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Directed by: Richard Kelly Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal This for me is the quintessential "woah" film. This is the only true genre films such as this will fit into. Other examples include Se7en, Memento and Twelve Monkeys, and always rate highly in top movies lists due to the sheer number of people voting for them to show that they "get it". This quickly develops two very clear schools of thought. One is the 'self-indulgent weirdness for the sake of it', and the other is 'if you don't think this is the greatest movie ever, then you don't "get it"'. Whatever your opinion, it's tough to deny the impact of this film's climax. The storyline follows one Donald Darko, a disturbed and troubled young man whose life descends into turmoil when he has a vision of a giant rabbit who prophesises the end of the world in 28 days. The film frequently reminds the viewer of the time remaining and this builds up the tension magnificently. I won't deny that this film is bloody weird in places, but I guarantee you won't forget it, whether your opinion is good or bad. I remember in the cinema whenhe's lying in bed near the end and the whole audience was like "oh no..." I personally loved it, but I didn't think the flow of the movie was quite as seamless as it could of been, jerking into the memorable scenes at somewhat erratic intervals. Rated 4 star. RATING: 4 PROS: Superb, convoluted storyline CONS: Scene flow not perfect ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
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May 4, 2004 21:34
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Really cool concept, but the directing and uneven quality of the performances and characterizations leaves it as an unfufilling experience IMO. I really wanted it to be more of a satire of the 1980's high school genre than the gimmick-film it ended up as. Worth seeing in any case.
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May 4, 2004 21:44
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I can definately see how you would be like WTF? if you didn't understand it, because I didn't understand it until it got explained to me. It was a really awesome movie though.
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May 4, 2004 22:55
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A pretty good cult flick when it came out, but it's value as a great film has been greatly overestimated and overhyped in the last year. I still give it a 4.5.
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May 4, 2004 23:00
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I ignore the backlash and give this 4.5/5. This movie is quite ambitious as it blends so many elements of different genres and it actually works, at least to me it does. The soundtrack is also amazing, OH GOD THE SOUNDTRACK
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May 5, 2004 00:14
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quote:Squall91 came out of the closet to say: The soundtrack is great. I didn't think of it as a gimmick film and gave it a 4.5. Probably some of that comes from the "hey guys I get it" part of me, but it really is a well made movie.
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May 5, 2004 03:46
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quote:Ska'd For Life came out of the closet to say: I kind of liked the fact that I didn't quite get it at first. It seemed that you could loosely put it together in your mind but could still chew on it for a long time after. It gave the film a dreamlike quality that really impressed me. Though it might not have made perfect sense, the atmosphere of the whole thing did it for me. Such a mood piece. 4/5
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May 5, 2004 04:57
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I like any movie that isn't obvious. Donnie Darko is a complete package and a great movie. 4.5/5
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May 5, 2004 05:33
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I love movies that make me think. I've spent a fair amount of time coming up with my own explanations for this movie and upon repeated viewing it's made more sense to me. If you just enjoy seeing a movie for what's there on the screen and being entertained for a couple hours, this might not be a good one for you. But if you read a little into it and figure out the plot for yourself, it's like putting together a really cool jigsaw puzzle. This movie had pretty much everything I like seeing in movies all wrapped up into one. It also contains one of my favorite scenes in any movie...the movie theater scene is incredibly powerful, it's a combination of music, dialogue, acting, and the impact of what is said in the scene. It really sets the tone of the movie: Mysterious, creepy, funny, and cool all at once. 5/5 - One of my favorites.
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May 10, 2004 23:57
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One of the few throught provoking movies I can watch over and over. Definately one of my favourite movies. 5 from me.
