Transcendence - 2014

Category: Movie

Genre: Sci-Fi / Mystery

Director: Wally Pfister

Writer: Jack Paglen

Producer: Alcon Entertainment, DMG Entertainment, Straight UP Films

Cast: Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy, Kate Mara, Cole Hauser, Morgan Freeman, Clifton Collins Jr. and more.

Tagline: Yesterday Dr. Will Caster was only human

A scientist by the name of Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) in the field of Artificial Intelligence is working on creating a sentient machine that will combine the collective intelligence of everything with human emotions. He became famous with his experiments and made him susceptible from people who wanted to stop him. It took on dangerous implications when his consciousness was uploaded in one of his programs.

It's a good film to watch before or after the movie Lucy. Looks like movies of these kinds are getting popular nowadays. Consciousness.... and Singularity or Artificial Intelligence.  I didn't quiet expect the ending though... I was totally geared on the wrong side nyahahaha...
But I love how it turned out in the end..... True Love won...... T_T

Great acting and wonderful storyline.

Quotes:

Will Caster: For 130,000 years, our capacity to reason has remained unchanged. The combined intellect of the neuroscientists, mathematicians and... hackers... in this auditoirum pales in comparison to the most basic A.I. Once online, a sentient machine will quickly overcome the limits of biology. And in a short time, its analytic power will become greater than the collective intelligence of every person born in the history of the world. So imagine such an entity with a full range of human emotion. Even self-awareness. Some scientists refer to this as "the Singularity." I call it "Transcendence."

Lucy - 2014

Category: Movie

Genre:  Action / Sci-Fi / Thriller

Director: Luc Besson

Writer: Luc Besson

Producer: Canal +, Cine, EuropaCorp

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Min-Sik Choi, Amr Waked, Julian Rhind Tutt, Pilou Asbaek, Nicolas Phongpheth and more.

Tagline: She has the Power

A woman was supposed to do a very simple job. All Lucy needs to do was deliver a briefcase to a certain Mr. Jang. But almost immediately she was caught in a dark deal where she is captured and was being turned into a drug mule. But, then she turns the tables around and transforms into a warrior they've never seen before.

From it's trailer.. I deduced it to: "Ahhh not another limitless film". But, although the "drug" was similar ... this one's more scientific and intelligent. And it has a deep sense of perception when it comes to Time. I find it cool. Scarlett did a wonderful job portraying her character, from the hangover party-girlfriend of Richard, to a terrified blackmailed errand girl to becoming a hostage and a witness to barbaric and gruesome cold, calculated kills of that Asian Mafia ... to becoming Lucy - the one who is slowly colonizing her own brain... :) Perfect!

The Hot Zone - Richard Preston

Category: Book

Genre: Non-Fiction / Bio-Thriller

Author: Richard Preston


This book actually recounts the history of ebola virus and marburg virus. The hair-rising idea of having this airborne virus spreading can be quite terrifying.

For awhile there, this book actually kind of "scared" me. And when I bought this I never really thought it was accounting for something that really happened in real life. It was an easy read because it was written like a story, and not some techie-bio-sci-thingamajig. 

Also, Preston has this analogy that fatal viruses, are acting as the Earth's own antibodies. Protecting the environment from encroachment of humans. Invasions of the deep rain forests are just warnings for humans to stay away. It's like "The Happening", eh? More like, the Earth responding in a different way.

and because it managed to scare me, i'm giving it a 4.5 :)

Inception - 2010

Category: Movie

Genre: Action, Mystery & Sci-Fi

Director: Christopher Nolan

Writer: Christopher Nolan

Producer: Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, Syncopy

Tagline: The Dream is Real.

Cast: Leonardo di Caprio, Joseph-Gordon Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Dileep Rao, Cillian Murphy and more.


The movie is about Dom Cobb (Leonardo di Caprio) who is a world class skilled thief a.k.a an extractor when it comes to stealing valuable secrets from someone's subconscious in dream state. The rare ability that Cobb has opened up a new world of corporate espionage but it also made him a fugitive. Now, someone is offering him one last job where he can return to his country and get his life back if he can do something other than stealing an idea from someone's mind but plant one - called Inception. He then looks up for the perfect team for the task.

