Joshua’s article explains how silly it is that we’re still using outdated, expensive SMS messages in a world where we’re all carrying devices capable of so much more.

In my response, I shall state what I believe the reasons are.

1. Not everyone has a smartphone

My Mum doesn’t have one, neither does my Dad. They are a minority these days but there are still thousands of people who just use dumbphones. SMS treats everyone equally, regardless of device.

2. SMS gives good UX

Whatever your choice of phone, SMS works in pretty much the same way. It’s not capable of doing anything but text (MMS is a different topic) so for that reason, it’s simple.

3. Messaging apps are crap

Not all apps are available for all mobile platforms. If your friend doesn’t have a Blackberry you can’t send them a BBM from your Blackberry. WhatsApp doesn’t work the same way across platforms and due to being independent, probably won’t exist in 5 years time. Not only this but how do you know which app everyone will be using in 6 months? “Kik me” What?

4. Email is horrible

Email is fairly standard but it’s horrible to use. For starters, you have to set it all up yourself. It just doesn’t come as easily as text messaging because it does so much more.

Let’s face it, SMS just works and there’s nothing better at this time. With manufacturers and service vendors playing their cards so close to their chest, there’s not likely to be any time soon.

Fast talking insurance salesman, Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) is good at his job and he knows it. He knows the business inside out. He even seems to think he knows how to commit the perfect murder. Oddly, the movie begins with Walter limping into his office, clearly in some discomfort, in the early hours. He sits down to record a memo to his colleague, confessing to his so-called perfect murder. He tells us how he didn’t get the money or the girl. At that point I was wondering why I should bother watching the rest. I know he did it and I know he failed.

Okay, so now I’m curious. How does a man end up in that situation? Perhaps the murder wasn’t so perfect after all. Maybe it was and something else went wrong. I guess we have to leave it to Walter and his beautifully written narrative.

Back to the girl and the money… The girl is Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), the wife of a businessman who is simply known as Mr. Dietrichson. She wants him dead and would like to profit from it. At first Walter doesn’t take the bait but the combination of his cockiness and her allure get the better of him.

The events that lead to the confession are not as cut and dried as you might think. There are several twists and turns in what ends up being a very clever plot, laced with exceptional dialogue. After being on the edge of my seat for 2 hours, this one’s getting a 4 out of 5 from me.

Double Indemnity on IMDB

Year: 1944

Director: Billy Wilder

Writers: Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler, Charles M. Cain

My Rating: 4/5

Why am I doing movie reviews?

I’ve started with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. More… Many more will follow. I hope.

Why am I doing this?

Seeing as you asked, I’m doing it for my own personal gratification. I’ve seen a lot of movies. A lot of great movies. I’ve also seen a lot of not-so-good movies. At one point in my life I was watching 1-2 movies every single day. The problem with watching so many movies is that you forget them, at least I do. I often find that several movies will blur into one memory.

To fix my memory problems and make the good ones really stand out, I’m going to review as many of them as I can. Even movies that I have seen before, whether I liked them or not, I will watch again and review.

No, I probably won’t get through the whole list and I will probably throw a few other movies into the mix myself.

It’ll be fun, hopefully. If that stops being the case, I’ll stop doing it.

As much as I love you, my dear reader, this is for me.

I’m happy to share it with you though and I have absolutely no objection to you doing the same!

As soon as the movie starts and we wake up with the main character Joel (Jim Carrey) we feel a kind of empathy with his sucky rat-race life, as he heads off to work. Just another boring da… wait, this is romance, obviously something extraordinary will happen. Predictably, something does happen at this point and the romantic journey begins with a rare act of impulse.

As you would expect, he meets a girl. That girl is a neurotic, impulsive and somewhat superficial character called Clementine, played by Kate Winslet. Their meeting has a kind of awkward cuteness and an air of something not quite being right. Trust me, when it clicks as to why, it clicks hard.

Enter the conflict. Not surprisingly, the character traits you pick up on from both characters cause them to drive each other apart. At this stage of the movie, I’m thinking it’s all a bit standard, save for some nice Michael Chapman style photography in the opening titles which seem to come in quite late in the game.

It all starts to get a bit strange when a memory wiping procedure enters into the plot. When I say strange, I’m talking David Lynch strange. Initially I thought the movie might be a mobius strip like Lynch’s Mulholland Drive. Some of the visual effetcs and concepts that are introduced frome hereon in are more in-line with sci-fi than romance. It’s at this point that you have to pay attention because conflict gets added to conflict and a whole new romantic sub-plot (or maybe more) gets introduced. Did you wonder why someone as high profile as Kirsten Dunst was playing a mere secretary? It turns out that she’s more important to the plot than you might at first think.

What you’re wondering now is whether there’s a happy ending or not. It’s a romance so there must be a happy ending, right?

I’m not going to spoil it for you if you haven’t seen it yet because I strongly recommend that you do. It gets a 4/5 rating from me. Surprisingly enjoyable, not too mushy and slightly warped in places. Great stuff, however you’re wired up.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind on IMDB

Year: 2004

Director: Michel Gondry

Writers: Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry, Pierre Bismuth

My Rating: 4/5

Why am I doing movie reviews?