radiofloyd Posted May 26, 2015 Share Posted May 26, 2015 Loved Donnie Darko. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sly Reflex Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I just finished watching Donnie Darko. I've seen it before and I didn't like it then, having rewatched it I don't think much of it now. It's the kind of thing that kids that have backpacks with Mighty Boosh pins attached all over them think is deep. There was one scene in there that I really liked though, the one with the hate/love analogy thing going on was really well done. It felt like they were actually making progress there than the other parts of the film where it's just filled with nothing, needless shots that seemed to be there just to pad the running time out. Mark's right, it is shot very well, but a lot of it could have gone the cutting room floor without any detriment to the film, there's a lot of visual equivalents to umming and arring that I found really jarring, it's just dead time and dead time is where I lose interest and start to look at my phone. So far I think Primer's been the best film, which is something I don't think I'd expect to happen. What is next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendo Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I dunno, pick one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sly Reflex Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 I keep meaning to watch Frank, the film tied to Frank Sidebottom. It has the mother from Donnie Darko (Maggie Gyllenhaal) in it if we're tying films to each other. Anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendo Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Good for me. It's been on my to watch list too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DisturbedSwan Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Donnie Darko is an awesome film, loved it when I first saw it and loved it on repeat viewing. My suggestion for next week would be The Hunt starring Mads Mikkelson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoboticMonk3y Posted May 31, 2015 Author Share Posted May 31, 2015 We'll go with Sly's suggestion next week, then Blakey's the week after. Donnie Darko. I saw this film at a cinema called "The watershed" in Bristol. They tend to show a lot of independent films, and I remember hearing a buzz about Donnie Darko and so I was keen to see it. I remember coming out of the cinema, and wanting to go to the showing the next day. Mostly for the fact that I wanted to try to re-watch to see if I could gain a bit more about what was going on. The weird thing was, the film kinda disappeared for a long time after that, I remember owning a dvd pirate copy before the film showed up in the cinema again. I also owned the soundtrack, and found it mildly irritating to have to listen to "mad world" on every advert and radio show (especially given that there was a much better version on the album) I think the film is one I'd happily have on in the background. I've seen it enough times that I don't really need to be paying a massive amount of attention to it any more. Having said that I did enjoy the extra stuff added into the story, kinda bulked the film out and helped explain what was going on. Good performances from everyone all round and the film feels paced well enough, one of the things I found the most interesting about the film is that when Donnie was talking to his teacher about time travel, and his teacher said that he'd be fired if they carried on the conversation. Gotta love that american school system right? I enjoyed it, and I liked the extra stuff in the Director's cut, but then I liked the film already so <shrugs> meh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendo Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 Yeah I enjoyed it the first time around but I'm glad I went with the Director's Cut (and also read that explanation) as it definitely fills in some missing information. I wouldn't go telling anyone it was the best film ever but it's pretty unique, well acted and well shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pikman Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 We had to watch it in about 10 parts due to a stupid baby that moved in a year ago but we totally enjoyed it. I forgot how good it was actually Thanks for the link too, I read it after and it really does help make sense of it. Honestly not sure I can watch the Hunt again and Abi definitely wont. It is an BRILLIANT film though, one of the best actors of our generation right there. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sly Reflex Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 I watched Frank this morning. Absolutely despised it. I can't think of one thing I liked about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 I watched Frank this morning. Absolutely despised it. I can't think of one thing I liked about it. I'm glad you said that, it's absolute gash... What didn't you's like about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendo Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 I started it last night but had to stop halfway through to do some music work on my laptop. I've enjoyed it so far, not amazing but it did make me look for the soundtrack on Spotify. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendo Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Just finished Frank and I really enjoyed it. All I heard about it was that they Americanised Frank Sidebottom but really this is a fitting tribute. Supposedly the desire was to draw on other oddball singers like Captain Beefheart, Syd Barrett and Daniel Johnston - I think they succeeded. If you want an actual Frank Sidebottom film there's one called Being Frank that was Kickstarted, no idea if it's out or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandsomeDead Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Yeah it's about people like Frank than him directly. I'd say that's for the best as Frank Sidebottom should remain truly unknown. The Americanisation of Frank us meant to sidetrack you though... Well Fassbender sidetrack you. He sounds the 'artist' and when it comes to you realising he doesn't really know what he's doing it does hit home more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendo Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Having been in bands with people with mental illness, alcoholism and drug addiction, it's a pretty good portrayal of how little fun those times can be. The rock and roll myth is that you need these things to be creative but I think the film makes a point that it actually stifles creativity and can make for some strange, tense situations that arguably could be avoided without these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sly Reflex Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 The problem I had with it was that it was called Frank and had Frank Sidebottom's likeness in there. If it had been called Nag and the guy wore a horse mask, or Slag and the guy wore a Jordan mask, then fine I could have probably let it slide. To link it to a guy and then completely bastardise the cheerful friendly intimate way Sidebottom character interacted with his audience was completely missing the point of Sidebottom. Frank is a creation that is the punchline. He's a thirty odd year old dude that lives with his mum and has aspirations to be the next big thing, it's ok to laugh at him because he's deluded about his grandeur despite his failings. I don't feel good laughing at Frank in the film. One because he's somehow being changed into this messiah for a group of people that want to be with him or be him (why would you want to be the joke?), but also that he's just not funny. I'm expecting him to sing songs about choosing between Oxo or Bovril and doing a list of pro's and cons between them, or singing about whether him and Little Frank should risk eating some ham that's about to go out of date. The music he does is purposely shit so it goes all the way around back to being kitsch. It's tongue in cheek naffness. It's that psyche that's part of Sidebottom's appeal, he's out of touch and irreverent. I got none of that from the film. A bunch of arthouse wankers fucking about with instruments being pretentious little shitbags to each other in the name of their art is what I got. Probably the funniest part of the film for me was the chinchilla part. Because I kept saying chinchilla over and over each time the film bored or offended me. I've thought about this film a lot since I watched it, there's nothing at all I liked about it. I just thought is was offensive rubbish. If I was to really go for it I could do a whole essay on why I hated this film. It just riled me up in a way that really pissed me off. Absolutely gash. I really hope Blakey's film is better, although it really doesn't have to try hard to beat what I picked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hendo Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 The thing is though, it's not meant to be Frank Sidebottom. What saves the way they changed it is that the real life Jon co-wrote the script and wrote a book about his experiences as the actual Frank Sidebottom's keyboard player. If it had been written by someone unconnected then it would be fishy to me, but also Sievey knew what the film was going to be and gave it his blessing. I think they went the right way in making something new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandsomeDead Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Sly, I think you don't get what Frank Sidebottom was. As daft as his songs were they were also creative and honest. I never saw him as a "laugh at" character; he's a laugh with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sly Reflex Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 Well yes, you do laugh with him, but he is a joke. He's a dreamer that's so optimistic that he doesn't get he's a complete failure. It's like Keith Lemon or Borat, those characters are ludicrous and are jokes to be laughed at before they even open their mouths. You laugh both with and at them. They poke fun at their oddball characters as well as observational things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandsomeDead Posted June 7, 2015 Share Posted June 7, 2015 But with Frank Sidebottom the character was half real , not like the others you mention. That's where the film draws from. http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2014/jan/12/frank-sidebottom-movie-michael-fassbender-chris-sievey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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