Antitrust

Rating:
Summary: Total Paranoia
Review: Gary Winston (Tim Robbins) is the C.E.O. of N.U.R.V. the worlds largest computer software company. Gary has announced a release date for SYNAPSE a global communications system and invests millions in a race to be the first to have it. When there is problems with the adapter Winston turns to Milo Hoffman (Ryan Phillippe), a brilliant programer. Milo is given the job of his dreams, a car and a house. Hoffman and his girlfriend (Claire Forlani) are immersed into a world he had only dreamed of. Everything was going well untill his best friend is killed and clues lead to N.U.R.V.'s involvement. He becomes obsessed with discovering the truth but who can he trust?

After a slow start this movie takes off. There are several twists and turns to keep things interesting. Tim Robbins was great as always but also had a decent supporting cast in Rachael Leigh Cook and Claire Forlani. The DVD has a decent amount on it including deleted scenes, alternate ending, documentary and theatrical trailer. The film is presented in widescreen DD 5.1 surround.

Rating:
Summary: Easy scapegoat nightmare
Review: This film is a pretty interesting film on an essential subject and it raises fundamental questions. What can a society do against a capitalist private monopoly ? Not much. The very principle of the capitalist market is to enable competition hence to enable one business to become a monopoly at any time. The only guarantee we can have is that this competition will be honest and not helped with criminal or illegal activities. But how can we be sure ? The film shows that it is very easy to use dark means to achieve one's economic aim. How can we stop it ? the film seems to think that only young rebels helped by some older agents and animated by the same competitive ideology (but to their own profit after all) can prevent it, and even so it becomes show business. The second answer is to decide that knowledge is a public common good and that everyone must have access to it. This is a good idea as long as it deals with patents whose amortizing could be spread out in time or whose cost could be covered by some public system or service. But who is going to pay for the research ? This is less of a good idea when it deals with literature or arts because then the rights of the author over his own work is negated. How are authors, composers, etc, going to live if their work is no longer sold ? But the film raises a real problem in our society. It is easy to attack Bill Gates, actually named in the film, and deal with informatics which is a Wide Wild Wilderness. But I would like to see a film about pharmaceutical firms, about AIDS drugs sold at such a high price that millions of AIDS victims cannot afford them. The scapegoat procedure of the film is bad, very bad, but informatics cannot be compared with pharmaceutical drugs because with the latter we are speaking of life and death, even if with informatics we are speaking of the complete control of information and communication, of the mind and the government. Is Big Brother finally arrived, twenty years late ? How can we prevent it from happening and/or stop it ? Is it the fault of one man or of an over-competitive system ? Another film is necessary to go deeper into these questions ?

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

Rating:
Summary: Cant stop watching it !!
Review: I was 100% pleased with Antitrust.I ran across it late one night on cable or something like that,and well that was enough for me to watch it a record 31 times now.I know EVERY line,seem boring to you?well every time i watch it,i seem to see more n more,only problem is i am dying to find out who the darn artist is when Milo and his "Girlfriend" i wont spoil that one,i AM tempted though cos I saw her in the artist movie "Basquit" -think my spellings off but i dont real much care for her and her performances BUT she did on ok job here with her pouting and crap.Ryan rocked he did a great job it was nice to see him play the "good GUY" for a change also cos all i remember him from is the "summer i told you"-pun big time flick...but i am in love with this movie hate his wife(in real life YUCK MAN!) oh and love him plus Tim Robbins was excellent...a great movie that its actually wantes me to go into the computer science field instead of the graphic one-i AM an artist-although he does like to brag.LOL.my ??? finally is WHO is the artist at Garys house when milo and alice go to Garys "Fundraiser" party.The one who keeps apearing on the screens(dont bill gates have something like that???)if anyone can help Id appreciate since i do tattoo flash comic work and my fav. artist not if it matters is DALI..so i would LOVE to know who did that work that keeps flashing when Milo is getting those IP address's from garys house -party - fundraiser-whatever..oh and i am glad they DIDNT put leigh cook to sleep with him great editing,although watching it enogh you can see where they shopuldve put maybe another little thing to fill it up.one minute-nightime they talking then its morning and there getting gasolie-hmmmm??
BUT besides those teeny blunders -GET THIS MOVIE its way way interesting and ryan i agree puts in his all..
i also havent seen cruel intentions-heard its good though but i could get jealous..kidding....and i havent heard NO-ONES mentioned Gosard Park-i own that but never watched the whole thing he was great in what i saw of it....if my spelling is again off i apologize ..
anyone e mail me whenever i am lonely cant you tell...
lots n lots xo stephanie..
enjoy emeninselly...i didnt do ggod in spelling ...xoxooxoxoxox

