Everybody knows that the movies can be a messy business — oftentimes, what reaches the big screen is the result of a process akin to sticking your fingers in a Cuisinart. And sometimes the original director of a project gets dropped just before filming starts — as happened with The Wolfman. Or sometimes the director…

Computer hacking isn't really a spectator sport, so movies will embellish hacking scenes with funky visuals, inane jargon, and supercomputers that run on magic and prayer. Here are 10 of the most awesomely groanworthy hacking scenes.

This 1984 ad for Starfire Games' Global Thermonuclear War is the superlative of unfortunate. "Do you target for military, industrial, or civilian targets?" Yeesh. The worst part of all? It doesn't appear to tie in with War Games. [Modern Mechanix]

This year has presented us with a plethora of planet-imperiling scenarios, from Watchmen toTransformers. But despite the promising threats of nuclear war and killer robots, I'm left feeling empty. The Apocalypse used to be fun. What happened?

The Pentagon has just given the U.S. Office of Naval Research $36 million for what it calls a "futuristic" experiment in training soldiers to deal with terrorists by using immersive virtual reality scenarios.

You might be familiar with E.E. Smith's Lensman novels, but you've probably never played the 1969 classic Lensman wargame. Out of print since the 70s, copies of the original Lensman game are so rare they're hard to find even on ebay. Now, original designer Phil Pritchard is overhauling the game for re-release,…

Every day somebody releases a new spam solution, but just as often you hear dire predictions about how spam loads are growing exponentially. How will future generations deal with spam floods in 2030? Though some pundits claim email is becoming obsolete, it's unlikely that most people are going to give up on what is…

Must-see movies are futuristic classics that shouldn't be missed. Of course, not every must-see is perfect. That's why we've rated them 1-5 on the patented "crunchy goodness" scale. Written by Jason Shankel.

Title: WarGames
Date: 1983

Vitals: High school hacker's innocent attempt to steal intellectual property and get…