Top 250 Challenge: 185

Donnie Darko (2001)
Number 99 on IMDb's Top 250

A troubled teenager named Donnie Darko 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, and his new girlfriend, Frank continues to turn up in Donnie's mind, causing him to commit acts of vandalism and worse. Hilarity ensues.

Trivia: The movie was shot in 28 days, exactly the time-span of the movie itself, on a budget of under US$5 million. When casting for the role of Donnie's sister, it came to Richard Kelly's attention that Maggie Gyllenhaal (who had few film credits at the time) would be available for the shoot. Though Kelly was slightly hesitant towards the idea, he knew he wouldn't have to work hard at creating a sibling rivalry with two actors that were actual siblings. When Donnie's mother is calling to say how they'll be on the red-eye flight, the airport announcement in the background says that Flight 2806 is boarding at gate 42 and leaving at 12 AM. Presumably this is the flight they're taking, and also a reference to the 28:06:42:12 countdown that Frank gives Donnie.

Drew Barrymore, Noah Wyle, Patrick Swayze, Mary McDonnell, and Katherine Ross. Wow, and they aren't even the leads. Jake Gyllenhaal is great as the akward, trouble youth. This is a pretty quirky movie so that bodes well for Mick and Kim, who seem to like the quirky movies.