Movie #307 - Independence Day

Independence Day
1996 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 25 min
Director: Roland Emmerich
Starring: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Randy Quaid, Vivica A Fox, Harvey Fierstein, Adam Baldwin, Brent Spiner, James Duval, Lisa Jakub

I saw this in the movie theater way back when and loved it.  It's cheesy and very Roland Emmerich-esque, but it's just so much fun to watch that you can't help but enjoy it.  The cast is great - president Pullman, Smith as a marine, Goldblum as a failed scientist, Fierstein and his effortless dramatics.  And Brent Spiner as the weird, crazy-haired scientist in the alien lab - it's just too much.  I love it.

We all know how much Emmerich likes to destroy the world and, although some of his later attempts weren't so bad, this has got to be the best one.  The aliens are creepy in their calculated silence, the people featured at the center of the action are diverse and interesting, and there's just enough personal tragedy and sacrifice to make it seem "real."

Alright, so it's not very "real."  But it's a nice balance of victory and loss, a perfect Hollywood blend of comedy and tragedy.  And the effects aren't so bad either.

Movie #169 - Donnie Darko

Donnie Darko
2001 - Rated R - 1 hr 53 min
Director: Richard Kelly
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Duval, Patrick Swayze

This movie is messed up.  But also awesome.

After all, "Why are you wearing that stupid man suit?" Right?

So here's itty bitty Jake Gyllenhaal (and Maggie too!) in the 80's and all sorts of crazy, seeing man-sized rabbits and whacking bronze statues with an axe.  This is probably the best cinematic teenage angst ever made, but it's also so much more than that.  Is Donnie Darko schizophrenic, is he just in-tune to what we don't know? How does he predict the things he does? And how the help did he get up high enough to put the axe in the dog's head?  What kind of name is Donnie Darko, anyway? These are the questions this movie makes me ask. 

Then you get to the end and you wonder, how much was real? Is there a time loop? Alternative universes, parallel timelines? And if the jet engine still falls, is the plane still going to crash? Yikes.

Anyway, it took me a couple of watches to really get what's happening here.  And it's possible I still don't completely get it... hence all the questions.  But it took this watch for me to notice Seth Rogen has a bit part. Watch it and see if you can find him. I love this game.

If you haven't seen this one and you don't like dark, psychological (not scary, but definitely twisted) movies, you should probably pass.  If you like that kind of stuff and you want something to think about, put this in your Netflix queue.