Fight Club

Rating:
Summary: Step off, detractors.
Review: Fight Club is quite simply the best film of 1999. The story of a man so frustrated by his own mundane existence, he invents a new one, but finds (as Dr. Frankenstein did) that sometimes the creation can overpower the creator. A story of a revolution that becomes as bland and meaningless as the society against which it sought to rebel. Most of all though, it's a story about coming to grips with who you truly are, because no matter what, you can't hide from your true self; it always finds a way back.

Fight Club succeeds on every level; as drama, satire, comedy, action, and commentary. David Fincher, possibly the most innovative director in Hollywood today, has created a masterpiece. His direction is pure innovation. He actually manages to capture the tone of the novel, which I didn't think would be possible. The colors, the effects, the pacing, the sets, the lighting, everything. Brad Pitt is electrifying as Tyler Durden, the perfect icon of cool for these cynical times. Edward Norton is pure genius as Jack the drone. His narrative is done with this matter-of-fact bluntness that is absolutely perfect. The beating he gives himself in his boss's office must be seen to be believed. The violence is so viserial, it actually caused me to flinch at times. It's incredibly effective how the fights horrify, because that's the point. Violence is ugly. That's why it always looks so funny to me the way "action" movies glorify violence with extensive choreography, slo-mo and cgi in an attempt to make it pretty.

To the naysayers: You are correct to fear this film. It doesn't let you off the hook as easy as the rest of the Hollywood homogenized trash out there. It doesn't flinch when holds a mirror right in your face and says, "kind of bites, doesn't it?". This film (and novel) is for you; the Gap wearing, Friends watching, people out there on cruise control who think individuality is adding a shot of vanilla to their Starbucks Latte.

What are you waiting for? The button is on the upper right of this page, labeled "Add this to my shopping cart". You'll want to click right there...

Rating:
Summary: WOW, all i can say is wow
Review: Great movie, I thought from the title and knowing nothing about this that this movie would really suck. What a delightful suprise, one of the better movies i have seen in a year or so.

Rating:
Summary: Great!!!
Review: The best movie I've ever seen with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. You can't miss it...

Rating:
Summary: The heart of darkness for the 90's , morbid but inteligent.
Review: Fight Club is not for the faint of heart or for the person who does not like inteligent movies.But Fight Club draws you in on it's mayhem of 2 hours and 30 minutes of pure brain candy it entices the senses as well as the mind when you watch this movie you not only watch it you experience this power driven film but what results the most out of Fight Club is the fact that we all wish that we could take our frustrations out on society as in , this movie.David Finchers dark but at times moral film about a man that is frustrated with society and how his life is heading he somehow can't sleep at night and decides that to awaken his life he would attend support groups and meetings every week is not doing it this man is played exceptionaly by Edward Norton , when in one of his meeting he meets an enstranged woman played by Helen Bonam Carter who basically is addicted to everything and is alone in her life decides to go to meetings with him.

Whatever this man is doing is not seemings to help his out of control lifestyle until he meets a mysterious man named Tyler Tyler gives this out of synch man just what he was looking for when he calls Tyler to ask him for a place to stay strangely enough he agrees , Tylers place a dump but what Tyler shows him next is beyond everything he even anticipated he shows the no name man a world without any matirealistic value and in this underground hiding place is a world of no worry no nothing the world of Fight Club in fight club the first rule is that you never talk about it second rule is there are no rules just men taking there frustrations about the world out on each other by beating each other to a bloody pulp.

But when Tyler shows the man of Fight Club it seems it so addicting hes stuck to it and Tyler seems more and more nearing the breaking point even going as far as stick a gun in the mans mouth for asking questions about the club that has hit all around the United States , with a suprise ending that sure to please. All in all Fight Club is a tour into the darkness and mayhem of modern day society and this tour your just going to have to take to beleive it.With director and actor commentarys by Brad Pitt and Edward Norton and director David Fincher and , production notes and deleted scenes Fight Club is sure to please any DVD owner so dim the lights get the popcorn ready and put in this truly awsome modern day epic for you to own.

Rating:
Summary: This is my favorite movie
Review: I would have to say that I have never seen a better movie than this. Sure there have been more intelectually stimulating movies, but this is by far one of the best and most intersting movies that I have ever seen. If you don't but it, at least rent it somewhere.

