Movie discussions move online

By Jake Coyle

updated 4:40 p.m. ET March 5, 2008

The car ride home from the cineplex is the classic arena of post-movie debate. Bouncing off the windows can be comments like: "That dude needs a haircut, friendo"; "Daniel Day-Lewis can act his pants off, eh?"; and "Wait, so they were ALL Bob Dylan?!"

The Web, though, is like a giant amplification of that dialogue. With social networking hangouts, opinionated blogs and review sites, there's movie chatter everywhere online.

But some of that Internet discussion is particular to the medium. Here are three sites that offer unique cinematic perspectives.

Technology with a "Bullitt"
Among the most famous car chases is Steve McQueen's tear down the hilly streets of San Francisco in 1968's "Bullitt." Heck, just thinking about it makes me illogically "rev" my computer mouse. McQueen's course through San Francisco was tracked in 2000 by a movie fan named Ray Smith, who posted his findings online. . Using the photographic detail of Google Maps, another fan has mapped out the car chase, creating a starling melding of movie magic and real life technology. The lesson is that the chase isn't logistically possible — that is, unless you're Steve McQueen.

Aggregating Pixar
Pixar, which is owned by the Walt Disney Co., took home best animated picture at the Oscars for the exceptional "Ratatouille." Blogger Jim Hill writes in great detail about Disney at his site. In an extensive thread, Hill delves into the insider references throughout Pixar films. With freeze frames from "Toy Story," "Cars" and the rest of the studio's output, Hill exposes dozens of little tricks — such as characters making hard-to-spot cameos in movies not their own.

Not your average YouTubers
YouTube may seem like the playground of the young, but several elderly vloggers have developed cult followings. The "Reel Geezers" are Lorezenzo Semple, 84, and Marcia Nasatir, 81. They sit down to review films and offer their mature and expert opinions. Nasatir was a longtime agent in Hollywood and Semple was a big-time screenwriter in the`70s (including for McQueen's "Papillon"). He's the star here. There's nothing geriatric about his sharp, no-nonsense view of movies. For their two-part Oscar special, Semple and Nasatir dressed-up and poured Champagne while making their picks. Said Semple of the 80th annual Academy Awards: "He's a real geezer, Oscar."

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