In my opinion, Donnie Darko was far stronger than this sequel. This movie still held the mysteriousness, thrill, and sense of confusion that Donnie Darko had captured, but the characters were shakier, the meaning behind the time travel less fulfilling, and the end fairly flat.
As is seen in most sequels, S. Darko tried to encapsulate its prequel in a new way, and didn't live up to the same quality. Starting 7 years after Donnie Darko ended, S. Darko picks up with Donnie's little sister, Sam, (Daveigh Chase) traveling across the country to escape the demons in her head and in her past. Her best friend, Corey, is the outgoing, partying girl, that basically encapsulates everything that Sam is not. Their car breaks down in a town that has a lot of experience with strange events, suitable to the plot of Donnie Darko. I was pleased with the choice of Ed Westwick as the party-boy/hero/friend, and the first connection Sam and Corey have to the town. Seemingly to make up for the things it lacks, the movie also tries to play a little darker than Donnie Darko in several cases. Another "Frank" mask makes an appearance, and more "what if...." time travel events happen.
While I still feel that Donnie Darko was better, S. Darko still awakened the same questions that its prequel had, along with some new thoughts. I was disappointed by the end, though. After several leaps backward, the final conclusion felt less meaningful and less final than that of Donnie Darko.
-M.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
On Smiling:
You know the concept that if you smile even when you don't feel like it, that you'll end up smiling for real, or just feel happier anyway? They may have scientific mumbo jumbo on it, but I don't all the way buy it. I've faked a smile too many times in the past to believe it. Smiles on the outside don't always mean smiles on the inside.
Real smiles begin with happiness and fond memories and people we care about or who care about us. So this week, my goal is to make a list or a computer folder of things that make me smile. The websites that post pictures of adorable kittens that make me squeal, the people who always make me happy,--that doesn't include people who you get upset with sometimes, this is a permanently happy list--pictures of my favorite animals, my favorite books, favorite episodes of my favorite tv shows, etc. So, Goal 10, Week 11 is to make an entire list of things specific to my happiness....and Goal 11, Week 11 is to smile for real after I've had a lousy day or I've gotten upset, with a little help from my new list.
-M.
Real smiles begin with happiness and fond memories and people we care about or who care about us. So this week, my goal is to make a list or a computer folder of things that make me smile. The websites that post pictures of adorable kittens that make me squeal, the people who always make me happy,--that doesn't include people who you get upset with sometimes, this is a permanently happy list--pictures of my favorite animals, my favorite books, favorite episodes of my favorite tv shows, etc. So, Goal 10, Week 11 is to make an entire list of things specific to my happiness....and Goal 11, Week 11 is to smile for real after I've had a lousy day or I've gotten upset, with a little help from my new list.
-M.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Cashback, a [Brief] Review/Critique
I've been seeing mention of the movie "Cashback" floating around on the web a few times, now--the first about a week ago. Someone mentioned they found it when browsing the instant movies on netflix, and sure enough it was easy to find.
The beginning pulled me in by the sheer artistic-ness of the movie, and the narration over a silent scene. A breakup at the beginning was faintly different, but the fact that our main character (Ben) was a blossoming artist in art school only added to the obviousness that this was going to be a "love story". Unfortunately, most of the movie intrigued me more because of the artistic-ness, than anything else. The love story part was long in the coming, as we watched Ben through his insomnia...to the point that I wondered if they were trying to make the audience understand how much time could drag out when boring things are occurring. Then the time-freezing started. When he first talked about it, Ben told us about the time freezing as though this were his way of coping with the insomnia and extra hours in his day. I'm a sucker for Fight Club, Running With Scissors, Shutter Island, etc. and I was hoping this was another movie that would dive into the mental side of things, but it didn't really, which I suppose was a bit of a disappointment. With only about 20 minutes of the movie left, I was wondering if there was actually a plot, and if the movie had hoped to accomplish anything other than showing off the artistic side of the female form (many, many female forms, might I add...). I won't give away the ending, but apparently the writers realized they needed to tie things up eventually, so they got the job done. Artistically, if nothing else.
