937. Fight Club (1999)

Running Time: 139 minutes
Directed By: David Fincher
Written By: Jim Uhls, from novel by Chuck Palahniuk
Main Cast: Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, Jared Leto, Meatloaf
Click here to view the trailer

I AM JACK'S NOD OF APPROVAL

You know, I probably shouldn't even be writing this. I was told, during the course of this movie, that the first two rules of Fight Club are: You DO NOT talk about Fight Club! Oh well, as long as everybody agrees to keep it on the "D.L.", I think I'm safe.

First and foremost, before I even attempt to write a plot synopsis on "Fight Club", know that Edward Norton is the Narrator and that his character is never given an official name. Therefore, I'll simply be calling him the Narrator. Kay? Now then...The whole story is told in flashback, with the audience seeing the end of the movie first and then being told basically the entire story, by the Narrator. We begin with the Narrator (Norton) and his inability to sleep. He's your pretty basic guy. He's got a nine to five office job, he's a slave to the Ikea catalogs and he has a pretty decent looking apartment. It's just that he can't sleep and despite going to doctor's, they all refuse to give him anything to help him. Then, he gets involved with support groups intended for people with terminal illnesses (testicular cancer, blood parasites, etc.). The Narrator doesn't have any of these illnesses, but going to the meetings allows him to feel SOMETHING and that allows him to sleep. He's going pretty good for a while, until he meets Marla Singer (Carter), who is also a support group faker, someone who tours the different illness groups, for one reason or another, without actually having the illnesses. With Marla there, the Narrator can't focus the way he used to and confronts her. They agree to split up the meetings and to never see each other again. Even later, the Narrator meets Tyler Durden (Pitt), an opposite copy of the Narrator, who dresses different, acts different and looks different. They have a chance encounter on an airplane, where they sit next to one another and then depart...nothing special. When the Narrator arrives home that night, he finds that his apartment has blown up in a freak accident and for reasons unknown even to him, he calls Tyler (they exchanged business cards). Tyler agrees to let the Narrator stay with him and after a while they become pretty close. Eventually, the two invent and develop Fight Club, an underground, fighting league, which ultimately turns into Project Mayhem, a terrorist group.

SPOILER ALERT!!

The first time I saw "Fight Club", I didn't like it very much. Then again, I was probably a little to young to be seeing such a confusing film anyway, so that was probably my own fault. Later, after rewatching it several times, I grew fonder of it and ultimately, I really liked it. Now that I've said that, let me remind you of what this journey is doing to my personal film tastes: breaking them down and rebuilding them. Suffice it to say, that I still really do LIKE "Fight Club", but think that it's inclusion in the top ten of the IMDB Top 250 is a little ridiculous and even more ridiculous is the fact that Empire even included it as #10, in it's list of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All-Time". Sure, it's really good, it makes you think, it's got a lot of great camerawork and it's an all around good story, but it has its flaws too and under no circumstances is it THAT good. In fact, may I just take a moment to applaud THE BOOK, which didn't even give it a full page blurb or any photos (in my edition anyway). Kudos to them for not bowing to public opinion!

So what's going on here? Maybe you stumbled across this review because you've got questions, you seek answers or you just don't know what to think and want a little clarification on what you just watched. Well, we've got a man (Edward Norton) who has a name, but we never know it. Due to his intense lack of sleep, he begins to hallucinate and furthermore, goes so far as to create an altar ego: Tyler Durden. See, Tyler is everything that the Narrator isn't, that the Narrator wants to be. He's cool, he's independent, he's great in bed, he smokes, he's good looking, he wears a pretty sweet red leather jacket, etc. Most importantly, this altar ego doesn't bow to public opinion, consumerism and doesn't meet the expectations set upon him by society. He does his own thing and that's what works for him. The altar ego is a rebel, he makes things happen, he's got a plan. That plan is Project Mayhem, a plan that is going to give a great big FUCK YOU to corporate America, without really hurting anyone...anyone that matters anyway, in his opinion.

