The Social Network Review

Finally! A review that isn't for Fringe! It's been a really busy month or so for me lately, with work and class and what not, and I haven't gotten the chance to see many movies in theaters or play new games, but I got the chance this weekend, and saw David Fincher's latest film, The Social Network, based on the creation of Facebook. Amusingly enough, I watched Fincher's first film, Alien 3, for the first time the day before seeing this film, and the contrast was nice.

As many many of you know by now, The Social Network tells the story of Facebook's creation and it's subsequent lawsuits as based on the book, The Accidental Billionaires, by Ben Mezrich; and now say... interviewing the actual participants of the on-screen events. Having said that however, I believe scriptwriter Aaron Sorkin does a wonderful job of representing the three clashing points of view (Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, and the Winklevoss twins) equally, and ultimately leaving the final decision of right and wrong up to the viewer, regardless of how the actual events panned out.

One of the things that impressed me the most was the cast, not just because they're all younger actors and seemed to handle Sorkin's incredibly wordy script with ease (Jessie Eisenberg was especially spectacular in this sense), but also the physical resemblance to the people they portrayed. Of course I didn't realize this until after the fact, but I was shocked how similar everyone looked to their real life counterparts, except for Justin Timberlake as Sean Parker (founder of Napster), who surprised me with his ability to actually act, but really wasn't pulling off the nefariousness he was trying for. Also great though, was Armie Hammer, who played both Winklevoss twins and really pulled a Sam Rockwell by portraying equal but different characters on screen at once, and was one of the more fun performances to watch in the film.

Characters and script aside though, the part I loved about the film the most was the score, which I had no idea would be this good. In a somewhat Tron: Legacy fashion, an orchestra was not used for The Social Network's score, instead Nine Inch Nails frontman, Trent Reznor, did the score and it just blew me away because I wasn't expect it at all. The moody electronic pieces seemed out of place at first, but through the length and tone of the film it just works so damn well. Seriously, listen to this track, and tell me that Daft Punk shouldn't be worried for best film score of 2010.

To say I went to see this film reluctantly would be a lie, I had a mild interest to see it, but it wasn't on my "must see" list; so, I'm kind of surprised at how much I liked the film (awesome score aside). I've known David Fincher to make some decent films, particularly Seven and Fight Club (and don't hate, but I liked Alien 3 more than James Cameron's Aliens); but I've also known him to make some crap: Panic Room and Benjamin Button, I'm looking at you. So going into this I had no idea what to expect, but the combination of Fincher's directing, Sorkin's script, great performances by the cast, and Trent Reznor's awesome score really made this one of my more favorite films of the year, and if you haven't seen it, go do it, I don't care how loyal you are to Friendster.

Overall Score: 9/10

Zombieland Review

Do you like zombies?! Do you like violence, gore, and comedy?! Do you like amusement parks?! If so, then Zombieland is the movie for you! If not... then maybe you should skip over this one...

Zombieland takes place on a post-apocalyptic Earth, infected with, what else? Zombies of course! The film follows two characters, the first is Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg, who amusingly was last seen in the unrelated film, Adventureland), a paranoid teenager, whose had few friends, and has too many phobias to count. He is very organized, and has a plethora of rules that he uses to kill zombies. The second is Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), you can consider him the badass of the film. He has a massive hatred of zombies, and an undying love for Twinkies. He often puts himself in life/death situations solely to get his hands on the almighty Hostess treat. As far as zombie killing goes, he tends finds new, creative ways to slay various zombies, and enjoys every last minute of it.

Tallahassee refuses to use anyone's real name because he feels that by doing so, they grow closer to each other and you don't want to have feelings (of any kind) for another in Zombieland. Eventually Columbus and Tallahassee join forces with two girls: Wichita and Little Rock. These two girls have a tendency of finding survivors, and stealing their guns, ammunition, vehicle, and whatever else they may have with them. They do whatever it takes to survive and have one simple rule: "Only trust each other."

The thing that really surprised me about this film is that nearly every scene in the film kept me on the edge of my seat. I went in expected a good comedy film, with some zombies added to the mix. Boy was I wrong. I find it better to describe this movie as a horror film with a ton of comic relief. And with horror comes gore, which also surprised me. I myself am not much of a gory guy, and often find myself looking away during a horror film. It was no different with Zombieland. I find myself enjoying a majority of zombie-slaying techniques such as the good old fashion shot to the brain, or a neck breaking. On the other hand, I do NOT enjoy some killing techniques such as: smashing a zombies head like a watermelon with a big ass hammer. Or how about: cutting off a zombies head with a pair of hedge trimmers. Mind you, that if you DO enjoy such things as those, feel free to see Zombieland because everything stated above, plus many more, are some of those creative and fun zombie deaths that happen so often in this film.

While Zombieland was far more gory and suspenseful than I expected, its comedy aspect was still just as prominent. Even in the goriest of scenes they find a way to throw in some comic relief, and you rarely find yourself with a straight face while watching this film. Tallahassee's quest for a Twinkie will always keep a smile on your face, and so will Columbus' "23 Rules of Zombie-Survival."

Though Zombieland is nearly perfect, there is one little thing that I didn't enjoy: the length. The entire film is only about an hour and a half, and when it ends, it truly leaves you begging for more. If the movie was a mere half an hour longer, I would be satisfied, but alas, it is not. Perhaps this was due to it being Ruben Fleischer's first feature film, but your guess is as good as mine. And while I don't expect to ever see a Zombieland 2, I certainly wouldn't be against it, and I would certainly like to see what other creative ideas could be dished out.

In the end, Zombieland is well worth the money you will spend. Whether it be three dollars, or thirty (if you pay this much at any theater, I'm sorry), you will not regret it. The movie constantly keeps you on the edge of your seat, all the while throwing in as much comic relief as they can. The gore factor of the movie far surpassed what I expected, and if you don't enjoy watching others' guts getting ripped out, do as I do and simply look away, because even then, the movie will not disappoint. Truly, the only thing that I felt the film needed more of was length. The mere hour and a half just ends up leaving you wanting more, and makes the film seem somewhat unfinished.

Overall Score: 9.5/10

I also believe that this film has just received itself a VFH Seal of Approval. Whether your like horror films, comedies, or both, you will certainly enjoy this movie. Words truly cannot express just how much I enjoyed this movie. It is by far the best movie I have seen all year, and seeing a sequel would have me jumping for joy. So how about we put our hands together and give a nice round of applause to Zombieland?