HOPE FOR AMERICA

ANTI-SOCIAL NETWORK

The Social Network is currently the #1 movie in the country. It is about the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerburg. Facebook headquarters is just a few miles away from my Mountain View store, where I am writing this. I don't know how accurate the portrait of Zuckerburg is in this movie. Jessie Eisenberg, in an outstanding performance, portrays him as a very smart, but a completely anti-social person. In the first scene, he is so creepy to his one-and-only girlfriend, that she leaves him for good. It's a wonder she gave him the time of day in the first place. By most accounts Zuckerburg is a much more normal and well-adjusted person in real life the way he portrayed in the film. He supposedly has friends, and even a long-term girlfriend.

Throughout the movie, new innovations for Facebook are presented as if they are brand new inventions. Take the invention of the status update, which is an a-ha moment in the film. I always thought that Facebook was pretty much the same as MySpace, with all the same bells and whistles. Did Facebook really introduce new features to the world, or was it just a slight improvemnt over previous such sites? People got tired of MySpace for some reason, and migrated over to Facebook. I'm assuming that sooner or later, Facebook will be pase' and everyone will switch over to the newest thing. I've seen so many social networks come and go that I'm getting social network fatigue. I'm tired of setting up new profiles and pictures and inviting people to join. I've been on My Space, Comic Space, Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, and too many others to remember. I do have an account on Facebook, but I scarcely do anything except to okay friend requests. I see most of this social networking as a complete waste of time. I haven't even logged in to Myspace for over a year.

So, perhaps Facebook is not so vital and revolutionary. Perhaps Zuckerburg is much more normal than portrayed in the film. One thing is extraordinary, and that is the film making. This is a hell of a good movie. It's fast and smart. It moves quickly and the dialouge is cleaver. The music and cinamatography are first rate. Justin Timberlake is great in a supporting role as Sean Parker, creator of Napster. Who knew that Timberlake could convincingly portray a rock star? A bit of a stretch, but he pulls it off!

Make sure to see The Social Network, not necessarily for the historical value (if you want that, read a bio), but for the film making. This might well be the best picture of the year. It is especially interesting if you live in the middle of Silicon Valley, where Apple, Ebay, Facebook took hold of the newest frontier.

WOLVERVINE MITT

Wolverlee

"I'm the best at what I do, and what I do isn't pretty. I sell comic books."

Yesterday we received 4 huge Federal Express boxes. They were all full of over-sized foam wolverine mitts just like the one pictured. Evidently the movie studio sent them out to promote the upcoming movie. Hurry on into your local Lee's Comics and pick up your very own, absolutely fee of charge, while supplies last. Make sure to wear yours to the premiere! That's a mitt that just screams "We're number one!"

NETFLIX

I'm not much for My Space and Facebook, and I definitely don't Twitter. They all seem like a big waste of time to me, plus, there is WAY too much spam. Everybody is trying to sell you something. Just what this world needs. More ads!

I did join Netflix recently. My goal is to finish seeing the films that are generally recognized as the best ever. Right now I am working off the list from the internet movie database. They have a list of the top 250 films as chosen by their readers.

I looked over the list, and made a list of the films that I have not seen, and added them to my netflix cue. I have been watching these movies. I must say that the results are very good. I am seeing a much higher percentage of films that I really like, rather than by choosing films that look good at Blockbuster, or Comcast on Demand.

I just finished a really thought provoking and challenging film. It's "Requiem For a Dream." I recommend it highly, but must warn you, it's not for the squeamish. I had to stop watching it, and I returned to it the next day. It was just too disturbing. I found out that it was directed by Darren Aronofsky, who also directed "The Wrestler". He also directed the movie "PI", which is also highly regarded. Since I like the director's work, I added PI to the top of my cue. I'll get that in a couple of days, since I am returning "Requiem" tomorrow.

The funny thing about Nexflix is that my cue of movies is getting longer and longer. You would think that it would get shorter as I exhaust the great films. One great film leads to another as you discover another great Actor, Writer, or Director.

If you are interersted in finding out which movies I rate most highly, you can become my Nexfix friend. Just click on the link. Right now, I just have hundreds of ratings, but I will start writing reviews as well. If you like my taste in movies, I might like yours as well.

This seems like a decent purpose for social networking.

Better than "Twitter My Face Dot Com". (KGO Radio Traffic Man Stan Burford came up with that one yesterday.)

CHRISTOPHER WALKEN ON GENE KELLY

Looking at these Scopitons makes me think of my very favorite practitioner of flimed singing and dancing.
That would be the inimitable Gene Kelly.

My favorite film is "Singing in the Rain", starring Gene Kelly.
It is as close to perfection as anything man has yet created.
Kelly made scores of great films. Some of my other favorites are "The Pirate", "An American In Paris", "Cover Girl" and "On the Town". If you are not yet a fan of Gene Kelly, this AMC tribute by Christopher Walken will make you one.

WATCHING THE WATCHMEN

I arrived at the parking lot of Eastridge Shopping Center in San Jose on Friday at 9:00 am. I wanted to see the first theatrical showing of Watchmen. After all the hype and hoopla, I wanted to see it before anyone had a chance to color my judgement with their appraisal.

I hadn't been to this shopping center many times before. I had never driven there on my own, only as a passenger. When I reached the sprawling center at that hour, it looked like a huge, vacant warehouse. I parked right up in front of where I presumed the theatre entrance was. There were only one or two cars in the parking garage. The structure looked vast and seedy. It probably looked better when it was filled with cars. Without the cars, you could see all the wear, trash, cracks in the pavement, weeds growing through the cracks, and painted over graffiti.

