Rating: 
Summary: but 5 stars is not enough....and why?
Review: First off, let me just say for the record that I can understand why some people would not like this movie. I can't relate to this but I can understand it. This film presents very frightning ideas to the American culture. And that idea is freedom in its purist form. Don't buy into all these little groups harping on the violence (only one person dies in fight club, how many people died in Dogma? I never heard anyone complain about that) or that this is a male movie about how men have been broken down by women blah, blah, blah....Because the film has male charecters as its central focus it predictably falls under the blade of the feminst groups. Yet if this had starred female charecters (remember the flack Thelma & Louise got?) then the reaction would have been the reverse. This film is not about male/female but us as a whole and what we have allowed ourselves to become. Shallow consumers who buy things we don't need and occupy ourselves with useless issues. Think of all the amasing things we could achinve if we re-focused our energy away from shopping at the Gap and conentrated on say, health care issue, or cancer research. This presents another dilema in our culture where we glom issues on one or the other instead of on us as a collective. Americans have become a society where we work to buy. To make ourselves feel better and more justified for working hours in jobs that we hate or just go through the motions of, we spend that hard earned $ and fill the holes in our lives with useless junk as proof that we exist. Not so much to impress others but to impress ourselves. The hollow numb moments are easier to deal with if we own a nice expensive car to look at. Get over it. The car you just spent $50K on is still going in the same direction as the $5k car. To work, to 7-11 and back home. The expensive italian leather couch your setting on? Well, you're just setting on it like any other Lazy-boy and watching the same mindless TV. We are not what we own. Like American Beauty, this film puts the viewer under the magnifying glass and turns the discomfort onto us through the charecters. We have all felt and thought the same things these people have. But the difference, and this is the real frightning aspect, is that in reality we are too afraid to change. It's sad that only fictional charecters can be brave enough to trancend. Change hurts. Change is fear and unkown. We have no great wars in our generation. We have no great depression. Our war is with ourselves......our great depression is our lives.....
Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Collaborative Effort
Review: Having had a chance to read the working screenplay and the book after seeing the film, I have to say that this is probably one the best adaptations (Jim Uhls, screenwriter) out of Hollywood in a very, very long time. The soundtrack (Dust Brothers) also is amazingly crisp and can easily stand alone as a finished work (Get the CD if you haven't already). Jeff Cronenworth's cinematography slides and pulls through an oily darkness that is almost palpable, and the camera's point of view prowls the fight scenes like a pacing caged animal. The post-production sound engineering by LucasFilm is hyper-detailed like some kind of twitchy, speedy paranoid high. There is not an actor out of place in this film... each shot and each action is remarkably balanced in creating the overall feeling in this amazing work. David Fincher did an incredible job pulling this all together, and I would recommend this film to anyone with a serious interest in what was one of the best films of the decade.
Rating:
Summary: "It's genius. PURE GENIUS, I say"said the old coal-miner.
Review: Say you can't sleep. Laying awake all night, flipping idly through your four hundred and sixty-three channels. Ordering things off the television on account your sales resistance is low. Is this mere sleeplessness, or even a terrible case of insomnia? Or is it indicative of a deeper, resonant problem that afflicts your very identity? These are the questions that are proposed, and in some ways answered, David Fincher's very stylish and ultra-sleek "social commentary," FIGHT CLUB. Note, please, the quotation marks. Edward Norton has the life anyone could hope for-anyone who didn't know better, that is. He's got a well-paying, if faceless, job with a motor company and he can afford a spacious high rise condominium and shopping at IKEA by catalog. But he can't sleep, and he drones through the days like a walking dead man. His first attempt to cure his sleeplessness, attending support groups (but not in the way you may think), works for a while but he needs something more. Something to make him feel. Enter Brad Pitt whom Norton meets on one of his frequent business trips. Brad Pitt of the garish, otherworldly clothing. Brad Pitt of the rude, but funny social skills. Brad Pitt of the peculiar point of view concerning life and society. And nothing is the same in Norton's pathetic life ever again. But, you knew that already, didn't you? Like in the trailer, I'm going to tell you that Norton and Pitt begin some sort of throwback to adolescent LORD OF THE FLIES action/fantasies by fighting. Yes. Fighting. More popular than a kick in the head, Fight Club the club spreads like a scorching case of meningitis-somehow giving meaning to the lives of twenty-something, thirty-something boys the world over. As with all addictions of the soul, each subsequent hit must be more powerful than the first; Fight Club the club "must be taken up a notch," to paraphrase the charismatic Pitt. This leads to . . . well, you'll find out. I've always liked David Fincher's work. His stylish direction, for me, far outweighs his track record for content films. SE7EN was gimmicky, yeah, but wasn't it a hoot of a ride? THE GAME rather painted itself into a corner but the images and pacing work like the circulatory system of an Iron Man athlete. Same with FIGHT CLUB, the movie begins as "social commentary," but nothing really scathing. It continues on this mischievous boys-will-be-boys bent that shocks the hell out of you and makes you idly think, "Yeah, I wish I were in a better place in my life." But, there's hardly anything truly profound happening. It's like people who claim MATRIX is the mystical, mythical "everything" more than what it actually is: a super cool sci-fi action flick. Fincher has fun with the movie. There's comical narration from Norton, who along with Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter, gives a great performance. There's even a case where he breaks the fourth wall, and addresses the audience directly. Dream sequences. Polished special effects. Sometimes, there's half images that are barely noticed by your inner, reptillian brain; ask yourself if they are merely bad theater glitches, or if it's done on purpose. Ask yourself what it all adds up to; because good movies do everything on purpose and bad films are laughed at for all the wrong reasons. The ultimate question is: Is this a good film? I'll tell you I liked it. That much, I'll say. FIGHT CLUB the movie burns along like it was powered on nitrous oxide. Far from the intelligent film its stars claimed it is during their press tours, the movie is quite enjoyable fare for the popcorn audience. Don't think for a second that this is, like, the second coming of cheese in a can, or anything. But you will be stunned, that's for damn sure. Like a kick to the head . . . I already said that didn't I? Oh, and READ THE BOOK.
