Choke - Page 2

Bunnylingus · 10th December 2008, 10:39am

I tend to post film reviews when I think that there's a really good film out there you shouldn't miss, and this is no exception.

Choke is directed by Clark Gregg, and I would be lying if I said that the main reason I wanted to see this was anything other than the fact that he directed Fight Club, which again was taken from a Chuck Palahniuk novel. I'll admit to never having read either Fight Club or Choke, so I can't compare this film to the book, but I'm going to seek it out anyway. The various reviews I've read have said that the two are fairly different.

So anyway, Choke focuses on Victor, (Sam Rockwell) a smart, sex addicted bachelor who devotes a large portion of his life to looking after his mother Ida (Angelica Houston) who has severe mental problems, and nine times out of ten doesn't realise it is he who is visting, calling him by the name of family friends or the family lawyer. He and his best friend Denny (Brad William Henke) work in a medieval...

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convectuoso · 10th December 2008, 2:27pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jenpot

I completely agree with this aswell, i think if you watch/read them one after the other it'd be easy to see it that way. It's like Fight Club but really..toned down, for lack of a better expression.

No worries love, you out this weekend at all? You should read Lullaby, it's better than Choke and Fight Club. Totally insane, but better.

I totally disagree with this statement, I think Lullaby is probably his weakest. It's fun, and sad, and fucked-up, but the story and conceit is pretty thin I think. It is his first "sci-fi" book though. I recommend Survivor, although it has such a fucking unsympathetic main character.

But yeah, Choke is to Fight Club what Ida in her old age is to Ida in her youth.

MarkMono · 10th December 2008, 2:32pm

Palahniuk's books are at least as good as nu-metal albums.

But hey, if Stephen King books can make great movies...

CHUCK LIDELOL · 10th December 2008, 2:38pm

They'll all good aye. Except fuckin Haunted, obviously.

convectuoso · 10th December 2008, 2:53pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHUCK LIDELOL

They'll all good aye. Except fuckin Haunted, obviously.

I well liked Haunted.

CHUCK LIDELOL · 10th December 2008, 2:55pm

Too bad.

convectuoso · 10th December 2008, 2:56pm

Don't know why everyone hates it so much - it's a good collection of short stories with a fairly decent satirical frame (although this part is pretty pointless).

CHUCK LIDELOL · 10th December 2008, 2:56pm

Nah, it's turgid unbelievable twaddle, even by his standards.

convectuoso · 10th December 2008, 3:02pm

As opposed to a song that kills people just by thinking about it?

Turgid, fair enough (but disagreed). Unbelievable? Not seeing it.

Fuck all, I know I'm in the heavy minority here.

CHUCK LIDELOL · 10th December 2008, 3:04pm

Not unbelievable? Come on. Young kid pretends to be an old guy but is actually a young kid who blackmails hot women into working for him or something. Fucking, posh cunts become junkies for a buzz etc. No buyin' it.

Rowsbette · 10th December 2008, 3:21pm

I really enjoyed the film... *sorta* liked the book as well but the style grated in places, seemed like Palahniuk was trying too hard to sound like himself.

It kinda surprised me that the film, after remaining pretty much to-the-sentence faithful throughout, omitted the conclusion of the house-building. Fair enough to leave out the whole thing, but why bother showing Victor on the news and the house half-built if it wasn't gonna follow the whole thing through to its natural conclusion?

Also, why couldn't they let Paige turn out to be a total fruitloop, as in the book? Cos that might negate the notion of a happy ending or something? Weird.

Oh, and nice review, Rachael (Y)

convectuoso · 10th December 2008, 3:31pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHUCK LIDELOL

Not unbelievable? Come on. Young kid pretends to be an old guy but is actually a young kid who blackmails hot women into working for him or something. Fucking, posh cunts become junkies for a buzz etc. No buyin' it.

It's unbelievable in the sense of, you know, reality and stuff, but for a horror novel? Fine. Plus, the disease Mr. Whittaker has is legit, and makes kids look like old folk. Kind of. Progeria, it's fucking minging.

And do you really think if you choke in a restaurant the cunt that rescues you will sort you out for life? No more unbelievable than posh cunts slumming it.

Jenpot · 10th December 2008, 3:34pm

Haunted is a disaster of a book, absolute rubbish.

Lullaby is my favourite because it seems to me to the be one with the only characters worth caring about. That's Palahniuk's main issue for me with his books, i don't really care what happens to a lot of his characters. In Lullaby, I actually gave a shit, which made it a better book.

Fiona_B · 10th December 2008, 3:35pm

aye, i like haunted too. mon yerself sean.

not the best book mind, choke was always my favourite. apparently a lot of major plot lines are left out of the film.

CHUCK LIDELOL · 10th December 2008, 3:42pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by convectuoso

It's unbelievable in the sense of, you know, reality and stuff, but for a horror novel? Fine. Plus, the disease Mr. Whittaker has is legit, and makes kids look like old folk. Kind of. Progeria, it's fucking minging.

And do you really think if you choke in a restaurant the cunt that rescues you will sort you out for life? No more unbelievable than posh cunts slumming it.

Still turgid. All his stories are fairly unlikely at best but I can accept that. With Haunted though, nah, I don't - well, I dunno if I don't buy it, but I certainly don't like it. I plan on finishing it though, for completion's sake.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jenpot

Haunted is a disaster of a book, absolute rubbish.

Lullaby is my favourite because it seems to me to the be one with the only characters worth caring about. That's Palahniuk's main issue for me with his books, i don't really care what happens to a lot of his characters. In Lullaby, I actually gave a shit, which made it a better book.

I gave a shit about Rant, which is weird's coz he never narrated, though the book was all about him, so you had plenty to empathise with.

Jenpot · 10th December 2008, 3:43pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by CHUCK LIDELOL

Still turgid. All his stories are fairly unlikely at best but I can accept that. With Haunted though, nah, I don't - well, I dunno if I don't buy it, but I certainly don't like it. I plan on finishing it though, for completion's sake.

I gave a shit about Rant, which is weird's coz he never narrated, though the book was all about him, so you had plenty to empathise with.

Actually, I tell a lie. I gave a shit about Rant too. That's it though, no-one else. There's a copy of Haunted in my room if you want it btw. I don't plan on ever finishing it.