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May 11, 2004 01:24
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I thought if anything it was very original. I saw it before all of this backlash and tend to stand by it. While not a masterpiece it has an interesting and original plot, and suprisingly good special effects. 4/5
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May 11, 2004 01:53
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This movie seemed to be made from a whole team of pseudo-intellectuals. 1.5/5
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May 13, 2004 04:57
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cellar door 4.5/5
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May 13, 2004 05:47
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I loved this movie, and despite its flaws, I really do think it's one of the best movies I've ever seen. It's just touching to see Donnie's benevolent God giving him a sort of reverse "It's a Wonderful Life," and as overfly artzy as it is, I do think it helps to show the movies emotional overtones, and its cheesiness in dealing with Donnie's depression and anger is honest. The soundtrack is absolutely fantasmic, and the ocassional humerous moments (including a discussion of the Smurfs' sexuality) help sugarcoat the overly dramatic and weird plot. Yes, I cringed when Drew Barrymore said "Sit next to the boy you think is the cutest," but I think the complaints about the film's "pseudo-intellectualism" that go up everywhere are unwarranted.
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May 13, 2004 16:50
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I thought that I didn't "get" this movie at first, since so many people contend that you won't like it if you don't get it. I looked up all the recommended resources about the movie and it turns out that I did "get" it the first time around, there just wasn't that much to it, really. The acting in the movie is on a pretty high level. I especially enjoyed Patrick Swayze's character. The movie is interesting enough, with the gradual build-up of tension and the creepy Frank the Bunny being what I remember the most about it. Although the movie is enjoyable, Donnie Darko the character is annoying and just seems very slapworthy. To sum up: Interesting movie with characters that are enjoyable or slapworthy. 3 out of 5
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May 14, 2004 13:09
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This movie was really several movies, which would not have stood on their own, but combined, worked fairly well. There was the time traveling plotline, the plotline about Donnie being paranoid schizophrenic, the self-help guru plotline, and the family drama between the Darkos. Not all of them were inter-connected and some deserved more time than others, but all of them were pretty enjoyable, which made for a great movie. The ending was profoundly sad in a nice way, and a little confusing. Often when a movie ends sadly, I won't want to watch it again, but this movie is the exception. I've seen it a half dozen times and it's always worth it. Powerful scenes: Donnie gets in trouble in health class The Talent show montage/arson scene Donnie's psychiastrist talks to his parents
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Jun 1, 2004 13:56
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I didn't think there was anything to "get" about this. It's a pretty straightforward movie. 4/5 for originality and great acting.
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Jun 1, 2004 23:50
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Most people I know really liked this movie. I watched it three times and really tried to like it, but the director really screwed this movie up. The movie has no flow whatsoever. It seems like it wants to be a teen comedy, a psychological thriller, a sci-fi movie and a horror movie at different points. This is another one of those movies with a good concept but too horrible an excecution for me to enjoy. 2/5
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Jun 2, 2004 00:46
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I learned about this movie from a friend of mine. After watching it a couple times and going to a couple websites about that "Philosophy of Time Travel" book, the movie fell together. After reading all the info on that book, I realized what the significance of Frank to Donnie was. I really enjoyed this movie, mainly because you need to think to understand what is going on. Each time I watch it, I catch something else I didn't see a previous time. The deleted scenes add some atmosphere also if you end up purchasing the DVD. One of my favorite movies: 5/5 Classic line: "I'll tell you what he said, He told me to forcibly insert the lifeline into my anus!"
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Jun 2, 2004 10:33
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The movie is post modern kitsch and a waste of time. It's as if the director/writer read a book on postmodern film and decided to cram as many aspects of it into a drama they decided to call Donnie Darko. This film will appeal to pseudointellectuals and goths. 0/5
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Jun 3, 2004 05:11
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I can understand why many people may not enjoy this movie but it is so differently bizarre I can't hate it or really even dislike it. It's not a entirely deep movie and I don't think it's supposed to be, it's just not told with a straightforward narrative. It seems like some kind of cut together movie that somehow ended up being grotesquely attractive and so I can't really give it one way or the other, one of those movies you should probably rent and watch by yourself to draw your own conclusions (if you're into 'bizarre' movies).
