Think I'm Goin' Back to Massachusetts

The Bee Gees song keeps running through my head after viewing a couple of Oscar-tracking movies these last few days.  Before we get into a discussion about what a dork I am for liking the Bee Gees, let's move on to the film discussion.

First up was "The Town."  I didn't want to like this movie, for many reasons I won't go into.  The one reason I will state is that I have a rough time viewing a film with an open mind when there is a bit of "over-hype" surrounding it.  And in my area, especially, there was some over-hype.  Alas, I really liked it.  My knee-jerk nutshell description of the work was that it was a cross between "Heat" and "Good Will Hunting," which isn't necessarily a positive description, despite those two movies being high on my list of favorites.  Yet the more I discussed the storyline and other aspects with my viewing partner, the more reasons I found to love it.  I didn't want to like Ben Affleck, and I really liked him (especially his temporary tattoos).  I didn't want to believe Jeremy Renner, but I believed him so much it was startling.  Yet thinking of this film in a "Heat" and "Good Will Hunting" framework brings out some of the films negatives:  I wasn't rooting for either side (remember being confused in "Heat" about whether to root for DeNiro to get away with it, or Pacino to bring him down?) and I didn't feel satisfied by the leading man's shot at redemption.

Continuing on with the themes "Massachusetts" and "over-hype," I went to see "The Social Network."  I found myself in the exact opposite scenario from above as I walked into the theatre for this movie.  I really wanted to like it.  I really liked the book Accidental Billionaires, the theme is timely (making all of us a part of the film in some distant way), and the story is a classic tale of greed, deception, and the exploration of what makes a relationship valid and how the digital age is transforming the details of that definition.  Yet I think I'll have to save a discussion of the film for another post, because as I sit here trying to process it 17 hours later, I am finding there are so many layers and levels to the film that I'm almost not sure HOW I felt about it.