Thursday, May 26, 2016

Thursday Movie Picks: The Internet


Way back in the 1970s and 80s, when I was growing up, the year 2000 seemed like an unfathomable amount of time away. Everything about it seemed futuristic just because the first digit of the year would be a '2' and not a '1.' It was so far away we used our wildest dreams to imagine what the world would be like. We certainly couldn't imagine what it would be like by 2016. However far away 2000 was, 2016 was twice as far. Depending on your line of thinking, by now we would either be in a post-apocalyptic wasteland or living like The Jetsons. Since I was an optimistic sort back then, I chose the latter. That means I was supposed to be piloting my flying car from home to work within my colony on the moon by now. Obviously, that hasn't happened. I should have a conveyor belt in my house that I can stand on as it maneuvers me through a shower, dries me off, and finally dresses me. Nope. Don't have that, either.

It wasn't just TV and movies that caused all these crazy expectations. Even in school we were inundated with fantastic tales on what the future would hold. For starters, we were always within ten years of The United States of America finally switching over to the metric system. Humph. If even this most basic prediction never came true, how was I to believe any of the other nonsense my teachers were spewing? They were especially hard to believe because they had the nerve to tell us just straight up bizarre stuff. One of the strangest things was that I would be able to instantly communicate with a person on the other side of the globe through a computer that I would have at my living room. Lol, where did they get this stuff?

Wait, what?

Oh, okay.

In honor of THAT ONE prediction coming true, I'll play it straight for this week's Thursday Movie Picks hosted by Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves. The topic is movies about the internet. See, there was a point to all this.


The Matrix
(1999)
What if the internet took over the world? That's essentially the premise of The Matrix. A group of individuals who have managed the trick for themselves are trying to free the rest of the world from their collective slumber and make them realize that the reality they have come to know is merely a virtual one constructed by the very computers we created. The film mixes our fears of machines taking over, action, biblical references, and iconic imagery to create a sci-fi masterpiece.


Hard Candy
(2005)
With the rise of the internet came new dangers. More accurately, the dangers were old, the internet was just a new tool for predators. In this case, a young girl comes into contact with a one of these pervs online and does exactly what I warn my daughters to never do. She goes to meet this dude alone and even agrees to go back to his place with him. Here's the kicker, just as he isn't what he seemed to be online, neither is she. What happens when the predator becomes the prey?


State of Play
(2009)
When the assistant of a Congressman with eyes on the presidency is brutally murdered it's a big news story. In this day and age that means not only competing with the plethora of TV news outlets, there are also a ton of outlets on the internet. Of course, there are lots of legitimate organizations involved, but there are also a ton of bloggers who fancy themselves journalists. One man refuses to be a part of that and clings to his role as a newspaper reporter. As such, he's trying to investigate the case the old-fashioned way, with real journalism, even as he's followed around by a pesky blogger. Is that even possible in this day and age?


31 comments:

  1. I have seen The Matrix (awesome), Hard Candy (brilliant), and I think some of State of Play (it was alright). Those are good films of what represents this world that is... the Internet.

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    1. True indeed. The Matrix is awesome in every way, shape, or form to me and I completely agree Hard Candy is brilliant. I really like State of Play, too. That one serves as a nice love letter to newspapers, as well.

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  2. The Matrix is a no-brainer, of course. It's the sort of film that rewrote a part of how we watch films, the sort of film that will be talked about as long as people are talking about movies.

    I love Hard Candy, too. It takes a lot of twists I didn't expect--I'm looking forward to watching it again. Gutsy, difficult, and worth every minute of it.

    State of Play is one I don't know. Worth adding to the watch list?

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    1. The Matrix most certainly changed the history of film. Hard Candy cab very difficult, but is certainly worth the trouble. I do think State of Play is worth a watch.

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  3. Argh, I can't believe I've never seen the Matrix...for what it's worth, I know exactly what happens!
    I haven't seen State of Play either but that might be added to my watch list :)
    - Allie

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    1. My eyes must be playing tricks on me because I swear it says you've never seen The Matrix. That can't be right. If it is, I know what I'm suggesting you put on you Blind Spot list for next year, unless you watch it right this minute like you should.

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  4. OMG! The Matrix, Ellen Paige back when she was good and RUSSELL CROWE!!! I think this may be my favorite group of flicks yet!

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    1. Thanks. For the record, I'm an Ellen Page apologist and always think she's always good. Her movies aren't always good, but she is. Cuz I said so.

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    2. Sorry, Drew, but Dell is right: Ellen Page is pretty much ALWAYS good, even when her movies aren't.

      I mean, she's even good as a walking, talking exposition machine in Inception!

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  5. I LOVE Hard Candy. Excellent film and Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson were so good in it. I tried to love The Matrix, but I couldn't. It's been years since I've seen them though.

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    1. Since you love Hard Candy, I guess I can forgive your wrong-headedness on The Matrix.

