'Donnie Darko' Review: Gotta Love A Good Mind-Boggling Time Travel Flick With A Creepy Ass Bunny!


• Donnie Darko, 2001 • 9.5/10 •

This movie was, and still is embraced as a genuinely oddball "cult" item almost instantly upon it's unsuccessful theatrical release back in 2001. Like most cult movies, Donnie Darko works well on numerous levels -- as a brainy piece of science-fiction, an ominous psychological thriller, or a tragic drama of a doomed young rebel. Young Gyllenhaal is amazing as the unstable but intellectually brilliant Donnie, Gyllenhaal plays a guy who can be likeable, sympathetic, and scary all at once -- so in other word's, he's always been mad talented!

Though Donnie -- sometimes in a trance-state, sometimes consciously -- commits vandalism and lashes out, he's smart enough to sense the eerie time-warp pattern behind all the odd goings-on. And he's heroic enough to make a Christ-like sacrifice at the end, for the good of everyone else, when the "end of the world" comes. Though it's possible he never had a choice -- just the insight. But by making their hero a classic underdog teen trying to come to grips with society, rather than an adult, the filmmakers created a far more poignant tragi-comic-coming-of-age horror drama. Can you actually name a better one?

Trivia: Did you know this was Seth Rogen's first ever movie appearance? Or what about When Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) tells Gretchen (Jena Malone) he accidentally burned down a house, they are walking directly in front of Jim Cunningham's (Patrick Swayze's) house. The Life Line Exercise Card that Donnie reads is about a girl finding a lost wallet. Later, Donnie finds Jim Cunningham's wallet on the sidewalk outside his mansion.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Paul Thomas Anderson Week: 'There Will Be Blood' Review!

Image
• There Will Be Blood, 2007 • 8.2/10 • Firstly, I would like to start with Daniel Day Lewis' mesmerizing performance as the ruthless oil prospector, Daniel Plainview. The scumbag cons local landowners into selling their valuable land for pittance, and then he comes along like a "straw" and "sucks it all up," leaving him very wealthy and everyone else in his way. Paul Dano, Wow, do you really expect anything less than magic when it comes to him acting, he's a true tour de force. I wish we had preachers like Eli Sunday up at my local church. Johnny Greenwood's score is brilliant, it really gets under your skin, you then combine that with the gorgeous cinematography, smart screenplay and the brilliant acting, you then have yourself a film where even if your not paying complete attention, you will still hate the lead by the end, all the same! Yeah, I did just say that. I'm sorry peeps but it got a little boring at times (it didn't keep me hook
Read more

'Tomb Raider' Review: First Successful Game Adaptation! Kudos!

Image
• Tomb Raider, 2018 • 7.9/10 • Alicia Vikander gives Lara depth and personality much like Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones. She's vulnerable, but she's also stubborn and focused to survive on her own and has never lost hope that she'll once again see her father. The story is built on the reboot of the video game series, but takes another way after the arrival at the destination where most of the action takes place. When the story follows the video game it has weaknesses (as so many games adaptations do), but when it stands on its own, it shows glimpses of coming adventures for Lara Croft that makes you want more -- much because of Vikanders grounded performance. The script is by no means perfect, the CGI was a bit spotty in places, and yes there are a few cliches and overused story devices here and there, but overall it is an enjoyable film and our first successful game adaptation! Yesss! P.S - Dominc West was the perfect choice for Mr. Croft!
Read more

'Love, Simon' Review: What A Nice Surprise!

Image
• Love, Simon • Spoiler-Free • 8.7/10 • Well, what a surprise.... Don't get me wrong, the story of 'Love, Simon' has pretty much all been done before, just not executed as well. Bar the classic stereotypes and some cheesy moments, this film had me laughing out loud and crying even louder! Tbh when you watch a film like this, you normally expect it to try to be, too clever, too cute and too precious, but boy I have never been so far off the mark. The intelligence, depth, and charm were all legitimate and sincere here and it truly made the film into something rather special. It's funny, sweet, caring, true, real, and should pretty much be labelled a "True Story" for all its worth. The acting on all accounts was second-to-none but Josh Duhamel had the biggest tear-jerking scene going! I was sobbing like a real man! And Nick Robinson was believable and nothing short of phenomenal! Kudos! If you can get past the cheese-factor, you will definetly Love,
Read more