I appreciated it because it really went into a delusional thought process and made the average person understand what it was like to have the reality most of us live in and an entirely other one created in the brain for whatever reason.
My aunt has a mental illness where she is sometimes two or 3 places at once and this movie made alot of sense to me because I lived with her for so long and didn't understand why she just couldn't stop what she said and do the things she did,I was angry about it,but after that movie-alot of things made sense and gave me a little peace.

So,I enjoyed Donnie Darko(even though the ending was tragic) on another level I guess.

i'd still like to know if anyone who's seen both Donnie Darko and Napoleon Dynamite has drawn the same parallels as myself..

Yeah...their both overrated IMO.

I say in my opinion because i think movies, much like music is subjective. Your particular state of mind at the time of viewing would have great bearing on the outcome.
How many times have you listened to a CD and thought.....meh....not to crazy about it...but on repeat listens something clicks and you find yourself thinking"Wow...this is really good".
I've had the same experience with movies.One that sticks out was "Pink Floyd's The Wall"....first time i was not impressed......watched it again and was blown away.[ could have been the beer ].

mood is a huge factor ...

I saw Napoleon Dynamite fairly recently (within the past couple of months) and I was very wary about it because it had a "hip following" and it took slightly more than one viewing to begin to absorb it. It's not completely a comedy; it's a little subtler than that, and has actual themes floating around in it. A couple of the images are very poetic and beautiful (the image of the three misfit friends standing watching everyone dance was really poignant). Anyway, I seem to appreciate it as both a bizarrely funny film and a sort of inspirational drama...

What annoys me is not the film itself but the people who go around saying "Vote for Pedro," I don't understand how that became a catch-phrase....

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I thought Napolean Dynomite was funny, but I saw it after everyone was telling me it was the funniest movie ever so I was disappointed.

I didn't really like Donnie Darko all that much, it's worth renting though.

it was easy to do .. and a lot of people like to identify with something - especially if it is deemed as 'hip'

thats why some people get turned off - by the hype around a film ... but thats just as bad as buying into it ..

Re: ...
 

thats another thing that can determine a film .. expectations ..

the 1st time i saw beetlejuice i didnt like it because i expected something different ...

i loved it when i saw it again on my own terms.
Thats why i dont see a lot of movies that have a lot of bullshit surrounding them (passion of the christ) but i'll eventually see them when the talk dies down .. so i can see it without anyone elses influence..

That's why I waited for Passion to come out on DVD. I was able to watch it in my own home without the influence of other peoples' reactions around me. I also watched it alone. I wrote my personal review of it on Netflix (which over 200 people found helpful). I won't get into my view of it here unless you want to know.

There are some movies that are best seen on the big screen in my opinion. The big-budget blockbusters for example. I haven't seen King Kong yet, but I would like to simply for the fact that I enjoyed Peter Jackson's work on Lord of the Rings.

Well, damn, I just completely lost my train of thought - damn nicotine withdrawal!

fight the good fight HF - ciggies are murder to quit

You would be correct.

I usually try to back up my opinions around here, although I have been known to be lazy and just put "It sucks" or "Great movie" from time to time.

Personally, I think Napolean Dynamite is way over-exposed. The first time I saw it I thought it was hilarious, the second time I caught a few things I missed, but it was less funny, and by the third, I was waiting for it to end. You can hardly go anywhere around people my age without hearing conversation about this movie, and that bugs me. I mean, sure. It was a pretty good movie, I gotta admit...but it wasnt THAT good IMO. It did have originality on it's side, but that was ground into the dirt after being quoted non-stop over the past couple years.


One movie I think I probably simply reviewed as "It sucks" is Jigsaw. I didnt feel like wasting anymore of my life on that movie past the 90 min I wasted watching it. The plot, for starters, was pretty bad, but no worse than alot of slashers that turned out MUCH better [IE- Childs Play]. This had potential to be a semi-decent, so-bad-it's-good campy slasher....but it wast. Jigsaw itself is probably the best part of the movie, and he doesnt show up until the movie's damn near finished. The acting is just plain bad, from the Bruce Campbell wannabe to the plastic slut that was more than likely cast at a strip club. The whole lapdance segment was pointless and overlong, an to be honest, she's not even that hot. The kills were unoriginal, and the "plot twist" was so obvious it's not even funny.


Another movie that I would be tempted to say sucked is the "classic" Lord of the Flies. We watched this film in English class last week just after we finished reading the book. I thought the book was incredible, with it's heavy symbolism and it's portrayal of Human nature. The film however, fell flat. Without having read the book, most of it would have mad no sence whatsoever [The whole "Lord of the Flies" sequence especially]. I know from experiance that there is such thing as good, child actors...however these kids are awful. Jack and Ralph had their moments, however scenes that were powerful in the book were bland here, simply due to their monotone delivery. Piggy was the only character that did his literary counterpart any juctice at all, as we was easily one of the most annoying characters I have ever seen on film. Peter Brook's directing was amatuer at best, with the best evidence of the is being the scene where the hunters introduce themselves:rolleyes:. I must admit that the "beast" did look quiite good, however without knowlege from the book, it was a wasted scene.


Ok, my fingers are starting to hurt:p

thats not a critique on the movie .. it's a critique of the fans !

I Spit On Your Grave - in a sort of similar vein - was largely judged on it's initial release on the reaction of some asshole fans .. yelling encouragement at the rapists ...

are movies bad because people (fans - trendoids) are stupid ?

I suppose your right. However, I do think that a film can be cheapened by it's fans. Being in High School [which Id assume you've been out of for awhile, eh?:p], on a normal day, I can hardly walk through the hall without seeing a "Vote for Pedro" t-shirt, or hearing someone say "Gosh!" in a terrible imitation of Jon Heder. IMO, the film's major plus was it's originality, and while these fans dont actually change the film in any way, shape or form, it does steal what I consider the high-point of the film. Im not saying that it's a bad film by any means, simply that it's way overdone. I dont much care for this film for the same reason I see "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th" as overrated, it may be a different, original "quirky" film, however it's simply overdone in pop-culture. It's not original anymore.