Pairic

The Electric State: Another AI gone awry film. In an alternate history robots were developed and took on many menial and not so menial tasks for humans. Their intelligence levels varied, some maybe as smart as animals, others probably the equal if humans, In the early 1990s the robots demanded tights and declared war under the leadership of Mr. Peanut (voiced by Woody Harrelson). Many if the leading robots were built to advertise goods. The robots were winning until Ethan Skate (Stanlry Tucci), CEO of SENTRE develops a system for humans to remote control android drones. Defeated Mr Peanut signs a surrender treaty with President Clinton and the surviving robots are consigned to a reservation in Arizona. Skate's system also allows humans to multi-task after the war, the drones carry out their work while humans enjoy VT entertainment. The guts of this tale concerns Michelle Greene (Millie Bobby Brown) who was orphaned in a car crash and now lives with an exploitative foster father. A robot turns up suggesting that her brother Chris (Woody Norman) is still alive. Along with the robot Michelle sets off on a journey to find her brother, teaming up with a loveable rogue Keats (Chris Pratt) and Cosmo, a sentient robot. In the robot reservation they eventually encounter Mr Peanuts. This is very much an Oz style adventure with Michelle as Dorothy and Mr Peanuts as The Wizard, the real villain is Ethan Skate. They traverse the blasted landscape of the reservation, parts of which where scavenger robots rule, they are also pursued by robot hunter Marshall Bradbury (Giancarlo Esposito). There are elements of Spielberg's AI here along with Pacific Rim. A fair amount of satire and analogies along with superbly choreographed battles between drones and robots. The haters are out in force to take down this film. While it's not a classic it's a perfectly enjoyable SF fable with some interesting plot twists. Produced and Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, the Screenplay by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely is loosely based on the 2018 illustrated novel by Simon Stålenhag. On Netflix. 7.5/10.

A Sunken Place: I got a sinking feeling from the opening scene of this film. A man jumps from a bridge and lands in a car, bouncing off. But there's not a dent on the bonnet. Later at the man's wake a completely different actor is in his coffin. No one suffering from a mental illness is portrayed in a sympathetic manner in this travesty. They are violent and decapitate a woman, suffer from schizophrenia and abuse their invisible tormentors, after failing to commit suicide a girl runs off to join a circus. The plot: set in Ireland, a neurologist develops a chip which when implanted would cure all mental disorders, naturally the pharmaceutical industry sabotages her plans. On this occasion I'm on their side. The neurologist is effectively a Dr Frankenstein, controlling the chips from a laptop, illegally experimenting on humans. The film is drenched with melodrama, bad acting, corny dialogue and unintentional comedy. The makers of this film should be hunted down and sent to film school. Director Ronan O'Leary, Written by Gerard Daly. 3/10 for the inadvertent comedy.

Mickey 17: Clones, a bit reminiscent of Moon by Duncan Jones. Mickey has signed up as an expendable on a starship expedition to a colony planet. It means the scientists on board can test how well he reacts to radiation, to diseases, they test him to destruction, they can just print off a nw Mickey. Eventually they reach the planet and Mickey 17 has an accident and is assumed dead. But he makes his way back to the landed colony ship only to find that Mickey 18 had been printed off. That's a No No as Multiples are illegal.. A satire, a black comedy, a bit of space opera. Some well imagined alien creatures. The starship's interior is to some extent inspired by the Nostromo and the expedition leader might well be an amalgam of Trump and Musk. There are some really gruesome death scenes which the comedy elements just about manage to leaven. Some scenes are overlong and could have been cut to provide more information on the Religious Cult who is also sponsoring the mission. Not up to the standards of Parasite but well worth watching. Written, Produced, and Directed by Bong Joon-ho. 7.5/10.