Hackers - reView
November 5, 2018 6:23 PM Subscribe
Red Letter Media Re:Views Hackers, the 1995 computer action movie, with their new friend, Macaulay Culkin (pictured here with the President of the United States)
I like re:View, but these yahoos don't get Hackers at all.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 7:15 PM on November 5, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by lefty lucky cat at 7:15 PM on November 5, 2018 [4 favorites]
I like re:View, but these yahoos don't get Hackers at all.
Oh come on, they somewhat got it.
posted by aubilenon at 7:27 PM on November 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
Oh come on, they somewhat got it.
posted by aubilenon at 7:27 PM on November 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
"like a fine wine frozen in your freezer"
"it's aged well in the fact that it hasn't aged well at all."
posted by philip-random at 7:27 PM on November 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
"it's aged well in the fact that it hasn't aged well at all."
posted by philip-random at 7:27 PM on November 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
It was received contemporaneously as ripe cheese; it needed no aging. How could even time itself make Hackers more splendidly ludicrous than it was on day one? To their credit, they recognized the brilliance of Matthew Lillard as Cereal Killer, but merely mentioned cowboys and samurais instead of getting us where we were meant to go: Hackers as the degraded Magnificent Seven/Seven Samurai of a lesser age.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 7:40 PM on November 5, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by lefty lucky cat at 7:40 PM on November 5, 2018 [5 favorites]
OMG, I've just realized I've never seen this movie but always thought I had because I confused the title with Sneakers.
I mean, that's a pretty mild realization to have, and I don't know what I will do with it because this movie sounds pretty bad, but there you go.
posted by nubs at 7:51 PM on November 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
I mean, that's a pretty mild realization to have, and I don't know what I will do with it because this movie sounds pretty bad, but there you go.
posted by nubs at 7:51 PM on November 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
Hackers is the Sneakers your teenage lizard brain wanted
posted by lefty lucky cat at 7:54 PM on November 5, 2018 [20 favorites]
posted by lefty lucky cat at 7:54 PM on November 5, 2018 [20 favorites]
They don't get it, really, but it's OK. Hackers is a movie that thinks it knows what was cool in the 90's, but really has no fucking clue. The Crow knew exactly what was cool.
posted by Brocktoon at 8:06 PM on November 5, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Brocktoon at 8:06 PM on November 5, 2018 [6 favorites]
I wish this movie would fade from memory.
I was at a conference recently, where the speaker started off something like this: "I got into computers because I saw Hackers. Who else here got into computers because of Hackers? Well I was disappointed to learn that not all women in computing look like Angelina Jolie."
Ugh. Just ugh.
posted by sardonyx at 8:07 PM on November 5, 2018 [12 favorites]
I was at a conference recently, where the speaker started off something like this: "I got into computers because I saw Hackers. Who else here got into computers because of Hackers? Well I was disappointed to learn that not all women in computing look like Angelina Jolie."
Ugh. Just ugh.
posted by sardonyx at 8:07 PM on November 5, 2018 [12 favorites]
I like the reading of Hackers that they Are. Not. Cool. They're performative dorks and and they are proud of it.
posted by thecjm at 8:21 PM on November 5, 2018 [13 favorites]
posted by thecjm at 8:21 PM on November 5, 2018 [13 favorites]
Hackers is the Sneakers your teenage lizard brain wanted
Sort of. It would have needed Robert Redford in the skintight pleather miniskirt instead of Johnny Lee Miller to really fit that description.
posted by radwolf76 at 8:51 PM on November 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
Sort of. It would have needed Robert Redford in the skintight pleather miniskirt instead of Johnny Lee Miller to really fit that description.
posted by radwolf76 at 8:51 PM on November 5, 2018 [3 favorites]
One of my friends loved this movie and I was embarrassed for him.
posted by peeedro at 8:53 PM on November 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by peeedro at 8:53 PM on November 5, 2018 [1 favorite]
thecjm: " They're performative dorks and and they are proud of it."
Ya, with the possible exception of Curtis none of the characters is cool.
posted by Mitheral at 9:01 PM on November 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
Ya, with the possible exception of Curtis none of the characters is cool.
posted by Mitheral at 9:01 PM on November 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's still a great cheezy movie with an excellent sound track.
posted by Mitheral at 9:04 PM on November 5, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 9:04 PM on November 5, 2018 [6 favorites]
The best part of Hackers is when they do the book identification, which has enough authenticity to let the filmmakers tell you they know what's real, but fuck you. Everything else follows from that.
posted by mobunited at 9:28 PM on November 5, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by mobunited at 9:28 PM on November 5, 2018 [6 favorites]
The reviewers make fun of handles implying they were over the top; which everyone on certain BBSes/USENET groups/websites had at the time and the movie ones weren't atypical at all. EG: some of the handles of the guys from lOpht Heavy Industries were Brian Oblivion, Count Zero, Dildog, Kingpin, Silicosis, Space Rogue, Weld Pond and Mudge. An associated group, Cult of the Dead Cow, had members with handles such as Sir Dystic, The Deth Vegetable, FreqOut, Oxblood Ruffin, Omega, White Knight, Reid Fleming, Krass Katt, Lord Digital, Obscure Images, Tweety Fish, Lady Carolin, ChukE, JavaMan, Sunspot, Count Zero, Mixter and Assrabbit.
posted by Mitheral at 9:54 PM on November 5, 2018 [15 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 9:54 PM on November 5, 2018 [15 favorites]
I believe they were suggesting that the handles, the outsized importance of having such a handle, and the term handle itself have all aged so poorly that they now feel surreal.
posted by seraphine at 10:23 PM on November 5, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by seraphine at 10:23 PM on November 5, 2018 [7 favorites]
The thing about Hackers, is that it gave an honest try. If you look past the eye-candy that they splashed the screen with so that people with zero understanding of computers could still get some enjoyment out of it, and instead just listen to the dialog, everything that is described was all plausible using the technology of the day.
Ok, so some of the jargon when they're geeking out over Kate's laptop was a bit off even for 1995, but if you account for the lag between when the script was written and the scene was filmed, some of that stuff actaully was what 1993 thought the new hotness of computing in 1995 would be. Given that the P5 Pentium's major competitor was the RISC-based PowerPC 601 from the Apple-IBM-Motorola alliance, it wasn't entirely off-base to suspect that Intel could adopt that design philosophy for the P6.
When you compare it to how computers were depicted in other movies of the era, it's still miles better. The less said about the Sandra Bullock vehicle, The Net, the better. The first Tom Cruise Mission impossible lacked a basic understanding of the difference between USENET and email, or even how an email address was formatted, and its iconic drop-from-the-air-vent-on-a-cable-to-avoid-the-CIA's-pressure-sensitive-floor scene falls apart with the question of why the terminal itself wasn't locked down with two-factor authentication whenever the other security measures were active (also this movie too makes mention of "686 experimental RISC", making the same advance speculation in its scriptwriting that Hackers did).
