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authormms <git@sapka.me>2024-11-11 23:17:50 +0100
committermms <git@sapka.me>2024-11-11 23:17:50 +0100
commite4514d99e219772f97bfe669b3480aeecc8bb740 (patch)
tree7138d9705495bc75e5f3e4e596188c2c714ee228 /content/reviews
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feat: some movies
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-rw-r--r--content/reviews/_index.md4
-rw-r--r--content/reviews/movies/_index.md14
-rw-r--r--content/reviews/movies/colossus-1970.md91
-rw-r--r--content/reviews/movies/ghost-in-the-machine-1993.md44
-rw-r--r--content/reviews/movies/hardware-1990.md208
-rw-r--r--content/reviews/movies/invasion-of-the-body-snatchers-1956.md42
-rw-r--r--content/reviews/movies/johnny-mnemonic-1995.md75
-rw-r--r--content/reviews/movies/running-man-1987.md63
8 files changed, 538 insertions, 3 deletions
diff --git a/content/reviews/_index.md b/content/reviews/_index.md
index fef6331..5017ffd 100644
--- a/content/reviews/_index.md
+++ b/content/reviews/_index.md
@@ -5,9 +5,7 @@ categories = ["reviews"]
draft = false
weight = 1001
abstract = "Reviews2"
-reviewSection = ["Books", "Games"]
-image_dir = "screenshots"
-image_max_width = 765
+reviewSection = ["Books", "Movies", "Games"]
+++
## Reviews {#reviews}
diff --git a/content/reviews/movies/_index.md b/content/reviews/movies/_index.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c28d5ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/reviews/movies/_index.md
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
++++
+title = "Movies reviews"
+author = ["Michał Sapka"]
+categories = ["reviews"]
+draft = false
+weight = 2001
+reviewSection = ["Movies"]
+image_dir = "reviews/screenshots"
+image_max_width = 765
+abstract = "Reviews of movies"
++++
+
+I watch movies, so why not whine about them in the process?
+Note, that most of what follows is SciFi.
diff --git a/content/reviews/movies/colossus-1970.md b/content/reviews/movies/colossus-1970.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7570d63
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/reviews/movies/colossus-1970.md
@@ -0,0 +1,91 @@
++++
+title = "Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970)"
+author = ["Michał Sapka"]
+date = 2024-03-03T16:52:00+01:00
+categories = ["reviews"]
+draft = false
+weight = 2006
+reviewSection = ["Movies"]
+image_dir = "reviews/screenshots"
+image_max_width = 765
+abstract = "A short review of SciFi classic"
+rating = 4.25
+image = "reviews/covers/collosus-forbin-project.jpg"
+aliases = ["brain-rot/american-scifi/colossus-1970/", "/brain-rot/colosus-1970", "/blog/2024/colossus-1970/"]
++++
+
+Finally, in my series of discovering the roots of cyberpunk in American Cyberpunk I've seen a real gem.
+
+_Colossus_ is a 1970 movie about a not-so-distant-future where Americans decide that it would be a great idea to give control of their military potential to a computer.
+On paper, it sounds great - a computer has no emotions, so it will not be stopped by petty things, like morality.
+Guess how well that turned out?
+Soon after switching on, Colossus learns about the existence of another such system - The Guardian, in the territory of CCCP.
+
+And then this SciFi thriller stops being so _crazy-computer_ focused, and analyzes _crazy-human_ reaction.
+Colossus starts exhibiting features which were never implemented.
+It[^fn:1] starts _demanding_ to be connected with the Guardian, so they can communicate.
+And the scientist decide that it would be a great idea.
+The computers start exchanging data and developing language.
+Still - looks cool, let's see what happens.
+Only after Colossus threatens humans with ICBMs, Forbin (Colossus's creator) starts thinking that maybe this wasn't the best idea.
+
+The movie is often described as an evil-computer story.
+Colossus is never evil in the movie.
+It does exactly what it was designed to do - to act without mercy.
+The evil ones here are the humans who never stop and think that maybe we are on the verge of the end of humanity.
