Donnie Darko

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mantis said:
I loved the movie, I get sick of predictable storylines where you know what's going to happen next, can't wait for the release of the Directors cut, or has it already been released. :confused:
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Exactly... predictability is something I don't like in movies unless the movie is crafted really well. Nothing worse than an unrealistic movie which in the end has a predictible outcome. Donnie Darko = classy movie
 
ajackett, also loved the other movies you mentioned, Memento was brillant as was Cube, but for some reason I just didn't enjoy Being John Malkovich. :confused:

Will recommend a movie that you mightn't have seen, it is called "Funny Games", I think it is German, you can hire it from good video stores, it's subtitled, but a brilliant movie, I have my own copy on DVD. :D
 

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bucksisbest said:
Saw the director's cut at the Nova last week, absolutely fantastic movie really thought provoking , moving and entertaining.
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Cool, can't wait until it shows here, if it does, I heard it had a different ending, is that right?
 
Rodan18 said:
let me assure you sophie, you're friend is clearly sane. at least, much saner than the boy who has visions from an evil rabbit that tells him the world is going to end in 12 days, 7 hours blah blah blah. don't waste your time seeing it
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Not enough car chases or explosions for your simple mind?
 
mantis said:
ajackett, also loved the other movies you mentioned, Memento was brillant as was Cube, but for some reason I just didn't enjoy Being John Malkovich. :confused:

Will recommend a movie that you mightn't have seen, it is called "Funny Games", I think it is German, you can hire it from good video stores, it's subtitled, but a brilliant movie, I have my own copy on DVD. :D
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Might have to give that one a go.

Cube, what a great movie... budget movie, unknown cast, the concept was so simple, yet it was an extremely intriguing and original movie.

And the DVD is only $9 at EzyDVD
 
ajackett110 said:
Might have to give that one a go.

Cube, what a great movie... budget movie, unknown cast, the concept was so simple, yet it was an extremely intriguing and original movie.

And the DVD is only $9 at EzyDVD
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Agreed.

An astute purchase that one.
 
Actually just watched the movie last night for the first time in quite a while. After a while between viewings of this fine movie, I remembered what actually happened. lol.

For those that haven't seen the movie - and I suggest you go out and see it straight away - Donnie sees into the future and is basically shown how the world will be if he is sleeping in his bed or not when the engine crashes into his bedroom. But where did that engine come from?... you will see when you get to the end of the movie.
 
Saw it for the first time on SBS last night.

What a weird film.
Its something that I could watch a few times though and not get sick of.

Question
Who sang Mad World in the film ?
Is it the original Tears for Fears version or is it Gary Jules ?
 

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I'm getting confused now.

Fairly sure the song in the movie is Tears For Fears however the song thats on the CD released as the movie soundtrack is Gary Jules.
 
FIGJAM said:
I still don't fully get it. Maybe it's because I'm an idiot with the attention span of a goldfish, but also I can't help but feel there's missing info.

I'll have to get a hold of the director's cut.
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I think I posted a Donnie Darco threads a few years ago...One of you fellow pie supporters posted an explanation....
I saved it, and here it is

Donnie Darko Explanation
========================

Before reading this, it is best to have read Roberta Ann Sparrow's pamphlet, A Philsophy of Time Travel. I have included this at the end of this document.

This is a movie about several things; time travel, predestination vs. free will, and most of all, divine intervention.

Donnie Darko is a schizophrenic, sleepwalking teen who believes that he will die alone. There are at least two places where this is mentioned. First, when he and his dad are driving, they almost hit Roberta Sparrow, or Grandma Death, in the road. Donnie gets out to ask her if she is all right, and she whispers something to the effect of, "Every living creature on this planet dies alone," to Donnie. In addition, when Donnie is talking to his psychologist, he mentions that he is scared because he thinks he will die alone.

