Visitors Review

(2012-05-25 13:34)

The Youngest Billionaire In The World!

Before I review the film, I would like to mention that I do have Facebook account, and its sole purpose is to allow friends who I have lost touch with - and who live all over the United States, and the world - to find me if they want to. I also have a extremely rare ethnic last name and no one in the entire world of 6 billion+ people has the same first and last name, which makes my name unique, so I carefully guard my privacy. I have the barest of personal info on Facebook and the highest of security settings. I also spend close to zero percent of my time socializing or keeping track of people I know through Facebook or other social networking sites. Why? As the Social Network makes perfectly clear: Nothing, but nothing, takes the place of real, live people in face-to-face relationships!After watching Social Contract it left me feeling both amazed at Mr. Zuckerberg's good instincts and his fortitude in not letting anyone hold him back and allowing himself to succeed beyond his wildest dreams - and empty - by his profound loneliness and from the persistent discord that swirled around him throughout almost the entire movie. I also found irony in the fact that Mr. Zuckerberg did not cooperate in any way with the making of Social Network because it exposed his private life to the world - but, yet, the general public is encouraged to give him (Facebook) as much of our personal information as we can! Social Network is interesting because you see what a person with good instincts can achieve in the real world. While I don't approve of people mistreating each other, the history of inventing anything important is full of stories like Social Network. For example, lawsuits over patents are a big business, that's why we have an army of "patent" attorneys here in the United States! (I also found it so delicious that the founder of Napster, who brought the recording industry down on its knees, played a key role in providing critical good advice to Mr. Zuckerberg's success. I know how malignant the recording industry can be. None other than the legendary Nigerian drummer Baba Olatunji told me a how one the biggest record companies in the world viciously screwed him out of a lot of money!)Social Contract is mainly about two things: Interpersonal relationships and money. But what is only mentioned at the very end at the story is Mr. Zuckerberg is a billionaire (actually he's a MULTI-billionaire!) With that huge amount of wealth I couldn't help, but wonder, what is he doing with all that money to make the world a better place? At the same time, I kept thinking about the 18-year old gay college student who recently jumped off the George Washington bridge because someone filmed and then posted his same-sex sexual activities all over the internet. He left his suicide note on Facebook! I hope someone close to Mr. Zuckerberg's reads this review and encourages him to start spending some money on organizations that work to strengthen laws that protect a person's privacy and maybe throw a few bucks to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered (GLBT) Suicide Prevention Hotlines around the country, while he's writing checks. They are always struggling for money. It would be a most profound gesture, Mr. Zuckerberg! You could save many young lives!SEE: Harvard Business Review on Corporate Responsibility (Harvard Business Review Paperback Series) and How to Have a Respectfully Real Relationship with Yourself and The Friendship Factor: How to Get Closer to the People You Care for and Treasures of the Snow - A Story of Friendship and Forgiveness

husmir1 (2012-05-24 21:25)

interesting movie

If you think this is about lines of programming codes or boring scenesof a nerd designing a website the whole movie, then you are wrong.This movie is about a dramatic, funny, interesting story of success. Itis not mainly about Facebook as many would think, it is about thegenius guy who invented it to attract this much people all around theworld with a simple idea.It shows us the story of being hated, alone, with no social life at allnor girl friends and how a very simple idea which started with hackingand stealing pictures of girls from his university and publishing themonline gained all the attraction from all students at the university.and then taking the secret that attracted all these people anddeveloping a new idea that can have the same impact on them and bringsthe whole college social experience online. It shows you how hestarted, how this website spread like this, what did he do after thatto actually make money of it, and how it ends up with a huge companywith the youngest billionaire in the world.a success like that never comes without hatred, without people tryingto shut the whole thing down, and without friends betrayal. you willsee a lot of lawyers talking scenes trying to sew him for what he didto his friend and to the people he was supposed to work with regardinga similar idea. it's full of funny comments and rude behavior.nothing more can be said except this movie is a big deal. perfectactors, perfect scenario, perfect music.

(2012-05-22 14:55)

Way Over-Rated

This movie received a lot of hype, so I actually ended up buying the Blu-ray. While the movie seemed well-scripted and the story telling seemed well done, there really was not much story to tell. Pretty straight-forward plot about an ambitious coder who used a clever marketing strategy to tweak an existing idea to make lots of money. He makes some poor decisions, which costs him a good friend. I could have read about it on Wikipedia.If you want to see a good story on the evolution of technical superpowers, watch the Pirates of the Silicon Valley. I actually learned something from watching that one.Bottom line, Netflix this movie, don't buy it. Unless you buy into the hype, because that's all there is.

(2012-05-21 20:27)

What's even better than the Social Network ?

This review is from: The Social Network (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (DVD) If you liked the movie as much as my husband and I did, then you will especially appreciate the bonus disk with director's comments on the background of the movie. For average movies, this type of extra content can come across as pretentious and/or boring. In the case of such topical material, executed in such an excellent way in the film itself, it is very interesting to gain this additional perspective on its making. So if you liked the Social Network, then make this investment and enjoy it all over again, with the added bonus of new insights into the material.

