EPISODE 114 — Runaway

[Auden 1809]

- Paul mentioned that Gene Simmons' audition consisted of him staring at Michael Crichton for a minute without making any expressions. I feel like this audition process is flawed. Anyone would come off as a psychopathic killer if they stared at you for a sustained period of time expressionlessly.

 

- In her young life Penny had been a dancer, a data programmer and a cop. She also worked in construction. Only Barbie had a more multifarious career.

 

- There's a sort of Chekov's retinal scanner situation going on. When a movie makes a big show of a retinal scanner, someone should be enucleated (not that a stolen eyeball would work IRL). Instead we had Luther using a fake eyeball. Never mind that the technology of making artificial eyes that can fool retinal scanners is way more advanced than the technology behind a mildly souped up Hexbug with an acid-filled needle stuck in it, but those two are different technologies. Luther, and this movie, is all about robotics. Bioengineering was not once mentioned.

 

- Lois should have died. A movie with bad robots that kill is more effective if a good robot dies. And to make the death scene even more moving Lois should make an emotional speech before she dies. Something like, "I've...done things you people wouldn't even believe. Assembled IKEA furniture without having a nervous breakdown. I got the exact amount of ice needed at every party. All those..moments...will be lost in time, like spaghetti sauce...in...drain. Time...to die..."

 

- Trust June's beautiful mind to think of taxes in a movie about robots run amok. I'm with June in spirit on this. The public should not have have to foot the clean-up bill of corporations' screw-ups (booooo, bailouts). But I understand why the police are in charge of catching robots. A police's job is not just to apprehend criminals but also to protect people. The robots in Runaway explode all the time (one of the people on the farm refused to catch the agribots because he was afraid the robots' fuel cells would blow up in his face). They are practically bombs that can turn a farmland into Baghdad. The malfunctioning robots can be stopped seemingly only by jackets and lasers. I wouldn't want the private security team of a corporation running around with laser guns. Public safety shouldn't be in the hands of corporation mercenaries. I imagine those companies that make robots that endanger the public will be paying millions in fines, penalties and reparations to federal and state governments and victims of their products. Like how the Justice Department is making BP pay billions of dollars for the Deep Horizon oil spill.

 

- The time suck that is TV Tropes has a page on Runaway. My favorite tv trope used in the move is "Painfully Slow Projectile: The homing bullets of Luther's gun. From the bullets' point-of-view they travel only slightly faster than their running targets."

[FisterRoboto 7499]

Well, this is just goddamn embarrassing...

 

This is part of a cut erotic dream sequence that Ramsay had, right?

[AstronautDown 282]

Hi all,

 

Sorry if someone mentioned this already, it's a bit hard to comb through the forums given the scheer volume of posts. Just wanted to point out that the character of Nathalie Emmanuel in Furious 7 is named, simply, Ramsey. She is a hacker.

[Cameron H. 23786]

This is part of a cut erotic dream sequence that Ramsay had, right?

 

Ramsay's erotic dream, my erotic dream...six of one, half a dozen of the other.

 

I just wish Kirstie would get the Hell out of the way...

[Sean Connery's Trophy Wife 1]

Omission: When they discussed the scene in the bathroom, I was surprised they did not mention the GASOLINE SOAKED POLICE UNIFORM. After the spider robot kills the female officer in the stall, her body catches fire and shoots sparks. For some reason, the male police officer checking on her is shocked by the spider robot, falls down, and also catches fire, even though he's several feet away and it makes no sense for the small flames to travel that far. There was no reason for him to catch fire, unless his uniform was insanely flammable. He lit up like a dead Christmas tree.

 

Did Michael Creighton just really want to make sure we knew that guy was dead? Until he caught fire, there was a possibility that he survived. Once he's lying there completely still and on fire, you're pretty sure he's a goner.

 

I did not screen capture that and now my rental period is over. I did, however, screen capture the stuffed dog that's visible when Ramsay goes into the house with the first killer robot/baby. I still own one of these stuffed dogs! They're called Le Mutts. I was more excited by the stuffed dog than anything else in this movie.

[Cockney Mackem 514]

Tom Selleck's sidekick is played by the lovely Cynthia Rhodes, who also featured as dancer/doormat in Staying Alive. Her character's back story in Runaway is that she used to be a dancer. So what if this is actually a sequel to Staying Alive with her as the same character??

