The Social Network. We’re all in one.

Thanks of a very generous twitterer I was given the chance to see The Social Network on Monday night.

Quick Synopsis:

Nerd from Harvard wants to be popular.

Nerd makes popular website.

Nerd gets into trouble.

Nerd makes even more popular website.

Nerd gets into even more trouble.

Nerd makes a billion dollars.

Nerd is popular….but still a Nerd.

The End.

Yes, it’s the story of that little website that rose from obscurity in the mid 2000’s to become the No.2 website in the world (after Google). It has also made Mark Zuckerberg, the founder/creator/nerd the youngest billionaire in the world with a worth of around 6.9 billion dollars. (click here to see what that could buy)

The film is essentially about the court cases surrounding the inital boom of the website, but we are taken back in time to see what occured during the pivotal moments of Zuckerberg’s rapid rise to riches.

You wouldn’t think this would make an especially enthralling film….but that is where you’re wrong. This film is exceptionally made in almost every way. First, you have David Fincher directing it. I’ve loved this guy since Se7en, which was also beautifully shot in almost every way. (also Fight Club, The Game, Panic Room, Zodiac, Benjamin Button and the new Dragon Tattoo US version). He gives this film an almost gritty edge to it. Surprising seeing as though the majority of it is filmed on a campus location (actually at Johns Hopkins Uni, not Harvard).

Secondly, you have Aaron Sorkin writing the screenplay. He wrote the 90’s hit, ‘A Few Good Men’, but is better known for his work on ‘The West Wing’. This would explain the incredible wordy opening sequence (which took 99 takes), in which Zuckerberg and his gf discuss their relationship.

The film itself just works. It’s fast paced, it has excellent performances from Jesse Eisenberg and particularly Justin Timberlake, who should definitely pursue acting a lot more. He plays the inventor of Napster, Sean Parker, and portrays him brilliantly, assuming that the actual person is paranoid, boisterous and charismatic.

When I walked out of the cinema I couldn’t help feeling that this is a movie for our generation. I specifically mean, for Gen X and Y. The Internet generations. We’ve all grown up with the Internet. We use it every single day and many have since the mid 90’s, but it wasn’t until Facebook appeared that we all joined together so whole-heartedly to create an online community that consumed so many.

My first experience of Facebook was early in 2006 when I was living and working in the US. I befriended a girl from Georgetown University who showed me the site. Of course at the time it was restricted to Universities and High Schools. It was until September of that year that anyone could create their profile.

The film goes a long way to show how the ideas for the site originated. Primarily the idea was taken and massaged from other students into what would become the original ‘TheFacebook.com’. The addition of personal information, relationship status and the infamous wall made it similar to MySpace, but it was the clean interface, speed and unique ability for added applications that helped it grow.

Whether you’re Gen X, Y, Baby Boomer or old fart you should enjoy this movie. If you’re like me you’ll also enjoy the awesome soundtrack provided by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame. Does industrial themed music work with this movie? Yes and suprisingly well. It adds that layer of depth to the scenes that Fincher would have loved and makes this more than a movie about a court case or a web site.

Well, stop reading this tripe and go see it already!

(funny)

Forget the Reviews. Grindhouse Tonight!

Ok, I’m buying my Grindhouse tickets tonight at Dendy at 5.30pm.

I GUARANTEE a good time.

If you’re keen. Come along.

It’s even tight-arse Tuesday 🙂

Grindhouse is finally Here!

Almost a year ago I wrote about how disappointed I was that the Quentin Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez Double Feature was to be split for all audiences outside of the US.

I then went on to see Death Proof when it was released at the cinemas separately last year.

Well imagine my excitement when Dendy have decided to show the full length 190 minute Grindhouse double feature from next week here in Canberra!

It will be shown in it’s complete 35mm, fake trailer, print scratches and intermission goodness. Can’t wait!

Anyone wanna come? I’ll shout the popcorn 🙂

Have You Heard a Who Lately?

I saw this on the weekend with LaLa and the kids…

This is the cover of the classic Dr. Seuss book….

but it doesn’t look like this any more.

It looks more like this…

It’s visually stunning. So bright and crisp and just like the good old days of animation.

I think Dr. Seuss would have been proud of the adaption of his book, which has taken quite a lot of liberties from the original, but I think it enhanced the story well, especially the addition of 97 children for the mayor of ‘Whoville’ (voiced by Steve Carrell). Jim Carrey does the voice of Horton and it’s their pairing that convinced me that I wanted to see this movie.

The length of the movie was just right for the kids and it kept them all well entertained throughout, even for Miss 9 Yr. old who is more into ‘real’ movies now.

