Atlas (2024)

Director: Brad Peyton

Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Simu Liu, Sterling K. Brown

In a bleak-sounding future, an A.I. soldier has determined that the only way to end war is to end humanity.

With rapid evolving technology there’s been a lot of talk about A.I. lately, and we see it quite a bit in movies, as well. ‘Atlas’ is yet another film exploring the A.I. gone wrong premise.

Artificial Intelligence (or A.I.) is designed to help humanity. Robots have been used for years in the manufacture industry and on assembly lines. Giving robots a human appearance and making them able to ‘think’ is simply the next step. The best early example of this was the computer HAL in ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’.

‘Atlas’ takes it a step further, with Harlan becoming the world’s first AI terrorist. After wreaking havoc, Harlan left Earth 28 years ago with a message that he will return to finish what he started. Analyst Atlas Shepherd (Jennifer Lopez) was just a child back then, and during the course of the film her involvement with Harlan is explained, and the reason why she blames herself for the death of over a million people. She therefore has a personal vendetta against Harlan.

When Harlan’s location is discovered in the Andromeda Galaxy, Atlas insists on going with on a mission to capture him. Unfortunately things does not go according to plan, and when they get shot down, she’s on a new mission: survival – her own and that of humanity.

We learn a lot from Atlas’ back story through her interaction with a robot named Smith, with whom she reluctantly synced. I rather enjoyed this set-up between her and Smith.

There’s plenty of action and adventure as they go on a mission to capture Harlan. A Secondary antagonist, Casca, is on their trail as well, on his own mission to destroy them. This visual effects laden fantasy adventure is entertaining with some thrilling sequences. The visual effects are really good. And who would have thought a goddamn robot could create an emotional moment!!!

I actually really enjoyed this movie, which was not well received by critics.

Would I watch it again? Yes.

Sputnik (2020)

Director: Egor Abramenko

Starring: Oksana Akinshina, Fedor Bondarchuk, Pyotr Fyodorov

The lone survivor of an enigmatic spaceship incident hasn’t returned home alone – hiding inside his body is a dangerous creature.

While the film’s logline suggests ‘Sputnik’ to be another ‘Alien’ wannabe, it couldn’t be further from the truth. ‘Sputnik’ has a completely different storyline and is unique in its own right.

On re-entry from space, something went wrong for two cosmonauts. One of them died, and although the other one seem unharmed, we soon discover the truth – a fate almost worse than death. Konstantin doesn’t understand why he is kept in quarantine and not allowed to leave the base. Camera footage reveals an alien creature leaving his body at night, discharging a toxin in the process that leaves Konstantin asleep, hence he is not aware of the creature.

Psychiatrist Tatyana is about to be dismissed from her practice for negligence when she is approached by Colonel Semiradov, who assigns her to study Konstantin. Tatyana is a strong character and well performed by Oksana Akinshina. While conducting her research on Konstantin, she too discovers his fate, and learns Konstantin and the creature are becoming symbiotic.

The film therefore becomes a race against time to save Konstantin, while Semiradov emerges as the antagonist. The film features good visuals effects, with a creepy creature design. I rather enjoyed this.

‘Sputnik’ received 17 award nominations including Best International Film, Best Visual Effects, Best New Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Science Fiction Film, Best Horror Movie, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography among others. It won an award for Best International Science Fiction Film.

In Russian.

Would I watch it again? Yes.

The Creator (2023)

Director: Gareth Edwards

Stars: John David Washington, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Allison Janney, Gemma Chan

Against the backdrop of a war between humans and robots with artificial intelligence, a former soldier finds the secret weapon, a robot in the form of a young child.

After seeing the trailer, ‘The Creator’ was one of my most anticipated movies of the year. Thankfully, this ambitious project did not disappoint.

Artificial Intelligence was created to help and protect humans. However, they detonated a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles, killing over a million people in the blink of an eye. Now, the military wants to assassinate Nirmata, the architect of the AI.

Joshua (John David Washington) is part of a crew to destroy a new weapon. Joshua has a sad back story which prompted him to accept the mission. When they infiltrate a lab, Joshua finds a young kid, Alphie, who is able to remotely control technology, and might be a threat to humanity. Believing his wife is still alive and hoping Alphie might provide answers, he decides to help Alphie.

‘The Creator’ is a complex and involved story with many subplots. The most interesting was the story of Joshua who lost his wife in a strike five years ago. She was believed to be the daughter of Nirmata. Although he initially believed her to be dead, recent video footage shown to him proved her to be alive. Apart from his assigned mission, he is therefore also on a mission to find his wife.

There is so much happening in this film, the action never ceases to amaze. ‘The Creator’ delivers full throttle action from beginning to end, and there is never a dull moment. Almost every scene required special effects, and the effects are astounding!! I’ve actually never seen anything like it; it’s absolutely mind blowing. Please, please, this film needs an Oscar for Best Visual Effects, or at least a nomination!! I don’t recall seeing any other movie in 2023 with better and more realistic visuals.

Apart from the stunning visuals, the good performances, and the interesting script, the film also has a hauntingly beautiful score by Hans Zimmer. The score, in my opinion, is also Oscar worthy. I absolutely loved everything about ‘The Creator’. John David Washington is sensational in this film!

It’s still early in the award season for ‘The Creator’, but the film already received 42 award nominations, winning 6. Naturally, the film won for Best Visual Effects. It also received nominations for Best Science Fiction Film, Best Production Design, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Young Actress.

Would I watch it again? YES!

Altered States (1980)

Director: Ken Russell

Starring: William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban

A Harvard scientist conducts experiments on himself with a hallucinatory drug and an isolation chamber that may be causing him to regress genetically.

It’s very rare for me not to finish watching a film. ‘Altered States’ is one of those few.

William Hurt stars as Eddie, a scientist who does experiments on the brain. I didn’t understand the relevance of these experiments, and even the character said he didn’t know what he was looking for or what they could learn from it. This argument didn’t in the least motivate me in trying to understand the film. It seemed very experimental – the film, I mean. As if they were trying out new visual effects and decided to incorporate them as hallucinations in a film.

Although the film jumps ahead several years in a matter of minutes, the film itself is slow moving. It also became just too weird where very little made sense. Then there was the annoying score (which – believe it or not! – received an Oscar nomination. Maybe it was okay back then…)

Whatever good was to come from the movie, it ultimately would have been a waste of time anyway. If I’m not into a movie by the 45-minute mark, then chances are I won’t like it at all.

Would I watch it again? Enough said, I believe…