Thursday, May 5, 2016

Thursday Movie Picks: Androids/Cyborgs


In the school where I work, teachers show their students the latest edition of CNN Student News. For those of you who had no idea such a thing existed, it's a kid-friendly breakdown of  the big stories from the prior day and a few interest pieces. Each episode is maybe ten minutes long. One day last week, one of the interest pieces was on the proliferation of robots in Japanese society and how commonplace they are becoming with many businesses using them for many face-to-face customer service jobs. The reporter even did an "interview" with a full-size humanoid robot. I hope I don't offend anyone who may be from the great country of Japan, but that was about the creepiest looking thing I've ever seen in my life. I know I'm just an unsophisticated American, but I hope we don't get robots like that here until we've at least reached a Michael Fassbender in Prometheus level of life-like.


If you couldn't tell, the topic for this week's Thursday Movie Picks is Androids/Cyborgs. The definition of an android is an electronic communications device not made by Apple a robot with human features. Yeah, I'm playing loose with that human features stuff, but I'm close enough. As always, a very special thanks goes out to our host Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves. Now, just understand that while I love A.I., it won't be one of my picks. Nor will that movie, by the way. Let's just see what I do pick...



Godzilla vs Megalon
(1973)
Android: Jet Jaguar
Like just about all of the Godzilla vs... movies, something environmental happened and creates...or awakens...or summonses some new monster to terrorize the good people of Japan. In this case, it's Megalon. As per usual, Godzilla comes along to save the day. However, what's a bit different about this outing is that Godzilla is getting his ass kicked. No worries, a trio of inventors has created a decidedly not so creepy droid they call Jet Jaguar to help the big fella out. You wouldn't know it at first, because they damn thing is a rather puny six feet tall or so. Luckily, Jet has been built using the finest technology since the advent of the wheel and grows to somewhere in the neighborhood of 160 feet tall. And knows martial arts. Godzilla, your back is got.


The Six Million Dollar Man: The Secret of Bigfoot
(1976)
Android: Bigfoot
A pair of scientists go missing up in the mountains and it just so happens that some nearby footprints resemble those of the legendary Sasquatch AKA Bigfoot. It also just so happens that the missing scientists were working as part of a team which includes Steve Austin AKA The Bionic Man. Needless to say, he goes hunting for Bigfoot. And he finds him. The kicker is that he soon finds out that this is not really the beast of American folklore, but an android built by some aliens who use him as a bodyguard. Okay, so this is not really a movie, BUT, it took two parts to tell this story with each running an hour, or roughly 45 minutes without commercials. Slap them together and you've got an hour-and-a-half of 70s bionic goodness. Almost forgot mention, that goodness is multiplied because Bigfoot is played by none other than WWF...that 'F' is not a typo, young'uns...so let's repeat...Bigfoot is played by none other than WWF icon Andre the Giant.



Jason X
(2001)
Android: Kay-em 14     Cyborg: Uber Jason
After years of bodies piling up in and around Camp Crystal Lake, the US government finally gets involved. They managed to capture Jason. Not one to take kindly to being locked up, Jason tries to break out, kills a few folks, but manages to get himself cryogenically frozen in the process. Fast-forward 455 years Jason's body is now aboard a ship way out in space with some kids on a field trip. Bada-boom, bada-bing Jason gets woken up and starts killing up more folks. What he doesn't bargain on that his latest prey is accompanied by a droid named Kay-em 14. She actually gets the best of Jason. For a while. Of course, he somehow winds up in a machine that transforms him into a version of himself more powerful than ever before, a cyborg dubbed Uber Jason. Shit is on, now. In space.


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22 comments:

  1. That's Andre? Holy shit! I fucking love that guy. I haven't seen any of these films with the exception of Jason X which is dumb but a whole lot of fun.

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    1. Oh yeah, that's Andre. Jason X = very dumb, very fun.

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  2. Jason X always looked utterly ridiculous, the ultimate "How do we keep this franchise feeling fresh? OH! I know! IN SPACE!!" thing.

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  3. That pic from Godzilla vs. Megalon is a hoot and a half!

    This isn't my genre so I'm not surprised I haven't seen two of these what really surprises me is that I saw that Six Million Dollar Man two-parter!! I was not a fan but I remember that episode distinctly. I probably somehow caught the first and then felt duty bound (and frustrated-I hate it when you watch something you don't usually watch and it turns out to be part one of two!) to see the conclusion. Of the Godzillas I've only seen the first.

