DVD Release: The Social Network and Classic: Star Wars: Ep. IV

DVD Release: The Social Network (Collector's Edition)


Given how many exaggerations to this movie (compared with Citizen Kane, movie that defined our generation and such), the exaggerations seem to be true. This is a movie perceived as the movie about Facebook, but it's not. It's about the conflicted relationships of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. The opening scene of his girlfriend dumping him led him to create the largest social gathering on the web.

More so, this is filled with revelating performances from the cast especially Jesse Einseberg who stunningly plays this cold, contrasting portrayal of Zuckerberg who shaped how we communicate with others. More so it's Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake who play stakeholders Eduardo Saverin and Napster inventor Sean Parker who goes along with Zuckerberg's idea that ultimately destroys their relationship.

However the star of the movie is David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin whose impeccable fair-filled direction and rapid-fire screenplay brings in the politics between these young men and into a character study of a genius who is yet angry of a girl who ditched him. The score by Trent Reznor is mesmerising as well. This IMPO by now should've won Best Picture at the Oscars.

A movie based on old storytelling devices of friendship, betrayal and ambition, by the time Zuckerberg has his ego bruised at the last half an hour he turns into a lonely tragic hero you'll realize that his 'Rosebud' was his girlfriend and in the final minute you're left breathless.

Extras: One disc contains seperate audio commentaries of David Fincher, Aaron Sorkin and the cast. Second disc contains the making of The Social Network, the soundtrack, editing and visual effects.

Film: 10.0/10


Extras: 7.5/10

Classic Film: Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope


To be completely honest, I have never seen one Star Wars movie until a few months ago where I went watching this along with Memento and 2001: A Space Oddysey. Star Wars begin with a title sequence that tells the plot of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), a boy farmer working along Jawa traders comes along with two robots R2-D2 and C-3PO joining the Jedi with Han Solo and Obi-Wan Kenobi to defeat the Rebel Alliance led by Darth Vader.

This film shaped the science fiction genre. It created the blockbuster bringing an innovative look to Hollywood in the past. The special effects are spell-binding creating a totally epic look of the film despite the fact it was made for a mere $10 million. Performances are pure with Harrison Ford making him the actual hero over Luke while James Earl Jones brings in a filler to Darth Vader, one of the greatest movie villains of all time.

The Star Wars trilogy was an absolute visionary for George Lucas. It's a pity that the prequels were not on the level.

Adventureland

B+ (8.3)


Working at an amusement park. Not so bad for a summer job though. Or is it?

That's what I thought if you are making an effort at school, don't have much to save which you can use to spend on something you want then get a job that last until you come back to school.

Anyway this is Adventureland probably the most awful theme park you would ever visit.

It is 1987 and James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) had just graduated from college. When his plans on travelling to Europe fell short, he decided to get a summer job to save up for the trip. He gets a job in Adventureland where he meets some fellows. When he started work he sees that Adventureland is bankrupt and couldn't give away a giant stuffed panda at the games. He sees Emily (Kristen Stewart), a person working at the same section as he is. He becomes infatuated with her and meets along the way his co workers: the dry Joel (Martin Starr), the promiscious yet sweet Lisa P. (Margerita Leviera) and the good looking yet infideled maintenence employee Cornell (Ryan Reynolds).

As Brennan becomes attracted to Em, she is secretly meeting up with Cornell despite the fact that Cornell has a wife.

Director Greg Mottola, who previously directed Superbad, goes back to his roots and shoots a film based on his actual life working as an employee at an amusement park. Guess what. It is somehow a great teen flick.

The amusement park has familiar territory to high school where different personalities of each teenage employee are explored widely within each character. Like John Hughes, this is where we feel for these characters and understand them. It is clever and yet moving

Parallel and similar to John Hughes' Pretty In Pink, Jesse Eisenberg and Ryan Reynolds fight for Kristen Stewart. Eisenberg plays the nerdy student while Reynolds play the good looking sort-of preppie. It is interesting that the story goes into the love triangle since Eisenberg, Stewart (who doesn't even suck one bit at this movie given how she's famous for Twilight) are the most interesting characters there is. While Ryan Reynolds take in some serious acting (he previously done Van Wilder and terrible rom coms), he doesn't give the fact that you should care about him. But it is nice to see that he doesn't get into that stereotype where the good looking people aren't that arrogant.

There are some nice people from the cast including Martin Starr, and Bill Hader who does most of the comedy for this film.

In fact the one thing you will like about Adventureland is the soundtrack of songs from the 80s. It would connect not just teens but adults because they will be familiar of their youth from that decade such as The Cure, Crowded House and INXS.

