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[c&r]

Ok, I don't think I have ever purposely double posted before, but I felt this was worthy of a new post.

Definitely a spoiler this time!

Ok, Before you read the rest of this, if you're mightily confused and have only seen what I believe is called the prism edition?, watch the 1 disc directors cut - it explains the movie one hell of a lot better... it's better than the prism edition theatrically as well in my opinion.

Right, again, before you go any further, if you have the directors cut one disc edition, it would be a good idea to reference to the following points;

51:15 (Chapter one of Roberta Sparrows' book shown - Description of tangent universe)
57:14 (Chapter two of Roberta Sparrows' book shown - Water and Metal)
62:23 (Chapter seven of Roberta Sparrows' book shown - the manipulated living)
64:02 (Donnie moves through time during Jim Cunninghams' presentation)
69:24 (Chapter four of Roberta Sparrows' book shown - The Artifact And The Living)
72:27 (Chapter six of Roberta Sparrows' book shown - The Living Receiver)

Right, I'm not sure, but I think that is all of them... if somebody knows of an other chapter in the book that is shown and I've missed, please post it.

Now, let's move on to the various chapters mentioned above, starting with the artifact -

When a Tangent Universe occurs, those living nearest to the Vortex will find themselves at the epicenter of a dangerous new world.

Artifacts provide the first sign that a Tangent Universe has occured.

If an artifact occurs, the living will retrieve it with great interest and curiosity. Artifacts are formed from metal, such as an Arrowhead from an ancient Mayan civilization, or a Metal Sword from Medieval Europe.

This is obviously reffering to the Jet Engine - So as a ground rule, there is now a new, tangent universe surrounding the jet engine.

So now for this to make any sense, we need to go and look at the Tangent Universe;

Incidents when the fabric of the fourth dimension becomes corrupted are incredibly rare.

If a Tangent Universe occurs, it will be highly unstable, sustaining life for no longer than several weeks.

Eventually it will collapse upon itself, forming a black hole within the Primary Universe capable of destroying all existence.

Which directly links to Chapter Six - The Living Receiver

The Living Receiver is chosen to guide the Artifact into position for its journey back to the Primary Universe.

No one knows how or why a Receiver will be chosen.

The Living Receiver is often blessed with Fourth Dimensional Powers. These include increased strength, telekenesis, mindcontrol, and the ability to conjour fire and water.

The Living Receiver is often tormented by terrifying dreams, visions and auditory hallucinations during his time within the Tangent Universe.

If you can't work out that is referencing to Donnie, you are an idiot. He has numerous of the things mentioned above - while he can not literally just conjour fire and water out of his fingertips, this is what flooding the school and burning Jim Cunningham's house down is obviously meant to symbolise. He is also tormented with the visions, in the form of Frank.

One thing I can't work out for the life of me though is whether or not he succeded in his job of getting the engine back to a position ready for transportation back to the Primary Universe - I'd presume he did though, as while he may of died, the universe was still intact at the end, was it not?

To further confuse you though, you could say the Tangent Universe did end, but the only thing it damaged was him, as he was so directly involved in it - Maybe he was in fact the Tangent Universe, so he was the only thing it would ever affect. Ok, I'm talking gibberish now, but pointless speculation is allways good.

Jesus... I've just realised that the living receiver could well be Frank. While we have no evidence that he suffers from hallucinations or the like, in the way of the other powers, he's actually far more likely than Donnie - let's compare.

These include increased strength,

No proof in the movie that either have that, so that's Donnie - 0 : Frank - 0

telekenesis,

This one is a tad more complicated... Donnie definitely remains at 0, as he never does anything along those lines at all during the entire film. Frank however manages to create a a portal (is it actually a portal? I need to re-watch that bit methinks) to the house - but still, you could say that is not physically moving objects.

I think I'll keep that one as nil nil.

mindcontrol

This is where Frank starts pulling ahead - you could easily claim that he uses mindcontrol on Donnie - as, if Frank had not told Donnie to do certain acts, Donnie would not have commited them. I also further believe he is controlling Donnie's mind, as would you/Donnie (normally) just agree to flood a school, or burn down a house? I don't think so.