Of course, the gold standard for accurate depictions of computing in 90s movies is probably Sneakers, but Hackers is a somewhat close second place, probably tied with Jurassic Park for Silver. The much maligned visuals for "It's a UNIX system!" was actually a real utility provided with Silicon Graphics IRIX systems, called FSN. Jurassic Park loses a few points however, for failing to disguise the fact that their live camera feed was just a prerecorded QuickTime video.
Stepping away from the computing aspect of it, Red Letter Media's review also rips into the fashion in Hackers, but honestly, most of that seems to come straight from the pages of Mondo 2000 which was probably as much art school student as it was hacker, but it at least defined a consistent baseline look that translated recognizably to the screen. Though sometimes I wonder if they based it specifically on that one time Mondo 2000 indulged in self parody.
posted by radwolf76 at 10:27 PM on November 5, 2018 [16 favorites]
Ok, so some of the jargon when they're geeking out over Kate's laptop was a bit off even for 1995, but if you account for the lag between when the script was written and the scene was filmed, some of that stuff actaully was what 1993 thought the new hotness of computing in 1995 would be. Given that the P5 Pentium's major competitor was the RISC-based PowerPC 601 from the Apple-IBM-Motorola alliance, it wasn't entirely off-base to suspect that Intel could adopt that design philosophy for the P6.
When you compare it to how computers were depicted in other movies of the era, it's still miles better. The less said about the Sandra Bullock vehicle, The Net, the better. The first Tom Cruise Mission impossible lacked a basic understanding of the difference between USENET and email, or even how an email address was formatted, and its iconic drop-from-the-air-vent-on-a-cable-to-avoid-the-CIA's-pressure-sensitive-floor scene falls apart with the question of why the terminal itself wasn't locked down with two-factor authentication whenever the other security measures were active (also this movie too makes mention of "686 experimental RISC", making the same advance speculation in its scriptwriting that Hackers did).
Of course, the gold standard for accurate depictions of computing in 90s movies is probably Sneakers, but Hackers is a somewhat close second place, probably tied with Jurassic Park for Silver. The much maligned visuals for "It's a UNIX system!" was actually a real utility provided with Silicon Graphics IRIX systems, called FSN. Jurassic Park loses a few points however, for failing to disguise the fact that their live camera feed was just a prerecorded QuickTime video.
Stepping away from the computing aspect of it, Red Letter Media's review also rips into the fashion in Hackers, but honestly, most of that seems to come straight from the pages of Mondo 2000 which was probably as much art school student as it was hacker, but it at least defined a consistent baseline look that translated recognizably to the screen. Though sometimes I wonder if they based it specifically on that one time Mondo 2000 indulged in self parody.
posted by radwolf76 at 10:27 PM on November 5, 2018 [16 favorites]
most of that seems to come straight from the pages of Mondo 2000 which was probably
confusion is always next.
Mondo 2000 hit the scene in 1990 as I recall, or maybe it was 91, and yeah, it felt necessary at the time. But it was definitely a spent load well before 1995. At least, it was in my narrow world, which happened to include a bunch of self-defined "hackers" (not to be confused with geeks or, way worse, nerds). I remember some of them seeing Hackers (the movie) and HATING it, it got EVERYTHING wrong.
The movie it now reminds me of is St. Elmo's Fire, which was an 80s attempt to cash in on (and somehow raise the game of) the so-called Brat Pack. An awful movie. An amazing movie. Viewed from a thirty odd year distance, it probably has more to say about what was truly, humiliatingly NOW in 1985 than any bunch of mega-award winners. I continue to argue for its resurrection as a Broadway musical. Maybe that could work for Hackers, too.
posted by philip-random at 11:03 PM on November 5, 2018 [4 favorites]
confusion is always next.
Mondo 2000 hit the scene in 1990 as I recall, or maybe it was 91, and yeah, it felt necessary at the time. But it was definitely a spent load well before 1995. At least, it was in my narrow world, which happened to include a bunch of self-defined "hackers" (not to be confused with geeks or, way worse, nerds). I remember some of them seeing Hackers (the movie) and HATING it, it got EVERYTHING wrong.
The movie it now reminds me of is St. Elmo's Fire, which was an 80s attempt to cash in on (and somehow raise the game of) the so-called Brat Pack. An awful movie. An amazing movie. Viewed from a thirty odd year distance, it probably has more to say about what was truly, humiliatingly NOW in 1985 than any bunch of mega-award winners. I continue to argue for its resurrection as a Broadway musical. Maybe that could work for Hackers, too.
posted by philip-random at 11:03 PM on November 5, 2018 [4 favorites]
I'm not going to lie, when I went to a MetaFilter meetup and everyone introduced themselves by their usernames, it totally felt like I had intruded on some sort of Hackers-esque world. It's the only place I've been where that was a thing. I introduced myself by my first name, and people were like "no, what's your username?!" And I felt like "wow, the 90s future is here and beer is so expensive!"
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 12:02 AM on November 6, 2018 [26 favorites]
posted by shapes that haunt the dusk at 12:02 AM on November 6, 2018 [26 favorites]
"I got into computers because I saw Hackers. Who else here got into computers because of Hackers? Well I was disappointed to learn that not all women in computing look like Angelina Jolie."
I got into computers partly because of Tron, and I was disappointed to learn I couldn't throw frisbees at people and make them explode.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:41 AM on November 6, 2018 [17 favorites]
I got into computers partly because of Tron, and I was disappointed to learn I couldn't throw frisbees at people and make them explode.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 1:41 AM on November 6, 2018 [17 favorites]
I mainly remembered him as a kid actor playing somewhat obnoxious characters, but he’s really pretty watchable now, and has a great energy.
I've only ever seen him in Saved, and he's great in that.
posted by pompomtom at 2:10 AM on November 6, 2018 [4 favorites]
I've only ever seen him in Saved, and he's great in that.
posted by pompomtom at 2:10 AM on November 6, 2018 [4 favorites]
The thing about Hackers and Sneakers is that Sneakers was already out. Now, Sneakers put the director (whose previous release was Field of Dreams) in director's jail, not making another movie for 10 years and not even TV for 8, but Hackers could have improved upon it instead of...not. I think one thing techno screenwriters forget is that gibberish is gibberish to the audience, the technical stuff can be anything, so why not make it real?
posted by rhizome at 3:19 AM on November 6, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 3:19 AM on November 6, 2018 [3 favorites]
OMG, I've just realized I've never seen this movie but always thought I had because I confused the title with Sneakers.
Hackers was in theaters at the same time as Clockers. I went to see Hackers, and when the movie started, an elderly couple behind me started chattering to each other, and finally the wife turned to her neighbor and said, “Is this the Spike Lee joint?”
They shuffled out quickly. This was the same theater where a man (possibly the same man) seated behind me, after the “no smoking” ad played, said, “Fuck that, I’m lighting up!” and proceeded to smoke a cigar. (The film was Tank Girl.)
posted by uncleozzy at 3:32 AM on November 6, 2018 [9 favorites]
Hackers was in theaters at the same time as Clockers. I went to see Hackers, and when the movie started, an elderly couple behind me started chattering to each other, and finally the wife turned to her neighbor and said, “Is this the Spike Lee joint?”
