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Post by teleadm on Dec 11, 2020 19:26:25 GMT
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger as it says on the titles or David Copperfield 1935 directed by George Cukor and based on Charles Dickens famous novel. Starring Freddie Barthelomew, Frank Lawton, W.C. Fields, Edna May Oliver, Basil Rathbone, Una O'Connor, Lionel Barrymore, Elsa Lancaster, Roland Young, Lewis Stone, Maureen O'Sullivan and many other famous faces known to fans of older movies. This is what the old movie studios could do so well back then, take a famous novel and make a very good movie out of it, even if they had to scale down on some characters and events. On a personal level, I hadn't seen it since the early 1970's, and it's funny how one remembers some things, and forgets some things, and how much more I remembered from the first part and lesser from the second part. Could be that young Freddie made more of an impression than the rather bland Frank Lawton. as did Edna May's Aunt Betsey, Rathbone's Murdstone, Fields' Micawber and Young's Uriah Heep (I liked their music once), but somehow my memory somehow omitted the whole Peggotty part. During the titles sequence they play Christmas sounding hymns... I love this movie for the most of the time, so what if W.C. Fields accent is wrong, English is English in my ears.  _01.jpg)  /_derived_jpg_q90_584x800_m0/DavidCopperfield1935-Still2.jpg) 
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Post by Salzmank on Dec 11, 2020 19:53:23 GMT
The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger as it says on the titles or David Copperfield 1935 directed by George Cukor and based on Charles Dickens famous novel. Starring Freddie Barthelomew, Frank Lawton, W.C. Fields, Edna May Oliver, Basil Rathbone, Una O'Connor, Lionel Barrymore, Elsa Lancaster, Roland Young, Lewis Stone, Maureen O'Sullivan and many other famous faces known to fans of older movies. This is what the old movie studios could do so well back then, take a famous novel and make a very good movie out of it, even if they had to scale down on some characters and events. On a personal level, I hadn't seen it since the early 1970's, and it's funny how one remembers some things, and forgets some things, and how much more I remembered from the first part and lesser from the second part. Could be that young Freddie made more of an impression than the rather bland Frank Lawton. as did Edna May's Aunt Betsey, Rathbone's Murdstone, Fields' Micawber and Young's Uriah Heep (I liked their music once), but somehow my memory somehow omitted the whole Peggotty part. During the titles sequence they play Christmas sounding hymns... I love this movie for the most of the time, so what if W.C. Fields accent is wrong, English is English in my ears. I just recently rewatched this as well, tele, for the first time since childhood. (I saw it with my grandfather, to whom I’m eternally grateful for sparking my love of “old movies.”) It really is wonderful—a pared-down adaptation with definite flaws and slow parts, but altogether just loads of fun. It’s funny, I remembered the first part more than the second part too. Possibly because Rathbone’s Mr. Murdstone terrified me as a child? But also, as you say, definitely because Freddie Bartholomew gives an amazing performance as young David and is just much more fun around Oliver, Fields, Barrymore, et al., than Lawton. And with that said, Roland Young’s Uriah Heep is just so good (at being bad), so good. Fields’ performance, meanwhile, is fantastic throughout, but never more so than when Micawber finally stands up to Heep. As much as I love Fields as a comedian, his dramatic roles like this are just as good. Great, great film. Dickens is such fun, isn’t he?
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Post by teleadm on Dec 11, 2020 19:56:38 GMT
Without a Clue (1988). I ordered the DVD from Netflix. I love all things Sherlock Holmes ... from the original Conan Doyle writings, to the film/TV interpretations, and including the presentations that "take license" with the character set-up, as we know it. In this comedy, Michael Caine is Sherlock Holmes/Richard Kincade. And, Ben Kingsley is Dr. Watson, who is the REAL genius sleuth. Watson found actor Kincade, and convinced him to play the role of a famous detective which would free his (Watson's) time for concentration on cases. Mrs. Hudson, and Professor Moriarty, are the only two who know the truth. Caine is great as the hapless/hopeless Holmes. And, Kingsley plays his role with a lovely dignified humor. There's a little more slapstick than I'm crazy about, but it fits. 8/10. I liked this movie too, it played with a lot of old clichés.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Dec 12, 2020 18:48:41 GMT
Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (2020).  
