The Social Network

Facehooked

The Social Network is David Fincher's first movie since 2008's snoozefest that was 'The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button'. Thankfully there is no room for yawning with his latest offering.

In 2003 Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) is a highly intellectual computer whiz studying at Harvard. After being deservedly dumped by his girlfriend he hastily decides to create a website rating the attractiveness of the local female students by hacking into databases. He names the site 'Facemash', an action that initially has hilarious results and causes a frenzied excitement around the campus.

Zuckerberg becomes a local hero and catches the eye of the wealthy Winklenoss twins, Harvard's star members of the rowing team. They approach Zuckerberg with a pitch on how to further develop 'Facemash'. He accepts on the spot and sets about the redevelopment. Zuckerberg however, has his own ideas and with the help of his best pal Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) he creates 'Facebook'.

Saverin agrees to to finance the initial launch and take a 30% shareholding. Zuckerberberg would be the main shareholder and the brains behind the site. 'Facebook' goes live successfully throughout the main American universities and eventually across the pond to the UK and most of Europe.

During his time developing the site, Zuckerberg has been ignoring all contact attempts made by the Winklenoss twins, who are obviously livid and feel he stole their original idea. They eventually decide to sue.

Zuckerberg and Saverin are introduced by a mutual friend to the charming Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake). Parker was co-founder of Napster, an on-line live music sharing service established in 1999 but closed down in 2001 due to copyright violations. He is broke but still living the highlife and has an unusual interest in Zuckerberg and 'Facebook'.

Zuckerberg is naively taken in by Parker, whereas Saverin is sceptical of his sinister character and his overeager interest.

From here on in there are shady dealings, wrongdoings, drug busts, treachery, disloyalty and two court cases. All because of greed and fame.

In this case, Fame soon becomes Notoriety and there are several culprits contributing to this.

For many reasons, it's difficult not to feel sorry for both Zuckerberg and Saverin. What is apparent is that all the academic know how doesn't always carry you in the real world - billionaire or not.

The performances are all good and Justin Timberlake can actually act! Eisenberg and Garfield are excellent as the young talented entrepreneurs.

'The Social Network' will definitely appeal more to Facebook users, especially seeing where Zuckerberg get's the inspiration for Facebook's many tools. It doesn't look at all like a Fincher directed movie but that is neither a criticism nor a compliment. It's always exciting to see what he brings to the screen and he doesn't disappoint here.

So why not Facebook your mates and arrange to see it for yourself!!!

Score: 9/10

The Town

Boston Illegal....

Ben Affleck has had an erratic career since his Oscar win for original screenplay in 1997 for Good Will Hunting. Along the way he's had duds like 'Gigli' and 'Jersey Girl' to name but a few. In recent years he would be more likely to be a Golden Raspberry nominee than an Oscar nominee. That all changed in 2007 when he turned his hand to writing and directing his first feature film 'Gone Baby Gone'. It went on to have both critical and commercial success.

'The Town' his second directorial offering is once again sat in in Affleck's birth place of Boston. It centres around four working class bank robbers. Affleck plays Doug MacRay, the ringleader who's father is serving life in prison for similar crimes to his son. MacRay (Affleck) has a major hang up over his childhood. His mother abandoned him at an early age and his father never fully explained why!

During a botched heist, the gang temporarily take a female bank manager called Claire (Rebecca Hall) hostage. Upon her release they decide to monitor her movements for a couple of weeks to give themselves peace of mind. MacRay decides to take on this task.
Inevitably, a love story of sorts evolves. MacRay is looking to escape from his violent/criminal life and yearns to leave Boston for Florida with Claire. She is beautiful and educated and seems to fit the criteria for his new beginnings.

His right hand man and childhood friend James (Jeremy Renner) throws a spanner in the works. He has other plans about his friend absconding to Florida for a quiet life. He demands MacRay do one last job in lieu of favours owed to him. MacRay has a dilemna, does he run out on his pal who has stood by him all his life or does he risk his dream of an idyllic future on one last heist.

'The Town' is generally fast paced and is at it's most engrossing when Renner is on screen. He was, in my opinion the reason 'The Hurt Locker' was elevated to and Oscar award level. The same may just apply for this movie. Things do fall flat at times when Affleck and Hall share the screen as there is very little chemistry. The last half hour is thrilling with car chases and shoot out scenes, and culminates in MacRay uncovering the real reason his mother walked out on him and how he goes about avenging the source.