Rating:
Summary: The best i saw in a long time
Review: This is probebly the best film I saw in a very long time. It's wild, fast, amazingly shot, it has a GREAT story and it's not boring for second. Norton and Pitt give a great preformance. It's simply great.
Rating:
Summary: nothing else like it
Review: This is a movie unlike any I have ever seen, and a story unlike any I've ever heard of. The direction, writing, acting, shooting, and music are all brilliant. It's a shame that the violence (I admit I looked away once) and the rather extreme and original plot turned so many people off. Edward Norton is amazing--he is one of the best (if not the best) actors of his generation. Brad Pitt also turns in a great performance, certainly proving he is a consumate actor and not simply nice to look at. Helena Bonham Carter is wonderfully trashy, quite a switch from the beautiful women of period films she's known for playing. I think the thing that struck me most about this film, though (other than Norton, as I haven't seen any of his other movies yet) was the way it was shot. Did anyone else notice Tyler (Pitt) popping up on screen every once in a while for split-seconds before he actually showed up as a character? So brace yourself if you need to and check out this fabulous movie. Violent, yes, but also (and moreso) intelligent, creative, and actually often hilarious.
Rating:
Summary: Top 10 of the year, one of the most influential ever.
Review: When I first heard about Fight Club it was through the soundtrack, and eventually the website. I walked into the theater knowing full well what it was about, but at the end I was blown away. They may have insulted the Gap, Starbucks, IKEA, etc. , but the point was to put an emphasis on making your life worth something other than materials. It showed how a psychological glitch can also send your life spiraling out of control as we find out by the end of the film. As for each of the elements: the actors are done very well, the music is absolutely perfect for this film..and perfect by itself on the soundtrack. Many critics have said that this is unrealistic in the sense that monotonous lives spawn violent attitudes. But quite the contrary is true. Although this was one of the ten best films of the year, there is no way it will be acknowledged by the Academy. The subject matter, and specifically the explicit sex and violence is too objectionable for the Academy to advocate, which is quite a shame.
Rating:
Summary: Cutting Edge
Review: This movie dropped my jaw to the floor! I loved its dark humor, its razor sharp dialogue and voice over, and its slicing imagery. Definately fresh and original. With the exception of the fascist orginazation determined to bring down society as we know it I have to admit identifying with the Edward Norton character and have asked many of the same questions about our way of life that he did. And might I add that the ending ranks with The Usual Suspects and The Shawshank Redemtion for its unforseeable twist. Much better than the so called suprise ending of the Sixth Sense. After seeing Fight Club all I could think about for days was owning a copy of this on DVD and I am absolutely thrilled to see that Fox is offering such a well deserved menu of features. I cant wait to hear David Fincher's insights on his latest escursion into the unprecedented. I'm always a fan of deleted scenes and out takes. This is what DVD is all about. A great movie and then some! I cant wait to buy this one.
Rating:
Summary: Love it or hate it, it's a masterpiece.
Review: Many of the people I know who didn't enjoy this movie simply didn't get it. Some were threatened by the attitude towards consumerism. Others found the violence too much, or even worse, over done. But no one came out of that theatre with something they'd expected or something they could forget about. Those who went in for an action flick were forced to watch a literate, existential, art film with violence that they couldn't get excited about because it had meaning. Those who wanted to see Brad Pitt saw Brad Pitt and paid little mind to the brilliant story brought to us by one of the finest new American authors, Chuck Palaniuk. And the rest were offended by the negative attitude toward their favorite coffee chains, clothing stores, and/or furniture outlet. I say good. Some wonderful things about this movie, not giving anything away, are that the characters that are fighting the above mentioned institutions are also willing participants in making them as successful as they are, and the body count is as low as a big budget Hollywood film has been in years. Don't believe me? Check it out. As a film, it stands out as one of the most creative and beautifully shot movies this year. David Fincher, not being bound by convention, made one of the best adaptations from novel to screen ever with Fight Club. This film will speak to everyone. To some it will say horrible things they do not want to hear. To others it will touch a place you never knew you had in you. Read the book if you want to really know the philosophy. See the movie for a demonstration.
Rating:
Summary: best movie of the year
Review: This is not a mindless fighting movie like mortal kombat or bloodsport, it has real themes, intriguing story, and so much adrenaline that after 2 1/2 hours I didn't want it to end. Definetly the best movie of the year (possibly decade), second is Bringing Out the Dead. If the Oscars were not voted by idiots David Fincher would at least be nominated for best director. On a technical basis it is perfect. The photography and editing are flawless with the ambient Dust Bros. giving a catalyst of a score. As far as performances go Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter are great. If you already know this then check out the novel. It has many differences from the movie.
Rating:
Summary: Fincher, Norton, Pitt make an excellent trio
Review: This movie left me speechless. I left the theater knowing that I had to see it again as soon as possible. Am I the only person that started throwing their quarterly IKEA catalog in the trash because of this movie? I hope not.
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