I consider myself an educated person, politically savvy, an active voter, and thought I was aware of how US political systems work. 88 showed me Indont know squat. The movie introduced me to new information of which I wasn't already aware, revealing details of exactly how the system is heavily gamed, and it did so within the context of an entertaining thriller. I appreciate the hot topic discussion items throughout, like the controversial take on Black Panther.
Reviews
3 Reviews
Transcendence
(I) (2014)
Not Perfect, But Clever and Slick with an Emotional Core
18 April 2014
Warning: Spoilers
*** this review may contain spoilers ***
As I read a lot of the disappointed reviews, I can say there is merit to those arguments in that the film is certainly not perfect like a Nolan film, and the actors could have pushed for more chemistry.
But no one is talking about the brilliant coup de grace in this film which is that it's not actually a warning against technology at all; it's a warning against our own fear of technology, as more dangerous than the technology itself. This movie does such an excellent job of building a fear in us, along with all the other human characters, of impending doom as a result of the sheer power and lightning pace of advanced technology that is moving faster than we can comprehend. And yet the brilliant wool that pulled over our eyes so deftly by the storytelling, is that while we are caught up in the midst of fearing the worst, the AI that is made to be the bad guy is doing nothing but good. Every single thing the AI does in the movie is a good thing that we all wish we had the power to accomplish. Yet when the AI actually goes in a does it, our snap fear reaction against that which we do not understand and thus cannot control, we seek to destroy, even if it's every action proves it to be benevolent. The only people that ever die in the movie: will, evelyn, martin, all are killed by humans, not a single person is harmed by the AI.
On top of the superior execution of "villain" creation out of a character which is actually doing only good, the film is gorgeous and introduces us to some way cool technology ideas and effects, specifically nanotechnology conveyed in a palpable way, which is hard to do with a technically invisible technology.
The cast is stellar, but unfortunately they all seem to be just punching the clock except for Rebecca Hall, who invested a lot and deliver a career making turn proving she can hold her weight and then some, across from a series of heavyweight talent in Depp, Bettany, Freeman, Murphy along with top notchers Mara, Collins, and Hauser. The most unfortunate aspect is that almost all these heavy hitters are underused with scenes that never allow them to develop or even push the envelope of their characters. Too bad on that count, as this was seriously almost name for name the all star lineup i would choose if i could pick my own dream team of talent to put into one movie.
Great movie. Gorgeous to see. Entertained me with eye candy and stimulating conceptual ideas throughout, and made me think after it was done. Give me a movie in theaters like this one every week, and i'll go out to the movies every single week.
As I read a lot of the disappointed reviews, I can say there is merit to those arguments in that the film is certainly not perfect like a Nolan film, and the actors could have pushed for more chemistry.
But no one is talking about the brilliant coup de grace in this film which is that it's not actually a warning against technology at all; it's a warning against our own fear of technology, as more dangerous than the technology itself. This movie does such an excellent job of building a fear in us, along with all the other human characters, of impending doom as a result of the sheer power and lightning pace of advanced technology that is moving faster than we can comprehend. And yet the brilliant wool that pulled over our eyes so deftly by the storytelling, is that while we are caught up in the midst of fearing the worst, the AI that is made to be the bad guy is doing nothing but good. Every single thing the AI does in the movie is a good thing that we all wish we had the power to accomplish. Yet when the AI actually goes in a does it, our snap fear reaction against that which we do not understand and thus cannot control, we seek to destroy, even if it's every action proves it to be benevolent. The only people that ever die in the movie: will, evelyn, martin, all are killed by humans, not a single person is harmed by the AI.
On top of the superior execution of "villain" creation out of a character which is actually doing only good, the film is gorgeous and introduces us to some way cool technology ideas and effects, specifically nanotechnology conveyed in a palpable way, which is hard to do with a technically invisible technology.
The cast is stellar, but unfortunately they all seem to be just punching the clock except for Rebecca Hall, who invested a lot and deliver a career making turn proving she can hold her weight and then some, across from a series of heavyweight talent in Depp, Bettany, Freeman, Murphy along with top notchers Mara, Collins, and Hauser. The most unfortunate aspect is that almost all these heavy hitters are underused with scenes that never allow them to develop or even push the envelope of their characters. Too bad on that count, as this was seriously almost name for name the all star lineup i would choose if i could pick my own dream team of talent to put into one movie.
Great movie. Gorgeous to see. Entertained me with eye candy and stimulating conceptual ideas throughout, and made me think after it was done. Give me a movie in theaters like this one every week, and i'll go out to the movies every single week.
Noah
(2014)
Brilliant in Spots, Overall Well Done, Entertaining and Insightful
13 April 2014
this is by no means a perfect film, and certainly if IMDb would allow half star increments, i would have rated this one a 7.5, but darren aronofsky's noah is entertaining throughout, generally well executed, but attained brilliance at times.
******* potential spoilers, unintentional but just in case *******
once the story gets past the well known parts of the bible story, it really picks up the emotion, because we honestly don't know what's going to happen, it's never much discussed what actually happens on the boat. we see a noah that is never depicted in the stories, a man torn between his conviction and his humanity.
there really is no higher level of convincing acting than russell crowe, well matched by jennifer connelly and a moving turn by emma watson all of whom elevated this film beyond the so so special effects, to something that really made me feel the characters and the drama that unfolds.
the film is much better than its 6.whatever rating belies. i believe it's unfairly skewed by the radical religious fundamentalists who scored multiple 1s, expecting Hollywood to put out a literal transcript of a religious story that not even the religions can agree on consistently. because these folks don't find the movie to be sanctioned by the god association of whatever particular sect they subscribe to they come on IMDb and try to repel what they consider to be the work of the devil by leaving drastically biased reviews and ratings that have no correlation with the quality of the work that was presented on the screen.
darren aronofsky has once again laid down a work that transcends the popcorn entertainment of the movie industry, being at once entertaining but also emotionally and intellectually introspective. he completes the circle from bible story to the trials we currently face in today's world. the parallels are scary, and in the end the offending element creating imbalance in the world is desperately flawed man, even noah.
******* potential spoilers, unintentional but just in case *******
once the story gets past the well known parts of the bible story, it really picks up the emotion, because we honestly don't know what's going to happen, it's never much discussed what actually happens on the boat. we see a noah that is never depicted in the stories, a man torn between his conviction and his humanity.
there really is no higher level of convincing acting than russell crowe, well matched by jennifer connelly and a moving turn by emma watson all of whom elevated this film beyond the so so special effects, to something that really made me feel the characters and the drama that unfolds.
the film is much better than its 6.whatever rating belies. i believe it's unfairly skewed by the radical religious fundamentalists who scored multiple 1s, expecting Hollywood to put out a literal transcript of a religious story that not even the religions can agree on consistently. because these folks don't find the movie to be sanctioned by the god association of whatever particular sect they subscribe to they come on IMDb and try to repel what they consider to be the work of the devil by leaving drastically biased reviews and ratings that have no correlation with the quality of the work that was presented on the screen.
darren aronofsky has once again laid down a work that transcends the popcorn entertainment of the movie industry, being at once entertaining but also emotionally and intellectually introspective. he completes the circle from bible story to the trials we currently face in today's world. the parallels are scary, and in the end the offending element creating imbalance in the world is desperately flawed man, even noah.
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