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2008 | 2004

17 articles from 2008

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Review: Choke

6 October 2008 8:49 AM, PDT | From The Hollywood News | See recent The Hollywood News news

Choke is one of the dirtiest films I've seen in a long time, but it also has a great big heart. It would be unfair to dismiss the movie as an exploitive sex show, because it doesn't merely feature sex in the background. Sex is actually a supporting character in the piece.

In Choke, the gifted Sam Rockwell plays Victor, a sex addict who also gets his rocks off by going to various restaurants and intentionally choking on food. Why would he commit such a seemingly nonsensical act? In hope that he might bond with any of the patrons who come to his rescue.

Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club), Choke has many layers. It's much more than a tawdry sex show. This is a complex exploration into one man's sick affliction and while a good portion of the picture is played for laughs, the film doesn't

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Movie Review: Choke

28 September 2008 10:26 PM, PDT | From The Movie Fanatic | See recent The Movie Fanatic news

Starring: Sam Rockwell, Angelica Huston, Brad William Henke, Kelly Macdonald Director: Clark Gregg Release Date: September 26, 2008 Running Time: 89 min MPAA Rating: R Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures - - - Before a single scene was ever filmed, the movie Choke was at a disadvantage. Whether or not the film would be any good was of little relevance. It was already handicapped by two inevitable comparisons: to the Chuck Palahniuk novel the movie was based on and to the David Fincher’s Fight Club, also adapted from a Palahniuk book. They are fair comparisons for obvious reasons but in the interest of continuing that fairness I watched this movie with two thoughts in mind. One, this wasn’t going to be Fight Club. Choke didn’t have the director, stars or the budget to even come close to competing. Two, and most importantly, the books are always better. Saying you didn

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Movie Review - 'Choke'

26 September 2008 12:04 AM, PDT | From GetTheBigPicture.net | See recent Get The Big Picture news

Choke

Starring Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, and Kelly Macdonald

Directed by Clark Gregg

Rated R

Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell) has a problem. He's a sex addict. He attends group therapy sessions, primarily to meet new women to have sex with. He's clearly out of control, so much so that he can't see the cliff he went over from where he is now. Victor Mancini has a problem. His mother (Anjelica Huston) is slowly slipping from reality. She's in an expensive hospital that doesn't treat her so much as it keeps her alive. Because Victor doesn't make much money working as a street character in a recreation of a colonial town, one of those places that would not exist without school field trips, he has to find alternate means of bankrolling his mother's stay.

Victor Mancini has a problem. Rather than getting a second job in telemarketing or just a better first job,

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Colin Boyd

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Choke

25 September 2008 10:00 PM, PDT | From The Scorecard Review | See recent Scorecard Review news

Choke Directed by: Clark Gregg Cast: Sam Rockwell, Angelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald, Brade William Henke Time: 1 hr 30 mins Rating: R Plot: A sex-addicted con-man (Rockwell) dropped out of medical school to get a job to afford his mother's (Huston) hospital bills. He also plays on the sympathies of others who rescue him from choking to death at restaurants. Who’s It For? It's a dark comedy that should have gone darker. Based on Chuck Palahniuk's novel, it doesn't carry the same bite or impact as Fight Club. Expectations: I actually had the book Choke waiting for me at the library, but due to an early screening, I didn't read it before the film. All I knew was Rockwell was starring. Safe Men made me a Rockwell fan. Scorecard (0-10) Actors: Sam Rockwell as Victor: Rockwell's wispy loaf of a haircut doesn't aid him well, but he does his best

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Review: "Choke"

24 September 2008 5:21 PM, PDT | From screeninglog.com | See recent screeninglog news

Seen on: September 15, 2008

The players: Director: Clark Gregg, Writer: Clark Gregg, Cast: Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly MacDonald, Brad Henke, Joel Grey

Facts of interest: "Choke" is based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, author of "Fight Club."

The plot: It's the story of a man who pays for his mom’s hospital bills by pretending to choke on food in top-notch restaurants.

Our thoughts: I wonder if Sam Rockwell has a clause in his contract that stipulates that he will only work if he is typecast as a neurotic bungler... let's just say that this may have been the first time Rockwell played a character who walks around for 30 minutes with a derelict anal bead in his rectum, but it doesn't feel like the first time I've seen him do that.

David Ashley

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Opening This Week: Ladyboys, sex addicts, Spike Lee

22 September 2008 12:43 PM, PDT | From ifc.com | See recent IFC news

By Neil Pedley

If the old maxim "What I really want to do is direct" still holds true, this week's releases confirm that the filmmaking game is more open than ever. Anyone can have a crack at it; actors, teachers, digital artists, preachers. Perhaps you should have a go yourself. Hell, if Paul W.S. Anderson can get work doing it...

