Before Sunrise is out on video! Oh, happy day!
Folks, if I was unsuccessful in persuading you to go see this film in the theater, let me implore you to go rent it now. Support filmakers that don't insult our intelligence; the United States has shockingly few of them, and Richard Linklater is definitely one. And if no one watches his movies, he'll sink back into the morass of obscurity.
This movie is charming, witty, thought-provoking, and (if you'll forgive me a bit of an abstraction) human. And Julie Delpy's in it.
Trust me. If you consider yourself a fan of cinema, you have a moral obligation to rent Before Sunrise. It's the most pleasant obligation you'll ever discharge.
- Scott Snyder
Watching futuristic movies with physicists and engineers (unless you are one) is something I probably wouldn't recommend. "That can't happen!" they declare in an almost indignant tone of voice when the microchip-driven object in question does/doesn't do whatever it did/didn't do -- as if , say, The Terminator is any more probable or realistic than whatever got their juices flowing.
Even knowing this, I went to see The Net with two computer scientists who operate an Internet service provider. (Not that the Internet is futuristic, or you wouldn't be reading this, would you?) Fully recognizing and accepting that it's a work of fiction, I went on with the business of enjoying a night out. Knowing what I do about the Internet, I recognized that parts of the movie were implausible. But I overlooked the unrealistic parts; they
True, the Internet connections were blindingly fast; otherwise ordinary Macintosh computers were amazingly responsive; and the Web sites were considerably more interactive than any I've seen. But actually The Net didn't contain as many Internet theatrics as I had expected, making it a pretty enjoyable movie experience for what it was. It was, however, sort of an ego boost to have every passing thought I had about the probabilities of what I was watching confirmed almost instantaneously by "(snicker, snicker) yeah, right!" and "No way, man!"
- Anabella Wewer
Web pages that offer telnet capabilities within the documents themselves; "whois" searches that turn up volumes of personal information on netizens, including pictures; Macintosh viruses that can also attack mainframes from afar. These are but some of the many technical liberties The Net takes in portraying the Internet. Granted, a film must often sacrifice certain truths in order to further the smooth flow of its storyline, relying on a suspension of disbelief to carry the audience through. I suppose the directors took liberties in order to spare the audience from what they deemed to be overly tedious, supra-technical mumbo-jumbo. However, are the technical aspects of the Internet really that much more arcane than what The Net depicts? Tracing network connections is always going to look a little like 'Net voodoo to most people, even when the process is covered by a cutesy graphical interface. Face it; the Internet is inherently technical in nature, and no amount of visual fluff can detract from that, nor make the film automatically successful. Lawnmower Man had plenty of cool visual effects; enough said.
Actually, the thing that bothered me the most about The Net was the scarcity of people in the audience who seemed to notice that liberties were being taken at all. You may have noticed them in your theatre; they were the few who muttered angrily to themselves (and more and more loudly) as the film progressed. In retrospect, I see this as a sign of what The Net is really all about -- an ever-widening information gap in our society. On one side there are information "haves," whose potential power grows daily. Those on the far side of the gap, however, can only trust in the good intentions of the "haves." The only thing that can bridge the gap is adequate education, and if certain powers-that-be have their way, such an education could soon become the privilege of the wealthy. Now that I think about it, the Praetorians in The Net were pretty tame; they stole the identity of only one woman. These "powers" would deny identities to a nation.
- John Hall
A cinematic exercise for you to help you get your movie-watching chops together: Between now and the time Nixon is released, try to imagine Anthony Hopkins shaking his jowels and saying "I am not a crook." Or, if that's too tall a task for you, just try to imagine him flashing victory/peace signs to crowds.
When you have that down, try picturing Nixon wearing a Hannibal Lecter bodysuit and mask.
I've been working on this exercise for two weeks; I can't wait for the movie to come out.
- Scott Snyder
