What Makes HAL Different?

Good morning Consumers, This is Please Consume, the newsletter that loves movies more than Leo loves girls born between the years 2002 - 2005.

This is what we’ve got for today 👇️ 

• Tom wraps up A.I week.

• The staff gives you their picks for what you should be watching this weekend.

• News and Notes.

Let’s get rolling…

Now that The Creator is bursting onto the scene, bringing with it a discussion of A.I. in movies, we decided to take that idea and run with it. So this week we’ll be discussing movies about artificial intelligence.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Written by Tom Fortner

Is A.I. alive?

It’s a question asked by many films, from Blade Runner to Ex Machina, and the only answer we can muster is maybe?

It’s a tough question, especially when the A.I. we encounter looks and sounds exactly like humans, as in the movies mentioned above.

But what about when the A.I. is extremely un-humanlike?

2001?

I know, I know, 2001: A Space Odyssey isn’t really a movie about A.I.

For one, the first half of the film has nothing to do with A.I. at all, just the famous Dawn of Man sequence and the discovery of the monolith.

However, the second half of the film is utterly dominated by the presence of HAL 9000, the computer aboard the ship, Discovery One, and the topic of our conversation today.

Here’s a quick rundown. Earlier in the film, the monolith had sent out a signal to Jupiter and it’s the mission of the astronauts onboard the ship to search the planet for what or who the signal was sent to. HAL is supposed to run the ship diagnostics with 100% accuracy, but he starts to show signs of miscalculations and the astronauts plan to shut him off.

 But HAL has other plans.

What Makes HAL Different

HAL 9000 is nothing like a human.

This makes it extremely hard to sympathize with him. He certainly not beautiful like Alicia Vikander in Ex Machina or cute in a pet way like TARS in Interstellar.

His voice, too, is difficult to grapple with. Voiced by Douglas Rain, a Canadian stage actor, HAL has a soothing tone, which makes him all the more sinister when he turns against the astronauts.

He’s basically a voice that floats like an ever-present ghost throughout the ship’s many rooms. He doesn’t even have a body like TARS from Interstellar, who (or which?) is also very unlike humans. HAL is fully circuits and data storage and nothing resembling anything remotely human, save for his single red eye.

He couldn’t possibly be human-like, right?

Murder?

Martin Scorsese, in an interview on Charlie Rose about Stanley Kubrick, says that the scene in which Dave Bowman, one of the astronauts, deactivates HAL, is a murder scene.

Well, isn’t this interesting?

I know it sounds weird at first, but watch this scene and tell me that what HAL says isn’t heartbreaking, machine or not. It gets you thinking too: does HAL actually have feelings and emotions?

Plus, you might notice that the astronauts, Frank and Dave, are hardly emotional at all. They’re very monotone and straight to the point.

These are a few of the reasons I think HAL is the most recognizable image of 2001. Not only is he sinister as a villain, but in this “murder” scene, he arguably becomes the most emotional character on screen. We are able to empathize with him better than the humans. That’s a scary thought.

Today’s Scene

Here are some selections from our staff for what you should watch this weekend.

Stop the endless Netflix scroll and let us pick for you.

Christian’s Pick

Green Room - Max

It’s October babyyyyyy. You know what that means.

As we enter spooky season ill keep my recommendations horror leaning.

Green Room is an absolute horror indie blast from 2015. I think it also has such a good logline that I’m going to just use that to sell you on it.

A punk rock band is forced to fight for survival after witnessing a murder at a neo-Nazi skinhead bar.

You in???

WATCH NOW

Tom’s Pick

Shiva Baby - MAX

In this tense, heart pounding thriller, a college-age girl has to navigate intrusive questions, barely veiled insults, past love, and the possible reveal of a dangerous secret… AT A SHIVA.

WATCH NOW

Tyler’s Pick

Nightmare on Elm Street 3: The Dream Warriors - MAX

It’s Halloween season so that means you owe it to yourself to rewatch this cheesy horror classic. It has a fun cast, incredible SFX, and maybe the best portrayal of the iconic Freddy Krueger that Robert Englund ever gave.

WATCH NOW

Caleb’s Pick

Hurt Locker - Max

This 2008 Kathryn Bigelow movie is, in my opinion, her best picture.

This is a tough and heavy movie that wrestles with the effects of modern war on a person's mind. If that doesn't have you interested this is probably Jeremy Renner’s and Anthony Mackie’s best performances. This movie is amazing and a required watch if you are interested in war films at all.

WATCH NOW

Here is some of the latest news that we found interesting…