They shuffled out quickly. This was the same theater where a man (possibly the same man) seated behind me, after the “no smoking” ad played, said, “Fuck that, I’m lighting up!” and proceeded to smoke a cigar. (The film was Tank Girl.)
posted by uncleozzy at 3:32 AM on November 6, 2018 [9 favorites]
Emanuel Goldstein, editor of 2600 magazine, was a consultant on Hackers. I have no evidence of this, but I like to think the movie is so amazing because he was trolling the Hollywood folks.
I manage a red team these days. This movie is still one of my favorite things. My wife thinks I'm insane, but most everyone in the infosec community that's my age gets it.
Local infosec groups have had watch parties. They consistently sell out. In a credit to Row House Cinemas, when a local group contacted them about a screening, the response was "We'll show it, and you can have an after-party using the pool on the roof."
The soundtrack to this movie is amazing. It was one of my key stepping stones to hitting up local raves.
These kids might just be performative dorks. It's got a lot of subtext for people in the community, in my opinion. I think it's unintentional greatness. The movie feels like a tongue in cheek look at the earnest dreams of a wannabe hacker. It's not satire, though -- its rereading your old livejournal entries. Nostalgic and ridiculous all at the same time.
It's performative in the same way buzzword bingo is in corporate meetings. It's exactly why I'm always Zero Cool whenever there's a kahoot in a Town Hall, and there are always knowing smiles.
Maybe I'm the performative dork.
posted by bfranklin at 3:48 AM on November 6, 2018 [28 favorites]
I manage a red team these days. This movie is still one of my favorite things. My wife thinks I'm insane, but most everyone in the infosec community that's my age gets it.
Local infosec groups have had watch parties. They consistently sell out. In a credit to Row House Cinemas, when a local group contacted them about a screening, the response was "We'll show it, and you can have an after-party using the pool on the roof."
The soundtrack to this movie is amazing. It was one of my key stepping stones to hitting up local raves.
These kids might just be performative dorks. It's got a lot of subtext for people in the community, in my opinion. I think it's unintentional greatness. The movie feels like a tongue in cheek look at the earnest dreams of a wannabe hacker. It's not satire, though -- its rereading your old livejournal entries. Nostalgic and ridiculous all at the same time.
It's performative in the same way buzzword bingo is in corporate meetings. It's exactly why I'm always Zero Cool whenever there's a kahoot in a Town Hall, and there are always knowing smiles.
Maybe I'm the performative dork.
posted by bfranklin at 3:48 AM on November 6, 2018 [28 favorites]
> I believe they were suggesting. that the handles, the outsized importance of having such a handle, and the term handle itself have all aged so poorly that they now feel surreal.
That’s why everyone just uses their real names on metafilter, or their real name plus some identifier so people remember who they are.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 4:01 AM on November 6, 2018 [10 favorites]
That’s why everyone just uses their real names on metafilter, or their real name plus some identifier so people remember who they are.
posted by Reclusive Novelist Thomas Pynchon at 4:01 AM on November 6, 2018 [10 favorites]
Bfranklin gets it Totally dead on the money for a certain group of people.
posted by Bovine Love at 4:20 AM on November 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Bovine Love at 4:20 AM on November 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
I think technological accuracy is overrated for inspirational media. I loved William Gibson, who I later found out expected his computer to contain a glowing, pulsing blue crystal.
posted by Pronoiac at 4:35 AM on November 6, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Pronoiac at 4:35 AM on November 6, 2018 [4 favorites]
Now, Sneakers put the director (whose previous release was Field of Dreams) in director's jail, not making another movie for 10 years and not even TV for 8, but Hackers could have improved upon it instead of...not.
(a) Hackers is great how dare you and
(b) Sneakers is also great, am I missing some awful and incorrect consensus that it's not one of the best movies ever? The cast has phenomenal chemistry and it's subterfuge and spies and Redford and Poitier and one of the only non-Ghostbusters roles that Dan Ackroyd has ever been good in and Setec Astronomy and beacons and oh god what is wrong with a world where this get someone blackballed?!
posted by tocts at 4:49 AM on November 6, 2018 [10 favorites]
(a) Hackers is great how dare you and
(b) Sneakers is also great, am I missing some awful and incorrect consensus that it's not one of the best movies ever? The cast has phenomenal chemistry and it's subterfuge and spies and Redford and Poitier and one of the only non-Ghostbusters roles that Dan Ackroyd has ever been good in and Setec Astronomy and beacons and oh god what is wrong with a world where this get someone blackballed?!
posted by tocts at 4:49 AM on November 6, 2018 [10 favorites]
I was disappointed to learn I couldn't throw frisbees at people and make them explode.
Maybe you could, if you threw them hard enough.
posted by 1adam12 at 4:59 AM on November 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
Maybe you could, if you threw them hard enough.
posted by 1adam12 at 4:59 AM on November 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
I love this movie so, so much. It is just absolutely fun from start to finish. It's funny, it's good-natured, and it sort of captured a certain moment of Mondo 2000-style techno goofiness just before it peaked. I mean, there's a even feel-good bit at the end where all hackers all over the world pitch in to save the day because The Internet Will Bring Us All Together. Remember when the internet was going to be a force for good? Hackers remembers.
The thing impresses me most about this movie, though, is how little there is to be embarrassed about in liking it. The cast is effortlessly multiracial, there's no bullshit with anyone being surprised a girl can hack, and it's a film about teenagers that skips just about all the teenage sex comedy tropes. It's optimistic-- hell, the bad guy's defining characteristic is his cynicism!-- and the soundtrack is just silly techno candy right out of the gate. I've started to see so many flaws in the movies I idolized as a kid, but Hackers holds up. I can recommend it to anyone, and no one is going to walk away saying "that movie made me feel bad". I can't really say that about any other movie I like, really.
posted by phooky at 5:09 AM on November 6, 2018 [23 favorites]
The thing impresses me most about this movie, though, is how little there is to be embarrassed about in liking it. The cast is effortlessly multiracial, there's no bullshit with anyone being surprised a girl can hack, and it's a film about teenagers that skips just about all the teenage sex comedy tropes. It's optimistic-- hell, the bad guy's defining characteristic is his cynicism!-- and the soundtrack is just silly techno candy right out of the gate. I've started to see so many flaws in the movies I idolized as a kid, but Hackers holds up. I can recommend it to anyone, and no one is going to walk away saying "that movie made me feel bad". I can't really say that about any other movie I like, really.
posted by phooky at 5:09 AM on November 6, 2018 [23 favorites]
"I thought you was black, man!"
Says the guy with the photographic memory.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 5:32 AM on November 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
Says the guy with the photographic memory.
posted by rum-soaked space hobo at 5:32 AM on November 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
Look, Hackers was SO freaking earnest and tried SO hard, mocking it is like kicking that two-legged dog...
posted by Samizdata at 6:12 AM on November 6, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by Samizdata at 6:12 AM on November 6, 2018 [3 favorites]
Says the guy with the photographic memory about the kid who was a minor at the time and whose name and photograph were thus not published.
