I would just like to talk about some of the films I have seen recently. Firstly, about a documentary called Human Version 2.0 and another similar documentary which I don’t remember the name of. The first was about the future of technology and how humans will be able to interact with machines on a whole new level. It discussed some really interesting issues. After seeing the film, it made me think about what the future might be like. Technology is always advancing, this is obvious enough when you compare the size of old computers that did very little in the past, to the size of simple computers today that can do so much more. It does make you wonder what kind of technology will be common and everyday for us in 50 years time. One of the issues was about being able to completely decode the human brain and be able to download our thoughts and even change them. I’m not too sure about downloading thoughts, but working out how the brain really works is something I can see happening. Also, there was mention of super computers being created that are way more intelligent than us. The guy who talked of these called them “Artilects”. This just sounds like the Terminator films. Machines becoming self aware and deciding that they hate us. No one can know the future for sure, so you get peoples visions instead, in the form of these kinds of sci-fi films. Virus was another film that had similar ideas, the machines thought that humans were a virus, and come to think about it, that same thing was mentioned in the Matrix films as well. This goes to show that we are all aware of the possibilities of super intelligent computers and machines turning against us. Whether or not it will happen, I have no idea.
The other documentary was about machines and how we interact with them. One of the issues was how we feel more attached to machines that have personalities and are more human in some way. I think this is a very true issue. Seeing little children playing with those robot dog toys and similar things, they treat them like real creatures. When you see those robots that people can talk with, you can’t help but feel as if they have a personality or even feelings. Just like in the film I-Robot. I remember when I used to have a remote control dragon, I used to love playing with that and I remember getting upset when it broke.
Then there was the film Airplane. I had seen this film once before, a few years ago, and I laughed my head off pretty much the whole way through. I think that a lot of old comedy films are funnier than some new ones. Classics like Police Academy
And the last film I saw at university was Memento. I had never seen this film before, but I thought it was quite good. I do like the kind of films that make you really think hard to work out what’s going on. I like how they set up confusing scenes and twists and how in the end, all the pieces fit together. It reminded me of some of those split personality films like Three and Identity. In Three, there is a man who is the main character, and a woman who is the second main character. Then there is also a third person who seems to be trying to kill them. In the end, you find out that all of them are in fact the same guy. In Identity, there were about 9 people, and they got stuck in a motel, and are getting killed off one by one. All of these people were in one guys head, and it was just one of his personalities killing off the others. Memento was a very interesting film. The scenes moved backwards. So each time you see something happen, you are unsure how it came about, and then the next scene will clarify why that happened, but then you get confused with the new information. It was good for it to all fit together in the end. It was shocking to find out that Leonard had deliberately invented some facts just so he can continue his search for John G.
I watched Pan’s Labyrinth last night, and this reminded me about films that are foreign or subtitled. A lot of people don’t like subtitled films, they say that you spend your time reading the words and missing what’s happening in the scenes. I don’t agree with this. I don’t mind seeing films that are subtitled, when I watch them, I don’t even really think about the writing. I have seen The Passion of Christ and Apocalypto, and I enjoyed both of those films. Once you get into them, you completely forget that they are speaking in different languages. I had seen Pans Labyrinth before, and I think it is a very good film. Its interesting how it incorporated fantasy but also a lot of violence and unsettling scenes.
Anyway, that’s some of my thoughts on films. I will write some more on any new films I see in the coming weeks.
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