Rating:
Summary: A thrill ride!
Review: "Antitrust" is the best cyber-flick I've seen in years. It's suspenseful, fast-pased, and just incredibly entertaining. Ryan Phillippe stars as Milo Hoffman, a young computer genius who gets the opportunity of a lifetime: working for the highest-ranked computer company in the world, N.U.R.V. His best friend (also a computer geek), gets the job position, too...but rejects it because he feels as though the company's owner, Gary Winston (Tim Robbins) will stop at nothing to stay at the top. So Milo takes his girlfriend, Alice (Claire Forlani), and they move out to the N.U.R.V. campus and he takes the job. It's only a few weeks in his new job position when he learns that his best friend was brutally murdered, and then he finds out that the murder may be linked to his new company! Now it's up to Milo to take all the knowledge he has to help bring down the N.U.R.V. company and stop Winston from destroying peoples' lives.

The acting is great from the entire cast...especially Ryan Phillippe, who is probably in one of his best roles yet. Rachael Leigh Cook plays Lisa, a smart girl who also works for the N.U.R.V. company and tries to help Milo. Tim Robbins, as always, is superb as the power-hungry company owner. The supporting cast is also excellent.

The DVD is really good, because it includes an Everclear music video, deleted scenes with director's commentary, and a featurette on computer crimes and such. The screenplay was well-written, and the film was engaging.

I recommend this for everybody who enjoys computer crime flicks!

Final Grade: A

Rating:
Summary: Geeks and Non-Geeks Will Enjoy!
Review: This movie is quite well done. I do believe that it is a thinly veiled shot at Microsoft (a bit of an exaggeration to get the point across that a company that huge can be rather evil). The cast is rather impressive. Tim Robbins, made up to look suspiciously like Bill Gates, was amazing as "Gary Winston," the C.E.O. of N.E.R.V., a software giant only comparable to that of the likes of Microsoft. Ryan Phillippe, plays "Milo Hoffman," a Stanford educated computer geek, who is hired by N.E.R.V. to complete work on the ultimate piece of media software called "Synapse." Milo's girlfriend, played by "Mallrats" veteran Claire Forlani, is rather good in her role. Rachael Leigh Cook, from "She's All That" is amazing too! I think that she gets better in every movie she is in.

This movie takes some pretty good twists and turns. It boils down to be murder mystery with a little bit of fighting "Big Brother." Generally, I am not a fan of suspense. It annoys me, because generally we always know which way it is heading. "Antitrust" has great suspense. It is never over-the-top. The movie can be rather unpredictable.

This movie is everything that movies like "Hackers" lack. It is obviously not going to be perfect representation of the Information Technology industry, but it is remarkably close (and really, that would was too close it would probably be bad for business). There are no flashy graphics when it comes to how the code and computers are used. Unlike "Hackers," geeks are geeks here; it isn't the rave scene going around playing computer "Robin Hoods." Not to say that there is too much "geek stuff" in the movie, but what is there looks and feels like the real thing.