1 - 0 to Frank.

and the ability to conjour fire and water.

I'm going to give both characters both points for this one - as NEITHER can conjour directly, but both can conjour through something else. Again, I reference to the house; Frank conjoured fire through Donnie, Donnie conjoured fire with a can of petrol and a match.

3 - 2 to Frank.

So if we ignore the last line of that Chapter, it seems amazing that Frank is actually more likely to be the living receiver than Donnie is... but, the last line outwieghs the rest.

The Living Receiver is often tormented by terrifying dreams, visions and auditory hallucinations during his time within the Tangent Universe.

This is the one line that proves the living receiver is Donnie - Donnie is suffering these Hallucinations in the form of Frank, and as such, Frank is merely a figment of his imagination, or is he? Frank could merely be manipulating space-time, so he only appears to Donnie and no-one else, in which case, he would not be a hallucination at all... just immensly clever and complicated.

Though I really don't think that is the case - I believe he is a hallucination, besides, we have no proof that Frank has hallucinations, so yeah. Donnie is the living receiver.

Now we've settled that Donnie is indeed the living receiver, we better move onto the next two chapters.

Water and Metal are the key elements of Time Travel.

Water is the barrier element for the construction of Time Portals used as gateways between universes at the Tangent Vortex

I presume that's talking about the wormy things that come out of people's bodies, but I can't really confirm that... that has got to be one of the most confusing things I've ever read actually.

Can anyone clarify what that chapter means?

which is to assist the Living Receiver in returning the Artifact to the Primary Universe.

The Manipulated Living will do anything to save themselves from Oblivion

As you can't see the entire page on that one, it kind of doesn't make sense, but I'd presume it's reffering to main of the human race.

Now we have all the ground rules laid down, and a very basic outline of certain stuff, we can actually move onto the plot - which is where it gets complicated.

I'm actually not entirely sure about the plot myself... I thought I was halfway through this version, but the ending, once again, threw me right off the path.

Basically, I think that -

The jet engine has fallen through the fourth dimension and corrupted it, causing a tangent universe. As it happens to fall in his room, Donnie becomes the living receiver - and Frank tries to help him complete his conquest (I believe that the flooding and burning were Frank checking that he really is the living receiver).

Donnie is not actually going insane - Frank may be a hallucination, but Donnie is certainly not losing his mind, and if he is losing it, then insanity is being forced upon him by the Tangent Universe.

The ending is where it gets really, really complex, but I think I have it kind of sussed. Donnie succeds in getting the Artifact ready for the journey back to the Primary Universe, and as such, he has completed his mission. So, when the Tangent Universe comes to an end, it merely rewinds time, and crashes the engine from the Primary Universe, into the Primary Universe that is Donnie's bedroom (as in it never leaves the Primary Universe)... so while he dies, Donnie succeds in his mission, and the universe remains intact.

Wow, god knows why I didn't include this in the original reference points -

118:00 - Chapter Twleve - Dreams.

This chapter basically explains the end, and exactly why time DIDN'T rewind, despite the editing makeing it seem like it did.

When the Manipulated awaken from their Journey into the Tangent Universe, they are often haunted by the experience in their dreams.

Many of them will not remember.

So that period of time DID happen, and Donnie dying, and the ending in general was a direct follow on from it - but nobody except Donnie can remember it.

Well, I hope this 1500 word + post cleared some stuff up for somebody, or at the very least kept somebody entertained for a few minutes, as it took more than a bloody hour to write! :lol:

 

[Ben]

Flightplan is a good movie. Very nice and suspensful, and it never goes OTT.

Flightplan is a psychological thriller that takes place almost entirely on an air-born jumbo jet en route to New York, from Berlin. Jodie Foster plays Kyle, a mother who find that her daughter is missing after awaking from a nap. The jet also carries Kyle's husband, who recently died and rests in his casket in the cargo hold below. Kyle becomes increasingly frantic as she searches the plane for her daughter without success. The crew becomes adversarial, writing her off as a loony when they check the flight manifesto and find no record of her daughter ever being on board. Thus enters the psychological component of the film. Not only is the audience confused as to what has happened, but Kyle, after speaking with an on-board psychiatrist, also begins to have doubts about her own psychological stability in the wake of her husband's death. No one is sure what to believe, until a subtle clue jolts Foster back to reality, and back to her MacGuyver like maneuvers to attempt to recover her lost daughter.

