I've seen "Inception" and I've seen "The Social Network" and sorry but "Inception" is waaaaay better

[LynneSin]

Probably what hurt inception was that they went for Summer Blockbuster (which they got) instead of putting it out right before the Awards season like TSN. But to me "Inception" was an original movie, with a unique plot and a much much better sound track (I adore Trent Reznor but it's true). I'm so sick and tired of biopics and now we have one of some 26 year old that is now selling private information to the big business. I mean don't get me wrong, TSN had some very talented acting but it wasn't original to me.

But that's just my opinion and if you don't like it you can kiss my ass!

[realisticphish]

1. wait, wait

people are CLAIMING THAT? Are they high?

Nothing particularly wrong with TSN, but Inception was brilliant

[LynneSin]

3. Had Inception been released in late November it would have won all the awards

There is a big hurt for movies released earlier in the year. The concept is that the award movies are put out in the theaters sometime starting Thanksgiving. And these awards get snobby towards those movies that came out in the summer because they are deemed blockbusters and somehow considered less of a movie.

Joseph-Levitt Gorden and Tom Hardy should have received acting nominations. Those 2 were very talented in Inception and they had a very unique chemistry between them.

[Yavin4]

2. I Cannot Agree with You More

Heck, Facebook was even the first social networking site. I thought that the movie was nothing more than a celebration of Ivy League narcissism, and nothing more. The Ivy League is the prime driver of the obscene tuition costs for higher education.

Also, you're correct that Facebook is nothing more than fancy gigantic database designed to get people to enter personal information about themselves so that big marketers can sell more crap to them.

The idea that this movie will win best picture sickens me to my stomach. And then I remember that Dances with Wolves and Crash also won best picture, and nobody remembers those films, while everyone remembers GoodFellas and Brokeback Mountain.

Five years from now, people will still be talking about Inception, not Facebook.

[Bjorn Against]

6. I don't think we saw the same movie...

The Social Network was by no means a "celebration" of narcissism, in fact it was a condemnation of it. There is a reason that the executives at Facebook hate the movie so much, the film is deeply critical of Zuckerberg and a major theme of the film is about how social networking destroys friendships and shuts people off from the real world. If you think this film was meant to be a celebration of Facebook in any way you should really watch the movie again because there is a reason you walked out of the movie appalled at the level of narcissism displayed in it, the reason you felt that way is that is the way the filmmakers wanted you to feel as they are just as appalled by it.

[Yavin4]

8. BullSh*t

The filmmakers created a celebration of how terrific and wonderful these brilliant Harvard students are and how ingenius Facebook is. When in reality, FB was not even the first such social network. It's largely successful because it's the first social network to sell private information.

[Bjorn Against]

23. You clearly missed the point of the movie

The movie is very clear that Facebook was not the first social network, in fact the main focus of the movie is the lawsuits that Zuckerberg faced as a result of ripping of other people's ideas. If you missed the scenes that talked about him ripping off other people you literally missed nearly the entire movie. The movie begins with Zuckerberg hacking into Harvard's databases and stealing private info on their students, and from there it turns to focus to how he stole ideas from other people and then stabbed them in the back. Aaron Sorkin wrote the film and he is a vocal critic of the internet, he certainly does not think that the creators of Facebook are "terrific and wonderful". Nearly every character in the film is portrayed as a greedy and manipulative asshole, this was a very dark film and it was not a celebration of anything.

[Kajsa]

21. You nailed it, Bjorn.

It pissed me off also- the film didn't glorify greed and assholiness,
it framed it and highlighted it with a huge marker!


Yes, there was an abundance of self serving A-hole characters in TSN
and they pissed me off- The movie accomplished its mission.

[LynneSin]

29. That wasn't the reason I didn't like it but I do agree with your analysis

I mean most of the time when a movie is a biopic you'll see credit to those the movie was about or even have the real person as a guest in the audience. This year we saw Temple Grandin in the audience (Claire Danes won a Golden Globe for best actress in a TV movie portraying her) and I think one of the Ward brothers was in the audience (Their story was in the movie "The Fighter" with Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale portraying the Ward brothers.) But yet not one person portrayed in "The Social Network" was in the movie or really had any part about the movie outside of some consultation from Eduardo Serverin (he had one of the lawsuits against Zuckenberg).

I mean I fell asleep while watching "The Social Network" and yet when I woke up I still was able to figure out what was happening, which to me says not that intriguing of a plot. Yet "Inception" kept me awake because it was constantly challenging me with it's well done plot.

"Inception" raked in big bucks for everyone involved but blew it for awards because of it's summertime release. Although DiCaprio's performance was ok I was really impressed with alot of the supporting cast and felt that there were 4 of them that deserved recognize especially Thomas Hardy and Joseph Gorden-Levitt. Ellen Page and Marian Cottilard were also excellent in the movie.

