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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Autonomous: A Novel in Books
Dec 22, 2018
Autonomous is an interesting story that poses a lot of moral questions. It doesn't really take sides; both the pharmaceutical pirate and the agents tracking her down are painted in sympathetic ways, as if we're meant to like them all. We see why Jack is a pharmaceutical pirate; medicine is only available to those rich enough to pay for it, so the poor stay poor and sick and short-lived. She wants to change that. She reverse-engineers drugs, manufactures them, and distributes them to the needy through her associates.
Meanwhile, Eliasz is a conflicted military agent who is sexually attracted to robots. Or at least to his partner, Paladin, though a flashback shows what might have been the start of his attraction to robots. Paladin is probably the single most interesting character in the entire book, as she muses on the nature of being indentured, and searches through her memories and the internet for information about her situation.
The book does have LGBT content - Jack is bisexual, and Eliasz is - robosexual? Is that a thing? Paladin could be called nonbinary or trans; she repeatedly mentions that gender isn't a thing to robots, but because she's a military robot, most people call her a he at the beginning of the book. She learns the brain inside her is female, and to make Eliasz more comfortable with his attraction, she decides to use female pronouns. Eliasz does use the F word to refer to himself being attracted to the robot at the beginning, when they were using male pronouns. This puzzles Paladin for a while, causing her to search the term and figure out what Eliasz meant by its use.
There's a lot of complex world-building in this book that is barely brushed past. From the corporations who own patents covering everything, to the system of indenture that covers humans as well as robots, to the bio-domes that cover cities (but it's livable outside the biodomes, so why are they needed?), to the new federations that cover continents that used to be divided into several countries - there's a LOT going on. And there's not just robots, but also some pretty advanced cybernetics implanted in humans as well as an everpresent network of data that can be tapped into with implants that everyone has.
Ultimately, for as complex as the world is, and cohesive as the plot is, I'm left wondering who, if anyone, was in the right in this story. I'm not sure if we're supposed to be happy with the ending or not. I've seen other reviews saying Neuromancer was a way better book in a similar vein, and I actually have copy of that waiting to be read. So we'll see.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Meanwhile, Eliasz is a conflicted military agent who is sexually attracted to robots. Or at least to his partner, Paladin, though a flashback shows what might have been the start of his attraction to robots. Paladin is probably the single most interesting character in the entire book, as she muses on the nature of being indentured, and searches through her memories and the internet for information about her situation.
The book does have LGBT content - Jack is bisexual, and Eliasz is - robosexual? Is that a thing? Paladin could be called nonbinary or trans; she repeatedly mentions that gender isn't a thing to robots, but because she's a military robot, most people call her a he at the beginning of the book. She learns the brain inside her is female, and to make Eliasz more comfortable with his attraction, she decides to use female pronouns. Eliasz does use the F word to refer to himself being attracted to the robot at the beginning, when they were using male pronouns. This puzzles Paladin for a while, causing her to search the term and figure out what Eliasz meant by its use.
There's a lot of complex world-building in this book that is barely brushed past. From the corporations who own patents covering everything, to the system of indenture that covers humans as well as robots, to the bio-domes that cover cities (but it's livable outside the biodomes, so why are they needed?), to the new federations that cover continents that used to be divided into several countries - there's a LOT going on. And there's not just robots, but also some pretty advanced cybernetics implanted in humans as well as an everpresent network of data that can be tapped into with implants that everyone has.
Ultimately, for as complex as the world is, and cohesive as the plot is, I'm left wondering who, if anyone, was in the right in this story. I'm not sure if we're supposed to be happy with the ending or not. I've seen other reviews saying Neuromancer was a way better book in a similar vein, and I actually have copy of that waiting to be read. So we'll see.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.com
Action Movie FX
Entertainment and Photo & Video
App
Apple App of the Year ACTION MOVIE FX lets you add Hollywood FX to iPhone and iPad movies that YOU...
