The world ended today - Donnie Darko's world that is, 16 years ago. Was watching Donnie Darko early today (2am, was it?) with some friends (after a belated birthday "bash") when one of them pointed out that today (30 October) happened to be the foretold end-of-everything day for Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal). Creepy coincidence, that was.

Watching it for the first time, I didn't quite feel that Donnie Darko lived up to all those great reviews and pats-on-the-back people showered on the film; it was just weird and different from the usual Hollywood fare. The second time around (this time less groggy thanks to sufficient sleep), everything seems to fall into place. Darko is undeniably a great movie; a philosophical cum sci-fi piece teeming with themes from God's Master Plan to time travel.

Dark humour is abound and Darko, both the movie, and the character, is creepy most of the time. A moody soundtrack completes the film. And how can I not mention Frank, the not-so-cute bunny; a very sinister and creepy fellow that guy is.

The official website is plain cool as well, at least if you happen to have watched the movie. Otherwise, it's obfuscating and almost nonsensical. On entering the site, you're told to "Pay close attention; you could miss something"; it's an advice you better heed to navigate around the site. There are so many spin-off sites like the Middlesex Times Dispatch- the website of Darko's town local daily- you could go to. And yeah, you have to disable your pop-up blocking software to fully enjoy the site.

Found out this other cool stuff too: Pressing and holding a combination of buttons on the iPod, you could actually call up its diagnostic mode. I mean, how cool can the iPod get? It's a shame I know about it only now, being the self-proclaimed iPod lover that I am.