CHOKE

actually viewed it a few weeks ago at a sneak preview.

very good movie....thoroughly enjoyed it. It was definitely different/akward in the way it switched from serious moments to laugh out loud moments. A lot of people did not know how they were supposed to act. I was definitely in this boat as well. The irreverent nature of Fight Club and parts of this movie makes one feel as though the sentimentality at times might be sarcastic (and so you don't want to look like a fool taking it seriously) and then you realize it is supposed to be serious. A glaring example of this is when he (SPOILER WARNING) stands next to his mother's bed when she dies and then (because he thinks he is the son of Jesus Christ) stands up with tears in his eyes and raises his hands in the air then throws his hands towards his mother's body if casting out power and shouts "LIVE, I COMMAND YOU TO LIVE." This unconventional mixture of real drama and irreverent comedy didn't bother me though, and I'm not counting it as a negative. I like a movie to be challenging and akwardly not like others, so it was a treat, but i can see how this movie will not be found appealing by most.

A value the movie has, even if you end up not liking it in its entirety, is that there are a few scenes that warrant uncontrollable laughter....and it wasn't just something i experienced, but seemed to be the entire theater.

In comparison to Fight Club the one glaring thought i was left with was..."wow, Paillahunaanieuek, has a heart." It surprised me see him as such a believer in romantic love. Then again it was the movie and not his book...

DOWNFALL

A very worthwhile and interesting WWII film. The story is about (and told from the perspective of) Hitler and his closest associates starting on 4/20/1945 and ending with the fall of Berlin.

For me it was an interesting meditation on the power relationships that were involved and the unflinching loyalty to National Socialism most of the people had. It was the first film I felt showed how all these people were real humans which i feel is important. Too often the easy route of just writing them off some sort of un-human pure-evil monster is taken - they, including the millions of people that went along with them were of the same species as you and me.