American Psycho.

American Psycho, where to start...?
I found out a month or two ago that American Psycho is a book (Bret Easton Ellis), having seen the movie years ago i remembered that i liked it and decided to pick up the book. Now i know im a few years behind the curve on this one but the book it self was awesome.
It starts out with the introduction to many of the characters. The main character Patrick bateman's immediate detail to the clothing the others are wearing is a bit overwhelming, i immediately thought to my self i don't give a shit what they are wearing i just want to read about grizzly murder. However if you are able to get through the first 50 or so pages the attention to detail is something you get familiar with as well while still sticking to the clothing it also applies to the extra curricular activities Mr. Bateman frequently preforms.

Once the book starts to pick up you get a feeling for Patrick Bateman's overall insanity, desperation and lack of caring. It sets a tone for worse things to come. Patrick's wealth and materialism get him to fit into an elite crowd of people who can't tell each other apart which makes the possibility of mass murder even easier. The book does a great job of setting up the tension and the mood for the awkward, fast, disoriented parts. I will say it again, the attention to detail in this book amazes me, i understand its a book and generally you have to explain things in a decent amount of detail but this nails it on the head. It doesn't do it in a manner of most books explaining things in a long drawn out metaphor, it cuts to the point and makes sure it is understood clearly for what it is.

Now, directly after reading the book I decided to watch the movie. Seriously as soon as i put the book down i went and grabbed the movie. Huge mistake....

Compared to the novel the movie is one of the hookers Patrick Bateman routinely kills. Its terrible, the movie it self fails to capture to complete frustrated insanity that is Mr. Bateman. The mood and tone of the movie is often completely missed. Implied narrative thats missing from the movie is expressed through facial expressions barely attainable by the cast. Also, again i understand its a movie and they have to do things to the books in which they came from to make them shorter, watchable and canned for the mass public but give me a break they moved too much of the plot around, missed too much of the materialism and inner dialog that made you think "yeah, he is bat shit crazy"

Don't get me wrong i think Christian Bale did a good job in the role but the producers fucked it up big time. In short read the book... unless of course you don't like reading about Armani suits, drug use, killing the homeless, murdering hookers and shooting people in the face.

There is my 10 year old movie review / 19 year old book review.