Web of Lies (2009)

So much average

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

There is a memorable moment early in the film where Jerrod the ex-con hacker explains to his computer geek/security expert Abby that Isidore of Seville was a great scholar and saint in the Christian church of the early Middle Ages. In the modern age, Isidore has come to be associated with the internet, as is evident in this tribute: "We beseech Thee that, through the intercession of Saint Isidore, bishop and doctor, during our journeys through the internet we will direct our hands and eyes only to that which is pleasing to Thee and treat with charity and patience all those souls whom we encounter." The preceding words of the patron saint of computers were clearly not heeded by some very bad people who set up poor Abby and her boyfriend Jerrod for hacking into a high tech mainframe to divert $291 million in funds from the firm's customers.Abby takes it upon her broad shoulders to track down the culprits and clear her name. The plot of this film was intricately designed and led to suspenseful action and twists. Some of the details were unclear, such as the identity of Simon Davies. Was he killed in lieu of Jerrod? Or, was he the young man who met Abby in the U-Phoric nightclub, then attempted to murder her? There were moments when the narrative became far too intricate.SPOILER ALERT: One key line to unraveling the mystery is uttered by an apparently very nice man, who says, "Good girl, Abby." The line seems to come out of nowhere as Abby is struggling to learn the truth of her tragic dilemma. She was playing a dangerous game and found support from very few souls in a cutthroat world. But watching over her was the character named Spider, who served in the capacity of St. Isidore to protect the heroine while wading in dangerous waters.

I thought it was lean, suspenseful and had sharply drawn characters. I liked Marjandra as Maria in Roswell- so I'm biased.Can it be that the title 'Web of Lies' in a major film required that this film's rights be bought so it could be buried and not confused with the major theatrical release - and/or a TV series of that name? If so could it be re-released under another title? Could a foreign version be You-tubed like some TV already offered on You-Tube in German? It's worth seeing again... It was online on the Lifetime site very briefly- I never saw it on the air...Reply with any information. I'll be watching...

Web of Lies is definitely a film worth watching, i found it interesting, it had good twists and a good ending. After watching it I decided to see if I could buy it on DVD, but after searching a number of websites I came up empty, and then i read a review of Web of Lies on here, and it appears it is just a TV movie. I think a film as good as this should be out on DVD, I would definitely buy it and recommend it to people who like films like this one. I'm disappointed that I can't get it on DVD, but if it ever does come out on DVD, i'll keep an eye out for it and buy it as soon as I get the chance. If anybody knows if or when it will be out, please let me know, I don't want a good film to be restricted to the TV. It's a film worth keeping for years.Marty G

OK, it's a TV movie, and the locales and accents all but scream "filmed in Canada." Still, I found it remarkably compelling. I was visiting Bulgaria, where it happened to appear on a TV channel after 1 a.m., and although I wasn't intending to watch the whole thing I wound up doing so anyway. So, it kept me involved.As to the "penny-shaving" scheme another commenter mentioned, this goes back even further, because I remember it being the basis of a "Dragnet" episode that must have first aired in the late '50s or early '60s. Again, though, I found the plot as developed in this movie believable. Oldies but goodies, right?