Runaway (1984) Dir: Michael Crichton

Tom Selleck stars in this futuristic thriller, and just about manages to get away with it.

The plot:
In the near future, mankind's reliance on robotic technology has become all consuming. every aspect of life is either controlled or assisted by robots, to make the life of the living safer, more comfortable. Problem is, more often than seems normal, the damned things go wrong and, when they do, terrible things can occur. be it a 'bot designed for construction hurling slabs from a building, or a 'bot about the house turning kill crazy and slaughtering an entire family. That's where the special Runaway division of the police come in, to control, handle and, if needs be, take down the errant robots. And, as if all that weren't bad enough, Gene Simmons turns up as an unlikely villain, determined to corrupt the technology even further....

Writer director Crichton has something of a fascination for 'when technology attacks' plotlines, being the mind behind Jurassic Park, Westworld, The Andromeda Strain. Here, handling directorial duties as well, this was clearly perceived as the big budget big hitter of the year, but never quite made the impact expected. Selleck is likeable enough in the lead role, but the movie is hampered somewhat by some shocking design choices - seriously, these robots couldn't have looked cool even in 1984.
With a streak of silliness running through it that I thoroughly enjoyed, this borders on the terrible, but somehow manages to be most entertaining throughout.
Liked it.

4 out of 5

Limitless (2011) Dir: Neil Burger

Pretty silly sci-fi lite yarn that delivers precisely what it promises.
The plot:
Bradley 'California Smile' Cooper plays Eddie Morra, a writer struggling with writer's block and the break-up of his most recent relationship. Bumping into the brother of his ex-wife on the street, Eddie is introduced to a wonder drug, so new it doesn't even have a street name yet, going by the scientific moniker NZT. Popping one of the translucent pills, Eddie finds his mind expanding, tapping into hitherto unfathomed reaches of his brain and releasing a spurt of motivation that sees him crank out 90 pages in one day.
When the inevitable come down comes, Eddie wants more NZT, and returns to the ex's brother but, soon after meeting, the guy winds up dead. Eddie searches his place and discovers a stash of the magic pills and, powered by the drug coursing through his worthless veins, his life is transformed, initially for the good but, slowly, slowly, as his reliance on the narcotic grows, so too his life begins to unwind in a crescendo of violence and chaos.
Yep, it's the old 'wonder-drug gone bad' story efficiently, if a little predictably, retold.
A few gripes here:
1 - If Bradley Cooper is a genuine leading man, I'm a Chilean miner.
2 - The movie's main message seems to be that acting like a coked up prick is somehow symbolic of success.
3 - Some annoying subplots quickly become tiresome.
4 - A dreadful score.
5 - Such limited screen time for De Niro.
Still, it's not all bad.
1 - Erm.....
2 - Erm......
Actually, come to think of it, it is quite bad as I can think of not one positive thing to say about the damn thing.
Still, while it lasted it was pretty pleasant, just seems the come down afterwards is a bit of a killer.
Average fodder, then.

3 out of 5