Favorite Movie Scene #3 - Donnie Darko

Donnie Darko is one of my all-time favorite movies.  This is a rather long excerpt from the movie, but the scene with Jim Cunningham (Patrick Swayze RIP) as a public speaker is one of my favorites from the movie.  Enjoy!  (Oh also, right at the end (at 5:12 in exactly) there's an F word for those that care)

Also, as a side note: Ashley Tisdale is in this scene.  She is the little girl that is worried about her sister's health.

Back!

Joshtarts is back. It's been too long, my friends.

And to kick things off, I am presenting my flickchart.com movie list after surpassing 10,000 ratings! I am quite proud of it. It is still not done (I doubt it will ever be done) and I saw Inception the day I finished it. Because I was still cleaning my brain off the floor, I didn't feel comfortable including it in my rankings just yet.

Without further adieu, my top 25 movie list: (click here for a full list)

1. Iron Man
2. The Princess Bride
3. The Empire Strikes Back
4. Donnie Darko
5. Forrest Gump
6. Fight Club
7. It's a Wonderful Life
8. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
9. Saving Private Ryan
10. Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark
11. Being John Malkovich
12. Back to the Future
13. Return of the Jedi
14. Aliens
15. Home Alone
16. A Beautiful Mind
17. Taken
18. The Sound of Music
19. The Bourne Identity
20. Shaun of the Dead
21. Apollo 13
22. First Blood
23. Casino Royale
24. Office Space
25. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Visit flickchart.com to do your own movie rankings and visit me (meathook) when you're there.

Some Summer Movies...

I had a triple feature night last week. I saw Kung Fu Panda, The Incredible Hulk, and The Happening (in that order).

As sad as it sounds, I think I enjoyed Kung Fu Panda the best. It was funny and cute. It had that Pixar-appeal. You know, great for kids, but still entertaining for adults. The voices were great; lots of good, big name actors. Even though some of them didn't talk much (like Jackie Chan who said like two phrases), it still brought something forward for the movie. I recommend seeing the movie.

Now I would rank The Hulk second in this trio. [SPOILER] I liked the movie, but only because I kind of knew what to expect. Superhero-acting, over-the-top action and some dang ridiculous dialogue. The Hulk head was WAY too small, as well. But Edward Norton made a better Bruce and the intertwining of Iron Man at the end will hopefully make for a great combined superhero movie (one day).

The worst of the trio was The Happening. After seeing this movie, my suspicion that M. Night is on a slippery slide downward is confirmed. The movie was bizarre and it felt more like a Stephen King-based movie. There was no real catch like his other mind-benders. I mean, there might have been a catch except you never know what is going on AND you never find out! It was frustrating and it left me with a weird, unnerving feeling. Not like a curious, Donnie Darko unnerving feeling. This one was unpleasant. I do not recommend this movie to anyone.

So Excited

I just bought a couple TV Series this week, and I am so excited to dive into them. This is what I bought, or am indulging in, within the last 6 weeks in books, DVDs and magazines:

1. Arrested Development (Seasons One and Two)
Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, Will Arnett, Tony Hale, David Cross, etc.

2. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Seasons One and Two)
Danny Devito, Rob McElhenney, etc.

3. Donnie Darko (Finally!)
Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, James Duval, Patrick Swayze, Beth Grant, Noah Wyle, Jenna Malone, etc.
Written and Directed by Richard Kelly

4. Flight of the Conchords (link)(Season One)
Jermaine Clement, Bret Mackenzie, Rhys Darby, Kristen Schaal, Demetri Martin, etc.


5. The Tipping Point (Book)
by Malcolm Gladwell





6. The Giver (Book)
by Lois Lowry7. Variety (Magazine- Thanks to Jessica)
Est. 1905


8. 30 Rock (Season One)
Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski, Jack McBrayer, Judah Friedlander, Scott Adsit, etc.


9. Men's Health (Magazine- Thanks to Jessica)






10. Domino (Magazine- Thanks to Jessica)

11. Sports Illustrated (Magazine- Thanks to Jessica)


12. And They Were Not Ashamed (Book)
by Laura Brotherson


13. Playing For Pizza (Book)
by John Grisham





14. The Last 5,000 Years (Book)

15. The Myth of Leadership (Book)
by Jeffrey Neilsen


16. The Book of Mormon (Book)


17. Eleanor Rigby (Book)
by Douglas Coupland


18. Love is a Mix Tape (Book)
by Rob Sheffield




19. Stumbling Upon Happiness (Book)
by Daniel Gilbert

20. Killing Yourself To Live: 85% of a True Story (Book)
by Chuck Klosterman

I think that's it. I got some really good stuff in the last 6 weeks, if I do say so myself.

The Kingdom - Slight Let-Down

I can't remember the exact phrase, but the trailer I saw on TV said something along the lines of, "The most exciting 10 minute part of any movie." This was not true.

The Kingdom is a good movie. It has good actors and an intense plot with themes and elements that are tied into a lot of America's current fears. The setting of the movie alone would scare me. Saudi Arabia? Whew.

The ten minute clip the trailer said would be the most exciting of any movie I've ever seen was good. It was exciting and had me on the edge of my seat, but it was no where close to the intensity of Mission Impossible: III or Saving Private Ryan or Blood Diamond. It was good but not as good as advertised; and I feel like, if they wouldn't have advertised it like that that people would have liked it better. Instead, the movie came off as kind of a let-down, in that area.

I would recommend this movie regardless. It's worth seeing. It's probably not the best date movie (like 50 First Dates) or movie for someone craving a thought-provoking drama (like Donnie Darko), but it is definitely worth watching. Oh and it has Jason Bateman from Arrested Development and Juno. And Jennifer Gardner from Alias and Juno.