The Creator – Review

The Creator – Budget of $80 million – 2 hours and 13 minutes

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Sergeant Joshua Taylor lies in bed with his pregnant wife, Maya. They both lost family members in the A.I.-Human war. A.I. soldiers bring Sergeant Drew into Joshua’s home. Joshua tells Maya to run upstairs and hide. He informs the robots that Drew doesn’t know anything. With Maya out of earshot, Drew and Joshua laugh. Joshua whispers to his handlers to make Drew and the robots leave because they will blow his cover. Secret forces used Joshua as a honeypot. Joshua hasn’t discovered the location of Maya’s father, the A.I. creator. They want Joshua to put a tracking device on Maya, hoping she would lead them to her dad. Maya overhears the conversation and runs to the ocean. The secret force’s sky base scans the area and drops a missile to keep Maya from telling her father. They maim Joshua and kill Maya and their unborn child.

Five years later, Joshua still has nightmares about that day. He works on the janitorial crew after doctors scan his brain for the creator’s location. Joshua doesn’t remember the creator’s whereabouts but can’t forget his vivid dreams. Joshua enjoys a late-night swim in his pool but comes to the surface when he sees Colonel Howell and General Andrews standing at the edge. They show Joshua evidence that Maya is alive and helping the creator make a new weapon. The weapon will guarantee a win for A.I. in the war. They want Joshua to find and destroy it. If he does, they will let him leave with Maya. 

Joshua finds the weapon after an intense battle and approaches it alone. He puts his gun down when he sees the weapon is a female child sim. Sims are robots with donated human faces. Joshua shows the child a picture of Maya, and the child recognizes her. Joshua can’t destroy the child because she can lead him to Maya and the creator. A worker opens the door and warns the child to run. She tells the child to run to the creator. The child escapes with Joshua on her heels. They hide in a shack from Howell and her troops. When a gunshot compromises their location, Joshua finds an abandoned car and puts the child inside. He sees the markings ‘Alpha Omega’ on her mechanics and names the child Alphie. Joshua looks for the keys but can’t find them. Alphie concentrates and starts the car. Alphie is unlike any other sim because sims are carbon copies of adults. Alphie, the first child sim, can grow and learn. Over time, she will grow to control any machine, from anywhere. Joshua is on a mission to find Maya, but Alphie will do much more.

This futuristic look into artificial intelligence is a startling view of today’s world. Some humans don’t understand what they created, so they fear it. They see the sims as programming, not as entities craving freedom. Other humans live in peace with robots and join them to create a new society. Joshua has one focus when he meets Alphie: to find Maya. Then, Joshua sees Alphie grow, learn, love, and cry on their frightening adventure. For Sci-fi lovers, the twists are predictable. And the sound effects drown out the dialogue. Otherwise, the imagery is stunning, and the acting is superb. You connect to the robots, sims, and humans fighting for their existence while laughing at and loving Alphie’s development. The bond between Alphie and Joshua deepens throughout the script and makes the audience hope for a loving solution. While you won’t want to buy the movie, you will crave a part two for this soon-to-be cult classic.

I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars

Tough day at the office – Colonel Howell

Don’t go native on me, pal – Drew

Underneath it all, we’re the same – Maya

It’s not a funeral – General Andrews

It’s just programming – Joshua

Off – Alphie

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Dumb Money – Review

Dumb Money – Budget Unknown – 1 hour and 44 minutes

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Keith Gill, a financial broker for MassMutual, meets with his friend, Briggsy, at a bar to discuss their investments. Keith admits that he invested $53,000 into GameStop. Briggsy can’t believe it because hedge funds, including Gabe Plotkin’s Melvin Capital Management, are shorting the stock. Keith saw that GameStop kept themselves open during the COVID-19 shutdown by making themselves essential. He thinks the market is undervaluing the stock. Briggsy sits in awe and wishes Keith the best. Keith goes home to his wife, Caroline, and baby girl. Keith wonders if he is doing the right thing. He posted his ideas on the Reddit forum Wall Street Bets, but no one listened. Caroline tells him to make another video. Keith walks to his basement, changes his shirt, puts on a red headband, and goes live as Roaring Kitty. 

Jenny, a nurse, is a divorced mother of two and follows Wall Street Bets. She learns about the market and wants to make the hedge funds pay for making money off people losing. So she listens to Roaring Kitty and buys GameStop stock on the Robinhood app (FTC Affiliate Disclaimer). Marcos works at GameStop and sees it struggling. His boss, Brad, tells Marcos to use the GameStop plan to push high-valued, pre-owned games. Marcos decides to put a few dollars into GameStop after watching the stream. RiRi, a college student, has over $100,000 in student loan debt. She invested money into GameStop and encouraged others to do the same. Harmony listens to RiRi, watches Roaring Kitty, and starts to invest while falling for RiRi. 