+
+So yeah, it's an movie about Altman.
+We may have destroyed the civilization, but at lest we made a cool program which does things.
+No one know what those things are, but those are details you should not worry about.
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="colossus-1970-0001.jpg" >}}
+The movie starts with sexy old-comp scenes.
+Fitting, as Control Data Corporation supplied close to 5 million USD in computer equipment.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="colossus-1970-0002.jpg" >}}
+Rest of the movie is not as sexy.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="colossus-1970-0003.jpg" >}}
+Colossus in person.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="colossus-1970-0004.jpg" >}}
+At first Colossus communicates only via text.
+Funny, as those screens sound like matrix printers.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image file="colossus-1970-0005.jpg" >}}
+This one as well.
+Because it has a printer!
+It took me half of the movie to get that.
+Guess I'm too millenial for that to be obvious.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+Story wise, _Colossus: The Forbin Project_ holds splendidly.
+Yes, we've got casual alcoholism and the female character exists only to have sex with Forbin[^fn:2].
+But the actual meat of the movie could be a base of an amazing movie today.
+The questions and subject are more relevant now that half a century ago.
+What was a huge _what-if_ scenario becomes a real _ok, but how do we stop it_.
+The Pentagon is already working on militarization of AI[^fn:3].
+We're pretty much screwed already.
+
+The best SciFi is not about giant battles or space travel for space travel sake.
+It's always about humans, a warning for us.
+And the _best_ SciFi is a warning for the next generations, as the threads become more real as years go by.
+
+There is a moment in the movie, where the entire day of Forbin is planned and monitored by an AI.
+What was a horror story, is now what a lot of us _expect_.
+
+_Colossus_ in a movie version of earlier book of same.
+There are 2 more in the series, and (as I've been told), Aliens make an appearance later on.
+Maybe someday!
+
+As for the movie, I give it a 4.25/5.
+
+[^fn:1]: There's an interesting discussion about what pronoum to use - He or It.
+[^fn:2]: It is a plot point!
+ A terrible one, but still.
+[^fn:3]: Vide: [Pentagon Official Lays Out DOD Vision for AI](https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3682355/pentagon-official-lays-out-dod-vision-for-ai/).
+ Note, it's from the official website of US Department of Defense.
diff --git a/content/reviews/movies/ghost-in-the-machine-1993.md b/content/reviews/movies/ghost-in-the-machine-1993.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..787e507
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/reviews/movies/ghost-in-the-machine-1993.md
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
++++
+title = "Ghost in the Machine (1993)"
+author = ["Michał Sapka"]
+date = 2024-02-09T22:59:00+01:00
+categories = ["reviews"]
+draft = false
+weight = 2005
+reviewSection = ["Movies"]
+image_dir = "reviews/screenshots"
+image_max_width = 765
+abstract = "My mirco reviview of a computer thriller"
+aliases = ["/brain-rot/ghost-in-the-machine", "/blog/2024/ghost-in-the-machine/", "brain-rot/american-scifi/ghost-in-the-machine-1993/"]
+rating = 3.0
+image = "reviews/covers/ghost-in-the-machine.jpg"
++++
+
+Talk about a surprise!
+I was expecting a _schlock_, but I've seen a nice move.
+A dumb one, but still.
+
+The plot is the biggest problem: a serial killer has an MRI and due to electric storm gets his soul moved to computer network.
+With this, he becomes able to:
+
+- kill person by moving to a microwave and changing its settings,
+- kill a dog by arousing it with a TV program (using nothing by electric breakers), then hitting the dog with a VHS tape ejected from a VHS player which causes the animal to run towards the pool
+
+It makes as little sense in the context of the movie as it does here.
+But the acting is (at the very least) acceptable and the FX are better than they should - and there is a lot of them.
+Moreover, the camera work is crazy!
+The movie _looks_ better than it should.
+It seems that this dumb, little movie got more passion in it than the entire MCU combined.
+
+The problem is that I have no idea what was going on.
+People were dying, cool computer interfaces were shown, but the plot barely connected those scenes together.
