Wine & DVD - Bleasdale Shiraz and "Donnie Darko"

Bleasdale Shiraz Reserve 2003 - from Langhorne Creek in Australia. This shiraz has aromas of dark fruits, spices and a little bit of tar/asphalt. The palate is rich with dark fruits (plums, blackberries, raspberries) and a hint of vanilla. Quite a lengthy finish. Full-bodied and packs a nice punch.

"Donnie Darko" - wow, talk about surreal! Released in 2001 and set in the late 80's, stars Jake Gyllenhaal as the title character. Lots of well-known names in this movie: Drew Barrymore (who was also one of the executive producers), Patrick Swayze, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Noah Wylie, Mary McDonnell, Katherine Ross.

Donnie is a disturbed high school student, prone to sleepwalking, who has visions of a creepy rabbit (this is no Harvey, folks). The rabbit, named Frank, tells him to do all sorts of destructive acts and he complies. Jake Gyllenhaal plays a very convincing psycho. His facial expressions alone gave me chills.

The visual effects were great, the soundtrack made me realize just how old I am (*sigh*), and the acting was good. I can definitely recommend this movie. But if you tend to have nightmares, watch this movie earlier in the day so you have time to shake off the freaky imagery. It's 11:15PM now and I just finished watching it. I think I'm in for a fun night :-/