He's a pimp...and pimps don't commit suicide.
What follows is a musing about the nature of Donnie Darko/a personal review of Southland Tales. It does contain, what many on teh interwebs call "Spoilers" and thus, it has been cut, just in case you're dumb enough to not clearly see that Richard Kelley is one of the the best and most original (and coolest?) creative voices working in Hollywood. If you are, please avoid clicking the cut, obviously, but do yourself a favor and see Donnie Darko at your earliest convience. K? Thanks.
I remember the first time I saw Donnie Darko pretty clearly. It was 2002, sometime in the Fall. My friend Chad lived two doors down from me in Breese Hall. He and Adam Oshkosh had been out somewhere that afternoon, and Chad had bought a copy for himself. They pulled me from my room and demanded that I watch it with them. I sat on the floor with my back against the front of Chad's dorm fridge, and discovered what I am still convinced was one of the best, and wholly underrated (at least at that time, it seems to get much more praise now) movies of the decade so far. As soon as it was over, Adam looked turned to me and said, "So, do you think it was about Jesus?" I didn't understand the question at first, but a moment or two later, a very faint line was drawn for me between Donnie and the messiah. "No," I replied, because despite the fact that Donnie, after seeing what the possible future looked like with his interference in so many lives, willingly let himself get crushed by an airplane engine, and I guess that's sort of like Jesus dying for your sins or whatever, I didn't and still don't think that's the point of the film at all. Apparently, this is a common interpretation of Donnie Darko first film. I guess I get it, but I tend to side more on the, "this is a literal science fiction fantasy story, and not a religious parable or a movie about a kid with psychosis." I recently read an interview with Richard Kelley, the film's writer and directed that pretty much says I'm right about this, actually. Plus, that either draws importance away from Frank, the bunny, or it means Frank is God. Something about that just doesn't sit right with me. Interesting side note, by the way, that Halloween I went to Madison dressed as Donnie (skeleton suit and a grey hoodie.) No one knew who I was. Two Halloween's ago, my friend Johnson went as Donnie and my roommate at the time Jason went as Frank. Everyone knew who they were.
So, while Donnie Darko isn't about Jesus, Southland Tales, Kelley's 2006 follow up, sort of is. Really its actually about The Rock, who is an amnesiac action movie actor/pawn in some hidious neo-Marxist conspiracy against an Orwellian 2008 American dystopia, a perpetual motion machine built by Vizzini and Booger tearing a hole in space/time, a Presidential election featuring John Larroquette as the Republican Vice Presidential Candidate, Buffy Summers as a pornstar/consumer whore/talk show host, the Governments martial control over the internet and there is also sort of a musical number featuring Justin Timberlake as a singing dancing Iraqi War Vet drug addict. And, like I said, its also kind of about Jesus, as played by Shawn William Scott.
In 2006 when Southland Tales came out, I didn't see it. Truth be told, it didn't strike me as a movie I'd like. I don't particularly like any of the billed actors in it to care enough, and for some reason the fact that it was directed by Richard Kelley escaped me (although, I have to say, Duane "The Rock" Johnson is actually a really underrated actor, and though none of the people in it were enough to draw me to the theater at the time, I thought it was pretty well acted overall, despite the looney plot line.) And, the previews made it look like one of those, "all these stories are somehow connected," kind of movies, which I think are usually lame and ham-fisted, and of which I think Magnolia is the pinnacle. For some reason I think I thought it had something to do with gangs and cops and movie stars in a hot oppressive LA which actually it kind of does, sort of.
I won't do a plot synapse, cause frankly, I'm afraid if I tried to it would make the movie sound bad, and I don't want to do that cause I actually loved it. The plot is pretty out-there though. A lot of people I know who saw it told me it was bad originally and I know it did pretty poorly at the box office and got bad reviews. But, my buddy Mike K. in the film department equipment room talks it up non-stop, and more than once I've gone in there to get gear or bullshit and he'd be watching it and singing its praises to everyone who came in, declaring Richard Kelley a total genius. I will say that it is laugh out loud hilarious simultaneously dark and rather light-hearted somehow, really well put together, and suspenseful (I thought) in an odd paranoid kind of way, the musical choices are brilliant and fit the mood of the scenes they accompany perfectly, especially Wave of Mutilation (which is also the chapter title that follows that scene) and that one Killers song that goes, "I've got soul but I'm not a solider," and there's a very nice head trippy story-within-a-story thing going on. Its also weird and dystopian, which I like. Oh yeah, and Christopher Lambert is in it! With a rocket launcher! Bonus points!
