The Net

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Summary: It could happen.......
Review: This movie is about a young woman who just so happens to be a computer whiz. Her life is completely turned upside down and taken over when 'they' are after a diskette that she has in her possession. She is given a new identity of a woman who has a criminal past. To top it all off, her mother has alzheimer's and can't even identify her. This movie will definitely keep you glued to your seat.

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Rating:
Summary: The Lurking Fear
Review: For anyone who has ever logged on to the internet (and of course you have!) this movie will have you looking over your shoulder and seeking enrollment in a twelve step program for computer addiction. "The Net," directed by Irwin Winkler, stars Sandra Bullock as a computer nerd who has her identity-- her whole life, in fact-- snatched away from her with the stroke of a single key. Angela Bennett (Bullock) is a computer whiz kid who works out of her home finding flaws in and debugging new programs sent to her on disc by her employer. One day she inadvertently stumbles across one that is so big it sets off a chain reaction of intrigue that places her at the eye of the storm, though she hasn't a clue as to what it's all about. All she knows is that suddenly she's not herself any more; at least according the records stored on hard drives everywhere. And it's only the beginning of complications, the likes of which would give anyone with even the slightest bit of paranoia nightmares. With a plot that would make Kafka proud, this precursor to the even more paranoia-inducing "Enemy Of The State," is a dark, cautionary tale of the misuse of a technology that has quickly encompassed virtually every walk of life, yet without anyone having first harnessed the full fury of it's potential. A work of fiction? Of course; one could even say "science" fiction. But in this case the technology is already in place, and anyone who wants YOU badly enough need look no further than the data base of the DMV, a credit card bureau or the Post Office, and they will quickly know more about you than you know yourself. For those who would scoff, there's an old adage that goes something like: Anything that can be used "for" you can also be used "against" you. At the very least it's food for thought that could keep those with opposing views on the matter debating endlessly. Or, as in this case of this movie, it's enough to drive the average computer hacker to the brink of madness. Shades of Lovecraft. At any rate, Winkler has given us an engrossing film that is intense and so exasperating, as you can only sit by and watch helplessly as he puts Angela through her paces, while Bullock makes it all convincing with an excellent performance, making Angela believable as an average girl-next-door whose frame of reference doesn't go much beyond her computer screen. And all without making her too innocent or naive; she strikes an honest chord with her character that makes her one with whom the audience can readily identify, which is one of the strengths of the movie. She evokes such empathy that it's easy to feel what it would be like to be in her place; and through her eyes, it's not a pretty sight. The supporting cast includes Jeremy Northam (Jack), Dennis Miller (Alan), Diane Baker (Mrs. Bennett), Wendy Gazelle (Ruth Marx) and Ken Howard (Bergstrom). Along with the dawning of a new age in technology comes the birth of a new era in fiction that will forevermore be fueled by the microchip. And if "The Net" is any indication, buckle your seat belts, because it's going to be an intense, bumpy-- and highly entertaining-- ride (as already evidenced by "The Matrix," as well as the aforementioned "EOTS"). It's inevitable that the questions of possibility or probability will arise, especially when a film like this has a contemporary setting; but the most important thing to remember is that if projects such as this fall into capable hands, we'll all be in for some exciting cinema. It's all a matter of using the magic wisely.

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Summary: Identity Crisis
Review: The Net combines elements of techno paranoidism, action, and reverses the usual gender roles. The result is a little uneven, but still worth watching.

The premise is that an isolated, but brilliant, software engineer (Angela Bennett played by Sandra Bullock) has her identity stolen, when she stumbles across a conspiracy involving trap doors in a software security system used by many federal, state, and private databases.

Although stolen identities are a hot topic in today's issues, the ability to steal someone's identity is proportional to the how isolated an individual may be, and this theft is made easier because Angela's life is very isolated. She works out of her home and communicates primarily over the telephone and internet. There are lots of people who would like to meet her, but she puts them off.

