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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" |