Star Wars: The Force Awakens directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Lucas Films has become a global phenomenon in this new age within our society. Fans new and old went to see the film, and as of now this movie has grossed over $1 Billion dollars at the box office since the opening a little over two weeks ago.
Starring the Beloved Harrison Ford as Han Solo, the struggle between good and evil continues thirty years after the destruction of the Galactic Empire, which led to the death of the cosmic villain Darth Vader. A new threat arises within the universe, and with the help of The First Order, it has the potential to end life and destroy worlds, but a new band of heroes along with the Resistance does everything in their power to stop the evil from taking control over the galaxy.
I must admit that I am a new fan to the franchise but that did not take away from me fulling experiencing what the film had to offer. The movie is filled with nonstop action and beautiful imagery. The story line was intriguing, it wasn’t too complicated, it had the basic “good vs evil”, and the “strong will survive” theme.
It was the presentation, delivery, and the appearance of old characters, including the introduction of new characters that made the movie so exciting to see. The film was in 3D which added to the experience. Without giving too much away, I will say that there were some unexpected plot twists and moments of “OMG why did they do that?” So let’s just say that the George R. R. Martian and Robert Kirkman kill craze has rubbed off on the Stars Wars franchise.
Overall, I thought the movie was great and it was nice to feel such good and exciting energy from fellow fans and moviegoers. There was clapping, cheering, everything you could imagine that would enhance your experience. I am so excited to see the other two films and wonder if they are filming all three simultaneously like Peter Jackson did with TLOTR. I gave Stars Wars: The Force awakens five stars . See it again if you can.
The new humanoid robots named “Otonaroid” (R) and “Kodomoroid (R) are pictured during a press preview at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Technology in Tokyo on June 24, 2014. Japanese scientists unveiled what they said was the world’s first news-reading android, eerily lifelike and possessing a sense of humour to match her perfect language skills.
This is the first article that will be included in a three part series that will follow the development of human looking robots in our society. This article will introduce some wild concepts on the subject while investigating the pros and cons of those factors that question’s how far is too far?
The New AMC show Humans has opened me up to a new world of technology that I didn’t realize existed in the world of reality. Human looking robots: groundbreaking technology or the end of humanity as we know it? The question remains, could society be headed to having humanoid robots in our homes like cell phones and laptops?
The show is very interesting. It had me so intrigued on such a level that it made me interested in the realistic development of robots in the year 2015. First I want to discuss the show and what it’s about. The show Humans takes place in modern London, but in a time where society depends on the help of a domesticated robot to assist with the day to day components of living. The show follows a family—the Hawkins family that struggles with the normal aspects of life. The husband Joe takes on the responsibility of raising the children while the wife Laura spends a lot of extra time at work. The husband feels that with his wife’s constant absence, he needs help with the house. He purchases a synthetic called a synth without the approval of his wife. The children are on board with it, but Laura—the wife immediately feels that she is being replaced and has her doubts about the synth. She voices her feelings about it, but soon decides to keep her feelings to herself. Laura realizes that something is off with Anita and her older daughter Mattie who is a computer genus soon starts to do some research about the synth. Her research leads her to a couple of synths Leo and Max who have been social outlaws for some time.
As the story continues, we learn that there are other synths that are connected to Leo and Max, which are walking around with the ability to think and feel like humans. They are on the run so that they can live their lives freely, but not without finding the others first.
Niska—a synth that works as a prostitute, Fred- a synth that is being experimented on in a lab, and Anita—the synth that lives with the Hawkins family has no idea who she really is. Niska leaves her job at a brothel after committing a murder, and sets off to find her own way. As a wanted fugitive she tries to blend in with humans as she makes an attempt to reconnect with Leo. On her travels she is led to the doorstep of a doctor named George Millican, a scientist that used to work at the company that first started to create the synths. During her encounter with the ailing doctor she learns more about herself which makes her embrace being human even more.