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  6. I really liked State of Play despite the wrongheaded decision to try and pass Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck off as same age college pals. Otherwise it was a solid flick and I loved Helen Mirren as Crowe's flinty boss.

    I'm positive I'll get flack for this but I DETEST The Matrix utterly. I actually fell asleep at one point. I won't ever watch Hard Candy for personal reasons. But they all fit the theme well.

    I had a tough time this week. At first all I could think of was The Social Network, another movie I loathed, but I thought it would show up all over so I went with three that are rather dated but usually movies about the net aren't ones I gravitate to.

    Untraceable (2008)-FBI Special Agent Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) works in a division that fights cybercrime. World weary and jaded she is still shocked when confronted by a killer who posts live feeds of his crimes on his website, the more hits the site gets the faster the victim dies. Determined to stop him she and her team try to capture the killer before time runs out.

    The Net (1995)-Virtual recluse Angela Bennett (Sandra Bullock) is a software engineer who works from home as a freelance expert with few friends outside of cyberspace. One of those friends sends her a program with a weird glitch for her to de-bug. She discovers secret information on the disk just before taking her first vacation in years. While on that trip she meets an mysterious attractive stranger, finds herself embroiled in a web of computer espionage and her life endangered.

    WarGames (1983)-Young computer whiz David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) finds a backdoor into a system he mistakenly believes is devoted to games which he attempts to play. It turns out that he has accidentally infiltrated the US government’s computer and may have initiated the lead up to WWIII. Assisted by a young girl he’s sweet on (Ally Sheedy) and the inventor of the system he tries to stop the game before it’s too late. Made when computers on a personal user level were a relatively new phenomenon this is a solid adventure with a very winning Broderick in the lead.

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    1. You hate The Matrix...sigh.

      With all of the late 20-somethings who play teenagers, I can let the Affleck-Crowe thing slide, lol. It is a good movie, though.

      I'm not a big fan of The Net, but didn't hate it. War Games is such 80s goodness. Very nice pick. Haven't seen your other pick.

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  7. I have seen The Matrix and...it's ok but I would rather be in the dream part then eating slop crap living in dark and damp spaceship-blecchhhh. I haven't seen Hard Candy but sounds intriguing. I enjoyed State of Play and thought it was quite a good movie and I am a Russell Crowe fan:)

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    1. Where have you Matrix haters come from? I kid. Sorta. Please check out Hard Candy if you get the chance.

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  8. LOVE these picks! Almost can't believe I didn't think of The Matrix, but I guess I always equate it with Virtual Reality instead of the internet. But anyway, it is one of my all-time favorite films. I still remember seeing it in the theater when it came out and how it blew my mind.

    Hard Candy is so great - Ellen Page is perfection and Patrick Wilson is surprising in a role that wouldn't seem to suit him. I never saw State of Play, and so I thank you for reminding me of its existence. I've always heard good things about it.

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    1. Finally, someone who knows what's up when it comes to The Matrix!

      Love Ellen Page. Patrick Wilson is generally too bland for me, but that's why he is so good here. His everyman quality perfectly espouses the point that any random dude can be the creep on the other side of a computer.

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  9. I haven't seen Hard Candy but it sounds interesting! And The Matrix... ahh, how obsessed I was with that movie when it came out. I was 13 or 14 and it blew my mind. I might pull out the old DVD and rewatch it for the bazillionth time

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    1. Hard Candy is terrific. I highly recommend it. And there's never a bad time to watch The Matrix.

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  10. Ah! State of Play. Superb pick,]

    I picked a film similar to Hard Candy named Trust thought it does go in a complete different direction! It still talks about the same old dangers from new tools.

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    1. Good to see more love for State of Play. I really enjoyed it. I saw your post. Trust sounds awesome.

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  11. Oh my god The Matrix is so good! One of my favourite sci-fi flicks ever! And I almost picked it myself

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    1. You are now one of my favorite people, ever.

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  12. Ah man! I remember Hard Candy. My friend and I went to see this and we ended up yelling at the screen. We were the only ones there so it was ok. Thought it was great two-hander - love those films that feel like plays. It also teaches a lesson as well as showing things aren't as they seem. Love The Matrix - always have. Can't beat that mind wrap.

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    1. I first saw Hard Candy at home and couldn't contain myself. I could imagine if I were in a theater, lol.

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  13. The Matrix!! God, I do love that movie. Hard Candy was a little bit tough to sit through, and I don't even have man parts.

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    1. Yes to everything you said, except I do have man parts and, well, it was extremely tough to sit through.

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  14. What a great topic and you've picked some great stuff (though I haven't seen Hard Candy yet). Somehow I immediately thought of The Net straight away, ahah.

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    1. Please see Hard Candy. The Net was actually the first film I thought of, too. That's why I didn't pick it, lol.

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  15. I love your picks. I haven't seen The Matrix in full yet but the other two are really good films, wished I thought of them.

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    1. Please see the entirety of The Matrix. Pretty please.

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