the social network

Going in I want to say I heard mixed reviews about “the social network” but as I told those who had trepidations, I would see a movie about the birth of the minivan if David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin were involved so there was no way I was missing this movie. David Fincher is one my favorite directors with a collection of movies under his belt that I marveled at, especially his last one “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”. And as a writer myself I love the talents of Aaron Sorkin. His writing is crisp, clean, and littered with humor and irony so when I heard about this project that had these two towering talents involved, I was eager to see it mixed reviews be damned. I’m glad I did because this movie was awesome and those that know me know I don’t use that word much because I hate it. I think it’s overused and has been abused by the burnt out, surfer, pot heads of the word (think Bill & Ted) but in this case the word fits perfectly. It’s awe inspiring and will have you thinking on it for days afterwards much the way “Inception” did. It’s a “talkie” but it’s talking about the one thing we all use pretty much on a daily basis, the phenomenon that is “facebook”.

Based on the book “The Accidental Billionaire” “the social network" tells the story of the origins of facebook from three differing points of view. Those different points of views are told in depositions from those suing Mark Zuckerberg, the man who founded facebook by those he burned along the way. Zuckerberg is played brilliantly by Jessie Eisenberg who gives you the impression that Zuckerberg had a case of Aspergers Syndrome when all this went down. Zuckerberg gets sued by his one and only best friend and initial investor Eduardo Saverin played by Andrew Garfield as well as the Winklevoss twins played by Armie Hammer and their business partner Divya Narendra played my Max Minghella. They initially came up with the foundation of the idea that is facebook.

Zuckerberg comes off as a pompous asshole but you see that this part of his personality all stems from rampant jealousy and insecurity. Zuckerberg so wants to be part of the in crowd and so wants to be cool that he allows Sean Parker the inventor of Napster, played surprisingly well by Justin Timberlake to worm his way in on the ground floor before facebook really takes off. Zuckerberg sees Parker as a God and like Pavlov's dog gives into Parkers wishes and so called guidance without thinking for himself which destroys his friendship with Eduardo Saverin.

The movie starts off with Zuckerberg getting dumped by his then girlfriend Erica Albright and this sets him off. He goes back to his dorm, starts to drink, starts to blog, badmouths Erica and creates a site called "facemash" where Harvard male students can vote on who the hotter girl is in their pics that are side by side. Eduardo makes it into the Phoenix Club and that incites Zuckerbergs jealousy since all he ever really wanted was to be a part of one of Harvards exclusive Final Clubs and it's these two incidents that eat at the core of Mark Zuckerberg or so the movie wants you to think.

Fincher's direction is brilliant. The cinematography by Jeff Cronenweth is dark but the acting is bright and the dialogue is the real star of this movie. The biggest surprise for me though was the score. It was a collaborative effort between Atticus Ross who did the music of the disappointing "Book of Eli" and Trent Reznor, the mad genius behind Nine Inch Nails. The music is pitch perfect and fits the mood nicely. I highly recommend seeing this film, espcially if you are a facebook user (which is exactly where this blog entry will be posted, how's that for irony?). I know I'm seeing it again so....

See you at the theater.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

I just want to start this off by saying I think Oliver Stone is a brilliant filmmaker. I have been a fan of his since Platoon. I walked out of the movie physically exhausted and mentally drained and films/movies should have that effect on it's audience. If you don't walk out somewhat changed, however slightly then what was the point? He's helmed some of the most impactful films in the last twenty years. He's taken you to places that you would have never seen and he's never missed the chance to show the world something tragic and/or new, or move you in some way. Except now.

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps did not need to be made. I thought going in it was going to be relevant and impactful. That it would show those who don't really know what a hedge fund is or a derivative is and how the banks did their dirt and almost ruined the economy. I thought going in he would show perhaps both sides of the coin, show you the greed, opulence, and decadence of the wealthy and unscrupulous bankers and how that greed impacts the little man who can't seem to find a job or pay the bills. Instead all Oliver gives us is the Shia LaBeouf vanity project.

Don't get me wrong, this is an entertaining movie most of the time and it even made me laugh out loud when Charlie Sheen reprising his role of Budd Foxx came on the screen but it didn't move me and Oliver got bit with the Scorsese bug. So many of the same faces you've seen in Olivers films over the years find their way into this one, hence Charlie Sheen. For the most part though it's all Shia all the time. Just when you thought you couldn't get anymore of the kid thanks to the Transformer movies here he is in almost every shot. Not that he's not charming when he's going line for line with the likes of Frank Langella, Josh Brolin, Michael Douglas, and Susan Sarandon who plays his mother but this project seems to be all about making Shia a household name.

The story follows Shia's character Jake Moore as he works his way through the financial industry as the protege to FrankLangella's cahracter Louis Zabel. There's a nice real father son type relationship between the two men and when Zabel's firm starts hitting on hard times thanks to some foul rumors started by Josh Brolin's character, the impressively name Bretton James. It ruins Zabel and his firm and he decides the best way to handle things is to have a big of chips and then catch some subway poisoning. All the while Gordon Gekko get's released from prison and publishes a book asking the question "Is Greed Good?". He seems all contrite and well meaning and Jake who is dating Gekko's daughter get's sucked in by the man who seems to be saying all the right things and seems like he really wants to reconcile with his daughter who doesn't like and doesn't trust her father. Gekko subtly convinces Jake to go after Bretton and do what the old Gekko would do. Jake didn't need much of a push and the two men form some twisted Batman and Robin. There was never a case though of Batman destroying Robin that I know of.

Gekko was and is a shark and Jake eventually gets bit by the shark and his life falls apart. What makes no sense though is Jake getting this kind of treatment. Granted, he trusts Gekko when he shouldn't but really he's just a nice guy. He's nowhere as ambitious as Budd Foxx was which is what Budd in hot water. Jake just wants to love his fiance and bring father and daughter together and for that he pays the ultimate price. But then Oliver Stone makes a huge mistake in my opinion and goes for the heartwarming ending which is really hard to swallow.

It's a beautiful movie to look at and the clothes, wow! The wardrobe is really impressive and the preformances are as well. The cinematography captures the beauty of New York City nicely (it's really pretty to look at), the music is weak and virtually nonexistent, and the story has gaping holes. The movie does entertain however, it just won't move you.

See you at the theater.