Author Topic: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS  (Read 34532 times)

Offline ednbarby

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Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« on: August 09, 2006, 09:37:39 am »
Hey, Penth, I figured this'd get your attention.  ;)

OK, so I watched this for my third time ever on Sunday night and I have to say - big shocker - I've become somewhat obsessed with it.  I can't get Tears for Fears' "Mad World" (the song played at the end) out of my head.  I keep hearing the line "I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad that the dreams I have of dying are the best I've ever had."  Such a beautiful, haunting melody.  And movie.

I'll be damned, but I think I've fallen in love with another one of Jake's characters.  (And that's rare - honest.  I've seen pretty much all his movies and Jack Twist was the only one.  Until now.)  I just adore Donnie Darko.  I love his courage - the way he never backs down to the bully who's constantly harassing and trying to intimidate him, the way he speaks up whenever he sees injustice - and he sees it a lot - the way Frank fascinates him but doesn't scare him.  I love the family relationships - how the parents first of all actually look like they could be his (and Elizabeth's/Maggie's and Samantha's) parents and how they're actually likable - something you almost never see in high school type movies.  I also like how the bully isn't some pumped up jock (usually the jocks are not the bullies - they're too busy doing their jock-ish thing) but a ne'er-do-well asshole like they really are.  And I really love how none of the characters fits neatly into some stereotype.  They are all fully-realized human beings.  Now that's original, especially in a movie mostly about high school age kids.

"I made a new friend today."

"Real or imaginary?"

:)
« Last Edit: August 09, 2006, 02:38:20 pm by Ellemeno »
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Offline opinionista

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Re: Donnie Darko
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2006, 09:59:13 am »
I had a good laugh with the hungry hungry hippos line and the "smurfette doesn't fuck". That was very funny.
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Offline Mikaela

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Re: Donnie Darko
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2006, 10:02:01 am »
Pops in lured by the thread title:

I second everything you said. DD is a fantastic film, one that gets better and more nuanced (more solutions, but also more questions) upon repeat viewings. First time I saw it my head was completely spinnning! Love the parents, the way they're supportive of their son. Love the sessions with the shrink. Love the "Why are you in the bunny suit/why are you wearing that man suit" exchange. Talk about chills down the spine! Love the weird humour. And Jake is fabulous in it, oh-so-good, balancing all those various Donnie moods to perfection. Wow! And.... OK, the ending. **gulp**

I could go on. And on. But you get my drift.  :)

It's not certain I'd have seen DD except for BBM, which has made me make a point of watching as good as all of Jake's films and most of Heath's. I'm so glad BBM led me to the gem that is DD. Several of the others are also very good.


Offline Sashca1007

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Re: Donnie Darko
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2006, 10:39:22 am »
Barb -

Yep...  me, too.  What you said.  ;)  Jake is perfection in this movie, and it IS easy to fall for his character.  Donnie is admirable for all the reasons you stated--  pretty level-headed considering all that was happening to him.  I, too, have been haunted by the very line of that song that you mentioned.  When I hear even a second or two of that song (my daughters have the song and play it) I feel sadness for Donnie.  I do own the original version of the DVD, but recently I saw the newer version (director's cut) at the theater. It was  the beautiful big screen at the Parkway in Oakland, the same theater with 'all-couch' seating where Eric (sfericsf) and I went to see Brokeback Mountain.  Wow.  Donnie Darko on the big screen was glorious (well, yeah, it was Jake, right?   ;D )   I'd love to chat more about Donnie and the movie right now, but I'm already going to be late for work--  darn you, Barb, enticing me with the words 'Donnie Darko'!  I'll be BACK.   ::)



Beautiful boy....


Oh, wait--!  Don't you wish Dr. Thurman had waited a bit longer before she interrupted Donnie's 'hypnosis'?  You know which scene I mean!   ;D
« Last Edit: August 09, 2006, 10:46:15 am by Sashca1007 »
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Offline Penthesilea

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Re: Donnie Darko
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2006, 11:01:28 am »
Hey, Penth, I figured this'd get your attention.  ;)

I wonder how you figuered that, lol  :laugh:


Quote
I can't get Tears for Fears' "Mad World" (the song played at the end) out of my head.  I keep hearing the line "I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad that the dreams I have of dying are the best I've ever had."  Such a beautiful, haunting melody.  And movie.

As far as I know the version of Mad World played in DD is not by Tears for Fears, but by Michael Andrews. I know the older version too, but it never "got me". But the slower, newer version, the one by M.Andrews haunts me since a couple of years. Every time I hear it on the radio I can't get it out of my mind (and don't want to). I'm melting, it is so beautiful and sad. I loved this song before I saw DD. And didn't know it was in the movie. Can you imagine my reaction at the end of DD, when this melody started?
And the lyrics. Yes, it's exactly those line you have quoted which haunts me.



Quote
I'll be damned, but I think I've fallen in love with another one of Jake's characters.  (And that's rare - honest.  I've seen pretty much all his movies and Jack Twist was the only one.  Until now.)  I just adore Donnie Darko.  I love his courage - the way he never backs down to the bully who's constantly harassing and trying to intimidate him, the way he speaks up whenever he sees injustice - and he sees it a lot - the way Frank fascinates him but doesn't scare him.  I love the family relationships - how the parents first of all actually look like they could be his (and Elizabeth's/Maggie's and Samantha's) parents and how they're actually likable - something you almost never see in high school type movies.  I also like how the bully isn't some pumped up jock (usually the jocks are not the bullies - they're too busy doing their jock-ish thing) but a ne'er-do-well asshole like they really are.  And I really love how none of the characters fits neatly into some stereotype.  They are all fully-realized human beings.  Now that's original, especially in a movie mostly about high school age kids.

"I made a new friend today."

"Real or imaginary?"

:)


You are so right in everything you said about the characters. Well, I haven't fallen in live with them (yet?), but find them very likeable.
I can't give any insightful or elaborate comment right now, because I feel just like Mikaela said: my head is spinning and I have some many questions about the movie, some many things that had not become clear to me. I simply *have* to see it again.
Luckily, it was repeated the next night and I taped it!


And like Mikaela, I absolutely love the weird humour in DD: the conversation you quoted, the bunny suit exchange and the one in the car with his dad, nearly hitting Grandma Death (hilarious name btw, nasty but hilarious anyway):

"Dad!"

"What?"

"DA-AD!!!"

And later on, Dad's comment: "I didn't know she's still alive until I almost killed her" (my translation, I've seen the dubbed version, hope it's the same in English).

