Film Betrayal and autophobia have never felt so bland
It's hard to consolidate a movie such as this where the unpopular outsiders as in geeks, and balancing their motivations and goals in the more popular and "it" crowd. Jesse Eisenberg's character of Mark Zuckenberg (Creator of Facebook) is someone with the brains, quick-talking and the obsessiveness to qualify as the nerd. Yet his obsession with his website and taking it as big as possible, whilst maintaining that it be "cool"; is a little puzzling. His motivations make a little more sense, in that he is trying to win over somebody. But the logic for that breaks apart because of how badly he treats his friends.
There is a level of complexity to the mistakes that Zuckenberg makes in his twisted goals and how to achieve them, but that doesn't really feel like a compliment. It is all hinted in all the early signs, as to what he does to the people around him and what he really cares about. But it also means that Zuckenberg didn't really have much of a journey/progression. Mark has only himself to blame for the end results, which he had wrought for himself from start to finish. The film doesn't make you feel real angry or sorry for what he has done. You know that after he has screwed over the people around him that he'll be back up, checking his little project. He does this all of this out of habit rather than enthusiasm.
Even the meteoric rise of his obsession; Facebook, lacks the true peaks and troughs. The obstacles to his brain-child are a few uninteresting twins with some smarmy other guy, along with one or two minor finance problems. Oddly enough we simply just hear about Facebook rather than see how the characters directly use it much. That all makes it seem to be far too much into hype than creating the idea of something that is immersive.
Partying in this movie certainly feels a clean, safe, disappointment rather than wild, rambunctious and rebellious. This of course, means the viewers don't really feel they are hedonistic over-indulgences but casual get togethers instead.
The acting is ok, but Eisenberg plays too much of a bland and emotionless character to be interesting. There aren't any strong character or performances to carry this movie, which is rather important for a biopic.
To an end, it felt far too vapid and bland to give it an emotional/consequential weight to the complex web. Spun by a misunderstood worm.
Film Booooooring
This is honestly one of the most boring movies ever. I think mostly because I didn't care at all about any of the characters. No matter how the movie framed the actions of Mark, nothing really conceals that he acts like an asshole, and the explanations given for his actions feel like very weak excuses. The only stand-out character in the whole mix is his best friend, but his voice is fairly muted because we barely get to know him (I'm not even sure why he has so much money to invest into the firm). What strangely takes a backseat in all this is Facebook itself...we get told multiple times how addictive it is, but we barely see it in use and there isn't really much about shown about the impact it still has.
All in all, and I say this from the perspective of someone who didn't knew anything about the history of Facebook beforehand, the movie felt like a promotion piece to me, like the feeble try to explain away the fact that its founder stepped over the backs of a lot of people to end up where he is today, including his best friend. And that I am somehow supposed to excuse the fact that he did a virtual bullying campaign against his ex-girlfriend and hacked various computers in order to put private information into the net. And isn't the idea that all the users of facebook entrust their information to a guy like this terrifying?
Film Great movie let down by reality and it's own greatness
The Social Network is funny, fast-paced with natural feeling characters and an engrossing subject. The relationship between the founder of Facebook and his one and only friend whose suing him is brilliant and it will rarely ever feel slow.
These are the faults of the movie. Because it's fast-paced and about an engrossing subject the film will be great right up to the end where it won't. The story of Facebook isn't finished yet, it hasn't even got passed the introduction stage. Facebook came from nothing to be everything but there was very little conflict through the way, the film presents it's rise (as it probably is) as something which became huge before people even really knew what it was and had time to blink. The great problem that Facebook will face hasn't been faced yet, there hasn't been a harrowing conflict and defeat and so no last act that resolves it.
It's a testament to the skill of the director and writers that by the end of the film, that not only is the plot still feeling like it's in the initial introduction phase, but the film itself feels like that. I don't know how long it is, but I was so engrossed that by the end it hadn't felt like quarter of an hour yet.
Should you see it? Yeah almost certainly, it's a film only held back by it's greatness, it's just that's it's never going to be quite as good and fulfilling as a film can be
Film Man in the Net(work)
When news of this film's development was released, everyone asked, "how would one make a movie about Facebook? Who's going to watch that?" Thing is, The Social Network is not about Facebook. It's perhaps like saying Raiders of the Lost Ark was about the Ark of the Convenant.
Director David Fincher is known for being able to spin engaging yarns that affect on a psychological level, pulling audiences along for the ride. This movie is no different. From the get-go, it's a kinetic, mile-a-minute experience, akin to watching a high-quality action film - only that there's not one explosion in The Social Network. With a screenplay like Aaron Sorkin's, it doesn't need any at all.
"The Social Network" is slick and a complete filmgoing experience - it feels like a great amount of effort was put into every aspect of production. Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield carry the film ably, natch, and have immediately become hot commodities in Hollywood - the former nominated for a Best Actor Oscar (up against the likes of Colin Firth and Jeff Bridges), the latter the new Spider-Man. Indeed, Garfield gave off a strong Peter Parker-type vibe, changing my early opinions about The Amazing Spider-Man (after seeing that costume).
