Movie Ramblings

So, I just took Rachel to see the Director's Cut of Donnie Darko for her birthday. It's, like, her favorite movie in the world I think, with the possible exception of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, yet she and I have never watched it together before. We've discussed it numerous times, and she even gave me her spare copy of it to keep, but we've never seen it together. For a movie I enjoy, it's kind of surprising that it was only my 3rd time ever seeing it, seeing as I have one of these multi-viewing personalities. As a result the differences between the original and the director's cut aren't TOO obvious to me, but I definitely noticed a *lot* of bonus material. Rachel noticed a lot more than me for sure.The last time I watched Donnie Darko was probably three or four months ago now, when Rachel gave me her spare copy. I sat at home and watched it alone late one night while Steph was gone and Sarah was at work, and I remember turning it off and feeling extremely disturbed. I remember not being able to sleep for quite a while after seeing it. Maybe it's because I was alone, so the parts of the movie that are more disturbing stuck with me longer. Though I would think that on the big screen when I can't drag my eyes away it would disturb me more, but no, it didn't.One of my theories is that perhaps I'm not feeling as disturbed this time because the director's cut had more heartwarming moments mixed in with the disturbing ones. Particularly sticking out in my mind are a few scenes between Donnie and Gretchen that I don't remember from the original, and a rather amusing bonding moment between Donnie and his dad. Or hell, maybe it was the company, because I know how much Rachel gets giddy just talking about the movie. I was laughing because during the previews and pre-movie stuff she had this giddy grin on her face that exactly mirrored the look on MY face when I went to see Harry Potter for the eighth time on Friday. Us addicts are so silly and fun. Anyway, I very thoroughly enjoyed it this time around, and am toying with trying to drag Sarah to see it again. She's never seen it at all, and I honestly believe that it's a movie worth seeing by anyone who enjoys quality filmmaking. Go Donnie Darko!And since I AM rambling about movies tonight, yes, the self admitted addict did go see Harry Potter an eighth time, as I said a moment ago. I'm *sure* it'll be the last time too. I walked out of the theater resigned to the fact that I will not be able to see it again until November 23rd (upon which I WILL be seeing it again complete with bonus footage. Oh yes, I will...)Obviously as I have seen it eight times, you'd think I'd have the movie commited to memory by now, but I will tell you that every time I've seen it, I notice something new. This particular time it was Sir Cadogan running around in the portraits in the background of the whole freaking movie. I'd noticed him before here and there, but I definitely saw more of him this time around. And I finally caught Alfonso's portrait cameo...though I have yet to find him in the Three Broomsticks scene. It's just so fast, I can't focus on everyone in the picture at once. Particularly on the massive IMAX screen. lol.And speaking of IMAX, let me just say that *nothing* beats seeing that movie in IMAX. The picture is just so overwhelming. It just blows me away and takes my breath away every time. My only irritation is that every time I've seen it in IMAX something has gone wrong with the picture. The first two times there was a speck on the screen that wouldn't go away. I could ignore it when it wasn't on Dan's FACE. But half the time it would end up there, seeing as he's in every scene of the movie and all. The third time on IMAX the picture went out for about three minutes (over the scene when Hermione and Ron have just returned from the first Hogsmeade visit and they find the Fat Lady's portrait attacked.). This time...damn dancing hairs. It was like someone dropped a clump of hair over the projector screen and it just kept blowing around in there. The funny part was that none of us was willing to get up and complain. We all had the movie so stuck in our memories that we knew we'd be missing so many good parts if we did something, so we just stuck it out until someone finally took care of it. It was like... "Hair annoying....but... can't..miss...one... second...of......Harry........."How in the world am I going to survive until November? sigh. Addictions suck when they can't be properly fed. At least in the height of my Roswell obsession I always had tapes to watch. Of course I have Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets...and the books...but none of them are the same! Azkaban was SO much better of a film. The camera work just takes my breath away. I'm a sucker for a visually interesting movie. Not to mention I'm a sucker for the cuteness that is Dan. blah. I'm going to hell.