While everyone is adjusting to Anita, she displays some strange behavior that makes the family question her origins. As Laura and Joe continue to struggle within their marriage, Joe crosses the line and sleeps with Anita. He orders her to delete the experience from her hard drive, but the secret of his infidelity comes to light very quickly. Laura takes Anita back to the facility to find out where she came from and learns that Anita is not newly manufactured, but 14 years old.
Mattie quickly realizes that Anita’s connection with Leo and other synths is deeper than she thought. After several attempts to alter Anita’s new programming functions, the inscription codes are eventually broken and Anita aka Mia finally comes out as herself.
While Mattie learns more about Mia, she also learns that there is so much more to Leo. She finds out that he is half human and half robot. He was the son of the original creator and died in a car accident. His father kept his body on life support and created a digital program for his brain to function, complete with memories and the ability to feel and think like a human. Mattie discovers that once all the synths are together that they have the ability to give consciousness to other synths.
After a long and trying journey Niska is reunited with Leo, Max and Mia. While Fred manages to escape the lab to join the others. Meanwhile Hobbs, the lead scientist is determined to get his hands on all the synths so that he can control them and have them as robot/human slaves. The synths just want to be free and have the opportunity to live among the humans as individuals.
The synths endure a lot on their adventures to stay out of the lab and the seek refuge at the Hawkins family home, but their stay is not without challenges as they try to fix a now injured Max who risked his life to save Leo. They are soon betrayed by one of their own, Voss—a synth connected to their circle who works as a journalist who has been living her life as a human. She believes that their existence was a mistake and does everything in her power to destroy them.
There are so many things going on with this show that made me question where the art of creating robots has developed in our society. I discovered that there is a scientist in Japan named Professor Hiroshi Ishiguro that created a group of human looking robots. He even created one that looks exactly like him. They have the ability to interact with humans on a semi social level. There is even a robot exhibit that demonstrates the inception, evolution and production of modern robots at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Japan. Hiroshi Ishiguro stated at a press conference when he revealed two human looking androids to the world, that it is his intention to introduce the world to robots in a way where one day they will be as common to human everyday life, like cell phones. In the show Humans, the robots are “created to make our lives better—easier. They can cook, clean, drive our kids to school, help with homework and even help take care of the sick and elderly.
There are new developments in the robotics community every day. NASA has developed a space robot that can go on extended space missions and perform duties that would otherwise put a human at risk. It was announced early August 2015 that the mega company Google has developed a functioning robot. I won’t be surprised to hear that Microsoft, Apple, and Sony are in the stages of developing their own versions of robots. It’s just a matter of time when they reveal it to the public.
The society we live in today has entered the digital age. We live in a world where everyone has a cell phone and depends on it to go through everyday life. We get our mail and research through the internet, we do our banking online, we can even shop online without leaving our house for food and other things we need. When you really look closely at this, it can be very scary to see that our world is made up of technology. The things we have seen in the movies like Transformers, Terminator, IRobot, AI and others are not as far-fetched as we may believe. We all have laptops, microwaves, vacuum cleaners, IPADs, and now the new thing is the apple watch. We can all stay connected to each other through social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. If the internet crashes today, our society would crash and people would not know how to handle it. Just think, when your phone breaks, or you don’t have enough bars to get a signal, you freak out and are “so annoyed.” Just imagine what would happen if we lost all of that in an instant. Our society would literary crumble. The stock market depends on computers to survive, most medical institutions are dependent on computers for day to day operations. Our lives revolve around the functioning operations of computers and other forms of technology.