"The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela"

Offering up the most unlikely fairytale you're ever likely to see, Icelandic filmmaker Olaf de Fleur Johannesson draws on his documentary background with this endearing low-budget, semi-improvised Cinderella story. As a young Filipino lady-boy, the spunky, pre-op sex worker Raquela longs to be the belle of the ball as she trawls the Internet looking for love. When an American suitor pledges to be her Prince Charming and proposes a meeting in France, Raquela departs for her long-awaited date with destiny under the glittering Paris skyline.

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Neil Pedley

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What I Watched: From 'The Phantom of the Opera' to 'Gosford Park'

22 September 2008 12:59 AM, PDT | From Rope of Silicon | See recent Rope Of Silicon news

The idea for this article came out of how many films I have been watching lately in an effort to up my film IQ. I am not watching these films to be any kind of film historian, but to just have an overall knowledge of movies. It is also a nice way to make up for how many bad films I have to watch. I will still continue to do my Cinematic Revival editorials as well as hopefully bring you more of these recap pieces. My larger goal is to begin writing full reviews for all of these films when I don't write up the longer Cinematic Revival essays to improve on my writing as well as bolster my list of written reviews. That said, here is a look at what I watched at home last week and if you have any films to recommend that you watched recently (it

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Brad Brevet

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"Choke" on these tasty clips!

15 September 2008 9:29 AM, PDT | From Movie Jungle | See recent Movie Jungle news

See 6 clips from Fox Searchlight Pictures' "Choke" starring Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald, Brad William Henke, Jonah Bobo and Clark Gregg. Actor Clark Gregg makes an impressive directorial debut on this indie gem, helming from his own adapatation of the Chuck Palahniuk novel. "Choke" won the Special Jury Prize at this year's Sundance Film Festival and was a Grand Jury Prize nominee. Boston born Gregg has over 50 acting credits to his name including as Agent Phil Coulson in the blockbusting summer actioner "Iron Man" starring Robert Downey Jr. and 2007's, "In the Land of Women" and "The Air I Breathe."

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'No Country for Old Men' Hit With Million Dollars Lawsuit

7 September 2008 8:47 PM, PDT | From Aceshowbiz | See recent Aceshowbiz news

Having won numerous prominent awards, including BAFTA and Academy Awards, apparently doesn't avoid "No Country for Old Men" from being sued. Reports are that one of its stars, Tommy Lee Jones, is throwing a more than $10 million lawsuit against the filmmakers of the Coen brothers movie as well as Nm Classics Inc, a Dutch subsidiary of Paramount Pictures, over share of profits.

On the suit filed on Thursday, September 4, in Bexar County in San Antonio, the actor who played sheriff Ed Tom Bell in the Miramax Films flick has claimed that he was promised "significant box-office bonuses" depending on the film's success, and that his expenses have been wrongly deducted. He noted that he was paid a reduced upfront fee upon signing in and his contract was given to him though it contained several errors.

The Academy Award recipient is now seeking to get an auditor to review financial records

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AceShowbiz.com

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Check Out Some New Clips From Chuck Palahniuk's 'Choke'

5 September 2008 12:01 AM, PDT | From GetTheBigPicture.net | See recent Get The Big Picture news

I was fortunate enough to check out Choke earlier this week, and as you may know, it's the adaptation of a book by Chuck Palahniuk, who has not seen another of his works hit the big screen since Fight Club. That's nearly impossible to believe, since Fight Club was nine years ago.

Choke stars the obscenely underrated Sam Rockwell as a sex addict who, in order to pay for an expensive nursing facility for his mother, makes extra money by choking on food in restaurants and falling in the laps of the richest diners available. The hope is that they'll feel such a strong connection with the person they saved, that they'll chip in and help him with "emergency dental surgery" or some other excuse he can come up with to con them.

His real job is as a historical interpreter, basically a character at a colonial-themed village. So that's the set-up,

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Colin Boyd

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Mid-Week Movie News Wrap Up - Sept. 3, 2008

3 September 2008 4:53 PM, PDT | From ScreenRant.com | See recent Screen Rant news

Another Wednesday and therefore another Mid-Week Movie Wrap up to furnish you with the latest movie news around.

This week we look at:

Why Tim Roth isn’t in Inglorious Bastards, who will be directing a new Tarzan film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles go live action, Jerry Bruckheimer decides that Killing Rommel is a good idea and we search for The 39 Clues.

 

1. The reason that Tim Roth has not signed on to Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards is because he is going to star in the film version of Skellig.

The film will be based on the children’s novel by David Almond. The book follows a young boy named Michael who discovers what may or may not be an angel in his garage. The film will costar John Simms and Kelly MacDonald and it will be directed by Annabel Jankel of Super Mario Brothers fame. Ouch.

