Companion

2025 Warner Brothers

Rated: R

Length: 1 hr 37min

Fantasy ~ Horror ~ Sci-Fi ~ Suspense ~ Thriller

Directed by: Drew Hancock

Starring: Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén, and Rupert Friend.

Find someone made just for you.

The Movie starts with this scene in a grocery store. It is when Iris and Josh first met…..

Iris is shopping in the grocery store pushing a grocery cart, when she sees peaches displayed in the produce department. She stops and picks up a peach, smells it, and looks up to see a guy named Josh smiling at her. He walks around to the front of her cart near an orange display, and attempting to make small talk, grabs an orange. All the oranges in the display fall onto the floor…..He sheepishly starts to laugh and Iris starts to laugh too. Josh says, “Well That was smooth..” and laughs. Iris agrees as she laughs and smiles at him, “Yeah…So smooth.

As this voiceover from Iris plays:

Most the time it’s like, I don’t know, it’s like there’s this thick black cloud covering everything.

Like we see the world but, we don’t really see the world, you know?

We’re all just stumbling around. Directionless. No sense of meaning. No sense of purpose.

I know that might sound super depressing but honestly, I think it’s a good thing.

Because it makes us appreciate the other times.

Those brief transcendent moments when the lights flicker on, the black cloud parts and you see the world for what it really is.

And suddenly there’s meaning. Suddenly there’s purpose.

If you’re lucky you’ll experience this once in your lifetime.

For me, it happened twice.

The first was the day I met Josh.

And the second…..the day I killed him.

“Iris, Wake Up” Josh says. Iris wakes up, yawns and asks Josh, “How long was I out?” “You’ve been out for awhile now, what were you dreaming about?” Iris answers, “I was dreaming about when we first met.” They are driving in Josh’s self driving autonomous car to a friend’s house out in the countryside for a weekend getaway. They are meeting with some other friends to spend the weekend together and have some fun. The house belongs to Sergey, a shady Russian business man “whose hands are in some dirty business”, so he says.

Eli and his lover Patrick have already arrived and Josh and Iris pull up and park next to their car. As they enter the house they are greeted by Kat, who Iris is convinced doesn’t like her very much. Patrick is cooking, Sergey is drinking and making drinks for everyone else and Eli comes downstairs to greet Josh and Iris. And the weekend begins! There is food, there is drink, there is dancing, a fun time for all, let the good times roll!

But not for long! Soon things spiral out of control and not in the way it was intended! For there is more to this little planned getaway than meets the eye, as there is to Iris, Patrick, Josh and Kat. Sometimes the bad guy isn’t who you think it is, or is it. Just when you think you know what is going to happen, it goes in a completely different direction. And when you think you have that figured out, guess again. Nope, you’re wrong!

There are shades of Subservience and M3GAN in this movie. Yes, there are A.I. Robots, but you think they turn bad and run amok. Not nese-celery! New word I made up! Anyway, I thought Sophie Thatcher was great as Iris. I really liked her in this. Great job I say. And Jack Quaid as well, I just found out he is the son of Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, how about that! I love the story and the twists and turns, and I am fond of the Sci-Fi AI Robot genre of things. I am a big Bladerunner fan and love both of those futuristic AI Robotic humanoid filled movies. It is a twisty turny thrilling Sci-Fi Movie that leaves you rooting for who you thought was the bad guy in the end.

Yes, yes and yes on Companion.

I am a Sophie Thatcher and Companion Fan now!

Two Thumbs Up!

The Electric State

2025 Netflix

Rated: PG-13

Length: 2 hr 8min

Action ~ Adventure ~ Sci-Fi

Directed by: Anthony and Joe Russo

Starring: Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, Jason Alexander, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Giancarlo Esposito and Stanley Tucci.

“Rage with the Machines.”

THE BOOK:

The Electric State A Graphic Novel by Simon Stålenhag 2018

In late 1997, a runaway teenager and her small yellow toy robot travel west through a strange American landscape where the ruins of gigantic battle drones litter the countryside, along with the discarded trash of a high-tech consumerist society addicted to a virtual-reality system. As they approach the edge of the continent, the world outside the car window seems to unravel at an ever faster pace, as if somewhere beyond the horizon, the hollow core of civilization has finally caved in.

THE MOVIE (Netflix Tudum):

In the world of The Electric State, the ’90s look a little different. Sure, plaid flannel shirts and grunge black eyeliner are still in, but a catastrophic war between humans and robots has left the world scarred and divided. With robots banished to a remote wasteland, an uneasy peace has been reached — but it may not last for long.

The Electric State tells the story of Michelle ( Millie Bobby Brown), a young woman traveling with a sweet but mysterious robot. The pair reluctantly team up with eccentric drifter Keats (Chris Pratt), and set out on a cross-country road trip to find Michelle’s younger brother. Along the way, they have to navigate an electrified, retro-futuristic US landscape with eerie similarities to our own time.

The Electric State is an explosive adaptation of Simon Stålenhag’s 2018 graphic novel of the same name about a young girl and her small yellow toy robot who travel west through a high-tech wasteland. The Russos’ version takes the story concept and runs with it, expanding the world while remaining true to the emotional threads Stålenhag weaved into his work.

“I’m blown away by the movie,” Stålenhag told Netflix. “It was an amazing experience watching things that I have drawn come to life this way. What resonated most with me was the emotional core of the movie, which is the need for family. Even though the movie has changed genre from the book a bit, that main core is still the same and has been expanded on beautifully.”

