Escape From the Planet of the Apes

Impressions before seeing it
Even though I've had the awesome Blu-ray box set for a little while now, I had only seen the first two movies (and loved them). But after the way the second one ended, I had no clue how they could have done another three movies, so I literally didn't know what to expect.

How was it?
It started off well enough, with the same sort of opening as the first two, but boy did it go to some weird places. I'm not kidding when I say the entire first half of the movie is constructed as if it were a comedy. The writing, acting, and even the camera work are, in many places, working together to create intentional jokes and silliness. I wouldn't have a problem with this if it were a stand-alone movie, but obviously it isn't and the first two Planet of the Apes movies were nowhere near this hammy or light-hearted.

The second half was better because it was mostly dramatic and much closer to what these movies should be. I liked that the story was almost the exact negative of the first movie. Maybe that was the reason for the comedy, because the first one was so dramatic and they wanted to keep up with the opposites... More likely I'm just giving them too much credit.
If they're going to keep certain story elements for each movie, I was hoping for a cool ending reveal like in the first two, but Escape didn't really deliver in that department. I mean there was a reveal, it just wasn't a cool one. But being a big fan of the first two movies, I still had fun watching this because of some connections to those, and because my nerdiness is fairly loyal. ...Wow, I think I just got through this whole post without spoiling a single thing about the movie.

Recommendation
As of this point, I would suggest that anyone looking to get into these movies should consider stopping after the second one to avoid disappointment. However, there's still entertainment value here, and you may be curious enough to want to know what happens next, though in general this installment seemed unnecessary. I didn't hate it though, and I'm still planning to watch the last two. I'll let you know how that goes.

This Week in Television - Mar. 21-25, 2011

Survivor: Redemption Island
Ashley is coming off as spoiled and annoying. As much as I hate to agree with Phillip, those girls were laying around doing nothing and they knew it. Even if they had a point about Phillip being blunt when giving orders, it's still a job that needs to be done around camp. And if Krista was such a Bible thumper, why did she align herself with one of the most notorious villains in the game?

Community
Very awesome that this episode was, seemingly out of nowhere, directed by Richard Ayode, who plays Moss on The IT Crowd. Loved the Pulp Fiction stuff (is it racist if I say Shirley actually did look a lot like Samuel L. Jackson in the Jules costume?) and how Abed said "cool" 5 times like Annie predicted. I think Abed was telling the truth about everything, but his way of having a "real" conversation and feeling more like a real person still had to be done through a movie hommage because that's the only way he knows how to do anything. But I think it may have freaked him out a little when Jeff starting revealing personal things about himself, because as much he might try, Abed isn't good with that kind of thing.

The Office
Character development is a wonderful thing. If you watched the pilot and then this episode, and nothing in between, you would wonder how this crazy, insensitive fool who everyone hates could ever become this sweet, caring guy whom his co-workers actually kind of like (though still a goofball). Holly had a lot to do with it, of course, but I think it was also just the culmination of everything he's been through. All of Michael's previous relationships bombed because he wasn't able to put into them the proper amount of love and respect needed to get that love and respect in return. But he started the series in a high place of arrogance, and six and a half seasons of mistakes and embarrassment have humbled him. I always figured Michael was going to run off with Holly, and at this point he deserves the happy ending, though it is predictable. The sprinklers going off immediately reminded me of Jim's proposal to Pam in the rain, but not because it was mentioned earlier in the episode. The garage sale stuff was fun too, with another classic Jim/Dwight prank and a little Andy/Darryl/Kevin board game subplot.

Parks and Recreation
I felt like this episode was self-referential in Leslie's anxiety over a lack of ideas. After spending six episodes on the Pawnee Harvest Festival, it may well have been that the writers were wondering what multi-episode project Leslie could take on next, or they might have at least joked about it. But then again, after the pit was filled in early on in season 2, they went the rest of the season without really having any one big project and the show was still awesome. The group camping trip was an interesting idea because it basically split everyone into who was and wasn't an outdoors person without repeating last year's hunting trip episode. The bed and breakfast was a horrible, creepy place, and if Ron Swanson doesn't like the food then it's probably not worth eating. Was very happy to see that DJ Roomba has been rebuilt after being destroyed by Jerry last season.

