The Internet in itself is neither good nor bad; it's how it's used that matters
Reitman tries to tackle the matter of how technology is retarding the way we relate to one another by
OBSESSING over the way technology is retarding the way we relate to one another! He's the same type of shut-in; he's just stressing over the negatives rather than using the benefits to his advantage. By focusing so intently on little issues, he's making these problems out to be much worse than they are in reality, and demonizing and legitimising outlying cases.
He's just a little more sensible than Garner's 'overprotective mum' character, in that he understands that you can't put the genie back in the bottle and guard against EVERYTHING - but disappointingly, he seems just as pessimistic about future consequences.
It's hysterical paranoia from someone who usually strives to be such a balanced film-maker "Reefer Madness" for the digital age. A work that can only be viewed as laughable is the end result.
Not one of the characters in the film has a positive outcome from their dealings with technology It's a depressingly Luddite and reactionary film for something that was released in 2014, no matter how much he tries to jazz it up and make it feel modern by getting the Interfaces right and representing 'movement' through text in little tiny boxes! (annoying for those with poor eyesight, BTW - you constantly need to keep a look out for website addresses and abbreviated texts materialising all over the screen!)
It devolves a sophisticated and complex world, into so much alarmist shrieking. Reitman's previous work led me to expect something much more assured - and darn it, perceptive - than what we're left with.
He's just a little more sensible than Garner's 'overprotective mum' character, in that he understands that you can't put the genie back in the bottle and guard against EVERYTHING - but disappointingly, he seems just as pessimistic about future consequences.
It's hysterical paranoia from someone who usually strives to be such a balanced film-maker "Reefer Madness" for the digital age. A work that can only be viewed as laughable is the end result.
Not one of the characters in the film has a positive outcome from their dealings with technology It's a depressingly Luddite and reactionary film for something that was released in 2014, no matter how much he tries to jazz it up and make it feel modern by getting the Interfaces right and representing 'movement' through text in little tiny boxes! (annoying for those with poor eyesight, BTW - you constantly need to keep a look out for website addresses and abbreviated texts materialising all over the screen!)
It devolves a sophisticated and complex world, into so much alarmist shrieking. Reitman's previous work led me to expect something much more assured - and darn it, perceptive - than what we're left with.