This trailer has everything I want:

-Cool indie music

-Coming of age story

-Mia Wasikowska

-Ghosts

-Love 

What else does one need in a film? Restless hits the streets January 28th, 2011.

Thanks to Facebook, and a number of other social networking sites, we are able to connect with as many people as we possibly can. With just a click of a button, we can keep up to date on what an individual is up to throughout their life. We can even comment, at a moment’s notice, on a picture a friend posted a few moments ago, for the world to see. We have become a society based on what we post and share with the world through our social networks. The Social Network deals with some of these ideas, but the film mostly deals with the theme of what business can do to friendships.

When I first heard that a Facebook movie was going to be made I was a bit skeptical, but when I heard that David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin were behind it is when I had some hope. Sorkin’s script is amazing. There isn’t much that takes place on screen, but there is so much dialogue being exchanged by each character that it feels as if a war of words is taking place. This is the type of dialogue that Diablo Cody wishes she could write into her films. Even the very first scene of the movie is like an action sequence but with dialogue, and David Fincher’s directing is remarkable. Every shot of this film is stunning. There are a few row boating scenes that take place that took my breath away. I didn’t know that rowing a boat can look so cool.

This leads me to the acting. The acting in this film is top notch. Jesse Eisenberg, who plays Mark Zuckerbeg, is great and should not be known as the “Michael Cera wannabe” anymore. But the surprise of this film is Andrew Garfield, who plays Eduardo Saverin (Co-Founder of Facebook). Garfield is the shining star of this film, and shows everyone that he can act. Garfield is slated to play Spider-Man in the untitled reboot, and I can’t wait to see what he does with the role of Peter Parker.

Another amazing thing about this film is the score. Trent Reznor (the man behind NIN) and Atticus Ross compose one of the best scores of the year. Every song plays such an important role throughout the film and sets the mood, perfectly. Reznor is one musical artiest that I have tremendous respect for. This is Reznor’s first time co-creating a film score, and I can’t wait to see what other film scores he decides to create later on down the road.

The Social Network is going to be talked about when Oscar time rolls around, and I hope Andrew Garfield is nominated, for best supporting actor, the score nominated, and the movie for best film of the year. This is a film of my (20 something’s) generation.  It’s a shame that people will full heartily believe that is how Facebook was created. There is some truth to what went down (the cases and the people involved) but the specific conversations and how everyone acted aren’t 100% accurate. I hope people walk away from The Social Network with a smile on their face but take everything that takes place on screen with a grain of salt.

P.S. You can listen to five sample tracks from The Social Network score here.

Some of the most important life lessons come from where you least expect it. I have learned some key lessons about life through the world of film. There are five films, in general, that have taught me about the world around me. Some people might believe that I take movies too seriously, but there is always something to learn from any form of entertainment.

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Last night I decided to watch a film that was recommended by a couple of guys that host one of my favorite movie podcast (/Filmcast), and the movie they recommend was Triangle. I really do not want to give too much away about this film because the less you know about it the better, but the film is generally about a group of friends that get stuck on a boat and some horrible things start to take place. Melissa George, who plays the main character Jess, does an awesome job throughout the film but the supporting cast is pretty good as well. If you have ever seen Los Cronocrimenes (Timecrimes), and loved it, then you will enjoy Triangle. This film will leave you scratching your head but it is well worth it.

The 2010 Oscars are less than a week away (March 7th), so I thought I would give my predictions of who’s going to win and who I want to win. The nominees who I think will win will be italicize, and the ones I personally want to win will be in bold. If you would like please leave a comment and tell me who you think is going to win. Enjoy!

BEST PICTURE:
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

DIRECTING:
Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker
James Cameron - Avatar
Lee Daniels - Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire
Jason Reitman - Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart
George Clooney - Up in the Air
Colin Firth - A Single Man
Morgan Freeman - Invictus
Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side
Helen Mirren - The Last Station
Carey Mulligan - An Education
Gabourey Sidibe - Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire
Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Matt Damon - Invictus
Woody Harrelson - The Messenger
Christopher Plummer - The Last Station
Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Penelope Cruz - Nine
Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air
Mo’Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Neill Blomkamp and - District 9
Nick Hornby - An Education
Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche - In the 
Geoffrey Fletcher - Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner - Up in the Air

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Mark Boal - The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds
Oren Moverman and - The Messenger
Joel and Ethan Coen - A Serious Man
Pete Docter and Bob Peterson - Up

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Ajami  - Israel
El Secreto de sus Ojos - Argentina
The Milk of Sorrow
Une Prophéte  - France
The White Ribbon - Germany

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of the Kells
Up

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Maurio Fiore - Avatar
Bruno Delbonnel - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Barry Ackroyd - The Hurt Locker
Robert Richardson - Inglourious Basterds
Christian Berger - The White Ribbon

FILM EDITING:
Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua and James Cameron - Avatar
Julian Clarke - District 9
Bob Murawski and Chris Innis - The Hurt Locker
Sally Menke - Inglourious Basterds
Joe Klotz - Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

First thing I would like to express is that Where the Wild Things Are is not a film for everyone, but that does not mean that I, personally, did not love this film. Spike Jonze has created some amazing music videos and others music directors (ex. McG and Marcus Nispel) have tried to resemble Jonze’s success but have failed. Jonze’s other films (Being John Malkvoich and Adaptation) are amazing films, but they are also films that are not for everyone. Jonze’s films take you into the mind of the main character and explore the inner workers of that character.

This is what Where the Wild Things Are does for its main character Max. Max is a very complex character and all the wild things are just parts of Max’s personality/mind. This deep exploration of Max, as an individual, is heart welling, deep, and holds a mirror up to us all. Jonze has expanded on the children’s picture book into something more and that is something that should be celebrated.

I do not want to give any thing away from the film because I want everyone, who reads this, to go into the film with as little knowledge about the film as possible, so you can experience the magic that this film contains for yourself. The last things I will say about this film is that it is beautifully shot, directed, written, and acted. This is one film that will be great to view more than just once. David Chen, from Slashfilm.com, says it best by expressing that Where the Wild Things Are is “trying to say…[by] letting go, we can, each of us, find some kind of peace.”

Up in the Air is Jason Reitman’s next film and the trailer is amazing. I love trailers that do not give too much away but rather makes you more interested in it. I am a huge George Clooney fan and this movie is now on my “must watch” list.

I finally had some time to look up Comic-Con Kick-Ass footage and man does it look awesome. Easily one of my favorite comics is coming to life next year. If you want to see more footage of Kick-Ass just it Google.

Inglourious Basterds is a great Tarantino film, not his best but still pretty good. Video review coming later in the weekend.