At the 29th there will be another movie with Jake on TV and I will see it (Moonlight Mile). Hope he won't die at the end of this one, too. Otherwise I will quit any Jake movies for good, I guess  ;)

Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko
« Reply #5 on: August 09, 2006, 11:18:35 am »
I think there are only three Jake movies (so far) in which his character dies at the end, so let's hope that's the end of that little streak for a while.  ;)

Melinda, of course I know just which scene you mean.  Poor Donnie - that damned Dr. Thurman keeps waking him up in compromising positions, doesn't she?  There's that hugging one, too.  And yes - if I were her, I'd definitely wait a while longer in both cases (and then eventually be arrested and/or institutionalized, I reckon).

Yes, Penth, this one demands at least a second viewing.  I also thoroughly enjoyed my third.  But now I feel so sad for Donnie that I think I'll just have to watch it again in the hopes of tempering that sadness a little bit.

Really, it's such a lovely movie, and everyone with one exception is pitch-perfect in it.  The exception being Drew Barrymore.  I like the character a lot, but her readings fall flat a couple of times.  I can overlook it for the greater good, though.  And I appreciate her greatly for getting the thing made in the first place.  You're right, Mikaela - it is indeed a gem.
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Offline Penthesilea

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Re: Donnie Darko
« Reply #6 on: August 09, 2006, 11:20:53 am »
DD is a fantastic film, one that gets better and more nuanced (more solutions, but also more questions) upon repeat viewings.

That's my impression, too.

Quote
First time I saw it my head was completely spinnning!

That's me now after one viewing. So many questions, especially about Frank. I doubt if I got anything straight about this movie. Frank was another high school kid who plaid a trick on Donnie, wasn't he? But if so, how did these strange things happen? How is it that Frank has a kind of "shield" around him? I don't get the logic behind all this time-shift-thing.
I know what happens in the end (time-travelling backwards, lying in his bed to change the realitiy/future). But I don't have a clue how.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2006, 11:29:43 am by Penthesilea »

Offline Penthesilea

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Re: Donnie Darko
« Reply #7 on: August 09, 2006, 11:26:20 am »
I think there are only three Jake movies (so far) in which his character dies at the end, so let's hope that's the end of that little streak for a while.  ;)

Cross my fingers. One one hand I'm tempted to ask which one is the third, but on the other hand I don't want to spoil any movie for myself. Hmmm... If I was to give it a shot, I'd say maybe in Bubble Boy. ???

Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko
« Reply #8 on: August 09, 2006, 12:14:13 pm »
Cross my fingers. One one hand I'm tempted to ask which one is the third, but on the other hand I don't want to spoil any movie for myself. Hmmm... If I was to give it a shot, I'd say maybe in Bubble Boy. ???

I'm not tellin'.  You'll just have to see them all.  ;)

I will give you a hint, though - it's my third favorite of all of his movies.  (Ooh.  Weird how that works out.)
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Offline Mikaela

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Re: Donnie Darko
« Reply #9 on: August 09, 2006, 02:13:02 pm »
Hmmm... If I was to give it a shot, I'd say maybe in Bubble Boy. ???

I don't think I'm giving too much away if I'm saying that Bubble Boy is the film for you if you want to see Jake in diapers at the end - not if you want to see his character dying.  ;)
Won't tell which film the third one is though - except I'll say it's about the only one of his I haven't seen myself and now I'm motivated to get hold of it. (Not because of the dying, but because it's among Barb's favourites.)

I absolutely loved Bubble Boy, btw. Didn't expect to, as not all crazy comedy  hits the right spot for me, but I thought it was completely, madly, over-the-top hilarious. Irreverent. Silly and fun as uhm.....hell. And Jake....... is so endearing and cute in the middle of the chaos. I can't see *anyone* else managing that potentially über-embarrassing role without making a total ass of himself.

But I do see how it won't be the film for everyone.

Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Donnie Darko
« Reply #10 on: August 09, 2006, 02:37:51 pm »
I was reading this thread, when it suddenly occurred to me that I was reading more about the plot than I wanted to, before seeing the film.  I'm going to do two things - A.  Put the word SPOILERS in the subject heading with my moderator Powers.  B. Finally rent the film - if so many of you whose opinions I respect love it so much, I'm in.  C. Report back.  Three things, I'm gonna do three things.


Offline Mikaela

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #11 on: August 09, 2006, 02:58:41 pm »
Quote
That's me now after one viewing. So many questions, especially about Frank. I doubt if I got anything straight about this movie. Frank was another high school kid who plaid a trick on Donnie, wasn't he? But if so, how did these strange things happen? How is it that Frank has a kind of "shield" around him? I don't get the logic behind all this time-shift-thing.
I know what happens in the end (time-travelling backwards, lying in his bed to change the realitiy/future). But I don't have a clue how.

After I'd seen Donnie Darko some more times and made up my mind about what I *thought* had happened, and why, I looked around the net for information. Here's a couple of links that comments and explains the DD-verse and all the tricky questions. Whether all of them are true, - I doubt it. Surely we're supposed to interpret it all for ourselves and there aren't definite answers to everything.......

Lots of DD Q&A:
http://www.stainlesssteelrat.net/ddfaq.htm

Salon.com's "everything you were afraid to ask about DD:"
http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/movies/feature/2004/07/23/darko/index.html


Quote
Really, it's such a lovely movie, and everyone with one exception is pitch-perfect in it.  The exception being Drew Barrymore.  I like the character a lot, but her readings fall flat a couple of times.


I do agree with that.

OTOH, I think Patrick Swayze is pitch-perfect as that smarmy self-help guy. (I normally run to avoid PS, but here he really delivers the goods!) And I love how Donnie takes him on and challenges him, revealing the hollow stupidity of his self-improvement scheme. Who among us haven't sat through just that kind of inane lecture and wished we could do what Donnie does? Go DD!  :-*
« Last Edit: August 09, 2006, 03:00:20 pm by Mikaela »

Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko
« Reply #12 on: August 09, 2006, 04:34:41 pm »
I was reading this thread, when it suddenly occurred to me that I was reading more about the plot than I wanted to, before seeing the film.  I'm going to do two things - A.  Put the word SPOILERS in the subject heading with my moderator Powers.  B. Finally rent the film - if so many of you whose opinions I respect love it so much, I'm in.  C. Report back.  Three things, I'm gonna do three things.

Our chief weapons are two: ...

;)

Sorry about the spoilers, y'all.  Thanks for rectifying that potential for us with your moderator Powers, Elle.  And I will wait on pins and needles to hear what you think of it.

