The Runaways

Director Floria Sigismundi's feature film debut of The Runaways is truly a remarkable film. Based on the memoir of lead singer Cherrie Currie,the film chronicles the band's rise and subsequent breakup in the late 1970s. I have seen Dakota Fanning play many different roles as a child actor and in this film she leaves those previous roles behind. I think her role in Hound Dog prepared her to take on more gritty roles and she pulled off Cherrie Curries naivety perfectly. Her portrayal of Cherrie starts out as somewhat innocent California valley girl,looking to make it big as a star,to the complete deterioration and after effects of drug abuse. Kristen Stewart does an amazing job playing Joan Jett. She literally becomes her in both the look and mannerisms. Her strongest scenes are the ones opposite Dakota Fanning,because it shows the strong friendship Joan and Cherrie had, before Cherrie left the group. Michael Shannon steals every scene he's in as the charismatic,yet Svengali-esque producer Kim Fowley.

I was not overly familiar with The Runaways music,so I had to learn a lot of their songs. I became an instant fan of their music,because they were a excellent mix of punk rock and glam. This is Floria Sigismundi's first film outside of directing music videos and I hope to see more feature films from her in the future. I enjoyed the film mainly for the music,but some viewers may object to some of the more racier scenes,because it involves teenagers. I recommend the film mostly for the mature audience,but it doesn't disrupt getting to hear these now classic rock songs. Grade: A

My review of The Social Network

The tag line for the film's poster says-"You don't get 500 million friends,without making a few enemies along the way," is the theme of the picture. The Social Network tells the story of how Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg starts the website,creating a blog about his recent breakup with his girlfriend. He is recruited by  three fellow students to help them create their own social networking site,because of his technical experience. They accuse him of stealing their idea and turning it into what is now Facebook and files a lawsuit against him. Mark recruits his friend Eduardo Saverin to help him create the site and makes him the co-founder. Mark and Eduardo meets Sean Parker,who became infamous for creating free music sharing,wants to make their website bigger than it already is. Edurado's mistrust of Sean,evenutally leads to being phased out of the company he helped create and thus sues Mark for $600 million dollars. In the end we learn that the law suits were handled out of court and Eduardo's name had been restored as one of the founding members.

Jessie Eisenberg plays Mark Zuckerberg with such charm,that he almost makes you forget why he's being sued by his fellow peers. I was impressed with his performance in Adventureland,which was the first film I saw him in and has loved his acting ever since. Andrew Garfield is another actor's career I'll definitely keep an eye on,because his portrayal of Eduardo Saverin is heartbreaking to watch from beginning to end. I will not be surprised if his name is announced for next year's Oscars for Best Supporting Actor. The Social Network shows us the power of how the entire world can connect with each other,but at the same time it can become a powerful weapon against us as well. Grade: A

Next week I'll be reviewing The Runaways,starring Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning,which was a huge hit at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

The Social Network

This weekend I will be reviewing the new film from director David Fincher,The Social Network. I will give my thoughts on the film and why it's worth checking out.