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Movie Review: The Social Network

Lauren Treihaft — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 04:02:14 +0000

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David Fincher seems to have a knack for directing buzz worthy films. His previous, Fight Club and Se7en, have each gone on to attain cult status and he is set to direct the American remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo based off the tremendously popular Swedish book and film series. If that isn’t enough, his current film, The Social Network, is making worldwide headlines. Though it hasn’t been released yet, its notoriety has reached a colossal level.

The film traces the birth of Facebook from its initial concept to its rise to prominence. The narrative is centered on Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), the creator of Facebook, and Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), the CFO. Mark and Eduardo met at Harvard and were best friends due to their computer hacking and programming abilities. After Mark is snubbed and called an asshole by his girlfriend, he decides to take revenge on all women by creating a site that compares pictures of female Harvard students side by side and judging which one is hotter. The site was called facemash.com. After the site is flooded with a gigantic amount of hits within an hour, the Harvard network shuts down and Mark is pin pointed as the culprit.

Although he is hated by the majority of women on campus after this ingenious stunt, he is also sought out by three upperclassmen who have noticed his expertise in programming. They propose that Mark help them set up a new kind of social network that is exclusive to Harvard students called Harvard Connect. He agrees to help them but soon develops his own ideas for a social network and this is where Facebook is conceived. He then approaches Eduardo to run the business side of the site. The two partner up and begin building and expanding facebook.

They face early challenges such as being accused of stealing the idea from the Winklevoss’s( the upperclassmen who proposed Harvard Connect). These obstacles are miniscule in size to the ones that lie in store for Mark. Mark also catches the attention of Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), the founder of Napster. Parker ends up owning seven percent of facebook and Eduardo is completely shut out of the picture. Eventually Mark faces two massive lawsuits, one from Eduardo and the other from the Winklevoss’s, that are both economically and emotionally taxing.

The acting in the film is superb. Eisenberg, who has been seen in Adventureland and Zombieland, again plays the self-deprecating dork who seeks acceptance from the outside world. However, this time his character has a much more serious edge and darker story to tell. It is arguable that Eisenberg is being typecast as a neurotic teen or underdog, but as far at The Social Network goes, we shouldn’t view this as a downfall. Garfield, who starred in last year’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, steals the show. He portrays Eduardo with true conviction and the audience is able to sympathize with his character to no end. Garlfield and Eisenbeg have exceptional onscreen chemistry. Their exchange of witty banter is sharp and enjoyable. Though many are skeptical of Timberlake’s acting abilities, he delivers well as Parker, the somewhat sleazy Napster party boy.

If the story itself and the cast are not enough to make you tempted to see this film, Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails did the soundtrack which is a mix of LCD Soundsystem styled synth beats and suspenseful tracks that add to the high-strung and obsessive narrative. More over, Kevin Spacey produced the film. Spacey generally has good taste in projects and has won two Academy Awards for American Beauty and The Usual Suspects. Seeing that it garnered the attention of many crucial players in Hollywood, it is hard not to recognize The Social Network as an important film.

The film has received a substantial amount of backlash for its portrayal of the true facebook story. Many are claiming that the film is a work of fiction. This upheaval of criticism may hover over the film like a dark cloud but, despite the scrutiny, it is paramount that we critically approach the film on its own. The film will be successful regardless of the adversity. It is a return to form for Fincher and the cast is outstanding.

Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor Reveals New Band Plans

Sara Harowitz — Tue, 04 May 2010 22:57:50 +0000

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Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor has revealed the details for his new band outside NIN, reports NME.com.

Nine Inch Nails has stopped playing live shows following a concert in Los Angeles last September, so now Reznor has unveiled his plans for a new band called How To Destroy Angels. Reznor’s wife, Mariqueen Maandig, will be part of the group.

The duo has posted videos featuring clips of new music on their website, howtodestoryangels.com. It is expected that they will release music this summer, thanks to their posted message saying “Self-titled six-track EP out this summer. Exact date TBA.”

