Donnie Darko...WOW
So, I'm about 7 years late, but I finally saw Donnie Darko a couple of nights ago. I gotta say, I was quite pleasantly surprised. I was also quite unpleasantly frightened, but I'll get to that later...
Anyway, wow, I was pretty impressed by this movie. Don't get me wrong, it's weird, scary, confusing, a little demented (which kinda goes with the scary), and depressing as heck, but, ultimately, in a good way. Here are the things I liked, which I will do my best to not elaborate on tooo much:
1. Excellent score and song choices.
I've only seen this movie once, so I don't have the soundtrack and can't really say much about it yet, but WOW, it had some awesome music. Sometimes the score would be almost achingly beautiful, and then it was so 80's that I had to admire how well they captured the time period. I had already been in love with "Mad World" by Gary Jules, and "The Killing Moon" by Echo and the Bunnymen, so hearing those songs and seeing how flawlessly they fit with the story (especially Mad World, omg) was a pretty cool thing. Also, "The Killing Moon" was used in that very hot and very out-of-character (not that I'm complaining! Ohhh Sammy...) UK promo for Supernatural, and anytime that my primary joy is connected to something else I like is a very good time indeed!
2. Perfect Cast. (aaand now I've made myself think of A Goofy Movie...)
I definitely have a new appreciation for Jake Gyllenhaal. Mostly for his inarguable beauty which I had only mildly noticed before, but also for his acting ability. It's not easy to go from smiling or sarcastic and cynical to looking downright insanely creepy (not to mention evil). I really didn't know that he was capable of it, but wow, I'm glad he was! Without Mr. Gyllenhaal, this movie would have seriously sucked, in my opinion. I'm sure some people already think it does (if it's not your thing, it's just not your thing), but that's beside the point. Anyway, I was surprised to see a few members of the cast, especially Jena Malone, who I had only previously seen in Stepmom and Pride and Prejudice. She was really good in this, I thought. Patrick Swayze was most certainly a shock, but I quickly recovered by laughing at the hilarity of his role (well, before the whole "kiddie porn dungeon" thing). Ashley Tisdale seriously caught me off-guard though; is that truly what her hair used to look like? WOW. And then of course, right after her Crazy Steve from Drake and Josh came on the stage, and that was just hilarious to me. I'm watching the creepiest, weirdest movie I've seen in a long time, and then there are a couple of Disney and Nickelodeon actors. Nice. I hadn't known that Drew Barrymore would be in it either, but she did quite well in her role as well.
3. Originality.
I gotta say, I haven't seen any movie like this. Ever. The concept was really entirely new to me, and that was a very big reason that I enjoyed it so much. I also thought that it was confusing as heck, but the good kind, which to me means that the writer/director truly thought out the plot of the film. So the fact that I haven't figured out everything yet (I've only seen it once, after all) certainly doesn't make me like it any less. I can just imagine a lot of people thinking, "That movie's stupid; it didn't even make sense" in response to this movie, but I didn't feel that way at all. I'm, rather, going to do my best to analyze it better next time I see it, and hopefully it will all make more sense. Because I definitely understand the concept of the movie, and where the plot was going, but there are still a lot of connections I haven't made yet that I'd like to.
4. Actually, I can't honestly say that I like this, but: Holy crap, that bunny was friggin' SCARY.
I like bunnies. I think they're adorable. Therefore, the thought of being freaked out by a guy in a bunny costume just never occurred to me. But WOW, Frank(well, Manipulated Dead Frank, I guess I should say)'s mask seriously freaks me out. And I'm not accustomed to that feeling, because I don't watch scary movies often, and even though Supernatural is basically a 40 minute horror flick every episode, nothing in it has ever creeped me out to the point that I think about it when I'm trying to sleep. But last night (well, 4am), I was looking at the official Donnie Darko website to find more explanation for all the craziness, and even the stupid website scared me, so I had to discontinue my search until daylight. That seems a little wrong, and potentially embarrassing, but I can't help that they used such creepy music/images, can I? Anyway, it definitely seemed like a cool website, and that it had just the information I was wanted, so I'll have to look again when I'm not alone in my bedroom in the dark in the wee hours of the morning. Ugh, this is why I don't watch scary movies. And I don't even think Donnie Darko is supposed to be that frightening...
Okay, done now. Anyway, I'd certainly recommend this movie to anyone who
a) thinks they can handle the bunny mask (don't underestimate the creepiness, seriously)
b) likes weird, unique movies (maybe only sometimes, like me)
c) can handle depressing if accompanied by an engaging and well-executed plot. 'Cause some movies do depressing really well, and even though you're crying (or perhaps bawling shamelessly), it's totally worth it.
d) (and this is an important one) realizes (or is curious to discover, as I did) how exceedingly attractive Jake Gyllenhaal is.
In conclusion: GREAT (or at least very intriguing) movie. SO glad I finally saw it! It's only been (thinks...) four years since my high school digital graphics teacher said, "Ashley, you should really see Donnie Darko; it's definitely you're kind of movie." Aaand he was right...
