Best movie of this year hands down!

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Overrated and overhyped

Absolutely the worst movie.

Alan Rudoph started out as something of a protégé of Altman's in the 1970's, assistant directing on The Long Goodbye, California Split and Nashville. Since then he's made a good number of movies of his own that, from what I've seen, tend to be rather uncommercial, slow, serious, painstakingly realistic, sometimes maybe a little dull, but often very interesting films. This is certainly a high point, very interesting indeed and very far from dull. It's a really first rate crime story comprising a long conversation between a detective, played by Harvey Keitel and the central character Cynthia, played by Demi Moore in one of her best performances. The story she has to tell is relayed to us in flashback and deals with her best friend Joyce (Glenne Headly, another excellent performance) and her truly horrible, brutal bully of a husband James (Bruce Willis, also excellent - hateful and frightening but very believable); how Joyce always liked to fantasize about killing James off; how one day he does indeed end up dead; how they agree to lose the body and say nothing to anyone, how their relationship then bends and breaks under the strain; and what happens next.The film however does have one major flaw. After slowly revealing its cards with tense interrogation scenes the ending is a complete cop out. Without giving anything away, I will say that after working so hard on revealing the facts in the detective's questioning, the truth is unveiled by us seeing the thoughts of one of the major characters. This is not only cheating, but it also leaves a second major crime unresolved. Despite this, I highly recommend you see this film.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Talk about your off-shoot movies for major actors, like these two. Demi Moore is superb in this tale of urban violence against women and family and drug use. Bruce plays a character that I haven't seen him tackle before. He does it in an outstanding manner. Glenne Headley as Demi's close friend and co-worker drops the accent and does new Jersey as it should be done. I really didn't like this story, I was very uncomfortable, but I realize, looking back that it was right on the money. The subject needs to be dissected. Moreover it needs to be taken seriously and not swept under the carpet, as it has in many cases. Stats' read out to be 1-3 women are being abused, or have been in an abusive relationship. Demi shows her mettle, she also shows what it's like to come to the end of a violent union. Glenne, her friend was supportive and a little shaky at times. I can't figure who wouldn't be, but she was also strength for her friend. This was a dark and intense brief, look into what some are living through. I am glad that this was made, it shows the grit that it takes to just make it through the day with someone of that lifestyle. Demi is the type that is really believable in this, there aren't a lot of other actresses that have the ability to reach the emotionally burned-out look and feel that Moore does in this. Willis, was and I can't say enough about his performance as he was just a 'natural' in 'MORTAL'.When you can be close and taste it even just a little it is hard to try and blame someone for using the extreme method to exit a relationship just that way. Although, they have to take responsibility in it, when it's them that started the life together in the first place. There are 'signs' that any person should be aware of before abandoning them self to a relationship commitment. Seek counseling first, or talk with close friends around you and don't ever simply base your longing on an emotional state of being...for sure you'll be sorry in the end. And you will in deed be looking for the fifty ways to leave your lover. Recommended...learn from this one too.(****)

Bryan Singer's 'The Usual Suspects' was itself a rather unusual thriller: almost the entire plot consisted of a criminal suspect telling the police a lie. By literally representing the character's words in images, the film exploited the trust that any movie-watcher has to put in what they see; the very concept of cinema only works if the audience can believe their own eyes, so it's a somewhat underhand trick to take advantage of this. But 'The Usual Suspects' nonetheless worked as a film, for three reasons. Firstly, the lie was extraordinarily entertaining in itself. Secondly, it's essentially falsity was brilliantly revealed. And thirdly, this revelation forced the viewer to reconsider everything they had seen in the film. If all movies were like this, cinema would die, but as an isolated film, it definitely made the grade.Alan Rudolph's curiously named 'Mortal Thoughts' (surely "morbid thoughts" are actually what feature in this film) is a kind of precursor to 'The Usual Susepcts', but less acclaimed, and with good reason. The basic tale is less interesting than in the later film; there's no cleverness in the revelation, and the actual truth does not anyway fundamentally change one's opinion of the characters. The film doesn't even try and fool the audience: Harvey Keitel's policeman tells the witness throughout that he doesn't believe what she is saying, and once you accept that the woman may be lying, then the possibilities are limitless (something Singer dealt with deftly by only uncovering the lie at the very end, before it truly sinks into the audience that if the story was a pack of lies, then the truth could be anything). The result is a film that is reasonably watchable, but hardly distinguished. Yet in the true story, revealed at the end, there's actually a tale of human drama that might have driven a pretty strong film. The secondary tale of someone merely lying about such a story, however, is comparatively dull.

The hairdresser, wife and mother Cynthia Kellogg (Demi Moore) is in police department being interrogated by the experienced detective John Woods (Harvey Keitel) and his partner, Detective Linda Nealon (Billie Neal). Through flashbacks, she reveals how her best friend and colleague Joyce Urbanski (Glenne Headly) married the scum and nasty James Urbanski (Bruce Willis); how hard Joyce's life with James was; and why Joyce became a criminal. The smart detective finds some contradictions in her statement and presses Cynthia, trying to disclose the truth of two murders."Mortal Thoughts" is an intriguing and underrated low budget thriller. The storyline is simple but the tight screenplay and outstanding performances of the cast are impressive. Demi Moore performs a mother living in the dilemma between disclosing a secret and hiding the truth. Harvey Keitel in the role of an astute detective is amazing, finding the controversies in the testimony of Cynthia. Glenne Headly is also great, in the role of an abused and unsecured low class woman. Bruce Willis has a different role, performing a disgusting drug addicted. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Pensamentos Mortais" ("Mortal Thoughts")Note: On 15 May 2016, I saw this film again.