Even if you just go to relive your youth and see some nice animation, give it a chance.

Oh…and the previews for Kung Fu Panda look damn funny too 🙂

Quoteable Quiz Answers and Top 5 Movies..

Well, I guess it’s time to give the final answers to the Quoteable Quiz post.

It was a fun post and I think I got the most comments for any post EVA!

Answers to the ones that weren’t picked are:

1. Sin City – NO-ONE got this! I guess it’s not a stand out quote, but Clive Owen delivers it in this great movie.

4. Desperado – Another Robert Rodriguez movie that I can watch over and over. Steve Buscemi delivers this great line.

Coincidentally both of these films are directed by Robert Rodriguez who is one of my favourite directors, along with Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino.

In fact, if I try to name my Top 5 Movies, like Aurelius has tried, I think I would have trouble.

I think I’d base my favourite choices in groups. Sometimes by director, sometimes by time period, sometimes by genre.

So, firstly I would have Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill and Death Proof. All great movies in their own right, but Pulp Fiction definitely sits at the top of the heap for me.

Then I would include Desperado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Dusk till Dawn and Sin City as a few of my favourites. All Robert Rodriguez movies. He has a similar style to QT, but brings his own imagery and Spanish feel to the movies.

Next director has to be Kevin Smith. Clerks 1 and 2, Dogma, Chasing Amy and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back are all great. He may have slipped a little with Mallrats and Jersey Girl, but still remains one of my favourite film makers.

Then we come to the favourite movies of my youth. This may as well be a list of the best movies of the 80’s.

These include The Goonies, Ferris Buellers Day Off, Star Wars Trilogy, Superman Trilogy, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, The Great Escape, The Sound of Music, The Blue Brothers, Back to the Future Trilogy, Alien, Aliens, E.T., Indiana Jones Trilogy, Terminator 1 and 2, When Harry Met Sally, Karate Kid Trilogy, War Games, Stand By Me, Predator 1 and 2, Mannequin, Monty Python Movies, Ghostbusters 1 and 2, The Neverending Story, Labyrinth, Dark Crystal, The Lost Boys, Weird Science, Gremlins 1 and 2, Clue, Die Hard, Wayne’s World, The Godfather and Dead Poets Society.

There are probably more, but that’s all I could come up with now. Trying to sort through those and pick favourites would be too hard!

Then we have my favourite modern movies like Braveheart, Donnie Darko, The Lord of the Ring Trilogy, The Matrix Trilogy, Se7en, Usual Suspects, 12 Monkeys, Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels, Almost Famous, Spirited Away and recently No Country for Old Men.

See what I mean? Way too hard.

But you want me to suck it up and give it a go?

Ok, here we go.

Top 5. Movies that for one reason or another have had a major effect on me.

In no particular order.

• Pulp Fiction
• Braveheart
• Die Hard
• Donnie Darko
• When Harry Met Sally

Ok…that’ll do.

What’s your Top 5?

Film Review: Into the Wild

What is happiness?

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I’ve just watched Into the Wild.

(possible spoilers)

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It’s a movie about a 23 year old guy, who just graduated from University with almost straight A’s and has $24,000 of college fund to put towards going to Harvard Law School.

He decides to leave it all, destroying his ID, giving the money to charity and hitting the road. He heads north to Alaska in the pursuit of freedom, a break from society and a new outlook on life.

What he finds is friendship, people, relationships and happiness, but also crushing loneliness, moral uneasiness and hunger.

This is apparently based on a true story and a book about the ‘real’ Christopher that up and left society to find a place which isn’t ruled by money, power and greed.

Ultimately he seeks truth and to escape the lies that his parents had told him as a child.

Look, I’m a big softy at heart. I have been known to sob at the end of Donnie Darko, and have been moved to tears by music. I don’t deny this and am not embarrassed by it. I found myself with tears rolling down my face as I watched this movie. Not only from the experiences that Chris has, but also from the amazing voice and music of Eddie Vedder who provides a lot of the soundtrack to the movie.

Couple that with the sensational scenery and cinematography and it resulted in a movie that moved me and made me think.

And that’s what I love about a good movie. It makes you think. It helps you to see things from another perspective and to ‘live’ another persons life for that 2 hours or so you are watching them

Like a good book, you immerse yourself in the characters. You see what they see and feel what they feel.

Emile Hersch does an outstanding job as Christopher. He brings a realness to the character that makes you want what he wants, but also want a lot more that he can’t. Cameo’s from Vince Vaughn, Jena Malone (who I have a huge crush on) and Catherine Keener are all great.

