SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER MOVIES COME TO LIFE ON INTERNET

Cybertip: To fully enjoy most of the movie sites, you'll need the newest version of Shockwave, called Shockwave Flash, QuickTime, RealAudio or RealPlayer. You can download all free of charge at http://www.shareware.com

It's a boy. Click and Double Click columnist Peggy Scott is the proud mom of Daniel Allen, born last Tuesday. No doubt he'll be up at the keyboard in no time.

In her absence, SEMissourian.com staff members will be guest surfing. Today please welcome Dennis O'Shields, one of the co-webmasters at SEMissourian.com and a longtime computer geek. He's been surfing on the Internet for eight years.

There's no question the summer blockbusters are in full swing, and there's plenty of action on the Internet. Preview your favorites, or find out about some of the more obscure films as well. Almost all of them have their own Internet address.

Dennis: A good place to start is Movieweb, which lists many of the 1997 movies. You can find it at

http://www.movieweb.com

There's only one major release this weekend: "Batman and Robin." Apparently no one wanted to compete, which is probably a good thing.

Joni: Not only does this site have links to all the movies, it links to all the major studios as well. You can also find out the latest studio gossip.

Dennis: You can also go back and look at all movies back to 1995. It's also a good page to get a good cringe: "Free Willy 3" and "Leave it to Beaver." Some movies should have never been done. You can find out all the big flops of the year.

Joni: Look, they're re-releasing "The Little Mermaid" in theatres Nov. 26. My daughter will enjoy that.

Dennis: Some of my personal favorite books and cartoons have been made into big movies for the fall, such as "Starship Troopers" and "George of the Jungle." Let's check out Batman, it's one of the most impressive sites I've visited recently, but it's very graphic-intensive and a fast-link will help.

http://www.batmanandrobin.com

Joni: Holy cow: There are five separate web addresses. Each site represents one of the five main characters. These people went all out. You can jump off from here or visit the sites separately:

http://www.batman.com

http://www.androbin.com

http://www.batgirl.com

http://www.mrfreeze.com

http://www.poisonivy.com

Did Robin agree to this? His site is named "And Robin." Talk about a sidekick. I'd contact my attorney.

Dennis: It's Robin. He really doesn't have a choice in the matter. From the main site, you can send web cards or download screensavers, desktop patterns and posters.

Joni: Let's jump off to Mr. Freeze. When you enter the websites, the bottom portion of the screen becomes the dashboard of the star's vehicle.

Dennis: It's a pretty neat looking site, but there's very little interaction.

Joni: Let's jump off to Hercules. Disney has been spending a pretty penny promoting this full-length animated film, even though it doesn't open until June 27.

Dennis: Even Disney has it wrong. Hercules doesn't ride Pegasus. Bellerophon does.

Joni: Dennis, you're scary. Remember this is the world of Hollywood (or Orlando). They don't have to be right, just entertaining. There's also interactive games such as Wheel of Sparta.

Dennis: Let's visit OSPN, Olympus Sports Panhellenic Network. It's SportsCentaur. Clever. In MuseTV, there are five soundclips you can download, about 450K a piece. Disney says it takes three minutes to download.

Joni: It's a busy site. Every kid in the world must be trying to get in ... including us. OK, I was a Disney fan way before my kids were born. Now, I just have an excuse.

Dennis: Let's visit the "Con Air" web site. Even though it's been out a few weeks, it's still at the top of the box office charts.

http://www.con-air.com

Here you find surveillance cameras and flight tracking. You can get information on a no-hostage waiver. The movie was pretty good, except it was a little disconcerting to see the actor who played Chief Miles O'Brien on Star Trek as a DEA agent.

Joni: Life has its strange turns. At this site, you can download video or audio clips from the main characters. You can also download games: a landing game, a fight game and a code box puzzle. You can also download a movie trailer or screensaver.

Dennis: "Men in Black" doesn't open until July 2, but it already has a web site. Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith are ready to protect the Earth from the scum of the universe.

http://www.meninblack.com

Joni: You can download movie clips or jump over to the "Men In Black" magazine. You can also join up or report close encounters of your own -- alien or otherwise, I guess. You can view your comments in "Sightings." They promise: This information WILL NOT be passed on to any agency, group or government organization. No, just any looney on the Internet can read about it.

Dennis: The magazine details aliens among us, alien technology, unexplained phenomenon and such. It's loopy. OK, let's check out one more summer blockbuster: "Speed 2."

http://www.speed2-cruisecontrol.com

Dennis: You can visit the plot, the crew, the manifest and the game deck. Let's check out the game deck. It's OK, but it takes so long to load the shockwave games. The flooding game is pretty cool, you have to separate the flooding compartments from the non-flooding compartments. I managed to save everyone only once. The rest of the time, I had a few casualties.

Joni: Lucky I wasn't aboard. What's your favorite movie site? E-mail us at click@semissourian.com

See you in Cyberspace.

Joni Adams is managing editor and Dennis O'Shields is co-webmaster at the Southeast Missourian.