Hackers
Perhaps one of the greatest (but not best, let’s not confuse this with fine cinema) movies ever made. At the very least it’s Fisher Stevens’s best role that doesn’t involve donning a terrible Indian accent. I also can’t think of another Angelina Jolie movie that I like.
With Jonny Lee Miller (TV’s Eli Stone) and Matthew Lillard (Shaggy from the Scooby Doo movie) rounding out the most well-known of the cast, Hackers takes you deep into the seedy and sorted world of freaky (or should I say phreaky?) kids on rollerskates who can crack any computer system in the world. Including a magical one that apparently exists only as a set of three-dimensional holograms.
When you watch this today, you may think the technology only looks laughable in comparison to your iPad, but, seriously, the tech in this movie was goofy even in 1995. By the time this movie was made, there were plenty of stories of real hackers and the damage they had created (like, say, Kevin Mitnick, who had been in prison for years by that point), but I guess it was easier to create a fictional world of fast typing and strange clothes. And for that, we thank them. Hack the planet!
The Fall Guy
This is the story of one of America’s great unsung heroes. At least, that’s what the opening voice over tells you. If you’re a little hazy on the details, let me remind you—Lee Majors is a Hollywood stuntman who tracks down bail jumpers for extra cash between stunt gigs. That makes perfect sense. I’m sure that’s what most stuntmen do in their spare time. That and bare-knuckle boxing.
Until the reality TV crap factory came along to give us Dogg, Colt Seavers was about as close Hollywood could get to portraying a bounty Hunter. But the real reason to check out The Fall Guy is because it’s from a long-gone era of shows that actually had theme songs. It’s hard to imagine and entire minute of a current show like House being devoted to introductory music. But that’s what TV was like back in the day. And the name-dropping theme was performed by the star himself. On second thought, maybe we’re fortunate to have moved in a different direction.
Wikipedia tells me it ran for five (!) season, but only one season is available on Hulu. in fact, it seems to be the only season available on DVD at all. Look for that to change with the rumored remake.
The Fall Guy: Season 1 on Hulu
