As long as you don’t buy in to everything “The Social Network” tells you, David Fincher’s 2010 film is actually a compelling and engrossing exploration of the evolution of socializing through computers and how it’s shaped and defined our new generation turning us in to passive aggressive bullies and thugs who seek one another out through text and HTML code. David Fincher’s film is not perfect. It’s sexist, sensationalist, and turns an internet revolution in to a mere game of revenge from a lovelorn geek. But for its faults, “The Social Network” is a truly gripping and entertaining courtroom drama about the construction of Facebook, and how it managed to affect every single person who ever came in to contact with Mark Zuckerberg. He’s depicted as a narcissistic social outcast who brought down the walls of class, superficiality and exclusivity by allowing people the advent of elitism by virtue of distance that could allow anyone from the gorgeous woman to the awkward nerd to become the kings of their own personal domains.
Tag Archives: Drama
Avalon High (2010)
So why am I reviewing a movie adapted from a teen book I’ve never read in to a film on a channel meant for preteens starring a bunch of actors I’ve never heard of before? Well, because admittedly, “Avalon High” really peaked my interest while changing the channel (and uh… staying on… “Wizards of Waverly Place for a half hour, don’t judge me) and I really had to see what kind of movie “Avalon High” was. As a kid in middle school I was absolutely enamored with the legend of King Arthur and always found the myths and folklore to be absolutely amazing. From the lady in the lake, Excalibur, Merlin, the round table, Mordrid. Camelot, the love triangle of Arthur, his best friend Lancelot, and Guinevere, it’s all rather entertaining and compelling to research, and watching “Avalon High” I realized if I was thirteen this movie would have been watched by me thirty times a day.
Between the Blinds (2010)
Speaking as an author who is constantly thinking up new ideas for novels, injecting his own sentiments in to the psyches of his characters, and has known what a struggle it can be to muster up an idea for a new story at the demand of an editor or a publisher, I found “Between the Blinds” not only a testament to the fragility and beauty of human emotions but to the power of the creative process and how absolutely tumultuous it can be. For any self-respecting writer, they will be able to relate completely with our protagonist, a writer who is given only a few hours to complete a new manuscripts and angrily struggles to concoct a new idea.
Superman: Earth One
“Superman: Earth One” verifies exactly what I’d feared. Superman is emo. Superman is selfish. Superman is “edgy,” and worst of all by the time the tedious graphic novel is over, we’re told by Jonathan Kent that Superman should serve a being higher than himself alluding to religious ideals. What a waste of time. Not since “Smallville” have I seen a less sympathetic portrayal of Superman and Clark Kent before my very eyes. Clark Kent, even with modern fashion, and a jacket and hoodie that’s meant to be his signature look indicating a nerdy but sexy persona, is so absolutely boring and one dimensional in “Earth One” that had I been introduced to Superman for the first time here, I would have never read another piece of fiction with this character ever again.
TRON (1982)
“Tron,” even decades after it release is still an incredible and astonishing movie. It is one that pre-dates computer generated science fiction blockbusters like “Avatar” and is somewhat of a precursor to “The Matrix.” Comprised mainly of special effects, animation, and newborn CGI technology, also celebrating the entertainment of the video game world that later became a cult all on its own. “Tron” has been an admirably influential science fiction epic, in spite of its poor box office grosses, spawning many knock offs like “Arcade” and “Spy Kids 3D,” also managing to outlive most special effects motivated films from the eighties.
That’s because “Tron” has a real heart to it, which is astounding considering it’s primarily set in the confines of the video game world where intelligence and emotions are artificial. “Tron” was just too ahead of its time, and oddly prophetic. It is a futuristic science fiction epic now just being appreciated as a potential property for an epic narrative and a breeding ground for new characters and stories. “Tron” is one of the first movies to appreciate the magic of the video game mixing the blossoming craze of computers and turning it in to a world, where programs are taken prisoner and turned in to gladiators fighting against pre-programmed menaces from the Master Computer.
The villainous Master Computer is a gradually growing artificial intelligence planning to dominate the world‘s computer systems while sapping the memory of many rival programs and users. Kevin Flynn, as played by Jeff Bridges, is a hotshot cocky computer programmer and hacker who takes to breaking in to the computer systems of his ex-company ENCOM. ENCOM is a corporation that abandoned him after inventing a revolutionary computer program leaving him penniless and running an arcade. After Flynn convinces his friends Lora and Alan to break in to ENCOM to corrupt the Master Computer, now running its user Dillinger blackmailing him and manipulating him, Flynn is zapped in to the mainframe.
Now he, as a user and player, is forced to play the MCP’s series of games along with the other individual programs struggling to survive in this new world. All of whom are at the clutches of this intelligent supreme being. Bridges is fantastic as gamer Flynn, a loud mouthed slick nerd and gamer who takes to this world with ease and skill. He engages in (still) harrowing action scenes involving light cycles, and memory disk combat all the while becoming a hero among the programs who turn to him for help against the MCP when they discover he’s much more than a program in this world.
Flynn, after quickly learning the intricacies of the vehicles and machines of the world, meets Tron and Yori (program representations of Alan and Lora) where he helps them bring down the MCP and free the programs from its clutches. With the use of rotoscoping, animation, and computer effects, “Tron” is still a wildly visual and imaginative science fiction adventure with a great sense of excitement. It conceives this amazing innovative technological world with a bold vision that warrants exploring. And while “Tron” is primarily a Disney film, the narrative is much more complex beyond action and romance. It’s often present with themes of religion and the dangers of artificial intelligence.
As well it draws the classic tropes of the genre with a new hero dominating a foreign land, and being the one key to helping mankind as well as this world before him. Lisberger directs a masterful and bold vision with vast possibilities and it’s a unique action film that deserves its cult audience.
Monsters (2010)
Gareth Edwards science fiction horror flick is a grim picture, and one nowhere near intent on offering a positive look on humanity and a new world. What he instead does is spotlight a new world where one side has learned to co-exist with a new breed of creatures that crash landed on Earth, while the more privileged side of the world is so intent on refusing to admit the inevitable that they’ve built possibly the largest wall to separate them from the rest of society. Edwards’ genre offering while essentially a monster movie with carnage and shocks is also a thought provoking piece on society and two views on it looking down at two characters who see more than they ever have in a matter of forty eight hours.
The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009)
It’s not often movies are released that manage to disturb the human consciousness anymore; especially a horror film. In this day and age horror fans have seen everything and are desensitized to the point where the death of an animal rolls off our backs. So it’s pretty surprising to be visiting my favorite movie haunts online to witness numerous comments from horror buffs proclaiming “I’m never watching “Human Centipede!” People are horrified to see what director Tom Six has concocted because good or bad, he has managed to create one of the most evocative, controversial, and utterly disturbing horror films ever made. And it’s one that will spark many debates from movie buffs on its intent. Is it a study of the human psyche, the god complex of surgeons, or just an excuse for human torture for ninety minutes?