30 Rock
You can never go wrong with a Jack vs. Devon episode. Took an interesting turn though, as I wasn't expecting Devon to show emotion. Really enjoyed the gag about everyone at TGS finding other jobs. It reminded me of the Parks and Recreation season premiere when we got a look at what everyone was doing without their government jobs. I just now noticed that Lutz wasn't involved in that, though. From now on, "bird internet" will be the first thing that pops into my head when I need an idea.

Fringe
I don't think I like the alt universe as much as I like our regular one, though I do enjoy the references to differences in pop culture, such as the line this episode about Coppola directing Taxi Driver. I did like that it didn't work when Fauxlivia tried to prey on the nurse's sympathies so she would help her escape. That's a cliche that's been done a lot, and I will only respect a cliche when it's been subverted. I'm betting she'll name the baby Peter, or at the very least some other name that Peter would love, but probably Peter.

Hero of the Week: Bird inter--I mean Michael Scott from The Office, for his amazing proposal to Holly. My favourite part was his comments as everyone asked if she would marry them.

Douchebag of the Week: Ashley from Survivor. Can't be good if you're making Phillip sound like the voice of reason.

This Week in Television - Mar. 14-18, 2011

Glee
Wasn't expecting Regionals this soon, but when they got there I knew they were going to win because it's too early to end the season and if Regionals are now, Nationals will probably be the season finale. I'm glad Kurt brought up that Blaine gets all the solos, because the Warblers really are just his backup singers, making them a stupid team. It was pretty much the same deal with Timberlake and 'N Sync, and now nobody remembers the other four members. How did Quinn suddenly become evil again after spending an entire season-long arc turning into a better person? The original songs weren't that great except for "Loser Like Me", which I actually kind of liked. Best moment was when Brittany said her favourite song was "My Headband".

V
I guess that was the season finale. They really pulled out all the stops though! With its flaws - as all episodes of V will have - I'd have to say this was the best episode of the series so far. Ryan is dead (most likely), Diana is dead (definitely), TYLER IS DEAD! (hopefully!), and pretty much everyone except Erica is blissed. Though they haven't really established the dangers of bliss because after Tyler got it last week he exhibited no change in his usual massive tool behaviour and then was murdered. Could've set that one up better, guys. And realistically, someone would've shouted that Anna was behind Diana. I get that they wanted their horrifying reveal with just the tail piercing Diana's torso, but obviously the giant crowd of people would've seen her walk in. I don't see V coming back for a third season, but if they do then they made a smart move by sort of resetting everything, letting the network and any remaining viewers know that it could be entirely different next season.

Survivor: Redemption Island
I would've thought Stephanie would be more dangerous to keep than Krista. She seems more evil and more strategic. Rob switching the idol clues just because it's fun to mess with the others was funny.

Community
Not the funniest episode this week, but it had its moments, like Chang trying to saw the custody papers to shreds with a handsaw and wearing the stereotypical 1950's dad outfit, Britta being so uncool that her attempt at singing a Britney Spears song came out as "Hit me with your genie's bottle", and Annie presenting Shirley and Chang with a letter from the doll manufacturer promising to expand their diversity to Asian dolls. Pierce and Annie were kept to a minimum this episode, which I suppose is fair because they've both had a couple of episodes this season largely focusing on them, and characters like Britta and Chang don't get many major stories so they got their screen time.

Parks and Recreation
This episode almost felt like it should have been a season finale, or at least a "semi-finale" before that little break we just had, because they'd been building up to the harvest festival for a few episodes and it was this big important event. We also got to see Joan Callamezzo and Perd Hapley again, making the episode feel even bigger. Great moments: Ron yelling at everyone on the ferris wheel, "The atrocities are in blue", the Native shaman's phony ceremonies, the excitement everyone feels over Li'l Sebastian (who has an honorary university degree), Larry Bird's aunt being a special guest, the crazy CGI reenactment on the news followed by the shaman stating "That's exactly how it happened", and pretty much everything with Andy and April. Also the big overhead shot at the end was cool, again giving the episode a larger than average feel.

30 Rock
That was a neat idea, making the whole episode like an episode of Angie's reality show. I still find her annoying, but she didn't hog 100% of the screen time, and she did provide one of the best moments of the episode. I am of course talking about the quick cut to her saying "Ham!" But it was a perfect parody of all those terrible reality shows. If Angie and Tracy Jordan were real people, they would totally make a reality show about Angie (part of the nauseating trend is that a lot of them are about relatives of famous people, not even the famous people themselves), and it would totally be called "Queen of Jordan," and she would totally act like a diva and have her posse of superficial drama queen friends. Hating those shows just makes me enjoy this episode more. Jack constantly making it easy for the show to label him was funny, and I also loved the randomness of Kenneth finding someone's lost glove and then realizing it was his and wanting the other one.

