Real Steel

Humans love violence; at least seeing it in a controlled environment. Fighting tournaments are wildly popular and boxing is chief among them. Brutal as it is, what happens when people want more? Real Steel imagines a time in the near future when the job of boxers has been delegated to huge humanoid robots controlled by operators. Without the limitations of fleshiness, these metal men duke it out to the 'death' much to the delight of the massive crowds.

The story of Real Steel revolves around a former boxer down on his luck. Now a robot operator, Charlie Kenton's (Hugh Jackman) already messed-up life is further complicated by the arrival of his 11-year old son Max (Dakota Goyo) after his mother's untimely death. Wanting nothing to do with the boy, Charlie nevertheless is stuck with him for a while, to neither one's great delight. Max is annoying, bratty, and belligerent towards Charlie but they eventually bond over an old fighting robot they find in a junk yard while scouring for parts. Max drives Charlie to enter their robot in fights which they surprisingly win and this leads to bigger fights and the predictable father-son bonding.

It's a far from original story - basically Rocky with robots - but it's done really well and with heart and wit. Formulaic as it is, the story is still highly engaging and the robot 'chereography' is simply amazing. The fluidity and realism of the motion is really very impressive (Michael Bay, eat your heart out). Filmed without quick-cuts, the fight scenes highlight each and every punch and throw in metal-crunching detail. The main robot 'Atom' is highly likeable with his blue oval 'eyes' recalling to mind EVE from Wall·E. The way he 'shadows' his operator is really fun to watch and makes him seem almost more than just a dumb machine (a point which is alluded to but not explored).

Of course a movie with just cool robots and no humans worth rooting for (ahem), is much less fun. Fortunately we have Jackman giving a honest performance as an incredibly selfish man who seems to care about nothing other than himself but is still not beyond redemption. Evangeline Lily (forever Kate from Lost) plays Bailey, his long-suffering on-and-off romantic interest who still believes in him despite his massive screw-ups and cavalier attitude. Both fine performances, but the star of the show is undoubtedly scene-stealing little Dakota Goyo (last seen as a young Thor) who in his first big movie turns in a believable and natural performance. The character of Max is childish, audacious, stubborn, cheeky, rude, and at times too mature for his age. Goyo pulls this off while still coming across as a normal honest-to-goodness little boy secretly longing for his absent father's affection.

Everyone loves an underdog. Here we have a washed up boxer, an obsolete robot from a junkyard, and a half-orphaned little boy - underdogs if ever there were any. In the obligatory final fight, I had to resist the urge to punch imaginary opponents to cheer them on.

For a fighting good time, I give Real Steel eight out of ten baby seals.

iSad

It's a sad sad day today.

I'm writing this so I'll remember where I was when the tech world, and the world at large, grew a bit dimmer. Only yesterday, I was venting over the decidedly underwhelming product announcements from Apple, making my six-month wait to replace my lost iPod Touch pointless. This morning, while driving to work, I heard on the radio that Steve Jobs, recently CEO of Apple, had passed away the day before from pancreatic cancer, apparently not long after the iPhone 4S announcement. Suddenly, my fury over the unchanged iPod Touch wasn't so important any more. At work, I watched the tweets roll in from various people. It seemed unbelievable, although I guess it wasn't unexpected; just very ironic timing.

Now as I sit at home, going through all the tributes and reading about him, I feel oddly sad. I mean, I didn't know the man personally. I'm not even a big fan of his company's products or the walled-garden approach they so cheerfully promote. On the contrary, I've been a detractor, save for the iPod Touch (still a lovely toy). I guess I'm sad about the loss of a great mind, one of the great thinkers of our time. As one who takes great pleasure in the world of computing and technology, I appreciate Apple for popularizing personal computers. As one who loves gadgetry, I appreciate Apple for popularizing media players and pretty phones. As one who loves animation, I especially appreciate Jobs for creating Pixar, the pioneer and leader of CGI animation that has given me and millions of others so much enjoyment over the years.

Truth be told, Apple's products were never revolutionary, rather they were evolutionary, taking existing ideas and somehow turning them into products people wanted to buy. Jobs was certainly a marketing genius and his attention to detail was legendary. He has shaped a generation and like it or not, there's no denying his impact and contributions to pop culture.

At his commencement address in 2005 at Stanford, shortly after his cancer diagnosis, Jobs said:

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Inspirational words we should all be lucky enough to live by, though sadly most of us do not.

I will be buying a new iPod Touch in the coming weeks, my joy of buying new gadgetry surely bound to be coated with a tinge of sadness.

I found another quote from Steve Jobs:

“I want to put a ding in the universe.”

I'm pretty sure you did, Mr. Jobs. If not in the universe, at least on this planet.

RIP Steve Jobs, too soon.