Rating:
Summary: I am Mike's glowing review of Fight Club
Review: The first time I saw this movie, I roamed the streets afterward with a crazed look on my face, observing everyone I saw out of the corner of my eye. The second time I saw this movie, I did pretty much the same thing. It has an enormous effect on me.

There's something very unsettling about "Fight Club". It's not the graphic violence; I can handle that. It's not the idea that to be a twenty-first century twenty-something male is to be disenchanted and disassociated; frankly, that's just giving in to your inner crybaby. No, the thing that's unsettling about "Fight Club" is that the whole system we've set up to pamper our enormous egos is a sham. A wasteful, illogical, unspiritual sham. The goal of this movie, then, is to be our collective soap.

David Fincher is a great visual stylist, infatuated with his director's palette. He uses every trick in the book here, and consistently stops just short of going over the line of good taste. And to me, that's what makes this movie so special. He pushes the limits, but it never feels like he is pushing too hard. And for a two-hour plus movie chock full of special effects and visual magic, that's an astounding feat.

Edward Norton is spot-on. He is dry, constantly on edge, and very much awake. I felt exhausted just looking at him. The scene where he fights himself in his boss' office is both funny and frightening. And Brad Pitt is just perfect here. It frustrates me when people bemoan his casting in this part -- I wonder if they were watching the same movie. The character needed to be charismatic, rebellious, intense, funny, very physical and especially very beautiful. Who else could they have cast? These two actors work extremely well together. Of course if they didn't, the whole house of cards would cave in on itself. And it never does. Throw in Helena Bonham Carter -- witty, spacey, and crackling with life while doing a dance of death -- and you get an excellent triumvirate of lead actors.

Two minor quibbles:

...the exploding refrigerator scene was unnecessary, one of the few times when Fincher goes too far in his visual styling.

...Meatloaf, while definitely looking the part, just didn't have the acting chops to pull off his critical role.

So it's not perfect, but it comes pretty damn close.

Sometimes I feel like I can go on forever about this movie. There are just so many good things to talk about. But I'll stop now in the hopes that the masses who stayed away while it was in theatres discover it now.

Rating:
Summary: Undoubtedly interesting...
Review: This movie is brilliant. You are first introduced to a Mr. Narrator (Edward Norton), who is living his job, suffering insomnia, and crazed about IKEA furniture.

After becoming conscious of this constrictive lifestyle he constantly questions himself. This questioning reaches out to many philosophical concepts, and alludes to many questionably sane people. Finally, after curing his insomnia with group therapy for conditions which he himself has none of, he meets Helena Bonham Carter, a fellow group therapy faker. Her role is that of a chain smoking suicidal sex crazed lunatic, it is at this point that Norton's character reaches the boundaries of his subconscious.

What follows is the battle between Edward Norton and his subconscious, with Brad Pitt playing Tyler Durden along for the ride and bringing an organized method to this madness; Fight Club. Fighting society, this group attempts to create a segue for the blue collar, white collar, run of the mill every day workers trapped in a routine lifestyle just like Edward Norton's character. Growing to national proportions, Norton eventually finds himself overwhelmed, shocked and confused by some of the deeds the group has graduated into doing.

The DVD version of this movie aesthetically perfect. The transitions are second to none, everything is very clean. The supplemental disc contains scenes that were, unbelievably so, too gruesome or questionable for the final cut. If you have not seen this movie, rent it while your waiting for your order to arrive. Some might like the think the world will eventually benefit from this movies ideals and gratuitous concepts.

