I think that "The Town" was successful in delivering everything I expected from it. This may seem odd, but really, what it left out may have been one of it's strengths. Affleck (as director) wisely avoided many paths that this material could have followed. For example, instead of dwelling on plot twists, Affleck focuses on how his characters react to surprises. As a director he understands that why people do things is far more interesting than what they do. He allows a natural, emotional response to occur, which is refreshing for this kind of movie. I think that the ending was the weakest aspect of the film. There is a tendency to wrap things up cleanly (a happy ending), which is understandable, but for it to work in this kind of a story it has to be executed perfectly. Here it just seemed forced. Not to be too repetitive in my view on movies, but once again, sitting through this movie, I was reminded of a similar film that was far superior. "Heat" set the bar so high in this genre that it almost seems pointless to compete against it. For example, there has not yet been a firefight depicted on screen that even comes close to the one in "Heat". The conversation between De Niro and Pacino in the coffee shop makes all other conversations between cops and robbers seem like Mr. McFeely and Mr. Rogers talking on the front porch on a Thursday afternoon.
"The Social Network" reminded me of an epidode of the old television show "Max Headroom" All publicity is good publicity. No matter how sharply users of Facebook get ridiculed, it's still cool. It's like the people who advocate for privacy rights against Facebook. It's like getting angry at the barber for removing your hair... Don't get me wrong, I think Facebook is a wonderful invention, and the film certainly portrays Mark Zuckerberg as a genius. Yet I think that the average Americans are notorious for recognizing what is great for the wrong reasons. Point in case; Obama and "Avatar". Obama would be a great replacement for Oprah (not Bush). "Avatar" was a great movie (not film). Facebook is a great social network, it is not a replacement for friendship.
David Fincher was the perfect director to make this movie. It takes a special kind of ironic sense of humor to make a film that both glorifies and condemns at the same time. Think about it, in "Fight Club", Tyler Durden speaks of the evils of materialism, all while being the epitome of cool. In "The Social Network" Fincher addresses the meaning of friendship. The guy who invents the website that has defined friendship for this generation doesn't know what friendship is. It's interesting how a shadow of a thing is so often the replacement for something real in our society.
I've mentioned to some of you before the remake of "True Grit" by the Coen brothers. A couple trailers are now available to view, and it's looking pretty good. In the first trailer there is some clear John Wayne imagery, and the second trailer features a fitting song (albeit overused of late). I sense some depth in this remake that didn't quite make it into the original. I'm going to have to say that this looks like the most promising upcoming movie. Until next time, goodnight.
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