Five Reasons You Should See The Social Network

[thublihnk]

f*ck. Doublepost. >.>

 

[thublihnk]

I think my general reaction to the Facebook movie would be 'I don't care.' I haven't been to see any movies since Toy Story 3, and this one will not be the one to change my mind. Simply put I don't like 'human dramas' because I tend to view 'realistic' fiction as the sort which is even more fantasy than Tolkein, and I hate Facebook.

I use it, don't get me wrong, but I think it's annoying and gimmicky and if there is a better option for keeping in touch (texts, calling people, e-mail, carrier pidgeon) I'll use that before I even log on to the Social Network. For me seeing this movie would be much like going to see the Justin Bieber flick, or a Lady Gage autobiography. I don't care, and it's likely to make me mad.

You didn't read the article, did you? You just saw another Escapist article that said 'facebook' and wanted to get up on your soapbox and ***** about the pervasiveness of social networking sites.

I'd even go as far as to say if you don't like Facebook, you're MORE likely to enjoy The Social Network.

Yes I did. I knew literally nothing about the movie until I read the article. The article was in fact what turned me off the idea of going to see the movie. Hearing the Facebook movie descibed as a human drama instead of whatever I might have thought it was was the precise description which made me think 'actually, that's not even worth showing interest in.' Until I read this very article I had by contrast been interested because I didn't know how they could make a movie about Facebook, and this article told me how.

I always read Movie Bob's articles, I like Movie Bob, I think he has some good points, I just don't happen to like human drama movies, as I stated in my original post.

Also, did you read the article? It doesn't mention Facebook in the title. I would have had to have read the article to know it was about Facebook. I think social networking sites are annoying, yes, but if you took the time to check my back catalogue of comments (something I do for everyone who responds to me or who I argue with, maybe you should try it) you would know that I very rarely speak about them, precisely to avoid people like you.

And the more I hear about the Facebook movie since reading Bob's article, in fact the less I think I want to see it. It sounds like an amalgamation of all the things I would hate to see in a movie.

Okay, I had this whole reply worked out and then I absentmindedly F5'd the page, so I'm just gonna try to boil down the points.

1. Sorry. I got a little testy 'cause I've been seeing similar attitudes about The Social Network and it is one HELL of a movie, so. Yeah.

2. I believe the term you're looking for is 'Realist narrative'. Human drama is what all storytelling from Beowulf to Gears of War 2 is composed of. A realist narrative is one based on a true story, and thus doesn't obey the 3 act structure, nor does it always have a satisfying conclusion.

3. I get that. I've often been bored with Realist narratives (Fincher's own Zodiac is a great example, good movie that I got bored with.)

Again. Sorry. All I can say is I'd really recommend it, it's a strong movie that doesn't get bogged down in the slightest (and yes, it is largely fictional).

 

[Lazarus Long]

I'm just not interested. And it has nothing to do with social networking at all. I loved Schindler's List, even though it was about something even worse, right?
It just takes a whole hell of a lot to get me to put up with crowds and noise and ticket prices and piss-in-a-cup-charge-six-bucks-and-call-it-Diet-Coke. I'm probably not going to see anything in the theater until Thor, and that'll be on a Sunday afternoon two weeks into its run.
I'm sure it's well written and well shot, everything Bob has said. But I just can't shake the feeling that I've seen this movie before. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168122/]

 

[Nomanslander]

You know, this saddens me, from all the failed attempts to make a good movie about something that would have been awesome (Avatar, Terminator Salvations, Indy 4), they made a good movie about Facebook?

WoW, so what's next? A movie about paint drying taking home an Oscar.

 

[Centrophy]

I think my general reaction to the Facebook movie would be 'I don't care.' I haven't been to see any movies since Toy Story 3, and this one will not be the one to change my mind. Simply put I don't like 'human dramas' because I tend to view 'realistic' fiction as the sort which is even more fantasy than Tolkein, and I hate Facebook.

I use it, don't get me wrong, but I think it's annoying and gimmicky and if there is a better option for keeping in touch (texts, calling people, e-mail, carrier pidgeon) I'll use that before I even log on to the Social Network. For me seeing this movie would be much like going to see the Justin Bieber flick, or a Lady Gage autobiography. I don't care, and it's likely to make me mad.

