Comments on: James Franco Calls ‘The Social Network’ “Classically Made” But Conventional

By: rodie

rodie — Fri, 13 May 2016 15:13:38 +0000

I really like Franco, and I admire him for many reasons, but I do disagree with him here. His statements have the air of bias. While The Social Network may not have pushed boundaries in terms of what a mainstream movie can do when it focuses on new technology, you cannot fault Fincher and Sorkin for that because that was not their intention in making the film. They looked at a modern phenomenon and its creator and found universal themes in his story and centered the film around those themes. It may not be innovative, but it resulted in a great movie.

By: ryan

ryan — Fri, 13 May 2016 15:13:38 +0000

when someone does as many projects as franco, he needs as much goodwill as he can get. as a rule, he probably shouldn\’t be talking about how he\’s acting in the best movie of the year, as it makes him sound like a punk, and i really don\’t think he is one.

By: Katie

Katie — Fri, 13 May 2016 15:13:38 +0000

First, the sound….second, it\’s not so funny…

By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 13 May 2016 15:13:38 +0000

I like Franco but his film wasn\’t all that inventive. It was good but it\’s not like Danny Boyle embraced the concept of being locked in one environment with his crazy edit tricks, flashbacks, dream sequences, etc etc. It\’s a great film but it\’s not as inventive as the films that developed the single location gimmick- Lifeboat, Rope, Obsession, 12 Angry Men, or even the recent Phone Booth & Buried. The Social Network is a simple story told well. 127 Hours is also a simple story told well but with far too many trick gimmicks to make sure you never feel trapped.
I don\’t know. I like Franco, hard to fault the guy, but a lot of the things he does seem to just reek of ego trip (a mockumentary about Thanksgiving at the House De Franco? really?). It\’s easy to be blase about films at Sundance that go with the boy meets girl formula when you can make ANY film you want after a decade of collecting checks playing the bad guy, the stoner, or the male romantic lead (Eat,Pray,Love must\’ve paid BIG BUCKS). People will watch a 90 minute film about a dude alone because it stars James Franco. Few would watch a 90 minute film starring Joe Nobody alone.
Oh well, I just hope Franco doesn\’t become a more attractive Kevin Smith.

By: Liana

Liana — Fri, 13 May 2016 15:13:38 +0000

I agree that The Social Network is nothing new, and has little to do with Facebook as it does to relationships and friendship. I love Franco, still I found nothing new or innovative about 127 hours. I did enjoy it, but it was no new stretch. Also, best adapted screenplay is laughable.

By: zatopek

zatopek — Fri, 13 May 2016 15:13:38 +0000

The Social Network is about a guy who invents the world\’s most popular social networking system, but who himself is socially inept. Oh, the irony!

By: rodie

rodie — Fri, 13 May 2016 15:13:38 +0000

They need to do a taped bit at the Oscars with Franco and Hathaway shooting \”teaser\” commercials for the Oscars in which they mention each of the BEST PICTURE nominees in the promo, and then we see their between-take banter where they are ripping on the movies they just promo\’d. That would be good, and then Hathaway could take a dig at 127 Hours, too.

By: ken

ken — Fri, 13 May 2016 15:13:38 +0000

So are you guys just finding different ways to talk negatively about The Social Network or what? You KNOW you guys gave it a rave review in the beginning but now you\’re trying to backtrack because it\’s gotten rave reviews all across the board. It seems like every other day, you guys just have to find a way to say \”uh dudes, the social network was good, but not THAT good… fincher didn\’t even think it was that good!\” Ignoring the fact that Fincher is a pretty modest guy in general and probably said those things to diffuse all the extremely positive buzz.

I\’m just saying you need to cool it. It\’s still a great film. Obviously not as good as Peter Travers proclaimed it to be and maybe it\’s not deserving of all the awards it\’s getting, but can we really fault the film for that?

By: carrie

carrie — Fri, 13 May 2016 15:13:38 +0000

he may adore \”buried\”:a guy in a box during 1H30 and it\’s not boring

By: Kevin

Kevin — Fri, 13 May 2016 15:13:38 +0000

I hope part of his Oscar hosting duties include reviews of all the competing films and actors.
I really liked 127 Hours and felt that most of the gimmicks paid off nicely in the end but it doesn\’t come off as innovative even though the filmmaking process, including two different DPs, appears to be a break from the norm.
Although in terms of defining a generation, I\’d say 127 Hours does actually define us today more than The Social Network. I\’ve felt like it was kind of the It\’s A Wonderful Life of this generation but, instead of seeing what life would have been without him, it was about how the lives of his loved ones had already pretty much been without him. (But, no, it\’s not an all-time classic like It\’s A Wonderful Life.) Whether it\’s rock climbing of surfing the web, I feel like most people are disconnected today and sadly it will take being literally caught between a rock and a hard place to make us appreciate what we have had around us.

By: Mike_M

Mike_M — Fri, 13 May 2016 15:13:38 +0000

I was highly, highly disappointing by 127 Hours, from the score and the use of gimmicks throughout the whole movie by Boyle. Both movies are basic stories really and I was way more interested in TSN over 127. I think 127 needed to be grounded in a bit more reality, the triptych should not have been used as much as it was and maybe some music that actually related to the character in real life (Phish)…