Fringe
Hmm, I was wondering how long the William Bell thing would last, because it doesn't quite seem fair to sideline the main character in favour of another, even if Walter and Peter are more interesting characters than Olivia anyway. I can understand Peter's frustration, not just because he, too loses Olivia again, but because it's simply disturbing seeing your girlfriend embodied by an elderly male scientist. I actually thought they might just use that suicidal woman as a host for Bell, but I guess that would be cruel, as she wouldn't make it to the afterlife to see her family. Looking forward to the day when Lincoln comes back and Olivia recognizes him from having known the alt-version. Probably won't be anything significant, actually, just might be an interesting little moment.

Hero of the Week: Evil Lisa (maybe we'll call her Visa?) from V, for finally killing one of the worst characters in television history. However, if the show comes back and it turns out he survived, this award will be retroactively stripped and given to Li'l Sebastian. Not even Visa would kill that little fella!

Douchebag of the Week: Grizz from 30 Rock, for not being DotCom's best friend. That's cold, dude.

Flipped

Impressions before seeing it
I actually downloaded this movie by accident a while back when I was trying to download Black Swan and the file turned out to be Flipped instead. Never heard of it, but I figured I might as well watch it since I already had it. When I looked it up and saw it was about eighth-graders falling in love in the 1960's, I was wary.

How was it?
Working with child actors is risky, because if they're bad actors then your audience tends to hate them, potentially moreso than adult actors who lack talent. In a movie like Flipped where both of the main characters are about 12 years old and have to carry the film, it's crucial that they be good. Luckily, they were.

I liked that the story was told from the viewpoints of both characters, sometimes taking a little step backward in time from one so that we can follow the other up to the same situation, and there is a lot of narration from Bryce and Julie in every scene so we get the scope of what they're thinking. However, it still felt a little biased toward Bryce. I think most of the time his viewpoint came first, he would see Julie do something without knowing why, and then we would go to Julie's viewpoint for the explanation. Which works well if you're a male viewer because that element of mystery makes it more interesting, but I can't help wondering if this ruins it for the females, because with Bryce's part always coming first chronologically, they don't get the mystery of "why did he do that?" Though I'll admit this thought is based on a slightly sexist assumption that all females watching would automatically understand Julie. I don't know anyone else who has seen this movie so I can't really say.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised by this because I wasn't sure I would like it. Because the characters are at that near-puberty age, they're confused about these new feelings and it was interesting watching it play out. For the first half of the movie, Julie has a huge crush on Bryce and he wants nothing to do with her, but then somewhere along the way it flips (get it?) and Bryce is into an uninterested Julie. Will they ever meet in the middle?

Recommendation
It probably sounds lame on paper - I thought so, too - but I think it's worth checking out if you're up for a light and cute romance about the confusing nature of young love. Though I would be interested to find out if one's gender has an effect on this movie's enjoyment factor due to the possible viewpoint bias.

The Hedgehog

Impressions before seeing it
I stumbled on a brief plot synopsis online and it sounded interesting: an 11 year-old girl decides that she's going to kill herself on her 12th birthday. As dark as that is, I was curious about someone that young making such a heavy decision. Plus I do love French cinema.

How was it?
I felt that Paloma's (the 11 year-old) reason for wanting to die was understandable but not necessarily justifiable. Her family is rich, superficial, and boring, and she doesn't want to grow up to be like them. Okay, fine, but killing yourself is like accepting that fate and then escaping it entirely rather than changing it. But one comes to understand that her view of adulthood is narrow-minded and negative, probably because she doesn't get out much and the only adults she knows are her insufferable relatives.

That is, until she starts spending time with two particular adults in her building: Renee the housekeeper, who is the title character (Paloma likens her to a hedgehog because she can be ugly and abrasive on the outside but soft and intellectual on the inside); and Mr. Ozu, the wise, classy Japanese gentleman who has just moved into the building and bonds with Renee over their love of literature. These two are little Paloma's first real friends and as we watch her smile and admit that she enjoys their company, we wonder if she'll still go through with that which she is still adamant about. I enjoyed the characters and their interactions, and the minor commentaries on class and age. Paloma spends a lot of the movie sneaking around and filming everyone like a documentary filmmaker, narrating with biting sarcasm and condescension, collecting evidence of why she wants to escape these self-obsessed fools (perhaps it's more to convince herself), but as she films Renee and Mr. Ozu I think it starts to become reasons not to. Maybe life itself is a hedgehog, and there's always something cuddly under the needles.