Anyway, the premise is simple, but pulled off well, but what made it go from good to great for me was Foster's brilliant perfomance, again. She's got to be my favourite actress when it comes to thrillers. Silence of the Lamb's anyone?

Which brings me to Silence of the Lambs, which I saw for the first time yesterday. I presume most people know the story, so I won't go into it. But, the two leads have to be the best performances ever given in a thriller, Hopkins is just awesome, and Foster is again, amazing. It's not particularily scary, and if I'd watched it wanting a real scare while watching, I'd have been disappointed, but it's a very haunting film, IMO. Where Lecter gets up from that stretcher and pulls of the guard's face, it's chilling. That whole bit's chilling in fact. The film didn't scare me while watching, but at the end it leaves you uneasy.

The fact that there was such a great story as well really helped, with Buffalo Bill and Lecter both being excellent, with Buffalo Bill being another really disturming killer. It's the best thriller I've ever seen, but don't go into it expecting a horror, or you'll be severely disappointed.

 

[AeRo]

^ you'd never seen it....:shock:

Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal then the precursor Red Dragon are all essential viewing!...ESSENTIAL!

 

[tks]

They're creepy viewing though. I get disturbed by those films. They're only a handful of ones that I wouldn't want to watch instantly.

 

[robbeal]

Just so it doesn't get completely overshadowed and forgotten, great work in reading into Donnie Darko there Ross. Its made some things clearer in my mind now, and it is one of the best posts i've seen in my time on CF. Thanks.

 

[BetaKitten]

They're creepy viewing though. I get disturbed by those films. They're only a handful of ones that I wouldn't want to watch instantly.

Your disturbed by most films... remember Darkness Falls... you were terrified

I saw Flightplan the other day and i thought it was quite good... alot better than i expected not being one of high hopes with films... but alas i just felt it was lacking a little something... just left me a bit meh afterwards... not feeling cheated of my money or feeling like i could watch it again.

Plus a big big big thankyou for the Donnie Darko post it makes a little bit more sense now!!

 

[themeparkphreak]

They're creepy viewing though. I get disturbed by those films. They're only a handful of ones that I wouldn't want to watch instantly.

I hate 'creepy' films/gore films as much as the next person, but I think Silence of the lambs is a brilliant move.

The other two are no where near as good, but the work that went into that film is amazing. Jodie foster puts in a graet performance, as does everyone's favourite pyscopath! (not stone cold..ha..ha..)

 

[AeRo]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0294870/

I have one word for you... RENT!

Shame the Americans get it soo long before we do..

Well I have seen Rent and it is much better than I expected......co-produced by Robert DeNiro and director Chris Columbus it is an awesome show with some top notch songs and is on the top of my DVD wanted list.

 

[AeRo]

Well this weekend I watched the Godfather trilogy which I do at least one Sunday every winter. It takes just under 9 hours to tell this epic saga and it is worth every minute.

For those who haven't seen it, the trilogy tells the story of the Corleone family from the turn of the century through to 1980.There are two versions of the trilogy available - an chronological version which was available on video and the original theatrical versions. I prefer the original versions.

Godfather I (1945 - 1955)
The film opens with the wedding of 'Don' Vito Corleone's (Marlon Brando) daughter. Traditionally no Scicillian can refuse a request on his daughters wedding day. A number of favours are requested, Don Bonsonera requests that he seek revenge for the rape of his daughter, Johnny Fontaine asks that he influence a movie producer to cast Johnny - which leads to the immortal line " gonna make him an offer he can't refuse" along with a certain horses head!

The youngest son, Michael (Al PAcino) returns from the war and tells his girlfriend about what his father does and says that he is not like his father. Michael is the 'quiet' son. The eldest son, Santini asks Don Corleone to get involved in selling drugs as it is the future of the 'business'. The Don refuses, underlining the strength of strong family values.

Godfather II (1900's and 1950's)
The second film follows two timelines - the 1900's when Vito Corleone moves from Scicilly to America and 1950's America with Michael, the head of the family. This is one of the few movie sequels to receive equal, if not greater, acclaim.

