Seeing "Sneakers" on sale on Apple TV reminded me that there are some movies younger geeks might not know they should watch.
So, here is a helpful list of 90's "hacker" movies to watch or not ordered by how much I like them.
Sneakers (1992) - Pen testing, social engineering, cryptography and lasers. What more could a teenage geek want? I could watch this 100 times and not get board. Also, Cooties Rat Semen.
Office Space (1999) - Before Silicon Valley there was Office Space. Painfully true to life for anyone who has had a 'corporate' IT job.
The Matrix (1999) - Mind blowing for a young systems engineer. Everyone wanted the cool Nokia slide phone.
War Games (1983) - Its a little bit pre-90s, but its really good. You may be surprised to learn it was written but the same screenwriter as Sneakers.
Disclosure (1994) - Its mostly gender politics set in a tech startup, but its pretty good. As with most movies based on Michael Crichton books, the book is better (see also: Jurassic Park)
Hackers (1995) - From what I remember its a lot of style over substance. Hacking into "The Gibson" etc. Give it a miss unless you are desperate.
The Net (1995) - Terrible movie but Sandra Bullock is hot. Fight me.
Antitrust (2001) Ryan Phillippe as a hacker. Not great.
Swordfish (2001) - Hugh Jackman was a hacker before he was Wolverine. Famous for that particular scene with Halle Berry.
Honourable Mentions:
* The Manhattan Project (1986) - kid builds a nuclear bomb
* Short Circuit (1986) - Sentient robot before Chappie
* Code Rush (2000) - Documentary about Netscape open sourcing as Mozilla
I'm sure there are others but these are the ones that stick out.
