“Social Network”

★★★★ (out of four)

Were it not for the involvement of David Fincher, I would have had little interest in “The Social Network,” the new film about the founding of Facebook. ’Cause here’s the thing: I hate Facebook. I hate the manner in which it was conceived, I hate its effect on the online community, the banality of its users’ content and its needlessly confusing interface. Most of all, I hate everyone always asking me if I’m on Facebook, and when I tell them that I have no intention of ever starting a page, seeing them look at me as if I just asked where the Internets are. Facebook is a bunch of crap (helpful hint: I don’t care if you went out today to buy shoelaces and a can of Pringles, and I certainly don’t want to see a photographic record of this adventure), and resistance to its influence can only make you a better, stronger person.

“The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’hoole”

★★ 1/2

Adapted from the first three books in Kathryn Laski’s “Guardians of Ga’Hoole” series, the film tells the story of a young owl named Soren (voiced by Jim Sturgess, from “Across the Universe“ and “21”) who, together with his brother, Kludd (Ryan Kwanten, of HBO’s “True Blood”), is abducted by an army of vicious warrior owls led by the evil Nyra (Helen Mirren) and Metalbeak (Joel Edgerton). The evil owls apparently want to build a regiment of flightless young owls, train them over the course of a few days, and then use them as an integral part of their plan to take over the world. This plan also entails using a bunch of magic vomit-rocks (?!) to kill the Good Owls (led by Ezylryb, voiced by Geoffrey Rush in the film’s only truly accomplished voice work) and then… I don’t even know, man. And really, who cares?

“The Town”

★★★★

“The Town” is no “Gone Baby Gone” — the material isn’t as potent, for one thing, and it’s missing the provocative, layered mystery that helped make Affleck’s first film such a treasure. As a straight-up character-based thriller, though, it’s hard to find fault with “The Town.” The story, involving a network of bank robbers operating out of the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown, is compelling, and the heists are executed with verve and intensity. And as in his first film, writer/director Affleck displays a peerless knack for capturing the shifting rhythms and moods of a city. He’s been compared to a young Martin Scorsese in this regard, and in terms of handling an old-fashioned narrative with the steady confidence of a veteran, Affleck is also racking up favorable comparisons to Clint Eastwood. They may smack of hyperbole, but these praises are apt and richly deserved.