The menacing rabbit

This morning I had intended to go swimming but then I did not tell anyone and so ended up stuck at home on a sunny Saturday morning. Therefore I turned to this blog for comfort.

This attempt at comfort blogging was rather fruitless and so I decided to go to swim in the middle of the scorching afternoon, which means I shall be off very soon. But I thought I'd blog a bit before I left. This last week I watched two films I had been intending to watch for a very long time. 'Sylvia' and 'Donnie Darko'. 'Donnie Darko' is a very odd film, and even that is an understatement. The story is basically this: An angst-ridden teenage outcast, complete with troublesome past and psychiatric treatment, is saved from a sure death when he is called outside by a gigantic rabbit, or rather a man dressed as a hideous rabbit, who tells him when the world will end. In the meantime, a piece of aircraft falls on his bedroom. After this event, the rabbit keeps haunting him and telling him to do a series of increasingly dangerous and violent things- such as vandalizing the school and burning down the house of a corrupt televangelist. In the meantime, the boy questions time-travel, portals into a parallel universe, destiny, God etc etc. This film is a very weird film, the kind that has enough twists and turns and questions and possible answers to keep anyone who enjoys deciphering cryptic messages and complicated ciphers happy and occupied for a whole year. Yet, is it just that? A pretentious warped bucketload of encryption and labyrinthine mysteries, whose only complexity lies in cunningness rather than real depth? I think this film actually lies in between simply being a gimmicky series of twists and ciphers, typical of the sort of sci-fi addicts that are so numerous among teenage boys like Darko himself, and the genuinely quirky original little gem that it was touted to be by the numerous enthusiasts who made it a cult favourite. Thankfully enough, it has none of the usual feeling of pretentiousness usually associated with cultish indie films. Moreover it is well shot and acted. And Jake Gyllenhaal is Jake Gyllenhall (drool). There are some cringe-inducing gimmicks- the actual existence of the Berta Sparrow book about time travel (it's on the website, I've been told) is one such thing. But all in all, I'm happy I saw it, some six years after the whole brouhaha broke out. There was also a nice melancholic song in the film which is really beautiful and quiet- It is called Mad World and I think it's a cover. Enjoy!

Dear me, I have just spent half an hour reviewing a film that has been reviewed a gazillion times before. Talk about uselessness. But I'm kind of enjoying this reviewing thingy. I think I shall actually coin a new proverb :'Those who can, do. Those who can't, review!' It actually rhymes and it's better than the overused cliched teaching one. Anyhows I have to be off to swim now. I'll review Sylvia if I manage to come up with a couple of coherent sentences about it. Blogging about myself all the time is kind of rather tiring. BTW It's the end of the 'Under the Iron Sea' tour for Keane today. *sobs* And I did not manage to see them live. But I will manage sometime. In any case, I enjoyed the tourblogs. I must really get me a life. But, oh, how I love them!

Till next time, take care,
Lizzy
xxxxx