Watch Facebook's Beginning in The Social Network

In the few years since its creation, Facebook has really exploded in popularity. Most of my friends and relatives use it, and I find myself on the site often. I love the sense of connectedness. So I found it fascinating to see this website’s beginnings in David Fincher’s The Social Network.

Written by Aaron Sorkin and based on the book by Ben Mezrich, The Social Network stars Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook and now one of the richest men in the world. In the movie, he comes across as jittery and surly, either talking a mile a minute or slumping in stony silence. When it’s the former, he’s exhausting, while the latter just comes across as disagreeable. We get the sense that he’s a genius when it comes to website design but a disaster in the realm of social interaction. Mostly, he seems oblivious rather than malicious; nonetheless, if this portrayal is anything close to reality, it’s not a very flattering portrait.

Eisenberg disappears into the role, and just as impressive is Armie Hammer, who plays buff, WASPish twins Cameron and Tyler Winkelvoss, who proposed an idea to Zuckerberg for a website with striking similarities to proto-Facebook. Hammer makes each twin distinct while still often in sync with each other; there’s humor in the united front they present, tension in the disagreements that arise over what to do about their Zuckerberg problem. They generally come across as likable, albeit rather cocky.

Probably the most outright obnoxious character is Justin Timberlake’s Sean Parker, a hard-living entrepreneur who helps take Facebook to the next level. Meanwhile, the most sympathetic character is Zuckerberg’s best friend, Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield). He’s the one who put down the initial money to create Facebook, and he stood by his friend and helped promote the company in its early stages, only to be left out of the loop later. He seems like a decent, normal guy who’s a bit on the timid side and who really gets taken advantage of.

The movie cuts back and forth between the early days of Facebook and the trial during which the Winkelvosses and Eduardo are separately suing Zuckerberg. This technique means that we generally have a pretty good idea of what’s about to happen in the 2003/2004 portion of the film, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the movie. Additionally, though I didn’t really notice it, my brother loved the score so much he bought the soundtrack as soon as we got home from the theater.

I think the immense popularity and relevance of Facebook has a lot to do with the film’s appeal, but I suspect it stands as a well-executed story whether or not Facebook is a part of your life. If it is, though, check out The Social Network for sure and see the strange journey that led to a social paradigm shift.

Third Time Holds Little Charm With Shrek the Third

I've been looking forward to May as the month of the blockbusters, and a couple weeks ago my movie watching got off to a good start with Spider-Man 3. Though I read some pretty scathing reviews, I thought the film was phenomenal and looked forward to watching the next big premiere, Shrek the Third. There were lines around the lobby for Spidey, so I thought we might do well to buy tickets for Shrek ahead of time. We never got around to it, so I was a little nervous when we got to the theater. I needn't have worried about getting seats; I might have done well to worry instead about other things...

When we walked into our theater at 10:15, the previews had started without us, but we were the only people in the audience. A few minutes later, a couple came in and sat down. And that was it. Seven people at the second showing of Shrek the Third. Impressive. If our reaction was a typical response, I doubt Shrek will be packing folks in. I personally couldn't have laughed aloud more than half a dozen times, and I think every time it was something I'd seen already on the previews.

The movie begins roughly where the second left off, with Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) living a cushy life in the royal kingdom of Far Far Away. They're on an extended visit, but as much as they enjoy their fancy lodgings, they're both anxious to get back to their old life in the swamp. Well, Shrek is, anyway; Fiona thinks it might be time to change things up a bit with some new additions. But any arguments about the pitfalls of parenthood will have to wait, because the king (John Cleese) is dying, and he needs someone to take over. That means either Shrek or Fiona's cousin Arthur (Justin Timberlake). And since the last thing Shrek wants is to rule the kingdom, another quest is in order...

It seems like bringing the Arthurian legend into Shrek's world would be an inspired idea, but it turns out to be only one of many weak threads in a film that is surprisingly lackluster. The most interesting thing about Arthur, an insecure, unpopular boy teased by all of his classmates at his medieval high school, is his former magic teacher, Merlin (Eric Idle), a highly eccentric old man with a trick or two up the sleeves of a robe too short for common decency. There's a bit of conflict between Shrek and Arthur deriving from the fact that the ogre initially conceals the fact that he was actually the first in line, but it never feels very pressing.

Nor was I all that invested in the antics of the women attending Fiona's baby shower at the time when Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) showed up with an army of villains to take over the kingdom. Narcoleptic Sleeping Beauty (Cheri Oteri), mannish stepsister Doris (Larry King) (whose sister Mabel (Regis Philbin) is in league with the villains), tough-talking Snow White (Amy Poehler), bitter Rapunzel (Maya Rudolph) and perfect Cinderella (Amy Sedaris) all have their moments, but nobody really stands out to me as an exciting new character.

The most consistently entertaining characters remain Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas). In this installment, there's a bit of added amusement when the two inadvertently switch bodies, much to each other's horror. Little of their dialogue is particularly memorable, however, and my favorite aspect of Donkey this time around is his little bunch of baby donkey dragons, which are as adorable as they are physically improbable. In fact, visually speaking, this movie does have a lot to recommend it, though the baby ogres are a bit freakish looking. Several contemporary songs are prominently featured, most effectively Cat's in the Cradle and That's What Friends Are For, but none of them makes much of an impact.

In the end, Shrek the Third is a movie to watch because you loved the two that preceded it. You'll find enjoyment in the familiar characters but bemoan the fact that they aren't delivering as many laughs as usual, nor coming together in service of a story that feels coherent. Hopefully you'll walk out of the theater smiling, but there's certainly not much need to order these tickets ahead of time. Something tells me Shrek won't be catching up to Spidey anytime soon.