This movie made me think about a few things. The first thing it made me think about was the fact that you RARELY see any good man vs. self movies. We see man vs. man movies all the time, man vs. nature movies all the time and even man vs. society movies are a lot more prevalent than man vs. self. Okay, so I guess we see them in much milder forms, but if ever there were an example of man vs. self, then it is "Fight Club". The other thing the movie made me think about was how terrible things get started. What started as a mere group of guys who wanted to see if they could hold their own in a fight, ended up being a terrorist cell. How many fight clubs are being started right now? Maybe they aren't even fight clubs. In my town, we have a group of guys who meet at an abandoned grocery store parking lot and race their cars. They (supposedly) call themselves the "car club". What I'm getting at is how many groups of guys get together for seemingly harmless things and end up doing dastardly deeds? If you get enough people together, sooner or later, someone's going to suggest something that's a little out there and if that someone is popular enough, the whole group will surely chime in.

A man puts a loaded gun into his mouth and pulls the trigger, for the sole purpose of killing his imaginary friend. That's "Fight Club". It's a clever, intelligent story and we may never see anything again that is as innovative, unique or original as this...unless Charlie Kaufman has something to say about it. It's impossible to be a film fan and not like this movie and all I was stating by the above paragraph, is that it certainly does have it's flaws. I'm still convinced that there are plot holes in there somewhere...somehow, there's got to be! I'm not crazy about Edward Norton either and honestly, I'd go so far as to say that this is a Brad Pitt show, who easily one ups Norton. If you want a good Norton flick, go watch "American History X", because this isn't his hour in the spotlight. I'd also say that the film is just too long. My wife sat down to watch this with me and even having seen it before, decided to bow out at about the hour and a half mark, because she just didn't care anymore. If they could've wrapped everything up in a nice, neat bow, within two hours, this would've been A LOT better....but, as it is...

RATING: 7/10  ...call it a '7'. Can't, in good conscience, go higher than that, because I think I even liked "All About My Mother" better, overall.

MOVIES WATCHED: 683
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 318

May 17, 2013  12:16am

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897. SE7EN (1995)

Running Time: 127 minutes
Directed By: David Fincher
Written By: Andrew Kevin Walker
Main Cast: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth Paltrow, R. Lee Ermey
Click here to view the trailer

THE EIGHTH DEADLY SIN IS NOT SEEING SE7EN

I've decided to make it a tradition with this blog that when I reach the halfway mark of a batch of 100 films, I'll slip in a personal favorite to mark the occasion. "Se7en" is the fiftieth film I've watched since making my last TOP 20 list and with fifty to go, it's going to be hard to dethrone some of the films I've watched thus far...especially this one.

William Somerset (Freeman) is a detective with one week to go before his retirement. Somerset is fed up with the world that surrounds him, the heinousness that he sees on a day to day basis and wants to escape to the country, to live out the remainder of his years in peace and solitude. David Mills (Pitt) is his replacement - a young, arrogant detective just moved in from out of town with his wife, Tracy (Paltrow). The film kicks off with the detectives being called to the scene of a crime - an obese man who has seemingly eaten himself to death, found with his head buried in a bowl of spaghetti. Later, it is discovered that the crime is indeed a homicide and the sadistic nature of the murder leads Somerset to believe that this is the first in a series. The next day another body is found, that of a defense attorney who has been bled to death - the word "greed" written in blood on the floor of his office. After poking around the obese man's apartment, Somerset finds the word "gluttony" written on the wall, behind his refrigerator, in grease. Therefore, Somerset was right, as a series of murders begin piling up, each one corresponding to one of the seven deadly sins: gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, pride, lust and envy. As Mills and Somerset track down leads, follow clues and visit crime scenes, their relationship turns from sour to friendly, as they track the psychotic serial killer.

SPOILER ALERT!

This is another one of those personal films that would be filed under the heading of "movies my older brother introduced me to". I can still remember sitting in the bedroom that we shared, me on my bed and my brother on his, as I gripped the edge of my mattress, wondering if/when Mills and Somerset would be victorious. I was younger then and not as film savvy as I am today; the days when a clever plot could entice me as well as a Beggin' Strip would entice a hungry dog. I remember being absolutely and utterly blown away by this movie, buying it soon after and re-watching it dozens of times since that night. If I were to compile a list of ten films that made me want to be a film buff, "Se7en" would almost have to be on it. For me, it doesn't get much better than this. Even tonight, as I watched it for the umpteenth time, my heart still sped up when Mills and Somerset escorted John Doe to the scene of his final act. Goosebumps popped up across the surface of my skin as Somerset sliced open a box and said those tingling lines:

"California, tell your people to stay away. Stay away now, don't - don't come in here. Whatever you hear, stay away! John Doe has the upper hand!"