Cool now I don't have to type my response, I just need to parrot yours. Human dramas are icky. It's the same reason I'm falling out of love with SG:U. At first it was interesting how they got into the ship and it was a story about discovery with a bit of human drama for the wifey. Now it's mostly about human stories and it's just boring. Kinda like this movie.

Sorry Bob, but I just don't care. Also Metroid: Other M sucked.

 

[mjc0961]

Damn you guys are the most prejudiced people I've ever...read.

The movie doesn't revolve around Facebook's functionality and how super amazing it is. It's more about the effects the business aspect had on the relationships of the main character. FFS, I don't even like Facebook enough to have an account and I loved the movie's characterization and storytelling.

Come off it.

Agreed. Facebook could be replaced with "Corporation x" and would essentially be the same film (from what I've seen of it.)

I'm a little interested now, Fincher is a damn good director...

Even if it was replaced with "Corporation x", it still doesn't sound like a terribly interesting movie to me. If anything it's a "wait for it to come on cable" thing, certainly not a "go buy an overpriced ticket to go see it in some dirty theater" thing.

Okay that last bit is mostly the fault of the theaters around here being kinda shitty, as I probably wouldn't go see a movie I was interested in at them either. But what I'm getting at here is that the entire movie premise to me isn't interesting enough to pay to see it.

 

[Vortigar]

Moviebob, an aside query for you:
Do you think the English remake of Men who Hate Women, oh wait they had to change that title because the American audience wouldn't be able to handle it... Let me start again.

Do you think the English remake of the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo is going to be any good? Sure its probably going to be a box-office success but remaking a movie that works well enough already is always a disaster.

The only exception I an think of is My Father the Hero and they used the same lead as the original French version there. And even then, it was simply the same movie all over again, not better, nor worse.

The examples the other way around is a mile long list. With two of my favorite tv-shows right at the top of the 'what not to do' category, Red Dwarf and Coupling (because even British is too alien for Americans, apparently).

You're showing this to a community that probably doesn't have Facebook and won't be able to relate to the movie.

I don't have a Facebook account but was always interested in the legal rumblings behind the scenes and kept an eye out in the papers and news sites for any report on Zuckerberg. He makes for good newsitems, being the weird bugger he is.

Also:
Almost three years on and I have 800 posts, am I going to hit thousand before the fourth year ends, keep your eye on the Escapist for the exciting conclusion! Yay...?

 

[tunderball]

I'm just wondering why Bob's totally written off the new Spiderman film already? I don't know a lot about it but I'm sure its only in pre-production and isn't Marc Webb directing it? The last film he did 500 days of Summer was, (well I thought anyway) a very thoughtful, fun and interesting piece of work.

I know they're both very different kinds of movies but surely it's at least worth waiting to see what it looks like. I know it's set in a high school and has a severe danger of being; Twilight - minus Vampires + Radio-active Spiders, but lets just wait and see. Hey as long as Peter Parker doesn't strut down the street it's got to be an improvement.

 

[EvilYoshi]

I'm now intrigued. Though while I don't mean to be pedantic:

The sort of things that Aeschylus would write about, that Shakespeare would write about, that a few years ago Paddy Chayevsky would write about.

Escalus is a character from Romeo & Juliet. Not a Greek tragedian.

Oh snap, (...without checking if what Cousin IT said is true) Movie Bob just got his literary ass handed to him.

Hell yeah I'll go see that Social Network movie. That guy from Zombieland is in it, plus Bob Chipman made me kind of a sucker and a patron of the nerd genre films. Which works out well because I'm a nerd and a Zuckerberg waiting to happen.

 

[EvilYoshi]

Hey MovieBob,

Where the Fuck is my GameOverthinker!

 

[rockyoumonkeys]

As someone with zero experience with Facebook, and who hates Jesse Eisenberg, this movie's definitely not for me.

It's not that I hate Facebook, I've just never used it and really have almost no interest. Yeah, it's evident that Zuckerberg is the world's biggest douche, but I don't need to see a movie to tell me that.