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Offline Penthesilea

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Re: Donnie Darko
« Reply #13 on: August 09, 2006, 04:55:04 pm »
I was reading this thread, when it suddenly occurred to me that I was reading more about the plot than I wanted to, before seeing the film.  I'm going to do two things - A.  Put the word SPOILERS in the subject heading with my moderator Powers.  B. Finally rent the film - if so many of you whose opinions I respect love it so much, I'm in.  C. Report back.  Three things, I'm gonna do three things.

Aww, I'm so sorry. It was me who spoiled it  :( I apologize for that.

Go and see it. It's worth it. And don't read more on this thread and especially from my post, there may be more spoilers (don't know yet).

Edit: There ARE definately spoilers in my post. So stop reading when you haven't seen the movie.



***From here possible SPOILERS***

After I'd seen Donnie Darko some more times and made up my mind about what I *thought* had happened, and why, I looked around the net for information. Here's a couple of links that comments and explains the DD-verse and all the tricky questions. Whether all of them are true, - I doubt it. Surely we're supposed to interpret it all for ourselves and there aren't definite answers to everything.......

Lots of DD Q&A:
http://www.stainlesssteelrat.net/ddfaq.htm

Salon.com's "everything you were afraid to ask about DD:"
http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/movies/feature/2004/07/23/darko/index.html

Thank you, Mikaela, for these links. I checked out the FAQs of the first link and will look at the other one tomorrow.
Gosh! There are some people out there who try to analize this movie really, really seriously. Seems somehow freaky to me. But maybe those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones  ::)
 
I've another idea: the logic behind this movie and the whole time-travel-thing is not important at all, because it is non-existent. It's all in Donnies schizophrenic mind. No Bunny except for the evening of the party, when Frank disguises as Bunny. No strange bubbles that grow out of people's bodies, no "hole" (or whatever) in time and in the sky, and so on.
Nothing really happens, it's just the weird illusions of a schizophrenic mind. Donnie hallucinates for a while, then dies because the engine hits his bed. End of story.

I don't believe this option myself, but will keep it in mind at my next viewing.


Offline delalluvia

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #14 on: August 09, 2006, 07:21:05 pm »
Love this movie.  My sister hated it because it made no sense to her.

I found it profound.  Incredibly so.  So much so, I still haven't figured it out and don't think I ever will.  I know there's a lot of websites out there about it, lots of commentary on the DVD from the director, but I also like how you can just come up with your own theories and it still fit.

The 'Why are you wearing that stupid bunny suit' exchange was indeed chilling.

The familial scenes were incredibly realistic.  I very much enjoyed the trampoline scenes.  A scene of something so mundane really struck a chord.  Unlike some teenager movies, teens aren't always hanging with their friends or on the cell or having some sort of chasing girls action with the buds.  Sometimes, real teens are home with their families, jumping on the trampoline with their little sister in the back yard on a sunny day.

Jake was perfection in this movie.  It was like the role was written for him.  I can see no one else in the role.  Donnie was complex and troubled and half-mad and I loved his character.  He was by turns extremely compassionate and cruel (see the deleted scene about 'Watership Down'), wise and confused.  A perfect teenager.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2006, 07:24:24 pm by delalluvia »

Offline Sashca1007

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #15 on: August 09, 2006, 10:19:38 pm »
I think Elle has accomplished 'A' and 'B' now--  she just called me from the video store and asked if she should rent the original or the director's cut and what's the difference?  I hope my answer was adequate.  I did tell her that the director's cut not only has things added to it, but it has things taken away!  I've heard people talking about it who are happy to see some of the additional elements, but very disturbed about certain things being removed and songs replaced with other songs.  Do any of you feel this way?  Elle said she figures that she should see both, and I agreed, but I told her she should definitely see the original theatrical release first, then see the director's cut afterwards.  But that is just MY opinion, so hope I didn't steer her wrong.


Melinda, of course I know just which scene you mean.  Poor Donnie - that damned Dr. Thurman keeps waking him up in compromising positions, doesn't she?  There's that hugging one, too.  And yes - if I were her, I'd definitely wait a while longer in both cases (and then eventually be arrested and/or institutionalized, I reckon).



Ha!  Barb, If I were that doctor, I don't think I'd have the fortitude to let go of Jake Donnie during that hug  ::) .  And I certainly would have watched whatever was about to take place in that other hypnosis scene, but that's because I'm a lecherous old woman who would like to see whatever Donnie/Jake has to offer!


Devilishly handsome and disturbed young man.  LOVED him in this movie.  I also loved watching the interplay between Jake and Maggie's characters--   so....realistic as brother and sister!

Elle--  don't forget to come back and report!
"From the vibration of the floorboard on which they both stood Ennis could feel how hard Jack was shaking."

Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #16 on: August 10, 2006, 07:03:00 am »
The familial scenes were incredibly realistic.  I very much enjoyed the trampoline scenes.  A scene of something so mundane really struck a chord.  Unlike some teenager movies, teens aren't always hanging with their friends or on the cell or having some sort of chasing girls action with the buds.  Sometimes, real teens are home with their families, jumping on the trampoline with their little sister in the back yard on a sunny day.

Jake was perfection in this movie.  It was like the role was written for him.  I can see no one else in the role.  Donnie was complex and troubled and half-mad and I loved his character.  He was by turns extremely compassionate and cruel (see the deleted scene about 'Watership Down'), wise and confused.  A perfect teenager.

I loved the trampoline shots, too.  I'm with you - something about it made my heart stop.  And I'm with you about Jake in this one.  Just perfect.

Elle, I think Melinda is right.  Watch the theatrical release first, then the Director's Cut.  I really loved the added Watership Down scene in the DC.  But having watched that my second time and then buying the original and watching that my third, I did notice that things were cut from the original that I had really loved, too.  Either way, though, it's all good.
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Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #17 on: August 10, 2006, 07:12:29 am »
Devilishly handsome and disturbed young man.  LOVED him in this movie.  I also loved watching the interplay between Jake and Maggie's characters--   so....realistic as brother and sister!

I love the interplay between them when he says to her something like, "Yeah, and you'll still be working at the Yarn Barn" - that look she shoots him, and the little sideways grin he gives her back.  I love how of course it's so real - they're antagonizing each other, but there's a lot of love there, too.