[madinmaryland]

25. I thought Yankee fans appreciated narcissism and even better if it was "Ivy League"

:D

[Bjorn Against]

4. I disagree, The Social Network deserved to win

Inception was very good for an action movie, but The Social Network was damn near perfect. It had a great script, excellent acting, a great director, amazing cinematography and editing, and the score by Trent Reznor was amazing. I saw all the movies that were nominated for best picture in the drama category and The Social Network was hands down the best of the bunch. The other four films were all good movies and I would recommend every one of them, but The Social Network was the only one I would say was a masterpiece.

[zipplewrath]

31. Can't agree

It had good dialog, and some solid acting. But it had one or two serious flaws that I thought really undermined the movie.

1) They never really discussed what facebook WAS. I think I saw 2 screen shots of facebook in the whole movie, and one was at the very end. If you didn't already know, in some detail, you were going to be left quite clueless about what all the fuss was. Even more so if you just thought of it as "another myspace/twitter" kinda thing.

2) It presumed some fairly detailed knowledge of computers/IT/software, etc. WHAT he was being accused of stealing was never very clearly explained. For anyone not schooled in IP issues, it was a bit confusing what everyone was suing about.

I will agree that it was an unusual movie in that it had no "hero". There wasn't an admirable character anywhere in the movie. The two closest were the original girl friend, and the best friend. And he was mostly the "lovable fool" who was obviously in WAY over his head. The only non-narcissist in the whole movie was the original girl friend (and don't you find it strange she ended up with a facebook page? And that he couldn't just "make" himself her friend?).

[blogslut]

5. I just couldn't get into "Inception"

It was fine but Shutter Island was more head-trippy fun for me.

As for The Social Network, I wanted to be all ennui about it but I couldn't. I totally dug it despite the fact that it was a story about angry, privileged white boys, pretending to be wronged. The fact that the haunting score was the work of OG angry white boy, Trent Reznor, was an ironic cherry atop the whole cone.

[BlueJazz]

7. While I certainly did not dislike TSN, I felt like I was just seeing it for the 5th time.

...Just a stroll down memory lane.
Inception was a wonderful and exciting thought trip.

[Kat45]

9. I thought The Social Network was boring.

I found it quite disappointing. I really liked The Fighter and The Town, the latter of which came out so early in the year that it was pretty much forgotten. Inception was probably too confusing for a lot of people. I found it confusing and wasn't sure what I thought of it, but when I found myself thinking about it quite a bit the next day I figured it did its job.

[PurityOfEssence]

10. Inception was an exercise in being perplexing

Sure, it was beautifully shot, acted, cut and generally well put together, but it was like listening to a fine musician playing scales; at some point, he/she is merely a technician. It didn't make me angry or feeling short-changed, and it strangely wasn't full of itself to a degree that it annoyed me, but it was just sort of "okay, yeah, right" and hardly the bee's knees.

The Social Network was a great story with a wonderfully difficult protagonist, filled with fun scenes of well-wrought social commentary that didn't come off as preachy or pat. It was a good, honest ride that touched on lots of nuancy moments, and even if it did resort to standard dramatic devices like ending with Zuckerberg looking at the page of the girl who threw him over in the beginning, it was a fine, full meal.

Black Swan is nauseating, self-indulgent, pointless drivel that makes triteness seem significant, replete with every hackneyed cliche of tortured and torturing artists, creepy shock-value flourishes and the worst kind of faux significance imaginable. After three of his movies, I'd sworn never again, but I got suckered by a friend.

[JCMach1]

12. Agree about Social Network, disagree about Black Swan

The Social Network was the best of the year, followed by True Grit.

I actually liked True Grit much more than No Country... By then for some reason I always like the 'less' popular Coen Brothers movies better.

[PurityOfEssence]

16. That's actually an interesting point for some conversation...

I basically can't stand the Coen Brothers, although I haven't seen all of their recent pictures.

I saw "Blood Simple" when it first came out, and thought it was just another exercise, but then I LOVED Raising Arizona. The next two were deplorable (Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink) and then I liked a lot of elements of Hudsucker Proxy, but it still has the bloodless calculating of story and character, and the contrived extreme predictability of overwritten repetition in the dialogue. They're mean to the bone; characters are created--virtually whole movies full--simply so we, the cool people, can sneer at them with unremitting derision and dismissal. I absolutely HATED Fargo; it was so embarrassingly beaten into the ground, that even with great actors, it was an abuse to watch. From there, I checked out.

They want to be Preston Sturges with their dialogue and screwball plotting, but Sturges had a deep abiding humanity, and simply didn't take himself seriously.

Lebowski had great moments, and is fun overall, but it's still got the shrilly predictable characterizations and ham-fisted crayon-written dialogue, like the scene with Donny and the burgers.

The original Ladykillers is such a masterpiece that I shiver at the thought of ever accidentally seeing any of it. The original True Grit was iconic; I'll have to stay away.

They're mean. They're fake. They're calculated and clunky, and not a frame of it rings true for many minutes at a time.

I won't be surprised if we're in a bit of agreement about this.

