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Ask HN: What are some (good) hacker movies?

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Re: Ask HN: What are some (good) hacker movies?

#81

Post by scott_s »

tptacek wrote: post #79
scott_s wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's also very much a product of the Reagan era: the bad guys are the scientists, academia and the EPA.

Uh, hello? Venkman: "Back off, man! We're scientists!" Also, didn't they give props to a Dem mayor of NYC?

That's what he says, but they lack the skepticism of actual scientists. I love the movie - and the quote - but Venkman is clearly calling himself a scientist because it's convenient at the moment.

Re: Ask HN: What are some (good) hacker movies?

#82

Post by bd »

The Prestige (competing magicians inventing new tricks, cameo by Nikola Tesla):

http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/prestige

Iron Man (fun movie where the main character is hacker/inventor):

http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/ironman

There Will Be Blood (not a hacker movie per se, but still kind of startup-relevant, it's about creation of the oil empire from scratch):

http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/therewillbeblood

Odyssey 5 (TV series about a group of astronauts sent back in time to prevent destruction of Earth, AI plays a significant role):

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318236/

Few Japanese cyberpunk animated classics:

Ghost in the Shell 1 & 2:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113568/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347246/

Akira:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094625/

Bonus: if you liked Primer, you may like also Timecrimes (even though it's not a hacker movie):

http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/timecrimes

Re: Ask HN: What are some (good) hacker movies?

#83

Post by unalone »

prakash wrote: post #6

I liked the King of Kong: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0923752/ . Man on Wire is on my list of movies to watch: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1155592/

King of Kong is great, but beware of the controversy surrounding that movie. The director faked a lot of scenes, mislead viewers, and generally made Billy Mitchell look much worse than he actually was. (The entire plot featuring the actual breaking of the world record was fictional: events were shown out of order to establish a narrative.)

Re: Ask HN: What are some (good) hacker movies?

#84

Post by thomasswift »

rokhayakebe wrote: post #42
utnick wrote: post #22

I recently rented August from blockbuster. Its about a VC funded startup with little revenue that goes bust. It was a pretty terrible movie though and the web2.0 talk will make you cringe.

August was pretty bad. I just watched it Friday. What did LandShark do?

E-everything

Re: Ask HN: What are some (good) hacker movies?

#85

Post by greaterscope »

mechanical_fish wrote: post #37

Okay, I'm insane, I know that. But I have this strange urge to nominate The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai in this category. I'm not sure I can explain why. Perhaps it's just to be perverse. ;) There's just something about the character that rings true. He's a famous superhero, but he doesn't wear a costume or come from another planet. He's a mad scientist, but he doesn't cackle or plot or soliloquize. He's an odd guy…

Excellent, excellent movie. It always inspires me in some strange quirky way. Or maybe it just inspires me to be quirky.
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