Sandra Bullock, Online Chess and Serial Killers - Hollywood and the Internet.

The internet has been something of a double-edged sword for the film industry. It has opened a new realm of marketing to the studios as well as allowing film fanatics around the world to communicate with one another. Word of mouth has turned into word of keyboards as the reputation of a film can be made or broken by the general consensus of the online masses. If it were not for the genius of one internet fan boy, Samuel L Jackson may never have muttered the immortal words "I have had it with these motherfuckin' snakes on this motherfuckin' plane". Though whether this can be considered good or bad for the legacy of celluloid is yet to be decided.

On the other hand the web has brought with it the dangers of piracy which has forced the industry to desperate lengths as can be seen with the return of 3D. Former chief of the Motion Picture Association of America, Dan Glickman, believed that piracy had cost the film industry around $6 billion dollars a year from 2003 until 2007 as connection speeds and download limits increased. It is therefore interesting to witness the different ways with which Hollywood has chosen to present the World Wide Web since its arrival.

In the beginning it was used as purely a tool to impress girls by the world's first hacker - Matthew Broderick. WarGames from 1983 shows the rather helpful uses of computers interlinked via a network. Broderick happily changes his failing school grades and does the same for his hot classmate Ally Sheedy with only the slightest twinge of moral conscience. Again in Ferris Bueller's Day Off he mixes boyish charm effortlessly with an extensive knowledge of computers that would suggest he had no social capabilities. This time he alters his number of sick days at school all from the safety of his own room. Thus the internet was a harmless tool. A hobby for mischievous boys with no malice intended. Broderick's motives in WarGames for his hacking are simply light-hearted. His actions carried out in the hope that Ally Sheedy will toss him off in the locker rooms in return for a B+ in Chemistry.

The capabilities and potential of the internet only began to be realised in the Nineties. People saw the ability it had to convey vast swathes of information to an audience other mediums such as television could only dream of. Free from restriction and censorship it became an object of fear to conservatives who were worried by the power at the fingertips of the everyday man and just what they could do with that power. It is no surprise therefore to see this terror reflected in cinema. The middle of the Nineties saw the release of two separate films with the menacing threat of the internet at their hearts. Copycat saw Sigourney Weaver play a reclusive criminal psychologist who is hunted by a serial killer. The killer communicating with her via games of online chess suggesting the web was a tool solely used by academics and psychopathic oddballs. In the same year came The Net with Sandra Bullock where her life is slowly moved into the recycle bin one file at a time by cyber terrorists.

Even when hackers are made the protagonists, as seen in the 1995 film Hackers with Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie, the internet is still at the root of their problems. It keeps some of the jovial hack-flirting that had worked so successfully for Matthew Broderick just a decade before but throughout is underlined the supposed power of the internet to destroy lives at the click of the button.

So where next for Hollywood and the internet? The straight-to-video sequel to The Net went largely unnoticed - an oddity when the original had made over a $100m worldwide. This could indicate that audiences who have experienced the internet for themselves over a period of years recognise the plot to be nonsensical and scaremongering. Though more than likely it is because a sequel to The Net that has no resemblance to the original and made up of a cast of unknowns is probably going to be poor by definition. The release of The Social Network marked Hollywood taking the internet zeitgeist seriously. Far from studios using the internet, the internet used film to tell its own story. Hollywood has realised it is not powerful enough to control our perception of the internet and that the tables have very much turned.

Review - Catfish

With the tagline "Don't let anyone tell you what it is", Catfish has made itself the bane of many reviewers existence. Revealing what it isn't would in turn give too much away and so the middle ground seems to be letting the curious potential audience in on the bare essentials.

Those essentials being that filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost decide to document the blossoming relationship between Ariel's photographer brother Nev and the family of an 8 year old art protégé called Abby with contact being almost exclusively through Facebook.

With The Social Network seemingly taking all the plaudits for capturing the zeitgeist of the latter half of the decade, Catfish must be seen as the unnerving little brother. The sibling that has been ushered into the shadows and away from mainstream sensibilities and concerns. However, where Fincher and co failed was making any of their characters remotely likeable. Who cares for the trodden on friends when they all become millionaires anyway? Acting as an ambivalent document of the events that led to the most powerful social tool of our time but only looking at the repercussions for human relationships on a superficial level. The moment when Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) realises the missing piece of his puzzle is the "relationship status" information is treated comically - as if he were Archimedes stepping into a bath of baked beans.

Catfish in contrast shows the faces behind the profile pictures. The trio of filmmakers on their voyage of discovery make for an engaging watch as they become more involved with the young artist. Nev, in particular, makes for a charismatic and often amusing lead in the improvised movie of his life. His developing relationship with Abby's older sister purely via modern means of communication is an accepted and increasingly common sign of the times. The film expertly details the dichotomy of the internet's effect on our social lives. It documents the void of loneliness that technology has created in our wi-fi connected world. The growing distance between everyday human contact and anonymous online interactions with photos, likes, dislikes and status updates. However, Catfish demonstrates the ability of technology to connect not only with other people but emotions, imagination and fantasy. It is this confusion of masked interaction and intense emotional involvement that means that the internet has not just become a powerful social device but an equally powerful method of escapism.

In the age of the faux documentary, it is not unreasonable to have suspicions over the truthfulness of the story. It seems to fall neatly into place though that is what editing studios are for. Similarly accusations of a sleazy and condescending feel to the final cut of the film have been made. These words though overlook the fact that the filmmakers always act with grace, good humour and compassion throughout. A poignant human story for our emotionally detached social network.

What's Coming Up in 2011?

Last year ended with an underwhelming blockbuster extravaganza. Harry on Camping and Tron putting bums on seats before eventually numbing them. Luckily with award season on the way it usually means the year begins with a few films with eyes on Oscar nominations.

The hype from over the tectonic divide seems to be that the Coen Brothers are making a strong case with their remake of the classic True Grit which has already garnered a vast amount of critical praise. The brothers already having Oscar pedigree with No Country for Old Men in 2007 as well as Fargo in 1996. The remake sees Jeff Bridges playing the infamous role of Rooster Cogburn tracking down the murderer of a young girl's father. Bridges fresh from his triumph at last year's Academy Awards looks set to possibly earn himself another nomination here.

With similar award winning form is Danny Boyle who follows up the acclaimed Slumdog Millionaire with the eagerly awaited 127 Hours. The true story of Aron Ralston already comes with a sack full of nominations and awards so don't be surprised to see James Franco and Boyle both getting Oscar nods.

The film I'm most looking forward to is Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. Described by Mark Kermode as "like Argento on crack" it has already whet my appetite. It's hard to not be extremely excited by the grouping of Aronofsky, Portman and Cassel. Furthermore another soundtrack by Clint Mansell who most certainly deserves some credit for his brilliant scores over the past decade. Having been a massive fan of Aronofsky's entire body of work, including The Fountain which I wholeheartedly believe to be a work of unmatched vision, beauty and ambition, this is the one that I'm busting a gut to see.

Judging from the critical buzz alone it seems as those these three films will be putting their hands out for the awards rationing to begin. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see them split fairly equally between these films as well as Toy Story 3 and The Social Network. With internal politics probably deciding the outcome in the case of the Oscars and going the way of The Social Network.