The Social Network - 4 stars

The Social Network is the story of the founding of Facebook, or The Facebook as it was originally called.  There is a lot of speculation as to the accuracy of this story.  I thought that a feature film had to either have nothing to do with real people or had to be accurate.  Someone please explain to me how it can be fictionalized like this!

Anyway, it was a very watchable movie.  It was acted very well, including a pair of twins played by one guy.  It was entertaining and informative.

The Education of Charlie Banks - 4 stars

The Education of Charlie Banks was very thoughtful.  It follows a smart, yet not totally awkward, boy from the Bronx from age 10 to 20.  He has friends spanning the socio-economic spectrum and is just trying to make his way in the world while living with his conscience.  It's hard to describe this without giving anything away, so I'll say that the theme, which emerges about 2/3 of the way into the movie, is perfectly woven throughout the film.  The characters are multi-dimentional, the writing is sharp, and the scenario feels very real.  Stars Jessie Eisenberg, who also plays Marc Zuckerberg in the Social Network, and Jason Ritter.

Iron Man 2 - 2.5 stars

Iron Man 2 is too sequely (I've coined a new phrase!).  Does that make sense?  All things that are wrong with sequels was wrong with this movie.  It takes the original, puts the dialogue in a Magic 8 Ball, shakes it up a tiny bit, then re-shoots.  The only value in it is to the producers who make money off the good name of an excellent action film, Iron Man.

Breaking Bad (TV) - 4 stars

Breaking Bad is a TV drama about a high school chemistry teacher who starts cooking meth when he finds out that he has inoperable lung cancer.  It's amazingly well made with brilliant writing, acting, and direction.  I was totally fixated on this show for a couple of weeks.  I stopped watching during the second season when I realized that there was no way out for these characters.  They just keep doing the same things over and over again.  So, I feel like I got the point and it was time to move on.

Definitely worth watching for a while.