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Movies / On DVD / Robot Stories
Robot Stories

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Robot Stories (2004)

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Reviews Counted:41

Fresh:29

Rotten:12

Average Rating:6.6/10

Consensus: Although its 4 stories vary in quality, Robot Stories is still worth a look for Twilight Zone fans.

Runtime: 85 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Theatrical Release:Feb 13, 2004 Limited

Synopsis: Set in the near future, "Robot Stories" tells stories of human beings struggling to connect with each other in a world of mechanical office workers and robot babies. Featuring film stars Tamlyn... Set in the near future, "Robot Stories" tells stories of human beings struggling to connect with each other in a world of mechanical office workers and robot babies. Featuring film stars Tamlyn Tomita ("The Joy Luck Club," "Picture Bride") and Sab Shimono ("The Big Hit," "Jackie Chan Adventures") in four stories, the film explores love, death, family... and robots. The stories include: "My Robot Baby" Before they can adopt a human child, young professionals Marcia (Tamlyn Tomita) and Roy (James Saito) must prove themselves by taking care of a robot baby. But when Roy leaves on a business emergency and the robot begins to malfunction, Marcia must confront her fears of the machine - and of motherhood itself. "The Robot Fixer" Bernice Chin (Wai Ching Ho) has never really known her estranged son Wilson. Now a car accident has put Wilson into a coma. And the only clue he's left behind is a box of twenty-year-old toy robots. As her daughter Grace (Cindy Cheung) presses her to deal with Wilson's deteriorating condition, Bernice becomes obsessed with Wilson's toys, as if repairing the robots will help her connect with her unreachable son. "Machine Love" The latest component of the digital office, the Sprout G9 iPerson is a walking, talking coding machine programmed to fit seamlessly into its work environment by learning from its human co-workers. But when he finds himself in an oppressive office surrounded by dysfunctional people, a G9 named Archie (Greg Pak) learns just how much he needs love. "Clay" In John Lee's world, technology allows people to scan their memories - and thus their consciousness - into computers. John (Sab Shimono), an old sculptor, struggles to complete his design for a major public square project, but his body is falling apart. His doctor, his son Tommy (Ron Domingo), and his digitized wife Helen (Eisa Davis) all tell him the same thing - it's time to get scanned. Then he'll merge with all human knowledge and experience, achieving perfect love, perfect art. But John resists, fighting for the right to struggle and die. [More]

Starring: Tamlyn Tomita, Sab Shimono

Starring: Tamlyn Tomita, Sab Shimono

Director: Greg Pak

Director: Greg Pak
Screenwriter: Greg Pak
Producer: Kim Ima, Greg Pak

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 16, 2004

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Robot Stories

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
03/01/04
Boston Phoenix
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
04/02/04
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

It's a confident first feature from director-to-watch Greg Pak, one that pulls off sci-fi ideas with a lo-fi budget.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
04/16/04
E! Online
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
07/21/05
Houston Chronicle

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat

Each story has a unique style and something profound and/or wonderful to say. The players might be artificial, but the human drama is real.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
02/13/04
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

The title encourages us to think of Robot Stories as the cinematic equivalent of a book of short stories, and I'd say a book in which half the stories are excellent is not a bad bet.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
01/06/05
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Robot Stories doesn't advance the boundaries of imaginative fiction. It's The Twilight Zone reimagined by Lifetime TV.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
01/06/05
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Suffers a bit too much from Twilight Zone-itis

Full Review Source: Cinemania | comment Comment
02/09/04
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Cinemania

Pak sets himself up as a filmmaker to watch, a creator of intelligent, thoughtful stories that refuse to be contained by traditional definition.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
02/10/05
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

The last is the most touching, but all are skillfully made.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
02/12/04
David Sterritt
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor

The four stories expertly touch on the human side of relationships, even when using robots, toys or uploaded memories to get their points across.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
01/10/04
Doug Brunell
Doug Brunell
Film Threat

Greg Pak's fantasy anthology piece, which details the ways robots have complicated the lives of humans, has a dexterous sense of wonder that nonetheless leaves the film feeling a bit detached.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
02/12/04
Elvis Mitchell
Elvis Mitchell
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Though mildly involving, the feature film suffers from having too few distinctions among its different parts.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
02/21/04
Eric Monder
Eric Monder
Film Journal International

Impressive if modest debut effort.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
03/01/04
Frank Scheck
Frank Scheck
Hollywood Reporter

Clearly the work of a beginning filmmaker, modestly budgeted and variable in effect, but it shows promise.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
05/25/04
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Although uneven and tentative, Robot Stories is sufficiently thoughtful, provocative and original to make you wonder what Greg Pak might do with access to better parts.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
12/03/04
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This collection of four thinly connected pieces possesses an immediate relevance grounded in the everyday tension between the real and the artificial and ever-narrowing distinction between the two.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
03/12/04
Glenn Whipp
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News

The stories, which range in length from 20 to 25 minutes, have an unhurried pace but they never dawdle and never bore.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
02/13/04
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
03/16/04
Jason Anderson
Jason Anderson
eye WEEKLY
 
 
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