Rating: Summary: Brilliant film despite the hyperviolence of the whole thing! Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this film on VCD when it came out. I admire its satire on pretentious commercialism of America. Brad Pitt does a fairly good job with his masculine violence but Edward Norton has to the most talented actor in Hollywood right now. Since his stint in Rounders, no one can duplicate his ironic voice and low-key acting which is quite naturalistic. Edward Norton deserved an Oscar nomination.Bonham-Carter is quite aloof in this movie. This could be good or bad depending on how you want to look at it. Fight Club is a great film which I will admit is a lovely satire on American values. It's a hard bitter pill to swallow especially if you use a credit card like me (blowing up credit card buildings) but it has a point. We are drugged on our culture!
Rating: Summary: Great Movie - Excellent DVD Review: I really enjoyed Fight Club. I do not think it was overly violent. The violence that was displayed in the movie was definately neccessary to the movie's overall premise. Edward Norton does an absolutely excellent job portraying our narrator ("Jack"). His internal conflict at his life is obvious as we pan through his condo - with price tags on everything visible. Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) is his single-serving friend who brings this conflict to light. The movie progresses & I won't spoil the plot as others have done - other than to say - I just loved this movie. Helena Bonham Carter plays the trashy Marla wonderfully. She finally takes a break form all of those period flicks! The DVD itself - I give it 5 stars. It has got so many extras on the supplemental disc - I still haven't gone through them all. I am definately looking forward to finishing it though! Your money WILL NOT BE WASTED on this DVD. I am so glad I bought it. Be sure to check out the deleted scenes!
Rating: Summary: GREATNESS SABATOGED BY STRUCTURE Review: I liked everything this film was TRYING to say. I hold Ed Norton as one of the finer actors of his generation. Fincher is an able director. Brad Pitt can make sparks fly in the right hands. The production design is without fault. Unfortunately, the structure and the payoff don't quite meld into a satisfying experience. By the final third, one is left with "is that IT?" as the riddle of conflict is unveiled. Still, FIGHT CLUB remains a rarity: a thinking person's film. It has anger and pizzazz, but suffers some confusion with its oddball dance with homerotica that more or less winds up as curious windowdressing, and not much else, considering the film's pretentions to being deep. It is great to hear one cry against our numbing consumerism, and that I champion. I just wish the film had been a smashing success instead of a beautiful but amputated statue.
Rating: Summary: Well, 3 and a half stars Review: Four stars seems too high, three seems too low. There was a lot about this film that I loved. I don't really pay much attention to how movies are filmed (and get bored when it's pointed out), but the camera zooms in this movie thrilled me; with a brilliant opening credits sequence to a shot where the camera plummets about thirty storeys and then through a road! Brad Pitt puts in a great performance as a likable character who does horrible things, Edward Norton (who incidentally I hadn't seen before, apart from trailers for other movies) is also great as office-nerd-turned-hero. The fight sequences are gritty and at times gruesome. But the movie will start taking a dark turn (I remember thinking "I don't like where this is going"), but then it doesn't quite go where you fear. And the plot revelation in the last half hour is brilliant! Unfortunately, there are a bumps in the road that let down the ride. Helena Bonham Carter basically ruins every scene she's in (just when you're getting into a scene, she pops up just in time to make sure you don't enjoy it too much), the endless orgasm scenes get boring and annoying fast, and I found myself cringing at some of the acts of vandalism (although most of it is quite amusing). Otherwise, an entertaining and well-crafted film.
Rating: Summary: This is what DVD's were always meant to be.... Review: First there was the video... People could watch movies in the comfort of their own home. A VHS video had an okay-ish picture, but the privacy of your home made up for that. Then there was the laserdisc... Good picture, nice sound, still the privacy of your own living room, but you had to flip the bloody things over every three seconds. Then, there was the DVD. We were promised "Perfect sound and a crystal clear image". Plus, there was the enticing aspect of "extra features" with everything you'll ever want about the movie you bought, all for the price of a normal laserdisc. Did 'They' keep their promise? No. Was Blade Runner a classic? Yes. Did it have a thousand potential extras to put on a DVD? Hell yes. Did it have any? No. Why? Laziness perhaps. Then there was the Fight Club DVD. The second you open the box, you know that this is soemthing different. You put the DVD in your machine, and for once, you're shocked. The effort alone that Fox must have put into making this little wonder of a DVD is incredible, just looking at the menus and bazillion extra features that will keep you busy for days. And by this point, you haven't even seen the movie... Let's just say that, even with the Abyss DVD floating around, you simply are NOT going to find a better DVD than this. Oh yeah, and the movie's pretty good too.
Rating: Summary: A film that deserves this special treatment Review: A film that is unfairly maligned for being overly violent. It has probably been put in this basket because of the questions it asks of many of our societal values. Whatever the case it is a very enjoyable movie to watch but you have probably made that decision already. Is the DVD worth buying ? DEFINITLEY. The movie lends itself to multiple viewings (I believe it gets better after the first viewing) and DVD is the perfect medium for this - Great quality visuals and a very interesting soundtrack that makes good use of a surround sound setup. (also good in 2CH stereo) The extras are also very interesting. The commentary tracks are all worth listening to, offering an insight into the thematic choices made (Fincher, Brad Pitt, Ed Norton, Helena BC track, Screenwriter/author track, Fincher solo track), the special effects(Track 4, Fincher solo) and just some funny stories from the set.(All tracks) The second disc of extras will keep you busy as well. It offers a number of insights into how special effects were used to dramatic effect. Multi-angle is used here but I didn't find this aspect as useful. I just watched the clips through twice, once on each angle. Also included are some removed scenes with comparisons and explanations on why they were not there. I would have liked a longer documentary on the second disc but I'm getting picky now. Fight Club on DVD is topped off by the BEST packaging for a DVD that I have ever seen. Very attractive and also functional. If you liked the movie you have to own this DVD.
