Amelia 2.0

If the teenage son of the owner of a local news station had to do a term paper for a first year philosophy class, and the news station owner decided it might get a better grade if it was a video, and told the crew at the station to make it, the video might come out something like "Amelia 2.0".

It's difficult to compare it to a movie or even a TV show because nowadays those almost always have relatively skilled professionals working on them, even if they have no talent. Regardless, the video addresses an interesting topic, but not in any meaningful way, and without the usual dramatic elements of fiction, even at the level of a docudrama or biopic.

It does have some competent professional actors, but they weren't given actual characters to portray, so it's sort of like they walked in off the street and were given lines to read. The editing was pretty tight though.

This was a movie made on a low budget, and I feel they did a fantastic job. I feel the strongest acting came from the supporting roles, but overall, great acting. Some people classify this as a science fiction movie, which it is, however, I feel the underlying message of love and existence and morality is what is meant to be delivered through the science fiction setting. It really does inspire you to think about which side of the issue you stand on. In my case, I changed my viewpoint a few different times throughout the movie. I felt the sound design could have use a little more support and a little slow-going in the first 10 minutes or so of the movie, but I would watch this movie again, and recommend it to my friends. Hats off to everyone involved in making this film. You all did a fantastic job.

Amelia has a debilitating illness, her mind works well but her body is quickly becoming non-functional. At the same time a technology company in Cedar Rapids is working on a far out project, the intent is to take a mind like Amelia's and place it into a constructed body. Married only a few months, her loving husband is mostly at a loss for what to do. But convinced it is his only chance to remain with Amelia he signs all the paperwork and the conversion begins.

The science and technology is secondary here, our own logic says this can never happen but who really knows? This movie is more concerned with the ethics of doing something like this. Do we have souls? And would a soul remain with this type of hybrid? Would the far right evangelical politicians move to prevent this type of work? If the conversion is successful would the husband (or wife) be able to accept this new being?

Good watch, it makes you think, and overall it is very well made and acted. At home on DVD from my public library, my wife skipped, not her type of movie.

All in all, please just suspend disbelief. Doesn't get into the technical aspects of creating a simulacrum, but instead goes more after the moral implications of doing so. The choices are more on the order of black or white, not really much in between. And leave out the husband. He's there, and not really all that sympathetic, or quite mentally stable. Likely could have been better, but it seems to be more about moralizing than much else. The omnipresent, "if we can do it, should we?"

When I found "Amelia 2.0" I didn't even read the synopsis for the movie, nor did I know anything about the movie, I just picked it up and decided to give it a go.

First of all, I must say that writer Rob Merritt definitely came up with a very interesting and entertaining story here. And better yet, it is a story which raises a lot of questions in the audience as you view it, in terms of your own views on the issues being dealt with throughout the movie. And for a movie to be able to raise that kind of questions, that is something that I find rather impressive.

The special effects and CGI effects in "Amelia 2.0" were quite good and really worked in favor of the movie. And for a Sci-Fi movie of this nature then having special effects is definitely a plus. If the movie had less impressive CGI, then the movie would have been much less enjoyable or convincing.

"Amelie 2.0" has an ensemble of good acting talents, which were for the most part new faces to me. And I do enjoy watching new actors and actresses on the screen, as there are no associations to other previous characters linked to the performers. So that was a definite plus in my book. The actors and actresses in the movie were doing good jobs with their given roles and characters, and that was working well in favor of the movie.

Director Adam Orton did a great job in bringing writer Rob Merritt's story to life on the screen.

The characters in the movie are quite well-rounded and they have very distinct personalities and traits. And the dialogue throughout the course of the movie was well written and delivered by the various actors and actresses.

The movie makes use of way too many short shots of random and pointless images that serves absolutely no purpose to the movie, aside from being fillers. That was particularly true for the first 10-15 minutes of the movie.

I really enjoyed how this movie raises some issues and questions about humanity, the ability to replace the body in parts or as a whole, and how the soul fits into all of this if you take a religious stand on it. But also how traditional and inbred thinking stands in the way of technological advancement and the fear of embracing new and innovating things that break up with how things traditionally are and have been for a long, long time.

I have a feeling that this movie might be very underrated and slip under most people's radar. However, I can most strongly recommend that you take the time to sit down to watch "Amelia 2.0" if you have the chance.

The ending of the movie was not really one that did the movie or the storyline much justice, and it felt just like it was a very, very wrong way to end the movie.