    As I said this isn't really my thing but there was a whole spate of futuristic films in the 70's and 80's inspired I suppose by both the rise of technology and the success of the Planet of the Apes movies. My first thought was Blade Runner but I assumed it would be everywhere so I gave it the go by and came up with these instead.

    Eve of Destruction (1991)-Eve is a military android, an exact replicate of her creator (both played by Renee Soutendijk) who through a malfunction has become a killing machine as well as a nuclear bomb. Now that she is running amok and creating havoc in the big city a rescue team headed by Colonel Gregory Hines is tasked to disarm her before she explodes. She however will destroy anything in her path to prevent that.

    The Stepford Wives (1975)-Something’s not quite right in the charming, old-fashioned town of Stepford. All the women are incredibly docile and yielding and new arrival Joanna (Katharine Ross) wants to know why. The answer is one that is both scary and disturbing. Eerie suspenser that is heads and tales about the crappy 2004 remake.

    Westworld (1973)-Michael Crichton directed sci-fi story of an amusement park tricked out to resemble the Wild West and stocked with androids that the guests can have mock shoot-outs with as pretend gunslingers. Blaine and Martin (James Brolin & Richard Benjamin) arrive for a bit of adventure just as there is a system failure and their supposed to be relaxing vacation becomes a race for survival. Followed by a sequel Futureworld.

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    1. That pic lets you know exactly what kind of movie you're getting into, doesn't it?

      Glad to see someone else has seen that Six Million Dollar Man story. It's probably the most famous, after another I could've used that involved "fembots." Every time they would fight their face plates would pop off leaving their inner workings exposed with the shapes of a mechanical face. The imagery was frightening to me. I thought I got over it, but when I checked out some pics online the other day they were just as creepy as they were back then.

      I'm not a fan of Blade Runner. Yeah, I know, greatest sci-fi ever yada yada.

      I've seen parts of Eve of Destruction. I keep meaning to go back to it, but never do. I haven't seen any of The Stepford Wives, but I've heard so much about it I feel like I already have so I just never bothered. Maybe one of these days I'll change that. I just recently became aware of Westworld. It sounds fantastic. Hopefully I'll get to it fairly soon.

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    2. You'll never get that Blade Runner is the greatest sci-fi from me. I thought it was fine and I know it's venerated now though it didn't do that great when it first came out. But there are MANY that I prefer, some off the top of my head...Aliens, Fahrenheit 451, The Terminator and The Andromeda Strain.

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    3. The Matrix, Terminator 2, Alien, Twelve Monkeys, Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Interstellar, Moon...I could go on and on because I simply do not like Blade Runner.

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  4. Ok I have not seen the Jason(who never dies) flick but...yes! I have seen the other 2 and I bow to your awesome picks:) I loved all the Godzilla films and I remember this dude growing very, very tall. I also loved Ultraman and , well, had nightmare about him( I know, sad isn't it?) I laughed like hell when you chose the 6 million dollar man 2 parter. I saw this when it first came on and thought this show is not long for this world. Believe it or not, it was on tv a couple of years ago and I rewatched it and laughed because it is so campy...so bad that I love it! Great pics!!

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    1. Jason truly never dies. I've heard there are talks of another reboot. Yes, Jet Jaguar grows to roughly the same height as Godzilla.

      Yay, Bigfoot!!! I need to find those old episodes and give them a whirl.

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  5. Jason X was hilarious. Stupid, but so much fun. I haven't seen the other two.

    Count me as another that didn't know CNN has a kiddie version.

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  6. Jason X was embarrassing both for a horror and a sci-fi but it was hilarious. I would have picked it myself but I'm saving it for later.

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    1. It is definitely hilarious. The genius of it is that the humor is both intentional and unintentional.

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  7. Ah wow - picks that are right outside the box! I haven't seen any of these though :)

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  8. Great post, some very intere4sting picks! I'd pick Eva in Ex Machina, if she counts as an android. Or HAL... does he count? I guess he is just an A.I.

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    1. Eva definitely qualifies and she is a great pick. HAL, not so much. I went these to suggest something off the beaten path.

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  9. A kid version of CNN... hmm. Might be worth checking out. And I didn't know about those Japanese robots. But having grown up on The Jetsons, I always thought I'd have a robot maid by now.

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    1. It's a fun little show, doesn't take up too much time and keeps the kids somewhat informed. I also grew up on The Jetsons and I'm still waiting on my flying car.

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  10. Haven't seen any of them, but the robot in the first picture looks like Ultraman, a Japanese tv series which I may have watched an episode or two.

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    1. Oh yeah, he was blasted right from the beginning of his existence because of that resemblance, lol.

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