Movie-A-Day #24 Donnie Darko

schutd

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What an awesome film. I guess I'd catagorize it into psychological thriller. Director Richard Kelly puts together a great cast, full of big name cameos and combines it with a freaky story and some bizarre premonitions which kept me enthralled and on the edge of my seat so to speak. The whole thing comes together beautifully.

Jake Gyllenhaal plays a neurotic highschooler who receives visits by a psycho bunny foretelling him of the end of the world. The film takes place in the final 28 days before the bunny's prediction is to come to pass. Drew Barymore, Patrick Swayze (in a rare very well acted performance!) Noah Wyle and others play the people in and around Jake's bizarre life that includes sleep walking, vandalism, and intense therapy. I dont know how much more I can divulge without going to far. Its a weird weird film. But not unwatchably weird. To me, while a little over the top, its still a commercially viable film, accessible by a mass audience.

I would catagorize this one under MUST SEE.
 

jf-08

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I really liked this one too. Swayze's played his character so well that he gave me a queasy feeling.

Jake gives a pretty good performance in this.

I saw this in bits and pieces several times, basically saw the ending first, so I needed to see why everything happened the way it did.

Very good movie, nice call.
 

mdamien13

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I guess all I could say about this one is I didn't get it. Jake Gyllenhaal has always rubbed me the wrong way, and his character really annoyed me. I guess I just couldn't care enough about the characters to get into this. Had me scratching my head at the end but I never bothered to try and figure it out. Swayze without a mullet will always be wrong to me.
 

Chris_Sanders

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This is an outstanding movie. It is like this big trainwreck. You just get sucked up into watching it and it slowly freaks you out more and more.

I want that Bunny Suit for Halloween!
 

Brandon_Webb

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Just saw this movie, one of the most confusing I've ever seen. I Had to read three articles on it, to understand the concept.
 

Mr.Dibbs

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I love this film. Totally original, and sort of combined "Heathers" and... something else. Love the bunny outfit.
 

devilalum

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Yeah, I burned this one. I'm gonna watch it again when I get the chance. There are a number of web sites that try to explain the symbolism tangent universe stuff.
 

Dback Jon

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Watched it last night- very creepy, very good - had to think thru it!
 

Bada0Bing

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This is one of my favorites. I would definitely recommend the Director’s Cut.
 

asudevil83

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one of my favorites.

you almost need to read about the movie itself to gather in all the small things that relate to the premise of the movie. very complex dealings with time travel and alternate universes
 

thirty-two

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Finally saw this. Definitely weird. I thought Jake did a really good job. I was dying of laughter at the dinner table when he and his sister were arguing. I had to check out a few web sites to understand the movie a bit better. Nice watch.
 

JS22

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Probably one of my favorite movies. I've seen it 3 times and still learn new things each time.
 

Pariah

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Hated it.
Like Gomer Pyle said, "Surprise, surprise, surprise."

I watched it last night and liked it a lot.

I'd heard a little about the director/writers' premise before I saw it, so I was able to try to put things in that context which I think made it a little more sensical.
 

Linderbee

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Watched it last night with dcr. It was a weird, weird movie. Can't say I liked it; can't say I hated it. Just sorta there.
 

Jersey Girl

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This is one of my favorites. I would definitely recommend the Director’s Cut.

Thanks.

I watched it last night. Had no idea what to expect and was kinda like "um, huh?" at the end. Once I started getting some explanations from people, I got it ... and spent a good part of the night thinking about it.

I plan on watching it again (and the second DVD that came with it) before it has to go back to the rental place.
 

Bada0Bing

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I spend at least 15 minutes researching every movie I watch, but I spend more on interesting movies. I obsessed over this one when I watched it back in 2004. I read stuff about this one for weeks. This is a fascinating movie. Top 10 for me.
 

Jersey Girl

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I spend at least 15 minutes researching every movie I watch, but I spend more on interesting movies. I obsessed over this one when I watched it back in 2004. I read stuff about this one for weeks. This is a fascinating movie. Top 10 for me.

Definitely fascinating and thought provoking.

On a side note, that bunny guy was extremely creepy.
 

Bada0Bing

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Probably one of my favorite movies. I've seen it 3 times and still learn new things each time.

I re-watched this with my son and he pointed out something I hadn't noticed before. The kid that asks the question "how do I know what I want to be when I grow up?" at the assembly was Spencer from iCarly!

One of my favorite things about this film is how they represent the tug of the universe by using the plasma-ish arrows. That's kinda how I see the universe working sometimes.
 
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