In Short:: Sci Fi Kick and others

I, Robot

Pleasantly surprising and quite likable. What I liked most was that despite the fact that it was a summer block bluster, it wasn't always a typical one. In particular, I like how the movie kept throwing surprises at you; Sonny not being evil, the CEO not being the villain, the wink, what actually happened during Spooner's accident, etc. Although I initially was sort of turned off by all three of the main characters, they all ended up growing on me. Especially Sonny, the emo robot. Some of the things he said were quite pensive and thought provoking.

Sonny: [Looking around at the robots while he is about to be "killed"] They all look like me. But none of them are me.


As for Dr. Susan Calvin, she sort of annoyed me throughout the beginning when she kept explaining everything in a very inaccessible way that not even scientists/doctors talk to each other like that, so how could Will Smith's cop character understand any of that? It's hard to find scientists protrayed in movies well, and while Dr. Calvin wasn't perfect, she sort of became more real and way more likable as the movie went on.

Susan Calvin: [about Spooner's motorcycle] Please tell me this doesn't run on gas! Gas explodes, you know?

As for Calvin and Spooner's interactions, I like how they referred to each other by last name and how they don't actually hook up w/ each other at the end. There's, of course, the smiles at the end, but I like that they don't force it on you.

Detective Del Spooner: You must be the dumbest, smart person in the world.
Susan Calvin: And you must be the dumbest, dumb person in the world.

Now I really want to go and read the original Asimov short story.

**
2001: A Space Odyssey

HAL: I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.

A very good movie, very well done. People have described it as a "movie painting," and I think they're absolutely right; I can't think of a better way to describe it. It provokes thoughts, emotions, questions, and it's definitely a movie I will need to re-watch. In particular, I like how the movie is able to convey so much with so little dialogue and how it is quite haunting and eerie in some parts. Eg. the space scenes when all you hear is someone breathing.

And as for Hal, he's one of those characters who you hear so much about that it's hard for them to live up to the expectations bestowed upon them, but Hal is superb. He's very eerie...very stunning, very memorable...again raises questions always raised by AI in sci fi.

**
The Great Mouse Detective

An adorable take on Sherlock Holmes as a mouse. Not particularly memorable but still a good movie nonetheless.

**
Frenzy

Bob Rusk: I don't know if you know it, Babs, but you're my type of woman.

Likely my favorite Hitchcock film. Vertigo's still probably the best of his movies, but Frenzy has everything that I love about Hitchcock: plenty of dark humor, suspense, mystery, etc. The characters are far from perfect, but they're all so likable and believable. In particular, I liked the interactions between the detective and his wife. And the ending is just fantastic; it brings you to a moment, a really tense, suspenseful moment that you weren't quite sure the movie could pull off given it's earlier humorous tone, but it's really something quite special at the end when all the three main male characters are together in a room.