"I want you to hit YOURSELF as hard as you can"

(Fight Club)

Has this been a bizarre year for flickage, or what?

We've experienced the unorthodox but effective ("Blair W.P."). We've been treated to a creepy horror/supernatural film with startling twists ("6th Sense"). And we've had a lame Antonio Banderas film ("13th Warr…..oh, wait, that's not bizarre.

Well, guess what? That's right. Prepare for even more weirdness. And it seems strange to me that Hollywood, who's been sinking lately with a lot of crappy films, would suddenly wake up and discover its creativity in the final year of the century. Ironically though, it turns out that they didn't have to travel to the 'quest for fire' jungles of Zimbabwe to find the good stuff……it was there in Hollyweird the whole time, and its name is

David Fincher.

Ring a bell?

He's that twisted mind who shocked and entertained us with recent films "Se7en" and "The Game". And I am thrilled to announce his 'return'….and its as warped as ever.

With "Se7en" he messed with our emotions, stapled us to the edge of our seats and boxed up Gwenyth Paltrow's head. He then frustrated us and re-invented the 2nd guessing game with "The Game".

I guess the only thing left is to piss us off while questioning our sanity.

Enter "Fight Club".

Enter a bitch of a film to review for sake of not giving anything away. Yes, we have pretty boy/hunk/sexy stud/god of men/chic magnet Me…er…Brad Pitt paired up with awesome actor of the now and the future, Edward Norton ("Primal Fear", "American History X"…for those in Zimbabwe), and we have a lot of hand to face combat, but all that is simply a disguise to what's underneath, to the theme/plot/point of this film. But that's what I can't reveal. What I CAN tell you about is the 'bare bones club'.

Norton plays a financially secure office dweller who joins every self help, 'listen to me I am dying' group in the city in hopes to cure his insomnia. This eventually leads him to stud biscuit Pitt who turns his life around…..and sells soap (hell, even the soap has a sub-story). Anyway, they move in together and beat the crap out of each other for kicks. Turns out, crap beating is fun for every other hard working, no-life shmuck in the city (hence, the Fight Club), and soon the club turns into a Saturday evening 'physical' therapy session.

The surface would suggest the film is about letting aggressions out, but that's far from it. Instead, we're talkin' about the human spirit here. We're talkin' about setting life long goals and doing whatever it takes to follow through with them, even if that means gun-point being the motivation.

Throw in gothic, artsy actress, Helena Bonham-Carter ("Wings of the dove"), and you have three twisted people, a lot of violence, noisy sex, and the destruction of all the credit companies.

Sounding bizarre yet?

Well, that's all I can say…….except for that its dark, fast paced, brutal, profane and exciting.

B


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