Everybody's a critic - 'Eternal sunshine of the Spotless Mind'

Four stars (out of four)

New ideas are refreshing amid the tired movie scripts being developed now and this movie is certainly original. That being said, it may not appeal to everyone.

Those expecting a gut-busting laughfest from Jim Carrey should reconsider seeing this movie. Carrey's performance is perfect, as is Kate Winslet's, but not what you are used to from either of them.

Charlie Kaufman's ("Being John Malcovich," "Adaptation") script, paints the two main characters as real people with a believable relationship and real faults.

In a brief summary, Joel (Carrey) is in a deep depression after a breakup with his impulsive girlfriend Clementine (Winslet). After finding out that Clementine has erased him from her memory with help from a company specializing in neutralizing certain memories, Joel decides to have the procedure done as well. He then tries to stop halfway through the procedure, when he decides that the memories are too precious to lose.

I hope that you give this movie a chance, because it's one of the best of the year.

- Ryan Smith, student

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HH (out of four)

This movie is an almost surreal trip through the mind of love and love lost. What would you be willing to give up to forget painful moments?

Once he learns that his former love Clementine (Kate Winslet) has erased her memories of him, Joel (Jim Carrey) decides he doesn't want to remember the pain of losing Clem and has the same procedure done.

The movie proceeds backward through Joel's memories as they are erased, showing Joel (and us) the good and bad times that he and Clem shared. He decides that he wants to keep the memories of Clem, learning that life is not where we go, but the experiences that we have getting there.

This movie has a great concept, but is very slow and confusing in the first hour. I did not enjoy watching the movie and felt as if I had seen an independent remake of "Total Recall." I went into this movie with an open mind, but wish I could have this removed from my memory.

- Anson Rinesmith, Internet operations manager

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One star (out of four)

"Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" brings to mind two phenomena of the late 1960s and early 1970s: Janis Joplin and her Bobby McGee; and the Monkees and their less-than-stellar attempt at capturing the human psyche on film in their Jack Nicholson collaboration, "Head."

The title, and the quote from which it is taken, suggest that the mind without blemish is a happy mind.

Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey portray two lonely characters who find love and a new appreciation of life together. However, Winslet's character decides to seek her freedom from the relationship, and has all memory of their life together erased. In desperation to relieve his pain, Carrey's character also seeks to erase his memory.

Snippets of memories remind the viewer of films portraying opium dens and acid parties.

Carrey has sought freedom from his comic stereotype in this film. Perhaps he should take heed of his character's experience and Janis Joplin's warning that "freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose."

- Marty Koeller, wireless sales representative