This movie is about divine intervention. A jet engine crashes right into Donnie's room, which kills him. God, however, creates a Tangent Universe, and uses Frank, along with Donnie's sleepwalking abilities to draw Donnie out of the room before the jet engine hits. Donnie learns from Frank that he only has around 28 days before time runs out. This signifies the duration of the Tangent Universe. We get a hint of this divine intervention at the end of the movie, when Donnie has just exited the cellar door as a hostage. As a knife is being held to his neck, he utters "deus ex machina" which means "an unexpected character [usually divine in nature] who is suddenly introduced into a work of fiction to resolve a plot or extricate the protagonist from a difficult situation."

The Artifact is the jet engine and marks the beginning of the Tangent Universe.

Throughout the Tangent Universe, all of the characters help Donnie towards the ultimate goal of him getting back to his room so that he can die and time can go on. These are the Manipulated Living. There is only one significant instance of the Manipulated Dead, that being Frank, the bunny.

Frank is Donnie's sister's boyfriend. He tells Donnie about his master plan and time travel and manipulates Donnie into committing various acts of mischief. First, Donnie floods the school by breaking the water main. At the scene of the crime, the words "They made me do it" are written on the ground. Incidentally, this handwriting also matches the handwriting on the whiteboard on Donnie's fridge during the Halloween party that says "Frank was here - went to get beer." We get a glimpse of Frank without his mask on in the movie theater scene. Frank says that he's sorry, which is a foreshadowing of his hurting of Gretchen, Donnie's girlfriend. Donnie asks him what happened to his eye, as it is bloody. This, of course, happens when Donnie shoots him in the eye, after he runs Gretchen over with his car, with the gun he found in his parents room when he follows the vector coming out of his chest.

The other characters help Donnie along his way. His english teacher mentions the phrase "Cellar Door" to him, which indicates where to go on the final night of his existence. His science teacher discusses time travel with him and gives him the pamphlet on time travel. Jim Cunningham, the motivational speaker, has his house burned down by Donnie, which leads authorities to undercover a kiddie pr0n ring. Kitty, his obnoxious health teacher, is distraught over this news, and can not attend the Sparkle Motion's appearance on Talent Search. Donnie's mom must accompany them, leaving the house free for the party and the rest of the events.

Roberta Sparrow is an interesting character. She writes her theory of time travel, which describes Donnie's condition precisely. She is always checking her mail, because she fears that in the future, that her pamphlet is not a work of fiction and that someone will need it and write her. Donnie does send her a letter, and on that fateful night, Roberta is checking her mail. Since she finally does receive mail, the car being driven by Frank avoids Roberta, since she's not on the road, and swerves to run over Gretchen, which prompts Donnie to shoot him, etc.

After all of these evens transpire, Donnie realizes what has happened. He returns to his bed and understands that the entire parallel universe was God's way of signaling to Donnie that he was not alone in the universe. The master plan showed him that someone was willing to create an alternate universe for him to prove that he wasn't alone. Donnie laughs as he realizes he has so much to look forward to after death, and accepts the fact that the jet engine will crash into his room.

The other characters have a vague recollection of the events of the Tangent Universe. Jim Cunningham cries because he knows he will be caught. Kitty is upset because her hero will be proven a pervert. Chirita Chen is smiling, remembering Donnie's comment to her that everything will be ok. Frank has just completed his plans for his Halloween costume, as we see sketches of the evil bunny suit. The world has been righted again.

Perhaps the only fault of this movie is that Richard Kelly made it too complicated for its own good. None of the above explanation could not have been created without the facilitation of the pamphlet about time travel. Even so, it is a good movie.
 
There are so many loose ends and half-explained threads in this film it's not funny. It's all over the shop.

That explanation reeks of the filmmaker coming to the realization that nobody gets their movie and so - after-the-fact - they rush out some document to put all the pieces togather.

Rather than being a deep, insightful film some people try to claim it to be, I tend to think that Donnie Darko is quite simply, a mess.

Still, I go along for the ride.
 
Daytripper said:
Thanks mate,
I just won 2 schooners :D
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You won them under false pretenses. Definitely the Gary Jules Version. There was another Tears For Fears original in the soundtrack, Head Over Heels, but Mad World was definitely performed by Gary Jules.
 
Good film, but I think Mulholland Drive is way above it. That is one movie that can be interpreted any number of ways.
Still, any movie that forces you to think is good.
 

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Donnie Darko

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