TheHrunting (2012-05-21 02:11)

How a massive site was born

This revolves around the inception of current social networking giantFacebook.com, along with a bitter feud between those who were closelyrelated to its creation. In the ancient days people settled theirdifferences in a battle of strength, nowadays it requires shrewd brainpower and a laptop to one up your opponent. Swords are replaced bykeyboards, brave words are replaced by written law. The modern age,which includes phenomenons such as social networking on the internet ona computer powered by electricity, made the world a little smaller butalso more interconnected and complex than it has ever seen in itshistory.One of the most iconic rises to the top from competition was "PumpingIron." It focused on bodybuilding but audiences learned the generalrule of thumb for anyone getting ahead is you're going to eitherpurposely or inadvertently step on others. That goes for someone takingideas, to another giving out help. Mother Teresa had enemies, as does aCEO. Someone out there is going to have their feelings hurt or rightsviolated when someone else wants to advance. Although, if there's aline where does it get crossed? At the expense of your friends andbusiness partners over your own ambitions? "The Social Network" centersaround a remediating legal case in progress between different partieswho feel they had their rights violated. This switches from past topresent with some stylized filmmaking mechanics to make one think moreis going on than meets the eye. The backdrop is basically your averagecollege kids--think National Lampoon minus the comedy--doing what theydo between classes. There is no doubt a minor story to had, though thefilmmakers slipped in some tabloid scandal to pad the rest and itdidn't require two hours to tell it, insignificant ties to it, orextremely loud music that drowns out conversations to sell it. Thiswould have been better suited as a documentary as it would cut away theflash and trivial fat.Conversations range from incoherently fast to frequently drawn out.Literally word for word is expressed without pulling away or cuttingback on whether it's significant. This isn't rewarding like a "ABeautiful Mind" where you got a balanced understanding of how a uniqueprocess works and an intimate knowledge of the unconventional personbehind it without wanting to wring their neck. Facebook mogul MarkZuckerberg is like Spock from "Star Trek" or Chloe from "24" who looksat situations as logical as opposed to emotional. Zuckerberg doesn'tsee companionship like you or I, but sometimes wants to fit in despitemostly being a jerk without necessarily doing it on purpose. Possiblyhis only true friend and co-founder, Eduardo Saverin, gets the shortend of the stick as he's a nice guy in a dog-eat-dog world. Napsterrenegade, Sean Parker, is a leech that sucks onto opportunity withoutactually bringing in technical skill but instead charisma andconnections. The three who originally brought their social network ideato Zuckerberg--Divya Narendra and Winklevoss twins--range fromreserved, outspoken to confrontational, though each equally want whatis deserved by bringing lawyers to the table as a last resort tonegotiate. For all parties, it turns into he said this, he said thatbickering. When millions of dollars are on the line maybe you wouldtoo, though that shared connection doesn't make this any moreintriguing or even noteworthy to watch with all the minute nit-pickingand overdramatization."The Social Network," like the film "Flash of Genius" about Ford usingwindshield wipers without permission, brings a deal gone sour to thepublic's attention. It's hard to say if this is 100% accurate as it'sbased on the book "The Accidental Billionaire" from the perspective ofEduardo Saverin: the co-founder who got the short end of the stick. Ifall parties were involved, this would have been better suited towards asanctioned biography, as it's still interesting that these sexed up,drinks down college guys started out young and made something out ofthemselves by sheer luck and risk. The film tries to tie it alltogether by hinting that a socially awkward guy used the only skill sethe had to create a massive social network to win over the girl. Ofcourse, he doesn't care about those billions of dollars but the love ofthe game: writing code. Though getting to that point and trying tosympathize after dragging through the nitty gritty was an exercise inad nauseam. (Also submitted on Cinema Freaks,http://docuniverse.blogspot.com)

liberalgems (2012-05-20 12:48)

The Youngest Billionaire In The World!