There are a couple of strong supporting performances, notably Blake Lively who tears her 'Gossip Girl' character to shreds playing a drug addict and the wonderful Chris Cooper as MacRay's estranged imprisoned father.

As an actor Ben Affleck can be whiney and wooden and has to work hard to demand screen presence. However, as a writer/director he seems to have found his niche. He has once again delivered an original, entertaining drama.

It seems that 'Gone Baby Gone' was not a fluke!

Score: 7/10

Inception

in·cep·tion (n-spshn) n. The beginning of something, such as an undertaking; a commencement. See Synonyms at origin.

The caption above is the Oxford English dictionary's meaning of the word Inception. Ignore it, as it has no bearing on how to understand or decipher this roller coaster script.

Director Christopher Nolan, follows on from his hugely successful Dark Knight to give us his best movie and most complex movie since 2000's Memento. Dom (Leo DiCaprio) is a thief who steals the thoughts/secrets from the human mind through dream invasion to benefit him financially. It's clear at first that Dom is a tortured sole carrying a huge burden on his shoulders and it soon becomes clear why!

He is given a final chance to return to his native America and be re-united with his two young children. In exchange for this, he must pull off one last job - an Inception. Dom knows he cannot achieve it alone so he puts together a team of talented individuals for this enigmatic heist.

His team is a stellar cast including the brilliant brit actor and one to watch out for - Tom Hardy, Ellen 'Juno' Page, Joseph Gordon Levitt and our very own Cillian Murphy. There is also a return to mainstream screen for the 'very badly aged' Tom Berenger.

Each of the team has a key role in Dom's mission ranging from solving mathematical riddles to cloning. I shouldn't really compare Inception to other movies as it is quite unique but think Ocean's Eleven meets Existenz.

Marion Cottilard is wonderfully eerie as Dom's estranged wife. Although, why Edith Piaf's No Regrets is used as the gang's wake up call throughout the movie is lost on me considering Cottilard's recent Oscar winning portrayal as Piaf. More corny than irony!

The dream sequence's in the movie are stunningly novel and the action is relentless. DiCaprio has had a busy year and must be rightly confused from enduring so many flashback and dream scenes in both Shutter Island and this movie.

There is no doubting that Inception will go down as the most innovative movie this year and has definitely given us movie lovers something to marvel about this Summer in light of all the disappointing blockbusters that we had to endure. It is a gem of a film and Nolan and the cast deserve all the accolades they receive.

Apparently the script took 8 years to write and it shows, as at times it seems over thought and self indulgent. There are scenes depicting dreams within dreams which although are clever, are also unnecessary and result in the viewer incurring excessive confusion.

These are minor gripes in what is an overall stunning cinematic experience!

Score: 8/10

Sex and the City 2

Sex and the City - what a pity!

Well it's official! The Sex and the City writers have run out of steam at long last. It has taken them 2 years to write what really is 5 very average TV episodes , stuck them together and hoped for a decent follow up to the hugely successful and entertaining 1st movie. They should've left it alone as this movie will disappoint even the most loyal of fans.

It gets off to the worst of starts, with a totally unrealistic OTT gay wedding. It's so gay it's straight! No gay man would go for this, regardless of how many female hormones he was born with. From there on I'm afraid it just doesn't get much better. It turns all comic caper verging on the Carry On movies when they get a lucky vacation in Middle East. Thank god for Samantha's antics and one liners. Carrie has got even more annoying as she realises that her marriage to Mr Big has gone stale. It seems that she wants to be running around NYC in hot pants with a giant sized flower in her hair when she's nearly 50. The ground breaking stylist on the show 'Patricia Fields' reaches an all time low with some down right silly hats and outfits for Carrie. They are more circus freak than fashion chic!

There are some laugh out loud moments along the way but with a running time of two and a half hours long, it's just not enough. Miranda's deadpan personality is rarely seen and Charlotte is as anal as ever. There is a great cameo from the queen of camp - Liza Minnelli. There are also some silly cameos from old flames of the girls coming back for no reason other than to fill in the huge lulling gaps in the film. The big problem here is that none of the characters new lives are as interesting as they were when the girls were single and looking for Sex in the City. Even women nowadays who have found their Steve or Mr Big still want to be entertained and see what the single girl gets up to, not what it's like to have a difficult marriage or several kids that hinder your social life.