The point of me writing this article, is just to voice my feelings on how far does our society have to go to just be satisfied with everyday life? Do we really need robots doing everything for us? In my opinion no, because it makes us too dependent on it and stops us from being able to learn how to take care of ourselves. It stops us from being human. The idea of having robots integrated into our society disconnects us as a group because we are meant to be connected on many levels. For example, the social media outlets in conjunction with cell phones can be viewed as a positive thing that connects us, but it also contradicts what connection really means. Being connected doesn’t mean having a conversation solely via text message or looking at them through a camera lens. Being connected means having a real human interaction that is deeper than any form of technology. It means looking into the other person’s eyes, the touch of a hand, a kiss on the cheek, or even the simplest thing of just physically being in the other person’s company. I’m not saying that having technology is bad, it can be a good thing, but I just think that we as a society need to reevaluate what it means to have technology in our lives and to remember that everything comes at a cost no matter how productive it may appear to be.
Dark Betrayal:Chronicles of the Celestial book two will have a promo tour that will run starting August 31, 2015 and end September 18, 2015. The tour will feature a variety of stops at genre appropriate blogs and websites. The promo will consist of reviews and excerpts. One randomly drawn winner will win an $40.00 Amazon gift card, and one randomly drawn tour host will win a $20.00 Amazon gift card.
It Follows directed by David Robert Mitchell and starring Maika Monroe tells the story of a young college girl who is haunted by a supernatural entity after a sexual encounter with a guy goes terribly wrong.
The movie had a good story line but it just didn’t fully deliver as I expected. The guy that Jay sleeps with passes on to her some kind of entity that wants to kill her. The entity follows her everywhere and comes in the form of people that she some times knows. She and her friends spend all their time running away from the entity. On a couple of occasions they try to fight back but they quickly realize that they can’t defeat it. Jay takes into consideration and makes an attempt to pass it on, but her attempt fails.
The movie had some good scenes but overall it is a very slow-paced film. The tone of the film has a classic late 70’s early 80’s feel to it and I got the idea that the writers were going that, but that just was not enough to make it successful.
There were so many things that the writers and director could have done to make this horror magic, like coming up with a detailed plot that fully explains the origin of the entity and how to pass it on or defeat it. The most important thing they could have done was make the haunting even more haunting, not just have people following the main character. I mean at times the appearance of the entity was more startling instead of scary. The entity should have been more of a creature that hides in the shadows and comes for her at more of a time that is least expected. The opening scene where the girl has her legs broken forward was better than the whole film. They could have taken a more supernatural approach to this film and incorporated that type of gore and horror that the introduction promised.
I hate to say it, but i feel that modern horror is starting to die. Every movie that I give a chance lately has ended in nothing but disappointment. It seems like the film industry is becoming nothing but remakes, or shotty ideas that are not fully developed or portrayed in ways that horror movie fans can appreciate like in the decades of film and writing creativity. Thank goodness for Netflix and my classic horror collection.
The music was well done, the effects were almost not existent and the acting was mediocre. I’m happy that I didn’t spend money at the theater for this.
I give this movie two stars, if you can get through it.
Terminator Genisys directed by Alan Taylor and starring Arnold Schwarznegger and Emilia Clarke tells the story of Kyle Reese as he is sent back in time to the year 1984 to save John Conner’s mother Sarah Conner from the ultimate Terminator.
This movie answers a lot of questions about the series and gives movie goers a lot of insight on how the world really is in the future of John Connor’s life. We are taken on an adventure that really opens our eyes to the consequences of “we” as humans having too much technology and being able to only depend upon that technology to survive everyday life. The story runs deeper than the I-robot story, and more than touches the surface of those deep unanswered questions that the new AMC show “Humans” has to introduce.
This movie has a lot going on and I’m not going to get into too many details here, but I must say that I thought it was very well done, and that the storyline was well written. To my surprise the theater wasn’t sold out and this film did not do as well as it deserved to. I think that it’s been too many years since the series started and I felt that only people in my generation really had the chance to appreciate it. If this was done maybe ten years earlier then I believe that it would had done better at the box office.
Arnold Schwarznegger did a great job with his performance, he gave only what classic Arnold could give. The movie paid homage to the original film but also honored and embraced the Arnold of today. It was great to see Emilia Clarke in a strong female lead, something different from the fragile dragon princess in Game of Thrones. The idea of the hero ending up becoming the ultimate villain was unexpected and thrilling.
