The Social Network: Better than The Godfather, Citizen Kane, and Chinatown

[Bloodwake]

My expectations: it will be a good movie. Possibly the best this year.

What will happen on the Bore regardless: Two or three posters will praise the film to high heaven while the rest of the forum trolls the fuck out of it regardless of if the film is good or not.

[CajoleJuice]

Armond White negative review (yeah edited because I'm an idiot):

http://www.nypress.com/article-21676-creeps-as-heroes.html

Like one of those fake-smart, middlebrow TV shows, the speciousness of The Social Network is disguised by topicality. It’s really a movie excusing Hollywood ruthlessness. That’s why it evades Zuckerberg’s background timidity and the mess that the Internet has made of cultural discourse. In interviews, Sorkin brags about the multiple narrative and Fincher has even invoked Citizen Kane—both are grandstanding excuses for Zuckerberg’s repeated masturbatory request for friendship—a mawkish George Clooney ending. Here’s the truth: Kane was not about a brat’s betrayal, but about a sensitive braggart’s psychological and philosophical shift inward. The Social Network is more like Hollywood’s classic film industry selfromance The Bad and the Beautiful. Yet that Kane-lite film never excused its bad-boy protagonist’s sins and ended magnanimously by converging his three injured parties’ points of view into one beautifully clarifying narrative. It admitted our cultural compromises; this is TV-trite. In The Social Network, creepiness is heroized.

Maybe I do have to see it. Movie of the year confirmed.

[Mupepe]

Possibly best this year?  No effin' way.  Not with Inception and True Grit.

[Great Rumbler]

Possibly best this year?  No effin' way.  Not with Inception, Tron, and True Grit.

[Mupepe]

Okay, I'll agree with your "fixed"

[Great Rumbler]

Armond White negative review (yeah edited because I'm an idiot):

Great movie status confirmed. Will definitely watch this weekend.

[TakingBackSunday]

armond

[Mupepe]

http://www.setmovieclub.com/movie2.htm

Should i go see this tonight?  That way i can start trolling before anyone else on here?  I think I might. 

[Robo]

Who says you have to see a movie before you can troll it?  The flick is garbage; worse than Inception.

[Great Rumbler]

The flick is garbage; worse than Inception and Avatar.

.

[Mupepe]

Who says you have to see a movie before you can troll it?  The flick is garbage; worse than Inception.

QUIT STEALING MY THUNDER

[The Fake Shemp]

I'm with Robo. I imagine that I will yawn more times per minute than I did during Inception.

[Himu]

RE-WATCH SHUTTER ISLAND

BUY SHUTTER ISLAND ON DVD/BLU RAY TODAY

[Solo]

Hrmmm.....here is a movie that felt like it was less than the sum of its parts. I liked it but I didn't love it.

Its got some very clever writing, its beautifully shot and directed, and the casting is *mostly* fantastic, and yet the end result for me when the end credits rolled was a feeling of indifference. For as technically proficient and well-written as it is, it failed to leave any sort of impression on me whatsoever. Nothing resonated, and it sure as hell isn't "the ____ of our generation". I didn't care for any of the characters, and the thematic depth doesn't come close to reaching the brilliance of a Zodiac. I am a Jesse Eisenberg fan, having loved him in The Squid And The Whale and Zombieland, but good christ was he ever miscast here.

File me under entertained but letdown.

[Fresh Prince]

Here save yourselves some money
[youtube=560,345]VosUQQlgYxo[/youtube]

[Boogie]

File me under entertained but letdown.

Interesting, as that would be my one-liner and assessment after watching The Town last week.

[Diunx]

File me under entertained but letdown.

Movie of the year confirmed.

[ManaByte]

Review from a professor at Harvard:
http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/78081/sorkin-zuckerberg-the-social-network?page=0,0

[Cheebs]

It's no Citizen Kane/Godfather but it is David Finchers best movie of his career and likely the movie he will be most remembered for (especially if it sweeps the oscars and I am betting it will). And I was iffy going in. It lives up to the reviews mostly. Although I am someone who thinks Fight Club is really overrated so what do I know. I'd say this, zodiac, and seven are my favorite fincher movies.