Nine Inch Nails tour equipment is being auctioned off now that they don’t need it anymore.

Jimmy Fallon, Trent Reznor Among Webby Award Winners

Eva Lam — Wed, 06 May 2009 20:00:40 +0000

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The 13th annual Webby Awards unveiled their list of winners Tuesday, and Jimmy Fallon, Trent Reznor and Twitter are among those receiving special achievement honours.

“Late Night” host Fallon was named Internet’s “Person of the Year,” a title given to fellow comedian Stephen Colbert last year. Fallon prepared for his talk-show debut with a series of “webisodes” and regularly uses Twitter to keep in touch with fans.

Twitter itself picked up a top award, Breakout of the Year. The three-year-old micro-messaging service has seen its usage grow by 900 per cent in the past year and follows in the footsteps of such other Breakout winners as YouTube, MySpace and Flickr.

Meanwhile, Nine Inch Nails frontman Reznor was recognized as Artist of the Year after he released his 2008 studio album, “The Slip,” as a free download on his website.

Other special achievement winners were Sarah Silverman, Seth MacFarlane and Lisa Kudrow.

Known as the “Oscars of the Internet,” the awards are presented annually by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences – a 550-member group of web experts – and boast dozens of categories that cover every niche of digital media.

Most of the categories have two winners, one voted on by the academy and the other – the People’s Voice winners – chosen by popular vote. Visit the awards site here for a complete list of winners.

The Webby awards will be given out at a ceremony on June 8 as part of Internet Week New York. Seth Meyers of “Saturday Night Live” will host the proceedings, which, as per tradition, will limit winners to a five-word acceptance speech.

Trent Reznor Plays April Fools on Fans

Jennifer Brooks — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:30:23 +0000

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A few weeks back Trent Reznor took to his Twitter account to express his discontent for Chris Cornell’s pop inspired new sound. He wrote: “You know that feeling you get when somebody embarrasses themselves so badly YOU feel uncomfortable? Heard Chris Cornell’s record? Jesus.”

Although Reznor is not a fan of Cornell’s new Timbalake produced material, he was however, inspired by Cornell’s new album to pull an April fool’s prank on the public.

Reznor took to the Nine Inch Nails website yesterday (Wednesday) to announce that they have released a new album entitled “Strobe Light.” It was written that the joke disc was produced by Timbaland (a dig at Cornell’s recent crossover) and features songs such as “Clap Trap Crack Slap” and “Laid, Paid and Played.”

The site also stated that the new album featured guest appearances from Chris Martin, Jay-Z, Bono, Sheryl Crow, Justin Timberlake, Tool’s Maynard James Keenan, Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Keys and former Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen.

To top off the hilarity of the prank, the joke album cover featured Reznor wearing a leather jacket and Kanye shades.

Reznor’s Not a Chris Cornell Fan

Jennifer Brooks — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:04:32 +0000

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If you didn’t know already, Chris Cornell recently released a solo album entitled “Scream”. The music for this new project is a vast departure from Cornell’s work with Soundgarden and Audioslave, as the album features dance beats and sampling, which is a leap away from his roots in the grunge rock movement.

As the album was produced by Timbaland, it is gaining Cornell a slew of new fans as the material boarders on the line between rock and pop. Yet, not everyone is a fan of his new material and some are shocked by his crossover to the pop world, including Nine Inch Nails front man, Trent Reznor.

Reznor took to his Twitter account yesterday to express his feelings about Cornell’s new material. He wrote: “You know that feeling you get when somebody embarrasses themselves so badly YOU feel uncomfortable? Heard Chris Cornell’s record? Jesus.”

Chartattack.com reports that while Reznor might be disheartened by Cornell, he will be performing with Cornell’s former band mate, Tom Morello, when touring this summer. NIN, Jane’s Addiction and Morello’s side project, Street Sweeper, will share a stage when they tour across North America in the upcoming months. “We are aiming to make this much more than just three acts sharing a bill…,” Reznor wrote on the NIN website.