Movie Review - Autómata (2014)

 

Automata (2014)

This one I stumbled upon accidently in the middle of the night. Scrolling through free streaming services looking for something different to watch. Never heard of this film before now. But hey it has Antonio Banderas in there, oh look Dylan McDermott as well, and what the hell is that Melanie Griffith as well? Okay so that was it, I was watching this one.

Okay we get a quick rundown of the status of the world right at the beginning. Solar flares wiping out most of the planet, everything turning to desert, nearly all of the  population has died off and the final patches are huddled together in cities. Technology has started to regress in most areas except for robotics, which is a great excuse to use modern tech in movies that take place in the future. Robots called Pilgrims are doing most of the labor now and trying to save the world. Everything is pretty shitty.

Now one cool thing we get a new twist on the old idea of Asimov's three laws of robotics. These robots have two unchangeable protocols: they cannot harm any form of life and may not repair, modify, or alter themselves or other robots in any way. Now the first part is real simple while the second has more deeper meaning. It keeps them from altering themselves so they can ignore their protocols AND it keeps them from repairing themselves so the company that makes them can stay in business. 

Our main character, Jacq Vaucan, is an insurance investigator for the company (ROC) that makes the Pilgrims. He finds himself pulled into an interesting case of a robot that was repairing itself and is shot by a police officer for suspicious activity. This leads him down a path of other robots who are more free thinking, showing us clockworks, folks who work on, repair and modify the Pilgrims without company authorization. Piled onto this is some secrets that ROC is very privy on keeping secret.

We eventually get to leave the city and trek across the desert. Jacq gets to discover who, or what, is causing the Pilgrims to function so differently. More of the completely devastated world is shown and it becomes pretty clear that humans aren't likely to survive. But maybe another form of life will.

Quite a bit of work went into some attempted deep thought at life, living and what survives after you. Artificial awareness is really touched on and what will one do to keep on existing. But just don't get attached to many of the character okay? 

It's grim, gritty and visually well done. So why haven't I hard of this? Well execution isn't quite as good as the idea. We have moments that drag on, lead ups that end to quick, and some disappointed story choices in a few spots. I get what they were going for but it feels like that golden ring was just out of reach for the folks doing the actual movie. 

That being said it is a neat movie to watch. Some new ideas for post apoc that could be explored, new concept and ideas for some scifi robot material. But don't go in expecting to find a great film, just a decent film. But they did get a lot out of their 15 million dollar budget. Science fiction fans will enjoy what they are given but it won't make it to their top ten list. 

"Trash the world!"

Sci-Fi's Forgotten Masterpiece

Papa Roach - Leave A Light On (Talk Away The Dark) - (Official Live Musi...

Papa Roach - Leave A Light On (Talk Away The Dark), Benefitting the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The band's royalties on this song are being donated directly to the AFSP, in perpetuity. Every time the song is streamed, downloaded, or used in any way a donation is being made. The band's initial donation to the AFSP of $155,000 was presented at their final show in Denver, Colorado.

The Hu - Bosoo Huh Mongol (Official Music Video)

Movie Review: Hellraiser (2022)

 

Hellraiser (2022) streaming on Hulu.

Now I'm a big fan of the original Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 movies. Loved them both a lot. Great horror entries that were unique and different than anything else at the time. Starting with part three it became a rapid downward spiral. So yes I am watching this one and comparing it to the originals in my head, can't help it. That being said here we go.

Overall I enjoyed the new reimagining of the original material. It's not a remake, it doesn't try to be better than the first one. That's probably the smartest way to tackle this project, and it works. Somewhat. 

This time it starts off with getting a good glimpse at the horror of what the puzzle box can do in the hands of an eccentric occultist named Roland Voight as he uses it as a tool to talk to the god behind the cursed thing. It's a quick intro and we don't find out what really happened until later. Months afterwards it falls into the hands of Riley and her boyfriend Trevor and the terror really starts to happen. Eventually pulling her brother, brothers boyfriend and their roommate into the bloodbath we knew was going to happen. So the fight to find a way out of their predicament entails the rest of the movie.  

We get some new neat twists on the mythos. A little bit of a reimagining of how the box works and what it can do. Also a bit of a change on who they will drag back to hell with them. 

Visually this movie is pretty stunning. The cenobites look good, although more clean and sanitized in appearance despite being peeled open and reconstructed. There were no problems with the role of Pinhead being played by a woman, despite what all the haters wanted to shout about, Jamie Clayton did a great job. Roland Voight's home is amazingly well done with some really neat ideas involved. All the sets helped force the mood and weren't just plain ole extra lots, there was some thought in them. 

Now while all the characters were well done and the actors all did great jobs, this is wear it kind of stumbles. There weren't any characters that you really liked all that much starting out. Even near the end some of them you just don't really care if they live or die. In the original we at least have Kirsty and her father as likable folks to kind of cheer for. I get they were probably going for a cast of characters that were all broken in some way and flawed, but they leaned into that a bit to much in my humble opinion. 

So I still give this one two thumbs up although one is tilted a bit. Also it should go without saying that if you don't like horror then don't go watching this one. 

My Early Access Review of the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Mission Kit

Food Review - Casey's Taco Pizza Kettle Chips

 

Never, ever, eat these things.

These taste nothing like Taco or Pizza. While there is some familiar taste in there, it's not present in a good way. More like sadness and isolation if they had flavor. Two thumbs way down. Terrible. Not fit for human consumption, not ever for gamers at the gaming table.