[Cameron H. 23786]

Tom Selleck's sidekick is played by the lovely Cynthia Rhodes, who also featured as dancer/doormat in Staying Alive. Her character's back story in Runaway is that she used to be a dancer. So what if this is actually a sequel to Staying Alive with her as the same character??

 

So, when does this fall on the timeline?

 

 

Obviously it was after her time as a dance instructor in the Catskills, but is it before or after Satan's Alley?

[Cockney Mackem 514]

 

So, when does this fall on the timeline?

 

 

Obviously it was after her time as a dance instructor in the Catskills, but is it before or after Satan's Alley?

 

There is NOTHING after Satan's Alley

[Newoikkin22 0]

I do not understand how the police let the reporters put a live tv stream of tom seleck taking the exploding bullet out of girl cops arm? What if it exploded and blew them both up for everyone to see?

 

How did Gene Simmons just stroll into the police station when he's like the number one bad guy they are after? And how did he have Tom's eyeball scan?!

 

The 'human speed' button in the elevator was too much. When it came back down to the level Gene was on and he was just dead starring at Tom, I think that was supposed to be menacing, but I could not stop laughing and had to stop the movie.

 

Why did nobody react to Kirsti getting stabbed in the neck and dropped in the pool which was instantly filled with blood?

 

This movie was insane.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

I just listened to last week's bonus CBB episode. Jon Gabrus had a pretty good Runaway reference when Scott brought up Tom Selleck and his water issues (it's at about 1:03, but the whole setup starts at the hour mark. Y'know what, fuck it. Just listen to the whole episode. It's pretty great.)

[KeelanDElliott 13]

Okay, I loved watching this movie. Had a great time. Had a couple of thoughts that I haven't seen mentioned yet and weren't in the episode.

 

1) The cornfield robots are maybe 2 feet tall and 2 feet wide? If that? One shot shows the runaway bot as small enough to fit between two rows of corn. Yet, when the chopper arrives carrying Ramsey, they're tracking the robot via this swath of destroyed corn that has to be at least 4-5 rows of corn across to be seen from the height that helicopter would be flying at, either the robots needed to be way bigger (which would have at least made them seem dangerous enough to necessitate a call) or the swath needed to be way, way smaller.

 

2) The baby that Ramsey saves. Who the hell is taking care of it? The mom and sister have been killed by the robot with the Magnum, and later we see the father holed up in the hotel, with the baby clearly not there. So that piece of garbage dad sold out his company to Gene Simmons and let CPS scoop up his kid after the death of his wife and daughter. Father of the year there.

 

3) The robot with the magnum.....wtf. Among other issues with the scene, no one has mentioned the fact that Ramsey dodges two or three shots from the robot because of the loading sound of a shotgun..... but the robot is supposed to have a magnum. Magnums don't have a cocking sound, they have a rotating chamber. I literally had the subtitles on and it says "Shotgun loading" and it confused the hell out of me cause they'd only mentioned a .357 magnum and I thought, oh shit the robot has an arsenal Ramsey doesn't even know about in there! Nope, just bad script supervision, why not just give the robot a shotgun?

 

This movie was so much fun to watch, I think my favorite scene was the random insertion of the psychic, it blew my mind when she showed up. I thought maybe Ramsey was going to team up with her for the rest of the movie for something? How great would it have been if Ramsey was actually a robot and he ended up needing to team up with the psychic because he couldn't think outside the box due to his robot programming?

[oz the malefic 18]

Lois was truly the worst babysitter/caretaker I have ever seen.

 

The first time we are introduced to it (her), there is nothing but talk of how the son wouldn't go to bed, nor would he accept eating decent food.

 

DO YOUR DAMN JOB LOIS! Take some control!

[Auden 1809]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfFCGTdYb0U

I know this is a comedy bit; I don't know why, but the sexbot HP-DP-69B AKA Little Button Puss makes me sad. I feel nothing for Lois though.

[broncotruck11 250]

I know there are a ton of movies they need to do on this show like Terminator Genysis and the last Fast and the Furious movie but....I just watched the trailer for this after seeing the movie a long time ago and it's fkn nuts.

[Lando 2019]

Well, this is just goddamn embarrassing...

 

 

Is it just me or is does that blue circle, about crotch level look like it opens up? I think we just figured out how Ramsay and Lois get it on.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

So, the robot with the revolver at the beginning has been brought up a few times (both in the forums and in the ep), but I want to bring something up that I mentioned in the minisode thread again. When Ramsay first goes into the bedroom, the door to the bathroom (where the robot is kickin' it) is closed. The door opening is what makes him drop to the floor right before the robot shoots.

