"Gem of the Week"

Rico · April 20, 2006, 05:21:20 AM

I started a new segment on last night's Podcast called "Gem of the Week." I'll be doing this hopefully on one of the shows each week. The idea is to showcase a movie or TV show or even a book that might be slightly lesser known but I feel needs more of an audience. There are many sort of "cult classics" out there worth seeing. The first one I talked about was the movie "Donnie Darko." A really cool film that many might of missed. Hope you enjoy this new segment. :biggrin

De · April 20, 2006, 07:41:18 AM

You are so right about Donnie Darko, Rick. You're right about it being difficult to describe accurately in a sentence or two. Also, this is one of those films that requires your undivided attention and is not the sort of film where you can be surfing the Net or making dinner while it's on. I'd go so far as to call it a near-perfect film with the incredible actors and a story that is not what you'd expect at all.

The film was slated for release in late 2001, but then the terrorist attacks occurred and the studios were very squeamish about the films they released. The Arnold Schwarzeneggar film Collateral Damage was delayed for a few months due to the main character losing his family to terrorists. I'm sure you can pick out the scene in Donnie Darko that made the studio freak out over releasing it around that time (I don't want to spoil it for anyone).

To echo a comment in the podcast, this film does make you think and may even require a couple of viewings for everything to make sense. When recommending recent films to friends, this is always the first one mentioned. I truly appreciate your recommending this film to the Treks in Sci-Fi audience.

"I question your commitment to Sparkle Motion!" :)

Rico · April 20, 2006, 08:09:49 AM

Very well said De. I found when I recorded it was hard to sum up the film in just a few sentences. It's just an amazing film that I hope a few listeners might now be more likely to check out.

Geekyfanboy · April 20, 2006, 11:09:50 AM

Hey Rico.. love this idea. I'm sure there are a ton of "Gems" out there that the younger folk have missed out on. Donnie Darko is a very cool movie. It's one of those movies that you can watch over and over and always pick up on more things. I too missed this in the thearters and caught it a few years later on DVD. I still haven't seen the directors cut and have been told that it's better then the original so I need to add that to my blockbuster list.

Picard_delta_5 · April 20, 2006, 09:11:57 PM

thats a great idea, im gonna have to watch Donnie Darko.

Riskygodfather · April 22, 2006, 01:52:05 PM

I added it to my list, along with the movie Time Machine, and I just watched Logan's Run (It was awesome) and am watching blade runner tonight.

spock · April 23, 2006, 07:55:26 PM

Great idea. reminds of macworld's Mac Gems. (for the mac users). Look forward to it.

Riskygodfather · June 29, 2006, 08:49:33 PM

Finally got around to watching Donnie Darko. I think this movie was the movie I had to think about the most.. ever. I watched it tic, but I still didn't get the vague ending they give. It's so amazing. The whole Creepy-Bunny thing. Had me on the edge of my seat. I think I could sit down for about 3 days straight and analyse this movie. Definitly 4.8/5.