(Come to think of it, there are surprisingly few actual plot holes in this movie.)
posted by phooky at 6:30 AM on November 6, 2018 [6 favorites]
(Come to think of it, there are surprisingly few actual plot holes in this movie.)
posted by phooky at 6:30 AM on November 6, 2018 [6 favorites]
So I went from loving this movie when I was 12, hating it when I was a serious 18 year old and now that I'm in my 30s I'm back to loving it. It's so gorgeously over the top that I cannot stop laughing while watching it. Whenever I see a friend of mine, the first one of us to leave will inevitably hang out of the rear window of the taxi shouting "hack the planet". It's so dumb but I laugh every time.
posted by atrazine at 6:45 AM on November 6, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by atrazine at 6:45 AM on November 6, 2018 [6 favorites]
I unironically still love Hackers, which came out the year I graduated from college.
Related, I was super active on local BBSs at the time.
posted by desuetude at 6:56 AM on November 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Related, I was super active on local BBSs at the time.
posted by desuetude at 6:56 AM on November 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
I used to have disdain for Hackers for a long time. I remember some guy I worked with telling me he got into computers/infosec because of Hackers. I remember making fun of him and thinking less of him after that.
My problem was getting caught up on how "unrealistic" things were... I was missing the bigger picture tho, which was that deep down, I WISHED shit was like that. I secretly wished that hackers and phreakers were cool, that you could have that sort of Fast N Furious family vibe, that people would look at you flying through the 3d cityscape and sort of understand what you were doing to this network....
I was upset that reality wasn't more like Hackers. That was my real problem. I just took a long time to finally realize it and admit it to myself. Sorry Johnny P, it's actually pretty cool that Hackers got you into the industry.
posted by some loser at 6:59 AM on November 6, 2018 [3 favorites]
My problem was getting caught up on how "unrealistic" things were... I was missing the bigger picture tho, which was that deep down, I WISHED shit was like that. I secretly wished that hackers and phreakers were cool, that you could have that sort of Fast N Furious family vibe, that people would look at you flying through the 3d cityscape and sort of understand what you were doing to this network....
I was upset that reality wasn't more like Hackers. That was my real problem. I just took a long time to finally realize it and admit it to myself. Sorry Johnny P, it's actually pretty cool that Hackers got you into the industry.
posted by some loser at 6:59 AM on November 6, 2018 [3 favorites]
I was disappointed to learn I couldn't throw frisbees at people and make them explode.
A friend of mine got two teeth knocked out by a frisbee. How explode-y does it need to be to qualify?
posted by biffa at 7:01 AM on November 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
A friend of mine got two teeth knocked out by a frisbee. How explode-y does it need to be to qualify?
posted by biffa at 7:01 AM on November 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
Wow people hating in Hackers here, and people hating on Neil Gaiman in the Gormanghast thread... Metafilter What have you become ??
::shakes head::
posted by Faintdreams at 7:06 AM on November 6, 2018 [4 favorites]
::shakes head::
posted by Faintdreams at 7:06 AM on November 6, 2018 [4 favorites]
There is not one damn thing wrong with this movie.
posted by 256 at 7:18 AM on November 6, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by 256 at 7:18 AM on November 6, 2018 [3 favorites]
am I missing some awful and incorrect consensus that it's not one of the best movies ever
Roger Ebert's review of Sneakers from the time. At 2 and half stars he describes the film as
Roger Ebert's review of Sneakers from the time. At 2 and half stars he describes the film as
"It's a sometimes entertaining movie, but thin."posted by Ashwagandha at 7:31 AM on November 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
A friend of mine got two teeth knocked out by a frisbee. How explode-y does it need to be to qualify?
If your friend still exists as a flesh-and-blood human and not a cloud of glowy randomized bits, it wasn't enough to qualify.
I am the Arbiter of Explosions.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 7:44 AM on November 6, 2018 [3 favorites]
If your friend still exists as a flesh-and-blood human and not a cloud of glowy randomized bits, it wasn't enough to qualify.
I am the Arbiter of Explosions.
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 7:44 AM on November 6, 2018 [3 favorites]
There is not one damn thing wrong with this movie.
Well, there is the editing error when they are watching the interview with the FBI guy on TV before Joey gets arrested and you see... Joey getting arrested in the background.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 7:54 AM on November 6, 2018
Well, there is the editing error when they are watching the interview with the FBI guy on TV before Joey gets arrested and you see... Joey getting arrested in the background.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 7:54 AM on November 6, 2018
Emanuel Goldstein, editor of 2600 magazine, was a consultant on Hackers. I have no evidence of this, but I like to think the movie is so amazing because he was trolling the Hollywood folks.
No, I really don't think he was. The production people turned up at the HOPE conference in New York in '94 to take pictures to get costuming/production ideas. This was complicated for them as the modal hacker at that conference was wearing a black t-shirt with a vaguely corporate t-shirt inspired design on the left breast and some poorly designed hacker logo on the back, accessorized with ill-fitting black jeans and black reeboks. The non-black conference t-shirts at HOPE were considered an extremely bold fashion move. The production people were thus obviously delighted to find my friend FreqOut, who was wearing a jumpsuit with flames painted all over it, had a mohawk, and had glued a chip to his head with spirit gum. They also took quite a few pictures of my friend Majikthys, who was screwing with the payphone in the lobby outside the conference room and had at least dyed his hair blue.
When we saw the movie and everybody looked like the Ultimate St. Marks Raver we turned to FreqOut and said "this is all your fault!"
I like the movie, although of course it's absurd. The least realistic thing to my mind is the rollerblading. We rode bicycles to go trashing, yo.
There are excellent but almost certainly apocryphal stories about the wrap party, to which a bunch of the NYC/2600/MoD scene types were invited, but I don't think I can share those here.
-- Tweety Fish, Cult of the Dead Cow
posted by tfish at 8:16 AM on November 6, 2018 [32 favorites]
No, I really don't think he was. The production people turned up at the HOPE conference in New York in '94 to take pictures to get costuming/production ideas. This was complicated for them as the modal hacker at that conference was wearing a black t-shirt with a vaguely corporate t-shirt inspired design on the left breast and some poorly designed hacker logo on the back, accessorized with ill-fitting black jeans and black reeboks. The non-black conference t-shirts at HOPE were considered an extremely bold fashion move. The production people were thus obviously delighted to find my friend FreqOut, who was wearing a jumpsuit with flames painted all over it, had a mohawk, and had glued a chip to his head with spirit gum. They also took quite a few pictures of my friend Majikthys, who was screwing with the payphone in the lobby outside the conference room and had at least dyed his hair blue.
When we saw the movie and everybody looked like the Ultimate St. Marks Raver we turned to FreqOut and said "this is all your fault!"
I like the movie, although of course it's absurd. The least realistic thing to my mind is the rollerblading. We rode bicycles to go trashing, yo.
There are excellent but almost certainly apocryphal stories about the wrap party, to which a bunch of the NYC/2600/MoD scene types were invited, but I don't think I can share those here.
-- Tweety Fish, Cult of the Dead Cow
posted by tfish at 8:16 AM on November 6, 2018 [32 favorites]
Well, there is the editing error when they are watching the interview with the FBI guy on TV before Joey gets arrested and you see... Joey getting arrested in the background.