[JCMach1]

18. Feel the same about Fargo... liked Barton Fink and Hudsucker Proxy

My favorite is 'O Brother, Where Art Thou'

[JCMach1]

11. I found Inception contrived and frankly, derivative... i.e. BORING

Would have had more fun re-watching The Matrix.

The Social Network, on the other hand, was a REAL movie and the best of the year.

[rbnyc]

22. Totally. (nt)

[Supply Side Jesus]

27. Inception is NOTHING like The Matrix

Nothing

[boppers]

13. Did The Social Network end with "maybe this was all a dream"?

Worst.... Fucking.... Plot... Device... Ever.

[Rabrrrrrr]

19. I wish I had walked out of the movie before that final scene - then I would have liked it.

Pretty cool movie overall, great concept, lots of fun to watch, original at times, and apart from DiCaprio's dialogue being so poorly written (like they brought in a shitty writer just for his parts, and let a skilled writer take everything else)...

but then the ending came and I was fucking disgusted.

"Seriously - two hours of all that coolness and neato wow fun, and you end it like this? That's the best you could pull out of your ass? Why did you let the guy writing Leo's lines write the last scene? Fucking idiots."

Totally hack cliche bullshit that no self-respecting writer should have stopped using when it became boring and trite thirty years ago.

[chimpymustgo]

14. "Inception" was like listening to someone else's long, detailed, baffling dream - had to work to

stay interested. IMHO.

"Social Network" - very dark, and I never understood any real motivation for Zuckerberg to be such a prick. Sorkin and Eisenberg created this weird mumbly Zuckerberg, played so darkly, when in real life, Zuckerberg appears so bright and smiley-facey. That portrayal - the cherub-faced sort-of-evil-doer would have been much more complex and interesting. Found the movie just so-so. Props to Justin Timberlake.

Agree with others that "The Town" got lost in the summer/fall shuffle, and was ultimately overshadowed by "The Fighter". Have not seen the latter, but loved "The Town."

"The King's Speech" was masterful, and I loved it. Colin Firth, deserving of all good things in life.

Hope to see "True Grit", "Blue Valentine" and "Buitiful" before the Oscars. Will pass on "Black Swan."

Did not really enjoy the Globes this year. Gervais was hit and miss and a tad mean (though better than last year, with all the penis jokes). My favorites didn't win in most categories. "Boardwalk Empire" over "Mad Men"? Buscemi??? over Hamm, Hall, Cranston??? I find "Glee" to be just mediocre, but I loved Jane Lynch's shout out to public school teachers.

Lots of lovely dresses though. Natalie Portman, Claire Danes, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Piper Perabo, Megan Fox.

Angelina Jolie NOT. She seems like an empty person.

[chrisa]

15. "The Social Network" was a boring piece of crap.

[BlueJazz]

26. Yeah...(as I said in a post) ..Wasn't it like seeing a bunch of films that you've..

...already seen?? :)

[rbnyc]

17. I didn't see The Social Network, but Inception SUCKED!

Depressingly unimaginative for a high-concept movie, this was a waste of a great core idea and a great ensemble cast. I was continuously annoyed by the film’s tendency to over-explain the most obtuse elements and under-explain the most convoluted. The CGI, while perhaps objectively spectacular, was unmoving,like getting laid by someone really physically gorgeous but so lacking in personality and character that s/he actually leaves you feeling completely bored. Very disappointing.

[LisaL]

20. I couldn't even understand parts of Inception, especially what happened

in the very beginning or the end.

[LynneSin]

28. It was one of those movies you had to see more than one time

i've watched it at least a dozen times now and I still find new things about the movie I missed previous times. It's just that well done.

[Bake]

24. Then "The social Network" must REALLY suck!

Inception was OK, but just barely. Great film making, crappy story.

Bake

:hi:

[Tikki]

30. I totally agree...

Inception had some of the most interesting casting in forever.

PS...there isn't an Oscar or Golden Globe for 'Casting'...shame.


Tikki

[NuclearDem]

32. How are you comparing the two?

One's a biopic, the others a science fiction story. It's like trying to compare Lawrence of Arabia and Star Wars.

I liked TSN on the grounds that it was well-written and had some great acting (Jesse Eisenberg is by far one of my favorite new actors). I liked Inception because you could watch it over and over and catch things you wouldn't the first time. I thought the idea was original, and unlike a lot of people, I didn't hate the ending.

People hate the "dream sequence" device because it gets used too often. And using it basically means that an episode, a movie, or even an entire series never really happened or had any consequence.

But in a movie that's so focused on the dream world as it is, it seemed like a fitting end. Besides, it's not as if every time a dream ended in the movie, it was without consequence.

[CBGLuthier]

33. I didn't find Inception challenging enough

It was well made, particularly the use of action to keep it going. But I thought it would be very complicated when it is ridiculously straight forward. There was never a moment in the entire film where I was the least bit confused or, to be honest, overwhelmed with awe and wonder.

All I can say is I hope it wasn't the best movie of the year. That would be a little disappointing.