Stylistically and aesthetically, the film is pretty much perfect, glamourous and sexy – fashioning itself as an exclusive inside look behind the scenes, giving us hoi polloi a peek at the world sex, drugs and money surrounding Facebook’s genesis. However, that’s the thing – it looks too pretty to feel like it’s based on a true story. Indeed, most of the film does feel like conjecture, but it doesn’t matter because it tells a good story. The Social Network probably didn’t set out to be a documentary anyway.
Ultimately, the film is much like a modern-day retelling of Frankenstein – a brilliant, misunderstood (possibly evil?) genius created a monster, a monster that escaped his control, granting him fame and fortune by way of invading the lives of 600 million people around the world – and for so effectively getting such a frightening reality to take strong roots in the minds of such a mass audience, The Social Network is exceedingly praiseworthy.
RATING: 4/5 STARS
Film Destined to become a Cult Classic: Part I
The Social Network, was a film that I felt time-wasted during the first watching, but more appreciative after thinking about the experience.
For those expecting a thrill-ride, TSN isn't a film filled with real twists or swerves, it's a basic story that runs in a straight direction to find a anwser. The film is a character study & social commentary, and Sorkin's screenplay handles both well. TSN isn't really based on a true story, but plays with the facts to create a inperative idea of modern-day society, and Sorkin never ever dives too much into fantasy & makes it so engaging and believable, that we go into it. The story revoloves around 4 people, the creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, his friend/assistant, Eduardo Saverin, his finicial guide, and his rivals, so to speak, the Winklevosses. The story doesn't attempt to paint them all in a postive/negative light, as the cause or reason behind their actions are inperative, and the plot structure provides many viewpoints that allow you to see all the sides of the conflict, and the film allows you to come up with your own decision on wheter their actions were jusitified or not.
Film Much Better Than It Sounds
The other day, my friends were telling me about this movie called "The Social Network", a movie about Facebook. When I first heard about it, I was thinking "now this can't possibly be any good! Hollywood must have run outta ideas!" But then I was reading about it in a movie guide, and I saw how it was directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en) and how the soundtrack was composed by Trent Reznor and then I thought "hmm... this movie could be worth the time after all". So I decided to watch that movie.
This movie was far, far better than it sounded. The actors are mostly fairly obscure; Jesse Eisenberg ("Mark Zuckerberg"), Andrew Garfield ("Eduardo Saverin") and Brenda Song ("Christy Lee") won't ring any bells with many movie-goers, but all the actors have exceded my expectations for a bunch of obscure actors. But Justin Timberlake does a damn good job of the role of Sean Parker, the charismatic Entrepreneur who acts as Facebook's advisor.
The movie is... difficult to classify in genre. It's about the true story of the founders of Facebook, but the plot is based on the book The Accidental Billionaires (a speculative story about Facebook). Just like the book, much of the movie was speculation, in that it's loosely based on real life, and that there's not a concrete faithfulness to history. So it's not really a Documentary or a Docudrama; just a Drama that was inspired by Real Life.
The movie isn't a bore, though. There's plenty of entertainment and laughs to keep the audience on the edge of their seats, such as when Mark made the website "Facemash", to compare illegally-downloaded pics of girls to see who's the sexiest. Or the "Oh Crap" look Eduardo gets when his girlfriend burns his scarf. And the end is made out of Tear Jerker material (complete with Eduardo's rampage through the Facebook office when he finds out he's losing his stocks and position in Facebook). So ''don't'’ think that this movie's gonna be a bore either.
4/5. Get off your ass and buy a ticket to "The Social Network". You won't be disappointed.
Film The Genius of the Social Network
I have a hard time coming up with anything that I dislike about this film. I actually did read MarkZuckerberg’s actual 2003 blog post and he did call his ex-girlfriend a bitch and make the comments about farm animals. So that part of the story is actually true. Also the Winklevoss suit said that he broke an oral contract to fix their code for them not that he stole it from them. Now that that’s out the way, I like how JesseEisenberg played him as an awkward nerd whose only goal is to be liked, because so few people like him. And when his girlfriend dumps him she says it’s not “because you’re a Nerd” but “because you’re an asshole”. But of course her saying it is not because he’s a Nerd could only get him to think that’s exactly why. And that’s what triggers him to get drunk and angrily blog about her sparking everything. I like how we’re shown how there are three separate versions of the same story raising the question of whether or not there’s an UnreliableNarrator. I like JustinTimberlake’s portrayal of Sean Parker. I found it darkly funny when BrendaSong sets fire to AndrewGarfield’s laptop for having not known how to change his Facebook status and the “it’s embarrassing, you should take it as a sign of trust that I’m telling you”. I found hard not to be crushed by Parker giving his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Savarin. And I found it to be an impressively genuinely sad moment when Savarin asks “How could you Mark, I was your OnlyFriend you had one friend Mark”. And in the end when Zuck’s lawyer tells him that regardless of if he’s right or wrong he can’t win in front of a jury because he lacks likability. Especially considering that was the one thing he’d been seeking throughout. I don’t like how they invoked the claim that everyone else was an UnreliableNarrator to let him off the hook. But I do like that by the end he feels remorse for what he’s done and acknowledges that “I was drunk and angry and stupid” and seeks to make amends with the “Erica”. I think that HowItShouldHaveEnded was right when it said a phone call would have been better and more personal than a Facebook message but within the context of the movie, I think it still works.