Tachyon stream cross-contamination. It's explained in the novelization.
posted by phooky at 9:19 AM on November 6, 2018 [7 favorites]
Tachyon stream cross-contamination. It's explained in the novelization.
posted by phooky at 9:19 AM on November 6, 2018 [7 favorites]
the best part about hackers is after its over and your eyes don't work anymore and you're deaf too and you realize you never have to watch or listen to anything ever again as a smile slowly spreads across your face
posted by Bwentman at 9:19 AM on November 6, 2018
posted by Bwentman at 9:19 AM on November 6, 2018
> Faintdreams:
"Wow people hating in Hackers here, and people hating on Neil Gaiman in the Gormanghast thread... Metafilter What have you become ??
::shakes head::"
Who's Hackers Hating? Not me...
posted by Samizdata at 9:20 AM on November 6, 2018
"Wow people hating in Hackers here, and people hating on Neil Gaiman in the Gormanghast thread... Metafilter What have you become ??
::shakes head::"
Who's Hackers Hating? Not me...
posted by Samizdata at 9:20 AM on November 6, 2018
Hackers! What a movie. It's been like 45 years since I last watched it but I still remember just enough to rewrite the script incorrectly from memory.
SCENE 1: The Big Party
INT. BIG PARTY — NIGHT
THE GUY FROM SLC PUNK AND SCOOBY-DOO WHO HAD A GOOD RUN IN THE NINETIES is at a RAVE with ANGELINA JOLIE and their cool hacker crew, CRASH OVERRIDE, MATRIX EFFECT, and DAVID BSOD.
SCENE 2: The Big Arrest
INT. SUBURBAN HOUSE — NIGHT
DAVID BSOD is hacking at night with MACINTOSH QUADRA. He wants to be as cool as GUY FROM SLC PUNK and sometimes he even thinks he is but sometimes he doesn't know.
SCENE 3: Finding out about the stuff
EXT. THE CITY AT A LAN PARTY — NIGHT
The rest of the hacker crew is at a LAN party with drinks when MATRIX EFFECT arrives
SCENE 4: THE BOAT GUY has a plan
INT. OFFICE IN A SKYSCRAPER — NIGHT.
THE BOAT GUY is in a big computer office with PENN AND TELLER.
SCENE 5: Stealings
INT. DAVID BSOD'S HOUSE — NIGHT
MR. AND MRS. BSOD are reading a newspaper printed on actual paper. MR. BSOD is smoking a pipe when THE DOORBELL rings.
SCENE 6: Stealings 2
INT. BEST BUY — NIGHT.
THE MATRIX EFFECT hacks a lock to steal a computer on a pay phone.
SCENE 7: The crazy part
INT. HACKER PARTY — NIGHT.
The whole HACKER CREW is back at their base having a hacker party. ANGELINA JOLIE drives in on her Kawasaki Ninja carrying a MACINTOSH QUADRA in her messenger bag.
INT. COMPUTER OFFICE IN THE BIG SKYSCRAPER — NIGHT
INT. HACKER PARTY — NIGHT
EVERYONE is hacking
INT. THE BOAT GUY SKYSCRAPER'S COMPUTER OFFICE — NIGHT
A big COMPUTER SCREEN has COOKIE MONSTER on it.
INT. THE FEDS OFFICE — NIGHT
THE FEDS are on their UNIX terminals.
EXT. GIANT BOAT — DAYTIME BECAUSE IT'S ANOTHER TIME ZONE
MUSIC CUE: Ominous music about the the world economy
INT. GIANT BOAT — STILL DAYTIME ON THE SAME BOAT IN THE SAME OTHER TIME ZONE
A mechanical part does something connected to a computer
INT. HACKER PARTY — NIGHT BECAUSE WE'RE BACK IN THE FIRST TIME ZONE
EXT. THE BIG BOAT — DAYTIME FOR AFOREMENTIONED TIME ZONE REASON
SOUND EFFECT: Mechanical whir shutting down and slowing to a halt
INT. BIG BOAT — DAYTIME SAME THING
SOUND EFFECT: Like something got unplugged. THING THAT IS HAPPENING: The mechanical part connected to the computer turns off. ALSO a blinking light also turns off. There is a Garfield doll with suction-cup feet in the room.
INT. AIRPLANE — NIGHT
The PILOT and COOKIE MONSTER approach BOAT GUY in his luxurious first-class seat
SCENE 8: The ending before the ending
EXT. FEDERAL COMPUTER PRISON — NIGHT
DAVID BSOD is released from prison. ANGELINA JOLIE picks him up on her Kawasaki Ninja. She throws MACINTOSH QUADRA into his open arms.
SCENE 9: The real ending
EXT. THE CITY IN A POOL — NIGHT BUT YOU THINK MAYBE IT COULD BE THE MORNING IN A COUPLE HOURS
ANGELINA JOLIE and GUY FROM SLC PUNK are in the pool hacking.
[ROLL CREDITS]
BONUS SCENE 10: The ending from Poltergeist
EXT. HOLIDAY INN — NIGHT
The whole HACKER CREW walks into a room at a Holiday Inn. The door shuts. The door opens and GUY FROM SLC PUNK pushes the TV out of the room and looks around. He walks back into the Holiday Inn.
END.
posted by compartment at 9:31 AM on November 6, 2018 [21 favorites]
INT. BIG PARTY — NIGHT
THE GUY FROM SLC PUNK AND SCOOBY-DOO WHO HAD A GOOD RUN IN THE NINETIES is at a RAVE with ANGELINA JOLIE and their cool hacker crew, CRASH OVERRIDE, MATRIX EFFECT, and DAVID BSOD.
The rave intensifies. WEIRD AL plays "All About the Pentiums" on stage.GUY FROM SLC PUNK
What a big party
CRASH OVERRIDE
No way man, no way, I've seen way bigger. This is medium.
DAVID BSOD
I agree with both of you
ANGELINA JOLIE
Did you hear about the new hack?
INT. SUBURBAN HOUSE — NIGHT
DAVID BSOD is hacking at night with MACINTOSH QUADRA. He wants to be as cool as GUY FROM SLC PUNK and sometimes he even thinks he is but sometimes he doesn't know.
DAVID BSOD presses THE SPACE BAR. On the computer screen of his MACINTOSH QUADRA, a box appears.DAVID BSOD (VOICEOVER)
I'm in THE BOAT GUY's mainframe. Let's rock and roll.
Suddenly the door bursts open! THE FEDS have guns and handcuffs.MACINTOSH QUADRA
Uploading script. Virus! Virus! Downloading mainframe.
THE FEDS arrest DAVID BSOD and carry him from his room. He freaks out.THE FEDS #1
You're under arrest for computer hacking!
THE FEDS #2
Say good bye to MACINTOSH QUADRA!
DAVID BSOD
Nooo! MACINTOSH QUADRA! MACINTOSH QUADRA! You can't do this to me! I want to be a cool hacker!
