Shawshank Redemption / Donnie Darko

Shawshank Redemption got a 4.5 out of 5 stars. The film was very well made. It had great acting and storyline. The movie really makes you have sympathy for criminals, especially those that change in prison but still live out their sentence. It also shows the reality that some people are sentenced and they are actually innocent. Friendship, hope, freedom and life are all the main themes in this movie. It shows that even when life may seem like a living hell, some people can still live and also have hope for a better future.

Donnie Darko really blew me away. I give the show a 5 out of 5 stars. Everything about the movie was so perfectly laid out, yet it was incredibly confusing. The stellar cast and crazy symbolism sucked you in to the point where you couldn't stop watching. I still do not fully understand the whole point of the movie, but I did catch some of the themes. Even though a lot of the movie has some atheist ideas, and me being christian, you would think that I would hate it, but I was actually very intrigued by it. The movie's cast was incredible. The actors, especially Jake Gyllenhaal, did an amazing job at pulling you in and both loving and hating his character. Sound and picture in this movie is very interesting too. It pulls you in with the psychedelic images and also the image of Frank. The giant demon bunny really freaked me out but at the same time helped to sell the movie. The idea that life and everything in it isn't what we believe is a very risky thing to make people think about. Donnie Darko brings daring ideas to peoples minds through the amazing cast, dreamy images and mind-blowing theories.

Both movies were great to watch. Independent films and Mainstream films have many differences that can be seen easily. Mainstream usually has a more well known cast as well as a more publicized movie because of the budget of the movie. The storyline of a lot of mainstream films is also more simple than those of the independent films. Independent are more complex and really provoke your thought. Independent films also usually have a purpose or idea they try to get out. Surprisingly, after this independent film, I am much more impressed by it than by a lot of mainstream films. Donnie Darko wins in my book.

Great Quotes from Donnie Darko:

Donnie- "Why do you wear that stupid bunny suit?"

Frank- "Why do you wear that stupid man suit?"

Roberta Sparrow-"Every living creature on earth dies alone."