This month, Rialto Documentary offers up a series of films that closely examine the legal complications and ramifications that Internet users and abusers regular face. Catch Downloaded, a film about the rise and fall of Napster, and We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists about the workings and beliefs of the self-described "hacktivist" collective, Anonymous. This week, you can find out exactly what you’re signing up to every time you hit that ‘Accept’ button in the documentary Terms and Conditions May Apply.
Here are my picks for the week.
This month, Rialto Documentary offers up a series of films that closely examine the legal complications and ramifications that Internet users and abusers regular face. Catch Downloaded, a film about the rise and fall of Napster, and We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists about the workings and beliefs of the self-described "hacktivist" collective, Anonymous. This week, you can find out exactly what you’re signing up to every time you hit that ‘Accept’ button in the documentary Terms and Conditions May Apply.
Here are my picks for the week.
Drinking Buddies (2013)
Starring: Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson & Anna Kendrick
Directed by: Joe Swanberg
Screening: Rialto Selection, Saturday 15th November, 8.30pm
Joe Swanberg is a writer/director associated with the ‘Mumblecore’ film movement known for creating low budget observational comedies and dramas that feature naturalistic or improvised dialogue. Two of my favourite examples are Your Sister’s Sister and Frances Ha. In Drinking Buddies, Joe Swanberg gives the romantic comedy a bittersweet edge as two best friends and co-workers Luke (Johnson) and Kate (Wilde), both in relationships, try and ignore the fact they’re perfect for each other. Not that much happens in this film, but it does matter. These likeable characters grow up in front of us, and it’s a pleasure watching such nuanced, genuine and sometimes unpredictable performances.
Jump (2013)
Starring: Nichola Burley, Martin McCann & Charlene McKenna
Directed by: Kieron J. Walsh
Screening: Rialto World, Monday 3rd November, 8.30pm
This Northern Ireland New Year’s Eve caper is a blast of a film. A funny, dark, violent crime thriller that takes place over the course of one evening, it follows the plight of three different groups of people whose stories intertwine with each other. Based on a stage play by Lisa McGee and adapted for the big screen by it’s director and co-screenwriter Steve Brookes, Jump is filled with sad, lost souls looking for a fresh start and hilarious incompetent thugs. Romance, crime and revenge drive the narrative, which stays away from typical Northern Ireland themes such as The Troubles. Instead, this is a contemporary film that transports you into the heart of a thriving, energetic city, and the many different people who live there.
Terms and Conditions May Apply (2013)
Staring: Joe Lipari, Mark Zuckerberg, Max Schrem & Moby
Directed by: Cullen Hoback
Screening: Rialto Documentary Thursday 13th November, 8.30pm
If like me you’ve clicked on the ‘Accept’ button while purchasing, downloading or registering for something online without reading the terms and conditions, then this is the documentary for you. Thanks to whistleblowers and investigative journalists, these days we’re not surprised by legal powers of governments and corporations to undertake real time surveillance of individuals, but what director Cullen Hoback’s documentary does, is give us a really good explanation as to how we got to this point in time. Hoback takes us through how marketers, multinational corporations, police departments and intelligence-gathering organisations obtain and exploit info. He keeps it entertaining by including cartoons and Michael Moore like gags that involve approaching Mark Zuckerberg on the street for a chat, and even thought it’s not the slickest looking documentary around, Hoback gets his point across nicely without resorting to being alarmist.