Before I review the film, I would like to mention that I do haveFacebook account, and its sole purpose is to allow friends who I havelost touch with - and who live all over the United States, and theworld - to find me if they want to. I also have a extremely rare ethniclast name and no one in the entire world of 6 billion+ people has thesame first and last name, which makes my name unique, so I carefullyguard my privacy. I have the barest of personal info on Facebook andthe highest of security settings. I also spend close to zero percent ofmy time socializing or keeping track of people I know through Facebookor other social networking sites. Why? As the Social Network makesperfectly clear: Nothing, but nothing, takes the place of real, livepeople in face-to-face relationships! After watching Social Contract it left me feeling both amazed at Mr.Zuckerberg's good instincts and his fortitude in not letting anyonehold him back and allowing himself to succeed beyond his wildest dreams- and empty - by his profound loneliness and from the persistentdiscord that swirled around him throughout almost the entire movie. Ialso found irony in the fact that Mr. Zuckerberg did not cooperate inany way with the making of Social Network because it exposed hisprivate life to the world - but, yet, at the same time, the generalpublic is encouraged to give him (Facebook) as much of our personalinformation as we can! Social Network is interesting because you see what a person with goodinstincts can achieve in the real world. While I don't approve ofpeople mistreating each other, the history of inventing anythingimportant is full of stories like Social Network. For example, patentlawsuits are a big business, that's why we have "patent" attorneys! (Ialso found it so delicious that the founder of Napster, who brought therecording industry down on its knees, played a key role in providingcritical good advice to Mr. Zuckerberg's success. I know how malignantthe recording industry can be. None other than the legendary Nigeriandrummer Baba Olatunji told me a how one the biggest record companies inthe world viciously screwed him out of a lot of money!)Social Contract is mainly about two things: Interpersonal relationshipsand money. As far as the "money" part of the story is concerned: Mr.Zuckerberg is now a billionaire (actually he's a MULTI-billionaire!)With that huge amount of wealth I couldn't help, but wonder, what is hedoing with all that money to make the world a better place? At the sametime, I kept thinking about the 18-year old gay college student whorecently jumped off the George Washington bridge because someone filmedand then posted his same-sex sexual activities all over the internet.He left his suicide note on Facebook! I hope someone close to Mr.Zuckerberg's reads this review and encourages him to start spendingsome money on organizations that work to strengthen laws that protect aperson's privacy and maybe throw a few bucks to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexualand Transgendered (GLBT) Suicide Prevention Hotlines around thecountry, also. They are always struggling for money. It would be a mostprofound gesture, Mr. Zuckerberg!

(2012-05-19 20:03)

an intelligent film about the biggest social phenomenon of our time

The movie hits theaters on October 1, 2010 but I was able to see it at a screening last night. The Social Network is a great film with an intelligent script, solid acting and great direction. It's enjoyable to watch. It portrays the Facebook phenomenon in a refreshing light. In the first opening sequence the audience the audience is introduced to a script that makes them think. The film contains very witty dialogue as an Aaron Sorkin (Charlie Wilson's War, The West Wing) film should.David Fincher's direction is subtle and natural. Fincher (Fight Club, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) stresses the balance between the characters, choosing to let the actors do the work, instead of forcing them to act in specific ways.The film is a portrayal of what led to the invention of Facebook and as such is fascinating to watch. Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale, Zombieland) is key to making Mark Zuckerberg come off as an understandable character. At one point, he is told, "You are not an asshhole, you just try hard to be one." And that, to an extent, is what Facebook is like too.For anyone who is a Facebook user and mildly interested in the man who created the social network, this film shows a glimpse of the man behind the software and of the intricate powerplays that have made it Facebook what it is today.

blackfirepro (2012-05-19 15:13)

Today's answer to "Citizen Kane"

We all know the affect that Facebook has had on the world. Who knowswhether for good or bad, but there has been an affect. People canconnect with others like never before. It's a party online. Everyone isinvited, but only the people who know how to use it right have a goodtime. If Facebook were to suddenly disappear off the face of the earth,then many, many people would be left sitting with nothing to do,wondering what hit them. If Facebook somehow left us, there would be animplosion in business, in social traffic, in personality, in life as weknow it. Facebook is its own universe with its own physics and its ownnatural laws. The God of this universe and the creator of its naturalorder is young Mark Zuckerberg, who is currently the youngestbillionaire in the world. His rise to fame and fortune is a sad parableabout friendship and trust and ultimately, loss. The Social Network isa sharp and bitter movie made of bits and pieces of Facebook legend andhistorical fact. The very first scene of the film introduces Zuckerbergas an insanely intelligent, zealous, genius who is obsessed withhimself and getting into the finals club. He is truly and utterly and anarcissistic jerk. His one and only motivation is to elevate his socialstatus. When he cannot manage to get into the final clubs and his trackrecord with women gets increasingly worse, he starts an exclusivenetwork for Harvard undergrads called "The Facebook". Ultimately hesucceeds in elevating his social status , but the question the filmposes is whether it was worth screwing ten people (one of whom was yourbest friend) just to become "popular". Zuckerberg (at least as he'sportrayed here) would say that is was certainly worth it.Right from the start, we identify Zuckerberg as one who is out for hisown interests. But is he willing to alienate everyone close to him inorder to gain the applause of the world? Although the main character iscompletely detestable and despicable, we can identify with hisambitions. In some respects, Mark is admirable in that he will stop atnothing to achieve his goal; however his modus operandi is dark anddisgusting. His ruthless determination leads him to two law suits,hatred by uncounted numbers of people, and most painfully the loss ofhis only true friends. By the end of the film he is no longer human,but rather the shell of one. Inside is an empty vacuum of emotion whereFacebook is all that is left to keep him company. It doesn't matter ifone knows the end of the film, so I'll give it away now. The finalscene depicts Mark alone with his laptop in a conference room. On thescreen is the Facebook that he started. All he can think of to do afterthe arduous journey he's just been on is to invite his formergirlfriend to join his friend list on Facebook. She is the only personwho he hasn't completely lost yet. As he sits there, he refreshes thesite every few seconds to see if there is a response. Will she say"yes" or "no"? Perhaps we'll never no. He may be still waiting.Aaron Sorkin has crafted a masterful screenplay full of greed, revenge,and solitude. It's a fable about the dangers of worldwide recognition.Is it worth the toll on our humanity? Perhaps not. Like Lady Gaga'ssong "LoveGame" asks: Do you want love or do you want fame? It's aSophie's Choice of a question and it has no real answer. Both are hardto get and easy to loose. One thing that is for sure is that we can'thave them both. Zuckerman's fatal misconception is that love will comealong once fame is achieved. Once he does find his fame, he is leftwondering, "Where is the love?" The screenplay's strength is not onlyin its message and its structure, but also in the words spoken by itscharacters. The dialog is sharp and sarcastic, even witty at times.There is a constant banter between the humans in the movie. Zuckerbergis sharp-tongued and straightforward. If he doesn't like someone, he'lltell them so. Sometimes the manner in which he goes about it islaugh-out-loud hilarious. Still, even with the liberal doses of humorsprinkled without, at the film's heart is a deep and dark sense ofloss. Mark Zuckerberg is Charles Foster Kane by the end of the film. Heis a man who worked hard enough to gain everything, and in the processlost everything. Sad, to be sure, but true.David Fincher has also left his mark on the film. The cinematography isdark and haunting, much like his previous film The Curious Case ofBenjamin Button. Fincher has a distinctive style that is identifiablyfrom the first shot. The film is underexposed to a certain degree,capturing the darkness of the subject matter perfectly. In essence, thelook of the movie is somewhat of a portrait of Mark's soul by the endof the film. It's dark, mean, and subtle. You have the feeling thatthere is some demon lurking in the shadows of each shot. Despite theominous nature of the film, it's a beautiful movie to look at, justlike Benjamin Button, but ultimately more satisfying after it's allover and done with. Benjamin Button left me cold, and fortunately thisleft me thinking. Left me thinking about my own humanity, and how easyit would be to loose it. The Social Network will become a classic to besure. I can't say that about many movies. In fifty years this will beremembered well. It's a modern day Citizen Kane; a parable about loveon our own terms. Those are the only terms we ever know—our own.www.colewebbharter.com