I can't remember my initial reaction the first time I heard that line, but for a first timer, it must be one of the most chilling lines to ever be uttered on film. What in the world could Somerset mean? How on earth could John Doe have the upper hand? Watching it tonight, it still feels like it takes Somerset forever to run across that field and for us to find out the contents of that dreaded package. It's moments like that that make this movie unforgettable. I also love the lines delivered by Kevin Spacey (John Doe) as he rides with the detectives during those closing moments of the film. Some really heavy stuff, if you think about it. Like this one:

"Only in a world this shitty could you even try to say these were innocent people and keep a straight face. But that's the point. We see a deadly sin on every street corner, in every home, and we tolerate it. We tolerate it because it's common, it's trivial. We tolerate it morning, noon, and night."

I mean, if you really dissect that, there's some truth in it. John Doe can't stand the awful world that he lives in, the world that houses his chosen seven and labels them as innocents. In fact, if you think about it, there's not much difference in the characters of John Doe and William Somerset. Somerset also can't stand the world that he lives in and because of this, he's retiring and moving to the country so that he doesn't have to be a part of such savage surroundings anymore. If you'll notice, every time Mills insults John Doe, calls him a "nutjob" or "insane", Somerset is always there to defend Doe, calling him intelligent, patient and clever. Somerset doesn't condone the actions of Doe, but he does understand. In fact, as the film progresses Somerset becomes more loose, mainly because he meets David and Tracy. It's Tracy especially who wakes him up a little more, when Somerset realizes that he's not the only man in the city with his head on straight and that there are other normal, passionate, caring people that surround him. You get the feeling that if Somerset had never met the Mills', he'd be secretly rooting John Doe on, hoping that he cleans the streets of more debris, so to speak.

Another thought crossed my mind tonight as I watched "Se7en" and I want you to bear with me on this one. I think they should make a sequel! Now, let me explain, please. First of all, I'm the biggest advocate against sequel making that you'll find, but the "Se7en" sequel would be unprecedented in that it would be neither a sequel or a prequel. It would be the first film (to my knowledge) to take the story of the first movie and tell it in a different way - hear me out. What you do is, this time around you make John Doe (Kevin Spacey reprising his role) the main character and make a film about him committing his murders. You start with Victor (the "sloth" victim), showing how Doe kept him alive for one year, pumping him with antibiotics and later, severing his hand. You show Doe killing, torturing and mutilating all of his victims and you present that side of the story. Fans would be familiar with the foot chase scene (the best foot chase in film history, by the way), as the scene where the two films would overlap and instead of having the climax be the ride to the country with Mills and Somerset, have it be Doe's killing of Tracy. Everything Fincher touches turns to gold nowadays, so if you put him at the helm, it'd be great. This is just a pipe dream, but if it happens, you heard it here first.

In closing, let me say this. I always say here on the blog that I "don't deal in definites" when it comes to TOP 20 list making. However, "Se7en" is one that I guarantee will have a spot on my next TOP 20 list - there's no denying that fact. It's one of "my movies", it's one of the films that I fell in love with upon first viewing and it was instrumental in keeping me inside video stores for the better part of my teenage years and beyond, searching for more films that gave me the same feelings, put me into the same dark & dreary atmospheres and provided me with the same amount of suspense as it did. Since starting THE BOOK, my tastes have developed and I've expanded my horizons as far as the types of movies that I enjoy, but "Se7en" is always going to be one of those that gets a free pass from me. There has rarely been a movie that I've dubbed, "Better than Se7en". In fact, for the longest time, it was my second favorite film behind.............well, we'll get to THAT film.


RATING: 10/10  Did you even have to ask what I'd give this? In reality, there probably are a few flaws with "Se7en", but I just don't see them.

MOVIES WATCHED: 451
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 550

May 13, 2012  1:03am

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