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Jun 3, 2004 23:54
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Donni Darko is an awesome movie. I own the dvd, plan on buying the director's cut version too. The sarcastic humor in the movie is very good... "What are feces?" "Baby mice." "aaaw!" Drew Barrymore also does a great job in her role. I didn't understand it the first time I saw it, but after another viewing or two, it made sense. Very good movie, but not for everyone... 4.5/5 Edit: Forgot to even mention the soundtrack =\ One of the best I've ever heard. Micheal Andrews is very talented. The Fragile fucked around with this message at 06:44 on Jun 4, 2004 |
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Jun 4, 2004 06:41
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Definitely one of the weirdest movies that have been made in the past few years. I don't know if it's one of the best, though. The atnosphere shifts a lot. But I think it really all comes together in the end. I love watching as "Mad World" plays in the background.
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Jun 4, 2004 16:03
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After seeing it for the first time I was one of those fags who made all of MY friends watch it because I thought it was pretty good. Jake Gyllenhaal is just perfect for the part, that was probably why I liked it so much. I was able to overcome my absolute hatred of Drew Barrymore and still enjoy this movie. Very well done indeed. 4/5
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Jun 5, 2004 06:35
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I thought this movie was good -- great, even. What really sold me on it was the acting. I like "weird" plots and endings that you have to come up with your own theories about, but really, all that poo poo takes a backseat to the acting here. Mary McDonnell (Donnie's mom) has an especially good performance. I started getting all weepy-eyed during the whole more meds for Donnie part for some reason. I gave it 4.5/5, only because I'm trying to be less lofty with my votes and I'm not ready to say its one of the best movies ever made.
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Jun 5, 2004 10:10
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My review is lackluster because I haven't seen the film in awhile. Although, there's too many positive reviews of this movie in this thread. So, I have to contribute a little negativity to represent many of us that hate this movie... This is a psuedo intellect film student's best; keep in mind, a psudeo intellect film student's best is not very good. In fact... very bad. I tried to embrace this movie and go along with it's time travel concept. I'm a fan of time travel and am anxious to own my own time machine in the future. However, this movie's big problem was the time travel concept was poorly executed. They come across some goofy rear end book some old lady wrote. In this book lies the easily attainable time travel and the weird attributes connected to it; for example, there's a transparent glob that floats around. If my memory serves right, it's purpose was to signify the essence of time travel. Then, it builds up and builds up and comes to the end of the film. At that point I exclaimed, "What the gently caress?!" Good movies do not bring out such an exclamation in a person. 1/5
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Jun 8, 2004 18:31
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After hearing from my friends what a "great" movie this is, I just sat through the requisite 2 hours of Donnie Darko. If you read and watch a lot of sci-fi, then you probably saw the entire plot a mile away like I did. Gee, I guess I can predict the future, too, because that's how I felt while watching this  Nothing in it is fresh or stimulating, plus it used the dreaded reset button. 1/5 S105 fucked around with this message at 19:04 on Jun 8, 2004 |
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Jun 8, 2004 19:01
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I'm going to gay this up more. This movie reminds me of Radiohead's "The Pyramid Song" in that both take an intesting angle on trying to explain a theory from physics (In the pyramid song it is black holes, and in this movie time travel) without delving heavily into the science itself. Obviously the movie is more of a story, and I felt it was a good one at that. 4.5
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Jun 8, 2004 22:56
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brilliant movie i thought, very creative idea and very well made. definately one you can go back and watch again and again because theres always something you dont pick up on the first/second time round. 4.5/5
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Jun 9, 2004 00:40
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I watched this movie when it first hit DVD and no one had watched it yet. I had never even seen a trailer for it. I was blown away and depressed and completely confused by it. But strangely compelled to keep watching it and re-watching it for inexplicable reasons. Soon, I forced other people to sit down and watch this bizarre movie just so I could talk about it with ANYBODY. The more I watched it, the more haunting and potent the film became. I kept thinking about some of the people and stories from the film and wondering what happened to them. Then eventually I guess all the chattering about this strange and quiet little movie made some turn against the film, but whatever, bandwagon backlash is what it is. It's still one of my favorites. 5/5 the final shot of Donnie smiling moments before being death is one of the more powerful moments in cinema history
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Jun 9, 2004 08:33
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what stood out about this film is not the whole time travel storyline, but the study of the community they lived in. i thought the time travel took away from the story, and if it had been more of a satire about the world they lived in, it would have been a better film. it gets a 4 for making me want more.
