The Killing Moon Will Come In 19 days, 21 hours, 46 minutes 11 seconds:Donnie Darko

Donnie Darko is a confusing but ultimately rewarding movie, perfect for All Hallow's Eve enjoyment. For me it is a tour de force of nostalgia, allowing me my own time personal time machine back to the 1980's.

Cellar Door is the most Beautiful

But don't get the Directors Cut. I made that mistake--this version is marginally more understandable, but there is one major alteration that ruins it for me. They tampered with something that originally drew me into this movie like a moth to a bonfire. They changed the song in the opening sequence of the film, from the romantically sinister grandiose elegance of The Killing Moon by Echo and the Bunnymen to INXS' never tear us apart. Why? What was the director thinking? That is just a really great song (it's basically an evil version of Nights in White Satin) and it fit perfectly.

For me this is a movie that just worked on a fundamental level for me--it didn't have to make 100% sense for me to enjoy it. I was baffled in many places, but there was a lot of joy and humor and grief with excellent production values and a well thought out soundtrack. I was confused at times but I couldn't tear myself away from the movie, like rubbernecker at a car crash.

Basically the movie is about time travel and order in the universe, though it also spoofs a lot of 80's conventions. Though Jake Gyllenhaal is the lead, Donnie Darko, it seems like the focus is on the plot itself rather than any individual. He was meant to be dead, but he avoided his fate by a quirk in the space-time continuum, which is bringing the fate of the universe into jeopardy. Or has it really? Donnie has had some psychological problems in the past, and is taking medications and receiving therapy. Suddenly he is being visited by a human sized evil looking rabbit, named Frank who is urging him to action. Is this really happening, or is this merely a figment of his imagination? There is a very dreamlike state that pervades this film, and the music video style and pacing gives the movie a unique feel. There are many memorable dialogues here also, funny, absurd and more often than not, profound.

I won't give away too much of this film but in addition to Gyllenhaal, there is his sister Maggie (playing his sister), Patrick Swayze (motivational self-help speaker), and Drew Barrymore (English teacher). There is a lot of perfectly placed songs like The Church's Under The Milky Way Tonight, and Tears For Fears Head Over Heels and Mad World and Notorious by Duran Duran. Unfortunately the sound track does not have these songs on them. (There is an import double disc version that has these songs, but it is prohibitively expensive and out of print). The original cut of Donnie Darko is a surreal treat. In summation, it's a pretty dark perplexing movie, perfect fare for the coming holiday.