The technological portion of the film that is interesting shows how a person, who depends on computerized output, can be murdered when someone else fools with the data bases. This happens over and over, as the conspiracy attempts to isolate and kill Angela.

The action part of this film involves most of the cliches common to this type of genre. We get the chase in the crowd, on the merry-go-round, in the darken street (several times), on the freeway, at the bridge crossing, on the boat, in the amusement park, and finally on the catwalk. The first couple of times are OK, but after a while it begins to get tired.

Fortunately the film is saved because it reverses the usual gender roles. Like true action heros, no one suddenly appears and SAVES Angela. Everyone she tries to get help from are either killed or isolated. In the end Angela saves herself using the same wits and knowledge that made her a much sought after engineer. She gets back her identity, exposes the conspiracy, and kills the bad guy.

I like Sandra Bullock. She has the isolated awkward character down pat, but still with enough pluck to fight back. Jeremy Northam's heavy is smooth enough to stare down a cobra, and seems to have a psychopathic personality that he trieds to hold in check. He gets his relief on a keyboard.

I wanted to scream at some of the technology holes in this film. The flashing terminal showing lots of overlaying screens which, I suppose, was suppose to represent the Trap Door was laughable. The way in which Angela tricks Jack into infecting the main system with a virus on the floppy without getting him to explicitly invoke the virus program is, well, not very realistic. One of my favorites was the ability for Angela to easily read binary code, and in a matter of seconds, identify and isolate an absolutely new virus. This is indeed a superwoman. There were lots of other things too, but they would only be distractions to people who actually make their living writing software.

I recommend this film.

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Summary: the net
Review: the net is one of the most amazing movie's ever made. the net is all about computers, wich may not be so interesting, but the storyline( angela losing her identity)definitely is.

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Summary: A great action movie...
Review: Sandra Bullock plays a computer analyst who works out of her home and doesn't know anyone. She lives a solitary life and had a boyfriend (Dennis Miller) but broke up with him. She is sent this disk that holds the secret for a program that can control computer systems and give the user full access. However the people who created it will stop at nothing to get it back. The plot is a little unrealistic. Since the Internet was in a fledgling stage when this movie was made its a little primitive. But the plot does well without it and the music is very good.

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Summary: Best Suspense Film of the Decade
Review: Sandra Bullock gives her best performance ever in this highly suspenseful movie. It competes with great suspense films such as The Client & The Firm to become the best in the decade (in my opinion). It isn't at all like The Pelican Brief which you have to see a couple of times till you figure out who most of the characters are. I have all of Bullock's films ( with the exception of Hope Floats ) in my video collection but this is by far the best. Rent it!

Rating:
Summary: Average.Com
Review: this film should have been more interesting considering the subject of the net but it gets stuck in Junk Mail cliches and never recovers.Sandra Bullock never could act and follows the Pattern here.a good idea gone frozen.

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Summary: A great suspence thriller.
Review: The Net is a good combination of action and suspence. adding a better plot than usual for action movies to some spectacular action scenes. While not quite realistic ( It shows an internet of the future rather than the present day ), the plot will keep you riveted, when people use the world's dependence on computer systems to play puppetmaster with an entire country dancing on the strings. To complement this the acting is outstanding. Bullock plays her best role ever (even better than Speed and While You Were Sleeping) and Jeremy Northam surpasses himself as the bad guy. I can not remember coming across a more despicable and totally unlikable villain. An excellent allround movie.

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Summary: A Net with too many holes
Review: The cover of this movie is probably very misleading. We were promised wild action and a captavating ride. Unfortunately this stretched to setting off a fire alarm and knocking over a clown ! Very slow to begin with and a little confusing. Sandra, as usual is great, and together with a thought provoking plot makes up for the short fallings. It's OK to see once, but only once.

Rating:
Summary: A great movie
Review: This is Sandra Bullock's best role ever (even better than Speed)! She plays a sexy computer savvy person who looks for security glitches in computer systems. If you want action and suspense & Mozarts Ghost watch this one.