Donnie Darko


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lotek
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Donnie Darko

Post by lotek »

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In a funny, moving and distinctly mind-bending journey through suburban America, one extraordinary but disenchanted teenager is about to take Time's Arrow for a ride. October 2nd, 1988: just... In a funny, moving and distinctly mind-bending journey through suburban America, one extraordinary but disenchanted teenager is about to take Time's Arrow for a ride.

October 2nd, 1988: just another ordinary day in Donnie Darko’s teen-aged existence. He’s taken his medication, watched Dukakis and Bush debate, and had dinner with the family. Then comes an outrageous accident. Out of the blue, a 2,000 pound jet engine plummets from the sky and crashes into Donnie’s bedroom, obliterating it. Luckily, Donnie isn’t in bed. Or is it luck? As Donnie begins to explore what it means to still be alive, and in short order to be in love, he uncovers secrets of the universe that give him a tempting power to alter time and destiny.

From 26 year-old first-time writer-director Richard Kelly comes the provocative Donnie Darko, a genre-busting fable that blasts the American suburban drama into a wildly imaginative realm of time travel, alternative universes and the manipulation of one’s fate. But at the core of Donnie Darko is the simple story of a boy trying to make a stand in a lonely, chaotic world – and discovering that every little thing he does counts on a cosmic scale.

Seen at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Donnie Darko became one of the festival's most talked-about and debated films, praised for blending sci-fi fantasy with an original vision of a modern suburbia teetering on the edge of dread and disaster. The question became: what is Donnie Darko? Is it a look back at the underbelly of the Ferris Bueller and Back to the Future era? Or is it a wild journey into multiple realities and multiple outcomes? Is it the story of an increasingly cynical, hypocritical society on a crash-course with apocalypse? Or is it a fairy-tale about a teen hero who changes the world around him? Is this the cosmic death knell of the Reagan Era, or a portrait of a troubled community redeemed by the hand of God?

The surprising answer is that Donnie Darko is all of these – a deep inquiry into the recent past and the possibilities for the future all wrapped up in the story of a teenager unlike any you’ve met before. Writer/director Richard Kelly purposefully wanted Donnie Darko to be vast enough to mean different things to different people. But he offers this guidance for the mind-blowing ride ahead: “Maybe it's the story of Holden Caulfield, resurrected in 1988 by the spirit of Phillip K. Dick, who was always spinning yarns about schizophrenia and drug abuse breaking the barriers of space and time. Or it’s a black comedy foreshadowing the impact of the 1988 presidential election, which is really the best way to explain it. But first and foremost, I wanted the film to be a piece of social satire that needs to be experienced and digested several times."
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Plenty of things to say about that movie
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Drunken Idaho
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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by Drunken Idaho »

Great film, though I definitely prefer the original cut over the director's cut.

Seth Rogan's very first movie role!

However, I do NOT recommend its straight-to-video sequel, "S. Darko"
It's garbage. Some interesting parallels to the first, but mostly utter garbage.
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lotek
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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by lotek »

Drunken Idaho wrote:
Freakzilla wrote:Pretty wierd, huh? :crazy:
I do NOT recommend its straight-to-video sequel, "S. Darko"

It's garbage. Some interesting parallels to the first, but mostly utter garbage.
i didn't watch it but the net reviews go in the same direction so i didn't bother, when too many virtual people agree there must be some truth to it :)
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Lundse
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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by Lundse »

Brilliant movie. Agree about the director's cut sucking (in comparison).

Humor. Time travel. Teenage angst. Giant bunnyrabbits. What's not to love?
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nymphitz
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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by nymphitz »

28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, 12 seconds that is when the world will end.

Love Donnie Darko, I cannot count how many times I have watched it.
I have to agree that S.Darko was terrible. (Neat that they used the same girl from the original tho!)
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A Thing of Eternity
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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by A Thing of Eternity »

nymphitz wrote:28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, 12 seconds that is when the world will end.

Love Donnie Darko, I cannot count how many times I have watched it.
I have to agree that S.Darko was terrible. (Neat that they used the same girl from the original tho!)
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Re: Donnie Darko

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Spending far to much time in reality. :roll:
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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by Freakzilla »

Lundse wrote:Brilliant movie. Agree about the director's cut sucking (in comparison).

Humor. Time travel. Teenage angst. Giant bunnyrabbits. What's not to love?
I don't patronize bunny rabbits!
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Freakzilla
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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by Freakzilla »

nymphitz wrote:Spending far to much time in reality. :roll:
Reality is for people who can't handle drugs. :banana-stoner:
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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by SandChigger »

Freakzilla wrote:I don't patronize bunny rabbits!
DAMNED straight! :animals-bunnywhite:
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Schu
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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by Schu »

One of my favourites. I quite liked the director's cut, but I haven't seen it for about 2 years, since my nutjob ex never gave it back to me and moved to Melbourne. At least I still have the original cut.
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Seraphan
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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by Seraphan »

I've only seen the director's cut. Why do you say the original one is better, Duncan?
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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by Spicelon »

Freakzilla wrote:
nymphitz wrote:Spending far to much time in reality. :roll:
Reality is for people who can't handle drugs. :banana-stoner:
Only users lose drugs.

Apparently I don't share the common opinion on this one. I liked the film, but I wasn't blown away or anything.
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Sandwurm88
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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by Sandwurm88 »

I take the Philip K. Dick approach to reality. Image
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Drunken Idaho
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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by Drunken Idaho »

nymphitz wrote:28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, 12 seconds that is when the world will end.

Love Donnie Darko, I cannot count how many times I have watched it.
I have to agree that S.Darko was terrible. (Neat that they used the same girl from the original tho!)
Yeah, I liked that too. She's actually really good in the HBO series "Big Love." Ever see it? She's one of the best characters and she's also super cute...

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Seraphan wrote:I've only seen the director's cut. Why do you say the original one is better, Duncan?
The director's cut is alrigh, but I liked that in the original you didn't get to read any of the "Philosophy of Time Travel" chapters. Without them, the movie seemed more open to interpretation. Also, on the original the director couldn't secure some of the songs he wanted in it, so he ended up using other songs. When the Director's Cut came out, it was easier to score the rights since people loved the film, so he restored the music he wanted. The thing is, I liked the original songs a lot better. :)
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SwordMaster
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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by SwordMaster »

Thats a good flick
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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by TheDukester »

Hey, genius: You forgot to add "for a bunch of fucking Jews" or something equally as witty. :roll:

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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by Omphalos »

TheDukester wrote:Hey, genius: You forgot to add "for a bunch of fucking Jews" or something equally as witty. :roll:

:teasing-knob:
:lol:

Amen.
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Re: Donnie Darko

Post by E. LeGuille »

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