EXT. THE CITY AT A LAN PARTY — NIGHT
The rest of the hacker crew is at a LAN party with drinks when MATRIX EFFECT arrives
GUY FROM SLC PUNK
Oh man, this is crazy, it's all over Usenet! Everyone is freaking out!
MATRIX EFFECT
What? I just got here. I haven't logged on for three hours and am jonesing for downloads. My modem is broken!
CRASH OVERRIDE
THE FEDS arrested DAVID BSOD! They got him on federal hacking charges! But the whole Usenet says that DAVID downloaded a mainframe with secret info from THE BOAT GUY!
GUY FROM SLC PUNK
No way! DAVID BSOD is just a script kiddie! He can't hack!
ANGELINA JOLIE
You need to check it; you used to be just like DAVID. Remember your first EXE? I think this is real. The secret info from THE BOAT GUY's mainframe is all about the big hack!
MATRIX EFFECT
From talking at the rave? That hack?
GUY FROM SLC PUNK
I remember that hack! It was huge! This could be real! Guys and ANGELINA JOLIE, we all need to take down THE BOAT GUY's big hack!
CRASH OVERRIDE
Here's how it goes down. ANGELINA JOLIE, you steal back DAVID BSOD's MACINTOSH QUADRA because the dumb feds left it behind, I'll do some hacking with GUY FROM SLC PUNK, and MATRIX EFFECT you get a new computer because your modem is broken.
MATRIX EFFECT
I'm on it, I'll steal it with hacking
INT. OFFICE IN A SKYSCRAPER — NIGHT.
THE BOAT GUY is in a big computer office with PENN AND TELLER.
THE BOAT GUY
I have a big plan to take down the world economy and enrich myself; I think it somehow involves a boat.
PENN AND TELLER #1
We'll guard the mainframe
THE BOAT GUY
You do that and I'll catch my flight
INT. DAVID BSOD'S HOUSE — NIGHT
MR. AND MRS. BSOD are reading a newspaper printed on actual paper. MR. BSOD is smoking a pipe when THE DOORBELL rings.
MRS. BSOD opens the door. ANGELINA JOLIE is standing there dressed in an all-leather DOMINO'S PIZZA outfit. Behind her is a Kawasawki Ninja with ground-effect lighting. It is parked next to a LAMBORGHINI COUNTACH and a 1982 CHEVY MALIBU with NICE RUST PATINA.MRS. BSOD
You stay there Henry, I'll get it
ANGELINA JOLIE enters DAVID BSOD's bedroom. She puts down the pizza and picks up the MACINTOSH QUADRA.ANGELINA JOLIE
I'm here to deliver that pizza you ordered; I accept payment in MACINTOSH QUADRAS.
MR. BSOD
I didn't order any pizza! Hackers use it to steal who you are!
MRS. BSOD
DAVID must have ordered it for some late-night hacking. You can take it to his room.
ANGELINA JOLIE
Sounds great!
ANGELINA JOLIE leaves the bedroom and passes through the living room. She acknowledges MR. and MRS. BSOD.ANGELINA JOLIE (speaking to herself but also directly to camera)
Even if you are not confident in who you are, I am, and I believe in you. One day the people you admire will believe in you too.
She shuts the door and leaves. [Sound: A Kawasaki Ninja revs its engine and ramps off a Lamborghini Countach.] MR. BSOD has an epiphany.ANGELINA JOLIE
I'll shoot you an email.
CLOSE-UP: Dialing federal 911MR. BSOD
"Shoot you an email"? That's no pizza delivery person ... she was ... she was ... a HACKER!
INT. BEST BUY — NIGHT.
THE MATRIX EFFECT hacks a lock to steal a computer on a pay phone.
THE MATRIX EFFECT steals a can of camouflage-colored Krylon and sprays down the stolen laptop with a cool camo paint job.THE MATRIX EFFECT
One last thing!
INT. HACKER PARTY — NIGHT.
The whole HACKER CREW is back at their base having a hacker party. ANGELINA JOLIE drives in on her Kawasaki Ninja carrying a MACINTOSH QUADRA in her messenger bag.
ANGELINA JOLIE boots up MACINTOSH QUADRA and they fly through the UNIX FILESYSTEM on MACINTOSH QUADRA.GUY FROM SLC PUNK
Let's see if this does anything; DAVID BSOD is just a script kiddie but I'm open to learning more.
CRASH OVERRIDE
Yeah, me too, THE BOAT GUY's plan could be serious.
THE MATRIX EFFECT
[dressed in ghillie suit holding his camouflaged computer]
The perfect hack
GUY FROM SLC PUNK starts the hack by blowing a whistle into ZACK MORRIS's cell phone. The hack is too intense.CRASH OVERRIDE
The mainframe filesystem! It's true! THE BOAT GUY has a plan to enrich himself while crashing the world economy!
ANGELINE JOLIE
I told you DAVID BSOD was legit. [Speaking directly to camera] I believe in you.
GUY FROM SLC PUNK
Now let's hack.
INT. COMPUTER OFFICE IN THE BIG SKYSCRAPER — NIGHT
The phone rings. PENN AND TELLER #2 picks it up.PENN AND TELLER #1
Everything is normal and there is no cause for alarm
PENN AND TELLER #1 angrily throws a copy of Reason magazine across the computer office.PENN AND TELLER #2
Hello BOAT GUY ... what? ... what? oh no!
PENN AND TELLER #1
What? What?
PENN AND TELLER #2
We're being hacked!
PENN AND TELLER #1
Deploy the firewall and unhack the BIOS!
INT. HACKER PARTY — NIGHT
EVERYONE is hacking
In the background a TV blares. The head of Government Computer Crimes Division is talking.ANGELINA JOLIE
THE BOAT GUY's sysadmins are on to us! Hack harder!
CRASH OVERRIDE
Bad news guys! DAVID BSOD's parents called the feds on our pizza delivery scheme! The Government Computer Crimes division is on to us!
A HARD HACK hits the group. They hack back.HEAD OF GOVERNMENT COMPUTER CRIMES DIVISION (on TV)
We will stop all the hackers! The hackers are so bad!
GUY FROM SLC PUNK
This guy doesn't understand us at all!
ANGELINA JOLIE (whispering directly into the camera)
I understand you
THE MATRIX EFFECT
Incoming!
GUY FROM SLC PUNK
I'll deploy a virus! CRASH OVERRIDE, you let THE FEDS know that THE BOAT GUY is up to no good!
CRASH OVERRIDE
I'll send an email in Visual Basic!
THE MATRIX EFFECT
[flails arms slowly in his namesake move but because he's wearing a big ghillie suit it just looks like he's wiggling]
INT. THE BOAT GUY SKYSCRAPER'S COMPUTER OFFICE — NIGHT
A big COMPUTER SCREEN has COOKIE MONSTER on it.
PENN AND TELLER #2 secretly contemplates SOLO CAREERPENN AND TELLER #2
What do I do?
PENN AND TELLER #1
Type "cookie" are you stupid never mind of course you are
INT. THE FEDS OFFICE — NIGHT
THE FEDS are on their UNIX terminals.
THE FEDS #2 leans over behind THE FEDS #1 to read the incoming emailTHE FEDS #1
I just got an email!
