Robocop - Prime Directives - Meltdown (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)In contrast to many other reviewers, I happen to think R2 has an astonishingly inventive script brimming with daring, dark satire. The satire is so dark however, that it challenges a viewer not to be merely "entertained", but enter into a dialogue with the film. I contend that R2 is in the tradition of such apocpalyptic satirical art as CLOCKWORK ORANGE and NAKED LUNCH which serve to warn humankind just where in hell its crazed heart may lead.
Unlike most mainstream Hollywood films, R2 is deeply critical of humanity and its resulting civilization -- starting with the harsh market-driven economy of winners and losers (it is no coincidence that both the drug trade and OCP bow to the same economic models). By depicting a world of such dire human/social affliction coupled with all the high-tech tools required to increase its profit (and anguish), R2 challenges the viewer to separate from this "humanity". Like the best satire, R2 exists to crack our rose-colored glasses, bloody our noses, and tell us what's wrong, so there is precious little "good" to root for in either old or new Detroit. What's at stake in R2 is simply keeping the flood of evil from drowning everything all at once.
The film's sharp satirical touches include: expanding the Reagan-era "privatizing" mania to that of OCP "owning" Detroit as a merciless send-up of free market philosophy; the 12-year old drug kingpin just a few tweaks from today's gun-toting teenaged gangbangers as a potent symbol for a suicidal civilization's nihilistic future; the telethon to "save" Detroit as a chilling parody of the fiscal/civil tensions between Democracy and Capitalism (in which, tellingly, the 12-year old drug dealer purchases Detroit's "freedom"); the designer drug, Nuke, as the corrupted escape-valve for society's traumatized, post-Ritalin citizens (and just wait until human genome research trickles down to the greed of the street); the domestication of Robocop into a platitude-whining ninny as a ridicule of pie-in-the-sky suburban values failing in a battlezone of urban realities (which the suburbanites' defection from the inner-city helped to create); and the Robocop 2 cyborg who sports a criminal mind determined as the best fit for our high-tech future. These and other barbs all serve to criticize society's faith that higher and higher technology will save us from human folly instead of high-tech being correctly seen as just the latest edition of that same human folly.
Yes, the script may superficially suffer from its demanding ambitions with perhaps one-too-many a sub-plot (screenwriter Frank Miller's graphic novel background pushes the envelope here), but R2's postcards-from-hell humor and prescient social criticism are the diamonds wrought from such risk. R2 is a wake-up call for a society increasingly divorced from nature: he who lives like a machine will die like a machine.

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ROBOCOP 2:MELTDOWN - DVD Movie

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The Future: A 360 View (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Half of all the world's domestic robots are now in Japan.
More than any trade deficit this robot deficit and the more important idea deficit that it dramatizes should be a source of concern to modern Americans.
By watching this program, you get to see a lot of technology that really is mind blowing from personal jet packs to cars that drive under water to energy sources that don't wreak havoc on the environment. This DVD is at one time a great example of gee whiz science and a resource manual for the types of projects we should be getting behind.
Throughout history true international power and influence have more often than not been led by societies who are on the cutting edge of emerging technologies and also by societies whose educational systems support such initiatives. This is a sad thought to contemplate as the United States now observes its first year in over forty years without having a manned space vehicle.
Sadly, while the technology may change over the years, the lesson imparted doesn't seem to in that those who fail to learn from history are often forced to repeat it.

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Get an extraordinary look at the mind-boggling powers and capabilities people will have in the future in this landmark collection you can't afford to miss! Examine revolutionary "floating cities" that could ease overpopulation, see how scientists are working to help humans see through walls, teleport to work in the blink of an eye, and so much more. Each episode of Building the Future and NextWorld reveals fascinating scientific advances that humans will use to battle the forces of nature to survive and thrive for generations to come.

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2057 / FutureCar (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)This DVD was an unexpected experience for me. I caught part of a program on the cable Science channel discussing the future cars (eg, NextWorld: Future Cars). I was awed by the program, so I decided to search on-line to see when the program would air again or if I could get a DVD of it. To my dismay I couldn't find it scheduled to air, so I checked the Discovery Channel's DVD's for sale, when I searched for "future cars" the "2057/Future Cars" came up instead, but the cost was more than I wanted to spend for something I wasn't sure if I'd like.
So next best thing, check out Amazon for the same video.I didn't know
what to expect when the DVD finally came. I was totally mesmerized when I watched the 2057 (Body. City. World.) and the bonus DVD Future Cars. I was surprised even my husband loved it (since he's usually action packed movies only, this was surprising).
Okay it's NOT a movie, these DVD's are documentaries. They show what brillant minds are working on NOW . . . today . . . and how these technologies can or may be applied in the future to come. Granted, I probably won't be around when the year 2057 arrives, but this is what the youth of today may see in their lifetime.
Being somewhat of a technology addict and fascinated by futuristic ideas, this is a MUST HAVE for anyone who has a similar attraction. With gas prices for cars soaring . . . I REALLY hope I'm around to purchase some of these "Future Cars" >>> hydrogen cars that run on water, leave no harmful emissions just pure drinking water, Norway already has introduced them >>> cars that are electric and plug into your household, may one day give current back to your house to use and even look good!!! and can MOOOOVE, just as fast . . . enter the Tessa ??? >>> cars thar can run on compressed air . . . they're already here >>> I think it's time to get our car manufactures to trash the "gas runners" and herald the way for the more economically sensible cars that will make us less dependant on foreign oil and that won't be harmful to the environment, no I'm not talking about the hybrids that are part gas, or part ethanol, get away from this toxic stuff, use what mother nature has given us water air electric natural stuff . . .
I'm not always up to date on the newest technologies being developed in the world today, so these DVD's were a real eye-opener that has brought me up to speed. Extremely well done, highly recommended for all ages.

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Experience the world 50 years into the future when amazing changes will make our day to day lives very different than the world we know. From custom-built bodily organs to flying cars to a space elevator to the stars, much of what was once only imagined in science fiction will become reality, thanks to today's incredible scientific breakthroughs. Bonus Feature: FutureCar The car of the future will be much safer, easier to operate and better for the environment. With its computer "brain," the car itself will drive, navigate and avoid accidents. Get a sneak peek at this high-tech model of efficiency and cutting-edge styleEpisodes: 2057 The Body: Custom-built organs from scratch? Robotic surgery? Intelligent clothing? Flying ambulances? Learn about today's scientific medical breakthroughs that will extend our lives in the next fifty years. The City: Cars without drivers? Humanoid robots in every household? Learn how the cities of tomorrow will be shaped by today's scientific breakthroughs. The World: An invisible soldier? A space elevator to the stars? Brand-new fuel sources? In just fifty years our entire world will change tremendously because of discoveries we can only imagine today.

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