Rating: Summary: An excellent movie that goes outside the box Review: This is not a typical movie. From the title you may expect something akin to Van Damme's 'Blood Sport' but this movie offers so much more than that, and the fighting that goes on is actually not a dominating presence as far as time spent on it is concerned. I think that everyone that sees this film will find something in it that they like, wether it be the filming and editing style, the storyline twists and turns, the acting (did anybody notice who Robert Palsey is?), or the way all of these elements come together to provide an overall mood and feel to the entire movie. In short, see it, judge it on it's merits, make up your own mind. I liked it and consider the money I spent on the DVD well spent. It even comes with a companion disk of 'behind the scenes' type stuff.
Rating: Summary: Fight Club - What's not to Like? Review: Consisting of a handful of great actors, an incredible audio experience (thanks to the Dust Brothers) and visual effects which, in my opinion, rival The Matrix, Fight Club has captured the very essence of a non-normal person in a non-normal world. Edward Norton brings to his character a depth that, I don't think has been matched in a long time. Brad Pitt's character portrays the ideal alter-ego of Norton's, and their on-scene chemistry is immense. This movie's complexities will keep you from realizing the truth until the very end. The title may lend itself to a false impression of the movie's content, however. Granted there is fighting in the movie, but the theme carried out is not based on aggressiveness or brutality, instead on true self-realization in today's world. As the story unravels, you will find yourself questioning an elusive reality built around a self-created destruction plot. You gotta see it...
Rating: Summary: I love IKEA. Review: That "thought-provoking" mantra of 98% customer's reviews is very yawn-provoking. Do you really need to see the guys beaten into the bloody pulp to start the thinking process? What has prepared Mr. Fincher for his "penetrating" look at the modern society? Making music videos for Aerosmith, Madonna and - Oh my God! - Paula Abdul? Shooting commercials? I find it impossible to relate to any character, act or emotion in that film. It seems that for the director and the movie's fans only 2 alternatives exist - total boredom or extatic frenzy. You are either a mindless consumer or a fierce destructor. Nothing in between? Ever heard of contemplation, meditation, elation? Ever saw happy and content people living their meaningful lifes? I do not mean the populace of Nora Efron's idiotic paradise but real people living all around. Why is that fascinationn with marginals? The film starts with the main character's complaining. Let me translate it for you. - I am obsessed with that condominium! - In human language it means - I love my home so much! - - I leaf through IKEA catalogue ad nauseam.- It means: - I like IKEA's style - it's affordable, sensible and contemporary.- - All the contacts in planes and tranes are brief, one-time.- - So what? Some of these episodes are little gems that would be spoiled by prolongation. What do you want? To follow the guy you've spent a couple hours sitting next to to his home, meet his family, stay for a week, see the photos, take his grandma to the park? There are less infantile ways of seeing the world , dealing with the problems and letting the steam off. Want to kick and punch - go to a local dojo. It will take you years to learn the right moves. What is so charismatic about Brad Pitt's pissing-in-a-soup character? Do you giggle mischeviously seeing him insert a gigantic penis in a kiddie cartoon? That is nothing else but the result of postponed adulthood of the pisser and the gigglers. Do you fall for Helena Bonham Carter's heroine - the psyched-out punk with a small Neanthertaloid face and Halloween hairstyle? Want to share a room with her and listen to that - Hear me die...- creaking on a daily basis? You can argue that watching a movie about Hitler you do not necessarily enjoy what he is doing. But I've never seen Hitler played by a stud icon. Fight Club guides you where the real excitement is. The life outside is portrayed as a pitiful parody. What we see is a hellpless dualism, the love/hate relationship with consumerism. They either wallow in that or smash their head against that. No one is trying to use it reasonably, to enjoy the benefits. No one is strong and wise enough to be above - they either submit or attack. And the touch of conspiracy theory is added, the much-loved urban paranoia. No one wants to be alone in a big city, to accept the fact that the world around is mostly indifferent. So the notion of a club - however weird - is very appealing. And I am sure the film's fans consider themselves a club of a sort, the union of cool guys. One of the funniest things is the club's franchising at it's branding stage. When I see these chemical burn marks on the hands of the initiated I imagine Tylor going through that eye-to-eye routine hundred times: - Only when you are at the threshold...blah-blah-blah...you can not stop the pain...blah-blah-blah...- then the guy drops and he is all yours. The film has nothing to tell. All that contrieved pretentious nonsense is laughable in it's efforts to "tell the truth". Millions of dollars were spent to glamorize the freaks doing their freaky stuff and now the studio wants it's money back with the profit. Are you willing to contribute your time and cash? Better buy something useful from IKEA.
Rating: Summary: I thought it was a slope-browed action film... I was wrong. Review: When I decided to buy this movie on PPV I was just curious. I had heard from a friend that this was not just an action movie, so I wanted to check it out for myself. I am very glad I did. This movie was one of those that I didn't want to see in the theater for fear of being thought of as a blood-thirsty primate. Sure, the film had some gore scenes that make you cringe at times, but those scenes are needed to set the right mood for the story. I don't think the ending was a "cop-out" either. How can any writers original vision be a cop-out?
|