The special effects, makeup and sound all presented a fluidity of consistency that created a tone that was appropriate for a 2015 Sci-Fi action film.
I gave Terminator Genisys four stars out of five and recommend it to any Sci-Fi fan. See the others first, because once you do, the entire story will flow better.
Jurassic World directed by Colin Trevorrow and starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard is the Blockbuster hit of summer 2015! The action adventure Sci-Fi thriller takes place twenty-two years after things went awry at the island of Isla Nublar. Now it is not just a park, but a full functioning adventure theme park like Disney World, which is reflective of John Hammond’s original vision from the 90’s. This island has a long list of dinosaurs and would not be complete without the genetically modified mutant dinosaur. Yes I said mutant because a lot of them are not purebred, but completely engineered with the DNA of other dinosaurs and animals like frogs and fish.
Claire a strong career driven woman played by Howard runs the massive island with an iron fist. She is soon forced to take on the role of responsible caregiver, when her sister sends her two boys on a vacation to the theme park for some much needed family time. Gray and Zach—Claire’s nephews arrive to find out that their family vacation with their aunt is now just a play-date for two. Claire continues to run things and trusts her assistant with the care of her nephews. The two quickly ditch their chaperone and start to tour the island by themselves.
Meanwhile Owen played by Pratt—an ex-military man and animal specialist works at the park training Raptors. He demonstrates his progress to some of the leading experts on the island and Claire requests his assistance before she opens a new exhibit at the park. She shows him the place where a new dinosaur will be revealed. Owen expresses his initial concerns when he finds some potential weak spots in the habitat containment unit.
A small incident occurs when some of the dinosaurs escape their habitat. Claire believes that she has everything under control, but it is just the beginning of a chain of events that eventually leads to the escape of one of the most dangerous creatures that man has ever encountered.
The playdate for two quickly transitions into a journey of survival as they along with Claire and Owen fight to survive the earthly beasts that the island has to offer.
What can I say? This movie was just great. I’m still thinking about it and I saw it Saturday night. Everything about this movie was awesome. The storyline, character portrayal and development, score and sound, and the special effects were amazing. I’ve been looking forward to seeing this movie ever since I found out that they were doing a Jurassic World. I saw it in 3D which enhanced the movie experience for me. Chris Pratt did a wonderful job with his character and he made me feel that old school excitement for cinema that only classic Harrison Ford can channel. The director Colin Trevorrow’s vison moved me as he showcased his own unique abilities while conjuring some of Spielberg’s inspiration. This movie is worth seeing a second time. Just thinking about it makes me smile which you will too, once you’re in your seat.
I gave this movie 5 stars. If I could give more I would.
Poltergeist starring Sam Rockwell and directed by Gil Kenan and produced by Sam Raimi was a horror movie remake that disappointed me in many ways. The movie was supposed to be a reboot of the haunted house classic Steven Spielberg film, starring JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson, but I just couldn’t get over how badly it was done. There was nothing authentic about this film, and the writers did nothing but add some overrated special effects and overuse the original script. The names of the characters were changed for some reason, and I found that the actor’s performances were weak. The mood of the film was disappointingly mellow, and for me there was no real fear that the characters displayed. For this to have had Sam Raimi’s name behind it, I was expecting so much more. I think that the film could have been done so much better if Sam Raimi would have had complete creative control in addition to the writing. The casting and storytelling was just all wrong, and I hope that the next horror I see will make up for this one. The only two positive things I have to say was that the scene where we were able to see how the other realm or alternate dimension looked was good, even though I also think that the drone going into that realm was out of place. Technology should be dead in this this case. (I believe that was Raimi’s influence, good idea but it just wasn’t delivered creativity.) I also thought the scene with the family trying to leave the house was good. They are sitting in their SUV and are suddenly dragged back in through the garage as the house becomes consumed by the portal. That was an interesting add on to the movie. Throughout the movie I kept calling the little girl “Carol Anne and was comparing the remake with the original. It was so hard not to. The ghost hunter Carrigan Burke played by Jared Harris didn’t do much for me, but prove that the writers tried too hard with making the movie fit into the modern world. The paranormal research team was horrible, and at this point I can’t write anymore bad things about this movie. Wait, yes I can, it was in 3D which was an excuse for theaters to charge more money than necessary. It didn’t add any depth to the movie at all, just a dent in my purse. Not worth seeing it, but if you must as a fan of horror, wait until it’s out on cable and you have nothing else better to do.
