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sinlesshatred
Reviews
Donnie Darko (2001)
Brilliant, but with a few flaws
I can understand how some people may dislike the movie: the confusing ending, the overrated praises of a few movie elitists, and whatnot.
Some of the theories presented within the movie are rather contradictory, or half-baked. For example, when Donnie talks to the science teacher about time travel, the teacher states that Einstein's theory of time travel would allow Donnie to go back in time. However, the theory states that one cannot go back in time, but only slow down time for themselves. That is my only flaw with the movie, but it's understandable, since the theories must be bent in order to make the movie flow.
I enjoyed watching everyone's performance, especially the talent Jake Gyllenhall. The subtle actions of others, and the fragility of everyone's emotions. Everyone from Cherita(the obese girl with a crush on Donnie) to Mrs. Farmers(gym teacher), were brilliant in portraying their characters.
Oh yes, if anyone wants an explanation for the ending: Consider in the Terminator theory. The Terminator(yes, the one from the movie)is sent back in time to stop a nuclear holocaust from happening. However, if he succeeds the mission in the past, he would not be created in the future, because his existence depends on the holocaust happening. Meaning that parallel universes may exist to support this theory. In one universe, the nuclear holocaust occurs, and the Terminator exists; in the other, there in no nuclear holocaust, the Terminator does not exist. Apply this theory to Donnie Darko then; in one universe, Donnie survives the jet engine falling into his room, he meets the girl, enjoys the last few days before Frank's prediction of the end of the world. In the other universe, he dies in the jet engine crash, he never meets the girl, Frank never appears. Sorry if I hurted your brain. :)
Bibleman (1995)
So Bad that It's Good...
My 7 year old sister borrowed this from the library at my church, the episode called, I think, "Silencing the Gossip Queen". Miles Peterson, a suspicious knockoff of Bruce Wayne, fights embodiments of human nature, while hosting an often-targeted youth group. Even my sister treated the show as a joke, laughing at the 'scripture-quoting' parts. The reasoning behind the low rating is not a matter of enjoyment, but the fact that children will watch this due to the 'Christian Values' content. There are too many problems that I could cover, but a few struck out to me.
First of all, the whitewashing. The show had an all-white cast, aside from a singular black girl. Now, I know that Bibleman gets a black sidekick later on, but this episode didn't have one. The youth group gets a segment in which they sing in front of an ALL-WHITE congregation. All shots of the congregation featured strictly white people. Even during the song, the black girl gets the least amount of screen-time, often going off-camera, or saying the least amount of lines throughout the story. What's the point of conversion if the kingdom of heaven would be predominantly filled by middle-class White America? Inconsistencies in moral structure: Bibleman and the youth group encounter all sorts of 'evils', such as gossiping, greed, wrath, etc. Even after Bibleman demolishes these embodiments, he is just as human as everyone else, and would succumb to the same evils. What does destroying these embodiments prove? Why are these embodiments then at fault, when these traits all exist in us? Bibleman can easily put the blame for his faults on the villains, instead of asking for forgiveness. The moral lessons are unclear in these series of episodes.
Poor script-writing: I swear, watching this episodes feels like as if someone is cramming a Bible down one's throat. Yes, the scripture is there for the children, but my sister can't even remember anything past the name of the book the verse is from. Most of the time, the script-writing caused the actors to say lines that seemed forced, almost unnatural. The villains had no reason behind their actions(the Gossip Queen wants to get rid of the 'meddling' youth group kids, but why?), aside from attempting to cause as much chaos as possible in a small-scale attempt. Yes, Bibleman gets a flashback at the beginning of every episode, but even he appears as a flat two-dimensional character. He is the same unconflicted man with absolute morals and inconsistent justice.
There are too many plot inconsistencies for me to actually list, even from a singular episode. Preferrably, to all parents out there, Veggie Tales is a better suggestion. Just because it has scripture and morals doesn't mean that your children should be subjected to this.
Private School (1983)
Oh God, shoot me now...
I'm surprised this movie isn't in the Bottom 100 list here at IMDb. This piece of garbage showed up on television late one night, and I regretted ever watching this movie.
Many of the characters were extremely clichéd and horrible at acting. Bubba is the pervert, Jim is the heartthrob, Miss Dutchbok is the typical headmistress that everyone hates, and so on and so forth. All men in this movie are portrayed as skirt-chasers, perverts, or extremely horny. The female leads are dim-witted, naive, and absolutely pretty. The script was rather unfunny, as much as it tries to be. What bothered me as well was the unrealistic events in the movie. For example, Bubba is caught as a Peeping Tom by his "girlfriend" Betsy. Several times, actually. Betsy calls him a pervert, then decides that maybe they should get back together again, after many examples of him being a complete and utter jerk. Other characters I felt were unnecessary, such as the Sex Ed. teacher. I would've given more stars if her character was used to show how naive these girls were about sex. There are several issues addressed in the movie as well, such as lesbianism, premarital sex, or father-daughter relationships. However, this movie skims all of these issues, and becomes a brainless flick.
Watch it for the nude scenes, but other than that, this is one horrible movie.