Recommendation
It's not really as dark and depressing a movie as it might sound, but it's an interesting one. Foreign films are harder to recommend because they're so different from American movies, so I will just say that I liked it.

127 Hours

Impressions before seeing it
It sounded interesting - I was curious about the survival story, although I think we all know by now that he cuts his arm off. Also, this concludes my Oscars 2010 Best Picture Tour, as the only one I haven't seen is The Kids Are Alright and that one honestly doesn't interest me.

How was it?
This movie reminded me of Cast Away: one lonely and frightened man all alone in the outdoors fighting to survive, though if I had to choose I'd take Tom Hanks's situation over this one any day. And just as Cast Away gave the character a volleyball to talk to so that there would be lines spoken and not just complete silence, 127 Hours gave Aron (Franco) a video camera so that he could record some very depressing vlogs from the chasm in which he was trapped.

I actually really like this type of movie, watching someone figure out how to get out of a terrible confinement. If you don't like that much minimalism it will probably bore you, but I found it completely entertaining watching James Franco sandwiched between two deep rock walls for most of the movie - and anyway, those scenes are broken up by various flashbacks and hallucinations as Aron's health begins to slip. It's easy to see why Franco was nominated for Best Actor here, as he completely nails it, a very good thing because you definitely need a capable actor to sell this one. My favourite moment in his performance is, however, a mere facial expression: the moment when he first gets stuck, the boulder falls and wedges his arm against the wall, there is an incredibly resounding silence, and his face perfectly captures all the necessary emotions, from "Did that insanely unlikely thing just happen?" to "Oh crap, I am royally screwed." A warning to the squeamish: the arm-cutting scene is kind of graphic and disturbing, but then it should be, because amputating your own arm is obviously a traumatic experience. I loved how sound and editing were used to actually convey pain. Right away I understood when he was cutting the nerve, and that was all thanks to the directing. One more thing to praise is that I liked the use of three-way split screen, because it was an opportunity for more imagery of one thing stuck between two things.

Recommendation
As you can tell, I really enjoyed it. You might not if you're bored really easily, but for everyone else it's a fascinating story of survival, willpower, raw humanity, and arm-cutting. I would recommend catching the Blu-ray/DVD, because it contains a much extended alternate ending that shows you several scenes from after Aron came home, which I personally liked better than the actual ending.

I'm Here

Impressions before seeing it
I'm Here is a short film from Spike Jonze that I found out about while browsing IMDB and Wikipedia. I thought it looked cool, and then I discovered it was available in a book/DVD/soundtrack package, so I ordered it.

How was it?
Basically, it's about these two robots who start dating each other. I suppose the male was a slightly older model, because he is very squarish (his head looks like an old computer tower) and the female was more round and sleek, and had hair. It's cute and charming, but the little problem I had with it was that the robots were actually too human; not just because they were clearly played by human actors in robot costumes, but because they expressed the emotions and mannerisms of humans, too. This allows us to feel more invested in their relationship, sure, but from a more objective storytelling standpoint I just wondered why bother making a story about robots in love if it would be almost exactly the same story with human characters? Well, on an emotional level anyway; there exists some robotic appendage transplanting as an important element of the relationship and obviously humans can't do that so easily. Other than that and the cool stylistic elements, I didn't really see the point of making this movie, but don't get me wrong: I'm glad it was made. It's sweet and original and I actually wish it was longer, both because I enjoyed it and because I would've liked to have seen a little more development across the board. Also, please note that even though this short was sponsored by Absolut, it really has nothing at all to do with vodka.

Recommendation
While I haven't checked out everything yet, the fact that this one short film comes with a behind-the-scenes book, a soundtrack CD, and some special features on the DVD is really impressive, especially for a short. There are tons of full length movies that don't even get that kind of treatment. So if you happen to catch it (it's probably online somewhere) and enjoy it, I recommend looking for that package. It would be under "There are Many of Us", which is the book's title.

