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Choke (2008)
Written & directed by Clark Gregg
Starring Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald, & Brad William Henke
Chuck Palahniuk, most recently the author of the ethnostate satire Adjustment Day and known mainly for Fight Club, inspired another feature film with his 2001 novel, Choke. The 2008 film of the same name focuses on sex addiction, a timely subject in the current era of spiritual emptiness, which is one of Palahniuk’s recurrent themes. Intentionally or not, this dark comedy serves to repel the viewer from sexual deviance more effectively than any Christian sermon about sin. Read more …
Withnail & I
Withnail & I (1987) is a masterpiece of British dark-comic satire written and directed by actor, novelist, and screenwriter Bruce Robinson, who went on to write and direct How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989), another strong film in a similar vein. His career seems to have petered out, though, after a couple of flops, Jennifer 8 (1992) and The Rum Diary (2011).
Richard E. Grant made his film debut playing Withnail. (He was also the lead in How to Get Ahead in Advertising.) Paul McGann played Marwood, the “I” in the title. Read more …