The Social Network

[scrollgirl]

I just got back from the dollar cinema (well, $4 now with inflation) with my sister and her boyfriend, who took me out to see The Social Network. He's invited me out with them a few times now, and except for The Dark Knight (exactly as dark as I'd hoped/feared), they've been movies I hadn't wanted to see: Avatar (shiny, exciting, still racist),

Comments

[eponymous_rose]

All I can say is that I liked the movie because I thought it told a really interesting story, and yet that I hated the movie because all the characters were so damned off-putting.

This was exactly my reaction to the movie! You've neatly summed up all my feelings about it - my brother is in love with the film and has seen it a half-dozen times already, and as much as I loved some parts of it, I just couldn't muster up the same level of enthusiasm, because even if it's the point of the whole thing, the characters are just so unlikeable.

Granted, I also have an irrational dislike for all things that can be remotely interpreted as self-congratulatory, insular, pat-on-the-back, old boys' club academia-type things, so nearly every scene to do with Harvard's Grand History and Grander Reputation made me cringe quite a bit. That definitely cast a more negative shade on my viewing experience as a whole.

I hadn't heard of Easy A until now! I shall definitely have to check it out.

[scrollgirl]

Easy A is pretty darn awesome! It's kind of rage-inducing because of what the main character has to go through, but also has many \o/ moments.

Yeah, I wasn't quite taken by the rowing scenes like some reviewers seem to have been, and all the frat stuff does nothing for me. I kind of appreciated Cameron's "behave like Harvard gentlemen" because I really do like characters that aim for a higher standard, however unrealistic, but the whole privileged, moneyed, well-connected family thing was off-putting.

The movie portrays their lives as these awful, self-inflicted messes. It's almost... squicky to watch.

[buffyannotater]

The main thing Toby and I couldn't figure out was the significance of the rowing scenes. They seemed to want to say something metaphorical of some sort, but...um...what? Which is kind of how I left the movie. I admired it, but I also felt very removed from it. It felt very cold to me, and I'm not sure why everyone is in love with it, besides Sorkin's wit. But I can get Sorkin wit in much more entertaining places. The only thing that really impressed me was that the Winklevossi were played by one guy.

[scrollgirl]

Well, it's all competition, isn't it? Getting there first, getting your name down in the history books, having victory/success snatched out from under you when you feel you deserve it. Perhaps you were looking for a subtler metaphor? *g*

Yeah, the movie was very distancing--I couldn't really hook into any of the characters, though I did feel glimmers of pity. But no real empathy, whereas Emma Stone's character, Olive, totally had me from start to finish.

Hee! The twins were kind of awesome! I didn't realise until I Wikipediaed them for my movie review that it was just the one actor! Nicely done. (Also, weird how they looked subtly different--not the hair and clothes or personality, but their features didn't seem identical to me. Must be the angles.) I loved the line that went something like, "I'm 6'2", 210 pounds, and there's two of me." *g*