This Week in Television - Mar. 7-11, 2011

Glee
I don't know if a lack of sex education is actually a problem in the U.S. or if they were just trying to point out how younger people are having more sex, but I think sex ed is supposed to be taught before anyone gets to high school. They taught us the basics of what sex is in elementary school, and then STDs, birth control, and genital anatomy in junior high. And anyway, word gets around so how could someone not know those things by the time they get to high school? Even Brittany would've moved on from the old stork story by then (does anyone even tell that to their kids anymore?). The thing about Brittany, though, is that she is supposed to be the Ralph Wiggum of Glee, regularly showcasing her severe naivete and lack of knowledge with stupid one-liners, but then whenever she talks about her feelings, like this week and the Britney Spears episode, she becomes fairly coherent and no longer sounds as dumb as a bag of misshapen rocks. While I understand that they probably want to develop the character beyond a few dumb lines, it doesn't feel consistent to me. I laughed during the "Afternoon Delight" number (mostly because of the pictures of desserts in the background), and when Mr. Schue referred to himself as "an expert at romance", because it was so cheesy and clearly designed to make the female viewers swoon.

V
LOL at Anna blissing Tyler. Now he literally is a tool! I hope they overthrow Anna though, just because I'd like to see what would happen, and it might make Anna more interesting if she had to fight her way back to the top. It would be funny if Diana was playing them and turned out to be even more evil than Anna. It's also funny how easy it is for someone to say "thousands/millions of people could die!" and then cut to Jack looking distressed because he's the priest.

Survivor: Redemption Island
I thought Russell would last a little longer at Redemption Island before going home, until I saw the promo for this episode where they said "Russell is at Redemption Island, and what happens will SHOCK you!" and then it was obvious. Every time they promise that something will be shocking, it makes it less shocking. Thanks for spoiling it, douchebags. "Loose cannon" is the perfect way to describe Phillip, though.

Fringe
As much as I enjoy seeing Jorge Garcia show up, the opening scene didn't really feel like Fringe (maybe it's just when Walter gets stoned, as the musical episode where he partakes in spliffs and special brownies also didn't feel like Fringe), but it served its purpose in pointing out Bell's office to Walter. Overall it was still a cool episode. At first I thought it was just going to be about gravity boots, but it turned out they were coming off onto the ground, not the ceiling. Never thought about fixing paraplegia by floating someone up and then weighing down their feet. Though I think they already did a "hurting people to find a cure" story. Or maybe that was something else I saw fairly recently, I can't remember anymore... Nina seemed less than thrilled about Walter going through Bell's things. I don't really trust her, she's seemed shady from the beginning and always seems to be withholding as much information as she can. Anna Torv trying to sound like Leonard Nemoy was funny, but I suppose it worked.

Hero of the Week: Most of the time this goes to someone from NBC's awesome Thursday comedies, but without them the pickings can be slim. I guess I'll say Miss Holliday (Gwyneth Paltrow) from Glee, because she would be a pretty cool teacher.

Douchebag of the Week: Dr. Krick (Alan Ruck) from Fringe. Probably should have at least asked his son what he wanted before spending all that time on a harmful cure.

Gangs of New York

Impressions before seeing it
I'd been wanting to see this for a while, and should have a long time ago, but it was one of those things where opportunities just never lined up and I never got around to it. But you can't go wrong with a historical epic starring a very strong cast.

How was it?
I think one of the most interesting parts for me was observing all these actors doing accents different from their regular voices. DiCaprio, Diaz, and John C. Reilly all tackled varying degrees of Irish - Reilly laying it on fairly thick and DiCaprio having only a trace, with Diaz somewhere in the middle; Jim Broadbent did American and Daniel Day-Lewis had his seedy New York accent. Very cool.

Scorsese seems to like making long films that take their time, which is cool, it's the old fashioned way of doing it and only a handful of filmmakers still do. I did get a little bored at the beginning, and that big brawl sequence in the opening act should have been cooler but a lot of the blows struck looked too much like movie fighting. What I mean by that is that I could tell the actors were swinging just out of range and stopping just short, which is how they do movie punches and stuff, but usually they're supposed to make it more convincing than that. Maybe I was just imagining it. The rest of the movie didn't have that problem in fight scenes, just that opening brawl. Anyway, I did like the movie but what ultimately makes it memorable for me is Daniel Day-Lewis's performance as Bill "The Butcher" Cutting. I think perhaps he should go up there with the other great villains of the decade like Hans Landa and Heath Ledger's Joker, because he's one of those characters whose personality just steals every scene he's in. DiCaprio may play the main character, but Gangs of New York is The Butcher's movie.