THE FEDS #2
This is serious! THE BOAT GUY has a plan to enrich himself while destroying the world economy!
THE FEDS #1
Looks like he's on a flight. Can we ever catch him in midair?
EXT. GIANT BOAT — DAYTIME BECAUSE IT'S ANOTHER TIME ZONE
MUSIC CUE: Ominous music about the the world economy
INT. GIANT BOAT — STILL DAYTIME ON THE SAME BOAT IN THE SAME OTHER TIME ZONE
A mechanical part does something connected to a computer
INT. HACKER PARTY — NIGHT BECAUSE WE'RE BACK IN THE FIRST TIME ZONE
ANGELINA JOLIE presses THE SPACE BAR on GUY FROM SLC PUNK'S computerGUY FROM SLC PUNK
THE FEDS know THE BOAT GUY's plan now!
CRASH OVERRIDE
One last step.
EXT. THE BIG BOAT — DAYTIME FOR AFOREMENTIONED TIME ZONE REASON
SOUND EFFECT: Mechanical whir shutting down and slowing to a halt
INT. BIG BOAT — DAYTIME SAME THING
SOUND EFFECT: Like something got unplugged. THING THAT IS HAPPENING: The mechanical part connected to the computer turns off. ALSO a blinking light also turns off. There is a Garfield doll with suction-cup feet in the room.
INT. AIRPLANE — NIGHT
The PILOT and COOKIE MONSTER approach BOAT GUY in his luxurious first-class seat
COOKIE MONSTER whips out a pair of handcuffs.PILOT
Sir, can you come with us please?
THE BOAT GUY
Noooooooooo
EXT. FEDERAL COMPUTER PRISON — NIGHT
DAVID BSOD is released from prison. ANGELINA JOLIE picks him up on her Kawasaki Ninja. She throws MACINTOSH QUADRA into his open arms.
ANGELINA JOLIE
I always believed in you
EXT. THE CITY IN A POOL — NIGHT BUT YOU THINK MAYBE IT COULD BE THE MORNING IN A COUPLE HOURS
ANGELINA JOLIE and GUY FROM SLC PUNK are in the pool hacking.
Behind them, two giant skyscrapers light up all of a sudden. The lights in the windows spell out the answer to the question.ANGELINA JOLIE
I think this could be love.
GUY FROM SLC PUNK
Could it be?
Fireworks shoot off while CRASH OVERRIDE and THE MATRIX EFFECT wave hello from the top of the skyscraper. THE GUY FROM SLC PUNK and ANGELINA JOLIE share a passionate kiss.TWO GIANT SKYSCRAPERS
Yes it is
But then a blinking cursor backspaces over the textBig computer text on screen
THE END
[ROLL CREDITS]
EXT. HOLIDAY INN — NIGHT
The whole HACKER CREW walks into a room at a Holiday Inn. The door shuts. The door opens and GUY FROM SLC PUNK pushes the TV out of the room and looks around. He walks back into the Holiday Inn.
END.
posted by compartment at 9:31 AM on November 6, 2018 [21 favorites]
Word perfect! Except significantly there are NO DADS in Hackers. Hackers have either no parents (Lord Nikon, Cereal Killer), or single moms (Zero Cool, Acid Burn, Joey, Phantom Phreak).
posted by lefty lucky cat at 9:39 AM on November 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by lefty lucky cat at 9:39 AM on November 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
Except significantly there are NO DADS in Hackers.
conservative propaganda gone horribly wrong -- I knew it.
posted by philip-random at 10:24 AM on November 6, 2018
conservative propaganda gone horribly wrong -- I knew it.
posted by philip-random at 10:24 AM on November 6, 2018
Thanks for the reminder, compartment, when I build my own cyberdeck I’ll be sure to spraypaint the keyboard
posted by Pronoiac at 10:41 AM on November 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Pronoiac at 10:41 AM on November 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
One of my all-time favourite films and I actually watched it last night, not even knowing this thread existed. It just never gets old. I was 16 when it came out, living in a remote northern community, and wouldn't sit down at an Internet-capable computer for at least three more years, but man it had an impact on me. "Fish Sauce" as a name feels as much "me" as my legal name at this point.
@phooky: Right? Despite some dialogue awkwardness it does so much basic shit right that films today can't even figure out.
Emanuel Goldstein, editor of 2600 magazine, was a consultant on Hackers. I have no evidence of this, but I like to think the movie is so amazing because he was trolling the Hollywood folks.
He was involved in early conversations, and many of the main characters were based very loosely on real people.
For those who haven't seen it posted before: How Did This Get Made: Hackers, An Oral History.
Hack the planet!
posted by Fish Sauce at 11:03 AM on November 6, 2018 [4 favorites]
@phooky: Right? Despite some dialogue awkwardness it does so much basic shit right that films today can't even figure out.
Emanuel Goldstein, editor of 2600 magazine, was a consultant on Hackers. I have no evidence of this, but I like to think the movie is so amazing because he was trolling the Hollywood folks.
No, I really don't think he was.
He was involved in early conversations, and many of the main characters were based very loosely on real people.
For those who haven't seen it posted before: How Did This Get Made: Hackers, An Oral History.
Hack the planet!
posted by Fish Sauce at 11:03 AM on November 6, 2018 [4 favorites]
Hackers
Sneakers
Clockers
Sleepers
Heathers
Raiders
Jeepers Creepers
posted by Sys Rq at 11:14 AM on November 6, 2018 [5 favorites]
Sneakers
Clockers
Sleepers
Heathers
Raiders
Jeepers Creepers
posted by Sys Rq at 11:14 AM on November 6, 2018 [5 favorites]
He was involved in early conversations, and many of the main characters were based very loosely on real people.
Oh, yeah, he totally consulted. I just meant to say that I don't think he was trolling the Hollywood folks. They got along well.
posted by tfish at 11:22 AM on November 6, 2018 [4 favorites]
Oh, yeah, he totally consulted. I just meant to say that I don't think he was trolling the Hollywood folks. They got along well.
posted by tfish at 11:22 AM on November 6, 2018 [4 favorites]
Ah, I misunderstood. Thanks for clarifying!
posted by Fish Sauce at 11:28 AM on November 6, 2018
posted by Fish Sauce at 11:28 AM on November 6, 2018
For the 25th anniversary there was a big party in Brooklyn. We rollerbladed around, hacked the Gibson from a payphone and built a standup, dual stick Wipeout game just like the one in the movie. Phantom Phreak even showed up to party with us!
The thing impresses me most about this movie, though, is how little there is to be embarrassed about in liking it. The cast is effortlessly multiracial, there's no bullshit with anyone being surprised a girl can hack, and it's a film about teenagers that skips just about all the teenage sex comedy tropes.I'm in almost total agreement with you, phooky, with a few minor quibbles: the "Hates Wearing Dresses", "Action Girlfriend", "Smurfette Principle" and the "Reward Girlfriend" tropes are slightly problematic and could have been easily avoided. There is also some transmisogyny in the "wearing a dress as punishment" trope, which doesn't hold up very well. Still a wonderful movie and one that we'll watch again and again.
compartment, your version looks wonderful and I would like to see that movie. It looks more coherent than Hackers: a play in eleven scenes by Mike Eisenberg. Here's a sample from the script.
posted by autopilot at 12:07 PM on November 6, 2018 [4 favorites]
"Fish Sauce" as a name feels as much "me" as my legal name at this point.
