I, Robot

Release date: 15 July 2004 (Thailand)

You can’t often go wrong with movies based on great books and I, Robot proves this point. Based on Isaac Asimov’s story of a robot with a conscious it is directed by Alex Proyas and stars the ever wooden Will Smith. Yet even Smith’s performance as Detective Del Spooner fails to derail the film. The movie’s strength lies in its storyline of robots who think – sometimes – in order to protector their creators they have to supersede their programming and break the ethical laws humans have written into them. It is a great premise and the detective story that results when the robots’ creator, a scientist named Dr. Albert Lanning, is found murdered is a great ride. Full of action, philosophy and some great special effects, I Robot works to show us the err of our ways and the dangers that may eventual result when robots attain a consciousness similar to our own.

My rating 7 out of 10.

Yellow Sticky Notes

Release date: 2007 (Canada)

Canadian Jeff Chiba Stearns wrote and animated this short 6-minute story of his life – thus far – using the ubiquitous yellow sticky notes we’re all oh-so-familiar with. Motivated by the realization that his film-making journey and to-do lists of yellow sticky notes had overtaken his life, Stearns uses the same medium as a means to self-reflect on events since 9/11. This short piece is a joy to watch with more revealed with each viewing of the some 2300 sticky notes. The catchy original soundtrack is courtesy Genevieve Vincent.

My rating for a great idea captured in an experimental and fun fashion 8 out of 10.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

Release date: 13 December 2007 (New York City, USA)

The usual suspects gather in this second, poorer, version of the box office hit from 2004. Nicholas Cage is back as cagey historian Ben Gates, Diane Kruger returns as his (now) wife Abigail Chase, Jon Voight is back as just as aggravating as ever as dad, Patrick Gates, and sidekick Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) returns to continue to add some comic interest. New to the adventure are the ever brilliant Ed Harris as bad guy, Mitch Wilkinson, and the ever brilliant Helen Mirren as Ben’s mom, Emily Appleton. The story is an over-the-top silly concoction concerning the assassination of Abraham Lincoln; a secret book passed from President to President that reveals the truth about some of history’s greatest events, and a secret city of gold hidden away by Mt. Rushmore. It is all thoroughly dumb and sadly does no justice to the brilliance that was the first National Treasure movie. It is all way too much and as such leaves the viewer bored as the chase unfolds.

My rating 4 out of 10.

Mama Mia

Release date: 30 June 2008 (London, UK)

Pierce Brosnan has no worries about preparing a speech for Oscars this year. In Mama Mia, he demonstrates a classic example of a (good?) actor utterly out of his depth. He is wooden, uncomfortable, and – yikes – even sings … horribly granted, but he does give it a screechy try. Based on the music of ABBA and a direct steal from the Broadway theatre production that won umpteen Tonys, the movie version illustrates, vividly, that not all Broadway shows can translate to the silver screen. This is no Chicago. Meryl Streep does a fine job as the woman, Donna, who doesn’t know which of three men fathered her daughter Sophie. Her two sidekicks – Julie Waters (as Rosie) and Christine Baranski (as Tanya) are particularly good, Baranski especially. Newcomer Amanda Seyfried plays the girl at the centre of the story. If you are not a fan of ABBA or the theatre version of Mama Mia, avoid this movie like the plague.

I am a fan of both but would still only give this lame, absurd movie my rating of 4 out of 10.