Log Entry #14: 11/16/10

With never seeing the movie "Blade Runner" , I was especially ecstatic that we were going to watch one of science fiction's best movie ever. I've heard from my dad that this was one of the best movies he has ever seen, and that every time he has watched it, he realizes something new about the plot that he previously didn't catch. We started the movie yesterday, and realized in the first couple mintutes that I was really going to enjoy this movie due to many aspects, such as: androids, the future, the technology advancements, and all the thrill involved. The movie starts out where this one doctor is giving a bunch of questions to a person, which will test whether he is an android( doesn't really have emotions) or a human being. With the suspected android not being able to tolerate the questions, he freaks out and repetitively shots the doctor. After the criminal fled the scene, it lead for Blade Runner to come back into the picture and start killing these androids. Not even 45 minutesin,  there has been over 3 killings and violence that happens almost every couple of minutes.  On that note, I honestly don't think this would be the best movie to watch with younger audiences. Although, for the teen to older audiences, this is one movie I strongly suggest. Moreover, I would just like to say I am glad I am not Blade Runner, because he has so many enemies that want to kill him. If I were him, rather than trying to killing the 4 or 5 criminal androids, I would ovoid this situation by running as far away from that area as possible and start a new life (new name and appearance).

As I was watching this movie, many issues started to pop up in my mind: is our world progressively coming to the point where we will have programed machines that roam on the planet with us? Will we have hovering vehicles by 2019 (which is present in the movie)? Will our planet be always really dark and raining?

Log Entry #13: 11/11/10

Yesterday, we finished watching the film Contact (based on Carl Sagan's cosmos theories) in class. Staring Jodie Foster as Dr. Arroway, a radio astronomer searching for extraterrestrial intelligence who, one day, receives a message from a different planet called Vega. After thoroughly reading Sagan’s article, “The Quest for Extraterrestrial Intelligence”, it became came quite clear that the the information stated in the story was the driving force for what led Dr. Arroway to search for a message from other civilizations. He believed that the search for alien life is a task that might be very hard to succeed in, but with all the space in the universe, there must be some kind of life. In the movie, Ellie and her scientific team do make contact with aliens, and the film elaborates on that key point for the rest of the movie. Throughout movie, there are many scenes where Ellie chooses reasoning over intuition and does not believe in a God. As a result, she is not chosen as the one human to go to Vega  in the first attempt (in the U.S.). On that same note, Ellie was questioned about god when her father died suddenly. She said that "only if I had the medicine in the lower level, I would have been able to save him".I found this quite interesting because it would take more like a miracle to save a person, rather than, just using medicine. In conclusion, with watching this movie, it has given me a lot of desire to peer into the sky and truly question what is out there.

Movie Response Entry #2: 11/10/10

When Sean and I finally were able to watch "The Butterfly Effect, we concluded that we choose two movies that were really quite similar. Evan (the main character in "The Butterfly Effect") had the ability to use his journals to go back in time and alter the past. Although, with doing such an act, he changed the out- come of what was going to happen in the future. This was quite coincident to what Donnie was able to do; the both of the main characters had the ability to use what they know while living the present, and able to go back in time and change the total outcome of what is going to happen in the future. On another note, I thought that both films where also quite similar in how the main character's troubles/ schemes all revolved in the fate of their significant female friend. For example, in "The Butterfly Effect", Evan was always trying to make sure that Kayleigh always had a good future and did this by altering what happened in their childhood. Similarly, Donnie realized that his girlfriend should have a good life( rather than being run over by Frank's car), so he used the worm hole to go back in time and took his life rather than Gretchen's.

Usually,  I am not a fan of Ashton Kutcher but he was quite good at playing a serious role for once. This was a film I wouldn't just pick up to watch if I was hanging with my friends, but defiantly as a family movie. I liked all the thrill that happened to him as a child, and how it shaped him as person. For example, when Evan was a kid he was staged into pornographic movie, which he did not think how Kayleigh's life should be framed around. But when Evan was older, he went back to that moment and just told Kayleigh's dad to never touch her and it led her to emancipate herself when she was 15. In conclusion, with watching this movie, it lead to really think what it would be like to have the abilities to alter the past. Although with such power, I wouldn't know when to really stop and know this is the life that I want to live, and it could lead to a death shorter in life.