Girls all over the world will flock to see this in their droves and sink several cosmos along the way. Enjoy it while you can as on this evidence, there will not be a 3rd movie.

Buy the TV box set and remember Sex and the City the way it used to be - ground breaking, influential, and a right good laugh!!!

Score: 4/10

Kick Ass

Believe the hype!!

The most controversial movie to hit the big screen this year. It's a shame it has received headlines for all the wrong reasons as this movie brings a lot more than controversy! Kick Ass (Aaron Johnson) describes himself as a regular guy with regular friends and has no luck with the opposite sex. In truth, he is a a likeable nerd bordering on Napoleon Dynamite. He spends his time with his 2 dorky mates reading comics and lusting after girls that are out of their league. His obsession with comic book superheroes gets him thinking as to why there is not a modern day hero to fight local crime, so he purchases a typical hero costume on line and sets about training himself to fill this role. These scenes are cringeworthy but hilarious and when he stumbles upon a local gang attack, he intervenes and becomes an overnight global hero due to a bystanders recording of the scene being aired on tv.

The newly famed Superhero is unaware that there is a crimefighting father and daughter duo sat at home watching his antics on tv. Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) is a single parent father to Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) who is a mere 11 years of age. She is more interested in getting guns and knives as presents from her father, rather than the latest Bratz doll.

It's at this stage in the movie where controversy rears it's ugly head as the 11 year old lets loose with a string of expletives and displays the fighting skills of a highly trained assassin. They have a more personal reason for their vigilantic acts and in their sights is local crimelord Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong). The duo will not rest until his empire is destroyed. By default, Kick Ass finds himself caught up in Big Daddy and Hit Girl's revenge on D'Amico and the results are gags that are laugh out loud with some outrageous action scenes. Initially it's shocking to hear an 11 year old girl use the C word and I can understand why some are upset over this. However, when the grim details of her birth and upbringing are revealed, Hit Girl's actions seem more acceptable.

This is Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman's (Mrs Jonathan Ross) second collaboration and it couldn't be further removed from their previous venture, the lighthearted Starlight! Vaughn's directing is sleek and innovative, he even manages to fit in a scene with a giant billloard of his supermodel wife Claudia Schiffer in the background. Goldman's script is laden with clever one liners and never hits a lull. Newcomer Chloe Moretz is a revelation as Hit Girl and Brit actor Aaron Johnson who was recently on our screens playing John Lennon in Nowhere Boy excels in the lead role. Nicolas cage is for once very watchable and quite funny in his supporting role. Winning an Oscar all those years ago was the worst thing for Cage as it propelled him into the ill suited area of leading man resulting in countless flops.

Kick Ass the movie is at times shocking and gory but never takes itself serious. It views likes a cross between Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction but what sets it apart from a Tarantino movie is the heartfelt moments of sentiment that will keep the more sensitive viewer smiling and captivated. I doubt there will be many people who will think it an ok movie, it's a love it or hate it verdict. It's only April but I fail to see a better movie being released this year.

Believe the hype for all the right reasons!!!

Score: 10/10

Alice In Wonderland

Visual Treat!

It's only my second ever movie to see in 3D along with this years Avatar. Although Avatar was stunning to view in 3D, Alice in Wonderland is superior. It's not totally necessary to watch Avatar in 3D but Alice is impossible to view in 2D. Remove your 3D glasses for a moment and you'll see what i mean. I'm going to try not be biased here as I'm a massive Tim Burton fan.

I suppose you could call the movie a sequel to the original Alice in Wonderland as it takes place ten years after her 1st visit to Wonderland. Some of the sequences and characters are quite scary and some kids will definitely find it a bit creepy at times. Soon afer arriving in Wonderland via falling down a large hole chasing a rabbit, Alice learns that she is the chosen player/slayer for the good white queen, which is played very oddly and annoyingly effected by Anne Hathaway. It's up to Alice to carry out a death defying task in order to regain the good queens reign over Wonderland, currently ruled by her evil tyranical sister the Red Queen - played by the wonderful Helena Bonham Carter.

The movie is full of plusses besides the obvious ground breaking effects, the sound, the music.

