1. The Social Network (Sony/Columbia, 2,771 Theaters, 121 Minutes, Rated PG-13): If you asked me several years ago if there would be a movie about Facebook, let alone one written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher, I’d say you had to be crazy. But here we are.
I don’t know how to take this film. I read some where that it will be a Rashomon-like approach to the subject. This is hard to portray in a trailer, but the way all the ads for this film has been cut, it makes the film out to be about a swaggering as–er…yahoo who gains fame and fortune then immediately gets sued. Which might not be far from the truth, whatever that is, but not a really balanced report.
Jesse Eisenberg seems to be playing Mark Zuckerberg as a cross between the Big Lebowski, Ted Grant and Charles Foster Kane. Which I’ll admit is a tough combo to pull off but doesn’t really add up to an intriguing character to me.
2. Case 39 (Paramount Vantage, 2,211 Theaters, 109 Minutes, Rated R): It’s strange to see Renee Zellweger in a role like this. It seems almost inevitable that every actress of a certain age will turn to horror sooner or later, but Zellweger’s squeaky innocence doesn’t seem to meld well with the angst and pathos you need as a scream siren.
At least this film has a unique twist. Zellweger plays a social services agent who is called into investigate a case of child abuse. When she gets there, she finds the situation to be different than expected. The child might actually be possessed, or a demon itself.
Which, if that is the case, it is a unique spin on the whole “possessed child” genre that is so common. And kudos for the filmmakers from not shying away from the R rating. It is my opinion that all horror films should be an R if they are to be taken seriously.
3. Let Me In (Overture Films, 2,020 Theaters, 115 Minutes, Rated R): Two R rated horror films opening in the same week? I know Halloween is at the end of the month, but odds are both of these films will be out of theaters by the time the holiday rolls around.
And since I’m on a rant, can we have at least a ten year moratorium before foreign films are remade into English-language versions? This films is a remake of the 2008 Swedish film, Let the Right One In. Maybe it’s a Swedish thing, because they started making the American version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo while the Swedish version was just reaching our shores.
This version appears to be exactly the same as the original, too. A young, bullied boy finds an unlikely protector in a girl next door. Turns out his protector is a vampire, and the protection comes with a price the boy might not want to pay.