I also thought Mary McConnell was perfect as his mother.  First of all, she actually looks like him.  But much more than that, I just loved again the interplay between them.  That one line - "Where did my son go?  What happened to him?"  I find myself wanting to say that to my own son sometimes, and he's only four.  When you've seen the sweet side of your boy for so long and now see all that anger - I thought she just nailed that.  I loved how she talked to the Bible thumper, too.
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Offline Kd5000

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #18 on: August 10, 2006, 11:44:30 am »
Well in the director's cut commentary, the director speculates that scientist from the future have caused an accident which results in a corruption of  the space/time contium.  They then proceed to fix the corruption in time space by reaching out to someone living in that time period.

Personally, I prefer to think it was a natural occurance and that divine intervention summoned Donnie Darko to correct the problem.  Sometimes the director can say too much.

Wikipedia has the most concise information about this film.  The GROUND HOG analogy is used, that this scenario will keep repeating itself.     

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donnie_darko

I'd still like to know where the director got all this stuff.  The famous science fiction writer Phillip Dickey someone told me.  Maybe I'm misspelling his name. Anybody know if he wrote this sort of sciene fiction.

Offline Mikaela

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #19 on: August 10, 2006, 02:29:13 pm »
Quote
Devilishly handsome and disturbed young man.

Here represented by the both of them:  ;)




Isn't this just the cutest picture?  :)

Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #20 on: August 11, 2006, 01:14:51 am »
Oh shit.  That was intense. 

Offline Mikaela

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #21 on: August 11, 2006, 02:46:38 am »
Wasn't it just?   8)


Offline Penthesilea

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #22 on: August 11, 2006, 03:14:14 pm »
Yesterday I wanted to see DD again. But my VCR did not tape it, for whatever reason >:(
My husband did the programming and I checked it (men! you know? never trust them  ;)). Don't know how this could happen. Now I ordered it via amazon.

I had never heard the name Mary McDonnell before DD, but she seemed somehow familiar to me. I looked her up at IMDB and was surprised how many movies I had seen with her acting in them: Independence Day, Sneakers, the TV series ER and most surprisingly to me: she was "Stands With A Fist" from Dances with Wolves  :o
I never would have recognized her and never pulled together that all those roles were played by one and the same person.

So Jake has worked together with half the ER-cast (ok, "half" this a bit of an exaggeration): Linda Cardellini, Mary McDonnell and Noah Wyle, who was also in DD. Any more?

Now I've read some about DD and am all the more eager to see it again.

Offline twistedude

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #23 on: August 11, 2006, 03:31:01 pm »
Hope everyone noticed that he wears brown contacts--nice Jewish boy. O.K. half-Jewish. But he looks Jewish with the brown eyes.

I've only seen the Direcdtor's Cut.; Recommended by the video store--real experts there, huh?

yeah, it seems typical of a 9-foot-tall terrifying rabbit that he'd tell you the world was coming to an end, when it was only...you that was.

That's his sister that plays his sister, rigtht?\

I know, why don't I read the thread-?-cause i don't have time right now!
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #24 on: August 12, 2006, 07:09:07 pm »
Hope everyone noticed that he wears brown contacts--nice Jewish boy. O.K. half-Jewish. But he looks Jewish with the brown eyes.

Umm, his eyes are really blue in the scene where he's sleeping through the football game with his father and friends and the invisible 'spears' start coming out of their chests.

Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #25 on: August 12, 2006, 07:44:28 pm »
Umm, his eyes are really blue in the scene where he's sleeping through the football game with his father and friends and the invisible 'spears' start coming out of their chests.

Yep.  They just look really dark in certain light (or lack thereof).  They're not those "see-through" kind of blue eyes like my mother used to call the kind with no dark outer rim.  Most times, they're like a blue, blue sea on a blue, blue day.  And like the sea, they change colors.

Sigh.  I *really* need to get back in touch with reality.  Trouble is my fantasy life is so much more fulfilling.
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Offline Kd5000

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #26 on: August 14, 2006, 01:16:59 pm »
Actually, I don't tell ppl about the 9 foot rabbit appearing to the main character when discussing the movie. I get that "your kidding me look, no way I'm going to rent that."

Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #27 on: August 14, 2006, 02:00:25 pm »
Actually, I don't tell ppl about the 9 foot rabbit appearing to the main character when discussing the movie. I get that "your kidding me look, no way I'm going to rent that."

Me, neither.  I don't tell them anything about it.  But then, I *am* careful not to lend it out/recommend it to people I know aren't fans of non-linear stuff.  We all know who those people are - the kind that would have seen this beautiful film in the theater and stood up at the end and loudly said, "That was SO stupid."  (I know you are, but what am I?  ;))
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Offline Ellemeno

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A Mind-Messin' Quiz Question for all you Donnie Darkologists.
« Reply #28 on: August 14, 2006, 06:06:05 pm »
I have now watched Donnie Darko with and without the audio commentary.  Here's sumthin' - at the end of the commentary, Richard Kelly, the director, says something like, "And the last names on the credits are my parents, who made this possible." (His words were more humorous, but that was the gist.) 

Here's the Mind-Messin' Quiz Question - what are the names of the director's parents? 



(I will merge this in with the Donnie Darko thread once we have gotten a response.)

Offline ednbarby

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Re: A Mind-Messin' Quiz Question for all you Donnie Darkologists.
« Reply #29 on: August 14, 2006, 07:16:53 pm »
Not having seen the credits and not having access to my DVD right now (not that I would have cheated or anything ;)), I'll take a flyer at Eddie and Elizabeth.

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Offline Ellemeno

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Re: A Mind-Messin' Quiz Question for all you Donnie Darkologists.
« Reply #30 on: August 16, 2006, 01:48:21 am »
Not having seen the credits and not having access to my DVD right now (not that I would have cheated or anything ;)), I'll take a flyer at Eddie and Elizabeth.

Nope, the true answer is way more Mind-Messin' than that, but thanks for playing, Barb.  This is an open book test.  Anybody want to blow our minds with the answer?
« Last Edit: August 16, 2006, 01:50:00 am by Ellemeno »

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Re: A Mind-Messin' Quiz Question for all you Donnie Darkologists.
« Reply #31 on: August 16, 2006, 01:57:26 am »
James Richard Kelly writer and director of Donnie Darko, is the son of Lane Kelly and Ennis Kelly of Midlothian, Virginia  ::) and yes I cheated because Elle said it was an open book test.... ;)

Offline Ellemeno

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Re: A Mind-Messin' Quiz Question for all you Donnie Darkologists.
« Reply #32 on: August 16, 2006, 02:07:24 am »
James Richard Kelly writer and director of Donnie Darko, is the son of Lane Kelly and Ennis Kelly of Midlothian, Virginia  ::) and yes I cheated because Elle said it was an open book test.... ;)

Ding!  Ding!  Ding!