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Post by Salzmank on Dec 13, 2020 4:41:27 GMT
I did my yearly rewatch of Christmas in Connecticut (1945, dir. Peter Godfrey) today.  I’ve loved this one forever, and it’s never disappointed me. It’s charming and hilarious and makes me want to move to a farm in Connecticut, ride in a one-horse open sleigh o’er the fields of snow, go to barn dances, and forget the cares of the world. Barbara Stanwyck is so much fun here, with magnificent comic timing as she slips on her cover story. Sidney Greenstreet, meanwhile, is jovial and likable even at his most enraged, and “Cuddles” Sakall gets some of his most memorable lines ever (from “Catastroph’!” to “Flip-flop the flapjacks” to the beautifully-delivered “Fat man!”). Reginald Gardiner gets a chance to shine as Stanywck’s unbelievably boring fiancé. And, sure, Dennis Morgan may be bland, but he’s at least serviceable, and even gets to show off acting and comedy chops at the very end. This is not, I should note, some amazing film that rewrote the history of cinema. It doesn’t boast a great name-director or famous writers; it certainly lacks the pedigree that the similar Remember the Night does. It’s just a sweet little ’40s comedy—but it’s a very well-done sweet little ’40s comedy, which (I know from experience) succeeds in cracking up even modern jaded audience-members, and leaving smiles on their faces. I just love it. |
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Post by kijii on Dec 13, 2020 5:13:08 GMT
Se7en (1995) / David Fincher
I liked "the look" of this color film-noir (neo-noir) more than the story. The filming is almost always shot "as if" it where a rainy night in New York City. Most of the grim images are hidden in the damp darkness of closed spaces. One can't help but notice that the two cops (Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt) always have flashlights when they need them in these spaces. It is these flashlights--almost lighting like lazars, rather than the usual light displacement from source to image--that present the revealed scenes as if they were in a spotlight. The imaging is tinged with yellowish hues rather than the usual visible spectrum. This yellowish hue gives the film a bile-like feeling ( associated with anger and gloominess) which enhances the overall feeling to the emotions of the story. Richard Francis-Bruce was Oscar-nominated for Best Film Editing.  Plot Summary from Wikipedia with SPOILERS: Soon-to-retire detective William Somerset is partnered with short-tempered but idealistic David Mills, who has recently moved to an unnamed large city with his wife Tracy. After forming a friendship with Somerset, Tracy confides to him that she is pregnant and has yet to tell Mills, as she is unhappy with the city and feels it is no place to raise a child. Somerset sympathizes, having had a similar situation with his ex-girlfriend many years earlier, and advises her to tell Mills only if she plans to keep the child.
Somerset and Mills investigate a set of murders inspired by the seven deadly sins: a morbidly obese man forced to eat until his stomach burst, representing gluttony, and a criminal defense attorney killed after being forced to cut a pound of flesh from himself, representing greed. Clues at the murder scenes lead them to a suspect's apartment, where they find a third victim, a drug dealer and child molester, strapped to a bed, emaciated and barely alive, representing sloth. The third victim is in critical condition and in no way would be able to answer any questions asked from Somerset and Mills. Daily photographs of the victim, taken over a year, show the crimes were planned far in advance.
The detectives use library records to identify a John Doe and track him to his apartment. Doe flees and Mills gives chase, during which Mills falls from a fire escape and injures his arm. Mills searches a truck before being struck in the head with a tire iron. While he is incapacitated, Doe walks up and holds Mills at gunpoint for a moment before escaping. The apartment contains hundreds of notebooks revealing Doe's psychopathy, as well as a clue to another murder. The detectives arrive too late to stop a man forced by Doe at gunpoint to kill a prostitute by raping her with a custom-made, bladed strap-on, representing lust. The following day, they attend the scene of a fifth victim, a model whose face has been mutilated by Doe; she was given the option to call for help and live disfigured, or commit suicide by taking pills, representing pride.
As Somerset and Mills return to the police station, Doe turns himself in, covered in the blood of an unidentified victim. Doe offers to take the detectives to the final two victims and confess to the murders, but only under specific terms, or he will plead insanity. Somerset is wary, but Mills agrees.
