Written by Aaron Sorkin, directed by David Fincher. The Social Network

I'm hating myself for wanting to see this as much as I do.

Saw How to Train Your Dragon at the dollar movie. Hubby and I were both struck by the fact that Hiccup lost his foot to the fight instead of coming out of it without a scratch. Hubby thinks this is to address the number of people coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan with prosthetics. The hero sometimes has to pay a cost, but it doesn't have to slow him down. Hubby was amused at the idea of a dragon with a stick shift.

Just got back from Toy Story 3. Amazingly, I did not break down into full sobbing, but I think that's because you people prepared me for it. (I'm still glad I wore waterproof mascara and eyeliner, tho'.)

It was a lot of fun. And good God, the cymbal-clapping monkey was creepy.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go spend the evening with Clovis.

Huh. Apparently Mickey Rourke stored more than half of his skeeviness in his hair. [link]

Huh, indeed.

Whoa, The Thing has some of the best creature effects I've ever seen. Sometimes I miss the pre-CGI days.

Stan Winston, Rob Bottin - genius.

Critical reception

The film's special effects were simultaneously lauded and lambasted for being technically brilliant but visually repulsive. Film critic Roger Ebert called the special effects "among the most elaborate, nauseating, and horrifying sights yet achieved by Hollywood’s new generation of visual magicians", and called the film itself "a great barf-bag movie".[9] In his review for The New York Times, Vincent Canby called it "a foolish, depressing, overproduced movie that mixes horror with science fiction to make something that is fun as neither one thing or the other. Sometimes it looks as if it aspired to be the quintessential moron movie of the 80's".[10] Time magazine's Richard Schickel wrote, "Designer Rob Bottin's work is novel and unforgettable, but since it exists in a near vacuum emotionally, it becomes too domineering dramatically and something of an exercise in abstract art".[11]

It's interesting because the initial reviews have proven to have undervalued the movie, which many now see as the best horror movie of the decade. Indeed one of the greatest horror movies ever.

Another choice quote:

“Any makeup effects guy in the world that you talk to will say, ‘I got into that business because of that movie. Because of John Carpenter, because of Rob Bottin’s brilliant makeup effects.” - Greg Nicotero

Very influential.

It was all just so imaginative and creative and goopy and gross and I was really really impressed.

Like a lot of movies which are formally innovative the initial reaction tends to dismiss everything else because the new element is so radical and different. So it was seen as merely a series of gross out shocks.

Curiously, many horror fans now cite it more as an example of careful story telling, characterization and slow building suspense. Plus wild effects.

The bigger assessment though is that the movie hits on a particular kind of bleakness that is very hard to shake. It's a freaky dark vision that lingers with you.