"Antitrust" is the best tech movie I have ever seen. The cast is perfect. I have watched this DVD probably twenty times and have yet to tire seeing it. I recommend it to everyone I know in IT, and most anyone else too. The movie is top-shelf material.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Buy This Movie!!!
Review: OK, this movie is OK but trust me on this, DO NOT BUY THIS MOVIE!!! this movie is really good the 1st time, but after that...it sucks! if you want to see it, rent it! i liked it the 1st time i watched it, but then when i bought it and watched it again i was so disgusted with it! it was like it was two totally different movies (they are the same its just the second time you watch it, it sucks!) ya so just don't waste your $$$(money)!

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely appalling
Review: This movie finally pushed out "The Edge" (with Anthony Hopkins) to take top position in my list of "Worst movies of all time".

The acting is wooden, the plot tediously predictable, the characters less-than-one-dimensional, and the actresses were skanky. Worst of all, every element of the dastardly scheme which Ryan Phillippe's character uncovers is repeatedly explained ad nauseum as though the viewers were incapable of drawing any conclusions for themselves. For example, when the Bill Gates bad guy character says that the answer to a newly solved technological problem is "not in the box, it's in the band", we are treated to a full 10 minutes of flashbacks as Ryan remembers his friend, who was brutally murdered just recently, describing HIS OWN innovation with the exact same words - hmmmm, what could this possibly signify? Nope, can't work it out, how about some more flashbacks, and a shot of the bad guy's goons actually attacking the friend, to make it really obvious?

If you must watch this film, see it as a parody of the mainstream Hollywood family flick, and/or a demonstration of just how bad this style of film can be.

Rating:
Summary: Delicious Irony
Review: The main enjoyment of watching this movie for me was the irony that a motion picture made by Hollywood made a hero out of someone on the fringe of the open source camp. I didn't find it unbelievable that Ryan was working as a computer programmer, and I feel almost offended at the implication that computer programmers can't be shallow and image conscious just like everyone else. Believe me, we can.

The main disappointment was that many people who saw it either missed the fact that the bad guy was committing murder, and therefore wasn't just a corrupt businessman, or that they thought that everyone involved in open source believes in liberating other people's code, or that they missed that the villain had already committed copyright infringement.

Who shouldn't see this movie: Open source advocates - you'll either feel offended at being portrayed as extremists, or, if you are one, you won't want to pay money to an MPAA movie. Computer programmers - you'll probably end up spoiling the movie for the people around you as you explain that things don't work that way in real life, although at least you can point out that they use Linux on their workstations.

Who should see this movie: People who are related to computer programmers. While they don't get everything right, it's a start at explaining some concepts.

Rating:
Summary: What's the point?
Review: This movie is no more then a pitiful attempt to suggest that businessmen are selfish and corrupt. Ironically the most corrupt character is as selfless possible. The character Gary Winston has successfully launched his satellite system, he has a control over an entire network so why is he so desperate to have NERV in place? It would most certainly be cheaper to just buy one of the programs from all the kids knocking themselves out in garages all over the country then to develop NERV, and especially cheaper then to kill every character. This character is a pathetic fame seeker who is more concerned with being first, or for having an expensive daycare centre then making money. This is no more obvious when one sees that his program team selected based on degrees and awards, particularly Milo Hoffman is one of the most important programmers yet he never has to show a portfolio or sample programs. Are we expected to ignore theses facts, also why it is assumed investors in Synapse would have moles in such a campaign of mismanagement? They want to make money too!!! This type of ignorant film is what is not worth watching.

Rating:
Summary: Good and Evil in the computer industry
Review: I'm sure you're all fimiliar with the story line from other reviews, so I'll skip it, and go right into the issues.

The acting is superb, mainly because the actors and actresses are good ones. The stroy line is loosely based on events of the past few years in the computer industry. All this is great. But when the movie tries to protray the argument between the 'open source' / high priced software, the 'open source' good guys win. But somehow the 'high priced' software guys made a better case - putting some of the earnings back into development sounds a lot better than the 'knowledge belongs to mankind' ideology of the open source camp in the movie...