Read Microsoft starts boiling the Copilot frog: It's not a soup you want to drink at any price by Rupert Goodwins

I work with data in the UK public sector. For me, the accuracy of that data is paramount. I’ve certainly been in roles where the accuracy of the data was an unwelcome fact. While that’s not the case in my current role, I do have general concerns about the employment of AI in this area. This is along the lines of:

“We know it’s not completely accurate, but we also know no-one is really looking at it too closely, so what is the value of being accurate?”

Watched Source Code (2011) by an author from letterboxd.com
When decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens wakes up in the body of an unknown man, he discovers he's part of a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train.

This review may contain spoilers.

I liked this more on previous viewings.

Now I can’t get passed the fact that Colter now lives as Shaun but knows nothing about him… how the heck is he going to live like that? Seems more like a nightmare than a happy ending.

Also, has Shaun just been erased from existence? Is poor Shaun still in there somewhere? Like, in the sunken place?

Can we have a Source Code 2 where Shaun tries to get out and it plays a bit like Moon Knight with time jumps?

★★★½ (contains spoilers)

My review

Watched Cloverfield (2008) by an author from letterboxd.com
Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives.

I remember seeing this in the cinema and it was a stand-out experience. It was so loud and disorientating. Clearly watching it on the small screen doesn’t give you that but my previous colours any rewatch.

Since people have written some excellent reviews here talking about 9/11, I won’t rehash those. Although I still think the best post-9/11 film is The Dark Knight.

I’ll just talk about the monster. My wife says this movie is not “scary” once you see the monster. I completely disagree. All the tension comes from the struggle to survive, and the fear from a complete breakdown of security. In the latter parts of this movie, death is constantly a breath away and you have a real sense that survival is mostly blind luck.

In today’s world, I imagine that’s how it feels to live in places like Gaza or parts of Ukraine. And I think this demonstrates that the monster itself is pretty incidental. The monster is just the catalyst.

(I will just add that I love the monster, it’s great)

★★★★

My review

Watched War of the Worlds (2005) by an author from letterboxd.com
Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his teenage son and young daughter for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down.

I liked this a lot more, and it “worked” a lot better, in those years post-9/11. Most notably the powerlessness of the US military and the expansive threat to the average person.

However, I’m not sure we really meet an average person in this. It’s extremely Cruise-centric and thus Ray has an air of invincibility. This is so pronouced you never really feel like Ray might be in danger. Maybe that’s a good thing as it helps focus our concerns on his children, in the same way Ray begins to.

But it is refreshing that when we first meet Ray he’s a more than a bit of a dick. He’s superficial and highly priviledged (in his own way). We gradually see that stripped away and Cruise totally sells it. However, it’s not anything we haven’t come to expect from him, so…

★★★

My review

Watched Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021) by an author from letterboxd.com
When single mom Callie and her two kids Trevor and Phoebe arrive in a small Oklahoma town, they begin to discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.

I liked a lot about it but it all felt very “safe”. Did not, however, ruin my childhood.

★★★

My review

Watched The Wall (2017) by an author from letterboxd.com
An American sniper and his spotter engage in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with an Iraqi sniper.

There are many great war films and this isn’t one of them. This movie has nothing to say about, well, anything. Unless… unless it’s US grunts are actually pretty dumb and “the baddies” are much smarter than other movies might lead you to believe…

The most notable moment in the whole film was when he opened the Skittles, and they were all smooshed into one sticky pancake. I fully expected him to roll some out onto his hand like a TV ad.

It was OK, though. I’ve docked half a star for the awful ending, which neither delivers a satisfying conclusion nor is very well executed.

★★½

My review

Watched Us (2019) by an author from letterboxd.com
Husband and wife Gabe and Adelaide Wilson take their kids to their beach house expecting to unplug and unwind with friends. But as night descends, their serenity turns to tension and chaos when some shocking visitors arrive uninvited.

This review may contain spoilers.

It takes some skill to telegraph a twist in the first ten minutes and still deliver revelations 2 minutes before the credits and, in fact 30 minutes after the credits, when you’re trying to write your review…

★★★★ (contains spoilers)

My review