A short, simple and heartfelt film that gives a subtle look at a very possible future.
When his father Frank shows signs of dementia, son Hunter decides to give him a robot aid to take care of him. While completely disinterested at first, Frank soon learns that the robot only wants to help him, with whatever he needs. So dutifully the robot learns and assists Frank in burglary; Frank's talent from his younger days.
Set "in the near future" Robot and Frank explores future possibilities I currently find very interesting. From the evolution of robotics and the moralities there in, to the slow digitization of everything around us.
Frank (played wonderfully by Frank Langella) is the embodiment of a bygone age (even our current generation) with his mistrust of the technological boom, this is evident with his conflict with the hipster youths who live in a digital age. Susan Sarandon plays a librarian whose library that Frank frequents is getting completely replaced by a digital archive.
While Frank's son is all about helping his father with new age methods, his daughter (Liv Tyler) is very liberal and free spirited; devoted to helping others as a human being. This device is a little obvious, and does make the other characters stand out as their obvious stereotypes, but it isn't unwelcome in such a short story.
The writing and story strike best between Frank and his obedient servant. Frank Langella plays the part well, going from grumpy old man to reinvigorated rascal at the drop of a hat while keeping it honest. The robot itself learns, and becomes surprisingly sly after learning from a character such as Frank, and while very subtle, the writing is excellent with the duo's dialogue.
There isn't much else to say, as I say it is a very short film, but it is one I would recommend to anyone curious. It is has a gentle pace with some (perhaps predictable) interesting plot developments, as well as being a showcase for a very potential future for us as human beings!
Susan Sarandon is appearing in a LOT of films I'm reviewing this year!
You have to dig deep to find a unique vampire film these days, yet luckily here it is!
Following a vampire couple quietly living in the city, Miriam is a vampire from ancient Egyptian times, while her sired partner John has discovered his own immortality has begun to wane. With his age rapidly accelerating he looks for help from a scientist who is trying to prevent rapid aging diseases.
This is the first film made by the late Tony Scott and it certainly stands out from what he became famous for; it is a quiet, atmospheric, sexualised and haunted experience that's focused on the vampire's turmoil.
David Bowie plays vampire John Blaylock and he makes for a good vampire. The opening act is a 1980's punk infused montage of the two vampires feeding, yet the rest of the film does not return to this sort of setting. The film's most impressive element has to be John's degradation; the make-up work (or "make up illusion" as the credits state) is very cool, for most of the second act we see Bowie rapidly age and it still looks impressive today!
Susan Sarandon plays the scientist Sarah Roberts, and is probably the best performance out of all of them, although her involvement at first is strenuous as best. The film relies on the audience knowing what the classic vampire lore is, and tries to spin in some science elements which sadly doesn't lead anywhere. Instead this is a vehicle to lead Sarah into the seductive arms of Miriam (Catherine Deneuve).
It provides everything a mature vampire film should, but is surprisingly atmospheric and I found John's rapid aging fascinating. The ending however was out-of-the-blue and tonally jarring with the rest of the film, as nightmarish and effective as it was, and audiences might find it quite slow.
From the creators of The Matrix comes an adaptation that could not have split opinion more completely when it released in the USA. I have been itching for months to see it.
Adapted from the novel of the same name, Cloud Atlas is an ambitious undertaking, to the point of foolish; a multi-faceted science fiction drama epic spanning across continents and millennia, delving into all subjects of morality; greed, love, slavery, life, death, reincarnation, religion, fate and destiny.
The film spans across mutliple stories in different time periods; one in the 1800s, another in the 1970s, present day, in the 2100s, and within a post-apocolyptic future. These stories play out simultaneously, edited together with the fateful ties that one character has to another. The actors and actresses involved fill the roles of completely different characters who could be ancestorally connected over the centuries! The mysterious theme of the film is hard to pin down, but it addresses inter-connectivity between every single person, about how lives can be changed before they have even begun, how one life can be set on a world-changing revolution without knowing that its destiny had been pre-determined.
Ooft. To say the premise is ambitious is an understatement! Yet Cloud Atlas really works, especially as a creative drama stuffed to capacity with unique visuals and attention to detail. One minute you will be onboard a seventeenth century galleon, the next you will be dodging futuristic hover-bikes or evading cannibalistic tribesmen. Oh, and the comedic stylings of escaping an old folks home! Its editing is remarkable because all of these separate events appear to merge into one cohesive narrative!
Tom Hanks is an example of the great acting here; playing an intellectual scientist, a murderous doctor, a haunted tribesman and a thuggish author! And every single actor gets this much scope, and this film doesn't scrimp on actors either! Hugo Weaving, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant, Ben Whishaw, to name just a few! They all play different people in each time frame, as different races, even different genders!
And here is the rub. Cloud Atlas has received a hail of hatred for apparent negligence and dare I say racism for using (for example) white actors as Korean characters. It is a very strange concept, and takes some getting used to (it is clearly Jim Sturgess or Weaving with Asian make-up) but the film's deliberateness in this device is because it is telling a story of destiny and connectivity; we are all the same, regardless of race or gender or age, and come from the same source. Once you get used to that, you will learn the film's eye-opening integrity and see the complete narrative coming through.
(it isn't shabby make-up either, becoming downright impressive under the scrutiny of High Definition!)
It is an incredible feat and remarkably unique in an age when blockbuster cinema is full of remakes, sequels and prequels. Will everyone like it? Evidentally not! But I am exhilerated to say I have not seen anything like it before, and I want to see it again!
Additional Marshmallows: It must be seen to be believed; a film like this never gets this much love, attention and money thrown at it!
