Earlier this year, and I don't think I blogged it, I found a website that turned out to be one of the most intriguing.. and in my opinion, best website promoting a movie I've ever come across. This week, the movie Donnie Darko opened at the Rialto theatre here in Auckland and I went to the 7:20pm session on Saturday night.

Its a story of a young man, who seems to suffer the symptoms of a paranoid schizophrenic. His life revolves around his school, his family, his visits to his therapist. The movie covers the time span of some 24 days or so, his life, the choices he makes and the events that shape his reality. He is on a voyage of discovery which leads him to face his greatest fear and make the ultimate decision. This movie is very much like the website that promotes it: a puzzle that takes time to work through, and has time as its leading character.

I thought this movie was really good. Interesting, well written, wonderfully filmed (the slowing and speeding up of action gave it the perfect tone) with fine performances from new faces with a solid supporting cast (I know, i sound like a dork but its true). This movie is well worth the $12.50 ticket and even the backbreakingly high parking fee of $17 at the Rialto parking building - I would recommend that you see this movie in its short visit to Auckland, if you are able to park anywhere else, do so, the Rialto Parking Building fees are highway robbery, plain and simple.

Conversation on seeing the "special effect" in Donnie Darko and funny only to a handful of people in the world:
Mish: "yeh, why don't you *just* copy and paste the special effect we used in The Abyss"
Rosie: "we can't, it was done in Quest"

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