Round One: Pulp Fiction vs. Donnie Darko

In this battle of movies that will constantly have you wondering what-the-hell is going on, you must decide between Pulp Fiction and Donnie Darko in this drama-filled match-up.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

• Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
• Written by: Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary,
• Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, Christopher Walken
• Rotten Tomatoes
• Critics: 94%
• Audience: 95%

                Quentin Tarantino (director of Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill: Vol. 1 & 2, Inglourious Basterds) combines the intertwined tales of two hitmen (Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta), their employer (Ving Rhames) and his wife (Uma Thurman), an aged boxed (Bruce Willis) and two thieves (Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer). In true Tarantino-fashion, the narrative of this story is presented to us out-of-sequence; the movie will only, finally, make sense after all 154 minutes have been thoroughly enjoyed. Christopher Walken makes a memorable, and somewhat humorous, cameo in this star-studded, action-packed film.

Donnie Darko (2001)

• Directed by: Richard Kelly
• Written by: Richard Kelly
• Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Holmes Osborne, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Patrick Swayze, Seth Rogan, Noah Wyle.
• Rotten Tomatoes
• Critics: 85%
• Audience: 77%

                Richard Kelly’s (director of Domino, Southland Tales, The Box) feature film debut, Donnie Darko, is a perplexing combination of concepts and ideas mixed together to form an utterly-confusing storyline which, at the end of the film, still may not be clear to you. Donnie Darko is a personal favorite of mine, yet I feel like I still do not completely understand it, even after having watched it dozens of times. IMDB user MTRodaba2468 does their best to summarize this film:

During the presidential election of 1988, a teenager named Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) sleepwalks out of his house one night, and sees a giant, demonic-looking rabbit named Frank, who tells him the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. He returns home the next morning to find that a jet engine has crashed through his bedroom. As he tries to figure out why he survived and tries to deal with people in his town, like the school bully, his conservative health teacher, and a self-help guru, Frank continues to turn up in Donnie's mind, causing him to commit acts of vandalism and worse.

Drew Barrymore, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Patrick Swayze, Noah Wyle, and Seth Rogan also star in this film.

Vote now for your favorite movie: Pulp Fiction or Donnie Darko

Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZFYHYS7

Round One: Young Frankenstein vs. The Thing

In this battle of science fiction films, you must decide between the humorous Young Frankenstein or the horror/thriller The Thing.

Young Frankenstein (1974)

• Directed by: Mel Brooks              
• Written by: Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks, Mary Shelley (novel “Frankenstein”)
• Starring: Gene Wilder, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Teri Garr, Gene Hackman
• Rotten Tomatoes
• Critics: 94%
• Audience: 91%

                Mel Brooks, the comedic genius behind such classics as The Producers, Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, wrote and directed this parody of Mary Shelley’s famous book, Frankenstein. Shot in black and white to simulate the feeling of a classic horror movie, Young Frankenstein follows the footsteps of Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Gene Wilder), pronounced “Fronkensteen,” the grandson of the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein. After inheriting his family’s estate in Transylvania, Frankenstein travels to Europe where he is met by his faithful servant Igor (Marty Feldman), pronounced “eye-gor”, his lab assistant Inga (Teri Garr), and the housekeeper Frau Blucher (Cloris Leachman). From there, Dr. Frankenstein tries to debunk the myths, and truths, surrounding his grandfather’s work. Frankenstein attempts to duplicate his grandfather’s experiment, but with many mishaps occurring, such as using an abnormal brain in the creation of his monster, much hilarity ensues throughout the course of the film. A guest cameo from Gene Hackman is one of the most memorable scenes from this classic comedy.

