28:06:42:12

A little Throwback this Thursday

Nightcrawler is not Jake's first look at the dark side.

Many may not consider Donnie Darko in the same category as Nightcrawler, but Jake shines in portraying the dark and trouble teenager, and the outstanding reviews of his return to this type of character in Nightcrawler take us back to his first turn.

Not only a cult classic, Darko is one of the iconic roles that is synonymous with Jake.

 Jake clearly captured what it appears to those around him as a schizophrenic experience with auditory and visual day night hallucinations.

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 All the while garnering compassion and empathy as the movies anti-hero.

 So convincing and organic, Jake disappears in the role, and the audience doesn't see the actor only the character.  The same is being said of his performance in Nightcrawler.

Not only is it TBT it was Oct 2 that Donnie received his message through a dream.

Thumbs up Thumbs down

The late Roger Ebert usually gave Jake's movies good reviews (ok, so not Bubble Boy) overall Ebert liked Jake's movies.    But there is one that Ebert was not a fan of and it might be a surprise.

It was Donnie Darko.

 It might be a cult classic, and at near the top of many movie lists, but in the Chicago Sun-Times he only gave Darko 2.5 stars,  which in thumbs that's a thumbs down.

" Richard Kelly, the first-time writer-director, is obviously talented--not least at creating a disturbing atmosphere out of the materials of real life. His mysterious jet engine is a masterstroke. He sees his characters freshly and clearly, and never reduces them to formulas. In Jake Gyllenhaal, he finds an actor able to suggest an intriguing kind of disturbance; the character is more curious than frightened, more quixotic than eccentric, and he sets a nice tone for the movie. But somehow the control fades in the closing scenes, and our hands, which have been so full, close on emptiness. ''Donnie Darko'' is the one that got away. But it was fun trying to land it."  (Review)

But Jake shouldn't be too worried, look at the company Darko's in not being liked by Ebert.

 "A Clockwork Orange"
 "Dead Poets Society"
 "The Fight Club"
 "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"
 "Reservoir Dogs"
 "Full Metal Jacket"
 "Straw Dogs"
 "Blue Velvet"
 "Fast Times at Ridgemont High"
 "Harold and Maude"
 "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"
 "Leon: The Professional"

Sparkle Motioned

Donnie Darko was quite the deep dark mysterious philosophical journey

that didn't mean the set was:



 Jake with a little special sparkle motion.

28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds...ten years later

Ten years ago today Donnie Darko opened in just 58 theaters and during its domestic run made just $1,270,522. With a budget of $4.5 million it missed breaking even grossing just over $4.1 million worldwide. It was by word of mouth, midnight showings, and video sale it grew to become a cult classic and one of the most influential films of the decade.Just like the plot of the movie it filmed over the course of 28 days. And like the plot it changed a generation, as it defied definition. A movie of a world straddling reality and unknown alternative outcomes affected by the choices each makes and those each are destined to live.Richard Kelly created nostalgia for an era gone by, and at the same time the future yet to happen while capturing the universality of the angst of adolescence.


Jake's performance as the flawed Donnie will remain one of the iconic performances of his career.
There is so much more to say, but want to hear what you think about this modern cult classic.And so no one doubts a commitment to Sparkle Motion.

Two by Two

Today is #twowheeltuesday. Everybody get on my bike. I will take you anywhere you want to go.

-Aus10Since you're offering and the song goes:

"Won't you take me to... Funkytown."

It's Funkytown. Besides, you got the threads for it.

And while it is TwoWheel Tuesday is also a Two-fer Tuesday for Jake.

Not only is Souce Code out today on DVD and Blu-Ray, but a Jake cult classic is out for a special anniversary.Source Code, along with the movie comes the extras including featurettes, interviews, scenes and commentary. You can activate, the Access: Source Code feature which "drops a small dial in the lower-left portion of the screen, which counts down to the bursts of content that arrive at odd-and-end points on the screen." What it includes is Cast/Crew interviews, audio recordings from theoretical physics expert Sergei Gukov, and trivia bits about other instances of time travel in art and literature. The commentary is with Duncan, Jake, and writer Ben Ripley. Duncan and Jake "trade revelations about their experiences working on the film, such as the inspiration Jones leaned on for the lighting in Colter's pod (and a sharp point about the window) and the symbolism behind its condition, to the way Jones shifted around the locations to freshen up the visual style." It's been a long time since Jake has done commentary for one of his films, and his comments for Source Code remind the audience what a thoughtful performer he is and how he weighs his acting choices.While Ben’s commentary shares how his story morphed into the film, and how at times it was at odds with Duncan’s take of the story.

And the other half to the Jake two-fer Tuesday?

It is the 10th Anniversary Edition of of Donnie Darko in HD. It will be ten years this fall that Darko premiered. (Can you believe it?)To celebrate the anniversary, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment put together ultimate collection, containing four discs, two DVDs and two Blu-rays, collectible artwork, a Digital Copy, and both theatrical and Director's Cut editions of the movie.
And you might not be going to Funkytown, but you can still get on your bike and get the funk out.

Picture credit:VDelia

Screen Treats

Both Jake and Austin have made their own movie treats for Halloween.
So turn out the porch light, get the popcorn and keep all that candy for yourself and watch.


Austin did his odd and creepy in a remake of Edgar Allan Poe's Fall of the House of Usher.
And Jake took his odd and dark turn in Donnie Darko. While the movies are very different they did have a few similarities and shared one thing.









You know Austin looks like he's wearing an IMF Viewer. What pictures would he want to look at in those?

And what did the two movies share?

Beth Grant

And with almost the same hairdo.