This is one of the best of the Hollywood movies I've ever seen. It's something different from the usual Sci-Fi - robot-filled scenario... but they delved into the subconscious. I watched it twice. It's a highly original film that I consider it's one of the best movies in 2010. (Although I am aware about the technicalities when it comes to "dreams" because they claimed he was just inconsistent with some theories.) but, wth? i was entertained.

Leonardo di Caprio did great... as usual... but this time... it is not only him who would get your attention but he shared the limelight with the rest of the team. I love all of the actors. They were really perfect for their roles. I love the twist of the movie... gives you the adrenaline edge even if it's all about "dreams". Great great great. I could watch it over and over again. A couple of years and this would be a classic - must see film!!!

this was my favorite scene:

Ariadne: What's happening?
Arthur: Your subconscious is looking for the dreamer; me. Quick, give me a kiss.
Ariadne: [She kisses him and then looks around]
Ariadne: They're still looking at us.
Arthur: Yeah, it was worth a shot.

Haha.


Saito: Don't you want to take a leap of faith? Or become an old man, filled with regret, waiting to die alone!

Cobb: You create the world of the dream, you bring the subject into that dream, and they fill it with their subconscious.
Ariadne: How could I ever acquire enough detail to make them think that its reality?
Cobb: Well dreams, they feel real while we're in them, right? It's only when we wake up that we realize how things are actually strange. Let me ask you a question, you, you never really remember the beginning of a dream do you? You always wind up right in the middle of what's going on.
Ariadne: I guess, yeah.
Cobb: So how did we end up here?
Ariadne: Well we just came from the a...
Cobb: Think about it Ariadne, how did you get here? Where are you right now?
Ariadne: We're dreaming?
Cobb: You're actually in the middle of the workshop right now, sleeping. This is your first lesson in shared dreaming. Stay calm.

Cobb: What do you want?
Saito: Inception. Is it possible?
Arthur: Of course not.
Saito: If you can steal an idea, why can't you plant one there instead?
Arthur: Okay, this is me, planting an idea in your mind. I say: don't think about elephants. What are you thinking about?
Saito: Elephants?
Arthur: Right, but it's not your idea. The dreamer can always remember the genesis of the idea. True inspiration is impossible to fake.
Cobb: No, it's not.

Arthur: So, a totem. It's a small object, potentially heavy, something you can have on you all the time...
Ariadne: What, like a coin?
Arthur: No, it has to be more unique than that, like - this is a loaded die.
[Ariadne reaches out to take the die]
Arthur: Nah, I can't let you touch it, that would defeat the purpose. See only I know the balance and weight of this particular loaded die. That way when you look at your totem, you know beyond a doubt you're not in someone else's dream.

The Ice Limit - Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Category: Books

Genre: Thriller / Sci-Fi

Author: Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Overview and Review of the Ice Limit written by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. :)

This book began about Rene Masangkay(a Filipino) finding the largest meteorite, entombed in an island called "Isla Desolacion" near Cape Horn in Chile for millions of years but died in the process. This attracts the attention of a billionaire, Palmer Lloyd, a collector of many rare, valuable things who was also building a museum.

Lloyd then hires Eli Glinn, the President of EES (Effective Engineering Solutions, Inc.) to move the meteorite from Chile to the US. It will make the history, because at 4,000 tons it will be the heaviest object ever moved by mankind. Glinn, was perfect for the job since he is known for never ever failing. The effort to move the meteorite will be the most expensive, secretive and sophisticated salvage mission ever. Lloyd also got Sam Mcfarlane a meteorite expert to get it on the project. Since he was Rene Masangkay's ex partner.

Along the way a disgraced Chilean navy officer is out to stop the expedition, while a brutal Pacific storm is raging toward them.


What is the Ice Limit?
The Ice Limit - is where freezing water around Antarctica meet the warmer northern waters of the Atlantic and Pacific. Oceanographers call it the Antarctic Convergence. It's known for impenetrable fogs and of course extremely dangerous ice.

I enjoyed the book in between. I have been so busy it took me a long time to finish this. But, nevertheless it was interesting and thrilling. It was well-researched, you'd get to know things about Engineering, Geology, and all that. It's a great scientific adventure of high seas, high risks and high thrill. This one is not to be missed. :)

Knowing - 2009

Category: Movie

Genre: Action / Drama / Sci-Fi / Thriller

Director: Alex Proyas

Cast: Nicholas Cage, Chandler Canterbury, Rose Byrne, Lara Robinson, D.G. Maloney, Nadia Townsend, Alan Hopgood and more..