The Thing (1982)

• Directed by: John Carpenter
• Written by: John W. Campbell Jr. (story), Bill Lancaster (screenplay)
• Starring: Kurt Russell, A. Wilford Brimley, Keith David
• Rotten Tomatoes
• Critics: 80%
• Audience: 88%

                John Carpenter (director of Halloween, Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China, They Live) re-created the classic 1951 film The Thing from Another World with his 1982 version of The Thing. The story begins with an American scientific expedition (led by Kurt Russell and Keith David) in Antarctica seemingly under attack by a group of crazed Norwegians. Chasing, and shooting at, a dog from their helicopter, the Norwegians are soon killed and whole ordeals become but a mysterious sense of foreboding for the American expedition. That night, after all the commotion dies down, the dog (the one the Norwegians were chasing) mutates, attacking and killing other dogs at the camp, as well as a few members of the expedition. The group soon realizes that an alien life-form is loose in their camp and they have no idea what it looks like or who it has already taken over. They must work together, while also being wary of one another, to fight this creature before their times runs out.

Vote now for your favorite movie: Young Frankenstein or The Thing

Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZFYHYS7

Round One: Fight Club vs. A Clockwork Orange

In a match-up of films adapted from novels, we have Fight Club taking on A Clockwork Orange in this round one battle. Unlike some books which are poorly adapted into film (think The Da Vinci Code), both Fight Club and A Clockwork Orange are adequate representations of the novels by Palahniuk and Burgess, respectively.

Fight Club (1999)

• Directed by: David Fincher
• Written by: Chuck Palahniuk (novel “Fight Club”), Jim Uhls (screenplay)
• Starring: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, Meat Loaf
• Rotten Tomatoes
• Critics: 81%
• Audience: 95%

David Fincher (director of Se7en, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network) teamed up with Jim Uhls in this adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s novel, Fight Club. Our Narrator (Edward Norton) is an employee at a major car manufacturer who suffers from insomnia. Traveling from state to state, day after day, living a single-serving life (featuring single-serving friends), he finds himself lost in reality. “If you wake up at a different time, in a different place, could you wake up as a different person?” He soon finds himself attending support groups for the terminally ill (testicular cancer, lymphoma, tuberculosis, brain parasites, and organic brain dementia, to name a few), using them as a therapy so that he can release his emotions and, consequently, sleep for once. He comes home (home “...was a condo on the fifteenth floor of a filing cabinet for widows and young professionals. The walls were solid concrete. A foot of concrete is important when your next-door neighbor lets their hearing aid go and have to watch game-shows at full volume. Or when a volcanic blast of debris that used to be your furniture and personal effects blows out of your floor-to-ceiling windows and sails flaming into the night.”) after a business trip to find his belonging smoldering on the sidewalk below; his apartment is now a crime scene. He then meets up with Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), one of his recently-acquired single-serving friends, for a night of drinking and fighting. From there, our Narrator goes on an enlightening journey featuring chaos, blood, nitro glycerin, terrorism, Project Mayhem, and soap.

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

• Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
• Written by: Stanley Kubrick (screenplay), Anthony Burgess (novel “A Clockwork Orange”)
• Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Warren Clarke, Michael Bates
• Rotten Tomatoes
• Critics: 91%
• Audience: 92%

Stanley Kubrick (director of Full Metal Jacket, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining) directed this film adaptation of the American version of Anthony Burgess’ 1962 novel A Clockwork Orange. The original version of the novel, published in the United Kingdom, featured 21 chapters, while the American version (and film) featured only 20 chapters. Many, including Burgess’ publishers, felt that the final chapter was so inconsistent with the rest of the story that it would somehow taint the overall style and intent of the novel. IMDB sums up the plot quite nicely in a post by Nikky Carlyle:

Protagonist Alex (Malcolm McDowell) is an "ultraviolent" youth in futuristic Britain. As with all luck, his eventually runs out and he's arrested and convicted of murder and rape. While in prison, Alex learns of an experimental program in which convicts are programed to detest violence. If he goes through the program his sentence will be reduced and he will be back on the streets sooner than expected. But Alex's ordeals are far from over once he hits the mean streets of Britain that he had a hand in creating.

Vote now for your favorite movie: Fight Club or A Clockwork Orange

Survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZFYHYS7