The Social Network

[bigpern23]

With munchkins in the house, I bet you get stuck watching Wizard of Oz a lot

I enjoyed this immensely.

 

[93Devil]

Mary Poppins in my home at least once a day.

Supercala****ingkiddingme

 

[Lugnuts]

With munchkins in the house, I rarely see a movie in the theater these days....

Off topic, but this is the worst thing about having children.

I think it's a 3-way tie between that, the sleep deprivation and the worrying.

 

[RickStain]

The money.

 

[dooley_womack1]

The failure to knock.

 

[TigerVols]

Overrated movie.

My problem with it was Jesse Eisenberg's one-note performance resulted in a one-note movie. I also would have appreciated more story-telling, less arguing. I realize it's not supposed to be a "history of how Facebook came about" but I wish that it was.

Sorkin's dialogue was Mamet-lite, and that's not a complement (as I love Mamet!).

Finally, I don't want to give a spoiler, but a major plot point question was left unanswered due to non-disclosures, and as a result the movie was left hanging for me.

I'd like to see Frontline do a 2-hour special edition on Facebook. That would be interesting.

As for the positives, I enjoyed the look inside Harvard's way of life. A couple of scenes (including the Larry Summers scene) were great.

 

[lantaur]

Jeff Jarvis is not a fan:
http://www.buzzmachine.com/2010/09/28/the-antisocial-movie/

 

[Lugnuts]

*** WARNING: SPOILER-ISH STUFF ***







It felt great to get my money's worth at the box office. Solid, entertaining film. Best Picture? Not for me. Nomination? With 10 films, sure. But not Best Picture. Just extremely solid.

Mr. Lugs and I took away two different messages, and the more I think about it, the more I like his better.

I thought it was a film about the ironies (yes, ironies, I believe I'm using the work correctly) of friendship.

Mr. Lugs thought the theme was that the truly "original idea" conceived by one individual, doesn't really exist. "That's not how it works," says Mr. Lugs.

The performance I enjoyed the most was Garfield's Eduardo, and I found myself Googling about the real Eduardo. The guy who played the twins, along with Fincher's Benjamin-Button-esque filmmaking on that front, was magnificent. Loved it. The only performance I didn't buy was Timberlake as Parker. It was just aiight.

After the first scene, I braced myself for Sorkinese throughout, but it wasn't.

 

[Buck]

I was just driving back to the office from Best Buy, and Pat O'Brien said on the radio it's the best movie he's seen since 'Silence of the Lambs.'

So you know it's good.

 

[JayFarrar]

Jeff Jarvis is not a fan:
http://www.buzzmachine.com/2010/09/28/the-antisocial-movie/

Well, if Jarvis hates it, that means I must have to love it.

And I read his "critique" and found it wanting, much like everything else Jarvis does. While I haven't seen the movie, it is a semi-fictionalized account on the origins of Facebook and to criticize it for "making **** up" seems to profoundly miss the point of movie making.

 

[Bubbler]

I was just driving back to the office from Best Buy, and Pat O'Brien said on the radio it's the best movie he's seen since 'Silence of the Lambs.'

So you know it's good.

Until Mary Hart speaks, my seal of approval is withheld.

 

[Ace]

I saw AP had a long story about this being a fictional or partly fictional or whatever account of Zuckerberg/facebook.

I wonder how much of this hand-wringing about it not being all true is from facebook money/pressure.

I do think that -- in general -- if you are doing a book or movie about a famous person, the better liked they are the more backlash there is about taking liberties with the truth.

I don't expect a whole lot of backlash from the public if Zuckerberg comes off like an ass.

 

[TigerVols]

I was just driving back to the office from Best Buy, and Pat O'Brien said on the radio it's the best movie he's seen since 'Silence of the Lambs.'

So you know it's good.

Did he mention, in true POB fashion, that once while babysitting a 4-year-old Zuckerberg he had his good friend Anthony Hopkins drop by in full Silence of the Lambs outfit mode to scare the little tyke, thus putting the child on an anti-social path to billionaire status?

 

[Rhody31]

Just got back from the movie - which I enjoyed.
Went a 7:30 show and the theatre was filled with a 40-plus crowd. There were a few groups of teens/tweens, but some fo them left during the show, which i wasn't shocked about. I feel like kids 13-15 years old are going to think this is a cool movie about Facebook and since they love Facebook, they'll love the movie. Don't think that's the case.

 

[Double Down]

It was interesting to read a story in the Times (ran last week) that said there seems to be a generational divide with how people view the movie. Older folks (pretty much everyone on this board) mostly enjoy it, and see Zuck as a **** who couldn't interact with people in the real world. Younger kids (pretty much everyone younger than those on this board) see Zuck as a genius who was creative enough to come up with something so woven into the fabric of their lives, it's silly to talk about who he may have stepped on or screwed over on the way up.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/business/media/04carr.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

I enjoyed the film. I agree that Best Picture talk might be a bit much, but I'm fairly convince David Fincher cannot make a bad film, and is probably the most consistent, adaptable director working today.

"Every creation myth needs a devil" is a great line.

 

[SF_Express]

Isn't Jesse Eisenberg related to the kid who does Fantasy Football for CBS Sportsline?

Yep

 

[Den1983]

Awesome flick. I'm always intrigued by what drives "genius" people, and I found Zuck interesting, if not a bit pathetic in ways.

Thought JT did really well. Was perfect in that particular role.

 

[The Big Ragu]

I saw it this weekend. I thought it was a very good film, but not greatness by any means. What impressed me most was that the writers managed to take what is a really a pretty boring story (take out the fact that it's Facebook and it has become so big, and it is the same story that has happened over and over again between friends/business rivals) and turn it into something that drew people in and kept a plot moving along without the movie ever getting boring.

I think the biggest thing I took from it, is if the portrayal of Zuckerberg is accurate, all of us (plus 500 million) are now sharing personal info and willingly leaving traces of ourselves behind on servers controlled by a guy who first came up with the idea because he was bitter and juvenile; and in fact, the genesis for Facebook was an algorythm, in which he used photos of women who didn't choose to participate and set up a site where guys were rating their looks. Then in his subsequent dealings, he seemed to have the fatal flaw of allowing jealousies and slights to paint how he treats people. With this guy still running the company -- and again, I don't know how accurate the portrayal of him was -- I couldn't help but thinking, do I want my personal info in HIS hands?

In some ways, also, his behavior had me thinking about this message board (and others). I couldn't help but think about all the people who have come through here, all friendly and enthusiastic for a while, only to go off the deep end and find themselves bitter and hateful and displaying the same kind of behavior that Zuckerberg did in the film.

Aside from that commentary, I thought it was pretty well done, given that I wouldn't have thought there would have been much of a plot there to keep people engaged.

 

[dooley_womack1]

Who are you calling bitter and hateful, dickwad?

 

[britwrit]

I'm sure the broad details are true, which is pretty depressing. Compare and contrast Facebook with the internet efforts of the entire newspaper industry. In 2010.

...Put up a paywall?... Well, maybe. Or maybe not... No, wait! Let's do it!... Oh, on second thought...