Overall, I liked the movie. Despite the fact that it seemed to drag on at parts in the middle, there was something about it that kept me watching, almost as if I knew there had to be some good bits in there, somewhere. If you just want to see an indie film that really pulls out the artistic side of life, or you're a bit of an insomniac yourself, it's certainly worth a watch.
***Note: Something I wasn't quite expecting was the sheer amount of female nudity in the film. Artistically, it works. And I'm sure if you're into watching naked girls, it works for that, too...
The beginning pulled me in by the sheer artistic-ness of the movie, and the narration over a silent scene. A breakup at the beginning was faintly different, but the fact that our main character (Ben) was a blossoming artist in art school only added to the obviousness that this was going to be a "love story". Unfortunately, most of the movie intrigued me more because of the artistic-ness, than anything else. The love story part was long in the coming, as we watched Ben through his insomnia...to the point that I wondered if they were trying to make the audience understand how much time could drag out when boring things are occurring. Then the time-freezing started. When he first talked about it, Ben told us about the time freezing as though this were his way of coping with the insomnia and extra hours in his day. I'm a sucker for Fight Club, Running With Scissors, Shutter Island, etc. and I was hoping this was another movie that would dive into the mental side of things, but it didn't really, which I suppose was a bit of a disappointment. With only about 20 minutes of the movie left, I was wondering if there was actually a plot, and if the movie had hoped to accomplish anything other than showing off the artistic side of the female form (many, many female forms, might I add...). I won't give away the ending, but apparently the writers realized they needed to tie things up eventually, so they got the job done. Artistically, if nothing else.
Overall, I liked the movie. Despite the fact that it seemed to drag on at parts in the middle, there was something about it that kept me watching, almost as if I knew there had to be some good bits in there, somewhere. If you just want to see an indie film that really pulls out the artistic side of life, or you're a bit of an insomniac yourself, it's certainly worth a watch.
***Note: Something I wasn't quite expecting was the sheer amount of female nudity in the film. Artistically, it works. And I'm sure if you're into watching naked girls, it works for that, too...
Monday, April 11, 2011
Goal 9, Week 10
I’m writing this outside, sitting on a deck chair and enjoying the over-80 degree weather, cooled down a bit by a breeze that’s sprung up. It’s absolutely gorgeous out. The trees are still dead and leafless, but the grass has reached its peak greenness, and the daffodils are all blooming. Which leads me to this week’s goal: Make sure to go outside as often as you can this week. At least in PA, it’s been a long, miserably-cold winter, and the fact that it feels almost summery now is amazing. Today's the warmest day of the week in my area, but it doesn't get below 60° for the rest of the days, according to the forecast. Even just studying or doing homework outside is about a zillion times nicer than being locked in the house day after day, and it’s a nice change from what I’ve been doing the past few months. The sun’s enough to cheer me up over any little annoyances that I come across during the day, too. (Yay for vitamin D!)
So, Goal 9, Week 10: Get out of the house, and do whatever can be done outside as much as possible. I’ve already started—writing this outside, right now. And after this, I’ll be working on my Philosophy homework. With luck the rain that hit central PA earlier won’t hit where I am until later this evening. I’m looking forward to maybe getting rid of some of this paleness I have going on, too, but enjoying the weather, and enjoying myself outside are the biggest things. Living life is being happy, and being happy is enjoying the little things, like the plants growing back, the smell of summer, and the feel of the breeze on a hot, spring day…
-M.
So, Goal 9, Week 10: Get out of the house, and do whatever can be done outside as much as possible. I’ve already started—writing this outside, right now. And after this, I’ll be working on my Philosophy homework. With luck the rain that hit central PA earlier won’t hit where I am until later this evening. I’m looking forward to maybe getting rid of some of this paleness I have going on, too, but enjoying the weather, and enjoying myself outside are the biggest things. Living life is being happy, and being happy is enjoying the little things, like the plants growing back, the smell of summer, and the feel of the breeze on a hot, spring day…
-M.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
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