[Solo]

It's no Citizen Kane/Godfather but it is David Finchers best movie of his career and likely the movie he will be most remembered for

There isn't a word to express how wrong you are here, Cheebs.

[Cheebs]

It's no Citizen Kane/Godfather but it is David Finchers best movie of his career and likely the movie he will be most remembered for

There isn't a word to express how wrong you are here, Cheebs.

I really just am not a fan of the beloved Fight Club. I much rather watch Zodiac.

Note I am HUGE Aaron Sorkin fan. I like Sorkin more than Fincher. Sports Night, West Wing, etc. TV Perfection. Although Social Network still isn't my favorite of the year.  I suspect Black Swan will end up being my favorite movie this year.

[CajoleJuice]

Haven't seen it, as I went to go see The Town last night instead (and fell asleep), but:

[TakingBackSunday]

 

[Solo]

It's no Citizen Kane/Godfather but it is David Finchers best movie of his career and likely the movie he will be most remembered for

There isn't a word to express how wrong you are here, Cheebs.

I really just am not a fan of the beloved Fight Club. I much rather watch Zodiac.

Note I am HUGE Aaron Sorkin fan. I like Sorkin more than Fincher. Sports Night, West Wing, etc. TV Perfection. Although Social Network still isn't my favorite of the year.  I suspect Black Swan will end up being my favorite movie this year.

All I was saying is that Zodiac is the best film of his career, and Fight Club will be what he is remembered for (shit, 11 years later its still what people in general know him for).

[TakingBackSunday]

Zodiac is truly one of the most underrated movies from the last decade.  So good.

[Diunx]

Yeah, and Tony Stark was great in it.

[Solo]

After Zodiac, Se7en is my next favorite Fincher work. Proof that he should make more movies involving serial killers!

[AdmiralViscen]

Haven't seen it, as I went to go see The Town last night instead (and fell asleep), but:

(Image removed from quote.)

lmao, as I looked from left to right I thought the second guy was the guy from the movie, and then I looked at the third guy and did a double take

[Cheebs]

After Zodiac, Se7en is my next favorite Fincher work. Proof that he should make more movies involving serial killers!

And guess what his next movie is about.  Rooney Mara (from the social network) and Daniel Craig investigating a serial killer!

[Solo]

Indeed. I will shit a brick if Dragon Tattoo isn't awesome.

[Boogie]

Note I am HUGE Aaron Sorkin fan. I like Sorkin more than Fincher. Sports Night, West Wing, etc. TV Perfection.

Ya, as a huge West Wing and Studio 60 fan, I loved the movie.  Straight from the opening scene, the first thought was "yep, this is a Sorkin screenplay." 

[Cheebs]

Indeed. I will shit a brick if Dragon Tattoo isn't awesome.

Well Fincher won't be able to top this no matter how often he tries, it will remain the best thing he ever directed. Maybe.:
[youtube=560,345]mE3vwVWbQGk[/youtube]

[ManaByte]

All I'm hearing is that it's well made, but when it cones to accuracy to what made Facebook as big as it is the movie is as accurate as The Net.

[Boogie]

All I'm hearing is that it's well made, but when it cones to accuracy to what made Facebook as big as it is the movie is as accurate as The Net.

You say that like anyone actually gives a shit about its accuracy.

[Solo]

Indeed. I will shit a brick if Dragon Tattoo isn't awesome.

Well Fincher won't be able to top this no matter how often he tries, it will remain the best thing he ever directed. Maybe.:
[youtube=560,345]mE3vwVWbQGk[/youtube]

I see you this and raise you Michael Bay's magnum opus:

[youtube=560,345][/youtube]

[ManaByte]

All I'm hearing is that it's well made, but when it cones to accuracy to what made Facebook as big as it is the movie is as accurate as The Net.