brando647 (2012-05-18 13:51)

Fincher Proves He Can Make a Great Movie About Anything, Including Facebook

I had serious doubts when I heard there would be a movie based on thecreation of popular social network Facebook. What could possibly beinteresting enough to devote an entire film to a website where peopleroutinely post pictures of their meals, play hundreds of crappy games,and stalk each other's every move? Well if there's one thing Ishould've learned by now, it's never doubt director David Fincher.Fincher's immense talent coupled with the sharp writing of Aaron Sorkincombine to bring us one of the best films of 2010. Based on thebiography "The Accidental Billionaires", the film tells the story ofMark Zuckerberg, an antagonistic genius who finds inspiration in adrunken night of retaliatory hacking/blogging and a subsequent pitchfrom classmates for a new social networking website. He focuses hisinspiration, along with funding from his best (and only, really) friendEduardo Saverin, creates Facebook and watches it explode in popularityacross the world. The story is framed within depositions for twolawsuits brought against Zuckerberg, one from Saverin and the otherfrom his classmates that accuse Zuckerberg of stealing their idea.Fincher's movie is a slick, fast-paced story that immediately grabsyour attention from the opening scene, with Zuckerberg's high speedrant to his girlfriend over final clubs and standing out in a collegefull of geniuses. Right away, we know from his dismissive attitude andhis arrogance that Zuckerberg is not a good guy, and we see over thecourse of the next two hours how self-centered he really is. I'dthought Jesse Eisenberg was great in ZOMBIELAND and he proves he's morethan just the "new Michael Cera" with his excellence as MarkZuckerberg. He helps turn Zuckerberg into a complex character; in theDVD commentary, Fincher notes that it wasn't meant to be the breakupwith his girlfriend that drove him to create Facebook as a means ofimpressing her, showing her why she should be with him. But to me,that's exactly how the movie plays out: Zuckerberg is hurt when hisgirlfriend leaves him and everything he does for the rest of the filmis merely an attempt to regain her attention and show her what he'sbecome.THE SOCIAL NETWORK was my choice for Best Picture this past Oscarseason and I was sad to see it lose. Along with TOY STORY 3, this wasone of the top movies of 2010. It came as a major surprise and it blewme away. The cast was fantastic; even Justin Timberlake continues toprove he has strength as a legitimate actor (for further proof, seeBLACK SNAKE MOAN). Andrew Garfield was great as Zuckerberg's formerbest friend, Eduardo Saverin, and I'll be curious to see how his careerprogresses after such a high profile film. Finally, we have TrentReznor and Atticus Ross's award-winning score for the film: a sharpsynthetic sound that feels at home in a Fincher film and gives it afamiliar feel. This film is wonderful; how accurate it was to actualevents, I couldn't tell you. As a story playing out on the big screen,I loved it. I'm sure there are people out there who won't have aninterest in seeing a movie about the creation of a social networkingwebsite, but it's a lot more than that and I hope most people will giveit a chance to surprise them, as it had me.