Anyway, wow, I was pretty impressed by this movie. Don't get me wrong, it's weird, scary, confusing, a little demented (which kinda goes with the scary), and depressing as heck, but, ultimately, in a good way. Here are the things I liked, which I will do my best to not elaborate on tooo much:
1. Excellent score and song choices.
I've only seen this movie once, so I don't have the soundtrack and can't really say much about it yet, but WOW, it had some awesome music. Sometimes the score would be almost achingly beautiful, and then it was so 80's that I had to admire how well they captured the time period. I had already been in love with "Mad World" by Gary Jules, and "The Killing Moon" by Echo and the Bunnymen, so hearing those songs and seeing how flawlessly they fit with the story (especially Mad World, omg) was a pretty cool thing. Also, "The Killing Moon" was used in that very hot and very out-of-character (not that I'm complaining! Ohhh Sammy...) UK promo for Supernatural, and anytime that my primary joy is connected to something else I like is a very good time indeed!
2. Perfect Cast. (aaand now I've made myself think of A Goofy Movie...)
I definitely have a new appreciation for Jake Gyllenhaal. Mostly for his inarguable beauty which I had only mildly noticed before, but also for his acting ability. It's not easy to go from smiling or sarcastic and cynical to looking downright insanely creepy (not to mention evil). I really didn't know that he was capable of it, but wow, I'm glad he was! Without Mr. Gyllenhaal, this movie would have seriously sucked, in my opinion. I'm sure some people already think it does (if it's not your thing, it's just not your thing), but that's beside the point. Anyway, I was surprised to see a few members of the cast, especially Jena Malone, who I had only previously seen in Stepmom and Pride and Prejudice. She was really good in this, I thought. Patrick Swayze was most certainly a shock, but I quickly recovered by laughing at the hilarity of his role (well, before the whole "kiddie porn dungeon" thing). Ashley Tisdale seriously caught me off-guard though; is that truly what her hair used to look like? WOW. And then of course, right after her Crazy Steve from Drake and Josh came on the stage, and that was just hilarious to me. I'm watching the creepiest, weirdest movie I've seen in a long time, and then there are a couple of Disney and Nickelodeon actors. Nice. I hadn't known that Drew Barrymore would be in it either, but she did quite well in her role as well.
3. Originality.
I gotta say, I haven't seen any movie like this. Ever. The concept was really entirely new to me, and that was a very big reason that I enjoyed it so much. I also thought that it was confusing as heck, but the good kind, which to me means that the writer/director truly thought out the plot of the film. So the fact that I haven't figured out everything yet (I've only seen it once, after all) certainly doesn't make me like it any less. I can just imagine a lot of people thinking, "That movie's stupid; it didn't even make sense" in response to this movie, but I didn't feel that way at all. I'm, rather, going to do my best to analyze it better next time I see it, and hopefully it will all make more sense. Because I definitely understand the concept of the movie, and where the plot was going, but there are still a lot of connections I haven't made yet that I'd like to.
4. Actually, I can't honestly say that I like this, but: Holy crap, that bunny was friggin' SCARY.
I like bunnies. I think they're adorable. Therefore, the thought of being freaked out by a guy in a bunny costume just never occurred to me. But WOW, Frank(well, Manipulated Dead Frank, I guess I should say)'s mask seriously freaks me out. And I'm not accustomed to that feeling, because I don't watch scary movies often, and even though Supernatural is basically a 40 minute horror flick every episode, nothing in it has ever creeped me out to the point that I think about it when I'm trying to sleep. But last night (well, 4am), I was looking at the official Donnie Darko website to find more explanation for all the craziness, and even the stupid website scared me, so I had to discontinue my search until daylight. That seems a little wrong, and potentially embarrassing, but I can't help that they used such creepy music/images, can I? Anyway, it definitely seemed like a cool website, and that it had just the information I was wanted, so I'll have to look again when I'm not alone in my bedroom in the dark in the wee hours of the morning. Ugh, this is why I don't watch scary movies. And I don't even think Donnie Darko is supposed to be that frightening...
Okay, done now. Anyway, I'd certainly recommend this movie to anyone who
a) thinks they can handle the bunny mask (don't underestimate the creepiness, seriously)
b) likes weird, unique movies (maybe only sometimes, like me)
c) can handle depressing if accompanied by an engaging and well-executed plot. 'Cause some movies do depressing really well, and even though you're crying (or perhaps bawling shamelessly), it's totally worth it.
d) (and this is an important one) realizes (or is curious to discover, as I did) how exceedingly attractive Jake Gyllenhaal is.
In conclusion: GREAT (or at least very intriguing) movie. SO glad I finally saw it! It's only been (thinks...) four years since my high school digital graphics teacher said, "Ashley, you should really see Donnie Darko; it's definitely you're kind of movie." Aaand he was right...