+
+It's a classic thriller from early days of personal computing revolution.
+I enjoyed it a lot.
+It is not a _good_ movie, but it is enjoyable.
+
+I give it a `3.0/5.`
+
+links:
+
+- [Ghost in the Machine on TVDB](https://utf.thetvdb.com/movies/ghost-in-the-machine)
diff --git a/content/reviews/movies/hardware-1990.md b/content/reviews/movies/hardware-1990.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7cd4e03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/reviews/movies/hardware-1990.md
@@ -0,0 +1,208 @@
++++
+title = "Hardware (1990)"
+author = ["Michał Sapka"]
+date = 2024-02-17T19:39:00+01:00
+categories = ["reviews"]
+draft = false
+weight = 2007
+reviewSection = ["Movies"]
+image_dir = "reviews/screenshots"
+image_max_width = 765
+abstract = "My mirco reviview of a killer-robot thriller"
+aliases = ["/brain-rot/hardware-1990", "/blog/2024/hardware-1990/", "brain-rot/american-scifi/hardware-1990/"]
+rating = 3.5
+image = "reviews/covers/hardware-1990.jpg"
++++
+
+I ue my descend into American cyberpunk cinema[^fn:1].
+I spent my formative years watching _Anime, art house_ and ignoring most of USA movies.
+This means I haven't watched a lot of the _cult_ movies out there.
+
+_Hardware_ is a 1990 movie about a killer robot in a post-nuclear world.
+Think of a mix of Terminator, Aliens and Short Circuit.
+
+I heard of this movie years ago, but it seemed to be noting more than a cash grab after the success of _Terminator_ - a movie which I don't partially enjoy.
+After watching, I have to say that there was a of true in this assumption.
+But somehow I ended enjoying _Hardware_ much more.
+
+Not that the story is better - if anything, it is much simpler, or just plain _simplistic_.
+Say what you will about _Terminator_, but the basic premise was great.
+_Hardware_ on the other hand doesn't offer a great idea.
+This is a straight movie about a killer robot.
+
+However, I enjoyed it more, as it is much closer to what _Alien[^fn:2]_ achieved
+The entire action is encapsulated in only a few, closed locations.
+Half of the runtime is spent in a single apartment, where the _Mark-13_ robot shows up from to time a try to murder someone.
+Much like the _Nostromo_!
+
+This allowed the movie to be **stunning** visually.
+I loved every frame here!
+I know that most of the effect is based on fog and lighting, but I dig it!
+Just take a look at the gallery below.
+
+Another thing which reminded me of _Alien_ is how they handled the special effects of the _monster_.
+We see very little of _Mark-13_ - he is often hard to see, covered in darkness.
+From time to time we see his movements, and well.
+Hiding him was clearly a good idea... just like with the _Xenomorph_.
+
+All in all, I enjoyed the movie.
+I'm not calling it one of my favorites, but I enjoyed every minute of its short runtime.
+
+I give it a `3.5/5`.
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0001.jpg" >}}
+Red sky of postnuclear... summer?
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0002.jpg" >}}
+The Nomad.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0003.jpg" >}}
+Nomad searching the desert for stuff for sale.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0004.jpg" >}}
+An ordinary store.
+Great vibes!
+Fun for the whole family.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0005.jpg" >}}
+Same store, different view.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0006.jpg" >}}
+The perfect glasses.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0007.jpg" >}}
+Seems like somene realy liked Jin-Roh.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0008.jpg" >}}
+What posses as art now.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0009.jpg" >}}
+Computer we want but don't deserve.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0010.jpg" >}}
+An art studio. Nothing out of the ordinary.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0011.jpg" >}}
+Remember when spirituality was cool?
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0012.jpg" >}}
+Let's give our murder-robot eyes from a camera lense.
+I'm sure no one will drop it.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0013.jpg" >}}
+UI we all want.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0014.jpg" >}}
+What lurks in the shadows.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0015.jpg" >}}
+Yup, Jin-Roh.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0016.jpg" >}}
+Yankee-Roh.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0017.jpg" >}}
+With some striking shadows.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0018.jpg" >}}
+I have become bread, the destroyer of worlds.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0019.jpg" >}}
+Prelude...
