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shadowkatJust finished watching Minority Report and The Player, which also have potential, although I wish they were better cast and had better dialogue.
* Minority Report is based on the Philip K. Dick short story and the movie of the same name.
The movie and short story are basically a speculative science fiction tale about a society that stops crimes before they are committed by using precogs. The precogs are humans who have the ability to foresee murders before they are committed. But they have no life. They are treated like living computers - housed in a facility, with electrodes fastened to their brains. In the movie and short story - the minority report is filed when they are wrong. There's so many variables regarding the future and sometimes what they see comes out a different way. There's a 5% or 20 % chance that it will be different - hence the minority report. In the movie, the cop fights against the pre-cognitive system, because of the minority report and the chance that the criminal won't commit that crime.
My memory of it is rather vague, so I think that's the general plot arc.
The television series is completely different. In it, the pre-cognitive system has been done away with. It takes place about 20 years after the film Minority Report's conclusion. There were only three pre-cogs, who were released from the program, their identities hidden and sent to a non-disclosed location to live out their lives. It was determined that their predictions were not necessarily reliable and incarcerating or punishing people before they chose to commit the crime not productive. Now, a young black female cop is hunting a killer. One of the prec-cogs, a white guy named Dash, sees the murder before it happens, but not an address, location or name. Just the murder. He needs his twin brother, Arthur, to get the location and name. Dash is empathetic and sensitive to others needs, also socially awkward (most high sensitives are actually, while people who aren't empathetic or sensitive to others, often are charming and great at social activities. Think Don Draper.) Arthur is great socially, not empathetic, and doesn't care about anyone but himself. A pure narcissist. Their older sister, Agatha, is elsewhere, and can see their futures as well as the murder through.
The cop enlists Dash's help in solving the current murder case and preventing another murder/terrorist event from occuring. They also require Dash's aid in this.
The twist in this one is that the incarcerated criminals from the pre-cog program, who have since been freed or placed in an assisted care home, due to their disorientation, are the killers. Either enacting revenge for being incarcerated or for other reasons.
It has potential - the relationships between the characters, the risk of doing the pre-cog bit again but outside the system...no can know that they are doing it. Because if anyone knows, Dash's life is over - he'd be brought back in.
2) The Player - also is about a group that can predict criminal activity before it happens. But it's more action oriented and somewhat reminiscent of The Prisoner, or The Prisoner meets James Bond. In this one, a former high level FBI terrorist agent turned Las Vegas cop gets entangled with a bunch of high risk gamblers - who gamble on criminal activity. They require a "Player" to fight against the criminals, so they can bet on whether the criminals will win or the player will win.
There's always a Player, a Dealer (who helps the Player solve the crimes and is his only source of aid and information), and a Pit Boss - who runs the show. Wesley Snipes plays the Pit Boss.
Alex is the Player. He was a bad guy for a bit, basically instead of just capturing the potential terrorists, he killed them. Until he gets injured and a pretty doctor stitches him up. They got married. Then divorced. She has returned to town, while he's working a case as a cop. They chat, and have sex in her shower. Discuss old times, including how she turned his life around and got him on the path towards redemption.
In the middle of the night, while he's grabbing a beer, a killer enters the house, shoots at him and kills his ex-wife. He chases the guy in his underwear with a gun, until the guy hops into a van and he's hit by a fancy blond in a fancy sports car. Framed for his wife's murder, he takes off to investigate and is picked up by the blond, who takes him to Wesley Snipes. That's when he's enrolled in the game. He plays their game, saves the kidnapped girl, and they in turn provide evidence to the cops freeing him from suspicion. Then they offer him a job as The Player. It's for life, and full time. He can't get out until he's dead. And the only person who he can ask for aid from is Cassandra, the blond. He also can't tell anyone about the organization. (Reminds me a little bit of Limitless).
He's in. Why? Because he still has to figure out who killed his wife and why, figures it has something to do with the game. Turns out he's right, the blond was friends with his wife. According to the previews, his wife might even still be alive.
It has potential. But I feel like I've seen it before? The formula sounds weirdly familiar somehow.
Also the guy playing the lead isn't that compelling. I may watch one or two more episodes to see where it goes.
**********
In other news? I'm taking a five day weekend around Columbus Day. Have decided to see a few museums, possibly The Intrepid Air and Space Museum (Hubble Exhibit and Challenger), the Museum of Sex, and maybe the 911 Memorial, wander around Central Park, and see Deaf West's Revival of Spring Awakening. Been wanting to see Spring Awakening for the past three years now. I have the soundtrack on my ipod, and this revival, first shown in LA, is supposed to be amazing, possibly better than the first presentation - it entwines sign language in the choreography, emphasizing the theme of lack of communication. I'd visit the Hayden Planetarium but it's closed until November 24.
I really don't need to get away from NYC, will be doing that soon enough anyhow. Instead, I might go play around in it a bit. Did you know there are over 100 museums?
