Thursday Movie Picks: The Internet


Welcome to another episode of Thursday Movie Picks, the weekly series hosted by Wandering through the Shelves where you pick three films each week to fit the theme of that week.

This week's topic is something I'm very familiar with, the internet. This should be easy, right? Well, it's not, because even though I spend a lot of time surfing the net, there aren't actually a lot of films I've seen or I know about the internet. I still managed to find three film, here they are.

The Social Network (2010)

Do I really need to tell you what this film is about? Okay, Mark Zuckerberg is an asshole who develops a global social network after stealing the idea from his Harvard fellows, makes a lot of money losing a lot of friends in the process. This is the film about the internet, everything about it is just spot on. The director, the script, the acting. And yes, Jesse Eisenberg is annoying as usual.

The Net (1995)

Sandra Bullock stars as a computer programmer who barely ever leaves her house which makes it very easy for some people to steal her identity through the internet and put her life in great danger. This isn't the sharpest film about the internet, but the great thing about it is that computer technology has evolved tremendously since 1995 and the film's topic, identity theft, it is more of a threat today than it was in 1995. And I love Sandra Bullock. 

You've Got Mail (1998)

The owner of a large bookstore chain wants to put a small local bookstore out of business. The hatred is mutual, but what they don't know is that they've been chatting online for a while and they are falling in love. Okay, this one is sugary and the stereotypical chick flick but it's quite enjoying and the chemistry between Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan is so beautiful it's worth watching.

15 comments :

  1. "the great thing about it is that computer technology has evolved tremendously since 1995"

    I made similar point when I mentioned The Net, it may be outdated but it does got to show far we've progressed over 20 years.

    The Social Network is a great film, snappy dialogue and amazing performances.

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    1. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who liked The Social Network.

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    2. I really like the Social Network as well and the snappy dialogue best of all. Because it is more about the people, I think the Social Network is one of the tech related movie that is going to age well.

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  2. lol aww I love Jesse Eisenberg. This is the 2nd or 3rd time I've seen The Net mentioned and I'd never heard of it before today.

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    1. I watched The Net only because I'm a fan of Sandra Bullock. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have known the film

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  3. I expect to see a lot of The Social Network today. It's a fantastic flick. Not a big fan of The Net, but I am willing to give it another go just for the nostalgia of revisiting 1995 tech. I've only seen bits and pieces of You've Got Mail, but enough to feel like I don't need to see the rest because I've seen it a thousand times with different titles.

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    1. Haha completely agree on You've Got Mail. It's basically the same love story over and over again.

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  4. The Social Network made it to my list as well and I watched You've Got Mail but I wouldn't watch it again.

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    1. I am not the biggest fan of You've Got Mail myself so I understand you

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  5. OMG! We picked the exact same movies!! How wild is that? I found the Social Network dull as hell and dislike it. I enjoyed The Net even though it's a typical thriller. You've Got mail is typical chick flick and so sad to see that book stores seem to be closing now more than ever

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    1. I know right?! I guess it's because great minds think alike!

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  6. Social Network is such a divisive movie, either a love or hate thing it seems. I hate it but I know it's beloved by many. Of the three versions of The Shop Around the Corner You've Got Mail is my least favored version. Hanks and Ryan are fine but it scraps all the whimsy and pathos of the original away and doesn't replace it with any else. I picked The Net as well, not a great film but an enjoyable time passer.

    My three for the week:

    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. WarGames sounds good! I'm adding it to my watchlist

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  7. I've found a new liking for You've Got Mail - mostly because I'm going through a 90s throwback phase. I started to watch The Net but walked away for a moment and kinda lost the plot :) But its a 90s movie so I'll get round to it.

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    1. The Net isn't that good but it isn't awful, it's worth a watch.

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