Doe's directions lead the detectives to a remote deserted location, and within minutes, a delivery van approaches. Mills holds Doe at gunpoint while Somerset intercepts the driver, who says he was instructed to bring a box to them. Doe begins to taunt Mills, telling him how envious he was of his life with Tracy. Somerset opens the box and, in a sudden panic, warns Mills to stay back. Doe states that his sin was envy, and Tracy died as a result. Her head is in the box, he says, and she was pregnant. Despite Somerset's warnings, Mills fatally shoots Doe, representing wrath, and completing Doe's plan. Somerset and the police captain watch as the devastated Mills is taken away, and Somerset offers Mills help. When the captain asks where he'll be, Somerset replies, "Around." Seven days, seven deadly sins orchestrated by one killer. One could become bored with the story until the final scene, after the killer reveals himself:  David Mills (Brad Pitt) : Wait, I thought all you did was kill innocent people.
John Doe (Kevin Spacey) : Innocent? Is that supposed to be funny? An obese man... a disgusting man who could barely stand up; a man who if you saw him on the street, you'd point him out to your friends so that they could join you in mocking him; a man, who if you saw him while you were eating, you wouldn't be able to finish your meal. After him, I picked the lawyer and I know you both must have been secretly thanking me for that one. This is a man who dedicated his life to making money by lying with every breath that he could muster to keeping murderers and rapists on the streets!
David Mills : Murderers?
John Doe : A woman...
David Mills : Murderers, John, like yourself?
John Doe : [interrupts] A woman... so ugly on the inside she couldn't bear to go on living if she couldn't be beautiful on the outside. A drug dealer, a drug dealing pederast, actually! And let's not forget the disease-spreading whore! 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. Well, not anymore. I'm setting the example. What I've done is going to be puzzled over and studied and followed... forever.
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Post by gw on Dec 13, 2020 5:46:20 GMT
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Post by hi224 on Dec 13, 2020 7:48:16 GMT
What did you think of the movie? Did you see it in a theater? It seems to be a biopic with many of Hollywood's best-known people of the time. I liked it. 7/10 I didn’t see it in a theater, I streamed it. Did you like Oldman?.
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Post by jeffersoncody on Dec 13, 2020 11:45:36 GMT
EDGE OF THE CITY (1957) with John Cassavetes, Sidney Poitier, Jack Warden, Ruby Dee, Kathleen Maguire and Ruth White, directed by Martin Ritt. My Rating: 8 out of 10. Recommended. On DVD. Widely respected director Martin Ritt's gritty first feature film - much of it shot on location, is a gripping New York dockland-set tale somewhat reminiscent of * ON THE WATERFRONT and well worth tracking down. In what must be one of the US screen's first depictions of an interracial friendship (the film is certainly groundbreaking in its portrayal of the Poitier character), Cassavetes and Poitier play two longshoremen who are exploited by their corrupt, brutal boss (played by Warden). * This film may well be the blacklisted Ritt's retort to the Kazan film - which was an allegorical work defending his decision to name names before the House of the Un-American Activities Committee hearings by Joseph McCarthy).    
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Post by movielover on Dec 13, 2020 15:06:27 GMT
I liked it. 7/10 I didn’t see it in a theater, I streamed it. Did you like Oldman?. Yes. It took a little time to warm up to his performance, but once I got who his character really was, I did like Oldman.
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Post by kijii on Dec 14, 2020 5:10:26 GMT
The Game (1997) / David Fincher
One brother sends his older brother down the "rabbit hole" on a virtual trip to Hell: The Game.
Conrad (Sean Penn): This is for you.
Nicholas (Michael Douglas): You shouldn't have.
Conrad : What do you get for the man who has... everything?
Nicholas : [reading card] "Consumer Recreation Services." Well, I do have golf clubs.
Conrad : Call that number.
Nicholas : Why?
Conrad : Make your life... fun.
Nicholas : Fun.
Conrad : You know what that is... uh, you've seen other people have it.
 Jim Feingold (James Rebhorn) : The game is tailored specifically to each participant. Think of it as a great vacation, except you don't go to it, it comes to you.
Jim Feingold : We're like an experiential Book-of-the-Month Club.
Nicholas : No, what is this? What are you... selling?
Jim Feingold : Oh. It's a game.
 Wikipedia plot summary with SPOILERS:
Nicholas Van Orton, a wealthy investment banker, is estranged from his ex-wife and his younger brother, Conrad. He is haunted by having seen his father commit suicide on his father's 48th birthday. For Nicholas's own 48th birthday, Conrad presents Nicholas with an unusual gift—a voucher for a game offered by a company called Consumer Recreation Services (CRS). Conrad promises that it will change his life.
