Donnie Darko

I don't know why, but everything lastly has been Donnie Darko. Either someone will bring it up in conversation, or someone will pass by me wearing a tee shirt, or out of nowhere I'll see a terrifying bunny thing down the street. So in an effort to purge this demon from my life here are some of my favorite Donnie Darko things.

The Amazing Coen Brothers

These guys are magic. Ethan and Joel Coen have made some of my favorite movies of all time. 

I first fell in love with the boys' over-the-top movie-making style when a friend told me about "Raising Arizona" -- a film I've seen now approximately twenty-five times.  The dialogue and the voice-over narration are so witty, so articulate that I'd be happy just to listen to this flick -- but then I'd  miss Nicholas's Cage's loose-limbed physical humor or the innumerable 'bits' that make me grin just thinking about them.

"Fargo," "Burn After Reading," "O Brother, Where Art Thou, "The Big Lebowski" -- these, too, are all part of my short list of films to rewatch yearly.  Or more. Sometimes I just need to see the Jesus section of "The Big Lebowski" one more time.  John Tuturro and his purple jumpsuit -- words fail me.

When the Coen brothers'  "A Serious Man"  came out, the reviews I read were lack lustre and  the entire premise just didn't entice me. A Jewish college teacher has a lot of bad things happen to him and he tries to make sense of his trials.

Meh. Didn't grab me.

Then I heard an interview with the Coens and they talked about "A Serious Man" and I realized I'd made a serious mistake.

We watched the movie and I adored it. And for those critics who didn't like the ending -- they should consider the Book of Job.

It really ties the whole thing together.

Looking forward to seeing what the boys have done with "True Grit."