Sean Penn wrote and directed this movie, based on the book of the same name by Jon Krakauer. He really brought it to life and it shows what a great talent Sean is in both acting and directing.

Christopher is a very literary character. He has read a lot of books, quotes from them on different occasions and takes what is written to heart. I watched his character and wished that I had read as much as he had, and that I was able to quote even one line from a book, let alone pick them out randomly. There are so so many books out there, just waiting to be read, but when I go to do it, I just can’t seem to give them the time they deserve.

Maybe one day, when I’m old and wiser, I will take the time to read, absorb and learn from the classics.

I guess that’s one positive thing. They are never going away, and will wait for the day that I am ready to read them.

Christopher is seeking happiness. Along the way he ignores the opportunity to achieve possible happiness because he is focused on finding the happiness that he believes in. He doesn’t stop and realise that happiness has always been around him, and his selfishness towards his own family that truly loves him is profound and sad at the same time.

When he thinks he has finally found happiness, but instead encounters loneliness, he realises something and writes it down…

“Happiness is only real when shared”

I like that line and I really believe it. Whether it’s my happiness or someone elses, there is nothing like being able to share it with someone else. Sure, it is possible to be happy alone, but at some stage you will want to share that with someone else, whether it be in photos  or simply re-telling your experience. And if you can contribute to someone else’s happiness, then why not?

Very enjoyable movie and highly recommended, but not if you love moose.

And this movie gets 4 1/2 of them.

Movie Night Anyone?

Since I failed miserably with my Oscar Challenge (again), I have been busy downloading lots of movies to catch up on.

So far I have the following movies ready to watch:

• Juno
• There Will Be Blood
• Michael Clayton
• 27 Dresses
• La Vie En Rose
• Bourne Trilogy (I have only seen the first)
• American Gangster
• Knocked Up
• Pirates Trilogy (haven’t seen ‘World’s End’ yet)

So, who’s bringing the popcorn?

Any others I should grab while I’m in the mood?

No Country For Old Men – A Film Review

Sometimes there’s a movie that you are dying to see and you have the highest expectation for, and then you see it and you aren’t quite sure if it reached them.

Sometimes there’s a movie that you are dying to see and you have the highest expectation for, and then you see it and surpasses your expectation easily.

This time, I saw a movie that I was dying to see and I had the highest expectation for, and it’s blown them out of water, but it’s hard to describe why.

I’ll give it a shot.

I just saw it and it’s very fresh and I am still digesting it. It’s not a heavy plotted movie, but there is so much going on that isn’t spoken, isn’t shown but runs through the characters heads and into yours as the viewer.

It felt like I was reading a book for the whole movie. It was in fact taken from the novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy, but the narration I ran in my head felt like it was coming straight from those pages.

It’s hard to review a movie like this because it’s just something that you either take in, watch, listen and absorb and enjoy, or come out of going, “Where’s the punch line” (I actually heard this comment as I left the cinema). It was gripping, entertaining and so very well acted.

The character of Llewelyn Moss was played by Josh Brolin. The sort of actor that you see around in a few movies, but never really think that much of. Llewelyn is a character that he plays with aplomb. From every movement, to every bit of speech, you feel the realism of this middle aged cowboy that you know has never had a lot of luck in his life. He comes across 2 Million dollars and his life changes forever.

The storyline takes you through Texas to Mexico as Llewelyn is chased by a psychopath played by one of the scariest dudes I have ever seen, Javier Bardem. This character is methodical, exacting and freaky as hell. He makes you scared just to look at him.

Woody Harrelson has a cameo (Where has he been?) and Tommy Lee Jones is awesome, as always, as the sheriff.

Before I saw this movie, LaLa mentioned that it was a boys movie. I think that she is probably right, but it’s not to say that only boys would enjoy this movie. There is a lot of blood and graphic scenes of wounds, but they are in the context of the film, and the way it is shown, although it makes you squirm, it makes the appreciate the characters and the story all that much more.

It’s the small bits of dialogue between characters in certain scenes that just keep you interested, thinking and on the edge of your seat. The screenplay by the Coen Brothers is outstanding and it’s what keeps this movie together. I think that there was every chance that this movie could have been a mundane, meandering flop, if it were not for the observation, suspense and skill of the Coen Brothers words and directing.

Unfortunately, I think it’s the quirkiness, originality and subtlety that would make some people get turned off by this movie, or expect things that don’t happen. You need to think of it in a thriller sense, similar to Hitchcock’s style. I think that’s one reason I love it so much. I love Hitchcock and this is very much in that old fashioned suspense style.

That’s enough gushing from me. I loved it as you can see. A definite front runner for Best Picture.

5 Stars.