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All rested from the cruise (yes, I know I have a LOT of writing to do!), this weekend I started my annual quest to watch all of the films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.  So expect a lot of movie reviews, since I had only seen two of them prior to the nomination announcement.


On Friday/Saturday, I saw "The Social Network" on demand from DirecTV.  I had never gotten around to seeing it in the theater as I had planned, and this was convenient for me.

• LOVED this movie.  Saw it three times, partly because I only had 24 hours to watch it and I was getting my money's worth, but mostly because I really, really liked it.
• I love Aaron Sorkin's machine-gun writing style, so this was right up my alley.  It made me miss The West Wing.  I've realized that I'm a sucker for a well-written screenplay.
• Jesse Eisenberg had quite the amazing dialog to recite.  He did it well, and acted perfectly well as the self-serving Mark Zuckerman.
• I also enjoyed Andrew Garfield's performance as the betrayed Eduardo.  Dude, I was pissed off right along with you, but I wouldn't have done that with the account.
• Ooh, Justin Timberlake, you sleazeball.  OK, the character Sean Parker, not actually you.  You're still awesome.
• I like the very simple piano score, with that underlying techno-sounding background.  Who knew that Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor could be that understated?
• Whoa!  You can download the screenplay on the site?!
• "The internet isn't written in pencil, Mark.  It's written in ink."
• I read a great comment by "buttercup" on the Entertainment Weekly site about what the film meant to the commenter, and I completely agree.  I wish that I was as eloquent as that person.  In essence, the movie is great at showing the irony of Zuckerman's story.  There he is, just wanting to make an emotional connection with a girl, and build up a status in his community, but lashes out at both.  Instead of making that connection for himself, he establishes a company that has prompted millions of people to connect with those they love/like/want to know, just by providing them with the features that he always wanted.  Relationship status?  Likes/dislikes?  Sharing pictures?  Wow.  What an incredible vision the FB folks have.  Yet is the personal connection, the emotion there?  It's what you make of it.
• No, the entire story is not exactly true-to-life, but I like the way that it was written and portrayed in the film.  I'm fine with allowing for Dramatic License.
• And the Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth.  Congratulations, young billionaires.

Don't see this film based on whether or not you like Facebook, because it's not about FB.  See it based on whether or not you'd like to see a well-written, well-acted story about relationships vs. business.  I hope this is shown on HBO soon, so I can catch more of that amazing script.  Oh, wait.  I can just read it online!