Catfish

There are many types of films that come up through the years, but none have seemed so intriguing than a documentary that was filmed in 2007, titled, Catfish. The documentary followed around Yaniv Schulman, a young photographer who has established a relationship with a young girl online using the networking site, Facebook. In the beginning of the documentary we see a friendly relationship which started with the young girl asking permission to paint a picture of one of Yaniv’s photos.
Yaniv’s digital pen pal begins to send him more and more of her panting’s and he begins to establish an online relationship with her entire family, who are also on Facebook. The story seems wholesome as Yaniv begins talking to the little girl’s older sister Megan. Yaniv and Megan start off by chatting online, and then start having night long phone, and text conversations. He begins to like Megan and often asks when they can meet.
The point in the film where you begin to fill a sense of suspicion towards the entire situation is when Megan sings a song for Yaniv, and he soon discovers that it wasn’t really Megan singing. Now at this point in the film, the directors have really put together a sort of wonderment and have us as the audience really trying to guess what really going on, with Megan and the Facebook family. There are moments that are really funny and seem to be too perfect to have been just documentary footage, but hats off to the directors and editors, Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. They were able to take an apparent real life event and build a sort of suspense.
Towards the films end, I found the secret to be anti-climactic. The family that he had been speaking to and who he had established such a strong bond with, and has never met before, was all too realistic and sad. The conclusion ended up being sad and not worth minding any attention to. I rate this film two out of five stars, because it had the ambition and the build of a great Hitchcock classic, but falls flat on its face when it is finally resolved.
I did not feel like I had been ripped off in anyway because the story did have its strong points and it kept me thinking really hard as to what the actual mystery behind the Facebook family was. The film Catfish, although undeserving towards its hype, still needs to be recognized in film history, not for its somber climax but for its strong and eerie build up.

Red

The discontent and often bored retired CIA operative Frank Moses has reached a new level of discontent in his life. Frank Moses played by Bruce Willis takes the time off his retired life to flirt with retirements check claims clerk, Sarah Ross, played by Mary Louise Parker. Her role in the film falls flat upon the canvas as the world around her explodes with excitement also joined by a cast of veteran actors such as Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, and Helen Mireen.
Often times I found the many superimpositions into new setting to become a little annoying at times. The action sequences in the movie where enough to keep you in your seats but did not deserve any further recognition. The stand out role in the film was the character Marvin Boggs, played by the eccentric John Malkovich. His role as Marvin brought a fresh comedic standpoint which was hard determined at times.
I rate this movie three out of five because it re introduced me to the types of action films I enjoyed as a child, never needing to be too serious to get the point across. I found the films soundtrack to be quite hokey in a comedic sense. I did not like the characters they had presented that represented the CIA. They seemed too stereotypical, and impatient rather than taking time to assess the situation.
The films holds up to be a good family action movie that portrays Bruce Willis as the badass he really is and how no matter how old or beat up the actor is, they can still hold a great scene. I wouldn’t suspect any Oscar nominations but the film played its part a solid, fun action movie that brought the viewer along for explosive filled good time.
The film Red is truly something that an audience from this era probably wouldn’t understand. It breathes, “Action movie from the mid-nineties.” With that said it is not a bad film it’s just out of date as far as the story, acting, and action. I would just like to credit the effects manager for doing such a cool scene, when Bruce Willis jumps out of the car and begins firing at the CIA operative. It is truly an homage to all the great action flicks out there.
I have green lit Red, so go have a good time and see it for what it is a fun, action packed, adventure, with a cast of great actors.

The Town

The film the Town takes us to Charlestown where crime is the town’s main commerce. The Town kicks off with a short of perfect bank robbery scene that makes the viewer feel as though there a victim inside the bank. In the film Ben Affleck plays Doug McCray, a young project raised Bostonian that has inherited his father’s insatiable knack for robbing banks. Affleck is also a leader of a rag tag group of felons, none worth being mentioned other than the psychotic James Coughlin, who is played by Jeremy Renner.
In the film tensions build as they take the assistant manager of the bank Claire Keesey, played by Rebecca Hall, is held hostage as they storm out of the first heist. After this point we can feel the emotional shock that this young woman has undergone. Director Ben Affleck has finally found his feet in directing, as he is able to tell a story about humanity and love rather than just another shoot em up action drama. The story tells an emotional journey of two characters which fall in love but also contrast each other perfectly.
It is masterful how Affleck is able to portray the good the bad and the beautiful in the film. To add to his ensemble cast, is experienced actor Pete Postlethwaite, who plays the Irish florist who contracts McCray’s crew. His relaxed demeanor creates a classic villain. On the opposite side of the fence you find FBI agent Adam Frawley, played by television star Jon Hamm. Hamms portrayal of Frawley brings a sense of strong justice, much like that of a Lone Ranger type, who is willing to bend the rules to catch the hardened criminals. Much to my delight actor Chris Cooper played a small but important rule which helped complete the arc of Afflecks character, Doug McCray. He played Doug’s father, who was cold and brutal back in his days of robbing banks.
I rate this film four out five stars. The acing was solid and the story telling was visually and emotionally stunning. It is a film that places Ben Affleck into the directing elite. Make a trip down to the Town if you’re planning on watching a thrilling emotional as well as action filled crime drama.

The Social Network

The Social Network is the culmination of top notch writing by Aaron Sorkin, and great direction from David Fincher. Fincher has made his masterpiece. The film tells the story of Mark Zuckerberg, creator and CEO of the multi-billion dollar networking site Facebook. In the film Zuckerberg is portrayed by the young actor, Jesse Eisenberg. Eisenberg brings a whole new meaning to sarcasm as he takes his character and creates a dark wall of un-apologetic scrutiny upon those who do not carry the same I.Q as him. Behind the wall lies a young man that has let his convictions overcome him, as he betrays his early partner and best friend Eduardo Saverin. Saverin is played by Andrew Garfield, who creates a great parallel for Eisenberg. He is the character most can relate to due to the fact that he is not particularly a genius and he is the one character that is in the backseat, rather than actually co-pilot to the Zuckerberg character.  The films catalyst is what makes the tensions rise as Harvard elites try and accuse Zuckerberg of stealing there idea. The parts of the film that show the Winklevoss twins and partner Dyvia Naverendra struggle to figure out what to do about Zuckerberg are at times comedic. The most satisfying parts of the film are when we are introduced to the diva Sean Parker, creator of Napster. His role in the development of Facebook involved world-wide expansion mixed with un-supervised debauchery. Justin Timberlake who portrayed Parker made a new name for young millionaire entrepreneurs, by displaying a finger to the man type of character which ultimately led to some negative press.  I have seen the genius of Aaron Sorkin in his ability to create a world full of jesters, dunces, and flat out royalty. He creates  great interactions between Zuckerberg and every character in the film, making the audience feel as if they too have strong convictions with a highly advanced level of sarcasm. The film did have the Fincher feel with the dark vale upon the screen and the chilling soundtrack. Overall I give this film 4 out of 5 stars, it was smart fun which told a great David and Goliath story. I would suggest watching the film and not trying to analyze its subject matter beforehand. The pacing keeps it enthralling and the dialogue exchange is more than satisfying