Quickies 2-18-2015

Gone Girl ~ The book by Gillian Flynn, besides being one of the biggest books of the year, was one that so many friends of mine urged me to read. I ripped through it in just a few sittings, and looked forward to the film. Ben Affleck is on point here, and when he is, he is sooo good, as is Carrie Coon, and Neil Patrick Harris in a rather sinister role. The score by NIN's Trent Reznor is another pleasant surprise. While slightly different from the book, the film is engaging and well worth seeing.

The Way, Way Back ~ Terrific performances and writing highlight this little award-winning coming of age film that many folks didn't see until it got to cable. Written and directed by the Academy Award winning team of Nat Faxon and Jim Nash, who won praise for The Descendants, this movie is one of the best I've seen this year, a throwback to a simpler time when films about kids didn't have to be silly or stupid. Well worth seeing.

London By Night ~ Not to be confused with the lost Lon Chaney horror classic London After Midnight, this is a backlot mystery supposedly set in London. It wants to be a screwball comedy but never arrives. A
reporter, a wacky socialite, and his dog get wrapped up in the pursuit of a murderer called the Umbrella Man. The best actors in this are the dog and Virginia Field as the cockney barmaid. Even Leo G. Carroll disappoints. Still, it's not a bad seventy-odd minute distraction.

Chef ~ Fun comedy written and directed by Jon Favreau, with cameos by Avengers alumni Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson. Oliver Platt and especially John Leguizamo are excellent as well in this tale of an overburdened chef who finds happiness in his heart and with his family in a food truck. This is a really great film, uplifting and fun.

The Social Network

The Social Network ~ You know how the opening sequence to Raiders of the Lost Ark gives you everything you need to know about the protagonist Indiana Jones? This film does the same thing with Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook - he's socially inept, thoughtless, self-important, and basically an asshole. It's all you need to know about him, game over, story done. The rest of the film is about Facebook, and how it affects everyone else, and just everyone else, because after the opening sequence, I really didn't care how it affected Zuckerberg - kudos to actor Jesse Eisenberg, writer Aaron Sorkin and director David Fincher. As a matter of fact, given the Academy's penchant for the handicapped - and trust me, Zuckerberg is handicapped - Eisenberg has a good chance of taking that Best Actor Oscar.

As much as I usually dislike Aaron Sorkin's work, he was adapting from Ben Mezrich's terrific book "The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, A Tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal," so that counts for something. Two other elements make this film a no-brainer for me to like - it was directed by one of my favorite directors, David Fincher, and it has a score co-composed by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Trent is one of my music gods. The direction, like the score, is very different and new territory for the creators, and yet, amazing work, the music being a highlight. Both are also nominated for Oscars. And Justin Timberlake is damn good too.

At this point, I have only seen half of the ten films nominated this year for Best Picture, but of those, The Social Network is the best, I think it has a very good chance of winning. I would give good odds to Fincher and Reznor as well. The Social Network might just sweep this year. Recommended.