I gave this movie two stars just because of the two scenes I liked and because I like Sam Raimi.
The Avengers: Age of Ultron directed by Joss Whedon and starring Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans continues the story of the Marvel comic group of hero’s, as they continue their fight to save the earth from the threat of darkness.
The films opens with an action packed scene as the Avengers battle a group of terrorists in Europe. New enemies are introduced as the Avengers search for Loki’s stolen scepter, which has a powerful stone inside it. They race to get the scepter back into the right hands.
Once they retrieve the scepter Tony Stark and Bruce Banner waste no time with trying to create something that can help keep the peace and the scepter protected. Tony uses his engineering talents to create a form of artificial intelligence with the hopes of it being the answer to all their problems, but as soon as the AI begins to take it’s form, the stages of evolution begin to take place and the entity that was designed to help turns into something much more sinister, and out of that Ulton is born.
In the process Tony has the program set where Jarvis has control over the entity, but Jarvis is quickly overpowered and Ultron destroys Jarvis.
The team bands together to battle the constantly evolving Ultron. He does everything in his power to break the bond and trust the Avengers share including using two powerful mutants Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, (which were created by William Stryker, the same man that created Wolverine) against them. The group retreats when they are overpowered and they seek refuge at Hawkeye’s home with his wife and children as they begin to regroup.
Captain America comes up with a battle plan, and each one the Avengers uses their strengths to battle Ultron. Ultron is thirsty for more power as he creates a group of autobots, to help destroy the Avengers. In the meantime Ulton possesses one of Tony Stark’s scientists and forces her make him a more sustainable body. In the process he becomes more powerful. Eventually Scarlet Witch and Quick Silver realize that Ultron plans to destroy all the humans on the planet and take over the world with his new artificial intelligent colleagues. They go against his plan and join forces with the Avengers to help save the people of earth.
Stark comes up with a plan to recreate a manifestation of Jarvis using the stone from Loki’s scepter. The manifestation of Jarvis has now altered into Vison. A powerful being that has a multitude of abilities. The will of the Avengers is strong as they all join forces to defeat Ultron.
Overall The Avengers: Age of Ulton was an awesome movie. The story was well written and gave each of the characters an opportunity to shine in an appropriate manner. Sometimes when movies have an all-star cast, the story can get lost in the process and the actors get swallowed whole, but this is not the case with the Avengers sequel. They each had good on screen chemistry and the new characters added to the adventure. The special effects were remarkable and captivating. The battle scenes took you to another realm and made you feel like you were in the adventure.
Now we know that there is a bigger story behind the Avengers and that all the Marvel Superhero movies are connected. In the end we see Thanos make another appearance saying “I will just have to do it my myself.” As he reaches for a glove with five holes in it. I don’t know too much about the bigger story, but I do know that the Infinity stone that was in Loki’s scepter is connected to the infinity stone in the Guardians of Galaxy. More stones will appear throughout the Marvel Superhero film world, which will lead to the Infinity Wars in the distant future.
