Mateusz C
Choke definitely missed it's necessary sharp character, it's not half as amusing or dark as it should be in the first place
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
07/25/23
Full Review
wayne k
The main thing that drew me to Choke was the fact that the book its based on was written by Chuck Palahniuk. The man also penned Fight Club, the basis for one of my all-time favourite films, and a book I really enjoyed when I finally got round to reading it. Choke wasn't as good as Fight Club, but I still enjoyed watching it, if indeed it's a film that you can truly enjoy. Sam Rockwell does great work in bringing his despicable character to life, and allowing us to go from detesting him to pitying him to even feeling sympathy for him. The film's greatest strength is its humanisation of addicts, and its demonstration that they have lives and proclivities outside of just whatever they consume to get their fix. Society tends to define these people by their vices, and put them all in a box together, despite the fact that're their all individuals, with their own stories and personalities. The title is somewhat misleading, as it's the facet of our leads life that's given the least attention, but I guess calling it ‘Bang' would have been too obvious. It's oddly funny and touching when it need to be, but there's a sense that it could have dived a lot deeper and explored much more uncovered ground. It's occasional flippancy doesn't lend itself to psychological intrigue, which would have made the film much more engrossing. It's not surprising that it's held in lesser esteem than the likes of Fight Club, but if you're a Palahniuk fan, or you're just looking for some messed up fun, I'd say give Choke a watch.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
dave s
Despite a great cast (Sam Rockwell, Kelly MacDonald, Anjelica Huston, etc.) and some pretty wild source material (Chuck Palahniuk's novel), Choke falls flat as a film. Victor (Rockwell) is a sex addict who supplements his tour guide income by choking in restaurants and accepting money from those who are kind enough to save him. A busy boy, what with the non-stop quest for sex and all, he is also trying to establish a relationship with his dementia-ridden mother, the resident of a nursing home filled with elderly women who can't resist hitting on poor Victor. You'd figure that a film filled with addiction, sex, con games, salvation and, believe it or not, the Second Coming would be perfect fodder for some edgy black comedy, but you'd be very wrong if that's what you figured. The primary problem is the script, filled with juvenile dialogue that tries too hard to be funny and far too many scenes that serve no purpose whatsoever. To be fair, there are a couple of funny lines, but they are few and far between.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
If anything, this movie makes you appreciate even more David Fincher‘s talent, in turning the "Fight Club" novel into the cult movie we all know and love so much.
This is in fact a perfect example of how NOT to make a movie, and how to waste a great opportunity.
Because that's what this was: a great opportunity.
Choke is in fact an incredible book: it has interesting characters, who develop through the story in unpredictable ways; it is smart, very well written, and the narration and editing of the book already feels like a movie ready to be filmed.
When I first knew about the movie and the choice of having Sam Rockwell as the main character, I was super excited, I love the guy.
But what Clark Gregg delivers with this film is terrible, and it saddens me; because by directing it, he deprived us all from the opportunity of having another great cult masterpiece of a movie, like fight club was. And the novel really deserved a capable director.
The book, as I mentioned before, has layers .. it was just too much to chew for Clark Gregg, who at least years later seems to have finally acknowledged that his skills are best suited to direct pop-corn blockbusters - with basic storylines and lots of "BANGS" and "BOOOMS" and "SLAMS" CGI generated, for an audience content to have basic entertainment.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
02/26/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Under-appreciated funny movie w talented Sam Rockwell doing what he does best - flawed, off kilter characters.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
12/26/20
Full Review
Audience Member
This was a gem of a find . I was so sure I got thru everything Sam Rockwell but I guess not 4.2
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
12/16/20
Full Review
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