Movie Beat 10/1/10: Let Me In, The Social Network, And A Few Indie Films

With Ralph ditching KROQ to actor-it-up in Kevin Smith’s film, Red State, Mr. Moviefone, Russ Leatherman, fills in for the Movie Beat (with a little bit extra from myself as well).

MOVIE BEAT AUDIO:

The Social Network:

Mr. Movie phone says – This gives hope to every nerd sitting in their college dorm, smoking a bong, thinking “I wonder what I could do with my life.” This is about Mark Zuckerberg and his invention of “the facebook,” but the movie really tracks through the various lawsuits that are up against Zuckerberg and facebook. A couple guys at school claimed he stole the idea outright, another kid got kicked to the curb as CFO as the company started growing.

Jesse Eisenberg is SPOT ON! The dialogue in the first five minutes of the movie is so whip smart that you think there’s no way they can keep this up and no way I can keep up with it. Then they tone it down a little bit. Justin Timberlake – is it fair that one dude has all that talent? He’s good. He’s REALLY good. Andrew Garfield is awesome. David Fincher (director) did Seven, Fight Club, so you know you’re getting a good pedigree here. The whole thing really is incredible.

Let Me In:

Mr. Moviefone says – Just when you thought we’d gone 6 weeks or so without a vampire movie, we get this one. It’s a little bit different though, and it’s actually a pretty good story. You’ve got this young boy who finds comfort in befriending this strange little girl that moves in next door. As the body count rises, he finds out she’s a vampire.

Chloe Moretz is unbelievably awesome in  this movie, as is the rest of the cast. It’s a vampire movie where they don’t sparkle. It’s a good horror movie and thriller.

Now, a little about me (Casey) – I consider myself to be a well rounded movie connoisseur (though, while being a chick, I try to avoid chick flicks like the plague). I tend to see all the little indie and foreign films that most haven’t heard of in addition to the bigger films. I’m a total movie snob who spends enough money at the box office to single-handedly save American cinema.

I’ve seen The Social Network and I completely agree with Mr. Moviefone. The first 5 minutes of dialogue made me SO giddy! I LOVE smart talk, and it’s so rare! Aaron Sorkin really is a genius writer! The story is intriguing, the acting is superb, and it made me want to go research all the facts behind the real story. My small complaint is that Timberlake is just a tad too smooth to play a nerdy millionaire.

While I’ve yet to see Let Me In (I’m going this week though), I HAVE seen the original Swedish film, Let the Right One In, that it’s a remake of. I loved the original, and think that this one is almost too close to the original for me. The relationship between the two kids is very sweet and believable while being so dangerous. Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) are both fabulous young talents, so I can’t wait to see this!

Here’s a few films worth mention that have flown more under the radar:

Catfish:

This has one of the most brilliant marketing campaigns ever! It looks like you’re being set up for the next Blair Witch Project, but it is not even remotely alike! The posters say “Don’t let anyone tell you what it’s about,” and I stand by that 100%! I don’t want to say ANYTHING about it, but just that I expected it to be different. (I may have been slightly let down.) Come find me after you see it, and we’ll chat.

Buried:

I was fortunate enough to catch this up to Sundance this year. As a chick, I heard it was 95 minutes of Ryan Reynolds and said, “yes please!” As a movie buff, I was really intrigued by the fact that it’s one guy, in one location, for the entire film, and was entirely compelling! There’s times of complete darkness and it held me at the edge of my seat the whole time! The way it’s shot is impressive too! I recommend this!

Never Let Me Go:

There’s other trailers that I feel show too much. This one spoils less AND uses a beautiful Muse song. This is based on a book by the same author as Remains of the Day. Rarely does a film really hit me emotionally, and this totally caught me off guard and slaughtered me! It stars Carrie Mulligan, Keira Knightly, and Andrew Garfield, who meet as children, and grow up in a special children’s boarding school.

As the film unravels and you start to understand their fate, it becomes more heartbreaking by the second! The cinematography is stunning, it’s SO well acted, and I hope gets a broader audience. This is one of my favorites of the year!

Waiting For Superman:

This documentary about the failed education system in America is getting massive praise and rave reviews EVERYWHERE! While I think it’s necessary to address these issues to the masses in order to point out how we fail youth of our country, I also feel like I could have gotten all the info from a thin brochure. I didn’t feel very connected to the subjects, and I was more bored than motivated to seek change. The statistics are shocking, but I would have rather spent my time elsewhere.

The Freebie:

I was pleasantly surprised by this! It stars Dax Shepard, and writer/director/actor Katie Aselton, and deals with a married couple who are the best of friends, but are lacking chemistry in the bedroom. The make a deal to have a night where they are free to have a one night stand in hopes of bringing back the spark to their relationship. It’s a very honest film that weighs the pluses and minuses of this possible solution. I went to a screening with a Q & A with Aselton and learned that this was done on NO budget, and improv style.

The Freebie is playing a limited engagement this weekend at the Landmark Nuart, and will have a Q &A with the 2 stars following the 7:30pm screenings, and intro the 9:30pm screenings, both tonight and tomorrow.

http://www.landmarktheatres.com/Films/films_frameset.asp?id=94158