The Social Reckoning

Writer and director Aaron Sorkin has written and directed a sequel to the 2010 film, The Social Network - Sorkin wrote it, David Fincher directed the first one. The story of The Social Network was about the creation of Facebook. The Social Reckoning (directed this time by Sorkin) is about what evil Mark Zuckerberg has been up to since then and the reporter, Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) who outed him in the Wall Street Journal with the help of an inside source, Frances (Mikey Madison). Sorkin, or the film, implies that Facebook was radicalizing people, perhaps unintentionally, but not caring, for Meta's goal (Facebook changed it's name to Meta) was to get people to stay on their feed for as long as possible - one user logged more than 9 hours straight - Yippie for Yuckerberg. The simple psychology: feed people stuff that triggers them, gets them mad. They will click and follow. The film suggests that Facebook led them to the pages of right-wing extremist groups and the film also tacitly implies that Meta was indirectly responsible for the attack on the US Capitol when Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden. Sorkin is a gifted, smart writer. He is as good a writer as Fincher is a director. I don't think Sorkin is as good as a director as he is a writer. As a political thriller, The Social Reckoning is almost as good as they come. I think the film could have had a bit more gravitas with Fincher behind the camera. But don't let that stop you from catching one of this year's best political thrillers. Catch it in theatres now or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff when available.  

Anora

Writer, director, and editor, Sean Baker, who gave us, "The Florida Project" and "Red Rocket," has a brilliant new film out, "Anora." In the wheelhouse of films like John Cassavetes's "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie," Elaine May's "Mikey & Nicky," or Benny and Josh Safdie's "Uncut Gems," "Anora" is the story of Ani, a.k.a Anora (Mikey Madison - I hope she is nominated for all the awards) who is an exotic dancer in a strip club. She meets a Russian boy, Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn) who has extremely wealthy parents and seems to have an endless supply of money and appetite for drugs, alcohol, and Ani. He pays her for a private week (a kind of "Pretty Woman" scenario) and ends up in Vegas. Ivan's antics are discovered by his parents' keepers and what follows is a mob like intervention to detangle the relationship between Ivan and Ani. It's a long and often hilarious journey through bars, restaurants, candy stores, and strip clubs. It's a wild and messy ride, a broken vodka bottle soaked carpet and a double kick to the face. This is one of the best films of the year and it's now playing in theatres.