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Donnie Darko (2001)
spoiler...
Death from an alternate timeline crashes into us all
distant thunder
where do you go at night?
wake up' to a man-sized rabbit
28 days
16 hours
42 minutes
12 seconds
that is when the world will end
Donnie Darko is advised by Frank, in an echoed hush
his sister gets home after a date
jet engine from a Tangent Universe lands in his bedroom
waking up on a golf course, Donnie becomes the Living Receiver
he smiles
they don't know where it came from or what happened to the plane?
destruction as a form of creation
new girl sits next to Donnie
dream of a school with water floors and sky ceiling
wake up, Donnie' to see Manipulated Dead Frank the bunny-man
there is a solid water barrier between him and Frank
'I can do anything I want, and so can you'
he smiles
flooding his school, sleep golfing, burning down a house
he begins the most beautiful tenuous relationship
his sleepwalking, his hallucinations, his arson in his past, pills and therapy for his general "detachment from reality", with something frightening and unknown in his future
the Philosophy of Time Travel'
a book written by Grandma Death aka Roberta Sparrow continuously checking her mailbox
using the Fourth Dimensional Construct of water, Manipulated Dead Frank manipulates the Living Receiver Donnie
up the stairs to his parents' closet
he opens a box and finds a handgun wrapped in cloth
what if you could go back in time and take all those hours of pain and darkness, and replace them with something better
right now there's some fat guy over there staring at us
hacking at the wall of water between them
light beams from Frank's eye
under the mask is a guy with long hair and a bleeding eye
the sky's gonna open up
the party suddenly, in a work of timeline manipulating, can happen
we should totally throw a party
anybody seen Frank?'
there's a car coming
Deus ex Machina
you killed her Frank
the sky is getting dark
Donnie guides the artifact back to the Primary Universe
see the whole film in reverse
back to Donnie laughing in his room when the engine hits
now enlightened he anticipates the something better'
Frank feeling his eye
Gretchen and his mom wave with uncertainty
remembering the future that won't happen
first film from director Richard Kelly
full of great references and appropriate music (ie. Echo and the Bunnymen)
similar, though not as scary as the rabbit in Sexy Beast
Drew Barrymore, as producer, was apparently a major factor in getting this film made.
Nomads (1986)
rootlessness is in
faceless shot of a hooded Eskimo' person - dark van overlooking
L.A. trying to catch some sleep on her break, Dr. Eileen Flax
wakes up to the sound of a phone ringing - calling Dr. Benway -
cops picked up a guy on the beach- handcuffed to the bed - the
last few screaming words - sudden violent whisper transfers
memories via her ear - he ends up dying of past calamity - last
thing a man says is supposed to be significant - `N'y sont pas;
sont des Innuat' - dreams of some graffiti - a woman - French
anthropologist Jean-Claude Pommier - his wife, Veronique - on
duty Eileen collapses and has a series of visions - black van roars
by - bottle falls in slow motion, consciousness smashing away -
sex death pigs kill' painted on his garage door - punks hanging
around a black van - a roll of bloodied carpet with newspaper
articles - realizes he has to check them out - gas stations, diners -
Eileen at the beach - messed hair and a distant look - literally
seeing through his eyes - hostile spirits capable of hanging out at
some picnic tables - Southern California, where rootlessness is in
rhythmic African drums - they bash a guy's head in and toss him
in a dumpster - Pommier returns to the garbage bin finding no
sign of a body - following his instincts, hearing tribal drums mixed
with guitar noise, he finds the gang in front of an abandoned
looking building taking their picture, Mary Woronov's character
does a lewd dance on top of a car for his camera - explaining to
his angry wife, `I wanted to know what kind of people could think of
a murder as some sort of shrine - people who do not live
anyplace, do not work anyplace, I called the government and their
vehicle isn't registered - don't you understand? They're Nomads
yes - yes, Nomads -like all of them - like everyplace we've lived for
the last 10 years yes - here, now - in this city - in the middle of a
modern city - they go from one party to the next, one restaurant,
one gas station - these people live in parking lots - in thirty hours
they did not stop moving - don't you understand? - outside any
structure - they do not participate - no exchanges - no constraints -
they resort to violence at no provocation - and they get away with it'
