DVD reviews
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“...a delightful tribute to nostalgia and romance.”
The Illusionist
“...a film that generally brings warm smiles rather than belly laughs...”
Treasure Guards
"A willing suspension of disbelief should get most viewers across the line."
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Catfish (DVD)
Year: 2010
Rating: M
Director: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Cast: Yaniv Schulman , Megan Faccio , Melody C. Roscher , Ariel Schulman
Release Date: June 16, 2011
Distributor: Hopscotch
The Film: 4.0
The Disc: 3.5
FILMINK rates DVDs and Blu-rays out of 5"Timely and provocative..."
While Catfish may have been marketed as some type of horror thriller, it's not. Instead, it's a compelling and surprisingly empathetic exploration of the relationship between virtual friendships and real connections. It follows 24-year-old New York photographer, Nev Schulman, who strikes up a relationship over Facebook with a Michigan girl after she sends him painted versions of his snapshots. He also gradually befriends the girl's mother and older sister, Megan, with whom he begins a romantic relationship via online conversations, texts and calls. But when inconsistencies in the family's story become apparent, Nev pays them a visit...
Timely and provocative, Catfish compels us to question whether social networking makes us more connected or more alone? And while it doesn't offer any clear answers, there are unsettling insinuations at its core. DVD extras include a handful of deleted scenes and a featurette of Nev meeting the real "Megan." There's also an interview with Nev and co-directors, Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, who comments, "A Facebook profile gives you the ability to present yourself in the way that you'd like to be seen by others." Joost hits the nail on the head - social networking has become a world where we're all trying our best to impersonate ourselves.
