Here's a different post for the weekend: Hollywood is a cesspool of money and vanities which also manages to be entertaining from time to time or at least did so until recently.
But out of the cabinet of mediocre and crass populist flicks that Hollywood produced over the years, sometimes came real gems as well as great actors which could truly be inspiring. Jim Carrey through his two best and most profound movies: "The Truman Show" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" comes out as one of the most profound actor of his generation. Forget the entertainer of "The Mask" or "Dumb and Dumber" on which he built his career, it is in the far more profound social and mind exploration movies mentioned above that he revealed his depth.
Here's what the critique wrote:
Jim Carrey. He is without a doubt one of the most iconic comedians of our lifetime. Once upon a time, he was a cartoon character in human form. Unlike any other comedian his face stretched beyond human limits and he was able to move like he had no bones. But after his recent appearance we have to question whether his face is even real. Jim Carrey has had a legendary career, from The Mask, to his breakout role in Ace Ventura and Dumb and Dumber and not to forget the Grinch. The reason I am speaking in past tense is because there came a point this all ended, After reaching the top of the mountain, he realized it was all a facade and started playing in more serious movies like The Truman Show and Eternal Sunshine and suddenly Jim Carrey stopped joking. The smiles faded. And over the years he has quietly been planning his exit. Hollywood didn't know what to do with him anymore. Neither did audiences, who kept laughing while he was trying to be taken seriously. Honestly, to this day, it’s still hard to figure this man out. So today, we're unpacking the King of Comedy to show how one man conquered Hollywood and then decided to disappear from the spotlights.
What truly makes him unique is that paradoxically for a comedian, in a society gone insane, he kept his sanity and started voicing "truths" which is when Hollywood not surprisingly decided that he wasn't funny anymore and should keep his newly acquired wisdom for himself. Go figure.
If you haven't seen both "The Truman Show" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", you should. These movies provide excellent glimpses behind the curtain, on par with "The Matrix". Ideas which once seen, cannot be unseen like flickering shadows of reality on a cave wall to paraphrase Plato.
No wonder he disappeared from Hollywood
By the way, here's the list of the 20 best movies I am aware of in this specific category by Chronological order:
Forbidden Planet 1956 - Dated but exploring a great idea: The power of the Mind.
Mon Oncle (French) 1958 - The clash between the ancient and modern worlds.
2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 - Great ideas like AI long before they became mainstream.
WEST WORLD 1973 - Futuristic Amusement Park - We're almost there!
Blade Runner 1982 - AI and the nature of humanity and morality.
Pink Floyd - The Wall 1982 - Almost a different category and still this deep movie belongs.
1984 (The Movie) 1984 - Not as good as the book which is now somewhat dated.
They Live 1988 - Not a great movie but exploring a great idea.
Terminator-2 1991 - Almost there unfortunately.
The Lawnmower Man 1992 - Early merger of mind and machine.
Groundhog Day 1993 - Another astounding idea.
The Truman Show 1998 - Must see as discussed above.
The Matrix 1999 - Quite amazing that such a movie was even made (Forget the Aliens!)
S1mone (Al Pacino) 2001 - 25 years early. This is our reality, now.
Minority Report 2002 - Is "pre"-crime our future?
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004 - Truly amazing and deep movie.
99 Francs (French) 2007 - Marketing at its worst.
Transcendence 2014 - What super-intelligence could look like.
Ex Machina 2014 - AI + Robot = Human?
Blade Runner 2049 2017 - A good remake of the 1982 Blockbuster.
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