Michael shows that he is not in fact the 'quiet' one, but more of a cold, calculated and ruthless leader. He has the same family values as his father, but will not allow anything to get in the way of 'taking care of the family business'.

Godfather III (1979 -1980)
The final, and in many opinions weakest chapter is still an extremely gripping story. Michael is now in his 60's and suffers ill health. He is divorced from his wife and rarely sees his children. He realises that he may have made the wrong choices in choosing the business over his family and sets about trying to legitimise the business. Vincent (Andy Garcia), Santini's bastard son appears on the scene and has a temper to match that of his father's.

So I would recommend these as must watch movies. The first two were made in 1973 and 1974, with part III coming along in 1990 so there are no gobsmacking explosions or surround sound pyrotechnics - just a gripping storyline, fabulous period photography, nauseous violence and an endless stream of quotes which are endlessly repeated today...."sleeps with the fishes", "go to the mattresses" and my favourite - " keep your friends close, but your enemies closer".

Useless fact: The Godfather Trilogy is one of only three sequels to win Oscars - along with LOTR and Silence of the Lambs!

 

[Ben]

I wouldn't call Silence a sequel, it was made first. Unless you're counting that pooy Manhunter...

Anyway, as part of my Lecter phase, I bought and watched Red Dragon at the weekend. Excellent, not as good as silence, but still fantastic. It does suffer from a lack of Starling, who's a much better character then Will ever was, he's a bit bland. Hopkins was great again, not as chilling as Silence though.

Ralph was good, but I don't like the character as much as Bill, he's not as intresting again.

So, it's a great film, but the characters aren't on a par with those in Silence at all.


I'm looking forward to seeing The Producers on Dec 27th as well. I wonder if Uma can sing?

 

[AeRo]

Okay I will set the scene....Az and I were in Paris in November and everywhere we went this movie was being advertised and, call it subliminal advertising, I said to Az..."I really want to see that movie".

So true to form, I returned home and promptly forgot about it!

However, about a week ago I remembered about it and decided to try and track it down... and hey presto, after a bit of searching, found it!

Saint Ralph 9/10
This is a Canadian effort by second time director Michael McGowan, and is basically about a 14 year old boy whose father is dead and his mother is extremely ill and ends up in a coma. He latches on to a comment made that the only thing that will bring her out of the coma is a miracle and sets about performing that miracle in the Boston marathon.

He is being taught in a catholic school in the 1950's and there are the usual references to the weekly confessions etc, which are extremely funny. The counterpoint to this is the real agony of his mothers condition coupled with the fact that the schools headmaster is aiming to kick him out of school because he plain doesn't like him.

It is a kind of Canadian Billy Elliot type of story, only 10 times funnier and 10 times sadder. I laughed and I cried throughout.

If you get a chance to see this...don't miss it!

 

[c&r]

Watched trainspotting 4 times in the past week, after receiving it on friday. Bloody amazing film. Just go watch it .

 

[joe]

I saw Millions today, I thought it was ok. The kid in the movie must go to church an awful lot.

 

[Ben]

I bought and then watched possibly my favourite comedy of all time last night- There's Something About Mary. It's so funny but it's so silly as well, it never takes anything seriously, it's just laugh after laugh. I would list the funniest bits, but I'll be here all day. The zipper incident, the dog on speed, Magda full stop- it's all just the perfect example of a Farrelly brothers movie, whom I love.

 

[joe]

^Yes I love that movie, shame I didnt see all of it though, bloody news was on half way into it and I fell asleep.

I saw Black Hawk Down earlier today, its a great film what has a cool story to it. Josh Harntnet is really good in the movie.

 

[AeRo]

^^ TSAM is a very funny film, the dog, Magda on speed, the zipper all classic moments.

^ Black Hawk Dowm....just popping it into the machine now!

My third film of the night - The Nightmare Before Christmas, Great Expectations and now....BHD!