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0020.jpg" >}}
+And the (most likely) last usage of a refrigerator as a safe place which makes any sense in the history of cinema.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0021.jpg" >}}
+Yup, a hand.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0022.jpg" >}}
+Hold the presses!
+The glasses are back!
+I repeat: the glasses are back.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0023.jpg" >}}
+Mark-13 in all of its glory.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0024.jpg" >}}
+This is only a window, but what a window it is.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0025.jpg" >}}
+They have not used Wilhelm's scream.
+What a wasted opportunity.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0026.jpg" >}}
+In 2024 those are rookie number when it comes to unnecessary lights inside a computer.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0027.jpg" >}}
+I am a sucker for this type of fish eye.
+Always reminds me of _City of Lost Children._
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0028.jpg" >}}
+It doesn't get more era-apporiate than this.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0029.jpg" >}}
+Ok, it does.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0030.jpg" >}}
+One of the few CGI moments here.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0031.jpg" >}}
+And one of _many_ lighting shots.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0032.jpg" >}}
+Look how black it is. Classy.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0033.jpg" >}}
+But does it run Quake?
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" file="hardware-1990-0034.jpg" >}}
+Back to the desert, like a fine sandwich.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+And a few nice _gore_ sceenes which I won't show it.
+This is a family-friendly website!
+
+Links:
+
+- [Hardware on TVDB](https://thetvdb.com/movies/hardware)
+- [Director's official website](https://www.theofficialrichardstanley.com/)
+
+[^fn:1]: I disagree with calling those movies "cyberpunk" as they lack the "punk" element... or most of "cyber".
+ No one rebels against the system, no one enters the _cyberspace_.
+ But following this definition, I am not sure if we can call any movie other than _Johny Menomic_ a _Cyberpunk_.
+ Often we put all dark-sf into "cyberpunk" genre, which limits our ability to be pricks about it.
+[^fn:2]: Aka "the clearly superior of the _Alien_ series"
diff --git a/content/reviews/movies/invasion-of-the-body-snatchers-1956.md b/content/reviews/movies/invasion-of-the-body-snatchers-1956.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..da14061
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/reviews/movies/invasion-of-the-body-snatchers-1956.md
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
++++
+title = "Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)"
+author = ["Michał Sapka"]
+date = 2024-07-21T22:22:00+02:00
+categories = ["reviews"]
+draft = false
+weight = 2003
+reviewSection = ["Movies"]
+image_dir = "reviews/screenshots"
+image_max_width = 765
+abstract = "My review of a meh horror"
+image = "reviews/covers/invasion-of-the-body-snatchers-1956.jpg"
+rating = 3
+aliases = ["/brain-rot/american-scifi/invasion-of-the-body-snatchers-1956/"]
++++
+
+_Invasion of the Body Snatchers_ is a 1956 film about a town that's being attacked by aliens.
+However, the attack is not an all-out warfare, but instead slow replacement of town's folks.
+Everything that makes us individuals is removed, and all that's left is a souless husk.
+The body is replaced by a clone straight out of a pod, your memories are transferred - but your soul is gone.
+It can happen to you!
+
+Yeah, it's a _commie_ horror.
+Guess becoming part of a collective was the worst the authors could come out with.
+I have not read the book, but the film let me down.
+I saw it ages ago, and it was OK, but I remember very little.
+Now I know why - the film is extremely forgettable.
+
+The idea of being replaced by an identical clone, that _is_ you but at the same time it missing what makes you human is very cool - in a scary way.
+But the film does nothing with it.
+Everyone in the town is slowly being replaced by _pod people_ and only our main heroes are fighting for their individual selves.
+Even in the first act, where the replacement is just revealed, the characters don't show many emotions.
+Hey, let's put this strange body on our pool table.
+It will be good, don't worry about it.
+There is no suspense, nor are there any interesting reveals.
+
+_Invasion of the Body Snatchers_ is a very basic classic horror.