Recommendation
If you like historical epics, fascinating villains with commanding stage presences, and Daniel Day-Lewis, you'll love this. Or you might even if you don't like those things, because it's an interesting look at dark and dirty times. Of course, you probably already saw it way before I did.

Easy A

Impressions before seeing it
I was hoping, but not expecting, for it to be good. Mostly I just watched it in support of Emma Stone's first leading role.

How was it?
Easy A is technically told in flashbacks by Olive (Stone) as she narrates the story in an internet video. This presents a problem right off the bat, because things like narration and talking heads can often be a crutch for screenwriters. If you're not careful, they'll only serve to explain/describe what the viewer is already seeing visually, and therefore become redundant. Also I suspect that filmmakers feel like any movie involving teens has to include internet videos somewhere, because there is very little evidence to the contrary.

While it is partly based in truth (rumours do travel really fast because people love to gossip, and high school students do place way too much value on popularity), it seems like this movie took those truths and ran with them almost all the way to the fantasy land in which the writers of Glee live. Not quite that far, but the characters can be cartoonish and the concept silly. However I am biased due to my ongoing disdain for the portrayal of high school in movies and television. To shove all of those complaints aside, Emma Stone turned in a decent performance and I chuckled two or three times, though overall it just wasn't my sense of humour.

Recommendation
This movie seems to be quite popular so I'm in the minority here, but I personally wouldn't recommend it unless you're into those other high school movies of the same caliber like American Pie, Jawbreaker, or Never Been Kissed. I think Easy A likes to equate itself with John Hughes movies, but do not make that mistake.

This Week in Television - Feb. 28-Mar. 4, 2011

The Cape
Vince's Australian gangster impression wasn't very... impressive. He doesn't do "careless tough guy" well, and I caught more than one flaw in his accent. But at least they kept his family to a bare minimum this episode.

V
The stuff with the little girl with the strong immune system and the live aboard program was weak. "Let's live on the alien spaceship now that I know my daughter might have ONE friend who she's never met and may not even get along with! That's preferable to her living on earth where she has 6 billion people to choose from!" Then we have Tyler catching Lisa with Raphael, and instead of asking a simple question like "What's going on here?", he storms in and does nothing but repeatedly shove the guy like an ape. Do the writers even want viewers to like Tyler? And the Erica/Hobbes thing seems rushed, as the "sexual tension" only showed up last week when they had their cliche moment of laying next to each other and looking into each other's eyes before getting embarrassed and sitting up. When the series began, I actually thought they were going to pair her up with Jack.

Survivor: Redemption Island
So they finally got Russell out. I'm not necessarily optimistic for his chances of dominating Redemption Island (he has won individual immunity challenges in the past, but was never known as a challenge master), but I am quite positive that he'll be around long enough for Boston Rob to be voted off just so they can have their showdown. And, you know, if he does make it back into the game, maybe the jury will actually respect him enough to let him win this time.

Hero of the Week: Hard to say, because it was a shorter week and nobody stood out as being awesome... I suppose I'll go with Lisa from V, because she's probably the most likable character on that show now.

Douchebag of the Week: Tyler from V. Sorry for the lack of surprise.

Equilibrium

Impressions before seeing it
Been wanting to see it for a while, because it sounded like an interesting sci-fi story.

How was it?
I don't know why this keeps getting compared to The Matrix (see poster). Other than some of the action sequences, I didn't feel that they had anything in common with each other.

Equilibrium is about a world where, in an attempt to prevent war, art, music, and emotion have been abolished. One of the agents responsible for overseeing this (Christian Bale) stops taking his emotion-stunting medicine and realizes the beauty everyone is missing, making his partner (Taye Diggs) suspicious.

This is indeed a thought-provoking concept. Preventing war is obviously a great thing, and blocking emotion would do it, but is it worth it? Is there even any point to living in peace if we can't be moved by the beauty of every day life? Would we rather kill each other or be robots? I vote for the former. A world without art is not a world I want to live in. Anyway, it's a fascinating film about humanity with some cool action and plot twists thrown in, as well as adequate performances, so I enjoyed it.

Recommendation
Definitely something to check out if you like movies that make you think about human nature. But don't expect it to be The Matrix. I think it's more like The Bothersome Man, if anything.