magical movie monday (week 2)

1. So last time when I wrote about 'True Grit' I should have also made my comments about a movie I saw the very same day -- Love & Other Drugs. It was playing at Northern Lights so Jennifer and I decided it was worth a shot.

I need to take a moment and confess that I am one of the most sentimental, schmaltziest people in the universe because when I tell you that this movie made me cry it had much less to do with the film's content and much MUCH more to do with my excessive emoting.

That said, Love & Other Drugs is a pretty charming movie albeit cliche. The characters are underdeveloped but it's pure fun to see Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal rolling around in bed together. Plus! Anne's character has an amazing apartment -- quite drool worthy.

2. I've loved Jesse Eisenberg since The Squid and the Whale. I feel like he's an edgier, less predictable Michael Cera, which I like. Believe me when I tell you he does an extraordinary job in The Social Network at being uber-geeky, an asshole, all the while being compelling. Is this a stretch for him? I'm not so sure but that doesn't deflect from the film at all.

From start to finish this film is fascinating - intellectual property, nerdy code, secretive Ivy League clubs, going from having nothing to being a billionaire - it's all riveting. It wasn't until the end of the film that I fully understood who's point-of-view we were looking through; I believe the film carries itself as if its Mark Zuckerberg's story. It's easy to think we're meant to sympathize with his tender brokenheart. So what if he's borderline Aspergers, he's still brilliant and cute. You think that right up until you realize how he makes his enemies.

I do feel a need to stress how this is a very fictionalized version of the truth. But hey, the truth is often far less salacious. For what this movie aims to do - to entertain me and make me think - it does a damn fine job. Bravo!