PSX5Central
Non Gaming Discussions => Off-Topic => Topic started by: Samwise on July 23, 2002, 09:25:27 AM
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I recently saw this movie, and it was very good indeed. Very unique and it had a great atmosphere... It was from a first time director too, but what a debut. You guys should check it out - I rate it as one of the best of 2001.
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Hmmmm... I need to look back and make sure you didn\'t recommend Tomb Raider....
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Bah, I didn\'t. I\'m not Racer for Christ\'s sake. ;)
I did however recommend Memento and The Others. Donnie Darko reminded me of how I felt after I first saw Memento - few films accomplish that.
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Damnit I have to rent Momento. I keep freaking forgeting about it. I bet it will be on HBO soon though. I wonder if they are getting it...
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I saw this movie recently. My older brother bought me the DVD for my birthday, saying he knew I\'d like it. And he was correct--this is definitely one of the best movies I\'ve seen.
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It was pretty damn good. Not movie of the year caliber, but decent.
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.
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Yeah, it\'s a real shame. The Hollywood people sell their shit movies with large marketing budgets while a lot of good movies go virtually unnoticed because of lack of marketing muscle.
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I really didn\'t like it that much but the I rented it just to see the rabbit.
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The rabbit is really creepy. This is a very weird movie indeed. I really love it.
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I am resurrecting this thread because I wanted to mention that I just saw this film again. I saw the rereleased "director\'s cut" version that is currently in US theaters.
The film was actually better than I remembered it. I don\'t think I can attribute that to the restored scenes, because quite frankly I didn\'t notice which scenes or shots were restored. Maybe it\'s been too long since I saw the original theatrical version, but nothing seemed out of place in this version. Certainly nothing significant about the story was changed. I\'m pleased by that. It\'s still just as enigmatic as ever, which is good.
It\'s a great film, with characters that feel complete and fully realized. That\'s something I don\'t remember about the first viewing. There are certain characters you develop an affinity for, and it flows naturally from the way they were written. Beyond that, it\'s hard to say what is so good about this film. I like the fact that I\'m not sure why I like it so much. It gives you something worthwhile to think back on and remember.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/04/21/film.darko.reut/
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Is the director\'s cut just adding the deleted scenes that were on the DVD?
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I don\'t have the DVD, so I can\'t answer that. Sounds like a good theory. However, the article linked above states that some visual effects were also reworked.
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It was alright. Im one of those types that needs everything to make sense or it will bug the HELL out of me, and this movie had a couple huge loop holes in the whole time travel theory. (which I guess is to be expected, heh. )
**** SPOILER****
(What the hell is the spoiler tag? i\'ve never used it before....)
[sp]For instance... If Frank never made Donnie follow him the night the plane crashed, Donnie would have died. If Donnie Died, He would not have shot Frank. If Frank was never shot, he cannot save Donnie. Donnie only ever meets Frank after dead Frank saves Donnie. That makes absolutley no sense![/sp]
Anyways, It was pretty good. Very good example of real life (except for the whacky time travel)
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Fixed it for you DH..
it\'s [sp ] [/sp ]
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Thanks vid, I kept looking in the UBB faq on this board and there was no spoiler tag mentioned.
While on the subject I don\'t think we need spoiler tags in a thread labeled Donnie Darko, especially 3 years after release.
What I\'m confused about is the plane that went through the wormhole (or portal) only had Donnie\'s mom & sis. Why does Donnie follow them back in time? Does the whole world go back in time? If so how does Donnie know what\'s going to happen and not everyone else? arghhhhh
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No, no one goes back in time untill later. I think... I haven\'t seen it in a while.
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Originally posted by THX
Thanks vid, I kept looking in the UBB faq on this board and there was no spoiler tag mentioned.
While on the subject I don\'t think we need spoiler tags in a thread labeled Donnie Darko, especially 3 years after release.
