On new year's eve I saw two movies: Boondock Saints, and Donnie Darko. Boondock Saints wasn't as good as everybody seems to make it out to be... I guess it has something to do with that weird irish fad or something. Anyways, it was alright, but not amazing. I broke it down into a formula actually: Boondock Saints = Dogma + Lock, Stock + Ambiguiously Gay Duo. The idea for the movie is the exact same as dogma... you know, two saints (or angels) go out in a vigilantee killing spree to stop evil.
*Don't read this unless you've seen Donnie Darko before, unless you don't care if I ruin the plot for you* The other movie I saw was better, although, really confusing. I watched it 3 times, once including the director's commentary, to try to understand it. I liked it a lot better before I saw the commentary, because it didn't seem like the director/writer even knew why he had anything in the movie. There are lots of things that you think have to do with the plot, but it turns out that it just 'foreshadows' what will happen... meaning, don't pay attention to it, cos it doesn't really fit in and will just confuse you. For example, when Donnie stabs the mirror and hits Frank in the eye. Also, there are two pretty big events that happen in the movie where the director takes a quote from a famous person and intricates it into the plot when he doesnt seem to even know what it really is that he's putting into the plot. One would be the 'celler door' thing which is from J.R. Tolken (Kevin looked it up). The director said he's 'not sure who said that, maybe Edgar Allen Poe'. The other would be 'dues ex machina' which Donnie says when he has a knife to his throat after the celler scene. The quote is explaned in a deleted scene where the teacher (Barrymore) has them read a different book (I can't remember the name, I'll replace this with the real name when I hear it again) from which the 'dues ex machina' quote came. Kevin explained to me what he thinks it means and it means 'from machine'. According to Kevin, in the old days when they had plays that needed the plot finished, they would have a third party come in and finish it. In the commentary, the director didn't seem to understand it any better than I did, maybe worse. The story in general didn't seem to completely add up for me. The director said that Donnie built a time machine and went back in time to change things to where he was the one who got hit... which makes sense, but when and how did he make this machine? and why didn't you show us him making it mr. director man??! He didn't really know why or how donnie did anything, he said that he was a super hero with super human strength when he would sleep walk. The director didn't know why he was a super hero though, he said 'they chose him to save the universe' and then he even said something close to 'I don't really know who THEY are exactly, maybe aliens or something'. Apparently Frank was randomly chosen to lead Donnie in the same way, but it's never explained why 'They' want to frank to tell him to do those things anyways, I mean, it doesn't get anything done! And why would the same people ('they') make Donnie a super hero to save the universe, while at the same time having him instructed to make decisions that end the universe? Maybe in some super crazy way it DOES make sense, but it seems to me that the director didn't really understand it either. On another note, I thought I had known where some of the music was from, but when I watched the credits I was wrong for the most part. One of the songs sounds A LOT like the type of music that Clint Mansel and the Kronos Quartet would make, such as in 'Requiem for a Dream'. Turns out it wasn't. Kevin asked me if I knew who the song (Mad World) at the end was by and I guessed 'REM', but I was wrong. I don't listen to them, but it reminded me of that 'everybody hurts' song. My last guess was the only one I got right: The movie starts with 'killing moon' by 'Echo and the BUNNYMEN' of all bands! I guess that's kinda funny. Anyways, the movie is worth watching, although I am ambivalent towards it after seeing the commentary. Well here is a list of subtle things that you might not notice the first time seeing it:

1. Frank is the boyfriend of Donnie's sister.
2. Donnie gets down on his knees so that he can look inside of his girlfriend's bubble thing (her future) at the halloween party. That is why he is suddenly aprehensive.
3. Donnie takes placebos.
4. Donnie and his sister are brother and sister in real life. (Not that you could NOTICE that, but it's true)
5. Grandma Death senses the future (with the whole run-over and shooting scene at the end). That's why she is always walking back and forth checking her mail. And in that scene, she finally did get Donnie's letter, which is shown in her hand.
6. If Grandma Death wasn't in the way in the road, Gretchen would have survived.
7. The universe would be destroyed if Donnie didn't go back in time because the two dimensions would collide.
8. Donnie is laughing when he wakes up because he thought the whole alternitive reality he just went through was a dream.

A lot is still left unresolved, in my opinion. But, who knows.