If the movie is set in Philadelphia, why aren’t you filming it in Philadelphia? Admittedly, when I visited Glasgow, one of my first comments was that it reminded me of Philadelphia. But even so, Philadelphia itself would be a better stage for a story supposedly taking place in the City of Brotherly Love. Besides, your extras in Glasgow are going to have the wrong incomprehensible accent.
[Editor’s Note: We’re trying something a little new here where more than one person writes a review of a given thing. Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated. – TL]
The Social Network
Directed by David Fincher
Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Armie Hammer, Armie Hammer, and more
Rating: PG-13 for sexual content, drug and alcohol use and language
Before I write this review, I am obliged to tell you that one of the reasons why I was excited when I first heard about this movie was that Aaron Sorkin (The American President, “The West Wing”) would be writing the screenplay, and that he’d started a Facebook page to do research.
At first I was afraid (I was petrified) that the adaptation of the novel The Scarlett Letter into the live-action film Easy A would be a “torturous hack job” but I recanted that when I learned more about director Will Gluck and his screenwriter Bert V. Royal.
I became even more optimistic with the casting of Emma Stone as the lead, and the addition of a kick-ass supporting cast that includes folks like Thomas Haden Church, Stanley Tucci, and Lisa Kudrow.
After having watched the first trailer, I gotta say…? I’m totally digging it:
Here’s a synopsis:
After a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean cut high school girl (Emma Stone) sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne’s in The Scarlet Letter, which she is currently studying in school—until she decides to use the rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing.
I like how Stone’s character Olive Penderghast is a smart girl who is secure enough not to be overly cowed by the uproar over her actions. I desperately hope that this thread of sassiness remains through the entire movie, and I also hope that none of her sass gets sacrificed in the name of “restoring” her reputation.
Part 1 begins as Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on their perilous mission to track down and destroy the secret to Voldemort’s immortality and destruction—the Horcruxes. On their own, without the guidance of their professors or the protection of Professor Dumbledore, the three friends must now rely on one another more than ever. But there are Dark Forces in their midst that threaten to tear them apart.
Meanwhile, the wizarding world has become a dangerous place for all enemies of the Dark Lord. The long-feared war has begun and Voldemort’s Death Eaters seize control of the Ministry of Magic and even Hogwarts, terrorizing and arresting anyone who might oppose them. But the one prize they still seek is the one most valuable to Voldemort: Harry Potter. The Chosen One has become the hunted one as the Death Eaters search for Harry with orders to bring him to Voldemort… alive.
Harry’s only hope is to find the Horcruxes before Voldemort finds him. But as he searches for clues, he uncovers an old and almost forgotten tale—the legend of the Deathly Hallows. And if the legend turns out to be true, it could give Voldemort the ultimate power he seeks.
Little does Harry know that his future has already been decided by his past when, on that fateful day, he became “the Boy Who Lived.” No longer just a boy, Harry Potter is drawing ever closer to the task for which he has been preparing since the day he first stepped into Hogwarts: the ultimate battle with Voldemort.
When the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book came out in July 2007, my then-roommate wasn’t going to read her copy right away, so I decided to read it all in one day, just to prove I could. Six hours later, my conclusion was that it was a great read, I cried like a little child when Dobby died, and I was able to successfully cite Ernest Hemingway in defending J.K. Rowling’s use of a train station to symbolize the afterlife.
I did not keep up with the Harry Potter movies in a similar fashion, mostly because movies are damn expensive and borrowing a book is free. However, I think that based on just how damn epic the movie looks—and my own curiosity about how the trio of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint have matured as actors over the last nine or ten years, depending on when you want to start counting—I’m going to try and start re-watching the series again, just to get caught up before the movie’s release on November 19.
In the “Damn, they stole my idea” department, New York Times best-selling romance novelist Janet Evanovich and her daugher Alex teamed up with Dark Horse Comics to create a graphic novel called Troublemaker featuring Alex Barnaby, a female racecar mechanic whose vantage point as a raceday spotter leads her into mystery and intrigue. The art is by Joëlle Jones (Dr. Horrible) and volume 1 will be out just days before the annual Nerd Prom in San Diego this July. (Source: Newsarama.com)
American manga artist Amy Reeder (Fool’s Gold) has “graduated” to the big times and will be penciling DC Comics’ upcoming ongoing Batwoman series starting with the second story arc which will see the light of day in early 2011. She’ll be working on scripts by artist/co-writer J.H. Williams III, whose pencils will kick off the series later this year. I’m rather hopeful about this prospect of seeing more female pencilers working on “Big Three” books, and really hope that she (and the book) does well. (Source: Newsarama.com)
After taking heat and a lot of licks for his underperforming directorial debut for The Spirit, comics artist Frank Miller is returning to the medium that made him great and revealed some of the first pieces of art for Xerxes, a 300 prequel story about the leader of ancient Persia who was the antagonist in the numerically-named film/comics series. Scheduled to be published by Dark Horse Comics in 2011, the ouroboros will begin its turn and if director Zach Snyder likes it enough, he said he’ll option it for a live-action adaptation. (Source: The L.A. Times Hero Complex blog)
[Editor’s Note: We’re trying something a little new here where more than one person writes a review of a given thing. Any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated. – TL]