Nicholas has doubts about CRS, but he meets fellow bankers who enjoyed the game. He goes to the CRS offices to apply and is irritated by the lengthy and time-consuming series of psychological and physical examinations required. He is later informed that his application has been rejected. Soon Nicholas begins to believe that his business, reputation, finances, and safety are at risk. He encounters a waitress, Christine, who appears to have been endangered by the game. Nicholas contacts the police, but they find the CRS offices abandoned.
Eventually, Conrad appears at Nicholas's house and apologizes, claiming he has come under attack by CRS. With no one else to turn to, Nicholas finds Christine's home. He discovers she is a CRS employee and her apartment was fake. Christine says they are being watched. Nicholas attacks a camera, and armed CRS personnel swarm the house and fire upon them. Nicholas and Christine flee. Christine tells him CRS has drained his bank accounts using the psychological tests to guess his passwords. Panicking, Nicholas calls his bank, gives a verification code and is told his balance is zero. He realizes she has drugged him. As he loses consciousness, she admits she is part of the scam and he made a fatal mistake saying his verification code.
Nicholas wakes entombed alive in a cemetery in Mexico. He sells his gold watch to return to the US, where he finds his mansion foreclosed and most of his possessions removed. He is told Conrad has been committed to a mental institution due to a nervous breakdown. He retrieves a hidden gun and seeks the aid of his ex-wife. While talking with her and apologizing for his neglect, he discovers Jim Feingold, the CRS employee who conducted his tests, is an actor working in television advertisements. He locates Feingold and forces him to find the real CRS office. He takes Christine hostage and demands to be taken to the head of CRS. Attacked by CRS guards, Nicholas takes Christine to the roof and bars the door. The guards begin cutting through the door. Christine realizes Nicholas's gun is not a prop and is terrified. She frantically tells him it is a part of the game, his finances are intact, and his family and friends are waiting on the other side of the door. He refuses to believe her.
The door bursts open, and Nicholas shoots the first person to emerge—Conrad, bearing an open bottle of champagne. Devastated over accidentally killing Conrad, Nicholas leaps off the roof but lands on a giant air cushion. He is greeted by Conrad, who is alive, and the rest of the people from the game; everything had been staged. Conrad tells him this is his birthday present and that he arranged it to help Nicholas become a better person and embrace life. After a birthday party with friends, Christine declines Nicholas's offer for a date as she has another job in Australia. She offers instead to have coffee with him at the airport.
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Post by kijii on Dec 14, 2020 5:37:05 GMT
EDGE OF THE CITY (1957) with John Cassavetes, Sidney Poitier, Jack Warden, Ruby Dee, Kathleen Maguire and Ruth White, directed by Martin Ritt. My Rating: 8 out of 10. Recommended. On DVD. Much respected director Martin Ritt's gritty first feature film - much of shot location, is a gripping New York dockland-set tale somewhat reminiscent of * ON THE WATERFRONT and well worth tracking down. In what must be one of the US screen's first depictions of an interracial friendship (the film is certainly groundbreaking in its portrayal of the Poitier character), Cassavetes and Poitier play two longshoremen who are exploited by their corrupt, brutal boss (played by Warden). * This film may well be the blacklisted Ritt's retort to the Kazan film - which was an allegorical work defending his decision to name names before the House of the Un-American Activities Committee hearings by Joseph McCarthy). I made a special point of seeing all of Martin Ritt's movies [pages 52-62 of this thread]. VERY good director!!
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Post by jeffersoncody on Dec 14, 2020 5:52:03 GMT
EDGE OF THE CITY (1957) with John Cassavetes, Sidney Poitier, Jack Warden, Ruby Dee, Kathleen Maguire and Ruth White, directed by Martin Ritt. My Rating: 8 out of 10. Recommended. On DVD. Much respected director Martin Ritt's gritty first feature film - much of shot location, is a gripping New York dockland-set tale somewhat reminiscent of * ON THE WATERFRONT and well worth tracking down. In what must be one of the US screen's first depictions of an interracial friendship (the film is certainly groundbreaking in its portrayal of the Poitier character), Cassavetes and Poitier play two longshoremen who are exploited by their corrupt, brutal boss (played by Warden). * This film may well be the blacklisted Ritt's retort to the Kazan film - which was an allegorical work defending his decision to name names before the House of the Un-American Activities Committee hearings by Joseph McCarthy). I made a special point of seeing all of Martin Ritt's movies. VERY good director!! Me too, he was a wonderfully intelligent and sensitive director. The first film of his I saw was the deeply affecting 1972 SOUNDER, which I watched at a beautiful old cinema - with a giant screen and blue velvet curtains. Two years later I saw CONRACK, followed by THE FRONT, CASEY'S SHADOW and NORMA RAE. Being a movie mad teenager in the seventies meant I got to see so many great films on the big screen. .jpg)
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Post by wickedkittiesmom on Dec 14, 2020 10:29:53 GMT
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, an annual holiday favorite, watched at 1:00am this morning (woke up and couldn't go back to sleep).
