100 Word Review – Memento (2000)

Based on a short story by his brother Jonathan, this is the earliest Christopher Nolan film to make it on to the IMDb Top 250 list. It currently places at number 45.

Guy Pearce stars as Leonard, a man with short term memory loss on the hunt for his wife’s murderer. To cope with his disability he creates a strange system to help him remember and piece the clues together.

Full of violence, heartache and confusion, the story is told through two timelines running in opposite directions making this is more of a brain teaser than Inception could ever dream to be.

100 Word Review – Leon (1994)

This film should be compulsory viewing. It’s that simple.

Leon (Jean Reno) a reclusive professional assassin reluctantly takes in a young girl, Mathilda (an 11 year old Natalie Portman in her feature film debut) after her family is murdered by a corrupt FBI agent Stansfield (Gary Oldman).

Written and directed by the truly talented Luc Besson (The Fifth Element), this is part buddy film, part shoot-em up action drama. There is even a little romance.

It is beautifully shot, completely compelling, exciting and quite simply a wonderful film. I am not surprised it has made it to #27 on IMDb’s Top 250 List.