Tanka Time: Donnie Darko
Posted by Petra · 4 Comments
Due to dark feelings I had as of late, I’ve decided to review a movie that is not one of my particular favorites. Well, not even one I really like that much but it has a cult following and I’m hoping that in this review I might have an epiphany that may help me appreciate this movie for what so many others saw in it that I did not.
Donnie Darko’s cult following is what sucked me in and it's that same cult following that kept me watching until the end. I would be lying if I said it did not touch me in some way as I did shed a tear or two, but was it a movie that left lasting effects to make me say “WOW-what an awesome movie”??
Not hardly.
Talk about a movie that is totally overrated. As a matter of fact, I might be so inclined to say that it sucked. (yes, Ryan - I said it. Donnie Darko sucked!)
For starters, we have Frank. Frank is a blatant rip off of Harvey, whom I loved. Though the graphics used to portray Frank were rather entertaining and definitely made of the flavor I prefer - a sort of a campy demonic blend - they were not sufficient enough for me to get over the Harvey rip off effect that I felt (but Frank plays a major role in this movie so I suppose I can give him props for his original and rather cool look.)
Apparently our star character - Donnie Darko - "sleepwalks," which results in some really lame therapy sessions laced with placebos mediocre drugs. Can you say boring?
Until one night when Frank the bunny manages to lure Donnie out of his home only to tell him the world is going to end in 28 days. It's at this time that an airplane engine just happens to fall from the sky right through the roof of Donnie's room, which would have crushed him into powdery goo had he not been persuaded to leave the room by freaky Frank (actually this would have been better since it would mean the movie was over and I would have saved at least one of the two hours or so wasted on this one.)
Hmmm.... giant demonic looking rabbit; therapy; Armageddon; falling engines..... yup -all that spells crazy to me.
So over the course of the next 28 days, Donnie Darko tries to figure out how to convince himself he's not crazy, to find the meaning of his life, and to commit a few petty crimes along the way....
Bore me to tears already. So I have decided to sum up my opinion in the form of a Japanese Tanka....::::ahem::::
.
Donnie is crazy.
but it takes Frank the Bunny
and Death to realize
how crazy he really is.
GAWD! Why did I waste my time?
Translation? Nope. Still don't like the movie. Suggestion? Wait for Free-per-view. Or better yet, skip it altogether. You won't be missing much.
I was going to watch this the other day, but it was blatant bunny rip off that was stopping me, glad I didn’t bother.
.-= Claire ´s last blog ..Operation Lopitoff complete =-.
Also are you going to review Twilight…….
.-= Claire´s last blog ..Operation Lopitoff complete =-.
Wow.
I admit that it took me a couple times watching (as well as supplementation in the form of the director’s cut and wikipedia) to decipher all of the plot – and this may or may not be a failure on the director’s part concerning communication (after all, many people claim to have figured the plot out on the second viewing) – but I think you really missed the point of the movie.
I’m not one of those fans who says everybody who doesn’t like Donnie Darko is an idiot – in my opinion, it takes a certain type of person to emotionally connect with the film and therefore form an interest in it. I am one of those types.
However, even a cursory internet search would reveal that, in fact, though Donnie is a mentally and emotionally unstable boy, the events of the film are actually occurring. It involves some perhaps-confusing theories about time travel.
I think the main issue here is you just don’t find the subject of interest. Which is fine – but your review makes it sound a lot as though you’re bagging a film because you neither understand nor connect with it, and that is pure ignorance.
Ariel – I appreciate your comments and would like to state first and foremost that my movie reviews are based on initial reaction. As well, my reviews are greatly affected by my moods which if you ask my husband, change hourly.
At the time I first watched Donnie Darko I was in the frame of mind for a different type of “horror” movie, not a “thinking man’s” movie. The result was that I did not enjoy the experience, which is reflected in my tanka review.
I have since watched the movie again – with a more open mind – and have actually found it to be rather stimulating in the possibilities that is makes one ponder. Should I revise my review or write another one to counter my initial response? Perhaps; I however write this blog on days of boredom and personal thought on things that are a hobby of mine (that hobby being awful and sometimes really good horror movies) therefore I have no desire to recant or restate those initial thoughts. Repeat readers of my blog are aware of my rather opinionated thoughts and take my opinion with a grain of salt. I like to invoke emotion and rebuttal, so thank you for taking the time to read my review and call me out. I admit was ignorant in my first watching of Donnie Darko as I was close-minded due to my wanting to watch a movie at that time of action rather than thought. I have since been “enlightened” and am now actually a fan of the movie. But i would like it to go on record that while I do now view this movie as actually “good” I think calling it “great” as so many do is slightly more than overrated. But then, that’s just my opinion, which is after all what this blog is all about.