What I\'m confused about is the plane that went through the wormhole (or portal) only had Donnie\'s mom & sis. Why does Donnie follow them back in time? Does the whole world go back in time? If so how does Donnie know what\'s going to happen and not everyone else? arghhhhh
THX, I think that the point of the airplane is to create a massive enough object with a fast enough speed to create the wormhole itself, which then would affect the rest of the town. I wish the movie gave more clues on the actual physics. They keep it very vague, you only hear bits and pieces from the conversations between Donnie and the teacher (not Dreww Barrymore), and Grandma Death\'s book.
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Originally posted by THX
What I\'m confused about is the plane that went through the wormhole (or portal) only had Donnie\'s mom & sis. Why does Donnie follow them back in time? Does the whole world go back in time? If so how does Donnie know what\'s going to happen and not everyone else? arghhhhh
Great. Now there is no centse in me watching it.
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viddy :laughing:
lik- ok I\'ll buy that for the sake of the movie. But why does Donnie know the plane engine\'s about to hit when no one else does?
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He doesn\'t. He is just lead out of his house randomly by voices in his head while he is sleepwalking.
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yea and at the end he chooses to die, as he gets that choice, as if he doesnt die,t hen many other peep get hurt.
you should check out the website, its v cool, explains some stuff a bit more
think its
http://www.donniedarko.com
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i went through that a little while ago, cool site. More gimmicky really than answering any questions. Got to level 3 before I got tired of it.
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The director\'s cut was released on DVD last week. I watched it for the 2nd time, and it was sadder than the first. I would have to say this IS one of the best films I have ever seen. I did a lot of in depth studying, and have a pretty good understanding of the film, but a lot of it has to do with some technical terms found only in the Director\'s Cut, this is the best explanation IMO:
Donnie Darko really begins when a jet-engine crashes in his room on October 2. At the same time, Elizabeth is walking in the door-- she\'s been out with a guy named Frank (deleted scenes reveal she\'s dating him). Keep that in mind. So, from the moment the jet-engine lands in his room to the moment at the end when he\'s laughing in bed, the movie is set in the Tangent Universe. During the crash, Donnie\'s not in his room-- he was out on a golfcourse being told the world would end in 28 days by a scary rabbit named, guess who, Frank. Frank makes Donnie flood the school, giving the lucky students a break from classes. That day, Donnie walks Gretchen Ross home from school and by the end of the conversation, he\'s convinced her to "go with him." He says to her he\'s happy the school was flooded. Why? Because if it wasn\'t they wouldn\'t have had that conversation.
A few days later, Donnie sees Frank again and asks if Donnie believes in time travel. Donnie talks to Professor Monnitoff (played by Noah Wyle) about time travel. He gives Donnie a copy of The Philosophy of Time Travel written by Roberta Sparrow, aka Grandma Death, the old woman who goes back and forth to her mailbox everyday, who Donnie\'s father almost hit with the car earlier on. In therapy, Donnie reveals that Roberta told him "every living creature dies alone," which obviously freaks Donnie out.
Later Donnie follows a worm hole (which shows each person\'s future path) up to his parents room where he finds a gun. Jim Cunningham, a creepy self-help guru, visits Donnie\'s school. Donnie calls him the Antichrist. While walking home, Donnie finds Jim\'s wallet. That night, Donnie goes to the movies with Gretchen, where Frank shows up and tells Donnie to burn down Cunningham\'s house. We also learn Frank is just a teenager, with a horribly mangled eye. Donnie burns down the house, then returns to the theater. At the same time, Sparkle Motion performs at school (which Donnie can\'t attend because he\'s banned from after school activities for insulting Mrs. Farmer-- the book up the butt thing). Sparkle Motion is invited to LA for Star Search. A kiddie porn ring is found in the ruins of Cunningham\'s house and is arrested. Mrs. Farmer can\'t take the girls to LA because she wants to be at Cunningham\'s arraignment, asking Donnie\'s mom to go instead. She unwillingly agrees, leaving an empty house for Donnie and his sister to have a Halloween party.
