Blade Runner 2049

bladerunnerCan the Uncanny Valley ever be overcome? The line between a computer simulation or robot, and a real person seems like a great chasm today, but once we get closer and closer, will the line blur, or will we become hyper-sensitive to the minute differences? Will we ever need to have a debate over a “grown” human’s rights? Are they the same as a robot? A fleshy version of Commander Data? Can an automaton have a soul if it passes an emotional Turing Test? Is it different if it bleeds? Do tests even really mean anything when we’re looking for a soul? We could sit here and have ourselves a podcast’s worth of questions, but let’s talk about the movie instead. Is it a good movie?

Blade Runner officer “K” (Ryan Gosling) goes out to a protein farm outside Los Angeles and “retires” one of the old replicant models. The replicant was hiding a secret so powerful it might “end the world” as officer K’s superior, Lieutenant Joshi (Robin Wright) explains it. It is up to K to unravel the mystery.

This review contains SPOILERS

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Prisoners

220px-Prisoners2013Poster

A film described by many as intense and thrilling from start to finish. Based on the hype, I thought I was in for a hell of a ride. Instead, I got a film that took its time. But, while the film traveled at far from break-neck speed, it was certainly intense. At two and a half hours, it does not let you off easy. 

Prisoners’ stars include Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal. Jackman plays Keller Dover, the head of one of two families that both lose their youngest daughters on Thanksgiving. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the oddly named Detective Loki, who is on a mission to find them. He is definitely the hard-man cop: neck tattoo, never lost a case, and willing inflict a little police brutality to get answers. Keller Dover is a devout Christian, always prepared for the worst, and willing to break the law, and some bones, to get his daughter back. 

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