Dan1863Sickles (2012-05-18 08:31)

Actors Get A 10 -- Script Gets A 2 -- Movie Gets A 4

Spectacular performances by Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, andmany other young faces can't stop THE SOCIAL NETWORK from coming acrossas just a sloppy and shallow "hatchet job" on FACEBOOK founder MarkZuckerberg.The real bad guy in this story is not Mark Zuckerberg but Aaron Sorkin.In spite of coming up with a few funny twists and some greatdialog(including the best KARATE KID tribute ever)Sorkin seemsabsolutely determined to dumb down his subject and talk down to hisaudience. Sorkin really couldn't care less how computers work or whatmakes one "hacker" stand out from a million other kids. No, all hewants to do is celebrate (and sentimentalize) the allure of "IvyLeague" snobbery and social class.Note well that the Harvard in this movie has nothing to do with Harvardas it exists today -- or even as it existed five years ago. Sorkin isdealing in themes that were already clichés before he was born. Poorboys dying to pledge the right clubs -- rich boys certain they own theworld -- all that's missing are the goldfish swallowers, rumble seats,raccoon-fur coats and the glowing green light on Daisy's dock.Is Aaron Sorkin really this out of touch? Or is he just incredibly lazyand stupid? Is Jewish self-loathing at work here? Or is he truly thisterrified by a world where birth and status are actually less importantthan skills and hard work? The weird thing is, I really don't careabout computers and I don't think much of FACEBOOK one way or theother. But by the time I left the theater I felt like Mark Zuckerberghad to be a great guy -- just because a smirking, agingpseudo-intellectual liberal like Aaron Sorkin hates him so much.

NolanFincherBoyle (2012-05-16 00:35)

The Social Network is not all you think it to be

On October 28, 2003, at approximately 8:13 P.M, Mark Zuckenberg, a thenstudent enrolled at Harvard Universe, then drunk and angered from anargument from his former girlfriend, Erica Albright, launched out avery derogative and hateful blog on Livejournal depicting her to beingnothing more than "just a pretty face".Who would have known that one little offensive blog post that only sentZuckenberg to a 6 month (then shortened) probation of "academicactivities" and from crashing the Harvard servers due to a survey ofwho was the hotter girl on campus could have lead him to almost 7years, 500 million users, billions of dollars, and the ultimateAmerican dream of running the biggest social networking site? Let me say this right from the start: this is in my eyes the best filmof the year (yes, even better then "Inception"). No, it's not the"Citizen's Kane" or "the film of the decade" that almost every criticseems to hype it up to be, but I must say: it's the best acted,written, and overall enjoyable film that I've seen in these last eightmonths by far. It combines something that I haven't really seen thisentire year: creativity with a pure sense of norm. What I mean is thatthis film is creative in a sense of storytelling while remaining onething we all in a film: for it to be not only watchable, but to beentertaining and "out of the box". "The Social Network" does this, andalmost flawlessly in that sense.Mark Zuckenberg is a very interesting character to say the least, notknowing what he's up to or thinking off. And it's all thanks to thebrilliant performance by an actor that I even considered a "MichaelCera wanna-bee": Jessie Eisenberg (Zombieland, Adventureland). The wayhe portrays Zuckenberg as this intellectual mind with such knowledge ofhow to run a company, yet he can't run a personal relationship or keephis friends together was so interesting to watch. Every scene he sitsin just gives off a very professional vive for such a young actor.Eisenberg is so worthy of an Oscar that I'm even going to proclaim thathe's provided, to me at least, one of the most interesting charactersin years to follow on screen. Especially scenes with him and MarylinDelpy, played by Rashida Jones, he really shines the best. Even inthose scenes, he admits that he didn't want to do anything wrong tohurt those around him. He just what he felt was right, and thatFacebook took from his "social life" and instead made the "socialnetwork" his new reality. Eisenberg shines in those scenes the best, assomeone so flawed in personality but so flawless in mind. It's a tragicperformance that, really, I won't ever forget.And that's not all for the acting case: not at all. You also have twoaward-worthy acting breakthroughs for one newcomer, Andrew Garfield asEduardo Saverin, Mark's long time friend and roommate, and JustinTimberlake as the very controversial Napster creator, Sean Parker. Yes,I just said Justin Timberlake, former NSYNC pop star and musicsuperstar, gave a great performance away from his singing and insteadin front of a movie camera. No matter who you talk about, both Garfieldand Timberlake, deliver such knockout jobs that I have to commend themwith not only the script that they were handed (I will talk about thescript more bellow), but how much they really got into character.Fincher's directing and Sorkin's amazing script translates so well tothe screen, its almost unmisable as to why you can't seem to hate MarkZuckenberg.And going back to Zuckenberg: it's more about the genius side of himthat is the ultimate flaw in his master plan to get everything right:he can't compute in real life. A prime example of this is in the courtroom scenes, both being a self-centered know-it-all and aunderprivileged snob that thinks he knows it all, while the only thingprotecting him from losing everything is some faulty evidence and agood lawyer. Even with the first scene in the film (destined to be aclassic in the dialogue department) between Eisenberg and Rooney Mara,its heavily shown that Zuckenberg doesn't live in the real world, buthis own world.In conclusion: For one of the very first time watching a film, I wasmore impressed with the script then the actual film itself. For such afilm to come along, and not only surprise me to how amazing it was, itwas just captivating to finally see Fincher return to the screen onceagain and bring another great film under his belt. His direction,Sorkin's script, and all three leads will get awards come Oscar time.This is the film of the year, and even though it pains me to say that Ithought "Inception" was more mind blowing, this was the overall betterfilm. From a drunken outrage over something minor, Mark Zuckenbergbecame the youngest billionaire in the world. And we have him to thankfor changing how the world communicates with one another, no matterwhere on this earth. But to horror of Zuckenberg's world, he lost hisown personal life and friends. Even with the lawsuits, the suing, andthe final total in terms of who owns what, Zuckenberg will never getover he lost both Saverin and Parker as friends and business partners.I will continue to use it as well, but somewhat changes in one stance:trusting Zuckenberg as a person "you can be glad to have as a friend"is no longer the case. Even in the final scene tells how you can haveeverything and still have nothing. Even with the line that RashidaJones provides before the credits role: "You're not a @$$hole, Mark,you just try so hard to be one.10/10

