Still holds up with it's topics. Episode Link: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2697X7q1auBdDRh34XteW8?si=1XoV2wmWSzi_Ao2kyEaIvg

When - 12:10 AM Where - Max With Who - Father, Mother, Myself Second Thoughts - It had been so long since I watched this movie, I might as well have never seen it. I knew the basic premise, but none of the details. That being said, I enjoyed WarGames more than I thought I would. It’s surprisingly straightforward for a story about the threat of World War III during the Cold War. It manages to maintain a balance between a certain child-like mischief and Cold War thriller. Although I’m not normally a Matthew Broderick fan, I found him more entertaining than annoying in his role as protagonist David. Ally Sheedy also stars in the film as David’s friend and eventual love interest Jennifer, before becoming part of the Brat Pack. She does a good job of balancing his rebellious streak with fun, innocent charm. While the plot is fantastical to a certain extent, the writers do a good job of grounding it in just enough reality to keep it interesting. A fun watch, I’m happy to have rewatched it.

Director: John Badham Starring: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood Story: A teenager accidentally hacks into the U.S. military’s war computer and convinces both the American and Russian governments that there is an impending nuclear attack Pros: - Powerful commentary on both technology and war - Great performances (John Wood as Dr. Falken is particularly good) - Balances tone well, with some very funny moments, but serious and grave when it needs to be while never feeling all over the place - Some outstanding visuals/editing in the climax - Builds suspense well Cons: - The opening is slow and a terrible way to start the movie

The real technological innovation is how the dad puts butter on his cob of corn. Childhood me loves this for one reason: Ally Sheedy. Adult me loves it for being a 41 year old warning for AI machine learning being a major problem. Could have used more computer interaction for my liking, but Broderick and Sheedy were fun to journey with and the balance of the story was pretty good. I had fun from start to finish but there sure was a lot of random running and I can't for life of me remember what filled the runtime. Also, Sharlto Copley looks just like John Wood and that really distracted me when he showed up. 332/500 movies & tv for 2024