We have a winner!  Thanks for playing, Victoria.  It is kind of Mind-Messin', isn't it?

Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #33 on: August 17, 2006, 02:13:22 am »
Okay, I'm ready to talk a bit about my Donnie Darko experience.  It freaked me out, but compelled me too.  I've read all kinds of stuff on it now.  I have listened to "Mad World" about 50 times since I first heard it a few days ago.

While I thought I was pretty much "getting it" as I watched it the first time, turns out I didn't hardly get nothin' (based on listening to the the writer/director's commentary).  How weird is it that I like my version of understanding it better than I like his. 

I am going to watch the Director's Cut soon, though it sounds like I have seen a lot of the additions already in the deleted/extended scenes on the first DVD.

I am astonished by how many references there have been to DD under my very nose and I didn't realize it - our users Sparkle Motion and hungry, hungry hippos, for example.

And last (for now), I was IN the Aero Theater with starboardlight, henrypie, and others.  It's where AnglessFest took place (where Heath, Jake, Michelle, Diana, Gustavo, and Rodrigo were a very few feet away from us).  One of our gang at the time mentioned that it was the theater you see in DD, but not having seen it yet, that didn't make much of an impression on me.


Offline delalluvia

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #34 on: August 17, 2006, 08:16:12 pm »
While I thought I was pretty much "getting it" as I watched it the first time, turns out I didn't hardly get nothin' (based on listening to the the writer/director's commentary).  How weird is it that I like my version of understanding it better than I like his.

Me too.  Not being particularly into the Christian angle, I didn't at all get that he was supposed to be a Christ figure and it was about god and destiny and blah blah.  I was more into the time travel paradox thinking and the eternal question we all ask ourselves - if we knew then what we know now, would we do X differently? - and things like, it's all in Donnie's head.  He's really insane and never left his bed.

Quote
I am astonished by how many references there have been to DD under my very nose and I didn't realize it - our users Sparkle Motion and hungry, hungry hippos, for example.

Heh.  Surprise!   ;D

Offline opinionista

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #35 on: August 19, 2006, 10:36:30 am »
Some Donnie Darko moments. Sorry the pictures are so dark but they're like that at I heart Jake web site, where I took them from.
















« Last Edit: August 19, 2006, 10:57:37 am by opinionista »
Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement. -Mark Twain.

Offline opinionista

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #36 on: August 19, 2006, 10:51:54 am »
MAJOR SPOILERS

On fear and love


Donnie: Ling Ling finds a wallet on the ground filled with money. She takes the wallet to the address on the driver's license but keeps the money inside the wallet.


Donnie: I-I'm sorry Mrs. Farmer. I don't get this.Life isn't that simple. I mean who cares if Ling Ling returns the wallet and keeps the money? It has nothing to do with either fear or love.

Mrs. Farmer: Fear and love are the deepest of human emotions.


Donnie: Okay. But you're not listening to me. There are other things that need to be taken into account here. Like the whole spectrum of human emotion. You can't just lump everything into these two categories and then just deny everything else!
Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement. -Mark Twain.

Offline opinionista

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #37 on: August 19, 2006, 10:56:20 am »
Major Spoilers

"Smurfette doesn't fuck..."




Donnie: First of all, Papa Smurf didn't create Smurfette. Gargamel did. She was sent in as Gargamel's evil spy with the intention of destroying the Smurf village. But the overwhelming goodness of the Smurf way of life transformed her. And as for the whole gang-bang scenario, it just couldn't happen. Smurfs are asexual. They don't even have... reproductive organs under those little, white pants. It's just so illogical, you know, about being a Smurf. You know, what's the point of living... if you don't have a dick?

Sean Smith: [pause] Dammit, Donnie. Why you gotta get all smart on us?
Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement. -Mark Twain.

Offline cmr107

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #38 on: August 27, 2006, 04:09:29 pm »
OK, I used to be one of those folks who hadn't seen Donnie Darko yet, therefore avoided this thread. I just saw it last night. Wow. I really need to see it again before I can say anything about it.

Just so ya'll know, watching DD after midnight, alone in a dorm room, in a mostly empty building (most people didn't move in till today) is NOT the way to go. Maybe my roommate will want to watch it with me.  :)

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #39 on: August 29, 2006, 04:48:15 am »
I also saw the movie again, saw it the first time in 2001 and didn't understand a thing... Well, that improved slightly, but I still have a hard time understanding the ending.

I absolutely LOVED the smurf dialogue, god, that was hilarious!!!! :laugh:

Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #40 on: March 17, 2007, 01:23:23 pm »
An early Easter gift...


Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #41 on: March 17, 2007, 08:50:07 pm »
Ellen, those are *SO* cool.  Where'd you find 'em?

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Offline David In Indy

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #42 on: March 18, 2007, 02:34:09 am »
An early Easter gift...



Ohh!!  :o

I see the face of that mean 'ol bunny on that egg!

Cwazy Wabbit!

I hope he doesn't come to my house this Easter.  :P


I also saw the movie again, saw it the first time in 2001 and didn't understand a thing... Well, that improved slightly, but I still have a hard time understanding the ending.

I absolutely LOVED the smurf dialogue, god, that was hilarious!!!! :laugh:

Don't feel bad Melissa. I've probably watched it 10 times, and I don't get any of it!

But who cares? Jake is cute and Drew Barrymore ROCKED!!  :D



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Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #43 on: March 18, 2007, 03:29:30 am »
Ellen, those are *SO* cool.  Where'd you find 'em?



(Barb, you know that's not really my name, right?)

I found them when I was Googling for a good Donnie Darko photo for your birthday thread!!  :)

Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #44 on: March 18, 2007, 09:30:00 am »
(Barb, you know that's not really my name, right?)

I found them when I was Googling for a good Donnie Darko photo for your birthday thread!!  :)

Yes, Clarissa, I know.  :)

Don't know what possessed me to call you Ellen, though - I think I was going for "Elle" and slipped.

Anyway, thank you for your efforts! 
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Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #45 on: April 04, 2007, 04:28:31 pm »
I LOVE Donnie Darko, just LOVE it, saw the director's cut over the weekend and it blew me away.

The whole film has this sort of schizoid spirituality to it. Donnie as a Christ-like figure who has to die to save the world, the 6 foot bunny rabbit...whole thing is amazing. Everybody sick of it or do you want to talk about it?
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Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #46 on: April 04, 2007, 04:54:48 pm »
Sick of it???  Who do you think you're talking to?  ;)

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it, too.  I like the way you put it: that it has a certain "schizoid spirituality."  Excellent call.