 

So, that means that not only does that clunky-ass claw have enough dexterity to hold and operate a firearm, it can also open a goddamn door and fire half a second later!

[klemjohansen 748]

So, the robot with the revolver at the beginning has been brought up a few times (both in the forums and in the ep), but I want to bring something up that I mentioned in the minisode thread again. When Ramsay first goes into the bedroom, the door to the bathroom (where the robot is kickin' it) is closed. The door opening is what makes him drop to the floor right before the robot shoots.

 

So, that means that not only does that clunky-ass claw have enough dexterity to hold and operate a firearm, it can also open a goddamn door and fire half a second later!

 

Even if the door was closed the whole time, Ramsay (RAMSAY!) had to know the robot would shoot through the bathroom door. Classic reverse-Pistorius, bro.

 

Also, Kirstie Alley's "get a load of this shit!" expression in that photo is fucking priceless.

[Lando 2019]

So, the robot with the revolver at the beginning has been brought up a few times (both in the forums and in the ep), but I want to bring something up that I mentioned in the minisode thread again. When Ramsay first goes into the bedroom, the door to the bathroom (where the robot is kickin' it) is closed. The door opening is what makes him drop to the floor right before the robot shoots.

 

So, that means that not only does that clunky-ass claw have enough dexterity to hold and operate a firearm, it can also open a goddamn door and fire half a second later!

 

If you watch the video it's even more confusing because the arm appears to be at a fixed height is at best only halfway to the height of the knob.

 

[FisterRoboto 7499]

Can we also talk about how totally unimpressive that laser gun is? I mean, all three Star Wars movies had already come out by this point, which had nice, thick blaster shots. Hell, even the phasers from the original Star Trek are more impressive than this shitty laser pointer.

[klemjohansen 748]

Can we also talk about how totally unimpressive that laser gun is? I mean, all three Star Wars movies had already come out by this point, which had nice, thick blaster shots. Hell, even the phasers from the original Star Trek are more impressive than this shitty laser pointer.

 

It's basically laser mace. I think it has a whistle attached to it and comes with a fanny pack.

[Entering the Bone Zone 81]

Did anyone else notice that when Ramsay brings Thompson home for the first time there was a box of C-3PO's cereal on the counter?

 

I know that this movie takes place at an unspecified point in the future, but those were taken off the market in 1984 (or thereabouts). Throw that stuff away, it's got to be stale as shit!

 

Sorry, I can't get a screen cap of it, but I can provide this:

 

 

Why on Earth was this taken off the market??

[SensiiMiller 29]

Wait. I watched a movie about Joan Jett. The acting was so robotic, it took until the mention of Tom Selleck as acop before I started realizing Iit was a different movie.

[Joe Lerini 7329]

Wait. I watched a movie about Joan Jett. The acting was so robotic, it took until the mention of Tom Selleck as acop before I started realizing Iit was a different movie.

I enjoyed that movie, as well.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Riddle me this:

 

A Sailor, A Man, and A Dodo,

 

All joined together and coated with rime,

 

Tell me, who was the fool that fell

 

for a diabolical ploy of mine?

[sixgunbuddyguy 99]

I'm a bit late to this party, but I'll see if I can add anything. Despite the badness, I applaud this movie for its, shall we say, asimovian take on blade runner? There's something interesting about the less exciting world of these cops dealing with more run of the mill robot situations. It's actually a lot like the recent movie Automata, except that was a much more believable insurance adjuster inspecting claims. The every day reality of widespread robot use in the world is usually overlooked.

 

Really looking into the robots though, why are these red chips necessary? Any computer is already completely dependant on its programming, so why couldn't any robot be programmed to kill someone? They already know to check robots for "modifications" so they quickly found these red banded microchips anyway. Are normal robots imbued with Asimov's 3 laws of robotics? This would have added a lot of depth of to the movie, and only takes a line or two.

 

Also, how would every person have a distinct heat pattern??? Bodies are constantly changing temperature! Any time you get hot or cold the pattern would change, or when a body part is being used! And how exactly are these bullets being set to the heat pattern? So the gun has an infrared sight that is hooked up to an interface with the bullet so that when the trigger is pulled, whoever is in the sigh gets imprinted onto the bullet? Obviously you couldn't program them ahead of time because gene Simmons uses them on people he never would have known he needed to shoot.