(continued from last week)

I don’t know about ya’ll, but I’ve never been a huge soundtrack buyer. They always seemed kind of lame to me. I think the first soundtrack I ever got was to the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film in 1990, but that was just because I liked one song on it: Turtle Power. Hells yeah, that was the jam! It wasn’t until the early 2000s that I really developed a liking towards soundtracks. Since then, I’ve bought the soundtrack to films such as Almost Famous, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and Requiem for a Dream. And I buy the music to every film by Quentin Tarantino. That brother knows how to put a soundtrack together (Jackie Brown, anyone?)!

So what other films out there have a soundtrack that not only has good songs, but actually enhances the movie? Do you have any favorites?

Similar to the music, the acting in the The Social Network is remarkable. Perfection defined. Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, and Justin Timberlake are standouts and deserve and will get Oscar consideration. Sometimes you don’t know if Eisenberg, who plays Zuckerberg, is talking to another character or to himself, yet he is still able to project to us, the audience, and make us feel something even if the character doesn’t. Timberlake’s charasmatic performance is marvelous and feels totally natural as Napster co-founder Sean Parker, especially in the upscale restaurant scene and dance club scene. Yup, he did his thing. And Garfield a.k.a. Spiderman’s (http://insidemovies.ew.com/2010/07/01/andrew-garfield-cast-as-the-new-spider-man/) layered performance gives us multiple lens through which to see Zuckerberg. He gives the movie a soul.

I don’t know the complete story of how Facebook was founded nor do I care. I didn’t see this movie because I wanted to know how Facebook began, and I suggest you don’t either. If you want to know the complete story – just like with any true story – go read a book or watch a documentary.

It’s important to note, however, that the film is a non-fiction account based on three different depositions from the plaintiffs, the defendant, and witnesses who were all sworn under oath. It doesn’t take one side. And when I hear that, I think of how cable news tries its darndest (yeah, right) to present both sides of an issue and then let’s us decide (yeah, right!). Screw that! How about doing your journalistic duty and presenting the one and only truth instead of two talking heads who are only interested in promoting their own interests, which usually involve staying in power or on television.

The Social Network, on the other hand, is not news; it’s pure entertainment, which means it doesn’t have to tell everyone’s side, but it does anyway, and I respect Sorkin for that.

As a cinematic achievement, The Social Network exceeds on all levels. Bravo!

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