Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
4/4
Mind. Blown.
memento_mori - wrote on 08/20/2013
Possible Spoilers
You know when a movie comes along that makes your jaw drop in the ending because you finally understand what you've been struggling to understand the whole movie?
Yeah, Donnie Darko is one of those movies.
Richard Kelly should make films more often. I know his last effort 'The Box' was not a large success, but I think he is an amazing screenwriter and director.
I loved everything about Donnie Darko. Its immature humor, its time travel, its characters, its cinematography, its acting, everything.
There's not a single loose end in this film, I simply watched everything fall into place exactly as I wanted it to. And it makes sense! The laws of physics and time travel can be confusing in other films, but here it's clear.
I really wish this film had been nominated …
Rating of
3/4
Thought provoking, captivating, mesmerizing!
MovieAddict - wrote on 07/15/2012
A dysfunctional teenager (Jake Gyllenhaal) escapes a freak accident (an airline turbo-jet crashing down on his room) and is plagued with visions about a giant bunny named Frank who persuades him to commit crimes and tells him that in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds the world will end. The film is so ambiguous that one must make his or her own mind up as to the film's proper interpretation.
Jake Gyllenhall, is great in the titlular role, at times creepy, evil, heroic, psychotic, hypnotic, confused, introspective and so on. Also starring Patrick Swayze, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Seth Rogen and Noah Wyle. And of course the music is fantastic. This film made Gary Jules famous for classic "It's a mad world" song.
A thought-provoking movie that I will no doubt have …
Rating of
4/4
"Donnie Darko" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 02/23/2012
Emotionally disturbed high school student Donnie Darko narrowly avoids death when a six foot rabbit called Frank lures him from his bedroom and tells him that the world is going to end in 28 days. Donnie Darko is one of those films that deeply divides its audience as it is most definitely not for everyone, leaving much of what occurs open to the viewer's own interpretation. My own personal spin is that it is the anti-Capra; "It's A Miserable Life" if you will. Donnie is given a snapshot into the what the world would be like if he continued to be in it, and he doesn't like what he sees. A dark fantasy that makes Tim Burton's visions look like Mary Poppins, it's Back To The Future made by David Lynch. It was the film that catapulted an intense Jake Gillenhaal to stardom as well as …
Rating of
4/4
Donnie Darko (Director's Cut) review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 10/03/2011
Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) survives death and is instructed by a 6 foot man in a bunny suit named Frank. Frank instructs Donnie that the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. His mother is worried and his care-free natured father Eddie (Holmes Osborne) just gives advises. He sees a therapist, Dr. Lillian Thurman (Katharine Ross), who conducts hypnotherapy and advises him on how to act. Donnie meets Gretchen Ross (Jena Malone), a new student in school who was bullied. Frank instructs the protagonist to flood the high school, steal a gun from his father’s closet, burns Jim Cunningham’s (Patrick Swayze) house and goes to "Grandma Death” to write her a letter. Elizabeth (Maggie Gyllenhaal), her older sister hosts a party to celebrate her entering …
Rating of
4/4
Donnie really is DARKo
MovieJunkii - wrote on 08/01/2010
The 2002 crazy sci-fi is set in a small town in 1989, where normal is the only acceptable way to live. A disturbed anti-social teenager called Donnie Darko is experiencing unusual nightmares and goes to a psychiatrist regularly, who gives him pills to try to help his condition. The pills just make everything worse and make Donnie see strange things all the time. One night, Donnie wakes up to a strange voice telling him to walk outside. He does so and in the garden he meets an imaginary friend called Frank, a psychopathic looking scary bunny rabbit who tells him that the world is going to end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. In a few moments a plane engine flies towards the house from the sky and hits directly into Donnie`s bedroom, freaking out his parents and his older …
Rating of
3.5/4
Vividly imaginative and mindblowing!
mdtinney - wrote on 10/12/2009
That's right , Richard Kelly is a genius . It takes to be one to write a screenplay like this when you're only 21 ( or maybe 22 , I'm not sure )in only a few weeks while doing your regular , day - to - day job . And to direct it in such a professional manner when you're just 26 , and if that's your first full length movie after a few short ones at the academy - then it's truly mind - blowing .
Do yourself a favor and 1. find the Director's cut version because it's more complete and richer with meaning and ideas ( and more comprehensible ) , and 2. stay away from this if you're too lazy to use your brain during and after watching . This is pretty deep stuff , complicated , multi - layered , with references to philosophy , science and whatnot . I've seen it three times so far and can't …
Rating of
4/4
A touching tale of a boy and his bunny!!
Court J. - wrote on 03/31/2009
Donnie Darko is truly a film that is worthy of cult classic status. The visual effects are stunning! Speaking of visuals Richard Kelly delievers a disturbingly beautiful one in the form of Frank. Frank is a welcome addition to the vast array of cult classic icons.
With the complex themes of time travel and impending armageddon this film may be too unconventional for the casual viewer.
However not all is doom and gloom. There are much lighter moments. One being the conversation Donnie and friends have regarding the sexual orientations of The Smurfs.
This film has two wonderful soundtracks. The first being a wonderfully haunting score by Michael Andrews. The second features classic 80's tunes by Echo and the Bunnymen, Joy Division and INXS.
Also i must mention Gary Jules awesome cover …
Rating of
4/4
Wicked confusing, but really good
The SHC - wrote on 01/17/2009
Donnie Darko is just about as strange as it gets, but at the same time it's as good as it gets. This movie I have seen about 29 times, and I still pick up on more every time I watch it. It's really the kind of movie where you have to pay attention throughout to truely get what it's even about. It would be impossible for me to describe the entire movie without having this reveiw be 30 pages long, so I'll just describe the main plot:
The movie is about a 17 year old schizofernic kid named Donnie who sees a six foot tall bunny rabbit who tells him the world will end on the morning of October 31. Completely normal, right? The rabbit, named Frank (?) makes Donnie do such things as flooding his school and burning down Patrick Swayze's house or else the world will end. Throughout the entire …
Rating of
3.5/4
Why are you wearing that stupid human suit?
TheWolf - wrote on 07/26/2007
Dark, Twisted, and just really cool! This is a movie that like most people I had a hard time understanding when I watched it for the first time. But even though I wasn't sure of everything that was trying to be explained, I still just thought that this movie was great.
I tried to do everyting I could to understand the meaning of everything that was going on, but then I came across and interview with Richard Kelly, in which he tries to describe what he thinks its about, before finally saying , "I really don't know sometimes myself."
If you are looking for a movie easy to follow, then you have the wrong movie here, but if you are looking for something that will not only entertain you but make you think, then definitely check out Donnie Darko.
