Side Notes: The Social Network and Wreck It Ralph

So I know I have been doing more "Side Notes" lately but I promise I am getting back into the actual lists. I finally watched "The Social Network" which has been my DVD from Netflix since about March. Oops. I did return it and now I have "City Lights", one of Charlie Chaplin's films. I am very interested to watch this film as it will be my first Chaplin and my first silent film!

Anyways,  so on to the two "Sides Notes"...


Side Notes: The Social Network -

I will have to say I was a bit surprised by this film. I sort of broke it down into two parts as I was watching it. I focused on the events itself and then the portrayal of said events.

So for the story and the events that had occurred, I actually didn't realize how much really went down. I had heard that Mark had "stolen the idea" for Facebook but if he really acted as they showed in the movie, that was really a slap in the face to the Winklevoss twins and let's face it, a real jerk move. I am sure that everything is not 100% accurate but I can see why there had been law suits involved. And with Saverin? Wow. He was really just trying to drive the company forward and Mark put him into the whole situation and then just sort of used him. I didn't know either that Sean Parker got involved. Now that's a whole other rant, but I really think there is something mentally wrong with Parker. It was solidified during this movie and he just really needs help. He's a brilliant kid and has blown open the way we share and handle music and social media, but he's paranoid and very much out for himself. I read an article and have seen interviews with him during the Napster days and feel like he was portrayed well in this movie.

For the actual film: the acting and the story telling, I felt like it had the potential to really get me confused with the bouncing around of the story and between the flashbacks and the present, but I think it worked. I like how we were put into two different boardrooms with two different visualisations so we knew which lawsuit we were discussing. They were a great way to drive the story and I really liked that progression.  Jesse Eisenberg plays sort of the same role, but I absolutely cannot think of anyone else that would have played Zuckerberg the way he did and have it come off the right way. And I really liked Andrew Garfield in his role as well. Good choices for actors and I didn't feel like anyone was out of place.

Overall, a great film and sort of opened by eyes to how Facebook came about. It's not all updates and fake farming.


Side Notes: Wreck It Ralph -
This was such a cute movie! Can Disney do no wrong? I have loved all of their films and of course no exception. I think it's a very interesting idea to think of things from the "bad guy" side. I loved the references to games, the witty banter and the overall message. One thing I found interesting, in reading up on how they made the film, they said the voice actors were all in the same room during recording which quite often led to some improvising. I think we see a lot of that between Ralph and Vanellope. I love the commitment that Disney films do as well. There were so many little things added in, like keeping with the movements of the Nicelanders in the traditional 8-bit motion, seeing a lot of recognizable characters, and references. Anyone notice Skrillex? :-)   Overall a great film with beautiful animation, a great story, lovable characters and excellent humor. (I love Jane Lynch and her one liners!)