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Sunday, 18 July 2004
I, Robot
Starring: Will Smith as Detective Exposition, Bridget Moynahan as Dr Exposition, Bruce Greenwood as Chief Exposition Officer, Adrian L. Ricard as Grandma Mostly Exposition, Chi McBride as Lt Exposition, Shia LaBeouf as Pointless Sidekick Exposition, James Cromwell as Zefram Cochrane, and Fiona Hogan as ENIAC. Oh, and Alan Tudyk as the human model for Sonny, your plastic pal who's fun to be with.
Directed by: Alex Proyas
Written by: Jeff Vintar, "Suggested by Isaac Asimov's books"
MPAA says: Rated PG-13 for intense stylized action, and some brief partial nudity. This means Will Smith in a shower scene (and for those of you who would prefer Bridget Moynahan, a foggy glimpse of her in a shower, too).
Running time: 115 minutes
Release date: July 16, 2004
Seen at: National Amusements City Center 15 (see previous comments), still a Pepsi-products theatre. Ever since I heard there will be a sequel to 28 Days Later (28 Weeks Later—seriously), my Pepsi PTSD has returned.
Three Simple Rules for Building A Robot
Shortly after I arrived in New York this month, I had to make a run down to a large Mac-store in lower Manhattan to buy a replacement laptop power cord (yes, Mac-only stores do exist, in spite of the insistence of the various computer shops I phoned that one can only order replacement parts directly from Apple). Sleek, colourful iPods Minis sat on display next to the robust most recent version of the glossy white iPod, right next to the cash register like impulse-buy candy bars, and I nearly succumbed to their allure. I've always been jazzed by sleek tech combined with sleek packaging. I own a slender white iBook (that can be dropped right on its apple and keep on ticking). My iBook greets me when I open its cover to wake it from sleep and carries on a brief conversation, with sufficient (though rudimentary) programming to respond in a variety of ways to my own remarks. I almost never power off the machine. The hard drive, that hard worker, has its own name, but the voice is called Marguerite, after the cunning lady explorer in the television series Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World. I've turned her off while I write this, so she doesn't get any ideas.
First Law of Robotics: A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
First Law of Movies: You may not hurt the cute furry animal.
In junior high school and high school, then later when I worked for his publisher, I read Isaac Asimov's I, Robot series and subsequently dozens more of his novels, short stories, and essays until I realised I wasn't going to live long enough to make my way through his enormous output. I plan to reread the robot novels this summer. But I'm going to review I, Robot as a film, not an adaptation. As the credits remind the audience, the movie is only suggested by Isaac Asimov's work. The characters are familiar, and the fiercely smart and straight-backed Dr Susan Calvin feels like the Susan Calvin I recall from the books, even if she's in a different situation (remember Faramir?). Although Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics are at the core of the movie and its mystery and its philosophical musings, the movie is not so much Asimov as an artefact of our times. The Three Laws have become such an ingrained part of our culture that even some people who don't read science fiction take it for granted this is how our brainy computers and robots are (or should be) programmed. Only aliens program evil computers, and Terminators are just movie monsters. The Three Laws distill a "prime directive" for the new species we may already be creating. They are perfect. Or are they?
As the hero in the movie is challenged to consider: are we asking the right questions?
Read the rest of the review on Outside Food. Please :-)
Starring: Will Smith as Detective Exposition, Bridget Moynahan as Dr Exposition, Bruce Greenwood as Chief Exposition Officer, Adrian L. Ricard as Grandma Mostly Exposition, Chi McBride as Lt Exposition, Shia LaBeouf as Pointless Sidekick Exposition, James Cromwell as Zefram Cochrane, and Fiona Hogan as ENIAC. Oh, and Alan Tudyk as the human model for Sonny, your plastic pal who's fun to be with.Directed by: Alex Proyas
Written by: Jeff Vintar, "Suggested by Isaac Asimov's books"
MPAA says: Rated PG-13 for intense stylized action, and some brief partial nudity. This means Will Smith in a shower scene (and for those of you who would prefer Bridget Moynahan, a foggy glimpse of her in a shower, too).
Running time: 115 minutes
Release date: July 16, 2004
Seen at: National Amusements City Center 15 (see previous comments), still a Pepsi-products theatre. Ever since I heard there will be a sequel to 28 Days Later (28 Weeks Later—seriously), my Pepsi PTSD has returned.
Three Simple Rules for Building A RobotShortly after I arrived in New York this month, I had to make a run down to a large Mac-store in lower Manhattan to buy a replacement laptop power cord (yes, Mac-only stores do exist, in spite of the insistence of the various computer shops I phoned that one can only order replacement parts directly from Apple). Sleek, colourful iPods Minis sat on display next to the robust most recent version of the glossy white iPod, right next to the cash register like impulse-buy candy bars, and I nearly succumbed to their allure. I've always been jazzed by sleek tech combined with sleek packaging. I own a slender white iBook (that can be dropped right on its apple and keep on ticking). My iBook greets me when I open its cover to wake it from sleep and carries on a brief conversation, with sufficient (though rudimentary) programming to respond in a variety of ways to my own remarks. I almost never power off the machine. The hard drive, that hard worker, has its own name, but the voice is called Marguerite, after the cunning lady explorer in the television series Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World. I've turned her off while I write this, so she doesn't get any ideas.
First Law of Robotics: A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.First Law of Movies: You may not hurt the cute furry animal.
In junior high school and high school, then later when I worked for his publisher, I read Isaac Asimov's I, Robot series and subsequently dozens more of his novels, short stories, and essays until I realised I wasn't going to live long enough to make my way through his enormous output. I plan to reread the robot novels this summer. But I'm going to review I, Robot as a film, not an adaptation. As the credits remind the audience, the movie is only suggested by Isaac Asimov's work. The characters are familiar, and the fiercely smart and straight-backed Dr Susan Calvin feels like the Susan Calvin I recall from the books, even if she's in a different situation (remember Faramir?). Although Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics are at the core of the movie and its mystery and its philosophical musings, the movie is not so much Asimov as an artefact of our times. The Three Laws have become such an ingrained part of our culture that even some people who don't read science fiction take it for granted this is how our brainy computers and robots are (or should be) programmed. Only aliens program evil computers, and Terminators are just movie monsters. The Three Laws distill a "prime directive" for the new species we may already be creating. They are perfect. Or are they?
As the hero in the movie is challenged to consider: are we asking the right questions?
Read the rest of the review on Outside Food. Please :-)