After watching The Social Network I was interested in seeking out the truth behind the creation of Facebook. I was turned towards David Kirkpatrick’s book, The Facebook Effect. Kirkpatrick’s book goes through the history and possible future of Facebook. The novel gives a lot of details of how Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has grown from a Harvard student to a billionaire. Unlike the The Social Network, The Facebook Effect doesn’t spend much time on the lawsuits between Zuckerberg, Winklevoss, and Saverin. The book does touch on those cases but it doesn’t go into depth about them, which is a good thing. However, the book does go into great depth about the development of Facebook; the changes/development that the company has gone through; and how Facebook is altering our way of communicating with each other.

Read More

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.

A Single Man is the first film by fashion designer Tom Ford, which was adapted by the novel of the same name. For Ford’s first film I would have to say that it is pretty good. The first thing that I really enjoyed about this film is the way it looks. A Single Man is a beautiful looking film. Everything from costume design all the way to the film’s coloring is breath taking. It was a joy just to watch the film.

The story, itself, it solid as well. There isn’t too much to the story, as a whole, but Colin Firth’s character (George) is a very sad and torn character. I would love to read the novel because I feel there is more to be told about George’s character and life.

The final thing that I will say about this film is that Abel Korzeniowski’s score is amazing. I bought the soundtrack, to the film, a couple of weeks ago, and I cannot stop listening to it. Actually, as I’m writing this up I’m listening it. The music embodies the mood of the entire film, which is what a score is suppose to do.

I love stories that have tragic characters. I know that sounds a bit sadistic, but I find those types of characters interesting and I can sort of relate to them. George is someone I can sorta relate to because he keeps himself away from the world around him after he has lost the love of his life. Instead of letting go of the past he lets it run his life, and that is something that I can totally relate to. If any thing, I don’t want to turn into George because I don’t want to waste my life living in cage of despair. A quote that I will take with me, from the film, is when George repeats this famous quote:

“Experience is not what happens to a man. It is what a man does with what happens to him.”

Instead of sitting in a theater watching blue people run around a jungle go seek out A Single Man. You won’t regret it.

I have been a Hayao Miyazaki fan for a long time now. The film that introduced me to his animated masterpieces was My Neighbor Totoro. Totoro is one of my favorite animated films of all time, and it is definitely one of my favorite Miyazaki films. Miyzakai’s newest film Ponyo is good as well, but I am sorry to say that it is not a masterpiece. Here is a brief synopsis of the story from IMDB:

“The son of a sailor, 5-year old Sosuke lives a quiet life on an Oceanside cliff with his mother Lisa. One fateful day, he finds a beautiful goldfish trapped in a bottle on the beach and upon rescuing her, names her Ponyo. But she is no ordinary goldfish. The daughter of a masterful wizard and a sea goddess, Ponyo uses her father’s magic to transform herself into a young girl and quickly falls in love with Sosuke, but the use of such powerful sorcery causes a dangerous imbalance in the world. As the moon steadily draws nearer to the earth and Ponyo’s father sends the ocean’s mighty waves to find his daughter, the two children embark on an adventure of a lifetime to save the world and fulfill Ponyo’s dreams of becoming human.”

The best thing about this film is the animation. Ponyo has some of the best hand drawn animation that I have ever seen, and I have seen my fair share of animated films. The colors are so beautiful, and the water animation is just gorgeous. There is nothing wrong with the animation in this film, and I force other animation studios to take a look, and notes, from Miyazaki’s style.

Another element that is awesome about Ponyo is the voice acting. If you are a fan of Japanese animation you already know what horrible voiceovers can do to a film/series. This is one thing that Disney did perfectly for the film.  Even though the animation and voiceovers are awesome the film’s story and one main character has some problems.

It pains me to write any thing negative about a Miyazaki film, but structure of Ponyo is not very good. The story starts off fine, but it is around the 3^rd and last act where things start to fall apart a bit. It seems as if the story was a bit rushed, and the abrupt ending really took me out of the magical feeling I was getting well watching the film. This also leads me to one character that I had a problem with throughout the film and that is the mother of the main character, Lisa.

Lisa is the mother of Soskue, and since the father is not around very much she has to take care of her boy, but Lisa seems to do things that are not very motherly. Lisa places her son in danger, when there is no need at all, and would seem that she does not care for the well being of her child. There could have been something lost in the translation but I doubt it. I was, at times during the film, very frustrated with Lisa because of the danger she placed her son in. Granted, if she did not place her son in dangerous situations then it would have been a duller film, but that is why people play things safe. It would be much more exciting if I ran a red light, but that is what keeps me, and other people, out of danger, which is something that Lisa’s character was lacking and took me out of the film. There are also times in the film where Lisa tries to keep Soskue from harms way. It would seem that Lisa has some Doctor Jekyll and Mr.Hyde symptoms.

