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10.01.2010

in theaters: the social network, hatchet II, the man from nowhere


The big movie everybody's talking about this weekend is The Social Network, aka "The Facebook Movie." And apparently, it's pretty good. Written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Fincher, it's based on the true story of the founding of everybody's favorite time-sucking social networking website.

As observed in the trailer, Brenda Song is in the movie as Christy Lee, looking rather grown up and a long way from her Zack and Cody days.

I haven't seen it yet, but it's worth mentioning that in Roger Ebert's review, he makes note that the movie inexplicably has an abundance of really attractive Asian women:
Zuckerberg was not seduced by his lifestyle. He was uninterested in money, stayed in modest houses, didn't fall into drugs. A subtext the movie never comments on is the omnipresence of attractive Asian women. Most of them are smart Harvard undergrads, two of them (allied with Sean) are Victoria's Secret models, one (Christy, played by Brenda Song) is Eduardo's girlfriend. Zuckerberg himself doesn't have much of a social life onscreen, misses parties, would rather work. He has such tunnel vision he doesn't even register when Sean redrafts the financial arrangements to write himself in and Eduardo out.
However, according to the movie, there apparently weren't a whole lot of Asian guys attending Harvard around the time Facebook was launched. You know, all the way back in 2003. Right.


Also opening today in limited release, the indie horror flick sequel Hatchet II. What -- you never saw the first movie? I actually never got around to catching it either, but I hear from devoted fans of the genre that it's a decent slasher flick with a pretty solid fan following. At least, significant enough to warrant sequel.

It's about a swamp-dwelling serial killer who, um, kills. A lot.

I mention Hatchet II here because our pal Parry Shen is back in the cast. However, he is not reprising his role as Shawn. That character got killed off in the first movie (I don't think this is much of a spoiler). In this one, Parry plays Justin -- Shawn's twin, who attempts to find out what the hell happenedto his brother. My guess is, he's going to find out.


And finally, opening this weekend in Los Angeles, CJ Entertainment presents the South Korean hit thriller The Man From Nowhere, starring Won Bin. I'm told that this film is still a huge hit in Korea. Here's the short synopsis:
Taesik, a former special agent becomes a loner after losing his wife in a miserable accident and lives a bitter life running a pawnshop. He only has a few customers and a friend named Somi, a little girl next door. As Taesik spends more and more time with Somi, he gets attached to her. Then Somi is kidnapped by a gang, and as Taesik tries to save Somi by becoming deeply associated with the gang his mysterious past is revealed...
I think it looks pretty good. The film is screening at the CJ CGV theaters in Los Angeles, with a city-by-city nationwide release in the weeks to come. For more information, including the trailer and the full release schedule, go here.