Yesterday’s Movies: Pay It Forward, Antitrust

For a cornball movie about one kid’s quest to save the world, or at least his mom, Pay It Forward hits a lot of the right notes. It misses a big one but I wouldn’t want to spoil it for anyone; if you’re in the mood for a sweet and moving movie, check out this Kevin Spacey/Helen Hunt/Haley Joel Osment flick.

Antitrust could have been the cup of tea for every techie out there who believes that Microsoft is the evil empire. But writer Howard Franklin and director Peter Howitt have simply taken a pastiche of Bill Gates (played as a friendly, seductive sleeze by Tim Robbins), thrown in an idealistic young superprogrammer (Ryan Phillipe) and a weak plot (since when does software ship on time?) to try and capitalize on our current fascination with connected technology. Too bad; watch it if you really do believe Bill Gates is in league with the devil.