Favorites Getting Sun-Danced

Good evening everyone.

I last updated on Friday, and today is Saturday, so I do not have anything new to go over on my school checklist. I am going to just do a movie review and gab about other mumblings.

I went to a Sundance screening of a movie last night. After work I met From Russia with Love at the Tower Theatre on 9th & 9th at about 11pm or so. She was awesome and got us tickets that morning, and we showed up early for good seats. The show itself sold out in a couple of hours and we were third or fourth in line when it came to seating. Even with the movie sold out, there were still 100+ people who showed up to be on a waiting list, so needless to say it was packed. We stood outside for about a half hour and got some coffee and munchies from next door, and chatted with other Chuck Palahniuk fans. We were seated, and the screen was small enough that we decided on the front row. That was a wise decision, because no one was in front of us and we had perfect sound/view. And for those of you who have been to the Tower Theatre, that is a rarity. We sat and watched the stupid display they had for Sundance until every one was seated, and at about 12:15 AM-ish, it was show time. So here is the review:

Choke Well, I am going to start off by saying that the book is better than the movie. It always is. This movie is an excellent adaptation however. There were only a few small changes and creative liberties for times sake. The show was pretty much step by step the book. Sam Rockwell did an excellent job as the main character. He channeled Palahniuk’s writing perfectly. The rest of the supporting cast was good as well, with the exception of the mother character. She left a little to be desired.

For those of you who are easily offended this movie is not for you. There is a LOT of vulgar/pervasive content. But what would you expect? The movie is about a sex addicts. That is incidental in the story however. The main ideas of the book, mostly the twisted and unusual take on the concept of a ‘savior’. The driving point of the book (one of my favorites by Chuck P.) is where and how do we find a ‘savior’? The main character runs a scam by pretending to choke to death in high-end restaurants, and have the wealthy patrons ‘save’ him. By the old Chinese concept that once you save someone’s life, you are responsible for that person, so they send him money and nice gifts, which he uses to pay for his mother’s mental hospital bills. They become his savior by a sort of twisted means. But that is not the only way this is explored. He has his mother’s doctor translate her diary. She finds that through some weird turn of past events he may be a direct descendant of Jesus. He of course does not want to be the savior of humanity and goes down some paths that he thinks are self destructive, and end up unintentionally parallel to that of Jesus, and craziness ensues as only Chuck P. can produce. The main questions are accurately presented: If we save someone who is pulling a scam, is it still saving? Are we saved in our lives by the highs from our addictions? Do we save ourselves through rehab and sobriety? Is a savior just a religious idea, or can we find them in the most unlikely of places? Can one surrounded by smut and pervasive behavior be saved by love?

All in all, I give it a ‘thumbs up’, but not if you are weak in the stomach. That’s a vomit down.

Thought that I would fill this post with good news. At least for myself.

T