 

[Ben]

I went to see The Producers today after shopping, and I must say, one of my favourite films of the year, with many great song and dance numbers and on top of that, it was hilarious. The performances where great and all the cast gave the best performances they have in a long time, except for Uma Thurman, who while good, didn't match up to the others or herself in Kill Bill. Will Ferrel was the surprise of the two for me, I never knew he could sing and he out humored himself once again.

One thing that did bug me was Nathan Lane's voice, only because it made me think of him in the Lion King every two seconds, but that's no one else's fault but mine. So, go see it basically.

 

[furie]

how can you remake a classic such as the Producers..? And not even with Mel Brooks in it... It's disgusting and I'm refusing to watch it on principle... Three films that should never be remade - The Sound of Music, Something else (not King Kong) and The Producers :lol:

Sorry Ben, had to done!

To be fair, with such a good script, you'd be hard pressed to make a bad film of it.

 

[Anonymous]

I recently saw King Kong, and this is my review:

C- to D+ ... :huh: ...you guys aren't gonna like this...

(possible spoilers)

I would be upset I wasted my time on this movie, if it wasn't for the fact I didn't pay for the ticket. Sorry guys!

From the start, to the shipwreck, I was actually feeling the movie! I thought these key sequences helped develop likeable characters and helped forshadow events that would unfold. There was a certain charm that was absent from the LOTR movies during these early NY sequences, and I was finally feeling some of Peter Jackson's work!

Now, now...we get to the Island. The natives were very weird, and the whole set up of getting Anne into the jungle is even weirder...however, I can handle that. I love POTC, so its obvious I can handle a bit of fantasy...I can.

But once they were on the island, it was just too much " :huh: " for me to take. First off, the movie totally felt like a cheesy 70's disaster movie with cool special effects. It was non-stop death and ruin! And I am all for death and ruin, if it contributes something to the story! But after awhile, it just felt like they were killing people off because they wanted to make a "cool scene", which just ended up extending an unnecessarily long movie, even longer. Ok, so we want to show the audience that Kong is beginning to express love for Anne by physically defending her--sounds good. But we dont have to turn it into a 30 minute sequence, with 1 T-Rex turning into, like, 6, and with massive, muli-ton creatures dangling from mere vines, with tounges getting bitten off! We dont need it!

He took key themes, and squashed them with these stupid, physics defying action sequences. That bug sequence felt like it wouldn't end and totally didn't contribute anything to the film, other than 10 minutes, a few near-gagging moments, and a "bug-on-Adrian-Brody's-crotch-joke."

The capture of Kong was saddening, I admit. I was still able to feel sympathy for the ape. I would protest, however, that I am curious as to how they got him on the boat! But then again, I am glad they left it out, as it would have taken another hour and 45 minutes to explain it! (ouch!)


Once again, when the movie returned to New York, I began to find a liking for the film. However, I didn't like the characters at this point--all three of them had been changed in a way that I found unrealistic and disapointing. Perhaps that's how I am supposed to feel--either way, I didn't like it. The Kong/Anne sequence was a well needed chance to get in a smile--but it was short lived.

The last 30 minutes of the movie (I dont know if it was 30 minutes, but it was longer than it needed to be) was the classic Empire State sequence. Now I am really beginning to become confused with the actions and behaviors of all 3 characters. Kong was taken down, and the movie ended on Mr. Black's supposively thought-provoking "Beauty killed the beast" comment.


Perhaps I am showing a bit of exageration and a bit of bias. However, I simply dont like films like this, and you shouldn't blame me for it. I like films with 1) happy endings, 2) a feeling of hope (for the future) at the end, or 3) A massive, self-analyzing, thought-provoking, and rather heavy theme that I can ponder over for hours (aka, Saving Private Ryan). I understand that there is death and suffering in the world--it sucks. But if I am going to pay 10 dollers, I should at least leave feeling hope for the future, if you are going to show me a film with that much death and suffering. I felt like I wasted 3-hours to simply see some stuff get killed. I literally got out of my seat and said "now what?"

Im sorry I sound harsh! I have just never been watching a film in theatres and thought to myself "I really dont care how this thing ends, just end it soon".

-Jahan

 

[joe]

I heard King Kong is way too over the top and it just drags on.

I am watching Signs now, I have seen it before, its wuite a freaky movie. I thought it was scary at times, and it has a good story to it.