Photo Lock Vault Calculator +
Photo & Video and Utilities
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Calc+ Photo Lock Vault is the BEST SECRET CALCULATOR to HIDE PHOTOS and VIDEOS! With its discreet...
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Finch (2021) in Movies
Nov 18, 2021
Very Effective
There are times when there is a “Perfect Storm” of film material, performance, mood, style and execution of said material and the headspace that I am in when I sit down to view the movie that elevates a film viewing experience above the norm.
Such was my experience when I sat down and watched the Tom Hanks Post-Apocalyptic film FINCH on AppleTV+. On paper, it looks like a run-of-the-mill “last few survivors on Earth struggle to remain alive” film, but - in my experience - it was much better than that.
Starring Tom Hanks as loner scientist Finch, who is scraping by in the remains of St. Louis with a dog and 2 robot helpers - robots of his own creation. When conditions in St. Louis worsen, Finch must pack up (with his 3 companions in tow) and head to a place where he thinks that life might be better - San Francisco.
Pretty standard “road movie” stuff, right? But in the hands of an Actor like Hanks, Emmy Winning GAME OF THRONES Director Miguel Sapochnik, a script by Craig Luck and Ivor Powell that digs into the humanity of Finch (and the situation) and some top-notch Computer animation of the Robots (especially “Jeff” voiced by Caleb Landry Jones), this film elevates itself above the norm.
There are not too many actors who could hold the attention of an audience for 2 hours speaking with 2 robots and a dog, but Hanks manages to do this - and do this very well. He brings his basic decency to the fore and makes us root for him from the start.
The surprise for me was the voice work of Caleb Landry Jones (GET OUT) who matches Hanks beat for beat and brings the same level of decency to his character. It is a testament to Jones’ work in a Motion Capture suit - and the “mo-cap” (Supervised by Scott Stokdyk) that makes the audience see and feel emotions on the face of the robot that just aren’t there. It’s that good.
Director Sapochnik really moves the film at the correct pace as he stops for the humanity, but doesn’t dwell on it too long - and, thus, avoids making the film too sentimental and mawkish. It is a delicate balancing act that this film walks very well.
Probably the biggest movie-going surprise of the year for me. A film that, at this point, will end up in my Top 10 of 2021.
Yes, I am as surprised as you are by this.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Such was my experience when I sat down and watched the Tom Hanks Post-Apocalyptic film FINCH on AppleTV+. On paper, it looks like a run-of-the-mill “last few survivors on Earth struggle to remain alive” film, but - in my experience - it was much better than that.
Starring Tom Hanks as loner scientist Finch, who is scraping by in the remains of St. Louis with a dog and 2 robot helpers - robots of his own creation. When conditions in St. Louis worsen, Finch must pack up (with his 3 companions in tow) and head to a place where he thinks that life might be better - San Francisco.
Pretty standard “road movie” stuff, right? But in the hands of an Actor like Hanks, Emmy Winning GAME OF THRONES Director Miguel Sapochnik, a script by Craig Luck and Ivor Powell that digs into the humanity of Finch (and the situation) and some top-notch Computer animation of the Robots (especially “Jeff” voiced by Caleb Landry Jones), this film elevates itself above the norm.
There are not too many actors who could hold the attention of an audience for 2 hours speaking with 2 robots and a dog, but Hanks manages to do this - and do this very well. He brings his basic decency to the fore and makes us root for him from the start.
The surprise for me was the voice work of Caleb Landry Jones (GET OUT) who matches Hanks beat for beat and brings the same level of decency to his character. It is a testament to Jones’ work in a Motion Capture suit - and the “mo-cap” (Supervised by Scott Stokdyk) that makes the audience see and feel emotions on the face of the robot that just aren’t there. It’s that good.
Director Sapochnik really moves the film at the correct pace as he stops for the humanity, but doesn’t dwell on it too long - and, thus, avoids making the film too sentimental and mawkish. It is a delicate balancing act that this film walks very well.
