The Christmas Robots are almost here! Continue reading
robots
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Bayhem returns to the summer movie slate in the form of the the fourth entry in the Transformers franchise. How does the latest entry fare compared to its predecessors? Read on to find out. Continue reading
Just when we’ve begun to contemplate the need to possibly power down our dependence on our smartphones, Samsung jumps into the compact tech game and now introduces us to the Galaxy Gear Smartwatch. Yes, this is essentially a helper gadget for your already existing gadget. Continue reading
Pacific Rim is the Citizen Kane of robot monster movies. I’m referring, naturally, to the original cut of Citizen Kane, not the butchered, robot-free studio cut that most of us saw in film class. Making Rosebud a sled instead of a robot companion deprives Kane of both pathos and narrative coherence. Anyway. This film is, of course, a remake of the 1965 Orson Welles Japanese production, The Pacific Rim. The 2013 version of Pacific Rim is perhaps the deepest and most ambitious robot monster movie since Woody Allen’s 1982 Robots of Manhattan, and perhaps the most innovative cinematic take on robots and monsters since Francois Truffaut’s ground-breaking masterpiece, Les Robots Dangereux. Continue reading
So, you’re all set and jazzed to see what capable director Guillermo Del Toro will offer us all with his new stunner of a film, Pacific Rim. And it’s a kind of a big deal, because he backed out of The Hobbit, to make this sci-fi battle monster zone movie, and it could maybe pay off, since the early reviews of The Hobbit have left some dismayed and perhaps crying sullenly in their homemade Shire made out of balloons — but then you remember what Michael Bay has done to the robot movie genre and now you’re full of trepidation, fear, and hatred! Continue reading
Hello, you people. I’ll be your guide for the day. Continue reading
If you’re not familiar with the wonderful little movie WALL-E get thee to a Netflix immediately. It is one of those heartwarming little Pixar movies full of expression and earnestness while subtly wrapped up in a message so human and affecting that it literally is a wunderkind. Continue reading
When I was in college, I had the privilege of spending a few weeks training to be a boxer. The guy I trained with was an amateur, but trained with pros in Chicago. He taught me how to move, how to defend, and how to punch. I’m not saying I could go toe to toe with anyone, but I had a ton of fun doing it. Consequently, I have a soft spot for boxing movies.
When I saw the previews for Real Steel a few months ago, I laughed. It screamed “poorly made kids movie designed to push toys”. Let me be the first to say I was wrong. I was very wrong, Real Steel is awesome.
Check this little guy out! A group of scientists at Osaka University designed him to make realilistic human expressions in an attempt to study human social development between parents and children. There’s some scientist who is totally marking off a graph being really pissed off that he can’t find a suitable control model for his experiments because some babies are happier than others, and dreaming up this little abomination. They tried using robots in the past, but the robots didn’t work “in a natural way” and therefore the parents didn’t interact properly with them. Video of them in action:
I don’t know about you, but look at those eyes. I’d totally name him “Shifty.” He needs some servos adjusted, stat!
Here he is, without the “realilistic” skin! :
Look! The full range of emotions!:
I hope they never show this infographic to “parents” in the study:
Totally creepy, but I think it could be viable. For all of those people out there who are stuck in their phones updating facebook and think that social interaction in over 140 characters is taxing- there’s a companion for you! The maternal/paternal instinct in humans is huge! Make this thing Wi-fi, be able to download a playlist from iTunes and have a wireless charging platform (it already looks like it’s an Apple product) and make a billion dollars! Isn’t a new “Chucky” movie in production?