Rating:
Summary: A great black comedy
Review: First off the DVD is cram-packed with so much it should make any collector grab it. About the film itself, this has shown me that Hollywood can occasionally let out a masterpiece when it stops thinking about demographics and being 'politically correct' (or modern censorship). This film is gorgeously shot and lighted, the production values are stellar. I am always impressed with directors who use film as a visual art rather than just sticking a camera on actors. The dilapidated world of Fight Club is both repulsive and attractive, mirroring the moral decay of our world today. The cast is well-chosen, extremely subtle and natural. The script is magnificent, light and thoughtful. It brings across its ideas in a funny way and avoids dwelling and preaching. It explores many of the same themes and issues that were brought up in American Beauty, but in a far more risky manner. From the trailer I had no idea this film is a comedy, a very funny film (my idea of a comedy is a strong story with some really funny moments, NOT a string of punch-lines and gags and schlock like you get from awful Adam Sandler, etc.) with some serious ideas. The world of yuppies living their vacuous lives, pursuing the almighty dollar and bragging about their boring SUVs (come on, they're just pickup trucks!) and stock portfolios is one I've long been tired of. Whatever happened to being human? To experiencing genuine feelings? To reaching out and connecting with others? This film asks those questions and cautions us by showing how someone leaping out of the shallow yuppy life might easily swing too far the other way. Yes there is a degree of violence but, as Edward Norton mentions in the commentary, it is not senseless video-game violence like you find in inferior juvenile films like The Matrix, etc. The violence in this film shows us just how far one man might travel in his life to find some sort of meaning that has been buried under the media's messages of 'buy and spend', 'look and act like everyone else by following these ads', etc. After the film I remembered the humor and the ideas, not the violence. If you are open-minded, tired of the usual Hollywood rubbish, view films as more than soulless entertainment, enjoy being your own person, like thinking and exposing yourself to ideas, then I can strongly recommend this to you. If you are close-minded, a yuppy, someone who moved to the suburbs because you don't feel comfortable around different people, actually like the new VW bug, think that money tells a person's worth, got married because everyone else did, follow fashion from ads rather than developing your own style, then watch this and try to learn that life is more than a string of possessions, trends and friends who accept you because you look like they do. If the money-obsessed lawyers who run Hollywood really want to make money, they should concentrate on making more films like this: Edgy, thoughtful, cautionary, funny and made with real quality and care.

Rating:
Summary: Startiling
Review: This movie did not look appealing to me when it first came out. Brad Pitt going around beating up people? Wow, that sounds fun! But because I'm a huge fan of Edward Norton I went ahead and bought this film. It was nothing like I expected at all.

To start off Edward Norton is an unnamed man who has insomnia, to fall asleep he goes to support groups where he meets a man named Bob (played wonderfully by Meat Loaf), going to these support groups helps him sleep and makes him feel better about his life. Everything is going well until a "tourist" to this groups comes in and shatters everything, this girl (played oddly by Helena Bonham Carter) and Edward Norton make a deal so they can share their support groups. All is going well untill Edward Norton meets a man named Tyler (played by Brad Pitt) a soapmaker, on a plane. After getting off of the plane Edward finds his bags gone and goes home to his apartment to find it blown up. The only person he has to turn to is Tyler, the man he met in the plane. After meeting up with Tyler, he stays at his Tyler's house and they start up a group that fights so they can get their tension out...hence... FIGHT CLUB!

This movie is very freaky, very funny, very violence, very provocitive, and very good. This movie reminds me of a Stanley Kubrick film. Edward Norton of course, is great as always. The end just freaks you out and leaves your jaw hanging. This is surely one of the most startiling films I've ever seen. It just literally blows you away. I simply couldn't believe it. I've never, and will never probably ever see anything like it. This is going to be a cult film, I'm pretty sure. Also in years from now I believe it'll be a overlooked classic.

Rating:
Summary: Oh, please...if this is a Gen-X idea of hip or cool...
Review: The poor Gen-X'ers...trying so hard for a voice in movies and coming up with trash like this.

Brad Pitt has a line about guys his age being a generation of men raised by their mothers. Oh, brilliant. That's supposed to be insight? Sounds like Brad's character has a real grasp for the obvious.

Then this ridiculous plot twist half-way through that's supposed to be so incredible...yeah, incredible how it was stolen from a million other BETTER movies.

DO NOT be fooled by the hype: the fanatics who fall all over themselves praising this movie just want something to cling to and look down at the rest of us with a sneer that says "Well you just don't understand."

Ladies and Gentleman, there's nothing to understand: Ed Norton is terrific, Brad Pitt is OK and you'll cringe when you see what they've done to poor MeatLoaf.

Oh, and just to make sure they're hip: there's a catch phrase repeated over and over in this movie that (was) meant to be chanted by all who saw it. It's a big laugh in the middle of a big bore.