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Dec 14, 2020 21:25:29 GMT
The Game (1997) / David Fincher
One brother sends his older brother down the "rabbit hole" on a virtual trip to Hell: The Game.
Conrad (Sean Penn): This is for you.
Nicholas (Michael Douglas): You shouldn't have.
Conrad : What do you get for the man who has... everything?
Nicholas : [reading card] "Consumer Recreation Services." Well, I do have golf clubs.
Conrad : Call that number.
Nicholas : Why?
Conrad : Make your life... fun.
Nicholas : Fun.
Conrad : You know what that is... uh, you've seen other people have it.
Jim Feingold (James Rebhorn) : The game is tailored specifically to each participant. Think of it as a great vacation, except you don't go to it, it comes to you.
Jim Feingold : We're like an experiential Book-of-the-Month Club.
Nicholas : No, what is this? What are you... selling?
Jim Feingold : Oh. It's a game.
Wikipedia plot summary with SPOILERS:
Nicholas Van Orton, a wealthy investment banker, is estranged from his ex-wife and his younger brother, Conrad. He is haunted by having seen his father commit suicide on his father's 48th birthday. For Nicholas's own 48th birthday, Conrad presents Nicholas with an unusual gift—a voucher for a game offered by a company called Consumer Recreation Services (CRS). Conrad promises that it will change his life.
Nicholas has doubts about CRS, but he meets fellow bankers who enjoyed the game. He goes to the CRS offices to apply and is irritated by the lengthy and time-consuming series of psychological and physical examinations required. He is later informed that his application has been rejected. Soon Nicholas begins to believe that his business, reputation, finances, and safety are at risk. He encounters a waitress, Christine, who appears to have been endangered by the game. Nicholas contacts the police, but they find the CRS offices abandoned.
Eventually, Conrad appears at Nicholas's house and apologizes, claiming he has come under attack by CRS. With no one else to turn to, Nicholas finds Christine's home. He discovers she is a CRS employee and her apartment was fake. Christine says they are being watched. Nicholas attacks a camera, and armed CRS personnel swarm the house and fire upon them. Nicholas and Christine flee. Christine tells him CRS has drained his bank accounts using the psychological tests to guess his passwords. Panicking, Nicholas calls his bank, gives a verification code and is told his balance is zero. He realizes she has drugged him. As he loses consciousness, she admits she is part of the scam and he made a fatal mistake saying his verification code.
Nicholas wakes entombed alive in a cemetery in Mexico. He sells his gold watch to return to the US, where he finds his mansion foreclosed and most of his possessions removed. He is told Conrad has been committed to a mental institution due to a nervous breakdown. He retrieves a hidden gun and seeks the aid of his ex-wife. While talking with her and apologizing for his neglect, he discovers Jim Feingold, the CRS employee who conducted his tests, is an actor working in television advertisements. He locates Feingold and forces him to find the real CRS office. He takes Christine hostage and demands to be taken to the head of CRS. Attacked by CRS guards, Nicholas takes Christine to the roof and bars the door. The guards begin cutting through the door. Christine realizes Nicholas's gun is not a prop and is terrified. She frantically tells him it is a part of the game, his finances are intact, and his family and friends are waiting on the other side of the door. He refuses to believe her.
The door bursts open, and Nicholas shoots the first person to emerge—Conrad, bearing an open bottle of champagne. Devastated over accidentally killing Conrad, Nicholas leaps off the roof but lands on a giant air cushion. He is greeted by Conrad, who is alive, and the rest of the people from the game; everything had been staged. Conrad tells him this is his birthday present and that he arranged it to help Nicholas become a better person and embrace life. After a birthday party with friends, Christine declines Nicholas's offer for a date as she has another job in Australia. She offers instead to have coffee with him at the airport. I just rewatched this for the first time in a long time last week when it was on TV here. What'd you think of it? I actually quite enjoy it (even after having seen it before and knowing how it turns out/ends).
