand his motivation. That's why his character looks
ridiculous. I don't know why when I see the performance of Holly Hunter, I
think of Glenn Close. Wonder Woman, almost universally agreed, is the best part
of the movie. The music rocks and the character rocks.
Interestingly,
DC's Superman is Marvel's Spiderman as they are both journalists. DC's Batman
is Marvel's Ironman as they are both rich playboys. So Alfred is Jarvis?
In my
opinion, if they use retro pop music like how they used in the Guardians
of the Galaxy and Deadpool, then the movie would be way cooler.
Ratings:
Premise:
Average Plot:
Average Characters: Good Dialogue: Average
Recommendation:
Recommended
I
recommend watching this movie because it is the introduction to the following
franchises of DC comics movies. Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Justice League
Part I, The Flash, Aquaman, Shazam!, Justice League Part II, Cyborg, Green
Lantern Corps, Batman x3 are coming.
And Then There Were None is a
three-part BBC TV mini-series adapted from the same-named famous novel by
Agatha Christie.
The story
is set on an isolated island. The
scenery is poetic and the cinematography is poetic. The set production is
beautiful and it really looks like the 40's. The editing is excellent as the
flashback of the characters are done brilliantly without interrupting the flow
of the story. I like the practical effects in the story, for example, the
hanging and gunshot looks realistic.
The acting
is superb and I recognize many faces such as Sam Neill, Miranda Richardson, Charles
Dance, Burn Gorman, etc. I remember Sam Neill and Miranda Richardson acted
together in Merlin (1998). Burn Gorman always act as the bad boy, for instance,
in Torchwood, Agatha Christie's Marple, and The Dark Knight Rises, etc.
By the way,
there are some very good senior British actors that I like, to name a few, Ian
Richardson [Murder Rooms: Mysteries of the Real Sherlock Holmes (2000), Gormenghast
(2000)], Ian McKellen [X-men (2000), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of
the Ring (2001), Vicious (2013), Mr. Holmes (2015)], Michael Caine [Batman
Begins (2005), The Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight
Rises (2012), Cary Grant [Bringing Up Baby (1938), The Philadelphia Story
(1940), A Affair to Remember (1957), North by Northwest (1959), Walk Don't Run
(1966)], Christopher Lee [Gormenghast (2000), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
(2005), Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)].
A plot hole
I can think of is that the figures are removed as each person is killed. They
can then just hide somewhere near the table and observe who removes the
figures!
This is
another case on lynching. It reminds me of Curtain: Poirot's Last Case which also
talks about lynching.