Another one of the many things I love about it is the late 80s music.  Tears for Fears stuff in general is very evocative to me - 1988 was a pivotal year for me, as it was when I went from being utterly heartbroken by someone I'd been head-over-heels in love with and on the verge of major depression to meeting and falling in love with the man I would marry and have been married to since 1990, all in the space of about 9 months.

I especially love the camerawork in the "Head Over Heels" sequence - and how pretty much all the major players in the movie are shown in a space of about 90 seconds.  Lovely.
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Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #47 on: April 04, 2007, 05:03:49 pm »
I...NEED...to see it again.

I had caught part of it on HBO a few months ago and afterwards I was like: what the hell did I just see??? It really threw me. Over the weekend I put on the director's cut and can't see why people are so confused by it. Was the theater version different? It was on HBO Saturday, seemed to be different but I only caught about half an hour of it.

This film doesn't confuse me at all. But it DOES pose questions that need to be answered!
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Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #48 on: April 04, 2007, 07:45:22 pm »
Yes - the original theater and DVD version are different from the Director's Cut.  They don't include all the excerpts from the chapter's of Grandma Death's book.  I agree that when you have those, there's no confusion whatsoever.

I don't remember being confused by it the first time I saw it years ago - just wondering if it had all really happened to him or if it had been just a dream.  Apparently, the answer is "both."

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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #49 on: April 04, 2007, 09:13:41 pm »
Yes - the original theater and DVD version are different from the Director's Cut.  They don't include all the excerpts from the chapter's of Grandma Death's book.  I agree that when you have those, there's no confusion whatsoever.

I don't remember being confused by it the first time I saw it years ago - just wondering if it had all really happened to him or if it had been just a dream.  Apparently, the answer is "both."

Is that correct?  ???  I read an article in "Empire" a couple of years ago where the director made it clear that the events really happened.  I had been thinking that it was all in Donnie's head - one thing tipped me off, but it was easily explained away - so I guess I'm on board with what the director intended.  :-\

Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #50 on: April 05, 2007, 04:01:39 am »
I thought it all happened as well.
I wonder if it was brought on by the pills he was taking...and am trying to figure out the connection between his sister's BF and the Bunny Rabbit.

By the way, I would have had the same reaction Donny's father did when informed he'd told Miss Farmer to take the card and place it up her anus lol
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Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #51 on: April 05, 2007, 08:55:44 am »
It all really happened.  But Donnie is the only one who knew that.  To everyone else, it was just a dream.  :)
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Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #52 on: April 05, 2007, 10:01:20 am »
yeah, that's exactly what I thought, too.
Everyone thought the kid was dreaming but he wasn't, he actually saw these things, actually lived these things. There WAS a 6 foot bunny rabbit from another universe in Donny's life.

Do you have any idea why it took the form of Frank?
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Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #53 on: April 05, 2007, 10:09:37 am »
Maybe because Frank was ultimately a sympathetic character.  When he took off the bunny head, he was just a kid his sister knew.  Remember - he was at the Halloween party.  Donnie's sister says at one point "Has anyone seen Frank?" (which is so funny on a couple of levels) and someone else says, "I think he went on a beer run" or something like that.

And Frank really did design and wear that bunny suit for Halloween.  I think it's more that Frank came through the portal wearing it than that the bunny was some other creature entirely.

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Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #54 on: April 05, 2007, 10:14:51 am »
That makes sense, that 'Frank' came through the portal after designing the Bunny. I have to watch it again later and see if I can get any more detail.

That business with Grandma death's book certainly would make for a much more understandable film by the way. Wonder why it was cut out in the theatrical edition...
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Offline sparklemotion

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #55 on: April 05, 2007, 03:05:54 pm »
Donnie Darko is a favorite - see screen name :)  I'm wanting to order it on DVD, but can't decide between original and director cut.  Maybe I should get both?

Offline SFEnnisSF

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #56 on: April 05, 2007, 03:10:36 pm »
Donnie Darko is a favorite - see screen name :)  I'm wanting to order it on DVD, but can't decide between original and director cut.  Maybe I should get both?

Get both.  Both are different experiences.  Even some of the background music is changed.  And when the "Chut up" girl (can't remember her name off the top of my head) does the swan dance, in the original someone yelled 'get off the stage'.  In the "Director's cut" that is omitted!

Offline SFEnnisSF

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #57 on: April 05, 2007, 03:14:31 pm »
Referencing this thread: http://bettermost.net/forum/index.php/topic,697.msg10039.html#msg10039

The Del Mar theatre in Santa Cruz was showing BBM and then had midnight shows of Donnie Darko.  They was also showing Heath in Cassanova too.

This was all too much coincidence!   :D  :D

Offline sparklemotion

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #58 on: April 05, 2007, 03:53:37 pm »
Thank you, sfericsf.  How fun would it be to see Donnie Darko at that theatre?

Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #59 on: April 05, 2007, 05:46:34 pm »
I went out and ordered the score and complete music selection toady....then came back wondering why I hadn't used ebay!!! 36 bucks, its a UK import, and they had to actually get it from the UK.

I will look for the original theatrical version of DD. You have no idea how much I'm into this film!
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #60 on: April 05, 2007, 08:19:22 pm »
Maybe because Frank was ultimately a sympathetic character.  When he took off the bunny head, he was just a kid his sister knew.  Remember - he was at the Halloween party.  Donnie's sister says at one point "Has anyone seen Frank?" (which is so funny on a couple of levels) and someone else says, "I think he went on a beer run" or something like that.

And Frank really did design and wear that bunny suit for Halloween.  I think it's more that Frank came through the portal wearing it than that the bunny was some other creature entirely.

I read a really cool sexual intepretation of DD once.


POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!!!!!!  POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!!!!!!  POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!!!!!!  POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!!!!!!














Frank was the guy Donnie's sister was dating and probably having sex with as well.  His is the car that passes Donnie the morning he's biking home.  When she comes in from her date at the beginning of the movie, you hear the car honking - that's why she's smiling.  The article talks about the sexual tension between brother and sister.  Brother still struggling to express his sexuality while his sister is well into it;  drawing the brother's attention, so much so, his strange apparition, the guy who saves his life, Donnie's 'god' figure is the guy who's fucking his sister.

Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #61 on: April 05, 2007, 09:18:55 pm »
I read a really cool sexual intepretation of DD once.


POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!!!!!!  POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!!!!!!  POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!!!!!!  POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!!!!!!














Frank was the guy Donnie's sister was dating and probably having sex with as well.  His is the car that passes Donnie the morning he's biking home.  When she comes in from her date at the beginning of the movie, you hear the car honking - that's why she's smiling.  The article talks about the sexual tension between brother and sister.  Brother still struggling to express his sexuality while his sister is well into it;  drawing the brother's attention, so much so, his strange apparition, the guy who saves his life, Donnie's 'god' figure is the guy who's fucking his sister.
I've only seen it 3 times so have to look again...but i remember the shrinks office where Donnie is saying that sex with anyone in his family is gross,and no way, all while under hypnosis. that makes me hesitate to agree with the theory. But is is fascinating!
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #62 on: April 05, 2007, 10:55:40 pm »
I've only seen it 3 times so have to look again...but i remember the shrinks office where Donnie is saying that sex with anyone in his family is gross,and no way, all while under hypnosis.

Aha, but that means he'd been thinking about it.  ;D

Quote
that makes me hesitate to agree with the theory. But is is fascinating!

Yeah, I'm not sure I agree with it either, but it was fascinating to read.  Wish I could remember where I saw the article.  Maybe I'll go try to find it.

Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #63 on: April 05, 2007, 11:03:44 pm »
No she phrased the question in a way which made him think she was ASKING if he had the hots for somebody in the family

lol
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #64 on: April 05, 2007, 11:08:46 pm »
Found it!

You have to read through a lot to get to the sister and sex part and it has spoilers, so for someone who hasn't seen it - you've been warned.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041102/EDITOR/41022001

Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #65 on: April 06, 2007, 10:45:42 am »
Cool.  I always figured his sister was dating Frank, too - from the honking and her asking at the party "Has anyone seen Frank?" (why would she want to know otherwise?).  I never made that interpretation that that's why he was the one who came through the portal, but it's kind of an interesting one, and one I don't think is beneath/above the writer/director to be making.
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Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #66 on: April 06, 2007, 12:06:50 pm »
I'm going to watch it again, today, it's a good Easter movie.

LOL
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Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #67 on: April 06, 2007, 01:30:07 pm »
Cool.  I always figured his sister was dating Frank, too - from the honking and her asking at the party "Has anyone seen Frank?" (why would she want to know otherwise?).  I never made that interpretation that that's why he was the one who came through the portal, but it's kind of an interesting one, and one I don't think is beneath/above the writer/director to be making.


I completely missed all that, til I heard the director explain it in the commentary.


Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #68 on: April 06, 2007, 01:32:37 pm »
How did frank find the portal?
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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #69 on: April 06, 2007, 08:03:40 pm »
I'm going to watch it again, today, it's a good Easter movie.

Heh, DD is one of my Halloween movies.  I watch DD and Sleepy Hollow every Halloween.

Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #70 on: April 06, 2007, 08:55:37 pm »
How did frank find the portal?

He found it at the Aero movie theater while watching "Dawn of the Dead."

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Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #71 on: April 06, 2007, 08:58:01 pm »
He found it at the Aero movie theater while watching "Dawn of the Dead."



:(  I hope I didn't find the portal at the Aero. 

Offline delalluvia

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #72 on: April 06, 2007, 11:07:15 pm »
Bizarre double-feature wasn't it?  'Last Temptation of Christ' and 'Dawn of the Dead'.

Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #73 on: April 06, 2007, 11:40:33 pm »
I thought it was hilarious.
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Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #74 on: April 07, 2007, 10:30:54 am »
HAPPY EASTER FRANK!!!!
"I couldn't stand it no more so i fixed it"

Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #75 on: April 08, 2007, 12:05:24 am »
I just ordered 2 DD t shirts for me and juniour; they have the countdown on them

and i want the "why are you wearing that stupid mansuit" Tshirt lol
"I couldn't stand it no more so i fixed it"

Offline David In Indy

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #76 on: April 08, 2007, 01:27:00 am »
HAPPY BUNNY DAY YA'LL!!




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Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #77 on: April 10, 2007, 06:55:49 pm »
OK

tonight I watch the theatricaL version.
"I couldn't stand it no more so i fixed it"

Offline David In Indy

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #78 on: April 11, 2007, 09:49:38 pm »
I hope I didn't kill this thread with my "Frank The Easter Bunny" message!  :(

Maybe he's scaring everyone away!! Come back everyone! It's just a picture.  :)

 :laugh:  :laugh:
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Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #79 on: April 11, 2007, 10:24:14 pm »
I liked it too bad it wasn't color!
"I couldn't stand it no more so i fixed it"

Offline David In Indy

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #80 on: April 12, 2007, 04:22:32 pm »
I tried to find a color bunny Jack, and I failed to locate one. But I found this....



THREE of them in a row!! Somebody must have photoshopped this picture. (Or I've had WAY too much to drink).  ;)


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Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #81 on: April 12, 2007, 09:49:32 pm »
scary. way scary
"I couldn't stand it no more so i fixed it"

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #82 on: April 13, 2007, 11:26:48 am »
I just ordered 2 DD t shirts for me and juniour; they have the countdown on them

and i want the "why are you wearing that stupid mansuit" Tshirt lol

T-shirt, t-shirt? Where did you buy it, I want one too!!!

 :D

Offline brokebackjack

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #83 on: April 14, 2007, 02:30:49 am »
On ebay.

They have an interesting collection--I figured let me try the countdown. it would be cool to get the one that says 'Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?' as well!
"I couldn't stand it no more so i fixed it"

Offline David In Indy

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #84 on: June 26, 2007, 02:48:11 pm »
I love Donnie Darko too. It's a very sexy movie, and by that I mean it's one of those movies I keep revisiting, and can't seem to get enough of. I don't really understand it, although I think I figure out a little more of it each time I watch it.

I've watched it 20 times probably, and I still have a lot of questions. I'm a bit thick sometimes.  ???
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Offline Mikaela

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #85 on: June 26, 2007, 03:17:31 pm »
Hey Susie. Loved the video. Thanks for linking to it. Great 1-minute summary  ;D... and I especially loved that clincher. Hehheh. So funny! Donnie remains one of my favourite films. And to think that if it hadn't been for BBM and the resulting Jake-infatuation, God knows whether I'd ever have gotten around to watching Donnie at all!

Offline Ellemeno

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #86 on: June 26, 2007, 04:52:56 pm »
What is the last thing he says in the video?  I couldn't make it out.  "An excellent example of why they developed...whuh?"

Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #87 on: June 26, 2007, 05:43:59 pm »
One of my very favorites, too (obviously - look who started this thread).

And I agree that he summed it all up quite nicely.

What is your theory on why Donnie was chosen to go through the wormhole (or looking glass) and live in the parallel universe (Wonderland?) for a while before he dies, Susie?

Maybe it's saying that we all do that right before we die, in a way?  Kind of like "Jacob's Ladder" (ever see that one with Tim Robbins?).

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Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #88 on: June 26, 2007, 07:22:47 pm »
Yes, the "it was all just a dream" theory is my least-favorite, too.  :)

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mvansand76

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #89 on: June 27, 2007, 05:54:03 am »
One of my very favorites, too (obviously - look who started this thread).

And I agree that he summed it all up quite nicely.

What is your theory on why Donnie was chosen to go through the wormhole (or looking glass) and live in the parallel universe (Wonderland?) for a while before he dies, Susie?

Maybe it's saying that we all do that right before we die, in a way?  Kind of like "Jacob's Ladder" (ever see that one with Tim Robbins?).



I saw Jacob's ladder years and years ago, I remember it's very disturbing and don't they use the quote from Aldous Huxley's The Doors of Perception?

To be shaken out of the ruts of ordinary perception, to be shown for a few timeless hours the outer and inner world, not as they appear to an animal obsessed with survival or to a human being obsessed with words and notions, but as they are apprehended, directly and unconditionally, by Mind at Large— this is an experience of inestimable value to everyone and especially to the intellectual.

Offline delalluvia

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #90 on: June 30, 2007, 12:51:27 pm »
Quote
My English teacher would have given me an “F” if my story ended “…… and it was all a dream”.

Yes, the "it was all just a dream" theory is my least-favorite, too.  :)

It wouldn't be such a bad ending, actually it would be extremely haunting.  Not that it's a dream, but instead, the fevered delusion of a young man who has gone off his medication and is finally, sadly, tragically, insane;  laughing to himself in his bedroom over nothing, late at night...[shiver]

I rented "Jacob's Ladder" once and after it was over, me and my friend looked at each other and said, "Man, that was one spooky-ass movie."  It was disturbing.

Offline ednbarby

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #91 on: June 30, 2007, 09:06:02 pm »
That's a good call, Del, on both counts.

I'm liking that theory a bit more, now...  As much as it creeps me out.

And yes, I found Jacob's Ladder disturbing, too.

I think the most disturbing such film I ever saw was one my English teacher showed us in the 8th grade.  I forget what it was called, but it was based on a classic short story about a Civil War veteran who is about to be hanged for desertion, but who somehow slips the noose, gets away from the Executioner and his captors, and makes it back home to see his wife and baby.  Then, just as he's about to embrace them, he is snapped out of his reverie by the trap door opening and actually being hanged by the noose.

*shiver*

It seems many stories like it have followed - "The Others" comes to mind, although in a different sort of way - you know, that mind playing tricks on you sort of thing.

But your version of DD is actually way more disturbing.

And makes me want to watch it again tonight with a leaning towards that angle...

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Offline delalluvia

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #92 on: June 30, 2007, 11:15:04 pm »
That's a good call, Del, on both counts.

I'm liking that theory a bit more, now...  As much as it creeps me out.

And yes, I found Jacob's Ladder disturbing, too.

I think the most disturbing such film I ever saw was one my English teacher showed us in the 8th grade.  I forget what it was called, but it was based on a classic short story about a Civil War veteran who is about to be hanged for desertion, but who somehow slips the noose, gets away from the Executioner and his captors, and makes it back home to see his wife and baby.  Then, just as he's about to embrace them, he is snapped out of his reverie by the trap door opening and actually being hanged by the noose.

*shiver*

Ow, very scary.  I've always been frightful of such stories.  How far can your mind fool you and the horror that might suddenly come upon you?  I've not heard about that story, but I read a similar themed story as a kid in a comic book, and of course, even the movie "The Matrix" takes that route.  Your reality isn't your reality.  Your mind is being fooled...Stephen King wrote a short story based on this haunting premise called "Springheel Jack" which creeped me out and still does after all these years.

Quote
But your version of DD is actually way more disturbing.

And makes me want to watch it again tonight with a leaning towards that angle...

You want to watch for the little hints - I mean, I know this take is wrong, the director says so in his commentary -  but it's easy to find hints here and there.

Here's one hint that's it's all in Donnie's mind - when he wakes up and leaves his house and ends up on the golf course.  As he's leaving his house, he passes the refrigerator and picks up the marker that is hanging there next to the little refrigerator bulletin board.  He later uses this to write the date on his arm.

How did he know he was going to need something to write with unless it was all in his mind already?   

Offline Mikaela

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Donnie Darko -The sequel !?!?
« Reply #93 on: May 09, 2008, 01:37:50 pm »
Well, I've never. Someone's apparently planning to make a DD sequel, where Donnie's kid sister Samantha is the main protagonist. This according to ComingSoon.net:

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=44826

I think it's a bad idea. Great movies should be allowed to stand on their own, and be interpreteded without sequel interference complete with superfluous added-on tid-bits or ditto theories that only manage to dilute the mystery, ambiguity and impact of the original.

 

Offline ifyoucantfixit

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #94 on: May 09, 2008, 02:30:45 pm »


           I know what it is, and it is definitely one of his best acting jobs,, It was a very good
movie by all the actors in it.  I own it.  Funny and sad, and oddly interesting all at once.



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Offline Front-Ranger

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Re: Donnie Darko - SPOILERS
« Reply #95 on: July 29, 2010, 11:57:08 pm »
I loved the trampoline shots, too.  I'm with you - something about it made my heart stop.  And I'm with you about Jake in this one.  Just perfect.

Elle, I think Melinda is right.  Watch the theatrical release first, then the Director's Cut.  I really loved the added Watership Down scene in the DC.  But having watched that my second time and then buying the original and watching that my third, I did notice that things were cut from the original that I had really loved, too.  Either way, though, it's all good.

Now I have to see the director's cut of this movie once again, now that I'm reading Watership Down. And, in another bunny coincidence, I actually played the bunny, the killer rabbit, in a recreation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, at the actual cave where it was shot. What a coincidence!

About "I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad that the dreams I have of dying are the best I've ever had" this makes a lot of sense, because the Tibetans think of dreams as the practice run for death. And, in an inside joke, the primary expert about Tibetan Buddhism in the United States is Robert Thurman, father of Uma Thurman.
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