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Show Life M O V I E Monday • September 29, 2008 B3 R E V I E W S Eagle Eye Choke We get it: the government can-do lots of things Dreamworks Fox Searchlight Michelle Monaghan and Billy Bob Thornton star in the edge-of-your-seat thriller, which came out on Sept. 26. Sam Rockwell destroys everything sacred in Choke. Choke on thjs Dark comedy in its dirtiest form • L U K E HICKMAN Life writer Ever since the release of Fight Club in '99, more and more people have been turned on to the original, twisted and unbelievable writings of author Chuck Palahniuk. Each Palahniuk fan believes that every one of his books would make a perfect movie. The second movie adapted from one of his books premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Now, Choke has made its way to nationwide distribution, including Utah theaters. Sam Rockwell (Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, Matchstick Men) stars in Choke as Victor, a sex-addicted colonial reenactment character who suffers abandonment issues thanks to his dementia-stricken mother (Angelica Huston). Every time Victor visits his mother in her care facility, her sickness prevents her from seeing Victor as her son, and instead as one of the many lawyers from her past. During one of his visits, Victor's mother reveals that she needs to speak to her son to confess the real identity of his absentee father. This becomes Victor's drive through the majority of the film -- to get this informa- tion from her before she dies. On his side, a new female doctor is willing to do anything she can for Victor, who is about to begin on a journey filled with selfishness., love, deity and a lot less sex than he'd like. Choke is a dark comedy made for adults who can handle quite a bit of adult subject matter. When I saw the film at Sundance, I was sure that cuts would have to be made in order for it to receive an R rating. But there weren't. Choke remains in its pure, dark, offensive form. It wouldn't be the great movie it is without it. Though Choke is not aligned 100% with the novel (what book-turned-movie ever is?), the changes made were done well, bringing perfect justice to Palahniuk's brilliant text. As for the film, it is absolutely brilliant. As always, Rockwell gives a stellar performance. The levels of comedy and drama are perfectly blended in a way that almost turns Choke into a morality play — very strong work from actor and first time writer/ director Clark Gregg. If you're a fan of Palahniuk, then don't miss out on this great opportunity to support his work and see it brought to life. And who knows, if Choke does well in theaters, maybe they'll make Survivor into a movie next. New Michael Moore documentary free for download The controversial filmmaker releases his latest effort on the Internet. •TREVOR WILSON Life writer Award-winning director/writer/producer Michael Moore released his newest movie Slacker Uprising Tuesday on his Web site at no cost to viewers. The movie follows Moore on his college campus tour prior to the 2004 presidential election during which he unsuccessfully tried to prevent George W. Bush from being re-elected. "My goal was to help turn out a record number of young voters and others who had never voted before," said Moore in an e-mail to his newsletter subscribers. "That part was a success. Young adults voted in greater numbers than in any election since 18-year-olds were given the right to vote." Moore hopes Slacker Uprising will inspire young voters this November, and provide a thank you gift to his devoted supporters over the years. "It was clear that young people were the ones who were going to save the day," said Moore, "just as they are in this year's election." The release marks the first major full-length motion picture to be debuted for legal downloading free of charge. Moore has also given his "blanket permission" for public screenings and broadcast on local cable access channels or the web. A low-cost DVD version will also be made available for Amazon, Netflix and local stores in October. You can sign up for a free download and get links to stream the movie online at www.slackeruprising.com Dreamworks New thriller not so thrilling CJLUKE HICKMAN] Life writer Last summer, when director D.J. Carusso and poppy actor Shia LaBeouf teamed up to make Disturbia, I thought to myself, "How lame." I actually put off screening the movie until the night before it opened. But when I saw it, I was caught off guard by how fun the movie was, how it went from funny awkward teen comedy to dark disturbing thriller in a heartbeat. I loved it. And when I found out they were reteaming for Eagle Eye, I couldn't have been more excited. Eagle Eye is about this 20-something kid, Jerry Shaw (LaBeouf)- He's kind of a mess up. His life has no direction and he hasn't Dreamworks done anything with it so far. He's the complete op- Shia LaBeouf puts on a new role in Eagle Eye. posite of his active military intelligence twin brother. be set up as a terrorist and fun and lots of great action When Jerry's twin, Ethan, killed. sequences. But the second is killed in an accident, odd hour tanks into cliche and At the exact same time, things start happening. Rachel (Michelle Mon- predictability as the quesAfter leaving Ethan's aghan), a single mom who tions to the story begin to funeral, when he stops by a has just sent her son away on be revealed. The final prodbank to deposit a check, his a train to perform in a D.C. uct of the film is a horrible previously empty account concert, is contacted by the blend of Enemy Of The State balance shows he's up hun- mysterious woman on the and Stealth with plenty of dreds of thousands of dol- phone and told that if she stolen ideas from Live Free lars. When he returns home doesn't cooperate, her son's Or Die Hard. to his apartment, he finds train will be derailed. BeIf you were planning on it filled with bomb-making fore long, Jerry and Rachel seeing Eagle Eye this week, supplies, weapons and books end "up working together as save yourself the time and of military secrets. Then he pawns in this high-stakes money. And if you're just gets a phone call from a game of technological cat dying to see something mysterious woman who will and mouse. good in the theaters, my give him instructions for the recommendation is still last The first hour of Eagle rest of the movie. She tells week's pick, Ghost Town. Eye is filled with tension, him that if he doesn't, he'll Festival Cinemas Wait for it to come to the dollar theater!! FOR SHOWTIMES TIMELESS LOVE STORY call 226-1770 or go to www.festivalcinemasutah.com 959 South 700 East - Orem (behind University Mall) Utah County's Premier Dollar Theater Showing major Hollywood movies mixed with quirky independent films |