Social Network

[Frayed Knot]

So did the entire Facebook crowd here all miss this flick, or just not care enough to put up a thread?

[Guest themetfairy]

Liked the film/didn't care enough to put up a poll.

I thought it was well-presented and well-acted. Allowing for the fact that Aaron Sorkin is open about the fact that he doesn't let facts get in the way of a good narrative ("I don�t want my fidelity to be to the truth; I want it to be to storytelling. What is the big deal about accuracy purely for accuracy�s sake, and can we not have the true be the enemy of the good?"), it's nonetheless an interesting look at the emergence of Facebook onto the scene.

[Frayed Knot]

No movies, aside from documentaries, present historical stories in complete factual detail (and I doubt the accuracy of most docs I see too).

[Guest themetfairy]

Frayed Knot wrote: No movies, aside from documentaries, present historical stories in complete factual detail (and I doubt the accuracy of most docs I see too).

Agreed. But some make more of an effort at it than others.

[Guest sharpie]

It was only okay.

Based around two rather technical lawsuits over money: whether the twins or the original partner get rich or really rich. I didn't care.

Some good dialogue, the Harvard bits were good. After they got to California the movie lost me.

[Frayed Knot]

I didn't care about the outcome of the legal proceedings either - but on the other hand I don't think we were supposed to. To me that was merely a device which allowed the characters other than Zuckerberg to "narrate" part of the story.

I agree that the snappy dialogue was especially good. I figure that was Sorkin's doing.

[stevejrogers]

Frayed Knot wrote: I agree that the snappy dialogue was especially good. I figure that was Sorkin's doing.

I've seen far too many Sports Night, West Wing and Studio 60 episodes to the point where I'm finding that form of dialogue a bit off putting in the "who the hell talks like that in real life unless you were Sorkin or Tarantino?"

[Frayed Knot]

The dialogue in 'Sports Night' was frequently too cute by half but seeing as how both that one and 'Studio 60' were so short lived and that I never watched 'West Wing' I guess I'm still safe from OD'ing on Sorkin-itis.



A few notes on the cast:
- Zuckerberg's girlfriend in the opening scenes was played by Rooney Mara, the granddaughter of both the Giants & Steeler owning clans
- the part of the crew-rowing twins was played by one actor, Armand 'Armie' Hammer, great grandson of the industrialist Armand.

[Edgy MD]

And the exact type of scions you'd expect to find around campus.

[stevejrogers]

Frayed Knot wrote: The dialogue in 'Sports Night' was frequently too cute by half but seeing as how both that one and 'Studio 60' were so short lived and that I never watched 'West Wing' I guess I'm still safe from OD'ing on Sorkin-itis.

I should amend that a bit. Sorkin style dialogue isn't bad within the context of fiction, but tough to take when being used in context of even being loosely based on real events.

[G-Fafif]

Just saw it minutes ago in the theater down the street, perhaps the last place where it's playing (on the last night it's running), two days after the DVD came out. A Sorkinian delight. Loved the pace of the storytelling even if I'm not sure there was much of a story. Felt like it ended 'cause it had to end...which is OK, 'cause by then I had to go to the bathroom.

(TMI -- a symptom of the Facebook age.)

[metirish]

In several top ten of 2010 lists , will wait for it on cable.....

[Frayed Knot]

Yeah, it was recently re-released in theaters in the wake of Golden Globes nominations and whatnot.
Was at a theater near me on discount night for less than what it would eventually cost to rent it ... so I figured whatthehell.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Saw it on DVD last nite and enjoyed its energy and overarching ironies.

I appreciated that amid the high-velocity story they manged to address the emphasis on reliability and elegance/simplicity of design that helped fb become a phenomenon.

I believe Zuckerberg in real life is dorkier and more awkward than portrayed by Eisenberg here.

[TransMonk]

Better than I expected. It ended rather abruptly for a long-ish film.

Reznor deserved the Oscar for scoring the film. Very nice work.

It was nice to see Eisenberg playing a different type of character than those he's played in the past, although I still find his acting pretty mediocre.

[TransMonk]

Frayed Knot wrote: the part of the crew-rowing twins was played by one actor, Armand 'Armie' Hammer, great grandson of the industrialist Armand.

Not to be confused with

[Frayed Knot]

Although the two were often confused.
Industrialist Armand Hammer (the actor's great-grandfather) owned/ran a number of companies most notably Occidental Petroleum. Many assumed, incorrectly, that Arm & Hammer was the one he started with but that company actually pre-dated him by many years leading to speculation that maybe he was named after the company rather than the other way around.

[TransMonk]

I read this morning that Armand Hammer (the actor) is being considered to play The Lone Ranger to Johnny Depp's Tonto.

[Guest sharpie]

Armand Hammer, the industrialist, did buy a piece of Arm & Hammer because...well it was destined.

[metirish]

just saw it, what a load of bollox, I want to delete my account, between the fucking "timeline" bullshit and the movie I am tempted.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I gave it three and a half stars.

A few notes on the cast: - Zuckerberg's girlfriend in the opening scenes was played by Rooney Mara, the granddaughter of both the Giants & Steeler owning clans - the part of the crew-rowing twins was played by one actor, Armand 'Armie' Hammer, great grandson of the industrialist Armand.

And those of us with young kids probably also recognized Brenda Song, of Zach and Cody "fame" as one of the girlfriends.