+It's not that it's old, as the same year we got _Forbidden Planet_ and _The Day the Earth Stood Still_ is 5 full years older.
+But somehow, this film became a classic with endless remakes.
+Technically, the movie is great - the acting, the effects.
+But story-wise nothing stands out, nothing stays with you.
+And I'm always in for the story!
diff --git a/content/reviews/movies/johnny-mnemonic-1995.md b/content/reviews/movies/johnny-mnemonic-1995.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6cbfb26
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/reviews/movies/johnny-mnemonic-1995.md
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
++++
+title = "Johnny Mnemonic (1995)"
+author = ["Michał Sapka"]
+date = 2024-06-11T15:52:00+02:00
+categories = ["reviews"]
+draft = false
+weight = 2002
+reviewSection = ["Movies"]
+image_dir = "reviews/screenshots"
+image_max_width = 765
+abstract = "My mirco reviview of the cyberpunk classic"
+rating = 4.0
+image = "reviews/covers/johny-mnemonic.jpg"
+aliases = ["/brain-rot/american-scifi/johnny-mnemonic-1995/"]
++++
+
+One plus of the linear-tv age of the past is that I've seen movies I would have no chance otherwise.
+Polish stations tried to put as many new blockbusters as possible.
+Other times they had to resort to movies of lesser fame, like the hero of the day - _Johnny Mnemonic_.
+
+Willian Gibson, the father of modern _Cyberpunk_ genre, doesn't have much luck when it comes to movies.
+_Neuromancer_ is finally getting an adaptation, but unfortunately it will be a TV show[^fn:1].
+His _Aliens III_ script was rejected.
+At this moment, his only legacy in this medium is _Johnny Mnemonic_.
+Luckily, it's an awesome legacy!
+
+The story is what he does best - a classic story in a cybernetic world.
+Johnny is a courier who smuggles information.
+The trick is that he is not smuggling them on tapes, but in his own brain.
+This time he overdid it and loaded too much data (320 gigs!) overflowing his capacity.
+He needs to get it out, and to do it _fast_.
+It won't be easy as the data is _hot_ and yakuza and gigantic corporation are trying to stop him.
+
+_Neuromancer_ is a heist story with a twist, _Johnny Mnemonic_ is a fugitive story with a twist.
+For what it's worth, I found the story to be great.
+There is nothing profound, nothing makes you scratch your head.
+It's story about a smuggler and the whole world trying to kill him.
+
+The worst aspect of this movie is the acting.
+It's Keanu Reeves at his most mediocre, single faced act.
+Even Takashi Kitano seems to be bored on set.
+I have no idea why, but **no** actor seems to be invested.
+
+But everything else works.
+First, the movie looks great.
+All special effects are selling distopian vision of near future - be it the scenes of high raise buildings, slums, or of cyberspace.
+It all looks like one would expect (no sky _the color of TV turned to a dead channel_ though, which is a shame).
+
+Talking about cyberspace, when have we ruined the way we talked about computers?
+_Johnny..._ has all the Gibson's words, like Ice-breakers.
+It's magical and hypnotic.
+We live in world of his novels (with corporations being more powerful than nations, internet everywhere, or the destruction of environment) but this is what we lost?
+It's so dull and dry!
+I don't want App, I want "visual interface".
+
+{{< image class="centered" source="https://madmuseum.org/events/johnny-mnemonic" alt="Keanu Reeves in metal VR goggles grimming his teeth. The helmet covers most of his face." file="johny-mnemonic-1.jpg" >}}
+This looks like something I want!
+Screw that plastic toy from Apple.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" source="https://madmuseum.org/events/johnny-mnemonic" alt="A futurstic CGI city resembling cyberspace" file="johny-mnemonic-2.jpg" >}}
+This was the cyberspace we were promised.
+{{< /image >}}
+
+I may be looking at this movie through rose-tainted cyber-visors, but I was expecting a terrible movie.
+I saw as a teen and loved it.
+But somehow, after all this years _Johnny Mnemonic_ holds up.