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Post by teleadm on Dec 15, 2020 7:06:03 GMT
The Bells of St Mary's 1945 directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby, Ingrid Bergman, Henry Travers, William Gargan, Ruth Donnelly, Rhys Williams, Una O'Connor and others. Father O'Malley (Crosby), the unconventional priest from 'Going My Way', continues his work for the Catholic Church. This time he is sent to St. Mary's, a run-down parochial school on the verge of condemnation. He and Sister Benedict (Bergman) work together in an attempt to save the school, though their differing methods often lead to good-natured disagreements. Revisited another movie I hadn't seen in ages and apparently didn't remember much of. Somehow they have managed to keep it away from becoming too syrupy and too preachy and keeps it light enough all the way through, at least until it's discovered that Sister Benedict have TBC. Since Crosby and Bergman obviously can't fall in love it concentrates more on the disagreements between those two. It's a well made movie with a friendly tone, strangely it seems to have been made in Arizona, and both Crosby and Bergman are pleasant to watch. Since it had it's American premiere in December 1945 could be the reason it's associated as being a Christmas movie, because in the movie there is only an around 10 minutes sequence dealing with the Christmas season.     A bit trivia: The production was overseen by a Catholic priest who served as an advisor during the shooting. While the final farewell sequence was being filmed, Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman decided to play a prank on him. They asked director Leo McCarey to allow one more take, and, as "Father O'Malley" and "Sister Benedict" said their last goodbyes, they embraced in a passionate kiss, while the offscreen priest-advisor jumped up roaring in protest.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on Dec 15, 2020 7:38:18 GMT
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Post by senan90 on Dec 15, 2020 22:31:37 GMT
The Incident (1967)    A devastating emotional experience. A gritty and uncompromising look into social politics and society were an ensemble of people, inhabited by their fears, weaknesses, prejudices and vices, are confronted and confined by a pair of thugs on a subway train featuring stellar performances from Tony Muscante and Martin Sheen. The films builds up the psychological tension into the inevitable violent outburst. You are glued to the screen and cannot hold back as the pressure mounts. Underrated, and a brilliant introduction to the New Wave of American cinema in the late '60s. Unbelievably, The Incident received no awards or nominations from the Academy. 5/5 |
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Post by Prime etc. on Dec 16, 2020 0:03:57 GMT
Rewatched THE SWORD OF SHERWOOD FOREST 1960--The highlight of it is Peter Cushing's sheriff, ruthless and treacherous, though he exits it rather surprisingly before the finale. The main villain is Richard Pasco as a nobleman who admires Robin Hood as much as he despises the sheriff. The authentic locations gives it some advantages-I also like Nigel Green and Niall MacGinnis in the roles of Little John and Friar Tuck. Sarah Branch is an anonymous Maid Marian and possibly dubbed but she is fine in the part--being more of a political mediator than the 1938 version. As for Richard Greene he is ok, though I think he doesn't do as much to stand out compared with the rest of the cast of Hammer regulars.
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Post by kijii on Dec 16, 2020 5:28:12 GMT
Fight Club (1999) / David Fincher
Rarely does one come across a movie this original and thought-provoking.
As far as rich dialogue is concerned, this movie ranks up there with Paddy Chayefsky's Network.
Some times you have to be a bit nihilistic. 
Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) : Man, I see in fight club the strongest and smartest men who've ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see squandering. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need. We're the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War's a spiritual war... our Great Depression is our lives. We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.
Tyler Durden : Warning: If you are reading this then this warning is for you. Every word you read of this useless fine print is another second off your life. Don't you have other things to do? Is your life so empty that you honestly can't think of a better way to spend these moments? Or are you so impressed with authority that you give respect and credence to all that claim it? Do you read everything you're supposed to read? Do you think every thing you're supposed to think? Buy what you're told to want? Get out of your apartment. Meet a member of the opposite sex. Stop the excessive shopping and masturbation. Quit your job. Start a fight. Prove you're alive. If you don't claim your humanity you will become a statistic. You have been warned- Tyler.
Tyler Durden : We're consumers. We are by-products of a lifestyle obsession. Murder, crime, poverty, these things don't concern me. What concerns me are celebrity magazines, television with 500 channels, some guy's name on my underwear. Rogaine, Viagra, Olestra.
