Helmed by Christopher Nolan’s director of photography, TRANSCENDENCE is Nolanesque grand concept sci fi that has a promising premise and high production values, but ultimately falls short. The script doesn’t do justice to the story’s central dilemma, nor to its moral implications. Instead major characters end up doing nonsensical things with unclear motivations, and the ending, instead of being intriguing and – well – transcendent (like Nolan’s better films), is instead confusing and trite. Entertaining, up to a point.
Coda: for sci fi geeks expecting a film that intelligently explores the fun ideas of singularity and transhumanism, unfortunately, you need to look elsewhere
Tags: Christopher Nolan, Johnny Depp, sci-fi, singularity, Transcendence, transhumanism, Wally Pfister
I can imagine the conversation Christopher Nolan (Dark Knight Trilogy) had with the studio execs:
Execs: We’d really like to reboot Superman the same way you did Batman. Like for example a dark, gritty, realistic take on Richard Donner’s classic Superman 1 and 2 from the 1970s. Can you do it?
Nolan: How droll; been there done that. But can I recommend my mate Zack Snyder (300), he’s not as good (if I do say so myself) but he’s looking for a gig
Execs: OK, but can you at least take a producer credit? We’ll pay you a gazillion?
Nolan: Sure, why not?
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Tags: Amy Adams, Christopher Nolan, flashbacks, Henry Cavill, JJ Abrams, Lost, Man of Steel, reboot, Superman, Zack Snyder
Competent sci-fi thriller, though plays as a diet bland version of more powerful sci-fi that has gone before, e.g. even Cruise’s prior Minority Report (2002). Like Inception (2010), there’s a twisty action mystery plot, however in Oblivion it is telegraphed a bit too much. Or just like Nolan’s opus, there’s also a potentially philosophical and romantic angle which never quite packs the lyrical or dramatic punch that it could. The graphics are great, especially in IMAX.
Speaking of CGI, this is sadly not the movie of the Elder Scrolls game (though Oblivion or Skyrim could make impressive films, Dovahkiin). And Oblivion’s ending seemed derivative of the controversial climax to the Mass Effect trilogy. Maybe it says something when computer games’ stories can now be more compelling than movies’?
Tags: Christopher Nolan, Elder Scrolls, Joseph Kasinksi, Mass Effect, Oblivion, Tom Cruise
An ambitious and impressive adaptation of the complex Booker runner-up novel by David Mitchell that intertwines six stories across genres and time periods. More successful than other recent oeuvres with epic metaphysical sweep (e.g. Malick’s “The Tree of Life” or Aronofsky’s “The Fountain”): partly due to the Wachowski siblings’ sci fi action pedigree, it avoids getting bogged down. If anything it feels like Nolan’s “Inception”, including having so much plot to get through that there’s scant time to connect emotionally with all the characters. As in the book, I still don’t get the point of the second (1936) sequence; it doesn’t thematically link to the other stories, and as far as I can tell only exists to explain the title (the movie would likely have been improved by excising it). Instead, they cut the fun, satirical consumerist language of the 5th (2144) sequence, e.g. “putting on your nikes to get in your ford to go for a starbuck”. And if you found JGL’s makeup distracting in “Looper” you won’t be able to focus at all in most scenes … Otherwise, if film-making writ large appeals to you at all, Cloud Atlas is a highly worthwhile 3 hour event.
Tags: Booker Prize, Christopher Nolan, Cloud Atlas, David Mitchell, Inception, Tom Hanks, Wachowski
Welcome to WetWareGames, and pleased to make your acquaintance! This a personal blog for sharing thoughts and discussions on hopefully interesting topics with friends and colleagues – and perhaps make some new friends along the way. According to Wikipedia, the fount of all human understanding, “wetware” refers to 
both the physical brain and the human mind. So the name “WetWareGames” covers a breadth of subjects on which I might write:
- Games, especially unplugged, acoustic or analog games (aka boardgames, cardgames or tabletop games) – since these are games that can be played with just your wetware
- Passive Media (books, film, TV) – as the most intelligent media can set off a around of mental gymnastics (wetware games)
- Tech Disruptions – while tech is about software and hardware, in the end it’s wetware that drives the biggest innovations
- Social Commentary – as not everything is a game
- Cognitive Development – with a young family, it’s fascinating to watch a child’s wetware develop, and for them, learning is play!
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Tags: Age of Empires III, Agricola, Apple, Ascension, Caylus, Christopher Nolan, computer games, Dominant Species, Dominion, Facebook, Glory to Rome, Google, IBM, Inception, Microsoft, mobile games, movie, Nightfall, politics, Puerto Rico, Race for the Galaxy, religion, Settlers of Catan, social games, The Prestige, Thunderstone, Twilight Imperium, unplugged games, Verräter, video games, Zynga
Helmed by Christopher Nolan’s director of photography, TRANSCENDENCE is Nolanesque grand concept sci fi that has a promising premise and high production values, but ultimately falls short. The script doesn’t do justice to the story’s central dilemma, nor to its moral implications. Instead major characters end up doing nonsensical things with unclear motivations, and the ending, instead of being intriguing and – well – transcendent (like Nolan’s better films), is instead confusing and trite. Entertaining, up to a point.
WetWareGames 
WetWareGames: Initiating Coverage with a Strong ‘Read and Discuss’ Rating!
Welcome to WetWareGames, and pleased to make your acquaintance! This a personal blog for sharing thoughts and discussions on hopefully interesting topics with friends and colleagues – and perhaps make some new friends along the way. According to Wikipedia, the fount of all human understanding, “wetware” refers to
both the physical brain and the human mind. So the name “WetWareGames” covers a breadth of subjects on which I might write:
Read the rest of this entry »
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Posted by Jokersmiley on March 29, 2011 in Book Reviews, Cognitive Development, Film Reviews, Game Design, Game Reviews, Game Strategy, Games, Passive Media, Social Commentary, Tech Disruptions, TV reviews
Tags: Age of Empires III, Agricola, Apple, Ascension, Caylus, Christopher Nolan, computer games, Dominant Species, Dominion, Facebook, Glory to Rome, Google, IBM, Inception, Microsoft, mobile games, movie, Nightfall, politics, Puerto Rico, Race for the Galaxy, religion, Settlers of Catan, social games, The Prestige, Thunderstone, Twilight Imperium, unplugged games, Verräter, video games, Zynga