This movie is a must see, which will kick off the season of Summer Blockbusters. I gave this movie 5 stars
General Hospital spotlight
Sometimes the GH storylines start to fizzle out for me. This whole thing with Michael and Sonny has gone too far. I can’t believe that Michael would go to any lengths to keep Avery away from Sonny. Despite everything Michael has had a good life and should not still be hungry for revenge. Now that Luke is an escaped mental patient, I think that he is going to kidnap Avery. Once that happens, the court will determine that Michael is not fit to care for her. Now that we know that Luke has a split personality disorder, I am not sure where they are going to take his storyline. I think Lulu should call Laura just to tell her what is going on. This will soon lead to another Spencer adventure, which will hopefully end well.
Ava came back from the dead just to find out that she is dying from Cancer. I really hope that Maura West is not leaving the show. I’ve really grown to love her character and I love the fact that she comes with so much excitement.
I wasn’t too happy to see Spaneli when I found out that he was trying to break up Maxie and Nathan, but now that he has possibly recognized Jake as Jason, he may actually be the one to solve the case. I don’t think that he will let the whole thing rest. When Sam does find out the truth, it will not be easy for her to leave Patrick and pick up the pieces of her marriage. I think they will realize that they are two totally different people and live lives that no longer include one another.
I can’t wait to find out what is going to happen to Jordan now that Sonny and Julian are a war and Sean’s suspicions of her have increased. I think that she is going to get shot and will spill the beans to Sean and TJ when she is recovering at GH. I like the sexual tension between Sloan and Anna. I like their on screen chemistry, but I still like Duke and Anna together. I believe that Sloan is not who he says he is, and that his real identity will come to light soon. I am curious to find out why Sloan wants Jake to be undercover.
Until Next Time
L.L.
The last few weeks on GH have been absolutely explosive. Let’s start with Sonny and the truth about AJ’s murder. The truth is out about Sonny’s involvement with AJ’s murder and now he is in jail awaiting trail. Michael has completely disowned Sonny and Carly and has officially taken the Quartermain name. Interestingly enough an old mob rival Anthony Zacara makes an appearance in Pentenville and makes Sonny an offer. Back in PC Carlos Rivera finds Julian and tells him about a deal that could change their lives. Julian struggles to make the right decision as Alexis and his love for her still pierces his mind. He eventually choose s to take the deal and with that he is back on the streets of PC and back with his mob affiliation.
Rick Lancing’s name is now back in PC conversation as Anna comes clean to Alexis about the truth regarding his ” so-called ” death. Anna discovers that Rick is no longer in hiding but missing, and this is where my Fluke Luke suspicions come in.
We all know that there are still two Luke’s, but were three. Fazon was impersonating Luke, to create a diversion for Helena’s schemes and now that Fazon is back on the streets, another imposter is at the Quartermain mansion trying to put the pieces together to Luke’s life. The real Luke is locked in the basement of the mansion and doesn’t know if he even has a future anymore.
How long are the writers going to keep this Fluke Luke up? To be honest I’m getting tired of FL and the whole storyline, but what is interesting about it is that I thought the Fluke Luke could be Rick Lansing and that he was being blackmailed by Helena and did not have a choice in the matter. Now I know that is not true because Carlos has Rick locked in a trunk of a car awaiting Sonny’s decision on turning over his territory to Anthony Zarcara. I also think that Helena is behind the mob alliance and wants control over the families. Both story lines are related.
Ava’s baby was finally found and now that crazy Nina and Franco are in jail pending kidnapping charges, I hope Nina will get what she deserves. Since I still like Franco, I do hope that the charges will be dropped. Ava is also in jail waiting to see her fate as she faces the consequences of Connie’s murder.
I thought that it was strange that Nathan asked Alexis to represent Nina since Sam was on her list and Nina did everything to destroy Sam and Silas. And now Nina wants Alexis to represent Franco. I think that Alexis will play the insanity card when it comes to Nina’s defense and that is how she will walk away from the kidnapping charges. Franco on the other hand, I’m not sure but I do think that he will get off too. I’m curious to see how Ava and Sonny will get out of what they did. I sill don’t have any answers on Maurice’s contract and whether or not he will return for 2015.
I guess we will just have to watch and see how things play out.
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The World According to LaTaeya 