The Russos and writers Markus and McFeely were in communication with Stålenhag throughout the film’s development, and he was pleased to see the creative liberties they took to make the film stand on its own. “They asked me questions about the timeline and backstory, but it’s their work,” he said. “They’re the best in the world at what they do, and to see them work on a project that comes from me, it’s beyond satisfying, surreal. I am so positively surprised by the end result.”

THE REVIEW:

I didn’t know that the movie was based upon a book until after I watched the movie. I included a lot of information about that because I think I would have had a better appreciation of the movie if I had known that going in. After the fact, looking at the illustrations of the book, the movie does a great job of bringing those illustrations and the book to life. I love Millie Bobby Brown and I think she was good in this, but I don’t think the movie would have survived with another actress. Chris Pratt was good as well but I think the stars were Millie, Cosmo and Devyn Dalton. Devyn Dalton is the Motion Capture actress that played Cosmo.

I appreciated all the robot characters, they started to grow on me. Herman (Anthony Mackie), Mr. Peanut (Woody Harrelson), Popfly (Brian Cox) and Penny Pal (Jenny Slate) were my favorites, after Cosmo of course. Yes, they started to feel like human beings to me. They drew me in to their struggle to be accepted. Robots co-existing side by side with Humans. And to quote Millie in the end, “We are going to do it right this time.” I liked it, but if you don’t like Robots and Sci-Fi, you’re gonna think it was dumb.

Again, take a look at the book the movie was based on, you’ll appreciate it more.

The Creator

2023 20th Century Studios

Rated: PG-13

Length: 2 hr 13min

Action ~ Adventure ~ Drama ~ Epic ~ Sci-Fi

Directed by: Gareth Edwards

Starring: John David Washington, Madeline Yuna Voyles, Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, Sturgill Simpson, and Allison Janney.

NIRMATA:

¹ (Nepalese for The Creator) The mysterious unknown architect of advanced A.I.

² A Being worshipped by Artificial Intelligence as their creator; savior; God

SYNOPSIS:

The evolution and integration of Robots and A.I. has permeated and changed every aspect of life in the near future. In 2055 as Robot driven A.I. has surpassed man, A.I. accidently detonates an Atomic Bomb in Los Angeles. This starts a war between A.I. and Humanity. The West vows to drive A.I. into extinction, while A. I. vows to drive humanity into extinction. The West drives A.I. into the New Asia region consisting of east and south Asia. The USS NOMAD Space Station has been developed to hunt and destroy A.I. bases. Word has spread that A.I. has developed a weapon that could destroy the once thought indestructible NOMAD.

A covert military operation is planned to enter New Asia, find and destroy the new A.I. weapon. John David Washington stars as US Army Sergeant Joshua Taylor who has gone undercover in New Asia as part of the mission. As he tracks and finds “The Weapon” he discovers it is a child-size “Simulant” with growing powers to control technology with supernatural ability. He names the child “Alfie”, short for Alpha after the name of the operation. Alfie is played by newcomer 7 year old Madeline Yuna Voyles. And the race is on to protect Alfie from getting back into the hands of the A.I. and protecting her from his own forces who seek to destroy a child.

Visual Effects, CGI, and Filming:

Absolutely stunning scenery for a sci-fi movie. The effects and visuals were literally out of this world. A dash of Star Wars, a pinch of Blade Runner, a bit of I-Robot, a little Terminator, and an essence of Edge Of Tomorrow. I thought the Visual effects, CGI and the filming were all incredible.

John David Washington:

Absolutely a great performance. I remember him in BlacKkKlansman and just saw him in The Piano Lesson. Denzel has got to be proud, I think he is absolutely carrying on in his Father’s footsteps and completely doing a great job at it. Watching this I could hear Denzel in his voice and demeanor, even though he has his own style and character. This is a guy to watch as one of the next big Hollywood Stars. Great job in this one.

Madeline Yuna Voyles:

Madeleine is the star of this movie without question. The young Actress from San Diego, California was 7 years old when she acted in this movie. Her first role and in my opinion she absolutely nailed it. Obviously a completely natural talent with an incredible depth of emotion at her disposal. She has already garnered nominations for Best Young Actress and Best Actress in a Science Fiction Movie. I loved every minute of her screen time performance. Keep your eyes out for this one….again, one to watch as one of the next big Hollywood Stars.

Script/Writing/Storyline/Directing:

Somebody somewhere mentioned swiss cheese…. I think the line was this script has more holes than a slice of swiss cheese. I couldn’t agree more. It was as if each scene was absolutely perfect on it’s own merit, but from different scenarios. Like a patchwork of independent stories. Sure the central theme was there but there was so much that just felt stitched together from different fabric entirely. I felt like everybody did the best they could do given the limitation of the direction they were led in by the director.

Final Thoughts:

I am a huge Sci-Fi fan. Blade Runner is one of my all time favorite movies. The premise of the movie is so time relevant given the current advancement of A.I. and Robotics. I just saw where robots are becoming lifelike very quickly and Elon Musk just said that A.I. has already surpassed all human knowledge….and that was last year. It won’t be long before A.I. draws it’s own conclusion about the human species being absolutely useless for the future of this planet.

John David Washington and Madeline Yuna Voyles gave absolutely outstanding performances. This was a joy to watch and visually stunning to see BUT…….. it should have been much more. This should have been a Blockbuster of a movie, a touchdown. The ball got dropped somewhere and my suspicion is in the script/Directing Department. That being said I liked it, I loved John and Madeline’s performance and chemistry, but something was off that kept this from being the tremendous award winning Sci-Fi Epic Blockbuster it should be.

Regardless of what I think, you owe it to yourself to give it a watch and experience The World of The Creator.