Probably the biggest movie-going surprise of the year for me. A film that, at this point, will end up in my Top 10 of 2021.
Yes, I am as surprised as you are by this.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Verner Latskin (74 KP) rated Mr. Robot - Season 1 in TV
Jul 21, 2017
The Writing (6 more)
The Cinematography
The Direction
The Performances
Best Dream Sequence that David Lynch didn't create
The Music
Best plot twist since Fight Club (the one that isnt inspired by Fight Club)
Brilliant, breathtaking, addictive.
I love this show. I only watched it on a lark, expecting to make fun of it - a hacker drama on USA called "Mr. Robot"? This is gonna be hilarious, I thought. I was so incredibly wrong. By the end of the pilot, I was hooked harder than any show since Twin Peaks had hooked me.
It's maybe the most cinematic TV series ever made, more so than a lot of movies. The mysteries it creates are gripping and compelling, inviting intense theorizing and speculation. It pulls off the best twist I've ever seen on television, and does it by blinding you with one that is telegraphed and inspired by another famous plot twist. Rami Malik goes from that guy you've seen in a bunch of stuff to legend status in one scene. In fact, the entire cast is nothing short of amazing. It makes the audience into a part of the show like no show ever has. It's already one of my favorite series ever made. It's brilliant.
It's maybe the most cinematic TV series ever made, more so than a lot of movies. The mysteries it creates are gripping and compelling, inviting intense theorizing and speculation. It pulls off the best twist I've ever seen on television, and does it by blinding you with one that is telegraphed and inspired by another famous plot twist. Rami Malik goes from that guy you've seen in a bunch of stuff to legend status in one scene. In fact, the entire cast is nothing short of amazing. It makes the audience into a part of the show like no show ever has. It's already one of my favorite series ever made. It's brilliant.
MasterSolace (19 KP) rated Mega Man 11 in Video Games
May 30, 2019
It's Mega Man. (4 more)
Old school with new school graphics
The stages are twice as long as normal
Double Gear gives you options
New Weapons change Mega Man's appearance physically
Double Gear makes me LONG for a Mega Man X9(Capcom!!!!) (1 more)
Some of the Robot Master boss fights are stranger than they should be.
Somehow old school is new(Switch)
Mega Man 11. The 11th true entry into the Blue Bomber's flagship series.
After 9 and 10 going back to the EXTREME difficulty and the 8-bit graphic, Capcom decided to show Mighty No. 9 how it SHOULD be done.
The Double Gear system changes things up. One Gear allows you to slow time down, great for precision jumps. The other Powers up your weapons, like the X-Buster upgrade in the X series. Makes me wonder why they didn't make Mega Man X9(CAPCOM!!!!!!). The stages are twice as long as normal, so that is actually really cool. And the boss fights are VERY diverse, so much so going into the first one, you think the others will be similar, but they aren't... which isn't a BAD thing. But it mimics the changes in the boss fights from X8(CAPCOM!!!!!!!!!!)
Mega Man 11 rekindles my love for the core series, but MAKES ME WANT MEGA MAN X9 THAT MUCH MORE!!!!
And it scratch the itch.
After 9 and 10 going back to the EXTREME difficulty and the 8-bit graphic, Capcom decided to show Mighty No. 9 how it SHOULD be done.
The Double Gear system changes things up. One Gear allows you to slow time down, great for precision jumps. The other Powers up your weapons, like the X-Buster upgrade in the X series. Makes me wonder why they didn't make Mega Man X9(CAPCOM!!!!!!). The stages are twice as long as normal, so that is actually really cool. And the boss fights are VERY diverse, so much so going into the first one, you think the others will be similar, but they aren't... which isn't a BAD thing. But it mimics the changes in the boss fights from X8(CAPCOM!!!!!!!!!!)
Mega Man 11 rekindles my love for the core series, but MAKES ME WANT MEGA MAN X9 THAT MUCH MORE!!!!
And it scratch the itch.
Call Break+
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