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Filming the Net
I saw "You've Got Mail" for the first time the other day. No I never saw it when it came out and making films about the 'Information Superhighway' was all the rage. I'm not really sorry I missed it because I found it mushier than a bowl full of well, mush. Total chick flick.
In the mid-to-late 90s a few movies came out that featured the Internet as a focal point. "You've Got Mail" was one, along with Sandra Bullock's "The Net" and "Hackers." So I got to wondering what other movies out there included the Web in more than just a cursory manner.
I've compiled a list - and I was going for ten movies but didn't make it - of films where the Internet is more than just a means to an end. What I mean is that the Internet was one of - if not THE main reason for the movie. So some movies you would think should be on this list aren't because the Net was simply used as a plot device to advance the story as in the Terminator films. Some people wanted me to include those but I didn't feel 'Skynet' really counted because it only existed to give AHnold a reason to go back in time and kill Sarah Connor. Skynet was probably a futuristic version of the Internet as it would be if it was run by machines. But it's not the reason for the film.
Know what I mean?
So here's a list, compiled from my own digging and some input from friends, of movies that feature the Internet:
"You've Got Mail." As mentioned already, YGM is a mushy bit of Meg Ryan fluff that uses AOHell's instant messaging and email to connect the two would-be lovebirds. I'm sure that the movie could have been made in some other way without using the Internet and it would have been just as mushy and sickly-sweet, but at the time the Internet was all the rage and I think Meg and Tom wanted to be hip.
 "Wargames." Ok I had to go back quite a ways to fill out my list but I think "Wargames" can qualify because without young David using his trusty little modem to dial into the military computers, the movie would be pointless :)
"The Net." Sandra Bullock is an introverted hacker who works from home until she discovers a nasty little virus that leads to her identity being erased and she must race against greedy corporate bastards to save herself and stop the virus. It's pretty dated by now of course, like watching old cop shows and having a laugh when they pull out these huge bricks with antennaes that passed for mobile phones in those days (Ahhh but wouldn't you have liked to have had one back then...) but for a fluffy action flick, it's okay.
"The Matrix." This one was a pretty big "Duh" after spending ages trying to find films for this list. The Matrix IS the Internet, or a futuristic form of it anyway. Neo is the One who will save humans from The Matrix which was created by machines to placate humans while they farm us for energy. I think. I've seen the movie a bunch of times and I still get a bit lost in the mythology. And let me just say that seeing the sequels did not help. They were crap.
 "Johnny Mnemonic." Say what you will about Keanu Reeves, but I think this silly little sci-fi is spiffy. Johnny Mnemonic IS the Internet, or at least a part of it. He jacks into it and downloads data to be couriered to whomever is paying for it. It's not the greatest movie but it's interesting and I love it for Henry Rollins' character. He cracks me up :)
"FeardotCom." Ok you knew it wouldn't be long before someone made a slasher flick using the Net as the hook. You just knew it. "FeardotCom" is it. Four murder victims are found in New York 48 hours after each logged onto the title website. I have not seen "FeardotCom" so I can't comment on the quality but I will say that I have zero desire to see it.
"Hackers." A young l33t h4x0r and his buddies discover a dangerous computer virus and must use their mad skillz to stop it while being pursued by both the Secret Service and the evil computer genius behind the virus. Yes I nicked that from the Imdb because I haven't seen this either. Remember some of these flicks come from recommendations from friends of mine. But it just sounds cheesy doesn't it? Any description that has to include the phrase, "evil computer genius" has to ooze the cheddar.
"Sneakers." I'm not sure if this one should count but I'll throw it in the mix anyway. It's more about espionage and decryption hacking than it is about the Internet. The group of computer geeks includes River Phoenix so I think that's probably why I saw it. I don't remember much else about the film.
 "Max Headroom." Ok this was actually a TV show but it was so ahead of it's time. So far ahead in fact that the networks obviously couldn't understand it so they yanked it prematurely. They have a habit of doing that ("Firefly" anyone?) The show, set in a future where everything is dictated by television networks and ratings, followed Edison Carter, the Han Solo of journalism, as he dug up the dirt on the people who run the networks. He's aided by his alter ego, Max Headroom, who runs amok through their version of what could be the Internet, accessing data and helping Edison along while providing biting satire and general sarkiness. I still have the pilot on VHS and I break it out now and then. Wish they'd release it on DVD. It was a great show.
And that's my list. I can't think of a tenth movie (or TV show since I relented for Max) that features the Web prominently. Can you?
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Steve's Weird House
