Fight Club

Rating:
Summary: Great film, but not immortal
Review: I missed this at the theatres, and inexplicably never got around to seeing it until now. To hear people raving about it so much I was almost expecting the 90s equivalent of Citizen Kane. Nah. It's a very well-acted, extremely welll-photographed interest-holding film, and yes, it's not difficult to get all the underlying points, and yes, it even has a not-surprising but you-still-never-see-it-coming twist, thanks to the way it was directed. The only big flaw is Bonham-Carter's character, which is annoying and too much over the top. But that doesn't hurt the movie. What does is that with all its good points, there's still something missing that you can't quite put your finger on. It's throughout the whole film, and you just can't define it. It's the same quality that, at the end, makes you say, "and that's ALL?" I dunno. Maybe I'm thick.

Rating:
Summary: Innovative, Savage, & Sophomoric
Review: It is no surprise that so many reviewers have gushed with superlatives about this movie being the greatest ever made, etc. Director David Fincher uses boldly creative filming techniques that produce an innovative, flashy movie that has the adrenaline rush of skydiving on speed. Add to that the movie's grab-bag anti-establishment philosophy of Buddhist non-attachment and anarchist smash the system direct action, fuel it all with rage, and you have a truly heady mix, particularly for the young who are experiencing their first exposure to these ideas.
The problem that I have with Fight Club is that it is the poster child of sophomoric movies. It combines valuable philosophical insights about our consumer society and its ills with outrageous foolishness about both the extent of those ills and the solutions to them. Though it sets up a conflict between Ed Norton's nameless protagonist and his alter ego and nemesis Tyler (played in his trademark over the top style by Brad Pitt) even in its ultimate resolution it still comes down to simplistic, foolish wish fulfillment. It is completely normal to find this profound at twenty, but if at forty you still find it profound, you should seriously question your maturity level.
The other great sin of this movie is its ridiculous plot twist. It is the worst example of a violation of internal logic in any movie that I have watched in recent memory. This cheap, ill-conceived twist hurts the credibility of what is otherwise a bold and daring cinematic creation. Even given the movie's sophomoric philosophy, I would have still given it four stars had this silly twist not totally ruined the movie's credibility for me.
Cinematically, Fight Club is bold, flashy, and innovative. Ed Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, and even Meat Loaf contribute performances worth watching. If you don't mind brutal, testosterone soaked screeds, I would recommend that you rent it. But if you are past your early twenties, you don't want to buy this one.

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Rating:
Summary: One of the best Films of the 1990s!
Review: I was sceptical at first that this movie would be very sterotypical in that of its name, but after watching it, it became one of the best films I have ever seen. It has many genres into one film: drama, suspense, and much comedy. It's an interesting look at life with many philosophical points of view. This film is very masculine and can be offensive to some people who can't take a joke; furthermore, buy this movie, you won't regret it!

Rating:
Summary: An Interesting Film; A Bizarre Look At Life
Review: For a while, people have kept telling me to see this movie, saying that it is amazing, and it will change my life, so I went into it with some really high expectations. It's a shame, because I feel that if I had been expecting a little less, I would have liked this movie more. I'm not saying that Fight Club is a bad movie, all I'm saying is that I don't get it the way some people do (although there are many people who don't get some of my favorite movies the way I do, such as Lost In Translation and Garden State).
Edward Norton plays the unnamed Narrator, an insomniac who is obsessed with material goods, namely furniture. When his condo, and by default, all of his furniture, is destroyed in an explosion, he moves in with Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), a strange but intriguing man that he met on an airplane. Tyler's home could not be more different from the Narrator's; the house was dilapidated, it had almost no furniture, save a few beds and tables, and was beyond an eyesore. But it doesn't matter because the two men become good friends. Eventually, they start Fight Club, which is kind of like a support group for men who want to just let loose and blow off some steam. At first, the two are really into it, and it is a small, exclusive little thing. But soon it grows until there are clubs all over the country, and membership reaches numbers greater than 1,000. That's when things start to get weird for the narrator. People start acting very different around him, and they seem to blindly follow Tyler in whatever he does.
Also, there is this girl named Marla (Helena Bonam-Carter, who does not look to good in this film) who is somewhat of a mystery to the Narrator. She always seems to be over to make love with Tyler, but when they're done, she tries to talk to the Narrator. He is confused by the situation, and it causes her to get really angry and storm out.
I don't know; some of the people I know have said that this is one of those movies that you have to view more than once in order to fully understand, but as much as I enjoyed it, I feel that once is enough for a while. I would suggest checking it out- as long as you can handle a lot of violence (the movie is called Fight Club, so what do you expect?), and some nudity.

Rating:
Summary: Not for everyone
Review: Most of my friends loved the movie. My father and my father-in-law both just called it 'wierd', my mother called it 'too violent'. Still, the movie is able to work really well on several levels:

First, the movie examines the character of the Narator and the schism of his personality. Norton and Pitt are phenomenal. Both are raising their acting stock with this film. Generally the movie works well as a 'character piece'.

Second, the movie has some great action, humor and gore. This is a great movie for college-guys. It may inspire folks to do bad things (that doesn't appear to be the goal of the movie), but great none the less. The fights are well done, the general mayhem and sexuality are in line with this style of film.

Finally, this is a pretty decent social commentary type of picture. The ideology of the film: conformity v. anarchy is classic, but the movie definately brings some new thoughts to the table.

Overall, the movie said a lot of fun, interesting, funny and scary things without confusing its message or its plot. The characters were interesting. The movie was great to look at, as well. One criticism I've heard and agreed with the lack of development of Helena Bohnam Carter's character. While I agree, the mystery of her character is somewhat essential to the plot.