I Don't Know How To Take "Unfriended".

On that rare occasion, I just like to go see a movie.....

A movie I have no ties to. A movie I can't tell one of my friends I saw because of the director. A movie I know very little about. A movie that is playing at the cheap theater in a strip mall 30 mins from my house.

Why am I deviating from the norm ? Because I like to go outside my comfort zone from time to time. I get curious what a "normal, standard" American movie is like. I want to see what mainstream cinema is at. Is that bad as they say ? Sometimes I just have to see for myself because you can't believe everything you read on the internet.

I had about a few hours to kill on Saturday, so my brother and I seen "Unfriended".

The movie is about these five friends who spend their night Skyping each other. It's all fun and games until someone starts trolling them. The person trolling them is posing as a former classmate who committed suicide because she was bullied over a video that was posted online of her at a party. At first, they assume it's a mutual friend. When it becomes apparent it's not the mutual friend, they put blame on each other. The trolling from that point on gets real. That's pretty much the plot without revealing too much.

First of all, it's of all sudden cool to spend your nights glued to your computer screen ? Ten years ago, when I was in high school; I was the loser on AOL Instant Messenger talking to friends, listening to music, downloading bootlegs, and drooling over shit I wanted on eBay while the "cool kids" were out partying and getting laid. Now, the cool kids sit at home "Skyping" while the losers go party ? The times have indeed changed.

The one thing that struck me was lack of cinematography. Matter of fact, THERE WAS NO CINEMATOGRAPHY ! You never leave the computer screen. It was like watching one of those how to tutorials on you tube where the guy films his computer screen and provides commentary while he's showing you something. I really wouldn't call this "innovative filmmaking". Having zero camera work, I call this lazy.

Then again, the film was budgeted at 1 million. Assuming since the film doesn't leave the computer screen, you really don't need a crew. Certainly don't need to rent cameras or a camera crew. My brother and I assumed the money they did spend went to licensing Apple, Instagram, Spotify, Facebook, Gmail, and You Tube. Which begs me to wonder, was this a movie or just a big advert for these internet companies ?

To be honest, I don't know how to take this film. Are they trying to make a statement because online bullying is a ongoing issue in our society ? Are they poking fun at online bullying ? I am genuinely confused because I was laughing during the movie. Most critics are giving it positive reviews so maybe they get it. If they get it, maybe I am the asshole with the bad sense of humor that doesn't get it.

In closing, I don't think this film was good enough for a theatrical release. It was more suited for a straight to video release or something MTV could have shown. Personally, If I wanted to watch something that never left the computer screen, I'd have a Skype session with my own friends or go on You Tube to watch a tutorial on how to use Format Factory.