Movie Response Entry #1: 11/8/10

As the first movie Sean and I watched, we decided that "Donnie Darko" would be quite similar to the movie "The Butterfly Effect. We came to the conclusion to select these two films, due to both the main characters had the ability to go into the future. But while they were in the future, they had the ability to experience the failures and promising moments that were happening. Although, that also led to the main characters to decide whether they want their friend to live or not. This was defiantly the case in the movie, "Donnie Darko". Donnie was able to carry out his life (surviving the air plane crash on his house), where he met a nice girl, but was tormented by his alter-ego/ scary bunny. In the life that Donnie was shown in for most of the movie, Frank (evil bunny), runs over Donnie's so called girl friend. Moreover, as the movie starts to come to an end, Donnie has to decide whether he should allow his girlfriend to live (by not getting run over), or her dying with Donnie surviving of the plane crash that destroyed most of his house.

I honestly loved this movie for all the thrill, scary plots, and horrendous looking bunny. It was a movie, in which you thought you knew what was going to happen, but instead something horrific happened. For example, when Donnie was at the movie with his girl friend, you would have thought nothing was going to happen. Instead, Frank comes into play and tells Donnie to leave the girl to sleep while he torches the administrator's house (who get arrested later for child pornography). Furthermore, the movie truly demonstrated how hard it would be to be schizophrenic, and how much that kid's life and other peoples' life could be a risk. In conclusion, if i had the opportunity to tell a friend about this movie, I would say that it was a scary/dark movie, but interesting on what he decided for the girl's fate and his own, how he could see worm holes, and what kind of destruction he would create.

Log Entry #12: 10/22/10

Today we had our first quiz on Ender's Game, which had some pretty exhilarating moments in it and moments that I could relate to (how Ender fights with Peter sounds like how I use to have fights with my brother). In the past week, I honestly couldn't put the book down because there was so much chaos going on with Ender. As I got done reading this exciting part of the book, I began to think what if I was in Andrew's (Ender) shoes. I honestly wouldn't know what to do if was a third child in a society that doesn't accept third children. In addition, I would think it would be very hard to leave you family in a drop of a pin to become a commander. But if you knew that you have the possibility of being known as a the greatest commander ever, I would defiantly consider it. In addition,  if I knew I wouldn't have a lot of friends at first and then I would have to leave them in a very short time to be under the command of Bonzo and then Rose de Nose, I would have to say No. I think I would just like to stay  home with Valentine (who I wouldn't be able to see for a whole 6 years or even more) and my family. In conclusion to reading and pondering on the thought of me being Ender, I'm very glad that I don't have to experience the decisions that he had to go through at such a young age. But with concluding on that thought, I began to think: will our society ever stoop to that level, where 6 year olds have to decide whether they want to leave their for the military and play a game where you kill these creatures from other planets? 

Log Entry #11: 10/17/10

I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream could possibly be one of the most terrifying science fiction works that I have ever read or heard of. It truly depicts what could happen if you put too much power into machine; this short story follows the last five human survivors on earth, trapped inside AM ( a computer that has overrun these five survivors and tortures them). The person who created AM  made him complete tasks that humans can't), and doing so, they gave AM almost unlimited power. As the story progresses you learn that  AM hates humans (his creator),  but he knows if he kills the last remaining people on this Earth, then he'll be completely alone for the rest of eternity. So as much as AM wants to kill his creator for leaving his an inclosed genius, he knows he can't kill them.

AM was named by the humans by the phrase "I think, therefore I am." . This phrase describes that AM thinks and is existent but it is not a human.  Furthermore, AM terrorizes these five poor humans and rules the world;  although, it cannot experience new things and learn like a human can. In this way, it makes it seem that Am is not actually existent and is all a tale in Tim's head.

After ready this story and watching the two horrific frankenstein films, it seems that these stories are very much similar. In which, both they stories are about how these creations break free and are exposed to society, so they go against the creators and cause havoc.

Log Entry #10: 10/15/10

Sandkings is probably of the best science fiction short stories that I have ever read, and I can see why Mr. Inloes deems this as one of his favorites. When I received this in class I didn't want to read it due to the length, but after reading just the first couple pages, I was hooked. The concept that these creatures from other planets fight each other in a glass tank is quite compelling. As you continue to read, you learn that Kress is starting a betting league with his friends and alters the results of the sandking's wars so that some colonies have to stave and have to fight for food. But with him inviting his ex, she goes crazy on Kress and breaks the glass sandkings cage. This allows the sandkings to get out and truly conquer Kress' house and the perimeter. After that catastrophe, you pretty much knew that there was going to be deaths. Although, I no idea that they would get so descriptive with some parts of the story (the description of Catherine De Lain carcass).

After reading the story, I truly thought it would be a great story to put into a movie. With people dying, betting, and creatures that kill humans, I felt it that would be a true crowd pleaser. I was astonished when we were shown some of the movie, and how it was not similar at all.