Overall, Southland Tales is ridiculous. In a totally awesome way. I would reccomened it, highly to anyone, often. But then, I've been known for liking movies other people hated a lot, so...oh, just Netflix it for Christ's Sake (literally.)
I remember the first time I saw Donnie Darko pretty clearly. It was 2002, sometime in the Fall. My friend Chad lived two doors down from me in Breese Hall. He and Adam Oshkosh had been out somewhere that afternoon, and Chad had bought a copy for himself. They pulled me from my room and demanded that I watch it with them. I sat on the floor with my back against the front of Chad's dorm fridge, and discovered what I am still convinced was one of the best, and wholly underrated (at least at that time, it seems to get much more praise now) movies of the decade so far. As soon as it was over, Adam looked turned to me and said, "So, do you think it was about Jesus?" I didn't understand the question at first, but a moment or two later, a very faint line was drawn for me between Donnie and the messiah. "No," I replied, because despite the fact that Donnie, after seeing what the possible future looked like with his interference in so many lives, willingly let himself get crushed by an airplane engine, and I guess that's sort of like Jesus dying for your sins or whatever, I didn't and still don't think that's the point of the film at all. Apparently, this is a common interpretation of Donnie Darko first film. I guess I get it, but I tend to side more on the, "this is a literal science fiction fantasy story, and not a religious parable or a movie about a kid with psychosis." I recently read an interview with Richard Kelley, the film's writer and directed that pretty much says I'm right about this, actually. Plus, that either draws importance away from Frank, the bunny, or it means Frank is God. Something about that just doesn't sit right with me. Interesting side note, by the way, that Halloween I went to Madison dressed as Donnie (skeleton suit and a grey hoodie.) No one knew who I was. Two Halloween's ago, my friend Johnson went as Donnie and my roommate at the time Jason went as Frank. Everyone knew who they were.
So, while Donnie Darko isn't about Jesus, Southland Tales, Kelley's 2006 follow up, sort of is. Really its actually about The Rock, who is an amnesiac action movie actor/pawn in some hidious neo-Marxist conspiracy against an Orwellian 2008 American dystopia, a perpetual motion machine built by Vizzini and Booger tearing a hole in space/time, a Presidential election featuring John Larroquette as the Republican Vice Presidential Candidate, Buffy Summers as a pornstar/consumer whore/talk show host, the Governments martial control over the internet and there is also sort of a musical number featuring Justin Timberlake as a singing dancing Iraqi War Vet drug addict. And, like I said, its also kind of about Jesus, as played by Shawn William Scott.
In 2006 when Southland Tales came out, I didn't see it. Truth be told, it didn't strike me as a movie I'd like. I don't particularly like any of the billed actors in it to care enough, and for some reason the fact that it was directed by Richard Kelley escaped me (although, I have to say, Duane "The Rock" Johnson is actually a really underrated actor, and though none of the people in it were enough to draw me to the theater at the time, I thought it was pretty well acted overall, despite the looney plot line.) And, the previews made it look like one of those, "all these stories are somehow connected," kind of movies, which I think are usually lame and ham-fisted, and of which I think Magnolia is the pinnacle. For some reason I think I thought it had something to do with gangs and cops and movie stars in a hot oppressive LA which actually it kind of does, sort of.
I won't do a plot synapse, cause frankly, I'm afraid if I tried to it would make the movie sound bad, and I don't want to do that cause I actually loved it. The plot is pretty out-there though. A lot of people I know who saw it told me it was bad originally and I know it did pretty poorly at the box office and got bad reviews. But, my buddy Mike K. in the film department equipment room talks it up non-stop, and more than once I've gone in there to get gear or bullshit and he'd be watching it and singing its praises to everyone who came in, declaring Richard Kelley a total genius. I will say that it is laugh out loud hilarious simultaneously dark and rather light-hearted somehow, really well put together, and suspenseful (I thought) in an odd paranoid kind of way, the musical choices are brilliant and fit the mood of the scenes they accompany perfectly, especially Wave of Mutilation (which is also the chapter title that follows that scene) and that one Killers song that goes, "I've got soul but I'm not a solider," and there's a very nice head trippy story-within-a-story thing going on. Its also weird and dystopian, which I like. Oh yeah, and Christopher Lambert is in it! With a rocket launcher! Bonus points!
Overall, Southland Tales is ridiculous. In a totally awesome way. I would reccomened it, highly to anyone, often. But then, I've been known for liking movies other people hated a lot, so...oh, just Netflix it for Christ's Sake (literally.)