(2012-05-15 04:17)

Best Purchase I've Ever Made

This review is from: The Social Network (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (DVD) Besides being one of the best films of our generation, The Social Network is one of the best DVDs I've bought in a long time. Both commentaries are great, David Fincher's from a more technical point of veiw and Sorkin/the cast's from a fun one. "How Did They Ever Make a Movie out of Facebook?" is an interesting and fun documentary on disc 2, and all the other special features are equally entertaining. Did I mention the DVD case itself is rather gorgeous?Of course, the combination of Eisenberg and Aaron Sorkin should really be all the convincing you need to buy this beautiful movie.

(2012-05-14 13:30)

Great movie - highly recommended!!

Social Network is a fantastic movie. While everyone knows that facebook was founded by students at Harvard University (originally for the sole use of Harvard students), this movie gives numerous insights into the complexities of facebook's origins at various stages in the developmental process, along with examining the various levels of student involvement in what has become an internet phenomena around the world. Mark comes off as being inately brilliant, yet, irritatingly socially inept. Facebook initially appears to be Mark's means to creating social status for himself, rather than a vehicle/business for the billions of dollars it ultimately resulted in. What surprised me most in the movie was the portrayal of Harvard's former President, Larry Summers. Is he really such an arrogant d***? If so, he represents the pompous elitism of one this country's finest educational institutions at it's very worst. Needless to say. You won't regret watching this well-made and thought-provoking movie. I highly recommend it.

Rsloan925 (2012-05-14 05:28)

Sensory Overload

Have you ever had the feeling of being watched, not only by your bestfriend but your neighbor, long lost cousin, and the kid you randomlymet last night? I have, and Facebook is the reason. Now don't get mewrong, I was ecstatic my freshman year in high school when I receivedthe email informing me I had been invited to Facebook, well TheFacebookat the time. Away with Myspace and hello to endless clicking on themouse for hours at a time. Facebook offers an inside look into yourfriends personal life, creating sensory overload if you use it toomuch. The majority of people, even my Grandma in Canada have Facebookand I found myself realizing I could not get away from it. I along withmillions have to check Facebook every chance I get, and withtechnological advances it became easier and accessible through cellphones. What is it that makes a person so anxious when typing in theirpassword to login, if it has't already been auto saved? I'll tell youwhat is it...it's that little red caption box under "notifications"informing you on wall post, photo comments and whatever it is that afriend did relating back to your account. Facebook creates an unspokenlanguage for communicating through a software that understands youbecause of your interaction with the website. The Social Network leavesviewers feeling like one of the creators alongside Mark and hiscolleagues. The dramatic music, symbolism and excellent acting makesfor a compelling plot. The movie gives you an inside look at thecreation of a billionaire and his company. Can you even fathom $6.9billion, that's Marks estimated net worth? The movie takes you throughevery detail of the creation of Facebook and the ridiculous lawsuitsagainst the site. It shows how pathetic and greedy some are for thesake of money. The movie exposes how fast and popular the site becamein a matter of months and the cleverness of one Harvard student. Ifanything one might be disappointed when the credits begin to rollbecause it's one of those movies you don't want to end. Although themovie has ended everyone watching is wondering the same thing, what'snext for Facebook? and will it ever end? After watching The SocialNetwork twice and being completely fascinated by Facebook, I decided todeactivate my Facebook account. I couldn't get away from it andwatching the movie made me realize this. After six devoted years on thesite I've decided to take a break from Facebook and see how interactingwith friends is different because I'm not connected with them threw awebsite. This was an AWESOME movie and I recommend it to any who has apulse and knows how to use a computer.