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Jun 9, 2004 10:09
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Holy poo poo! FURRIES Gammy DVD player means I've only been able to see half of this. Will rate later.
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Jun 9, 2004 15:42
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I heard so many good things about this movie but after watching it i realize that it didn't deliver anything people were saying it did. The story gets stupid, really stupid, and it seems to add in a lot of wierdness for wierdness sakes. This movie just seemed to try to hard at setting itself as "different" instead of "better" from other movies. It all seems such a waste too because you can definitely see the potential of the story and this movie when ever it didn't turn in to one huge acid trip. 2/5
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Jun 10, 2004 16:01
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I loved this movie. I had heard nothing at all about it (went straight to DVD/VHS here in Sweden which is loving unbelievable) except from my then-GF, who said I HAD to watch that movie. She was right - it was one of the most enjoyable movies I've seen in recent years. It felt different, but different in the right way, not pretentious-different. Oh, and I teared up at the end where Gretchen says she didn't know Donnie. 5/5 Also: CHUT UP!
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Jun 11, 2004 20:56
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I find it peculiar that noone has commented about the (imho) utter brilliance in the storyline which is: more or less ripping off everything from "The Last Temptation of Christ" and manages to stir in time travel in the concept. And there are some scenes that radiates with pure brilliance, such as the father sniggering in the principals office.. As for overall film, I think it's a gem that I don't mind seeing again. It's a really good film, with a really slick story. 4/5
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Jun 12, 2004 12:52
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I just watched this. To me, it seems to be a jumble of after-effects crap along with typical film school fare. Maybe it really is the most brilliant film ever conceived and my stupidity just hindered me from seeing its brilliance. But, I never was a philosophy buff, so maybe that's why it just didn't click. And I don't really think it's weird for weirdness' sake, either...that I can tolerate. For true weirdness for that sake of weirdness, see Fellini-Satyricon. You'll never look at Rome the same way. 3/5
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Jun 13, 2004 04:44
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This is a good, interesting, original movie. However, I take it no further than that. This movie is incredibly overrated by...everyone it seems. I very much so enjoyed it, I've not ever seen anything quite like it and it held my interest, something arguably not easy to do. But the acclaim I've seen it get (Top Movie #94 on imdb? 94th best movie of all time? Please...) is just not warranted. Very good movie, I would recommend it, but one of my all time favorites/one of the best movies ever? Hardly. 3.5/5
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Jun 13, 2004 07:28
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Donnie Darko is an interesting film in that while wholly overambitious at times, it remains interesting and compelling. It is a movie that I believe works best in its vaguest form, often the less explained the better. I really liked the kind of openendedness I felt when I first saw the movie, kind of draw your own conclusions as to what it was all about. This being the case, I really felt kind of betrayed when people I talked to said this or that was explained on the movie's website. What was revealed and what I imagined were usually very different, and really took all of the mystery i loved so much out of the film. The same goes, to a lesser extent, to the version of the movie i watched later. This print (I don't know if it was some kind of directors cut or what) had several scenes that were either extended or completely added that really only served to overly explain or unnecessarily draw out the movie. It reminds me of all the discussions that seemed to have popped up recently about what was actually in the briefcase in Pulp Fiction. I much prefer to draw my own conclusions. That said, the acting in this movie is top notch (aside from Drew Barrymore whom I have never liked), and the films story is fantastically unusual with style to spare. I thought the quirky but familiar feeling portrayal of the 80's suburban setting