Word: asimov
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...implications are so sweeping that they have smart people talking in ways that seem to be ripped from the pages of Isaac Asimov. Sun Microsystems' chief scientist, Bill Joy, recently said that in the future, virtually all inanimate objects--from front doors to light bulbs--will have a wireless Internet hookup. What does that mean for you? One day, when your dishwasher breaks down, the appliance will alert you via your cell phone or PDA. It may even call the repairman...
Throughout his speech, he quoted thinkers ranging from Albert Einstein to Aristotle to science fictions writers such as Isaac Asimov. Joy silenced the audience with graphic accounts of historic plagues and offered controversial ideas about the need to regulate technology...
Authors represented in the displays include Dante Alighieri, Emily Dickinson, Thomas Moore, Cyrano de Bergerac, John Milton, Jonathan Swift, Voltaire, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, William Blake, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, George Bernard Shaw, Ray Bradbury, Issac Asimov, Alexander Pope and Alfred Lord Tennyson...
...plot loosely follows Asimov's outline. The robot in question, played by Robin Williams, is acquired by the wealthy Martin family. Although they were simply looking for help with the household chores, it quickly becomes clear to the father of the family (Sam Neill) that the robot, which they have named Andrew, has great artistic and intellectual abilities. Andrew also becomes the closest friend of the youngest Martin daughter, known only as "Little Miss" (Embeth Davidtz as an adult). The film progresses, as the title suggests, over 200 years, and in that time Andrew is granted his freedom and embarks...
...particularly Little Miss and her granddaughter (also played by Davidtz). This story manages to be heartwarming and engaging, as does Andrew's struggle to find his identity. But all of these emotions partially paint over the plot's more intriguing implications. By the second half of the film, when Asimov's grander concepts begin to emerge, Kazan and Columbus too often choose obvious tearjerking over any true exploration. The film's vision of the future is drawn in similar fashion to the plot: sleekly beautiful but not fully thought out or explained...