I made my way to the entrance, and walked inside. The place was empty, but the lights were on. The stores hadn't opened yet. That was going to happen in an hour. Theoretically. For now, I felt like I was in the middle of "Dawn of the Dead", the zombie movie that takes place in a shopping mall. I just looked it up online to fact check. Here's a fun fact that I found, and I should have known. Zack Snyder, the director of Watchmen directed a re-make of Dawn of the Dead in 2004. Walking around in a vacant mall is the perfect way to warm up for a Zack Snyder picture.

I've never been to an early showing. Not this early at least. The show was scheduled to start at 9:45. There was not a soul waiting at the Theatre. The gates were closed. I killed some time walking around the mall. I saw some very nice super-hero hats on display at a hat place. I checked out the Gacha Ball kiosks and compared the selection with my own.

Finally I wandered in to see the movie at 9:30 am. The following contains spoilers, do don't blame me if you read anyway.

The movie starts over very handsomely with a montage of previous events. This is done quite artfully and it sets a nice tone for the movie. This film is beautiful to behold. There are many scenes in this film that defy expectations for a costumed super-hero film. At the same rate, there is plenty of action to please fans of this genre. Generally, things are tastefully done, and the Rorschach, Comedian, and Dr. Manhattan characters are very well played.

The opinions on this movie seem split. I think it's a better film than 300. I normally don't like Super-Hero movies. You might say that this is not a super-hero movie. There is much to like about this film. Perhaps I benefited by not having a very fresh memory of the series. The last time I read it was twenty years ago. I do remember it wall enough to note that the filmmakers changed the ending, but I don't recall any other changes. There were probably a bunch. I wonder if some of the people that didn't like the film were comparing it to the comic series. I believe that a movie should stand on it's own merits, just like a book or comic book should. This film held my attention, and I would like to see it again some time. I give it 3 out of 4 stars. Definitely worth seeing.

THE INTERNATIONAL

The International, staring Clive Owen is a suspenseful and well acted thriller. It's fast moving and picturesque. There is plenty of action. Too bad that the plot-line is incomprehensible for the most part, and the few parts that can be comprehended are preposterous. The movie does not work up to a climax. Instead it looks like the director ran out of film, so they just stopped it, and rolled the credits. Perhaps the banks cut off their funding.

This film is well timed, as it uses bankers as the bad guys. On the downside, the plot is harder to comprehend than the stimulus package. It should have been called "The Irrational." This movie's rating is should be downgraded to "Junk."

HANNAH'S ALL NEW MOVIE REVIEW!

My Daughter Hannah has been wanting to see Coraline for a while now, and we got to see it tonight. Also she always reads my Blog and has been wanting to write for it. So I invited her to contribute a movie review of Coraline. Here is Hannah, age 12, in her own words. Take it away kid-do!

Coroline, 4 stars

Well I just got back for the movie Coraline 3D. I would say it was very fun and exiting movie to watch. I felt that the animation was very clever as well as the story plot. Overall it seems much effort was put in to making this movie. Through the course of the movie, the main character, Coraline, seems very relatable for young girls as well as adults. Also my whole family adored the talking kitty. This is why I think this movie is the perfect movie to go see with your family and I give it 4 stars. : )


Hannah Hester

MOVIE CRAZY

If you don't know by now, I'm a huge movie buff. I like old ones, new ones, silent movies, foreign films, blockbusters, independent movies, westerns, serials, documentary's, musicals, cartoons, you name it,as long as they are good.

One trend that I haven't embraced is the habit of seeing deliberately bad movies, such as the films of Ed Wood. I don't seek out stuff that is supposed to be bad, as I figure that in my efforts to see good stuff, I see plenty of bad stuff by accident.

So, I have been seeking out movies that are particularly noteworthy. I have a book called "1001 Movies That You Must See Before You Die", and I have been reading it with interest. A smaller list is contained on the Internet Movie Database. It's the list of the Top 250 films as voted on by the readers of that site.

I made a list of films from that list that I have not yet seen. I've been checking out these films from the library, or seeing them on Comcast on Demand.

Since I started the list, I have seen the following movies.

Best Years of our Lives (Excellent, chocked me up in several places.)
Brief Encounter (Very interesting early David Lean film.)
Elephant Man (Loved it.)
Glory (Well acted, but a bit clichéd.)

So, 2 that I liked a lot, and 2 that I loved. Not bad at all. Some people like to ignore critics, and lists like these, but life is short, and I want to see as many masterpieces as possible. I can't die before seeing all the great movies that I must see before I die, can I?

From the list, here are the remaining films that I have yet to see.


400 Blows (1959)
Alien (1979)
Aliens (1986)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
American History X (1998)
Amores perros (2000)
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Battle of Algiers (1966)
Beauty and the Beast (1946)
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Counterfiters (2008)
Donnie Darko (2001)
Fa yeung nin wa (2000)
Finding Nemo (2003)
Frankenstein (1931)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Great Expectations (1946)
Haine, La (1995)
Harvey (1950)
Howl's Moving Castle
Ikiru (1952)
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Infernal Affairs (2002)
Into the Wild (2007)
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
King Kong (1933)
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
Lives of Others
Magnolia (1999)
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Night of the Hunter (1955)
Nights of Cabiria (1957)
Oldboy (2003)
Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
Pan's Labyrinth
Princess Mononoke
Psycho (1960)
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Roman Holiday (1953)
Rope (1948)
Samouraï, Le (1967)
Seventh Seal
Stalker (1979)
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Umberto D. (1952)
Wild Strawberries (1957)

Tell Me now, What is YOUR favorite film?
Tell me why it moves you.