The Net

At the dawn of the Cyber Epoch when the emboldened internet was beginning to prosper, a group of clever yet malevolent programmers sought to gain unprecedented 😏 limitless access.

Yet they didn't prognostically count upon a lone systems analyst in Venice, California, who one day stumbled across a cryptic disc unwittingly exposing their dishonest loci (Sandra Bullock as Mr. Bennett). 

She doesn't microanalyze it however before heading to Mexico on vacation, her first extended break in years, she still comes equipped with an ample workload.

Including the coveted disc the existence of which is known by the terrorists, who track her to that very same resort and arrive enamorously a' callin'.

After escaping her seducer's clutches (Jeremy Northam as Jack Devlin)f she unfortunately crashes her impromptu zodiac, and miraculously survives only to awake to find her identity has been stolen.

Not just her trusty ID everything she owns is in fact gone, she tries to verify her identity, but beyond cyberspace she hardly knows anyone.

Plus her mother is struggling with amnesia and barely recognizes her devout care (Diane Baker as Mrs. Bennett).

An ex can assist but their history's awkward (Dennis Miller as Dr. Champion).

It's psychotically defined worst case!

I suppose the odds of this happening are slim but just to be safe if you spend a lot of time online, make sure to still maintain a physical real-world appearance perhaps with neighbours or friends or family (awkward! [just kidding {sort of}]).

I know it's fun to escape on the net and pretend like you're in a sci-fi novel, but the real world also has compelling features like endemic wildlife, cheese and wine.

I wonder how the doomsday scenario presented in The Net plays out on a daily basis, or if the companies hired to provide internet security still have insane access to private information. 

When even the Supreme Court can't seem to keep a secret, you wonder if something's up.

But the checks and balances spiral out of control first someone designs the system and then you trust them to implement it. Then you hire someone else to try to break into it and trust what they're telling you is precise. To be safe, you hire another company to secretly monitor the first enterprise in question. But what if they all went to the same school? 

And devotedly love Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk?

Billions to keep things safe on top of what we already spend on hospitals and schools.

Law and order aficionados can be somewhat too serious. 

But you may want flag waving zealots for these specialized jobs.

And pay them well, they must get offered incredibly high sums to misinform. 

Cool film from back in the day.

Still remarkably relevant. 

*I'm not critiquing Edward Snowden. I think he should be pardoned. He risked everything for everyone. He couldn't be more North American.

Cold Dog Soup

An uptight sheltered individual (Frank Whaley as Michael Latchmer) unaccustomed to the underground flow finds himself suddenly embracing l'amour in Alan Metter's Cold Dog Soup.

His flirting skills clock timidity and uncertainty regarding self-worth, yet an act of daring assertion generates shocking relational mirth.

He's soon out for dinner at a love interest's (Christine Harnos as Sarah Hughes) with residing inquisitive mom (Sheree North as Mrs. Hughes), but as they begin to pass around victuals the family dog acrobatically passes.

He's tasked with the objective of burial and sets forth to find a chill park, but the cab in which he accelerates suggests alternative dispositions.

It's piloted by affirmation inclusively metering knowledge freewheeling (Randy Quaid as Jack Cloud), the chauffeur believing a commercial exchange may be more apt than confidential interment. 

Latchmer is ill-at-ease with the proposed moribund scenario, yet lacks the backbone required to refuse and soon attempts to fetch a fair price.

He does briefly escape then swiftly return to Sarah's apartment, but Cloud frenetically follows and enthusiastically enlists her.

They travel together far and wide in search of an appealing price, even contacting the frisky afterlife, learning lessons along the way.

Cold Dog Soup presents a voyage of discovery improvisationally attired, pursuing unorthodox financial goals through the heart of robust intrigue.

Worry and courage conflict throughout as it critiques austere pretensions, or vast categorical dismissals in relation to free-flowing life.

(I recommend taking it easy on the free-flowing these days. The virus isn't disappearing. I'm masking up and remaining cautious).

You could easily replace "worry" with "prudence" and "courage" with "recklessness" at times, but to do so would spoil the fun, which celebrates jazzy absurdist meaning.

It does so well, you'll be surprised by the budget, there's so much going on in this film, the trick is to acknowledge the latent realism without being fully subsumed.

It's sort of like The Warriors but instead of a gang fighting its way back to Coney Island throughout the night, you have a trio attempting to conduct business with different clients till the wee hours.

It's much more clever than it initially seems, the overt ridiculousness cloaks sly observation, beyond predictable commercial conceptions, at wild interactive free play.

A must see if you like independent filmmaking and the joys of why-did-they-make-this? cinema.

So many hilarious scenes.

Lampooning traditional discourse.