Skip to main content

The Social Network

Before the movie was released, I admit that my interest in this movie was nil. A movie about the creation of Facebook and its associated legal dilemmas just didn't seem compelling. When the trailer was released earlier this summer, the internets raved about the powerful and emotional clip that many praised as a work of art in itself. I didn't quite understand the clamor; I was still nonplussed. If anything, I was intrigued at the collaboration of director David Fincher and scriber Aaron Sorkin. But then it was released, and the reviews were raving, with an outstanding 97% on Rottentomatoes and a 95 critical score on Metacritic. So with my eyebrow raised, I had to see it for myself.

Without getting too much into the story, The Social Network follows Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, as he goes through some personal and legal trials in the creation of the ubiquitous Facebook. The movie was interesting in that it didn't follow the conventional three act structure. Instead, we saw a general progression of events, flipping back and forth between the "current" legal drama cases and scenes from the past, depicting the history and inception of Facebook.

More than the story itself, which was nothing atypical, what hooked me was the execution of the movie. The script is filled with sharp, fast and witty dialogue as one would come to expect from Aaron Sorkin, who is known for crafting highbrow exchanges. I think Fincher did a great job of crafting this pseudo-univeristy world, where everything looks, seems and feels prestigious. The decision to shoot with a low palette was a stroke of genius, giving the movie this grounded but rich look. All the visual aspects of the movie are complemented by the excellent score by Trent Reznor, who matches the emotional beats of the movie with a cyberpunk kind of flair.

The Social Network actors and their real life counterparts.
From (L-R): Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, Andrew Garfield.

Much praise has been aimed at the actors in the movie, particularly Jesse Eisenberg (as Mark Zuckerberg) and Andrew Garfield (as his best friend, Eduardo Saverin). I think Eisenberg does a great job and extends his acting chops, showing us that he's a lot more than what people claim him to be (a Michael Cera clone that is). I'm not seeing it in Garfield as much. He did good in the role, but it grab me as much as Eisenberg. What made me more skeptical was his casting as the next Spider-Man in the upcoming reboot/remake/whatever movie. I think the reason is more with his look than his acting skills. He's a handsome guy that would stand out in a crowd, but I'm not so sure that's who Peter Parker needs to be. We'll see what happens, I'll wait with abated breath.

The Social Network is a solid outing and one to check out, even if you're not a big fan or user of Facebook. Til next time, later geeks!

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE ARTIST!!!!!!!

The Artist is director Michael Hazanavicius ode to the silent films of yesteryear. Not only focus on a silent movie actor and movie making, but it in itself is also a silent movie. The movie follows a silent movie actor named George Valentin through the rise and fall of his career. At the start of the film, we see George as this superstar celebrity; he loves the glitz and glamour of being a famous actor and soaks in all the attention he can get. He loves having his photos taken and being adorned on the front pages of newspapers. He is THAT kind of celebrity. At the premiere event of his latest movie, he bumps into one Peppy Miller – a young woman with big ambitions and dreams in Hollywoodland. The lives of the two intersect and an attraction immediately blossoms. The romance could only go so far as Valentin is a (happily?) married man. George’s superstardom reaches its height at a precarious time. And as the 1920s are ushered out, so are silent movies. The new decade brings w...
1 comment
Read more

The League of Denial (2013)

The topic of concussions in sports is a dialogue that’s been growing the past number of years.  Do a search on ‘concussions’ and ‘football’ and you’ll get several thousand hits on the controversy that’s surrounded the sport.  It’s a challenging topic as the research is all relatively new, and the topic itself challenges the mentality and philosophy adopted by football loving Americans.  Now, I’m not a fan of football or NFL but when I saw this book lying at the local bookstore, my interest was piqued.  Although I’m not a fan of football, those that know me know that I’m an unabashed fan of prowrestling.  Talks about concussions are also quite a hot topic even within the prowrestling sub-culture.  Earlier this year, one of the hottest wrestlers of the current era, Daniel Bryan, retired early at the age of 34 due to a history of concussion related issues.  Interestingly, he was not permitted to return to the ring due to the disapproval by WWE’s medic...
1 comment
Read more

Finally, the Xbox 360!!

So as I mentioned in a previous post, I received an Xbox 360 for Christmas from my dad. A great present it was! I've had 3 weeks to enjoy it so I guess I can give you my impressions of it now. First the controller. In truth, I haven't felt a controller this comfortable in my gaming life before. As a child who grew up on the 8-bit generation, with just a directional pad and 2 buttons, there was quite a learning curve getting used to using two analog sticks at the same time. You might say, "Hey Lam, how bout the PS2? You have that machine, and that has analog sticks". True, but of the twenty or so games I have for that, all of them used either only 1 analog stick, or allowed the option to switch on to the directional pad. Using 2 sticks at the same time was at first just uncomfortable. This made for all sorts of trouble as I was playing Gears of War . Luckily for me, I had computer controlled teammates that watched my back. I love the Media Center capabilities...
6 comments
Read more