Artificial Intelligence Archives

TRON Ares. Is It An Epic Return to the Grid in Disney’s Long Delayed Revival?

After years in development, TRON Ares finally hits the Grid. This third film doesn’t reboot the system, but honours the legacy of the original with stunning visuals, a soulful digital antihero, and echoes of Frankenstein in a world learning how to dream.

Spoiler Alert

Despite the long wait and troubled production history, TRON Ares is finally here. What this third film (fifth in the narrative timeline) honours is the franchise’s beginings through some fun Easter Eggs. As this tale continues more from of the 1982 original, rather than the second film, TRON Legacy, some fans will be disappointed. However, as long as this side story does well in the box office, the chances to explore where Sam and Quorra went might get answered!

Although this entry trades philosophy for spectacle ala Terminator 2 through much of its runtime, what it offers is still respectful in what the franchise is about. At its core, it still invites us to imagine what life might be like inside the Grid—or, if you prefer, The Matrix, since the parallels are undeniable.

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AI Actors Aren’t Truly 100% Human — Tilly Norwood Is No Rising Star

Ari Folman’s The Congress foresaw the rise of digital actors. Today, AI-generated “stars” like Tilly Norwood demand new guardrails. Without disclosure, consent, and compensation, real performers risk being replaced by code.

Anyone who has seen The Congress knows it was ahead of its time. Now, AI-generated digital actress Tilly Norwood brings that vision to life, almost prophetically. In Ari Folman’s film, Al (easily read as AI) represents Robin Wright in a near-future scenario where she sells her likeness to a studio; a computer system carries on her career, and she is no longer allowed to act. Today, as more actors license their faces and voices for digital reproduction, Norwood’s rise signals a turning point—raising questions about authenticity, creativity, and the future of performing arts.

Actor Eline Van der Velden calls Norwood a “creation… an act of imagination and craftsmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role or shaping a performance.” Yet in a different article, she adds, “We want Tilly to be the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman… economic issues are driving the movie and TV business toward AI production.” Which is it—a harmless experiment, or a cost-cutting replacement for human performers?

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The Deets Are In for Time of Eve’s Home Video Release

Whether or not the themes explored in the anime Time of Eve is considered ahead of its time, fans can find out when this collection comes out!

Time of Eve Cover — **Also available to preorder on Amazon USA**

Release Date:
Dec 10, 2024

The challenge with artificial intelligence is that will the creators allow it to evolve and grow, and back when the anime Time of Eve first came out (2009), not everyone felt too concerned. Not everyone may have been aware about this web series; these days, the concern with what machines can do is cause for concern. There’s consequences, which many documentaries have explored, and the can of worms that various works of entertainment have opened up suggests many possible ways machines can go renegade!

Now, anime distributor AnimEigo and parent company MediaOCD are bringing this series for all to discuss and examine with the upcoming blu-ray release. That’s because there’s an all new featurette which may delve into the discourse too!

From the Press Release:

An auteur independent work from director Yasuhiro Yoshiura (Patema Inverted, Sing a Bit of Harmony), Time of Eve is a critical darling that won the 2010 Tokyo Anime Award for Original Video Animation. This new edition from AnimEigo contains the feature film version in English and Japanese, along with the original 6-episode web series from which it was assembled.

Time of Eve is set during a time when humanoid robots are everywhere, and every home has one as a servant. Some people treat them with contempt, while others become obsessed. One day, two high school boys stumble across a mysterious café that offers a third option: talk to them, free of prejudice, or even full knowledge of who’s a robot and who’s human. Shocked and rattled by the experience, the boys find themselves learning more about the world and themselves than they ever could have imagined.

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Oh, Poor Atlas, Why Must A.I. Be Challenged?

That’s because with this film starring J Lo, the agenda is to create another franchise that feels like Terminator and Warhammer combined. Had Atlas played by some other rules, it might work.

Netflix Atlas Movie Poster Humanity’s distrust of artificial intelligence is lightly examined in Atlas, a movie that’s more about a woman bearing this name. She’s a data analyst and to say she hates robots is the least of her problems. Jennifer Lopez not only is the lead but also one of three producers hopeful that this A-lister can become the next Linda Hamilton.

When this tale had its version of Terminator’s Judgment Day, thankfully, not every city was blown up. Instead, an all out war gets waged and she’s somehow involved in how it started. I suspect that’s why this film is named as it is. The weight of the world is upon her shoulders, and unless she fixes what’s right, this battle will continue.

Although this film does not have a direct correlation with the Greek Titan, I had to wonder. Instead, it’s about an android, Harlan (Simu Liu) hell-bent on total annihilation of humanity. Thankfully, there’s G.I. Joe to the rescue; the space rangers did a fantastic job at defeating the enemy and when he delivered a moment worthy of Cobra Commander when he calls for a retreat, I laughed!

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Is Gareth Edwards’ Search for The Creator More Like A Quest for A New Savior?

The digital work put behind the making of The Creator deserves heaps of praise, and I can’t wait to see who the nominees are come award season.

Spoiler Alert

Although Gareth Edwards hasn’t made a lot of movies, his world-building is second to none. In where it slips is with his latest, titled The Creator. It doesn’t quite have the soul needed when considering how he tries to tackle an age old subject: do androids dream of electric sheep? That is, just when do they become human, and do they deserve to be segregated? Also, I’m wondering why the spirituality that defines many different South Asian beliefs matters? In this film, I wondered why the robot monks we see in meditation are important.

When the narrative in this latest film doesn’t concern distilling why theosophy matters, I sense something got edited out between story to screenplay during production.

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Don’t Open That E-mail Attachment when AIMEE The Visitor is Her Name!

As an effective techno-thriller directed by Charles Band, the AI found in AIMEE The Visitor ranks right up there with the MCU from TRON as a force to contend with.

AIMEE The Visitor Movie Poster Full Moon Features

When considering nearly every facet of the online world is run by some artificial intelligence to help people deal with technical issues, if not life, the latest film directed by Charles Band is Aimee The Visitor really hits its mark. Unlike past works from this studio which are more like B movie schlock, this work functions very well as a very cautionary tale. It may be enough to get some people to stop using A.I.

Despite including the usual T&A which defines most of this studio’s content, it’s not all that gratuitous to distract from the real plot at hand. Here, Scott Keyes (Dallas Schaefer) is an isolationist who doesn’t know how to deal with the outside world. As for how talented he is as a cybercriminal, I feel this new IP needs a prequel to understand why he is who he is. This underdeveloped aspect of this character deserves to be expanded upon. And as for the actor himself, I couldn’t help but think he’s the next Michael Paré!

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