Cliffs Notes to Cult Movies for Cool People
By Alonso Duralde, Hollywood.com Staff
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Monday, March 09, 2009
Bluff your way into sounding like a film buff with these easy shortcuts (and Cliffs Notes means spoilers, duh)
1. Tron
60-Second Plot Summary: Computer programmer Flynn (Jeff Bridges) goes snooping through his former employer's computer to find evidence that the nefarious Dillinger (David Warner) stole Flynn's ideas for several new video games. The sentient Master Control Program (or MCP), to protect Dillinger, zaps Flynn inside the computer where he must rely on TRON (Bruce Boxleitner) and other programs (who are represented as people inside the computer) to escape.
What to Quote: "If I didn't have a User, then who wrote me?" asks Crom (Peter Jurasik). The movie attempts to tackle theology, of sorts, by giving us programs with differing opinions about their "creators."
Scene to Reenact: The cool light-cycle battle, which was also one of the best parts of the Tron arcade game.
Fascinating Tidbit: While Tron wasn't a huge hit upon its original release, it has developed an enthusiastic cult over the years for its pioneering use of computer-generated imagery and immersion in the world of computers and video games. A sequel has been announced, and French techno duo Daft Punk has signed on to provide the soundtrack. (The legendary Wendy Carlos scored the first film.)
Now, Transition to "Well, Have You Seen …" Electric Dreams, a sweet, Cyrano de Bergerac–esque romantic comedy about a shy architect (Lenny von Dohlen) who finds himself competing with his home computer (voiced by Bud Cort) for the affections of the sexy cellist (Virginia Madsen) who lives upstairs.
2. Donnie Darko
60-Second Plot Summary: It's hard to sum up its labyrinthine plot, but the basics go something like this: Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a troubled teenager who has stopped taking his meds. While out sleepwalking, a jet engine crashes into his room; had Donnie been home, it would have killed him. A giant bunny — or a man (James Duval) in a giant bunny costume — keeps appearing to Donnie and encouraging him to commit acts of vandalism. Time travel is discussed. A local self-help guru (Patrick Swayze) winds up having a sex dungeon. Donnie realizes that he has to let the engine kill him or the world will end.
What to Quote: "Sometimes, I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion!" — what the obnoxious health teacher (Beth Grant) tells Donnie's mother (Mary McDonnell), regarding the kiddie dance troupe of which Donnie's little sister (Daveigh Chase) is a member — is the overused fave. Instead, try this one: "You can go s—k a f—k." That's what Maggie Gyllenhaal shouts at Donnie (who is played by her real-life brother).
Scene to Reenact: It's the moment in the principal's office when the health teacher informs Donnie's father (Holmes Osborne), who is choking back his amusement, "I'll tell you what he said! He asked me to forcibly insert the lifeline exercise card into my anus!"
Fascinating Tidbit: After a much-talked-about premiere at Sundance in 2001, Donnie Darko had a hard time finding a distributor and almost wound up premiering on the Starz cable channel. Once it opened in theaters, it became a cult smash, spawning a "Director's Cut" DVD.
Now, Transition to "Well, Have You Seen …" Writer-director Richard Kelly's follow-up feature Southland Tales opened and closed with a meager box-office take of about $375,000. It's one of those movies that's so aggressively odd and eccentric that you just have to see it. It involves a nuclear incident, the Patriot Act, a porn queen (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) and a blimp — and that's just for starters.
KEEP READING: " ... breathless with anticip .............. PATION."
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