- `des Innuat' - some sort of nomad myth - wandering in the
desert, whether of ice or sand - hostile spirits capable of
assuming human form - thought to inhabit places of past calamity
- they brought disaster and madness to any humans who fell in
with them photos develop without subjects running from the
black van, he enters the abandoned building the gang was in front
of - a nun with a flashlight - dusty old rooms - she knows his name
- some tea? she warns him, but we know its too late - a hanging
nun - flashing her breasts in the shadows - faces without flesh -
he jolts into consciousness smashing his face into the windshield
- murders Adam Ant's character with a tire iron but in the
morning the body has disappeared Eileen shows up at Pommier's house Veronique wonders how she knows so much
about Jean - nomads surround the house - cut the phone line -
break through the door - the roof - the windows - they climb into the
attic and Eileen experiences the severe beating Pommier took
from the nomads - screaming suddenly stops and the nomads
leave - after dark Eileen and Veronique find the house trashed -
graffiti on every wall get in their car and drive away followed by
a nomad on a motorcycle who turns back at the California state
line - Pommier is played horribly by Pierce Brosnan with a fake
French accent early attempt at an experimental movie by John
McTiernan, director of Die Hard', Predator', and the terrible
remake of Rollerball.'
Seconds (1966)
identity swinging
A middle aged business man, contacted by a secret corporation
gets a second chance at life. Softly discomforting, distorted photography, sweaty paranoid
repression. When those desires become manifest, dissatisfaction in
business, identity-swinging, only for the rich. After a successful operation and psycho-adjustment, dimly
shrieking through transplanted vocal chords, emerges a groovy
artist. Freedom is a dodgy life. Dissatisfied with the California coast, grape orgy, cocktail party,
`greener on the other side of the fence' mortality/morality;
purposeless swinging artist life is not always greener. So he goes back for thirds
Waiting for another chance, haunted by his past
but you can't let
the mistakes jeopardize the dream.
Biruma no tategoto (1956)
You don't know how it is fighting a war, man!
Putting history and politics aside, I found this film confronted some very human emotions involving war. No matter if this were a Japanese company of soldiers, or a British company, most war movies don't touch on ideas like you'll find here. The film follows a company of Japanese soldiers, with little or no supplies, attempting to reach the border of Thailand. The men enjoy singing wherever they go, and are quite proud of their abilities. It makes them think of their loved ones back home and gives them a sense of unity and hope. One of the men, Mizushima, plays the harp with natural talent, as he had never studied music before joining the army. There is a great scene where the Japanese see the British troops hiding in the forest, so they start to sing, tricking the British into thinking they are oblivious to them. When the British then start singing back, and both sides are singing together, it is a scene of great joy and unity between all humans. Somehow it isn't even cheesy.though it seems it could be, the way I'm writing this review. The British notify the Japanese men that the war ended three days earlier, when Japan surrendered. They are placed in a P.O.W. camp until it is possible to send them all home. The commander of the Japanese men attempts to fill his men's hearts with hope and pride, telling them that together they will rebuild Japan. They are told that nearby, a company of Japanese troops is in an ongoing skirmish with the British, unreachable and unaware of the war's end. Mizushima, is given permission to go and try to explain that Japan has surrendered, promising his company that he'll catch up in Mudon. This turns out to be a not very easy job, as the commanding officer is into the whole `I'm not giving up until I die,' philosophy. Getting nowhere, Mizushima questions their logic to try and persuade them their lives are worth saving, as Japan needs to be rebuilt. The British only agreed to a 30 minute cease fire, and when that time is up, all the Japanese men are killed. Only Mizushima crawls out alive and is found by a Buddhist monk. While he is taken care of by the monk, his company is sad and anxious for his return. Once healed, his intention is to walk to Mudon and surprise all the men, so he sets out in Buddhist costume across Burma. On his way he encounters many heaps and piles of rotting dead Japanese soldiers, and he feels it important to give them a proper burial.