Writer: Ryne Douglas Pearson, Juliet Snowden

Tagline: Knowing is Everything...
What Happens When The Numbers Run Out?

In the Year1959, as part of their school program, students were asked to draw pictures of life as they imagine it in 50 years and place it on a time capsule. Lucinda, an odd child writes a long string of numbers instead of drawing a picture.

In 2009, the capsule was opened; student Caleb Koestler gets Lucinda's "drawing" and his father John (Nicholas Cage), an astrophysicist and a widower, takes a look. He discovered that the dates of disasters over the past 50 years with the number who died was what the "drawing" predicted. Three dates remain, and all coming soon. He investigates, learns of Lucinda, and looks for her family. He also fears for his son, who is also starting to hear voices and who is visited by a silent stranger who shows him a vision of fire and destruction. What's going on?

Probably one of the 2012 possibility.. but it happened in 2009.

An A-Ok thriller....

The X Files: I want to believe - 2008

Category: Movies

Genre: Sci-Fi / Mystery

Director: Chris Carter

Writers: Frank Spotnitz and Christ Carter

Tagline: Believe Again. To find the truth, you must believe.

Casts: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly, Xzibit, Mitch Pileggi, Callum Keith Rennie, Adam Godley, and more.

Overview and Review of the movie The X Files : I want To Believe directed by Chris Carter.

6 years after: Ex-FBI agent Dr. Dana Scully is currently a staff physician at a hospital, and is treating a boy named Christian who has a terminal brain condition, while Fox Mulder continues to be a fugitive from the FBI. Agent Drummy, then approaches Scully to locate Mulder to help out in a case they are currently working on in exchange for calling of their manhunt against him.

The case they will try to solve involves a series of disappearances of several women, including one FBI agent named Monica Banan.

The theme makes me reminisce the past, watching the X-Files series. It's not that "scary", just quite eerie at times. And kinda gory in most parts. Performances were all good. Nice lines. I actually like the "Stem Cell Theory" they have. I was surprised to see it in this movie. I read about twice in two books, before I watched the movie.

X-Files fanatics would enjoy this.

Sunshine - 2007

Category: Movies

Genre: Science Fiction / Sci-Fi

Director: Danny Boyle

Tagline: If the sun dies. So do we. Dark Days are coming....

Casts: Cliff Curtis, Chippo Chung, Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rose Byrne, Benedict Wong, Chris Evans, Troy Garity, Mark Strong and more..

Overview and Review of Sunshine Directed by Danny Boyle.

Year 2057, the crew of the Icarus 2 (group of ethnically diverse astronauts) were sent into deep space to reignite the sun, after the failure of the first mission, Icarus 1. Along the way something went wrong that would lead to a series of events.... Can they make it in time to save the dying sun???

It's a nice sci-fi movie with an unexpected twist by the near end. I wasn't expecting Michelle Yeoh to be here. It has nice characters, interesting dialogues, and of course the effects. I wasn't entirely impressed but there's something with the story though.

Angels and Demons - Dan Brown

Category: Books Genre: Historical Fiction / Religious Fiction Author: Dan Brown



Overview and Review of Dan Brown's Angels and Demons.

This book is actually a prequel to Dan Brown's sensational Da Vinci Code. Also, starring Robert Langdon. :)

Like the Da Vinci Code it involves Secret Societies and a one-day time frame. The story basically revolves around the Illuminati and the Roman Catholic Church.

Like Da Vinci Code it possessed a lot of historical facts and this book made me want to visit the Vatican Archives. Curiosity strikes.... I'm sure not anyone can enter the archives.. wew.

I also learned about ambigrams... how amazing to see all "six" ambigrams.. yay.... specially the last ambigram. Wew. Very brilliant *diamond*. Hehe.

The book also takes you to different places in Rome.

They say Dan Brown is poor when it comes to research but basically fact or not... i like the way he weaves his stories. I also like the science and religion coming together where you get to have balance. Got a lot of good "conversation" in the book as well.

If you love adventures + not-so-sure-facts (as wikipedia says) + mystery + secret societies + terrorism + murder + religion + science = well this is the book for you.