A friend of mine recommended that I watch Monsters. It was available on Netflix streaming, so I added it to my queue. The premise is that a survey mission to investigate extraterrestrial life burned up on reentry to Earth over Latin America. The “Monsters” appear later on, for what seems to be a seasonal basis. They terrorize the locals, and the main character is visiting to try and capture some photographs of the destruction. There is an invasion coming and Andrew, the photographer, is anxious to get some pictures so he can cash in. His plans get interrupted by a demand from the publisher to escort his daughter out of the country. She’s engaged to be married, but the fiancé has already made hit home. Why? Probably some type of fight. The movie came across as being a suspense, romance, and science fiction flick all at the same time. I usually like it when I see genres mixed, but Monsters was spread too thin. Nothing made me think, “this is a good movie.” The action scenes were rather intense, but I didn’t really get scared or startled. The awkward romance that blossomed between the photographer and the girl was predictable. The mystery behind the nature of the Monster invasions was interesting, but not enough to carry the rest of the movie. It wasn’t a bad movie, but not one that I’d recommend someone spend money on to see.
Monsters (2010) Directed by Gareth Edwards
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2012 (2009) Directed by Roland Emmerich2012 (2009) Directed by Roland Emmerich
Last weekend my wife and I watched 2012 with a couple of friends. We planned on making some chocolate martinis, and I have to say they definitely improved the movie watching experience. About a quarter of the way through the movie we were wondering when the introduction of new characters was going to end. Most of them are empty with no depth whatsoever. I can’t tell you anything about the main character’s ex-wife other than she divorced him and is now with a plastic surgeon. Don’t bother watching this if you are expecting a gripping story. (more…)
So who wants to control your own personal robot?So who wants to control your own personal robot?
How would you like to control your own personal robot to do your bidding? The new movie Surrogates, starring Bruce Willis, takes this concept to extremes. In the movie, humans link their minds to a robot and control them directly. This is a bit different than being converted to a cyborg like Ray Kurzweil predicts.
As CNN reports:
“Surrogates” director Jonathan Mostow, whose film credits include 2003’s “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,” said he was drawn to the concept of surrogate robots as an extension of current technology. And, he said, as he met with scientists, he became convinced that something approaching the concept could one day be a reality.
It seems like the concept of “old fashioned” humanoid robots is finally becoming outdated. I wonder how Isaac Asimov would feel? It is one thing to boss around a robot using the Second Law of Robotics, but actually mind-melding with one, or becoming one is completely different. The main dilemma in Surrogates is that someone found a way to fry someone’s brain before they were able to jack out of the robot they were controlling. This concept is very old, dating back to the old Virtual Reality plots. I was very interested in the movie when I first saw the trailer, but after reading some lackluster reviews, I think I might just wait for DVD.
The critics could be wrong though. Do any of you think I should give it a chance?
Check out the full article via CNN for more information. I found it to be an interesting read.
Star Wars – The Original Trilogy Bonus Discs – Widescreen DVDStar Wars – The Original Trilogy Bonus Discs – Widescreen DVD
Released September 12, 2006
I can’t tell you how sad I was when George Lucas said that the original theatrical versions of the Star Wars Trilogy would never be released on DVD. This statement was the only reason I purchased the SE DVD box set. I figured I could ignore most of the stupid changes that were made. Low and behold George Lucas changed his mind and decided to release it this year. I was ready to buy them until I realized it would only be released as a “Bonus” disk to the Re-Release of the SE DVDs. Not only would I have to re-purchase DVDs I already owned, I would be getting a sub-par Laserdisc transfer that was only 4×3 Letterboxed (non-anamorphic). I personally hate the SE version. I thought Lucas had lost his mind when he took away Han Solo shooting first and removing my favorite Ewok song just to name a few things. There was no way in hell I was going to buy those again just to get the bonus disks. Luckily, I noticed Netflix was offering them as rentals so I popped them in my queue and did a visual comparison and was surprised by the results. I didn’t really compare the audio. (more…)