The book

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Niall Browne

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Tim Roth is an Angel

2 September 2008 3:45 PM, PDT | From Cinematical.com | See recent Cinematical news

Good lord, Tim Roth is doing a lot of morphing lately. He de-aged himself in Youth Without Youth, became a weird ol' monster in The Incredible Hulk, and now he's getting his wings.

Variety reports that Roth is taking the title role in Skellig -- a UK production that will hit television screens next spring before getting a theatrical release. Based on the novel by David Almond, Skellig focuses on a boy in northern England who makes a surprising discovery. His parents have just bought a rundown house, and while investigating the shed out back, he finds a man/creature lying in the darkness who he decides to help. "Feeding him Chinese food and beer, the boy nurses the creature, who possesses magical powers, back to health."

It definitely sounds like an interesting story (read more about it here), and it's hard not to get intrigued at the thought of Roth as an angel,

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Monika Bartyzel

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Rockwell Enjoyed Kissing Scenes With MacDonald

1 September 2008 6:22 PM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Actor Sam Rockwell fears he may have upset his real-life girlfriend on the set of new film Choke - because his movie beau was such a good kisser.

The star, who plays a sex addict in the new film, locks lips with Trainspotting star Kelly MacDonald - and admits he enjoyed the romantic scenes.

He says, "I think kissing scenes are more intimate than doing sex on film. The kissing scene with Kelly might've upset my girlfriend a little bit because we were really going at it.

"It was the last day of the shoot and she was a good kisser."

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Watch the Latest Choke Movie Trailer

5 August 2008 11:07 AM, PDT | From toxicshock.tv | See recent toxicshock news

Watch the latest movie trailer from the upcoming comedy “Choke” by director Clark Gregg and starring Sam Rockwell ( End Zone, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ), Anjelica Huston ( Long Time Gone ) and Kelly Macdonald ( No Country for Old Men ). Synopsis: An adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s (Fight Club) novel. Sex addict and colonial theme park worker, Victor Mancini, has devised a complicated scam to pay for his mom’s hospital bills while she suffers from an Alzheimer’s disease that hides the truth about his childhood. He pretends to choke on food in a restaurant and the person who “saves” him will feel responsible for Victor for the rest of their lives. Stay tuned [...]

Brian Corder

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Exclusive Video: Choke Director Clark Gregg on Casting

30 July 2008 1:59 PM, PDT | From firstshowing.net | See recent FirstShowing.net news

Fox Searchlight has provided us exclusively with this video from the Q&As at the Los Angeles Film Festival for Choke. This is one of those indies that is poised to hit big and I've got a feeling it will. It's got incredibly passionate creative talent involved, one of the best independent studios distributing, and of course, the whimsical writing of Chuck Palahniuk. We've been provided one segment of answers during the Q&As where writer/director Clark Gregg answer a question about how he was able to get such actors like Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston and Kelly Macdonald on a "budget like this." We don't often get to see Q&As live so this is a rare opportunity to hear from Clark Gregg himself. Enjoy! While you can watch the video exclusively here on Fs.net below, it will eventually show up on the official website for Choke as well.

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Alex Billington

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Red Band Trailer for Palahniuk's 'Choke'

13 July 2008 1:29 PM, PDT | From GetTheBigPicture.net | See recent Get The Big Picture news

It's hard to wrap your mind around the fact that nearly nine years have passed since Fight Club. Since then, we haven't had a Chuck Pahalniuk movie in theaters. Now, eight books by Pahalniuk have been released since then, including Choke, which hit shelves back in 2001.

That movie is finally coming to theaters, with a groovy cast that includes Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, and Kelly McDonald. A trailer popped up online a while back, and we were more than happy to share it with you. Now we've got the unrated Red Band version, and it's definitely Red Band for a reason.

After showcasing at about ten film festivals this year, Choke will finally be available to the rest of us on September 26th. And, if your interested, a film version of Palahniuk's Invisible Monsters is rumored to be in pre-production.

Colin Boyd

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Macdonald Gives Birth

2 April 2008 5:15 AM, PDT | From wenn.com | See recent WENN news

Scottish actress Kelly Macdonald has given birth to her first child with husband, Travis star Dougie Payne.

The 31-year-old, who shot to fame in Danny Boyle's 1996 movie Trainspotting, welcomed a baby boy in March but kept the news quiet for nearly a month before Payne confirmed the new arrival on his band's website.

Freddie Peter Payne was born on 9 March weighing eight pounds 11 ounces (3.7 kilograms).

And bassist Payne has expressed his delight at becoming a first-time father.

He writes on the Travis internet page, "It is with huge delight and enormous soppy grins that we can tell you we have a wee (small) boy.

"He is blond, blue-eyed, bouncing and beautiful. mum is doing great and baby is thriving. Dad's mind is blown in the best way possible. Fill your glasses with something fizzy!"

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2008 | 2004

17 articles from 2008

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