 

[The Random One]

I haven't watched a movie on an actual cinema in years, but I'm actually tempted to go for this one.

I probably still won't, though, but I still think it's great. MovieBob's review convinced me (and it rarely does that).

I'm amused by how many people here are saying 'Eh, a movie about Facebook... PASS FACEBOOK'S LAME LOLOLOLOL' as if the movie was a rose-tinted ode to the social networking. I haven't watched it (in case you didn't read those ^ lines) but it seems to be the precise opposite.

 

[MovieBob]

Moviebob, an aside query for you:
Do you think the English remake of Men who Hate Women, oh wait they had to change that title because the American audience wouldn't be able to handle it... Let me start again.

Do you think the English remake of the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo is going to be any good? Sure its probably going to be a box-office success but remaking a movie that works well enough already is always a disaster.

David Fincher is one of the best filmmakers on the planet right now, so I think it's in good hands. As for the final movie... who can say?

The thing is - and I know that Larsson died and this is something close to sacrilege, but... part of the reason I'm not "worried" about it is that, while certainly a fun read the "Millenium Trilogy" isn't exactly "Candide" and the original films aren't exactly "The Godfather."

What I mean is, while I understand that a lot of the sensation it caused in it's home country was due to it's incendiary focus on corruption in history and the Swedish social-welfare system, in terms of narrative it's basically a more-lurid-than-normal potboiler in the vein of James Patterson most-notable for it's fetish-fuel/nerd-pinup heroine (unstable super-hot bisexual goth-chick computer-wizard? I'm surprised he didn't throw some "ninja" in there, too...)

Don't get me wrong, I *REALLY* dig the whole franchise, but I don't think it's on some untouchable level that it'll be all that difficult for Fincher etc. to equal or exceed the quality of the first film. "The Departed," for example, is better than the original "Infernal Affairs" in my estimation.

 

[Michael826]

I initially found the idea of a movie centralised around a Social Networking site rather lacklustre. However, both your Escape to the Movies review and your Intermission review have changed my mind. It's honestly intriguing. I think I'll definitely go see it, if only because I shouldn't really judge it without having an adequate idea of what it actually is.

I find the amount of people raging about it being centralised around Facebook rather confusing; did you not read the article?

If you don't like 'Human Dramas', fine, but otherwise, what about it could possibly be so bad? Especially after such positive re-inforcement?

 

[Kavonde]

I hate to perform threadomancy on something that's been dead for so long, but I missed this the first time around and Bob linked it in this column, so...

Theory and speculation as to the studios' ultimate motive already runs rampant. Comic Book Resources, along with many others, sees shades of Brian Michael Bendis' "Ultimate Spider-Man" in the 'teen spidey' angle (a wholly likely prospect that, quite frankly, makes me physically ill) while CHUD's Devin Faraci offers a grimmer but also entirely plausible theory: Sending Peter Parker back to school allows Sony to turn the franchise into their entry on the Angsty-Teens-With-Superpowers Twilight bandwagon.

Not to be a naive optimist or anything, but there's a third possibility that you're missing: it could also be a live action successor to the supremely excellent Spectacular Spider-Man animated series.

Unless they announce that it's going to be directed by Michael Bay or something, there's still hope.

 

[The Partisan]

A different question about another American re-make of another Swedish film. (oh the irony)

Mr. MovieBob, sir. How was "Let Me In"? Did it do the original film "Let the Right One In" justice or was it all shock and gore at the expense of Hit Girl?

 

[Yensei]

omg.

If you're not going to see 'The Social Network' because, its about facebook, then you must have not read this review or failed your English comprehension classes.

Bob just said, ITS NOT A MOVIE ABOUT FACEBOOK, its a movie about nerds/social rejects striking a home run and facing dilemmas and issues that come with success! It's a social drama, about relations and people, with facebook being the background for all of it.

Seriously though, I love these 'I don't have a facebook page' people, are you really that mad? I don't know about you, but facebook, actually helped get in touch with a lot of people from the past and keep relations with a lot of people from the present. I hate the 'phones and emails are better' argument. If you have time to catch up with at least 20 peers, friends and family via e-mail/phones everyday, then you don't have a job