Magnolia, Donnie Darko and Requiem for a Dream
 

Magnolia, Donnie Darko and Requiem for a Dream

I have wanted to see these movies for a while but something has always kept me form renting them. I have heard really good things and bad about them all. Are they worth renting and watching? Whats everyone's take on them???

wow, well, what can i say? such a qst is not easy, since tis all a qst of taste. two first ones are among my favorites. amnd the third IS definitely a worth-seeing, very good movie. i'm not an optimist, art for me seems to mean rather dark and melancolic feelings, so yes, all three movies appeal to me, strongly so. plus i love Julianne Moore, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jennifer Connelly, appearing in these movies. if u're a fan of cinema, and interested anyway in discovering movies important for cinema history, all three are, whether u like them or not, since they all got strong reactions from the audience and compelled people to make fanclubs and all...

Donnie and Requiem are fantastic films, I have not seen Magnolia...

Requiem For a Dream has some awesome camera work and editing. A great soundtrack and is one of my favorite movies. I recommend you watch it. I can watch this movie over and over and still love it. Donnie Darko...I have seen this movie 4 times. The first time, I concidered it to be one of my favorites. The song at the end, Mad World by Gary Jules, is still one of my favorites. The second time i watched it, I started getting a bit annoyed by one of the female characters. The third time, I thought the movie should not be in my favorites book anymore. By the forth time, I was sick of it and now would not recommend it to anyone. What I'd say is...watch it only once and never again. I have not seen Magnolia.

Magnolia is incredibly heavy-handed and even lame at points. But there are enough great performances and technical competence in the directing that I'm forced to adore it. The ending is especially annoying. Just like everything PTA touches, it's very hollywoodized. It's my biggest guilty pleasure.

Requiem for a Dream is incredibly overrated, though I won't deny that is does have power. The camera work is distracting and gets old quickly. Some of the performances are strong, and some are just there. Ellen Burstyn was good; she was not as good as many claimed. Then again, these are the same people that think Maria Falconetti's performance in The Passion of Joan of Arc is the only accepted standard for what a female lead should do. Don't buy into the hype.

Donnie Darko is a weird subject for me. It's either incredibly ambitious or incredibly self-indulgent to make a movie that can NOT be deciphered from what is shown alone. Without commentary or navigating the site, there's no way you can really tell just what the movie is about. However, I think it succedes in at least not feeling incredibly self-indulgent. The sound track is quite nice.

Basically, these are three movies that are full of flaws. Two of them are more successful, I think, at overcoming them.

I can recomend both Donnie Darko and Requiem for a Dream. Requiem for a Dream is both beautiful and awful at the same time. The soundtracks on both movies are very good. Two of my favourite movies. Haven't seen Magnolia, but I'm sure it's worth the rental money.

Good luck! ;)

All three I like quite a bit, but Requiem for a Dream is the most essential one you should see of the group. The other two it's more a matter of personal taste, but I do love Magnolia especially. But if I were you I'd seek out a hundred other films you haven't seen than going with either of these three. For Donnie Darko you should watch Harvey first. For Magnolia watch Nashville first and for Requiem for a Dream watch Lost Weekend.

Thanks for the help. Now all I have to do is go to blockbuster and shell out four bucks to rent one of them, anyone else think four bucks is a little pricey???

Thanks for the tip on the other three movies iluv2viddyfilms, I will check those out as well.

I only saw Donnie Darko and a matter of fact i was watching it today.

i do recomend Donnie Darko

i'll go out on a limb and disagree with everyone. i have not see magnolia so i wont comment on it.

I personally hated Requiem For A Dream. its just a binch of people doing drugs and watching their lives go down the drain. i dont like movies because of their camera work and their soundtracks, if the movie doesnt entertain me, im not going to like it. requiem for a dream did not entertain me. its just downright depressing. i can handle powerful drama like movies such as American History X which is my #15 favorite movie. i just did not like requiem for a dream.

Donnie Darko...where do i start? it was possibly the most confusing and hard to understand movie i have ever seen. my overall opinion is that i didnt like it. i LOVE movies that make you think a little and have some nice twists (memento, my #1 favorite movie) but donnie darko was just so far over the top that a simple person watching the movie by himself would not understand. i think a movie like this should have some sort of explanation in the movie (such as the last scene of memento) and not something where you have to go rent the dvd and watch the commentary on it.

overall, i did not like either movie

Reason enough to watch it.

Donnie Darko is magnificent. You either love it or hate it, and as other people said, the soundtrack rules.

uh im not sure about the others, but Donnie Darko is awesome. Some people think its the creepiest movie, but I think its wicked. I bought it the other day. Theres this cool song in it too, called Mad World by Gary Jules, I love it.

one of the reasons why the movie was so wicked

yeah I did a school lyrics project on that song
before Donnie Darko I had never heard it

Nebbit in the thread, got it

personally i haven't seen requiem for a dream and it doesn't sound all that appealing but ill probably end up seeing it anyway. I really do want to see donnie darko, i hear good things about.

Magnolia. I really enjoyed this film, one of the very few films i liked tom cruise in. I think the way the stories tie in together is fantastic. My favourite storyline has to be the quiz show kid Stanley who is being pushed by his dad. It's kinda long and some parts were a little too drawn out. Worth a watch, it really made me think about stuff and it shows 'real' peoples situations. They seem 'extreme' to us because they're on film but these kind of situations must happen everyday.

Well I went and rented Requiem and I liked it. I have always thought that violins were an amazing insturment but the way they used them in this movie was amazing. The violins contributed so much to the mood of the movie, it was incredible. Yes, the movie was very depressing but it was a nice change of pace from all of the other stuff out there. I really enjoyed this movie.

I was going to rent one of the other two but I found myself wandering to the comedy section and before I knew it I was at the counter with Fletch in my hand, I am a sucker for this movie. So next time I will rent the other two. Thanks for the advice.

"Yes, the movie was very depressing but"
I'd say, controlling my instinct, the movie was depressing AND!!! why "but"?
but instinctly, listenting to my heart, i'd rather say "depressing" cuz it's a GOOD movie.

Ok, chicagofrog, I have no idea what you were trying to say in that last post.

Also I was thinking about Requiem today and how much I liked it and I started thinking about the scene when Harry is in the Docs office with his arm hurt and they get arrested. It hit me that there is no reason as to why they would have been arrested and why Harry would not have gotten treatment in the hospital first before they had been arrested. Isn't there some emergency help and confidentiality nonsense??? I know its a minor flaw (possibly) but did anyone else notice that? Don't get me wrong I love the movie still just wondering what everyone thought about that scene.