Choke
Fox Searchlight
8/10
I’d like to start out by saying, fuck all you people who go to movies and say, “The book was better.” I don’t read many books…ok, I mean any books. You’re not going to somehow convince me to read it by saying it was better than the movie. I want to see a movie- I like the visuals, the sounds, the interpretation of one man’s thoughts portrayed through someone else’s mind.
That being said, this movie was excellent. It didn’t bank on big name actors or insane visual effects that have plagued Hollywood for some time now. I can’t even begin to count how many versions of Last Action Hero I’ve seen in the past ten years. This movie was one of the most fucked up and twisted love stories I have ever witnessed- a sex addict’s struggle to find himself.
The story starts with a bang, literally. It then goes through the life of the main character Victor, and the struggles that stemmed from his childhood. Most of his younger years were spent dealing with his psychotic mother who eventually ends up in a mental hospital and continually manages to make Victor’s life suck. But through the darkness, he is a man obsessed with making people feel like heroes. Kind of strange, right? He doesn’t want to be a hero, he doesn’t even really attempt to be known in the world, and yet throughout the movie he is constantly saving others through his bizarre habits. If it wasn’t for the Angels losing to Boston around the corner from the theatre, I imagine there would have been a lot more people watching it. It’s worth your 10 spot.
And if you are a reader looking to add something weird and wild to your book collection, check out more of Chuck Palahniuk’s stuff. Everything else he does is equally as whacked…at least that’s what I’m told.
Sean Pullin