These scenes are when Mizushima fully realizes the extent of what war is all about. It's not about pride and hope, it's about putting your life on the line. He is accepted by the Buddhist church and decides to stay and live a simple life, honoring the dead through prayer and burial. His men try to persuade him using a talking parrot switcheroo, teaching a parrot to say `come home to Japan, Mizushima' and giving it to him. He, in reply, sends back his parrot, which he taught to say `no, I am staying here.' It is a pacifist sentiment throughout, a great film covering the human emotional perspective on war in a unique way.
Miami Blues (1990)
Violently Indulgent
Before GTA: Vice City was ever around, this movie filled that gap in my life where I need to see someone destroying and stealing everything in sight. Alec Baldwin is great as Fred Frenger...as good as any Baldwin could be in this role. Just out of prison, he goes on a crime spree in Miami, stealing luggage, killing a Hari Krishna, starting a new identity. He exploits all the dreams of a young hooker/student, having her cook and clean, feeding her lies left and right, effectively getting a free lay every day. When he beats the crap out of the dim-witted cop who is on to him, he takes the badge, gun, and even the guy's false teeth. He doesn't care about dying. His mind is seemingly incapable of even fathoming the reasoning of a person wanting to commit to a job or a legitimate life. Of course, there is the cheesy happy ending....and you kind of have to look past all the really bad Miami Vice-like moments...but it's violently indulgent, almost pornographic...there is even some comedy amongst it all. Best line: "My problem is that I can have everything and anything that I want, but I don't know what I want." A true sociopath.
Fear Anxiety Depression (1989)
Exploration of the boundaries of honesty/truth
This is Todd Solondz' first big movie before he did `Welcome to the Dollhouse.' There are definitely some scenes, where I'm laughing when I know I shouldn't be, that remind me of `Happiness,' and `Welcome to the Dollhouse.' Other scenes are so much like Woody Allen's `Annie Hall,' it is unmistakable. The main character, Ira, is played by Todd Solondz himself. He's a fearful, nervous playwright hoping to make some real art. Looking for advice, he asks friends to read his play. Not that it would be a bad idea, you know, getting a little input from friends to help along the process, but these are the wrong people to be trusting with that type of decision. Ira is afraid of being considered a bad writer, and his friends are afraid of being honest with him. Jack's character is a great example of a guy who uses words to take the easy way out, pretending his life isn't what it really is.a lie! He sums up his success saying an art critic, Sheila, thinks he is the next Matisse. It turns out that Sheila, played by Anne De Salvo, is one of my favourite characters. When she comes over to check out Jack's art, she says, `I hate to have to be honest with you, but your art is so cliché.' He just wants to be in the Whitney Bi-Annual so he sleeps with her to try and gain her help in being chosen. But even that doesn't work! It made me laugh so hard. Jack is such a loser. Stanley Tucci plays a great, funny role as Donnie. He's always got a different woman with him, and brags about his money when he is around Ira. He's that kind of guy from high school that always succeeds, who has everything, when you know he's not a cool guy and he doesn't deserve it. There are many hints of Solondz' later movies in `Fear, Anxiety and Depression.' It's a funny movie that I would definitely watch again. Some people think it is too similar to a Woody Allen movie to be taken seriously. I think it's awesome because it is close to being an Allen movie, but it is much more honest and dark than Allen ever achieved on film. There are some great explorations of the boundaries of honesty. How sometimes people lie, or withhold information, to make others feel good about themselves, or to take advantage of others. On some level, it probably comes across as another love story comedy, but the script is very thoughtful and intellectual, more than any typical movie.