The night of the party, a teary-eyed Gretchen shows up saying she\'s scared for her mother because she disappeared, which leads to them making love. Later, Donnie goes to the fridge where a note was left saying that Frank left to get beer. Donnie drops to his knees, and looks into wormhole that has come toward him (which is Gretchen\'s). He sees a water tunnel in the clouds. Donnie demands they go see Roberta Sparrow because time is almost up. Donnie and Gretchen go into the cellar door of Roberta\'s house (the words Ms. Pomeroy tells Donnie a famous linguist once said were the most beautiful) and are attacked by two thugs. One throws Gretchen onto the ground, the other holds a knife to Donnie\'s neck. They see headlights, and both thugs take off for the hills. Roberta is in the middle of the road reading Donnie\'s letter, and the car swerves, killing Gretchen. The driver gets out-- it\'s Frank. This time it\'s not a hallucination, but the actual Frank. Donnie shoots him in the eye.
With Gretchen\'s body at his side, Donnie watches a storm begin. Donnie then remembers what Gretchen said about taking back all the bad things and replacing them with something good. At the same time, Donnie\'s mom and sis are on a plane back home from LA; we see the jet-engine falling. Time begins to move backward, and we basically see the movie in reverse. Donnie is back in his bed on October 2, and is laughing. He lays down, breathing a sigh of relief. Once again we see Elizabeth walk in the front door. This time, Frank honks his horn. I think he does this as a wake-up warning for Donnie because he knows the jet-engine is coming. That obviously doesn\'t work as Donnie is killed (gruesomely impaled).
So why is Donnie laughing? Because he doesn\'t feel alone anymore even though he knows he\'s about die. Where\'s the jet-engine (in the end) come from? It\'s from the plane his mom and sis were on in the Tangent Universe on October 30, which according to Richard Kelly, Donnie uses his telekenesis to rip it off the plane himself. No one gets hurt once the Primary Universe has returned, but the appearance of the jet-engine will remain a mystery to everyone (except Donnie). Donnie sacrifices himself for the love of Gretchen and his family, having closure with those around him. So why does everyone look freaked out during the montage at the end? The people in the Primary Universe dream about the life they had in the Tangent Universe. Was Donnie nuts? I don\'t think so. In a deleted scene, Dr. Thurman reveals his pills were just placebos AKA nothing pills.
What an awesome movie. Why don\'t you go watch it.
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Originally posted by The Hurricane
The director\'s cut was released on DVD last week. I watched it for the 2nd time, and it was sadder than the first. I would have to say this IS one of the best films I have ever seen. I did a lot of in depth studying, and have a pretty good understanding of the film, but a lot of it has to do with some technical terms found only in the Director\'s Cut, this is the best explanation IMO:
Donnie Darko really begins when a jet-engine crashes in his room on October 2. At the same time, Elizabeth is walking in the door-- she\'s been out with a guy named Frank (deleted scenes reveal she\'s dating him). Keep that in mind. So, from the moment the jet-engine lands in his room to the moment at the end when he\'s laughing in bed, the movie is set in the Tangent Universe. During the crash, Donnie\'s not in his room-- he was out on a golfcourse being told the world would end in 28 days by a scary rabbit named, guess who, Frank. Frank makes Donnie flood the school, giving the lucky students a break from classes. That day, Donnie walks Gretchen Ross home from school and by the end of the conversation, he\'s convinced her to "go with him." He says to her he\'s happy the school was flooded. Why? Because if it wasn\'t they wouldn\'t have had that conversation.
A few days later, Donnie sees Frank again and asks if Donnie believes in time travel. Donnie talks to Professor Monnitoff (played by Noah Wyle) about time travel. He gives Donnie a copy of The Philosophy of Time Travel written by Roberta Sparrow, aka Grandma Death, the old woman who goes back and forth to her mailbox everyday, who Donnie\'s father almost hit with the car earlier on. In therapy, Donnie reveals that Roberta told him "every living creature dies alone," which obviously freaks Donnie out.
