‘Steve Jobs’ Creates Its Own Reality, For Better or Worse

I’m not sure I can recall another mainstream, non-fantasy, non-scifi movie that has less interest in appearing real than ‘Steve Jobs.’  How much that bothers you will be a matter of personal preference. Even though there was another movie about former Apple CEO Steve Jobs a couple years ago, this has always been the most…

Dan’s Top 100 Everything: #72 The Social Network

In 2008, I was reading film news blogs daily, and I remember we all got a chuckle when Aaron Sorkin joined Facebook, announcing he was working with producer Scott Rudin on a movie about the site. It seemed like silly at best, crass at worst. Sorkin was (and is) respected, but not immune to indulgent…

Will The Newsroom waste Aaron Sorkin’s talent?

Last week, I found the script for the pilot of Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming new HBO show The Newsroom; the day after I finished reading it, Dan sent me the new series’ trailer.  Unfortunately, the show’s genesis has twisted my mind into a cognitively-dissonant pretzel that’s harder to untangle than recent Gossip Girl plotlines.  The freight train that is my…

A quick rundown of recent movies

Some Earnthis writers don’t quite have the time to devote to lengthy reviews that we used to, but I’d like to offer some brief thoughts (and not-so-brief thoughts, in Moneyball‘s case) on recent flicks that have been in theaters and may get Oscar play.  A couple thoughts on 2011: it feels like a weak year; and who…

The Social Network: Coming Back for Everything

Rating: 4 stars (out of 4) The Social Network’s top comparison among critics has been the beloved Citizen Kane, as both chronicle the rise and fall of a young, ambitious individual who shapes a new technological medium to his advantage.  After 4 viewings of the former (plus many more of certain scenes), endless reading of…

A Few Thoughts on Aaron Sorkin

Today, The Social Network—aka “The Facebook Movie”—comes out to widespread anticipation and Oscar buzz.  Upon first glance, I was barely interested in this project, but then I learned that Aaron Sorkin wrote it.  And yes, the trailer was promising, the subject matter naturally relevant, and the hype and advance buzz have been so deafening that…

The American President: A taste of things to come

Part 3 of our Aaron Sorkin exploration… Rating: 3 and a half stars (out of 4) The opening sequence of The American President is so good, it would be enough to carry the rest of a mediocre film into watchable status.  Thankfully, though, it doesn’t represent the extent of the pleasures here, in the film…

Charlie Wilson’s War: Where did it all go wrong?

Our next Aaron Sorkin exploration… Rating: 2 stars (out of 4) The trailer for Charlie Wilson’s War and its IMDB page promise two very different movies.  The latter will remind you of the tremendous amount of talent that has been gathered in front of and behind the camera, but the former promises only a breezy,…

A Few Good Men: And one great writer

With the much-anticipated The Social Network dropping in theaters this Friday, I thought it appropriate to look back on the career of the inimitable writer Aaron Sorkin.  A comprehensive piece will be arriving later this week, but for now, let’s review a few of his most prominent films. Rating: 3 stars (out of 4) A…