Johnny Depp is his usual scene stealer and his Mad Hatter is full of Depp's perfected eccentricities. For me though, the real star of this movie is Bonham Carter's red queen. Hilariously over acted from a very under rated actress. She never received the plaudits she should have for her performance in Flight Club and due to the dark gothic nature of this movie I'm sure the same thing will happen with this role. It's such a shame as she is mesmerising whenever she appears on screen. The character of Alice is played very impressively by relative newcomer Mia Wasikowska. She's definitately one to watch out for in the future. The cast of animated animals are voiced by a predominantly British cast - Barbara Windsor, Timothy Spall, Michael Sheen to name but a few. Stephen Fry's Chester the cat is perfect.

I found the movie captivating and not in the slighest bit laboured. Burton rarely disappoints and it's definitely a return to form. There was however a very strange scene at the end of movie were Johnny Depp bursts into an an impromptu Michael Jacksonesque dance routine. It made no sense whatsover! Unlike the rest of the movie which was a visual and entertaining joy.

Score: 8/10

Shutter Island

Post war thriller with a pre-war jitter!

Set in 1954 Leonardo Di Caprio plays US Marshal Teddy Daniels, assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from the Boston Shutter Island hospital for the criminally insane.

The patient in question Rachel Solando, escaped from a locked room after been institutionalized for drowning her 3 children.

Accompanying Daniels on his investigation is his newly assigned partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo). Assisting the investigators with the case is head doctor for the institute Dr Crawley (Ben Kingsley). It is immediately apparent to Daniels that there is something amiss as Crawley is reluctant to provide him with essential information regarding the case. When he stumbles upon a hospital board meeting consisting of several shady members, it only serves to convince him further that this case is not all it initially appeared to be.

As their investigating continues, a hurricane hits the island causing a complete power cut.

From here on things start to get really racey and tense, and with patients escaping, the guards are otherwise engaged therefore Daniels and Chuck have the ideal opportunity to discover for themselves if there is an underlying reason behind the patient's disappearance.

For a US Marshal, Daniels appears to be a very troubled person and from the onset suffers from wartime hallucinations and nightmares from his past. He begins to ask himself why he was assigned to this case, was there really a legitimate escape or are the doctors on this island using a fictitiuos incident to mask some illegal treatments/experiments on patients!

The movie itself is captivating and looks amazing. Scorsese shot it in a very Cape Fearish manner with lots of quirky camera angles and film noir poses. The performances are all worthy from the three lead male actors and there are sufficient supporting performances from Michelle Williams and Patricia Clarkson.

The movie may frustrate you as there are so many twists and turns along the way with no loose ends tied up until the very end. I personally was agitated by the fact that I didn't forsee how or when these lose ends would tie up. However, it made it all the better as the climax is definitely worth the wait.

Overall it's another classic Scorsese/Di Caprio venture!

Score: 8/10

I love you Philip Morris

Who said Romance is dead?

A caption stating 'The following events really took place' appears on the screen at the start of this movie. I was unfamiliar with Steven Russell's story and read very little about the movie prior to seeing it. If I had missed the opening caption, I would have said it was the most far fetched drama I'd seen in a long time. Instead, what I got was a left of centre romantic comic caper.

Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) is for want of a better worth a con man. His whole life is one cover up, even to the exent of his marriage. He eventually comes out to his family and friends after a near death experience and moves to a sunnier state to live as an openly gay man. To his dismay he discovers that being gay is expensive and sets out in the only way he knows to finance his lifestyle. After one scam too many his antics land him in prison. It's here that he meets and falls in love with Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). Being the con man that he is, Russell sets out to plan their escape. Morris goes along with Russell's plans as he is obsessed with him but is a by the book type of guy, therefore is always on the edge of suspicion.

Be it in or out of prison, Russell is constantly trying to better both their lives and there is a scheme of sorts constantly on the go. It's amazing the lengths he will go to just to sate his lover.

Although Carrey's performance is convincing, he overdoes it on the silly 'Mask' faces and just when you were putting his previous slapstick performances behind you, he does a silly voice! McGregor on the other hand is excellent as Morris and camps it up just the right amount. Their on screen chemistry as a loved up couple is totally convincing and at times quite touching.

Due to it's gay content it won't appeal to a mass audience which is a shame as Russell's experiences rarely happen to one individual in a lifetime and deserve to be seen. I felt that the movie was more suited to the small screen rather than the big screen and I'm sure it will be a bigger hit with dvd and tv viewers on it's eventual release. In saying that if you are looking for a movie that's not laugh out loud but charming, funny and entertaining then give this a go - you won't be disappointed!

Score: 6/10