* Minority Report is based on the Philip K. Dick short story and the movie of the same name.
The movie and short story are basically a speculative science fiction tale about a society that stops crimes before they are committed by using precogs. The precogs are humans who have the ability to foresee murders before they are committed. But they have no life. They are treated like living computers - housed in a facility, with electrodes fastened to their brains. In the movie and short story - the minority report is filed when they are wrong. There's so many variables regarding the future and sometimes what they see comes out a different way. There's a 5% or 20 % chance that it will be different - hence the minority report. In the movie, the cop fights against the pre-cognitive system, because of the minority report and the chance that the criminal won't commit that crime.
My memory of it is rather vague, so I think that's the general plot arc.
The television series is completely different. In it, the pre-cognitive system has been done away with. It takes place about 20 years after the film Minority Report's conclusion. There were only three pre-cogs, who were released from the program, their identities hidden and sent to a non-disclosed location to live out their lives. It was determined that their predictions were not necessarily reliable and incarcerating or punishing people before they chose to commit the crime not productive. Now, a young black female cop is hunting a killer. One of the prec-cogs, a white guy named Dash, sees the murder before it happens, but not an address, location or name. Just the murder. He needs his twin brother, Arthur, to get the location and name. Dash is empathetic and sensitive to others needs, also socially awkward (most high sensitives are actually, while people who aren't empathetic or sensitive to others, often are charming and great at social activities. Think Don Draper.) Arthur is great socially, not empathetic, and doesn't care about anyone but himself. A pure narcissist. Their older sister, Agatha, is elsewhere, and can see their futures as well as the murder through.
The cop enlists Dash's help in solving the current murder case and preventing another murder/terrorist event from occuring. They also require Dash's aid in this.
The twist in this one is that the incarcerated criminals from the pre-cog program, who have since been freed or placed in an assisted care home, due to their disorientation, are the killers. Either enacting revenge for being incarcerated or for other reasons.
It has potential - the relationships between the characters, the risk of doing the pre-cog bit again but outside the system...no can know that they are doing it. Because if anyone knows, Dash's life is over - he'd be brought back in.
2) The Player - also is about a group that can predict criminal activity before it happens. But it's more action oriented and somewhat reminiscent of The Prisoner, or The Prisoner meets James Bond. In this one, a former high level FBI terrorist agent turned Las Vegas cop gets entangled with a bunch of high risk gamblers - who gamble on criminal activity. They require a "Player" to fight against the criminals, so they can bet on whether the criminals will win or the player will win.
There's always a Player, a Dealer (who helps the Player solve the crimes and is his only source of aid and information), and a Pit Boss - who runs the show. Wesley Snipes plays the Pit Boss.
Alex is the Player. He was a bad guy for a bit, basically instead of just capturing the potential terrorists, he killed them. Until he gets injured and a pretty doctor stitches him up. They got married. Then divorced. She has returned to town, while he's working a case as a cop. They chat, and have sex in her shower. Discuss old times, including how she turned his life around and got him on the path towards redemption.
In the middle of the night, while he's grabbing a beer, a killer enters the house, shoots at him and kills his ex-wife. He chases the guy in his underwear with a gun, until the guy hops into a van and he's hit by a fancy blond in a fancy sports car. Framed for his wife's murder, he takes off to investigate and is picked up by the blond, who takes him to Wesley Snipes. That's when he's enrolled in the game. He plays their game, saves the kidnapped girl, and they in turn provide evidence to the cops freeing him from suspicion. Then they offer him a job as The Player. It's for life, and full time. He can't get out until he's dead. And the only person who he can ask for aid from is Cassandra, the blond. He also can't tell anyone about the organization. (Reminds me a little bit of Limitless).
He's in. Why? Because he still has to figure out who killed his wife and why, figures it has something to do with the game. Turns out he's right, the blond was friends with his wife. According to the previews, his wife might even still be alive.
It has potential. But I feel like I've seen it before? The formula sounds weirdly familiar somehow.
Also the guy playing the lead isn't that compelling. I may watch one or two more episodes to see where it goes.
**********
In other news? I'm taking a five day weekend around Columbus Day. Have decided to see a few museums, possibly The Intrepid Air and Space Museum (Hubble Exhibit and Challenger), the Museum of Sex, and maybe the 911 Memorial, wander around Central Park, and see Deaf West's Revival of Spring Awakening. Been wanting to see Spring Awakening for the past three years now. I have the soundtrack on my ipod, and this revival, first shown in LA, is supposed to be amazing, possibly better than the first presentation - it entwines sign language in the choreography, emphasizing the theme of lack of communication. I'd visit the Hayden Planetarium but it's closed until November 24.
I really don't need to get away from NYC, will be doing that soon enough anyhow. Instead, I might go play around in it a bit. Did you know there are over 100 museums?