No matter the season, genre, or company, I always enjoy a good film. What constitutes "good?" Quite simply, a "good" movie is one that keeps you thinking hours after you've left the theater...one that prompts you to read about it further...one that sparks discussion and debate. Movies are such an integral part of culture in its social, aesthetic and historic sense. Like music, fashion, and art, movies cross oceans, change time zones, and break linguistic barriers. While movies obviously hold a traditional charm in their entertainment purposes, their cinematic and artistic power lies within the fact that they subconsciously force the audience to relate what they see on the big screen to their personal lives. In today's post, I'll be doing two movie reviews with subject matter very relevant to everyone, especially if you are between 12 and 30 years old: FACEBOOK.
I'll bet that about 75% of you reading RR right now have Facebook open in your browser. And why wouldn't you? You're probably going through photo albums from last weekend and creeping on that hottie while simultaneously trying to type a paper. In the past five years, Facebook has gone from a college networking site and expanded to include high school networks, regional networks, and international networks. It has transcended it education origins to include businesses. Everybody is connected, and almost overwhelmingly so. As of right now, Facebook has over 400 million active users with 50% logging in on any given day. There are more than 60 million status updates per day, 3 million photos uploaded each month, and more than 3 million active pages. With technology practically conducting our social existence, Facebook seems to make the world a little smaller. To only add to its fame, this fall's movie selection included two very different films both centered around the concept of Facebook. The first, Catfish is a documentary about an internet relationship while the second, The Social Network, focuses on the story of Mark Zuckerberg (one of Facebook's founders) and his rise to fame.
Over Columbus Day Weekend, I had several friends visiting me and thus the perfect opportunity to suggest a film as a group activity. While we were in Cambridge catching up some Harvard friends, we decided on Catfish, which was on my "must-see" list. I had seen several previews for the film, both in theaters and online, and the documentary looked so curiously strange, scary, intriguing and endearing that I felt an almost overwhelming compulsion to see it.
Before you read on, check out the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFKe75Q6eVw
Catfish is produced by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, starring their friend, family, roommate, and co-worker Yaniv "Nev" Schulman. As you can infer from the trailer, Nev is a NYC-based photographer who becomes involved with a family via Facebook, and particular the young and beautiful Megan. I'm obviously not going to reveal the end of the movie, but I will admit that it will leave you perhaps with a greater regard to the power of the internet in the Twenty-First Century, and more specifically of social networking sites such as Facebook. As a character, Nev and his friendly are extremely likeable. They almost reminded me of those MTV guys who go around filming things they want to see and experience before they die, but with a little more maturity and hilarity. While some documentaries are choppy and semi-confusing, Catfish flows; the spectacle of making discoveries keeps you on the edge of you seat while Nev and his friends' humor keep you in good spirits. Three and a half stars from me.
This past week I journeyed home to good old Long Island for some rest, relaxation, and real food (thanks Mom). On Sunday, I took my little brother Liam (my go-to movie partner - he's a tough critic but will see anything) to see The Social Network. Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you've heard of this movie.
If not, click here to watch the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB95KLmpLR4
With a screenplay by Alan Sorkin, director David Fincher brings us a film about a young Harvard tech genius who develops the concept of Facebook as a technical internet program to foster, promote and maintain social connections between young people. While he achieves enormous popularity and success, legal debates arise over financial and authenticity issues. I had heard that the movie was excellent, and I definitely wasn't disappointed. As with every film of a biographic nature, it was equally interesting as it was sad to learn Mark Zuckerberg's story and his turbulent relationships with other members of his team, more specifically Eduardo Saverin. As the role of Mark, Jesse Eisenberg's performance is entirely authentic - he nailed the prototype of the "socially awkward yet academically equipped and business-savvy" Harvard undergrad. I enjoyed the film immensely and I left knowing a lot more about the historic and economic origins of Facebook. Four stars from me, it's a must-see.
Hope you enjoyed the reviews and are making plans to see these film if you haven't done so already! I promise to be back with more, because watching movies is a real treat for me. Have a great day guys!
Lucy
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