Later Donnie follows a worm hole (which shows each person\'s future path) up to his parents room where he finds a gun. Jim Cunningham, a creepy self-help guru, visits Donnie\'s school. Donnie calls him the Antichrist. While walking home, Donnie finds Jim\'s wallet. That night, Donnie goes to the movies with Gretchen, where Frank shows up and tells Donnie to burn down Cunningham\'s house. We also learn Frank is just a teenager, with a horribly mangled eye. Donnie burns down the house, then returns to the theater. At the same time, Sparkle Motion performs at school (which Donnie can\'t attend because he\'s banned from after school activities for insulting Mrs. Farmer-- the book up the butt thing). Sparkle Motion is invited to LA for Star Search. A kiddie porn ring is found in the ruins of Cunningham\'s house and is arrested. Mrs. Farmer can\'t take the girls to LA because she wants to be at Cunningham\'s arraignment, asking Donnie\'s mom to go instead. She unwillingly agrees, leaving an empty house for Donnie and his sister to have a Halloween party.
The night of the party, a teary-eyed Gretchen shows up saying she\'s scared for her mother because she disappeared, which leads to them making love. Later, Donnie goes to the fridge where a note was left saying that Frank left to get beer. Donnie drops to his knees, and looks into wormhole that has come toward him (which is Gretchen\'s). He sees a water tunnel in the clouds. Donnie demands they go see Roberta Sparrow because time is almost up. Donnie and Gretchen go into the cellar door of Roberta\'s house (the words Ms. Pomeroy tells Donnie a famous linguist once said were the most beautiful) and are attacked by two thugs. One throws Gretchen onto the ground, the other holds a knife to Donnie\'s neck. They see headlights, and both thugs take off for the hills. Roberta is in the middle of the road reading Donnie\'s letter, and the car swerves, killing Gretchen. The driver gets out-- it\'s Frank. This time it\'s not a hallucination, but the actual Frank. Donnie shoots him in the eye.
With Gretchen\'s body at his side, Donnie watches a storm begin. Donnie then remembers what Gretchen said about taking back all the bad things and replacing them with something good. At the same time, Donnie\'s mom and sis are on a plane back home from LA; we see the jet-engine falling. Time begins to move backward, and we basically see the movie in reverse. Donnie is back in his bed on October 2, and is laughing. He lays down, breathing a sigh of relief. Once again we see Elizabeth walk in the front door. This time, Frank honks his horn. I think he does this as a wake-up warning for Donnie because he knows the jet-engine is coming. That obviously doesn\'t work as Donnie is killed (gruesomely impaled).
So why is Donnie laughing? Because he doesn\'t feel alone anymore even though he knows he\'s about die. Where\'s the jet-engine (in the end) come from? It\'s from the plane his mom and sis were on in the Tangent Universe on October 30, which according to Richard Kelly, Donnie uses his telekenesis to rip it off the plane himself. No one gets hurt once the Primary Universe has returned, but the appearance of the jet-engine will remain a mystery to everyone (except Donnie). Donnie sacrifices himself for the love of Gretchen and his family, having closure with those around him. So why does everyone look freaked out during the montage at the end? The people in the Primary Universe dream about the life they had in the Tangent Universe. Was Donnie nuts? I don\'t think so. In a deleted scene, Dr. Thurman reveals his pills were just placebos AKA nothing pills.
What an awesome movie. Why don\'t you go watch it.
You and I have something in common.
We are nerds.
I left the theater with my head bursting with all of the different theories and events that were so neatly, yet confusing, used on this movie.
Then I went online and read everything you just typed. I spent at least 2 hours doing that.
Great F\'ing movie that\'s for sure.
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I always looked at it more like Donnie being stuck in a loop. His dreams are really memories from previous realities. He realizes that the only way to stop the loop is to stay in bed and allow the engine to kill him.
Kind of a side note: Grandma death walks back and forth from the mailbox waiting for the letter that Donnie writes for her. I dont know if she is trapped in a loop with him, but possibly, she knows that when she gets that letter, she knows the looop ends.
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Boring characters, confusing plot, dumb ending, didn\'t care for it at all.
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Donnie Darko is one of the best movies of all time IMO. The atmosphere is very dark, yet somewhat peaceful and psychedelic. The music - perfect. The actors - very good. Jake is still at his prime here. Once you hear the director\'s vision... It doesn\'t only enchant the movie, it makes it one of the more clever films in the industry.