Dany H (2012-05-12 17:01)

Overrated? Hard to tell

When the whole Social Network boom started, I wasn't even thrilledabout watching the film. Facebook is and will never be my thing, I haveyet to understand why people feel so drawn by it. Truly, it's a helpfultool to be in communication with people you don't get to see often, butmaking it the center of the universe? Seems to me kind of pathetic.So, when I heard that the critics were praising the film, I have toadmit I grew curious but it wasn't enough for making me want to spendmy money on it. Time passed and I finally decided I couldn't reallylose much in giving it a try.First five minutes were awful, I instantly hated Mark. But that's theinteresting thing about his character: he's not made to be liked. Infact, he's just plain real. Few movies can portray a real-life personin the most accurate way they can, they are changed so that theaudience can like them. Think for example of Henry VIII played byJonathan Rhys-Meyers in The Tudors, amazing performance... but thenagain, isn't Jonathan way too handsome for Henry? Compared to whatwe've seen in paintings you have to admit he is. Contrary to mostfilms, Mark isn't attractive at all, not only physically but hispersonality is almost unbearable. Yet, he is a genius in what he does.As the film continued, I started liking it. I found interesting how theidea of Facebook evolved and the script was pretty damn good for thefirst 50 minutes of the film. The acting was also good. Still, I waswaiting for the moment in which I'd crazy for the story.It's funny but as soon as Justin appeared, the film's rhythm started todecay. I'm not sure why and it's certainly not Justin's fault becausehe's a good actor (not a great one but he manages to convince me), butin the minutes following his appearance, I started asking myself whywas the film so praised by everyone. Maybe it's because I had watched"Black Swan" a week before and I might had been waiting for the film toexceed it, and it never happened. Because there's actually no point ofcomparison between the two.Social Network it's not my kind of film and I barely liked it; butobjectively it's a good film. The acting is good, the plot is good...yet it was not what I expected after reading the critics. I expectedmore and maybe it was a mistake because I didn't enjoy the film quiteas much as most people. Still, I'm giving it 7 out of 10.

(2012-05-12 10:52)

Talkative

I seen this movie after 12am, and wasn't prepared for all the dialogue. Thought it was a good movie, will need to see it again to hear all the dialogue while more awake and attentive. Zuckerburg's character is a monotone fast talker, so be prepared, and with all that tech talk, that's why I have to see the movie again.

Filippos01 (2012-05-12 02:56)

What a trash...! If u got brains simply avoid it!

The social network to me is just another proof of recent mass hysteriawhere we can't distinct good from bad. This cheap drama-soapdramatically rewrites the history and I guess that's what made meangry. This is too much of a recent history and they're using realnames in a docudrama setting. To me, this is history manipulation andnot dramatization of a real story! 1)How lame that the Napster founderis played by the girls idol Justin. 2)How lame that he's talking aboutsocial networking as if he discovered it! Geez! Facebook just added afew very smart add ons, the social networking is certainly not theiridea! I'd rather see a movie about the guys who actually did come upwith the social networking idea i.e. profiles not for dating, but forfriends. 3)Facebook is based mostly on cheating, lying, copying andmisleading (i.e. Did u forget that back in the days we all used toreceive this "friends invitations to join facebook?" Do u remember thatfacebook once u joined misled u on entering Ur e-mail password and thenhacked into Ur address book and sent ALL of them an invitation to joinface-book without our permission??)This film is a horror film about how horribly well things work if Ursmart and unethical. As far as the film goes it technically work fine,it's interesting that Mark is somehow honest about himself not beingsuch a nice person, but under my humble opinion this whole film is madeto fill Mark's vanity issues and wanting to stay in history as thefounder of social networking, which is simply a lie.

abcll27 (2012-05-11 18:03)

Racist and blinded by the whiteness.

Did they really say Asians can't dance? I will bitch slap the writerwho put that into the script. I can't stand how there's no diversity inthis movie. I never wanted to see this but started because it won somany awards, I said, fine I'll give it a try and not long before itstarted did it annoy me.The music sucks. The music should not be noticed, thats why its calledbackground music. Its too loud and does not fit the scenes. I stilldon't understand why this movie is doing so well?This movie just shows what America really appreciates- political bullcrap.

Terrell Howell (2012-05-09 01:31)

How many synonyms are there for incredible?

