When your invisible friend convinces you to commit arson, perhaps it is time to up your meds. Follow the strange hallucinations and sleepwalking nightmares of Donnie Darko. Frank is Donnie’s imaginary friend. Frank is a giant bunny and leads Donnie during his hallucinations. Donnie follows Frank down the rabbit hole like Alice in Wonderland.

When Donnie wakes up from his hallucinations with Frank, he is left putting pieces of the puzzle together. Donnie’s reality takes a bizarre turn when clues from his hallucinations start to make sense. Is Donnie correctly labeled schizophrenic, or is he really the key to time travel and righting wrongs?

Jake Gyllenhaal plays Donnie in the movie. Jake gives a great performance in the movie. His real-life sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal is fun to watch playing his on-screen sister. The movie sports big names like Patrick Swayze, Noah Wyle, and Drew Barrymore. Donnie Darko is a good movie to watch for the first time, or the thirteenth.

You have seen her in Sweeney Todd, Harry Potter, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Big Fish, Live from Baghdad, Planet of the Apes, and Fight Club to name a few. You have heard her in both Wallace & Gromit movies and Corpse Bride.

Carter’s popularity is due to her dark gothic roles. Though her long resume is sprinkled with some lighter roles, it seems she is the current Queen of Goth.

She shows you the best way to get rid of a dead body in Sweeney Todd while sporting a corset. She plays two sides of a witch in both Harry Potter and Big Fish. She plays a unashamed low-life in Fight Club. And she is fun to watch in all these roles.

But there is more to her depth. Carter can make us believe she is a sweet mother in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Or an empathetic researcher in Planet of the Apes (2001).

That is the reason Helena Bonham Carter is a good actress. She does not stick to the same bland roles. While she does well working in Tim Burton’s dark world (along with Johnny Depp), she can play different roles. She can play a range of characters and make you believe she is that person on screen.

That is my definition of a good actress.

Friday means new movie releases. Looks like this Friday we’ve got comedies to look forward to:

Baby Mama
Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay

Your local listings may differ

Another Tuesday, another chance to view new DVDs. Check these titles out:

Cloverfield
Charlie Wilson’s War

A brilliant teenager is picked to work on a ground-breaking laser project for a college professor. The socially awkward teen teams up with an older cooler version of himself to solve the professor’s laser problem. The two are heartbroken to find the project is a defense weapon for the Air Force and must decide weather to give up hope or fight back.

The movie’s appeal is driven by Val Kilmer’s portrayal of Chris Knight. His character’s cavalier attitude toward school, studying, and women is welcoming and makes us all wish we had a friend like Chris Knight. Or maybe just wish we were like him in real life.

The character’s attitude is much like National Lampoon’s Van Wilder. I personally believe the creators watched the movie Real Genius and created the character Van Wilder from Kilmer’s portrayal. But that’s just me.

The movie is entertaining but be warned. It is a typical 80’s movie.

There Will Be Blood is a realistic account of the desperate desire to build a fortune in the barren turn of the century west. The main character, Daniel, is a ruthless juggernaut that epitomizes the capitalist dream. This movie delivers a gritty story that is similar to Upton Sinclair’s other popular novel, The Jungle.

This movie deserved all the nominations and awards for art direction. Daniel Day-Lewis’ oil-streaked face is a ghostly image against a burning oil dredge in the night. One scene shows a breathtaking blue sky reflected in a pool of oil surrounded by barren sagebrush. There is some foreshadowing when Daniel sits in the sun and his half-brother sit in the shade.

There Will Be Blood earned its awards for cinematography. The film overlays a heartfelt speech Daniel delivers about how he intends to improve the area with pictures of oil dredge workers arriving in town. There is one scene in the movie where Daniel admits his sins to a congregation. Later, Daniel’s adversary must admit his sins to Daniel. The two scenes are disturbing and oddly mirror each other.

Daniel Day-Lewis proves he can play the role as a merciless, power-hungry tyrant. He showed us this cruel character in There Will Be Blood and in Gangs of New York. I am excited to see what else he has to offer in the future.

There Will Be Blood is a good movie if you are into plot. But I would not recommend it for a first date, unless you are dating a film major.

Another Tuesday, another DVD rental. Hop down to your local rental store and look up these titles:

Juno
Lars and the Real Girl
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

What happens when a yuppie plagued with insomnia loses his condo in an explosion? He stays with a stranger he met on a plane not two hours ago. The two come to realize society has left them behind which may be alright considering they think society is falling apart anyway. So what is the answer? An avalanche of anarchy ending with an impressive plot twist; proving to the world they are not “history’s forgotten children”.

Edward Norton does a great job playing the movie’s narrator. He can suck the audience with his meek all-American persona and then turn into the disenchanted underground boxing ring leader. It’s a little slimy, but you can’t turn away.

Brad Pitt gives a good performance in the movie. He is a deranged man who has lost hope in life and love. He grasps at anything to make him feel alive and makes life worth living. His furious drive into a downward spiral makes you feel dirty and want to take a shower. Good stuff.

The movie’s dream of social collapse are the result of a hate toward modern popular culture. Chaos is the answer the characters decide. The crazy plot line is full of sharp turns to keep the audience interested.

The movie follows the original book (by the same name) pretty closely. Most of the narration is taken directly from the book. However, the book’s ending is different than the movie and perhaps is creepier. But both stories are still entertaining. Plus Helena Bonham Carter is magic on screen.

MovieStash has evolved into globsnob. Welcome to the new blog. The captain has turned off the fasten seat belt sign. Feel free to move about the cabin. Enjoy.

A mild-mannered barber turns into a bloodthirsty vigilante when he is wrongfully jailed for fifteen years and loses his wife and daughter. The plot sounds too close to The Count of Monte Cristo for comfort, but the similarities soon end. While The Count gives us some good fencing, Todd offers blood, revenge, and cannibalism.

By trade, the only musical I can stand is The Rocky Horror Picture Show. But I cannot resist the siren call of Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, and Helena Bonham Carter. So I sit through the two hour film adaptation of the Broadway musical.

I agree Sweeney Todd deserves the slew of nominations and wins for Best Actor/Actress, Best Movie, Best Art Direction, etc. Tim Burton has a gift breathing life into the darkest tales, making them vivid and haunting stories. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter work well together to create magic on screen.

But it is a sad day when a story with so much potential and such a great cast is almost painful to watch. Perhaps I will never truly enjoy musicals. And no amount Burton genius will change that. But I believe Sweeney Todd would be better if not for the singing.