Forgot to mention that we watched The New World (imdb | rotten tomatoes) the day we got the new TV. It was a great way to stretch the new system’s legs, as both the picture and the sound were so rich. While I had trouble staying awake through it, that wasn’t the film’s fault; I enjoyed it quite a bit. Terrence Malick’s style turns some people off, and he played fast and loose with the Pocahontas story, but he painted this beautiful picture of evolution and growing older, of leaving behind — sometimes painfully — one phase of our life to move on with the next. I’ve grown to appreciate Malick’s style a little more (I like The Thin Red Line much more now than when I first saw it), and the craft with which he tells stories is undeniable.

.:.

I also finally watched the new(er) director’s cut of Donnie Darko. I’m not sure which version I like better; the director’s cut explains more about what’s going on, but I like that the original was difficult to follow and made you think. I’m even on the fence about the song they use to open the films; the original used Echo & The Bunnymen’s “The Killing Moon”, which seemed to fit perfectly, but the director’s cut used “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS, which also worked surprisingly well.

I think I’ll have to keep both. I think that if someone ever asks to borrow it, I’d give them the original version first and let them see the director’s cut on the second or third watch. ‘Cause really, it demands multiple viewings.

[tags]the new world movie, donnie darko[/tags]