You say that like anyone actually gives a shit about its accuracy.

From the review on the previous page:

But the most frustrating bit of The Social Network is not its obliviousness to the silliness of modern American law. It is its failure to even mention the real magic behind the Facebook story. In interviews given after making the film, Sorkin boasts about his ignorance of the Internet. That ignorance shows. This is like a film about the atomic bomb which never even introduces the idea that an explosion produced through atomic fission is importantly different from an explosion produced by dynamite. Instead, we’re just shown a big explosion ($25 billion in market capitalization—that’s a lot of dynamite!) and expected to grok (the word us geek-wannabes use to show you we know of what we speak) the world of difference this innovation in bombs entails.

What is important in Zuckerberg’s story is not that he’s a boy genius. He plainly is, but many are. It’s not that he’s a socially clumsy (relative to the Harvard elite) boy genius. Every one of them is. And it’s not that he invented an amazing product through hard work and insight that millions love. The history of American entrepreneurism is just that history, told with different technologies at different times and places.

Instead, what’s important here is that Zuckerberg’s genius could be embraced by half-a-billion people within six years of its first being launched, without (and here is the critical bit) asking permission of anyone. The real story is not the invention. It is the platform that makes the invention sing. Zuckerberg didn’t invent that platform. He was a hacker (a term of praise) who built for it. And as much as Zuckerberg deserves endless respect from every decent soul for his success, the real hero in this story doesn’t even get a credit. It’s something Sorkin doesn’t even notice.

[AdmiralViscen]

So it's better than Dr. Strangelove too!?

[Raban]

Saw it, liked it. However, compared to Fincher's other films, I'd say this one's his weakest.

[Cheebs]

Saw it, liked it. However, compared to Fincher's other films, I'd say this one's his weakest.

Below Alien 3, Benjamin Button, and Panic Room, really?

[Raban]

Saw it, liked it. However, compared to Fincher's other films, I'd say this one's his weakest.

Below Alien 3, Benjamin Button, and Panic Room, really?

In hindsight I think saying "one of his weakest" would've been more accurate. I keep forgetting he directed Alien 3.

[Cheebs]

Bejamin Button is the poor man's Forest Gump and Forest Gump already sucked. Fincher's Alien 3 is even better than that I think.

[Bloodwake]

I'm probably going to go see this tonight. I was going to wait a few weeks, but I have cash and time, might as well.

[Mupepe]

There is nothing particularly wrong with Benjamin Button.  It's not made for us to begin with.  It does what it sets out to do perfectly. 

Panic Room and Alien 3 on the other hand?  Ewwwww

[Cheebs]

Dragon Tattoo better be good. It's a perfect cast and the type of movie his talent is best suited for.

[CajoleJuice]

I agree. I liked the original, but I'm betting on Fincher making it look amateurish.

[Stoney Mason]

Mixed on Aaron Sorkin. He certainly has a specific style that sometimes can be appealing and at other times makes you want to punch him in the face. I liked the West Wing in general. I've always thought sports night was over-rated.  

[Raban]

I was kinda up-and-down with Sorkin's screenplay. The opening scene had pretty terrible dialog and from then on it was either solid or forgettable. I really didn't understand the choice of words in certain scenes, especially near the end.


"Go home, Sean." made me

[ManaByte]

I hate the reviews plastered over the posters that say "THE DEFINING MOVIE OF OUR DECADE!" That just smacks of hipsters proclaiming Scott Pilgrim as the defining movie of a generation. Especially with Wall Street playing right next to it.

What affected more people in the last decade? Myspace 2.0 or the economy taking a dump and everyone losing their jobs, homes, etc?

[Tauntaun]

Here save yourselves some money
[youtube=560,345]VosUQQlgYxo[/youtube]

 

[TakingBackSunday]

I hate the reviews plastered over the posters that say "THE DEFINING MOVIE OF OUR DECADE!" That just smacks of hipsters proclaiming Scott Pilgrim as the defining movie of a generation. Especially with Wall Street playing right next to it.

