Catfish

This movie is over hyped as a thriller but I can honestly say that the only thrilling part was right before the reveal of the twist. The story it built up very well and the acting is pretty great. I laughed at many point of the film and it definitely hooked me into the story and I felt almost nervous for what was going to happen since all the trailers and promos talked about thrilling scenes. I was kind of disappointed at the fact that it was nothing close to actually being a thriller. The twist was very interesting, and close to the heart since I know it happens in real life. This is a more extreme version of internet communication gone wrong. I won't say what happened since it is an actual interesting movie, but don't expect the movie to be a thriller, or else you will leave the movie with your head down and wanting your money back.

It's authenticity will remain in question. And if it is indeed real, the motivation of the filmmakers themselves are unclear.

But there is a truth in Catfish that reflects a lot about ourselves. For most, the Internet is a place to merely extend their social life. But for some, it could be the only place where they could find it. We are called to be mindful of these people. This is a movie for our time. 4/5 Stars

Note: The trailer is indeed misleading, which may have caused much disappointment to viewers with a specific expectation. To those who has not seen the trailer and desire to watch the movie, avoid the trailer.

Don't be put off by the jumpy, seemingly disconnected scenes at the beginning of this film. I nearly hit the eject button thinking that this was nothing more than an amateurish attempt at an 'artsy' film. Just stay with it and you will soon be drawn into an intriguing real life story with a surprisingly emotional twist at the end. The film stirs up a range of emotions that you rarely experience in todays high budget, digitized action flicks. I wish that I could tell you more but that would spoil the whole thing! I will only say this; the film could not have been done prior to the days of social networking where "friends' can pour out their innermost thoughts for the world to read. A very humanistic portrayal of the strengths, talent and weaknesses behind the faces that you see every day at the grocery store or walking down the street. See it and resist the temptation to 'tell all' when you recommend this excellent documentary film to others.

Most human beings have two eyes. One left eye, and one right eye. Catfish pries open your third eye above the two you were born with. That eye is the eye to sense bulls*** from a mile away. It makes you think about the people you associate with online, and the people you come across with on Facebook, the oh-so popular networking site.

Upon finishing this film, I was unsure of what to think of it. "Real or fake?" was the question that popped in my head. Could this be just another false documentary teaching us a lesson, but using actors to portray realistic people? Or was this an authentic documentary showcasing one person's real life experience on the site, and having his brother and friend film it all? My opinion is that this is reminiscent of a reality show. Some scenes are fiction, but somethings are authentic. I really can't say if this is real or fake. But I assume 70% or less is real.

The plot is one of those like Paranormal Activity where you can't reveal too much or the whole thing is ruined. Basically, Young New York photographer Yaniv Schulman's life is put on film by brother Ariel Schulman and friend Henry Joost. They show his relationship with a supposedly eight year old girl on Facebook named Abby who is a child prodigy when it comes to painting. Yaniv will send pictures to Abby, and is told Abby paints them with remarkable talent.

As time passes, Niv shows extreme interest for Abby's family, including her alleged half-sister Megan, and the mother Angela. Once he uncovers some evidence I won't spoil, he goes out to meet the family. There is when the movie becomes a total enjoyment.

Whether fact or fiction, the film makes you think. It succeeds in making you ponder or contemplate the people you associate with on the web. Being an avid reviewer, a social networker, a Tweeter, a Facebooker, a Youtube personality I wonder who is watching my videos. Of course my personal information is nothing but private unless I have a strict build up with the person I discuss with. I haven't ran into any true problems on the web. I consider myself extremely grateful and lucky for that.

Catfish succeeds in being an entertaining time capsule of what will soon be the once popular social network. Facebook will eventually die out just like Myspace, but we will have this film to look back on. While 2010 had one more movie based on the site called The Social Network, Catfish deals with Facebook and it's people. TSN was all about the creation of the site, and the problems Zuckerberg and his friends ran into. That was a totally different film, and well worthy of the Golden Globe wins. Catfish is a one of a kind species that shouldn't be thrown back into the water.

Starring: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman, Yaniv Schulman. Directed by: Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost.

It's 2007. Yaniv Schulman gets one of his photos in the papers. Then he is contacted by 8 year old Abby from Michigan who sends him a painting of the photo. As his friendship with the young girl over the internet grows, he gets to know her mother Angela, father Vince, and beautiful older half-sister Megan. Yaniv's brother Ariel and Henry Joost film him for a documentary. As Yaniv falls for Megan, cracks start appearing in the story. Yaniv goes on a search for the truth.

If taken on face value, this has an intriguing story of the modern internet world. There are problems with this idea. It's hard to take this on face value when the whole point is not to take things on face value. It's obvious from the start that the internet relationship is based on false grounds. The question for me throughout watching the movie is how real Yaniv is actually being. The whole movie could be catfishing the audience. In the end, it's difficult to take this completely on face value. On the other hand, the reveal of Angela and her psychological story are actually quite interesting.