Even though Ponyo has some faults I still found myself memorized by the animation and most of the story. This is just a beautiful film to watch and is it a good reimagining of The Little Mermaid. Ponyo is one animated film that children and adults would enjoy together, and if you have never seen a Miyazaki film then this is a good one to view to introduce yourself to his films.

(500) Days of Summer is one of those romantic comedies (romcoms) that gets it right. Most romcoms have this type of blueprint: guy gets girl, guy loses girl, guy has to do something to show that he really loves girl, and at the end of it all, they get back together. Unfortunately, this is not how love works, and what (500) Days of Summer does is show what loves does to the main male character Tom Hansen, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and things he has to go though. This story does not end with the guy getting the girl, in which he lost, but rather he gains something more valuable than that, and if you want to know what that “something” is you will have to see the film for yourself. You can read a more in-depth synopsis at IMDB, if you are so inclined.

First thing I would like to express is that this is my favorite film of the year, so far. 500 Days kicked Up from my number one spot, and moved it down to the number 2. 500 Days is such a beautifully shot, written, and acted film. Zooey Deschanel, who plays Summer Finn, Hansen’s ex, and Levitt have some of the best screen chemistry I have seen this year. Levitt’s two best males friends, in the film, are awesome as well. Their relationship, with one either, felt so real and I did not question their relationship to one another throughout the film.

Another thing that is great about this film is the way the director (Marc Webb) edited and put together the film. 500 Days shows highlights from Finn and Hansen’s relationship, through the eye’s of Hansen, and it shows the 5th day of their relationship, jumps to the 225th day, to the 10th, and so on. Even though the film does not show all the days of their relationship it shows you, the viewer, enough of their relationship so you can get a perfect feel for it.

There is one scene in-particular where Hansen is going to his ex’s party, that she invited him to, and the film shows a split screen of what he expects to happen at this party and the reality of it is. It is such an interesting and powerful scene that moved me. There is a voice over throughout the film and it fits very well. Most of the time I find voice overs to be annoying and useless, but this film places and uses them perfectly. Even though I loved this film there is one negative thing I have to say about the film, and it has to do with one of the characters in the film.

Even though 500 Days is a great film there is one little gripe I have with the film, and that is the Rachel Hansen (Chole Mortez), who is Tom’s much younger sister, and she is a know-it-all that comes into the film here and there for no reason. Rachel gives Tom advance about love, and it seems so out of place. Rachel is in the film a few times, and those times did not add any thing to the film, and that character could have been cut out, but that is the only problem I had with the film. However, it did not rune my enjoyed of the film. If you have a chance please see (500) Days of Summer. I would have to say that this is a stellar romcom for men and women to enjoy together. This is the perfect summer film to watch, and do not forget: “It is not a love story, but rather a story about love.”

My review for the film The Hurt Locker is up at level99comic.com. It takes me an hour to write some of my reviews, and I still find so many things wrong with it. At least I always try my best.

Read review here

Update: Watch the first 7 minutes of The Hurt Locker.

I just got out from watching the Watchmen a few hours ago and I was blown away by it. I was not blown away by the fact that it is a great movie, which is wasn’t, but the fact that Zack Snyder did such an awesome job with the adaptation of it. The theme, characters, and storyline were all there. But before seeing the film I was wondering why critics were hating on this film and now I know why. The Watchmen film was created for the people that read the comic book. Of course, there are going to be people out there that will love/like this film even if they did not read it, but I am talking about the majority of movie goers. After the film was done I looked at people’s faces and they looked very confused. I believe people walked out of the theater asking themselves what they had just seen. This film was not created for people who did not read the Watchmen because there were so many things going on, in the film, that it was hard to keep track of what is going on. Since I have read the comic I knew exactly what was going on. The reason it is so confusing is because the characters are all over the place, and it does not explain what is really going. Overall, I really did love the adaptation of Watchmen, but at as film, it has some faults.

Also, Alan Moore expressed that he hates the idea of Watchmen being a film because a film could not capture the main idea of the comic. Well, Mr. Moore, you need to eat those words because Mr. Snyder did exactly that. Another reason I believe people will not understand or like Watchmen is because it makes you, the viewer, rethink human life, politics, and God as a whole. Maybe, people are just too lazy to just think at all. People want to see people get beaten up in comic book film. They do not want to think about the outside world. This is why films like Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail become number one at the box office. People do not like to think and Watchmen certainly does that. So, if you did not understand, hated it, etc. Watchmen please go and read the comic then watch the film again, because you will walk away from it a different person.