What affected more people in the last decade? Myspace 2.0 or the economy taking a dump and everyone losing their jobs, homes, etc?

Uh, do you honesty NOT think Facebook has affected more people?  Do you not see its affect on...pretty much everything, these days?  You're pretty fucking stupid.

[ManaByte]

You know what? You can eat shit and die.

[Mupepe]

 

[Cheebs]

I hate the reviews plastered over the posters that say "THE DEFINING MOVIE OF OUR DECADE!" That just smacks of hipsters proclaiming Scott Pilgrim as the defining movie of a generation. Especially with Wall Street playing right next to it.

Are you trying to imply Wall Street 2 is more of a defining generational movie? Really?

A fluff forgettable, although somewhat entertaining little movie that won't be remembered in a months time vs. a movie poised to sweep pretty much every major award? Okaaaaay.

[Robo]

I would almost agree with Manabyte if he weren't implying that Wall Street 2 is more fitting of that title. 

The success of Facebook itself says a lot about modern youth culture, relationships, individualism, etc, but The Social Network isn't really about Facebook, it's about greed, jealousy, obsession, and the foundation of a billion dollar company.  If you're an ivy league student on the cusp of success, maybe this flick defines your existence as it currently is.  The only part of the entire movie that resonated with me personally were the final few seconds, and I think that might be true for most people (as that's sort of the point of the scene).

[Cheebs]

I don't even understand how Oliver Stone is one of those directors Manabyte is obsessed with and seems to take threat to any movie/director that comes near it (his hatred of Cameron seeming to come out of some perceived threat toward George Lucas, hatred of Chris Nolan seeming to come out of some perceived threat of his Batman movies toward those Marvel movies...etc). I thought Manabyte was a  Republican.

[Mupepe]

Granted, I haven't seen The Social Network, but it speaks volumes about our current culture that Scott Pilgrim and The Social Network are battling it out for title of defining movie of our generation.  We're scraping the bottom of the barrel here, folks.  :'(

[TakingBackSunday]

I don't agree with the tag "movie of our generation," obviously, but if the movie was more about Facebook's impact on new media, business, and marketing, it probably WOULD be the defining movie of the generation.  There are entire classes that can be taken regarding Facebook alone at some colleges, mine included.

And even if this movie ISN'T about facebook (it's not), it tells a better story about greed and business obsession than Wall Street 2 does.  So manabyte is of course whacked out of his mind.

[Raban]

Granted, I haven't seen The Social Network, but it speaks volumes about our current culture that Scott Pilgrim and The Social Network are battling it out for title of defining movie of our generation.  We're scraping the bottom of the barrel here, folks.  :'(

Says you.

Things change. If you think they're changing for the worse, then I'm sorry, but I'm enjoying the interesting, strange things coming out of this generation. Not just in movies, but in music, art, literature, all of it.

[Cheebs]

Granted, I haven't seen The Social Network, but it speaks volumes about our current culture that Scott Pilgrim and The Social Network are battling it out for title of defining movie of our generation.  We're scraping the bottom of the barrel here, folks.  :'(

Scott Pilgrim isn't battling it out with Social Network. At all. Scott Pilgrim was a little seen cult internet fanboy based movie. Social Network is a very mainstream successful movie that will be sweeping most of the major awards this year. I am unsure how the best reviewed movie  of the year is "scrapping the bottom of the barrel" though. Social Network is a really solid tale of greed, corruption, marketing, and the business world of the 21st century.

[Mupepe]

Trolling is fun! 

I'm never usually good at it

Edit: Wait, I just blew it with this post, didn't I?

Really though.  Scott Pilgrim was fun and okay.  Not great.  I'll see The Social Network eventually and I'm sure it's well done.  I'm just not driven to go watch it.