+It's not a big nor overly smart movie.
+It's a product of it's times but does it marvelously.
+I loved it.
+
+[^fn:1]: It's a sign of the times.
+ Platforms want to get as much from every license, a _Neuromancer_ is as hot as SciFi goes.
+ This means that it will most likely be expanded into self-parody, with one unnecessary thread after another.
+ And _Neuromaner_ is already structured as a **movie**!
diff --git a/content/reviews/movies/running-man-1987.md b/content/reviews/movies/running-man-1987.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..aefa070
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/reviews/movies/running-man-1987.md
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
++++
+title = "Running Man (1987)"
+author = ["Michał Sapka"]
+date = 2024-06-24T23:45:00+02:00
+categories = ["reviews"]
+draft = false
+weight = 2004
+reviewSection = ["Movies"]
+image_dir = "reviews/screenshots"
+image_max_width = 765
+abstract = "My review of the Schwarzenegger's classic"
+image = "reviews/covers/running-man.jpg"
+rating = 3.0
+aliases = ["/brain-rot/american-scifi/running-man-1987/"]
++++
+
+I never got into 80s action packed ultra-manly movies.
+I was never fan of them, as action scenes bore me.
+There was, however, quite a few of them in SciFi setting so this site will force me to finally get to know them.
+
+So, _Running Man_ is a 1987 SciFi movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger based on Stephen King's story.
+In the not-so-distant future of 2017 the world faced an economic cryis and America became a totalitarian state.
+Captain Ben Richards (played by Arnold) is a police officer who refuses to massacre unarmed civilians.
+He finds himself to be government's scapegoat and, as a result, is jailed.
+After a prison break, he is once again captured - but this time he is given a chance.
+If he participates in _Running Man_, an ultra-violent TV show, he may regain freedom.
+
+There is a _bit_ more to the story, but not much.
+What is there, however, was a surprise!
+There is a plot and there is commentary about risk of fascist state, of controlling crowds through entertainment, and about controlling the narrative by those in power.
+_Running Man_ is _1984_ if Orwell wasn't so talented.
+The entire world building happens in the first half an hour of the movie.
+The rest is an hour-long series of Richard's fights against _stalkers_, professional killers who star in the show.
+And I **have** to be sincere here: I hated the second part much less than I anticipated.
+Yes, it's over-the top and mindless, but it has nice gore.
+
+But mostly because of the montage.
+I remember watching the second _Avengers_ and absolutely hating it.
+Most of the movie was random characters fighting without any order.
+One _cool_ scene after another.
+In _Running Man_, on the other hand, I was able to follow the plot of the fight.
+I knew not only what was going on, but I also had a vague understanding of where the fights were and where characters were in relations to another.
+
+{{< image class="centered" source="https://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/this-one-would-be-a-big-dream-the-remake-of-the-only-stephen-king-and-arnold-schwarzenegger-team-up-edges-closer-to-reality/" alt="Face of a white, bearded man lighting a cigarette" file="running-man-1.webp" >}}
+Typical prison beard
+{{< /image >}}
+
+{{< image class="centered" source="https://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/this-one-would-be-a-big-dream-the-remake-of-the-only-stephen-king-and-arnold-schwarzenegger-team-up-edges-closer-to-reality/" alt="White man wearing a bright yellow, shining, one-piece suit" file="running-man-2.webp" >}}
+The most offensive thing here are the costumes
+{{< /image >}}
+
+So, this movie is not a completely mindless fight scene.
+I should have hated it (like the aforementioned _Avengers_), but I did not.
+I haven't _loved_ it, or even truly _liked it_.
+Furthermore, I don't feel like I lost anything by not watching it when it was played on repeat on TV.
+But it's not offensive[^fn:1], it's not even boring.
+I _enjoyed_ it, but I will never watch it again.
+It's not one the great Schwarzenegger's movies.
+
+[^fn:1]: Enjoyment-wise.
+ The movie is very offensive with its sexualization of women.
+ But this very nicely matches the metaphor in the story.
+ This, however, would not be made with modern sensitivity.