the film inhabits was fantastic, and I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned yet. I wont go much more into the film, but to respond to all those that see the movie as being a 'pseudo intellectual pretentious student film', I can see where you're coming from. Perhaps you didn't get to see the movie until it was already over hyped and ruined by over explanation; I probably wouldn't like it nearly as much if thats how I first saw it. Or perhaps not. I also don't think this is the type of film who's science is meant to be taken too seriously. I love theoretical physics and usually Hollywood science really pisses me off, but for some reason this movie didn't bother me at all. Anyway, at this point I'm probably rambling. To put it simply, I loved this movie. Ignore the hype and make your own conclusions. 4.5/5
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Jun 13, 2004 09:00
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This is the anti-Donnie Darko review. Donnie Darko is the scourge of the future of american cinema. If this Richard Kelly hack is a harbinger of young directors to come then just shoot me in the face now. If you like Donnie Darko it is because you are settling for less. And why not? People in our lame-rear end generation settle for less every freaking day. We are apathetic, doing nothing to stop the rot of our political system, as (higher) education funding is cut, social security is ruined for us, etc. MTV ruined rock and roll and no one does anything about it. I even used the word "freaking" earlier instead of what I meant: "loving". Let's take Donnie Darko at face value. Does it have cool cinematography, editing, special effects, music, etc. Sure. Great. But what about the characters and the story. What is it saying? What does it mean? Donnie gets mad. He gets mad when his teacher draws a line on the black board representing morals. He gets mad when he is supposed to make a black and white distinction between good and evil. Great. Wow! Just like Holden Caulfield! Unfortunately, Richard Kelly isn't quite on par with such noble young men as Holden and Donnie. This movie creates BLACK & WHITE distinctions between bad guys and good guys. The Patrick Swayze character is bad. Why? Because Donnie thinks so. And guess what?! He IS bad! He's the WORST KIND OF BAD! Oh, and that other little girl's mom - you know, the PLAGARIST? She is ALL BAD TOO. Why not? Why create a situation that could be interesting with moral ambiguity etc. when you could just be a LAZY filmmaker and do just the opposite. But wait, most people love all the cool science and time travel and "what does it all mean" bullshit. Gayhats who say, "That movie really made me think. I was like 'whoa'!" First of all - loving "Brief History of Time"? That book is a layman-level JOKE. If Donnie was so smart, his physics teacher would give him some more serious poo poo like the Feynman Many Body Problem or String Theory or SOMETHING. Jesus Christ. And let's get serious - this movie offers nothing philosophically interesting about time travel. Back to the Future III had a more refreshing take on the subject. "Ooh - look, those things from the Abyss are coming out of people's chests. Oh look, one is coming out of MY chest! Well, I guess I'll follow it. Better not delve into the idea of what would happen if, since I SAW where my future went, I walked in a different direction - thus questioning the very idea of free will. No - it would be better to pander to my half-retarded audience with a meaningless mystery about an idiot furry. If you think that people either "don't get it" or "love this movie" then you are dividing the world into retards and dumb-asses. And that's not fair because it doesn't leave any room for people like me. I could go on and on. That "smurf" scene - lovely QT rip off! 80's setting - first resort of the trying-to-hard pansy-rear end, career/money oriented, USC film school jack-rear end directors. What was the POINT of the axe in the mascot!?!?!? NOTHING CAME OF IT!!?!? I will not get into the airplane thing. The point is, when I saw the trailer to this movie I fell in love. Halloween. Time travel. Adolescent anger. What a great idea for a movie. Instead we get a half-assed, half-baked steaming pile of derivative poo poo. At first I thought, "oh well, too bad. better luck next time." But as the fanboy base grew, I knew something was terribly wrong. STOP SETTLING FOR LESS.
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Jun 13, 2004 10:05
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quote:ford came out of the closet to say: (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Jun 17, 2004 17:38
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