How can a movie about the creation of Facebook and the legal battlesthat followed it be interesting enough to warrant a two hour film? Whenyou attach talents to the project like David Fincher and Aaron Sorkinthe question is how could this movie not be interesting enough towarrant a two hour film? From the dark and elegant mind of DavidFincher, the genius behind movies like Fight Club, Seven, and Zodiac,and the intelligent writing ability of Aaron Sorkin, the creator/writerof the multiple Emmy award winning series The West Wing, comes TheSocial Network. It chronicles the creation of the most popular socialnetworking site in the world, Facebook. The word facebook should meansomething to anybody who owns a computer. I have a Facebook. Most of myfamily has a Facebook, grandparents included, and I could count on onehand the amount of friends I have that don't have Facebooks. But thisinnovative and extraordinarily convenient social tool that we take forgranted nowadays has a twisted and surprisingly corrupted past. Andthis past all stems from the manipulative mind of a man named MarkZuckerberg.In the opening scene we are also introduced to our protagonist of thestory, Mark Zuckerberg. This character is where the greatest risk ofthe film occurs. Normally when the protagonist does not fit the role ofgood guy hero character, he or she is the antihero who is not anentirely good person, yet still retains their likability. Zuckerbergbreaks this role. He is not at all a likable guy in the beginning ofthe film. He's a genius who doesn't know how to handle it. Zuckbergerdisplays a glaring disposition where he sets himself above everyoneelse intellectually. He is extremely pretentious and arrogant towardshis piers and colleagues, who he views as all inferior to his extremelevel of intelligence. The character reminds me a lot of JasonSchwartzman's role in Wes Anderson's Rushmore, only not being as muchof a caricature, so much as a human being (not to say that Rushmoreisn't a great film). The way we see the character of Mark Zuckerberg,who I will say is excellently portrayed by Jesse Eisenberg, evolve isincredibly intriguing and constructed very well.After the opening scene, we are cleverly guided through this story ofbetrayal and deceit which never loses its charisma. I give huge kudosto this film for its consistency. The dialouge never slows down ortrails off and the film as a whole consistently hits a high mark forme. I was never bored, never disinterested, and never lost. I'vebrought up getting lost or confused multiple times because this filmdoes deal with so much intellectual computer and legal jargon that itcould have potentially been extremely confusing to anyone who doesn'thave an understanding of the world of coding or lawsuits (includingme). Fortunatley, Sorkin writes in such a convincing and clear cut waythat as long as you pay attention, you will understand what is going onand you will understand the meaning behind everything that happens inthis film and how it all builds to the end in a fulfilling way.Everything about the script is incredible and downright intoxicating. Ifound myself practically in a trance during long stretches of fastpaced conversation. There was never a single moment in this film whereI felt unsatisfied with what I was viewing.As the film progresses, it still retains its gripping story and wittydialouge, but it begins to morph into a story that goes far beyond justthe creation of Facebook. It deals greatly with corporate greed and thelengths that one can go to achieve something so incredible, but lose somuch in the process. The subtext of this film is where it doubles inits intrigue, and makes it all the more impressive and memorable. Italso is a film which defines this generation where technology is partof daily life in the social world. The film presents the pros and consto this new age of social interaction, yet is not overbearing on oneside or the other. The Social Network is, in essence, what every filmshould be, something that is incredibly well made, while also having asocially relevant credibility and worth. Hypothetically, The SocialNetwork is perfect.Even fantastic dialouge like this will have to be backed up by greataudio/visual work that matches the compelling nature of the script. TheSocial Network plentifully succeeds on this level as well. Fincher hasan impressive talent of creating very gripping visuals, even withoutimmaculate and elegant artistic backdrops. He can create a dank anddisgusting basement into a bloody and brutal fighting ring, or a plainand boring deserted desert road into a perfect scene for the finalshowdown between detective and serial killer. Fincher succeeds onceagain, as he turns a college party, something we've seen a million andone renditions of, into something so intelligently and artisticallycrafted in it's own razor edged contemporary fashion, that we forgetwhat kind of simplistic scene we are in. He can turn a slow andmonotone boat race into something so beautiful and delicate.The combined talent of Fincher and Sorkin is thankfully not a wastedone in The Social Network. It lacks in no area, and while it succeedsabove and beyond in its script, this is far from the only good thingabout the film. Everything comes together so well in this film, and itworks like clockwork. The Social Network is a film which defines ageneration of technology and connecting through its vast network ofsocial capabilities. It is done so incredibly well and means so muchthat it is a definite must see.

laura_macleod (2012-05-08 05:06)

A story that had to be told

I think this story had to be told and it was done in a fantastic way.The script is brilliant, the actors and casting spot on - everyone fitstheir role 100%. Film editing, directing, sound, music, sets etc etc100%. And here's the thing....if you are not of the 'Facebook'generation then you don't really get it...until you see this film andboy, because it is nearly 2011, you really need to understand thisthing that 'happens once in a generation (or two)'. The creation ofFacebook emerges from a story as old as the hills, intelligent geniusof a guy about to be taken advantage of by over privileged brothers anda friend who can 'buy' anything they want - but can they.....? Nope,not when they met a guy who is always going to be one step ahead of thegame. Of course it was his idea and his baby and the film aptly showsthat genius overrides limited ideas..the idea of Facebook probably hadbeen floating and yes, it was up for grabs, but Zuckerberg was the mindand the creator end of story. There is a whole secondary story ofclass, privilege and Ivy League college fraternities but rightly so,the film takes you to the real issue - business and that is where thefilm is in two halves. I urge anyone of 'a certain age' to go and seeThe Social Network - it is relevant and educational and certainly thefilm delivers the story in an accomplished way.