THE SOCIAL NETWORK is worth a watch!!!

The Social Network is another wonderful film from director David Fincher, who has given us gems like The Game, Fight Club, Seven, Zodiac and The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. He holds the film together and extracts excellent performances from his cast. His sensitive and realistic portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg’s personality should be applauded. This movie is about a dramatic,enthralling and interesting story of success. It is not mainly about Facebook as many would think, it is about the mastermind who invented it to attract this much people all around the world with a simple idea.

The Social Network is the story of Mark Zuckerberg enacted by Jesse Eisenberg, a Harvard University student and the founder of Facebook.com. It takes us through the creation of the website, how it made Mark a billionaire and made enemies out of his friends. The seamless and exciting screenplay is the backbone of the movie and it is also excellent in the way it brings out the story of Mark Zuckerberg. The dialogues are natural and memorable. The director narrates Mark's personal life and the chronology of founding of Facebook very well. Although the screenplay moves between the past and the future, the transitions are beautiful, revealing different aspects of Mark’s personality one by one. There is a lot of talk in the film but the intense dialogues, coupled with the excellent performances, make the drama believable and interesting to watch. Jesse Eisenberg’s portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg is outstanding and he enacts with ease the vulnerability of Mark’s character with consummate ease. Justin Timberlake fits well into the shoes of the eccentric Sean Parker. David Fincher is one of those directors whose style is in everything that he makes and while at first that may not seem appropriate for a film about Harvard students creating a social website, it somehow makes the film better. Were this in the hands of another director, I don't think the film would have been as well received. The choice in music, camera angles, editing, lighting and the cast is all brilliant.

All in all, The Social Network makes for a good watch. It is one of those films that is rare in its ability to spark conversation. When the film ends, you can't help but turn to your friend or family member and instantly start talking about what you saw. I can safely recommend this movie to anyone who believe in good contentful cinema and if you are missing it, your education in films has not begun.

FOUR FRIENDS is emotionally irritating!!

Coming from the maker of Ivar Vivahitarayaal and Happy Husbands, ‘Four Friends’, is an emotional tearjerker which move in through well sketched out regular routes. Completely copied from the classic Hollywood movie 'Bucket List', this movie is a torture and can be advised to the family audience, who are regulars of formulaic television stuff.

Though you may not expect a great film from the director Saji Surendran, you will expect at least a cliched and mediocre movie. But here, director Saji Surendran is back with this silly made movie, Four friends, all about melodrama. If you are not ready to get an infectious bit from what is shown on screen, then you're best advised to leave this highly melodramatic movie alone and pretend it never existed. I'm not going to give an outline about the story of this movie. You people better go to a DVD store and grab a copy of the Hollywood classic 'Bucket List'. The Bucket List is a great and delightful movie to watch. The movie sways the viewers into an emotional level that continues to resonate even long after the film had ended. But this movie is a highly cliched mega serial like drama which can be avoided.

There are only two things which I liked about this movie. One is the electrifying cameo performance by universal hero Kamal Haasan. Other is actor Jayasurya. Must say that he delivered a commendable performance. He proved that he's got a far far better acting caliber and talent than the so called 'Young Superstar' of Malayalam cinema. All others in the lead including Jayaram, Kunchako and Meera Jasmine are just okay for their roles and nothing mention worthy. The technical side keeps in sync with the movie with mentionable cinematography from Anil Nair and co. The shots in the climax from the suicidal bridge was a treat to watch. This movie has some very ordinary songs. BG tracks and mechanical performances are at times making negative impact.

The director, Saji Surendran and the scriptwriter Krishna Poojapura has miserably failed to make the film an engrossing affair with none of the sequences inviting attention from the audience. All together ‘Four Friends’ is not an imaginative, impressive affair to a regular film goer. If you are on to this, just expect a pedestrian stuff.

My Verdict : 2/5