In which I pretend to talk about Fight Club
Today's a relatively good day, because the dinner I cooked myself is edible, ie I can finish everything without feeling like crying. If this goes on well, I could save a lot of $$ next year. Of course it might also be that I'm getting more and more immune to bad food, and is therefore on my way to becoming the most non-picky person in the world. But is there a need be ever so pessimistic? It doesnt hurt to be a little self deluded once in a while.
Nothing really note worthy, just that I stayed up to read Fight Club a few nights ago and find it much better than the movie. Little surprise there actually. The movie didnt really do it for me because the violence is overly gratuitous and simply too distracting, although Im sure half the attraction of the movie lies in watching Norton and Pitt beating each other to pulp. And apparently the movie talks a lot about suppressed masculinity, not something I would readily identify with (like duh). Anyway, the thing I really dislike is the way it glorifies violence and justifies anarchy, so much so that most of the audience will go away thinking "Gosh I want to be Tyler Durden" or "I hope there's a fight club near my area" without even questioning Durdne's moral philosophy. Maybe it never occurred to the Tyler-wannables that if a Tyler Durden really exists in the society, most of them would just end up drinking pee.
This is the exactly the same reason why I was not as crazy about V for Vendetta as many of the self-acclaimed "anarchists", "nihilists", "anti-government activist" (okay so maybe I'm one of them). In fact, I dislike V the movie so much that on a scale of 10, I would give it a 4. +2 for highlighting the dangers of a government with too much power, -3 for glorifying anarchist(you call that freedom fighter?), -1 for casting Natalie Portman, and -4 for Natalie Portman with shaved head. Okay that may be personal preference but the main message still holds. Too many a time filmmakers rush to bring controversial and radical material to the big screen, hoping by doing so audience will automatically view their movies as intellectually stimulating and not as mere entertainment. But in reality how many of those filmmakers have the ability to retain the essence of the original book or graphic novel and help to get across the author's true intention to the audience? Is it even surprising that Alan Moore condemns V's screenplay as "imbecilic" and takes his name off the credit list?
I'm not saying that Fincher is not a good director, in many sense he is, but imo Fight Club (or even V) is at most just a top notch thriller that is readily heralded and embraced by people who never read news and think that just by watching a fictional movie they have suddenly become experts on current affairs.
Okay I dont know who I'm critizing, maybe myself since I fall into such traps just as easily. But back to the book, I actually find it very similar in genre to American Beauty, although it takes the issue in another direction. How much of the fight is even physical, to me it's more of a metaphorical struggle to find meaning in the otherwise "perfect" life. I also like how the book highlights the irony that although Durden kept talking about freeing men from the enslavement of day to day drudgery, none of the members of the club actually become any freer through joining Fight Club and many, in fact all except the narrator, are actually reduced to pathetic cultists.
In all fairness, despite its flaws Fight Club is still a pretty entertaining movie, just that the novel is better. I guess I'm just ranting because my favourite book of all time and my favourite graphic novel of all time are up for butchering next. For those still clueless I'm talking about Neuromancer and Watchmen. And it's no comfort at all that Neuromancer will be directed by someone who is most well known of directing Britney Spear's Toxic music video and Watchman by Zack Snyder, the one who did 300? Dont be mistaken, I love 300 because it knows its goal is to entertain and it does it well. But Watchmen is not an ordinary action movie material. I'm honestly confused now, because I dont know whether I should just give up hope now and boycott the movies or should I hope for the best and despair later. I'm also incredibly sad that Darren Aronofsky, the only director that I thought had some chance at not screwing it up, ditched the movie.
Nothing really note worthy, just that I stayed up to read Fight Club a few nights ago and find it much better than the movie. Little surprise there actually. The movie didnt really do it for me because the violence is overly gratuitous and simply too distracting, although Im sure half the attraction of the movie lies in watching Norton and Pitt beating each other to pulp. And apparently the movie talks a lot about suppressed masculinity, not something I would readily identify with (like duh). Anyway, the thing I really dislike is the way it glorifies violence and justifies anarchy, so much so that most of the audience will go away thinking "Gosh I want to be Tyler Durden" or "I hope there's a fight club near my area" without even questioning Durdne's moral philosophy. Maybe it never occurred to the Tyler-wannables that if a Tyler Durden really exists in the society, most of them would just end up drinking pee.
This is the exactly the same reason why I was not as crazy about V for Vendetta as many of the self-acclaimed "anarchists", "nihilists", "anti-government activist" (okay so maybe I'm one of them). In fact, I dislike V the movie so much that on a scale of 10, I would give it a 4. +2 for highlighting the dangers of a government with too much power, -3 for glorifying anarchist(you call that freedom fighter?), -1 for casting Natalie Portman, and -4 for Natalie Portman with shaved head. Okay that may be personal preference but the main message still holds. Too many a time filmmakers rush to bring controversial and radical material to the big screen, hoping by doing so audience will automatically view their movies as intellectually stimulating and not as mere entertainment. But in reality how many of those filmmakers have the ability to retain the essence of the original book or graphic novel and help to get across the author's true intention to the audience? Is it even surprising that Alan Moore condemns V's screenplay as "imbecilic" and takes his name off the credit list?
I'm not saying that Fincher is not a good director, in many sense he is, but imo Fight Club (or even V) is at most just a top notch thriller that is readily heralded and embraced by people who never read news and think that just by watching a fictional movie they have suddenly become experts on current affairs.
Okay I dont know who I'm critizing, maybe myself since I fall into such traps just as easily. But back to the book, I actually find it very similar in genre to American Beauty, although it takes the issue in another direction. How much of the fight is even physical, to me it's more of a metaphorical struggle to find meaning in the otherwise "perfect" life. I also like how the book highlights the irony that although Durden kept talking about freeing men from the enslavement of day to day drudgery, none of the members of the club actually become any freer through joining Fight Club and many, in fact all except the narrator, are actually reduced to pathetic cultists.
In all fairness, despite its flaws Fight Club is still a pretty entertaining movie, just that the novel is better. I guess I'm just ranting because my favourite book of all time and my favourite graphic novel of all time are up for butchering next. For those still clueless I'm talking about Neuromancer and Watchmen. And it's no comfort at all that Neuromancer will be directed by someone who is most well known of directing Britney Spear's Toxic music video and Watchman by Zack Snyder, the one who did 300? Dont be mistaken, I love 300 because it knows its goal is to entertain and it does it well. But Watchmen is not an ordinary action movie material. I'm honestly confused now, because I dont know whether I should just give up hope now and boycott the movies or should I hope for the best and despair later. I'm also incredibly sad that Darren Aronofsky, the only director that I thought had some chance at not screwing it up, ditched the movie.