The problem of this movie is that there is a pace where the movie becomes so slow it feels so boring and complicated.

Adventureland has a screenplay original even if part of the plot is similar to other teen comedies. But the characters are the most important and takes you back to your youth. But anyway it's adoring, witty and makes Jesse Eisenberg also known as the poor man's Michael Cera just Jesse Eisenberg

Getting in Character: The Angry Nerd

The Social Network is probably my favourite movie of the year. However it is so hard which is better. That movie or Inception? How the movie about Facebook works is because its screenplay by Aaron Sorkin is so engaging, the direction of David Fincher is wonderful and that the performances were extraordinary especially Jesse Eisenberg who plays Mark Zuckerberg.

Mark Zuckerberg is depicted as this white angry, self centred, deplorable, arrogant person who has a lot of money. He's the youngest billionaire in the world with a revenue of $6.9 billion. How did he does that when Facebook is free to sign up? Well it's beccause of a boost from advertising, large amounts of investments. And advertising can earn a lot.

But in Social Network, Zuckerberg is shown to be the genius here while all of his people around him does the work for him and Zuckerberg would not acknowledge the full cooperation behind Facebook especially with his best friend Eduardo Saverin who would later take him to court in order to gain his full shares since he made his own company along with former Napster CEO Sean Parker who would give Saverin no sympathy for him.

Zuckerberg before had shows no sympathy towards anyone who would not follow his ideas or orders. At the beginning of Network, Zuckerberg discusses Finals Club with his girlfriend Erica Albright and when she talks about Finals Club he makes a big deal out of it. When Erica then dump him, he wrote about how scathing his girlfriend in and then makes a website comparing women in Harvard based on their looks.

So we learn that the result of Facebook was on a girl. And the discussion of Harvard clubs are that Zuckerberg wanted or possibly desperate a spot of social acceptance. There was nothing that showed that Zuckerberg was bullied or let down at college that would make him want to massacre 30 people, but that he is a nerd. One that is put down by society because of their low social skills.

Here is a nerd that are not usually depicted like they wear dull clothes, or are totally strange and at the same time they obsessed with sex which creates really stupid levels of humour like Jim Belushi or Adam Sandler. But the nerd is depicted as a person who is still obsessed with the sciences (math, physics, computers) however they are dead serious and are so angry.

The theory of how these characters are the raging bulls, according to writer Aaron Sorkin is that they are furious if the 'pretty girl still goes out with the star athlete'. Imagine if you had liked a really pretty girl with no attention to her looks, then you would breakeven with her if she goes out with the jock and you would think the jocks are self indulgent and wouldn't treat you better.

Frankly I'm a movie expert and I would get pissed off if people told me off about my music and are horrible. Or if I focused on an actress like Scarlett Johansson rather than Megan Fox. Even i get pissed off if someone yells at me in a shopping centre. These were my experiences and I could possibly relate to Zuckerberg.

Zuckerberg seems somehow to have Aspergers, where he is a genious but is not usually socialized. And when someone tells him bad that is a tiny thing, he turns it into a big deal. Well have you watched The Big Bang Theory? Remember the character Sheldon (pictured there) ? People, mostly psychiatrists believed he has Aspergers. HE can't communicate like every body else. Even his friends can't understand him. I've seen The Big Bang Theory and honestly I hated that TV show. Sheldon is shown to have no emotion, speaks for more than ten seconds and such. IF people don't follow what he wants, then he would distance himself like in many other episodes. For example if his friends won't eat Chinese on a Friday, then he will overreact. But the excuse for hating this show is because of that character which I find annoying. Also i don't get the humour of the show.

Sheldon and Zuckerberg are all prime examples of what the nerd is today. They have a huge amount of anxiety and seem to feel like a total creep. The don't understand how do people feel. Instead they would think about themselves.

So today nerds are filled with grunge-soaked angst because nobody likes them, but here's a good thing about them. They are controlling how we live. Look at Zuckerberg today, he made Facebook which is part of our everyday lives. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are making gadgets and computers that almost 96% of the world will have access to. These guys have reached where they have became influential of their works.

They are also unique like I am. Obviously it's my tastes in movies and life that makes me different. As a teenager, I talk words 16 year olds never speak like 'emphasized', I like different tastes of music like Radiohead and Arcade Fire. And yet people won't appreciate it and refuse to listen because of their prejudiced and biased impression.

But as Willy Wonka had quoted 'we are the music makers. And we are the dreamers of dreams', it's proof that whatever we are making of ourselves, we are certain to be the narcissists of our society