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Facebook. Everyone knows about it and almost everybody is on it. To not be a part of it is just as conscious a decision as not to drink water, as it has become just as much a part of society as eating and sleeping. Despite its widespread popularity, however, for most, little is known about its origins, its founders, and how it has become such an institution in our everyday life. Cue Columbia Pictures to bring you The Social Network, the tale of how this social networking phenom implanted itself into the homes of millions of Americans nationwide.
The Social Network’s narrative plays itself out with one main linear story, comprised of flashbacks from two different trial proceedings. The story starts with Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg [Jesse Eisenberg] having a drink and conversation at a small collegiate bar. During a talk about his desire to stand out amongst others in the Harvard community, he belittles various social / educational groups and ultimately, the female friend with whom he is conversing. For his pomposity, she dumps him, and despite his plead for forgiveness, leaves him alone at the bar. Unable to cope with his situation, he gets drunk and blogs about the incident, eventually creating a website to desecrate the entire female population of his school. The site catches the attention of a group of well off, high society students, who entrust him to help them build HarvardConnect, an exclusive online social network that collectively links the students of Harvard to one another. It is the instillation of this idea in Zuckerberg’s head that gets the gears turning towards the invention of The Facebook.
Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg building Facebook
It is here that he starts on what one could argue is a paradoxical ascending downward spiral. With the capital fronted to him by his best friend / business manager Eduardo Saverin [Andew Garfield] & the programming help of his roommate Dustin Moskovitz [Joseph Mazzello], he gets to work on this business venture that sends him on a roller coaster of events including run-ins with fellow students, beautiful co-eds, lawyers, investors, and the highly influential friend / foe Sean Parker [Justin Timberlake.] It’s a journey that is just as enjoyable to watch as it seems would have been to have experienced it first hand.
Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) talking over drinks
Where The Social Network succeeds is that it is able to bring to the screen a story that is not only entertaining and informative, but also believable. Too many times, Hollywood takes the story of real life events and twists it to the point that the audience no longer believes that what they are seeing is possible. The Social Network, on the other hand, delivers a story that anybody that has ever attended a college can relate to. Getting drunk at parties, hanging out with your friends in the dorm, and dealing with relationships, it’s all there. Only it tells the story in the context of the creation of Facebook, and given that it’s something that everyone who has ever updated their status wants to know, it makes it all the more stimulating.
In addition to the story itself, a commendation should go to the acting. Somehow director David Fincher was able to extract a superb performance from his entire cast. Ranging from Eisenberg’s portrayal of the pretentious & business minded yet somewhat socially awkward Mark Zuckerberg to Timberlake’s sleazy yet lovable Sean Parker, it seems as though the actors captured all the intricacies of the characters. Even the smaller supporting roles shone through and conveyed the moments of tumultuous emotion with a polish that lent to the overall effectiveness of the film. Everybody on screen seemed to really nail what they were trying to achieve with their roles.
Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) and his roommate Dustin Moskovitz (Joseph Mazzello)
All told, The Social Network a great film. It details the very sequence of events that led to Facebook’s creation and the obstacles that had to be surpassed for it to be as successful as it is today. Above and beyond, however, is that it does this in a manner that seemingly would be enjoyable to the Facebook using demographic. It manages to stay within all the boundaries of being a believable, enjoyable ride that informs while entertaining. I’d definitely suggest this movie to anybody who has ever used (or avoided) the social networking conglomerate known to us all as Facebook.
We will be posting more advance screenings of The Social Network, so keep checking!
This is one of those festival films which got a lot of buzz, got picked up by a distributor, and then baffled the suits on how to market the film to anybody. Catfish premiered at Sundance last year by virtually unknown filmmakers with little fanfare but gained a lot of attention as it screened. The logo and trailer being show to the general public have almost nothing to do with the actual movie. And neither will this review…This film is very hard to review because once you get into what the film is really about, you ruin the movie. So I’ll try not to spoil it and talk around the plot as much as possible.
Flipped is a great wholesome movie. It was truly marvelous. It tells the classic story of young love between a boy and a girl but in regard to film, it doesn’t tell it in the classical way. The movie is set in the fifties and takes us back to a time of the radio where stories were just told verbally. Flipped heavily relies on the great monologues of the main characters and uses the visuals to support that. It’s a movie that can be enjoyed by young and old and has a light enjoyable feeling even when dealing with difficult subjects.
If you’re ever in Thailand, go see a movie…their theaters are very luxurious even on Hollywood standards. At the beginning of each film they play a little montage in honor of their ruling King where you must stand…it’s quite a different experience but very cool. Most of the movies they show are quite recent coming out at or around the same time as the US release dates and sometimes even before! Walking around Bangkok I noticed that they were promoting Piranha 3D a lot so I knew I had to check it out…
Going the Distance is not your typical rom com (Remember, it’s rated R). Sure, it has the romantic side for the ladies but the comedy is definitely for the dudes (women will get a kick out of it too though). Starring Drew Barrymore and Justin Long, Going the Distance delivers a nonstop (pun?) orgy of humor and emotions without going over the top and keeps it realistic. It has mass appeal but doesn’t sell out to conform…no wonder it was pushed back a week for the Labor Day weekend…I think a lot of people are going to love this one.
I wasn’t expecting much when I went into the screening of Lottery Ticket and I definitely did not expect to see what I saw. Lottery Ticket is not a family film…it’s a lot more vulgar, sexy, and serious than it seems. It’s a decent movie that’s entertaining at times but doesn’t add much to the cinematic world except more fire on the stereotypes. The ensemble cast is comprised of your usual suspects in an “urban” movie but still great including Loretta Devine, Keith David, Terry Crews, and comedians Mike Epps, Charley Murphy, and Bill Bellamy.
Eat Pray Love is written and directed in that mysterious language that only females understand. I got it, but thought it could have been a bit better…I wouldn’t call it a chick flick but it’s obviously targeted towards women. I hate to use this word, but it’s charming. It has its moments of humor, emotion, and awe-inspiring visuals but at the same time it runs long and is quite dull at points. Based on the memoir of Elizabeth Gilbert, this is a globe-trotting story of self-discovery.