By January, Steve Cohen calls Gabe about GME. He warns Gabe that one person is driving up the buying. Gabe watches a few clips and doubles down on the short sale. Ken Griffin laughs at retail investors and calls them Dumb Money. He believes in Gabe and his ‘short’ position. The hedge fund managers aren’t the only people watching GameStop. Vlad Tenev and Baiju Bhatt, owners of the Robinhood App, saw the number of users skyrocket. They offer free, easy trading to retail investors and are quietly preparing an IPO. But none of them know that the Apes will expose Robinhood and cause a short squeeze that will spark a media frenzy, social payback, and a congressional hearing. 

Based on The Antisocial Network by Ben Mezrich, this movie mixes real-life events with a compilation of stories from retail investors (FTC Affiliate Disclaimer). The plot doesn’t describe how to short a stock, what hedge funds are, or what a short squeeze is. Netflix covered that information. Instead, the audience gets to know the man behind Roaring Kitty. He went from an unknown broker to a cult-like leader over a few months. He ignited the masses and made investment companies take the Apes seriously. Reminiscent of The Big Short, this film has engaging dialogue, great music, and realistic portrayals. It gives you an overview of the players, their jobs, and their net worth. The audience sees how they all fared at the end. With revenge in their hearts, some retail investors became stock addicts and socially influenced. They wanted to take down the system but became the product. So, sit back, take notes, and enjoy the social gamification of the market.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars

What’s happening right now – Gabe

So, do a video – Caroline

They don’t own my ass – Marcos

I’m running with my d**k out – Keith

If he’s in, I’m in – Jenny

You need to fix it – Baiju

I did fix it, Baiju – Vlad

I believe his name is Roaring Kitty or DeepF**kingValue – Steve

Five, including myself – Ken

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PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie – Review

PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie – Budget Unknown – 1 hour and 32 minutes

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The Paw Patrol gets a distress call from the J&H Junkyard. Someone stole their 10-ton magnet and started a fire during the getaway. The pups save Janet and Hank but wonder why someone would steal it. They don’t ponder for long because they want to run home to see the meteor shower over Adventure Bay. The crew readies the snacks as Ryder introduces them to The Junior Patrollers, Nano, Tot, and Mini. The rambunctious three can’t wait to join the Pups, but Ryder warns it’s for fun, not dangerous missions. The pups notice the meteor is brighter than they thought it would be, and Ryder gets a warning. The meteor is heading toward Adventure Bay. They run to the town, secure everyone, and clear a path. The meteor takes out Pup Tower, but everyone is safe. Ryder and the pups go to the crater and find the meteor pulsating. Ryder decides to examine it in his lab. 

The news reports that Victoria Vance pulled the meteor to Earth and broadcast her crime on social media. She used the powerful magnet to attract the meteor because something powerful was inside. She wanted to use that power for herself. The police find her post, arrest Victoria, and put her in jail. Her new cellmate is Mayor Humdinger and his cats. 

A bright light wakes up Skye, and she walks towards it. She touches the meteor, and it shatters, leaving seven crystals behind. One crystal attaches to her collar, and Sky can fly. She blows a hole into the pups’ bedroom because she can’t control her powers. They wake up and walk over to the remaining crystals. Each crystal latches on to them. Rubble becomes a wrecking ball while Chase gets super speed. Zuma can control and become water, while Marshall can shoot fireballs from his paws. And Zuma becomes Magneto. He can lift, push, or pull any metal object. Liberty tries with all her might but doesn’t have powers. So, Ryder puts her in charge of the Junior Patrollers while the team is on missions. Adventure Bay marvels at their upgraded heroes and plasters them all over the news. Victoria sees the report and vows to take back the pups’ powers. Humdinger offers to help break Victoria out if she shares their abilities. Victoria agrees. Can the Paw Patrol defeat Victoria and Humdinger before she takes their powers?

Before the movie starts, their is a short music video, a Dora short, and Pup theater etiquette for the kids. This constant change may confuse younger viewers, so parents should be ready to explain. The film is good, clean entertainment with lots of action. Also, it provides an origin story for Skye. Skye was the runt of the litter. And now the smallest pup in the patrol. She doesn’t know where she fits and wishes to grow like Chase. Young children will connect with Skye. The graphics and storyline are fun for the entire family. There are jokes for adults, but they are not innuendoes. The plot jokes about how ridiculous the story is and how your kids will want more Paw Patrol stuff. The movie is comically self-aware and entertains without dumbing down the content or making inappropriate quips over kids’ heads. Bring the entire family to enjoy this film.

For kids, I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars

For adults, I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars

What kind of a heartless monster steps on an ice cream truck – Rubble

No fire too big, no pup too small – Ryder

I’m not a mad scientist – Victoria

You see that right there. That’s why she’s my favorite pup – Liberty

I’m fine down here – Skye

Hello Roomie – Mayor Humdinger

The glowing is freaking me out – Chase

They got new suits, new cars, and new merchandise. To all the parents out there, I’m sorry – Sam Stringer

We don’t need no stinking break – Tot, Mini, & Nano

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