Jeffrey's 2010 and Ben's Post

I'm ashamed that I haven't seen a lot of the movies that were released in 2010, especially because I really meant to go see them. I've heard such great things about so many of them that I'm really eager to check them out. As soon as they are out on DVD I'm going to get caught up.

That being said, I did see a few of them you guys have been talking about, mainly Inception, Shutter Island, and The Social Network. I liked Inception, but like Jeffrey said, not in a wow-my-mind-is-blown kind of way, but more in the, that-was-a-good-heist-movie-with-really-cool-shots kind of way. I would never say it was one of the best movies ever, and it probably wouldn't even fall on my top movies of 2010 list except as a runner up, because I generally prefer films that are less cool but more powerful. But I do think it's a quality Hollywood blockbuster type movie -- one of those that is popular for a reason, if that makes sense. I wasn't totally awestruck by it, or thought it was that complicated or mind-bending really at all. I was just really entertained by it and liked it a lot, and I think movies that don't punch you in the gut are still worthwhile for entertainment value. But I also get why people were not that impressed with it considering the hype it got.

I loved Shutter Island. I mean, I was REALLY disturbed by Shutter Island, but I loved it. I'm actually usually pretty disturbed by Scorcese's movies because I have a bit of a weak stomach. (The shots of the dead kids were just horrifying to me... I thought it was a bit gratuitous honestly.) It was definitely one of my favorites of the year. I thought the overall themes of the movie were so powerful, the cinematography was beautiful, and the writing and acting were fab. I actually liked it so much I saw it twice in the theaters.

As far as The Social Network goes, I feel like I have to weigh in on this. As Ben knows, I'm a huge Aaron Sorkin fan (although, Ben, I agree with you that he's a total self-righteous bastard), and as you may not know, I'm also a huge David Fincher fan. I agree with Jeffrey that this is NOT a movie about Facebook. I think it's a shame that people discount it or refuse to watch it because they hate Facebook or think that it's too soon to make a movie about Facebook when it has only been around for a few years. I don't think it really has much to do with Facebook itself beyond essentially a "setting" or like contextual details. Facebook as it is today isn't even in the movie at all. Like you said Jeffrey, you could really replace Facebook with any company, because this story is about the human condition of the characters and the relationships and the conflict and the way the events unfold. I think a movie about Facebook and what it says about our time is a great idea Ben, but in my eyes it's just a completely different movie, you know?

I always feel bad when people blame Sorkin for the story itself and for whether or not it's accurate. I'm sure you guys know that it was loosely based on a book called The Accidental Billionaires, which is a book I own and that I read long before the movie came out. I don't know if you read it, but the book came about because Eduardo Saverin contacted the author (who is a journalist) with his own version of the story and the journalist thought it was so interesting that he interviewed Eduardo and the Winklevii, who were the only people who responded to his emails (Zuck said no) and wrote the book in story form based on those interviews. So I feel bad when Sorkin gets blamed because if anyone deserves the blame, it's the author.

The events in the movie unfold as they do in the book (same events, same order) and while they are definitely and obviously biased, they also tell a compelling story. Sorkin's dialogue (which is not the same as the book, of course) is delectable (as usual), and I feel like his style is so appropriate to the events in the story and the "character" of Zuckerberg that they were trying to create... and a huge improvement on the book. I guess he could have written a different movie (he's such a self-involved egomaniac that I'm sure he WOULD have if he wanted to), but I think I also read an article from New York Magazine where he said that he liked the parable-like "story" this movie was supposed to tell (building and developing and filling in what people's motivations COULD have been, in a story scenario, not what they actually were in real life which is probably much less interesting) and this wasn't a biography or a documentary, so he didn't try to make it totally factual anyway, he was going for the story. (Clearly the "journalist" who published the book was also going for the story, or he would have made it an article, not a book, and wouldn't have published it without equal comment from Zuck.)

Like Jeffrey quoted, "every creation myth needs a devil"... my feeling is that Sorkin added that line in on purpose to show what he was trying to do and that this wasn't necessarily the whole story. Sorkin also said in an interview that he actually LIKES Zuckerberg and so he wanted in the end for you to not hate him, which I think he really did succeed in doing. I do recognize the issue with creating a movie whose characters are actual people who are alive, if the movie isn't factually accurate, but I guess we'll never know how accurate it is or isn't, right? (Of course Zuckerberg's not going to say, yeah I was a complete douchebag.)

Anyway, all that is to say that I really liked it, having read the book and having gone into it knowing the background and that it was coming from just one single perspective (just like any movie, which I am also always overly aware of when watching documentaries). I do understand the many reasons people have for not liking it, and I think they're all totally valid. I just always feel the need to speak up for it whenever the subject comes up because I thought the direction and script and cinematography were fantastic but it's easy to be distracted by the pesky little details (wink) of its factual accuracy.

I can't wait to see some of the rest of these, especially True Grit, since I'm a Cohen brothers fan. I'm a little nervous about Blue Valentine, because I feel like I'm fatalistic enough as it is about relationships, so I hate watching movies where everything goes up in sad sad flames. But Ben you know I trust your opinions on movies more than the opinions of most people I know, so based on your recommendation I will give it a shot. And then I'll just come crying to you when it upsets me. (Fair warning.)

Jeffrey, I'm a Joanna Newsom fan and just recently started to adore The Tallest Man on Earth. I just learned The Gardener on guitar last week. I'm in love with it, officially.