Last night I borrowed Minority Report and watched it ('coz when I saw the film in the theater, I was so tired…half of the time, I dozed off.)
The movie was simply amazing…This is the kind of flick I’ve never seen before, which, I thought, would open a new chapter in the Sci-fi film genre…
Based on a Philip Dick’s short story (his other famous work: Blade Runner - of which the movie version I have seen three times), the movie concerns the pre-crime unit of a police department in 2054.
Nver-seen-before special effects just :shock: dazzled me…
The film masterfully mesmerized me from start to
finish.
Working as both a thriller and a mystery, it had my eyes glued to the screen and my brain in overdrive! Generally dark (like Blade runners) with dark blue monotones, the flick shows two worthy performances -
in addition to Cruise’s heartfelt acting, the girl who plays ‘Agatha’, the creepiest of the three precogs who float around and prophesy.
Living in a pool of water, three near-zombie people transmit nightmarish visions of the future to video screens.
(Nowadays, I also hear about such gifted people with supernatural future-forseeing power…
So it’s not exaggerated when in 50 years the minds of such people could be transferred as images onto a screen, thanks to technological development…)
The futuristic parts of the film are quite fascinating…
Newspapers change in real-time…Holographic ads know the identities of each passerby and interact on a personal level that telemarketers could only dream of.
Minority Report is nearly flawless and simply great.
2 and a half hour flew like nothing…poignant and highly intelligent film but fast-pacing…
It not only made me think but was a lot of fun as well.
God, Spillberg seems to cause stirs and sensations with each movie he makes…but this one is my very favorite.
One thing I noticed is that in “Bladerunner” and “Minority Report,”
advertising for the same Fortune 100 corporations that exist today are plastered across buildings and in subway stations!
My question is why Spillberg made it so obvisous one of the tech devices appearing in the film is Nokia brand?!
Was this film sponsored by Nokia? 
Just weird.
As it happened, I recently read this astounding article on techological development that will happen in the near future, which made me contemplatewhat the future might bring.
After the humanity being plagued by war and epidemic, this article made me sort of anticipate the future…like a kid at a candy store 
…though some predictions appear a little dangerous and disturbing.
[quote] Future watcher foresees amazing changes
Staff Reporter
LONDON
Whatever happened to the robot maid promised way back in the 1960s when cartoons like “The Jetsons” gave us a vision of life in the 21st century? Or those amazing virtual reality holidays that would whisk armchair travellers on a five-star tour to Mars or Venus from the comfort of the sitting room?
LONDON: Real life in the 21st century may not be as far out and groovy as old science fiction shows imagined, but one of Britain’s top futurologists promises interesting changes on our near horizon.
Cyberbabes and Orgasmatrons will be among the hottest items of the next 10 years, if Ian Pearson’s predictions come true.
“We will have more variety of entertainment, better health, greater wealth and probably better social well-being,” Pearson said.
“But what must be remembered by anyone preparing for the future is that technology change isn’t very important in itself. What matters is what this change enables or destroys.”
Pearson, who works for BT Group’s BTexact Technologies, has just published a “timeline” of 500 predictions for the next 30 years. It is both an exciting and disturbing vision of the future.
The start of the 21st century has not produced the kind of exciting “space age” gadgets that people had predicted, Pearson said.
But that’s set to change as the speed of technological development grows ever faster and more emphasis is put on leisure and lifestyle.
By 2012 the Orgas-matron - the artificial sexual pleasure device dreamed up for Woody Allen’s film “Sleeper” - will become a reality, Pearson said.
Within four years, toys will be emotionally interactive, responsive to the feelings of the children playing with them.
If emotional toys seem a bit scary, video tattoos - featuring moving images implanted under the skin - will soon give parents something worse to fret about.
Also by 2006, scenes from blockbuster dinosaur film “Jurassic Park” could take a step closer to reality when the first extinct organism is brought back to life, he predicts.
Although seeing into the future is never going to be an exact science, Pearson has had an 85% success rate since producing his first timeline in 1991.
His accurate predictions include the launch of robotic pets and the development of driverless public transport, currently being tested in Wales.
Though trips to Mars are still decades away, the first space tourism operation could be launched this year, Pearson predicts.
By 2015 a space hotel, built using recycled Space Shuttle fuel tanks, is feasible, he said. Near Earth space tours will be added to holiday choices for the adventurous.
By 2030, deep hibernation technology - which would allow humans to hibernate for days, months or even years - could make regular manned missions to Mars possible.
That same year, it will be possible to fully link computers to the human brain using nano-technology, or engineering at the molecular or atomic level. The ability to “back up” our brains will mean never forgetting anything ever again and being able to think and react at “turbo speed”.
“Imagine the impact on the human experience if our brains could work a million times faster,” he said.
Robots, staple characters in old sci-fi and space shows, will come into their own in the near future, Pearson said.
He predicts that humanoid robots will fill factory jobs by 2007. By 2015, robots will be able to take on almost any job in hospitals or homes.
Pearson’s report says that by 2010, up to a quarter of showbiz stars will be computer-generated cyberbabes - including the world’s highest-paid celebrity.
Along with the fantastic, Pearson’s timeline includes some unnerving options for humankind.
Warfare will take on new dimensions with the development of tiny insect-like robot soldiers and weapons which work by causing natural disasters.
By 2025, there will be more robots than people in developed countries. By 2030, robots will become mentally and physically superior to people - and perhaps unwilling to tolerate the existence of their human creators.
“Each new technology brings many benefits but also has a price. It is clear … that we are rapidly inventing new ways of destroying ourselves and that the risk to mankind is increasing exponentially,” Pearson said.
He said while his timelines contain a fun element, they are far from being pure fantasy. He bases them on information sources including previous timelines, industry journals, technology bulletins and seminars.
“I have a fun job - basically living in the future,” Pearson said.
“But I get very frustrated with today’s technology, which I have been looking forward to for 15 years. My expectations have moved on another 15 years now.” - Reuter [/quote]