My best friend, who was my best man at my wedding, calls me goat. My wife sometimes calls me goat. My parents, who gave me my actual name, call me goat or Mr. Goat. More people know me as mrgoat than know me by my meatspace name.
My mother-in-law calls me "Gandalf", and I still have no idea why, but that's a whole other story. I suspect she was trying to make a veiled insult and just, missed the mark by whatever a super-long distance in Middle Earth is called.
I have loved Hackers since the first time I saw it, both because of, and in spite of, all the ridiculous computer stuff in it. I still refer to "screen names" or whatever as "handles".
posted by mrgoat at 1:25 PM on November 6, 2018
My best friend, who was my best man at my wedding, calls me goat. My wife sometimes calls me goat. My parents, who gave me my actual name, call me goat or Mr. Goat. More people know me as mrgoat than know me by my meatspace name.
My mother-in-law calls me "Gandalf", and I still have no idea why, but that's a whole other story. I suspect she was trying to make a veiled insult and just, missed the mark by whatever a super-long distance in Middle Earth is called.
I have loved Hackers since the first time I saw it, both because of, and in spite of, all the ridiculous computer stuff in it. I still refer to "screen names" or whatever as "handles".
posted by mrgoat at 1:25 PM on November 6, 2018
You diss any of the Holy Trinity (Hackers, Sneakers, War Games) I'm hacking your Gibson
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:04 PM on November 6, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:04 PM on November 6, 2018 [4 favorites]
You diss any of the Holy Trinity (Hackers, Sneakers, War Games) I'm hacking your Gibson
I understand nostalgia and whatnot, but one of these is not like the others. I hope we can step on each others' toes here with the utmost respect.
posted by rhizome at 5:56 PM on November 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
I understand nostalgia and whatnot, but one of these is not like the others. I hope we can step on each others' toes here with the utmost respect.
posted by rhizome at 5:56 PM on November 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
The truly great thing about Hackers is how still-unknown hackers repurposed the movie's kitchy PR website with their own culture jamming message, setting in motion & giving a voice to a generation of hackers in response.
posted by scalefree at 9:29 PM on November 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by scalefree at 9:29 PM on November 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
The Holy Trinity is indeed Hackers, Sneakers, and War Games.
posted by lefty lucky cat at 11:36 PM on November 6, 2018
posted by lefty lucky cat at 11:36 PM on November 6, 2018
but one of these is not like the others
It's true... War Games really did not age well.
posted by kokaku at 6:48 AM on November 7, 2018
It's true... War Games really did not age well.
posted by kokaku at 6:48 AM on November 7, 2018
I, to my ongoing and eternal regret, can never manage to avoid looking at the YouTube comments.
However, today I was pleasantly surprised to find one that I could cheerfully agree with:
But Hackers... Hackers is this beautiful winking parody that mooshes together tidbits of actual hacker community history with Hollywood ideas about what a "hacker" is, and then throws in some really off-the-wall crap, and... oh god damn, it's great. And everyone is putting in a performance that's simultaneously up to 11 but also... like, I actually want to hang out with these people. How? How could I be even slightly tempted to be in the same room as Matthew Lillard? What dark magic is this?
I own multiple copies of both films, because they're both "hacker" movies in the same way that Blade Runner and Star Trek VI are both "science fiction" movies: they are not in any way substitutes for one another, and there's plenty of room for both to be celebrated.
posted by chronostachyon at 1:38 PM on November 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
However, today I was pleasantly surprised to find one that I could cheerfully agree with:
Jack doesn’t seem to be aware that Hackers is a deliberately exaggerated portrayal of early 90s computer culture. This movie definitely knows how ridiculous it’s being.My reply:
But there are surprisingly authentic elements here. Those “hacker books?” Those are real! (Or based on real books). The “Gibson?” That’s an homage to William Gibson, the cyberpunk author.
This movie is playing on how Jargon File geeks saw themselves, which to me makes the exaggerated characters so perfect; Mr. The Plague especially.
There are lots of little elements that show that the movie is in on the subculture it’s parodying/celebrating. The soundtrack is one of them.
I love this movie :) It’s BRILLIANT!
It’s more than just a bad, hilariously dated movie.
— Vladimir Potrosky
Absolutely. A lot of the stuff it's nodding to was old, OLD news at the time the movie came out -- e.g. the payphone + tape recorder trick was once real but had been fixed for something like 10 or 15 years when the movie came out, and the Hacker Manifesto that the cops quote is a very real document (first published in Phrack) that was about 9 years old (and 8.5 years past its sell-by date) -- but as a pastiche of phreaker and BBS cultures of the late 70's to late 80's, it's... man, this movie is just fuckin' golden.Is Sneakers a better film qua film? Oh god yes. It's damn rare that you see someone make a film in a microgenre like "Comedic Thriller" and get a result that's firing on all cylinders. Good acting, good scriptwriting, good comedic timing... just a solid movie all around.
— ChronosTachyon
But Hackers... Hackers is this beautiful winking parody that mooshes together tidbits of actual hacker community history with Hollywood ideas about what a "hacker" is, and then throws in some really off-the-wall crap, and... oh god damn, it's great. And everyone is putting in a performance that's simultaneously up to 11 but also... like, I actually want to hang out with these people. How? How could I be even slightly tempted to be in the same room as Matthew Lillard? What dark magic is this?
I own multiple copies of both films, because they're both "hacker" movies in the same way that Blade Runner and Star Trek VI are both "science fiction" movies: they are not in any way substitutes for one another, and there's plenty of room for both to be celebrated.
posted by chronostachyon at 1:38 PM on November 7, 2018 [3 favorites]
It's true... War Games really did not age well.
Lies!
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:52 PM on November 7, 2018
Lies!
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:52 PM on November 7, 2018
Ok, I'll say it: I'm not a huge fan of Sneakers. The problem is that it isn't over the top enough, and I end up failing to suspend my disbelief, even at the time it was released. In Hackers I can let it go as stylistic choices, but in Sneakers it is just bad tech.
posted by Bovine Love at 7:37 AM on November 12, 2018
posted by Bovine Love at 7:37 AM on November 12, 2018
It's an understated movie for sure, but as far as tech goes the speaker at the beginning is talking real science (Leonard Adelman is the "A" of the "RSA" encryption algorithm).
posted by rhizome at 9:36 AM on November 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by rhizome at 9:36 AM on November 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
kokaku: "but one of these is not like the others
It's true... War Games really did not age well."
Couldn't disagree more.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:54 PM on November 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
It's true... War Games really did not age well."
Couldn't disagree more.
posted by Chrysostom at 7:54 PM on November 12, 2018 [2 favorites]
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posted by darkstar at 7:15 PM on November 5, 2018 [1 favorite]