Great IMDb user review but with SPOILERS: >>
We should actually talk about the Fight Club
ArthvrPendrag0n17 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Fight Club is one of those movies that hits the spot without missing an inch of it. The nameless narrator (Edward Norton) is an insomniac office worker who lives a materialistic life. From the very beginning the movie comments on the capitalist nature of society by portraiting how consumerism moves the world, but is unable to give relief in the end. Flipping through catalogues of new furnite for his apartment were the narrator's only personality trait. To fight against his insomnia he starts attending to support groups. By lying to people, pretending he has conditions he does not have, the narrator finds relief - the emotional acceptance he finds in the support groups is enough to allow him to sleep at night. The emotional complexity of the character is nothing unrealistic. David Fincher makes a subtle, yet clear, comment on the nature of materialist societies where no one really listens to each other nor care about each other. The system doesn't care about anyone, the distance between people - especially enhanced by how they function in the capitalist world - is a major plot point. However, when the narrator is finds someone who's a faker just like him he loses his emotional escape - " Her lie reflected my lie. Suddenly, I felt nothing. I couldn't cry, so once again I couldn't sleep".
Shortly after Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) is introduced into the story, the main character loses everything he valued. Deprived of his possessions he seeks solace in the company of a man who is the polar opposite of what he is. If the narrator is a worker who's way too worried about his condo and his job, Tyler is a freewheeling soapmaker who couldn't care less about all those things. The contrast between them is clear; Tyler refuses any consumerist logic from the narrator whilst making he see how futile is the lifestyle he was leading - "Right. We are consumers. We're the by-products of a lifestyle obsession." The characters here portraid are so different because one of them is free, while the other is not. Tyler, in a nihilistic way, helps the narrator realize that his existence is meaningless enough - something that is clearly displayed in the capitalist world - that all they can do is giving up everything. The self-destruction promoted by the Fight Club is ironically what allows the narrator - as well as many other frustrated men - to find solace in their mundane life. Little by little the narrator is stripping himself off his previous beliefs about job, about behavior and the value of things. It's interesting to note that the narrator doesn't quit his job immediately, picturing how hard it is actually to cut ties with the system - he eventually does though.
Many subtopics are discussed through the movie. We see the narrator and Tyler, now living together, talking about many things. They talk about how both had an absent father, how both lacked a sense of direction in life at some point and were told to follow the common sense - "He says, 'get a job'. So, I'm 25, I call again and say, 'now what?' He says, 'I dunno. Get married". The nature of the system we live in tells us what to do since the moment we're born, while both of them agree on that, they also agree that this is all a great waste of time. It's important to notice though that both them had no significant connections with other people, especially with women as Tyler comments - "We're a generation of men raised by women. I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer we need".
As the club grows the movie delves even deeper in those reflections about what really matters in life - "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy s**t we don't need". Tyler becomes the source of inspiration for everyone who attends to the fight club; everyone is much more like the narrator, but they're striving to be more like him. At some point, Tyler decides that the club is meant to be something bigger - what he would call Project Mayhem. While the original Fight Club was something kept like a secret idealized to give some sort of freedom, through self-destruction, to its members, Project Mayhem is about declaring a fight against the system. The frustrated collective consciousness was the straw that broke the camel's back - "We've all been raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won't. And we're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pi**ed off". However, the narrator starts to slowly go against what Tyler was meaning to do - kinda of recalling a bit of his past self and a sort of respect for the authority of society - and when this happen it's the moment the movie reaches its climax.
The genius of the movie is displayed when we discover that Tyler Durden and the narrator are the same person, they have always been the same person. Due to his declining mental health and his rather meaningless life, he created an alter-ego - someone capable of manifesting everything he wasn't as a system abiding person. The contrast created by Tyler's different personalities is amazing to watch as the truth unfolds; and the ambivalence created when we discover the truth about Tyler Durden is even more marvelous. This movie portraits very well how a person can reach the extremes of their mind in a system that overlooks the relevance of your very existence - when you become just a number, just a braindead member of society, having your hopes and wishes constantly ignored. In the end Tyler recovers his sanity only to see that his actions can't be reverted - so he only stands by and watches. The final scene is beautiful; what could be bettar than watching the system crumbling before your eyes while "Where is my Mind" plays? This movie is a masterpiece and it is so entrancing because of how real it is - in the end the movie shows many things we know and think but tend to keep hidden. It is provocative, funny and thrilling and most importantly: It is so damn real. The plot aged perfectly and I don't think it is going to get old so soon - this movie is a must watch.
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