The Sunday Morning Movie Presents: The Strange Case of Senor Computer (2000) Run Time 1h 20m

Welcome to the Sunday Morning Movie! Today we have a brilliant little film for you. It’s indie, low-budget, and a lot of fun!

Reviews:

The New York Times said:

The crudity of its fabrication — the grainy images seem the product of an amateur video camera, unenhanced by any attempt at lighting or composition — is contradicted by the genuine sophistication of much of its wit, which is at least worthy of a Comedy Central special.

and filmthreat compared it favorably to Spielberg’s A.I.:

With so much attention being lavished on Steven Spielberg’s robot fantasy “A.I.”, let’s take a few minutes to put the spotlight on a robot fantasy which offers an infinite amount of more wit and originality than “A.I.” despite being produced at a fraction of its budget: Tom Sawyer’s wonderfully bizarre and wholly original “The Strange Case of Señor Computer.” Rarely has an indie comedy worked so consistently in creating genuinely unique situations which pay off with an endless skein of intelligent satire and priceless dialogue.

I really love this film. It’s simple but hilarious and deals with some pretty sophisticated questions about what it means to be a human being. Enjoy!

Written and directed by Tom Sawyer

Notable actors: none

Spoilers!

Synopsis:

A nerdy, lonely scientist creates an artificially intelligent robot in his spare time. The robot, eager to explore the world and specifically human relations, embarks on a wild journey which includes mail order shopping sprees and an S&M relationship with a human woman who is into machines. Meanwhile, the scientist’s life shrinks as he fails at relationships and succumbs to the bottle.

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12 comments

  1. James Just

    I love your new Sunday Morning Movie feature! It’s been so much fun, please keep it up.

    Reply
    1. Wukchumni

      Agreed!

      Will watch this feature, and a recommendation…

      Walker with Ed Harris from 1987. Directed by Alex Cox (any relation to the NC commenter Alex Cox?) who did Repo Man, another favorite.

      It’s a time warping film the likes of which you’ve never seen, which starts as a period piece from the 1850’s and ends as an allegory to our involvement in Nicaragua in the 1980’s.

      Reply
      1. Alex Cox

        Dear Wuk
        I am one and the same. I don’t think Walker is ‘officially’ streaming anywhere, but I bet a search will lead the viewer to a copy online!
        And thank you, Semper. This is a great feature and I look forward to watching The Strange Case…

        Reply
        1. Wukchumni

          Alex, shiver me timbers…I’ve really enjoyed your work, perhaps more than Hollywood did, but what do they know?

          Loved the way you introduced modern items into Walker such as the PC on Vanderbilt’s desk and the horse and carriage that gets passed by big Mercedes coupe.

          Reply
    2. Paleobotanist

      If I might suggest a classic bit of Canadiana to better understand us Northerners: Roadkill, a B and W 1989 movie directed by Bruce McDonald with Valerie Buhagiar.

      Ramona, an intern at a Toronto record label, is sent to Sudbury by promoter Roy Seth to track down the label’s star band, Children of Paradise, after they disappear on tour. Because she doesn’t know how to drive, however, she takes a taxi driven by Buddy for the entire 400-km route.

      Once in Sudbury, she finds the band almost immediately, but then loses them again and subsequently tracks them all across Northern Ontario. On her way, she encounters a variety of odd characters — including an indie film director named Bruce Shack, who documents roadkill on the highway, and an aspiring serial killer named Russell, who has studied the profession thoroughly but just does not know where to start.

      Reply
    3. Keith Newman

      @James Just, 9:10
      I love it too!
      I watched Death Rides a Horse last week and loved it. I have always enjoyed spaghetti westerns including the Trinity series and others. Trinity is a take-off/spoof on the more mainstream spaghetti westerns. In mainstream spaghettis the characters are unwashed and their clothes very worn. In Trinity+ the characters are filthy and their clothes rags. The fast gun (Trinity) makes Clint Eastwood look like he’s operating in slow motion!

      Reply
  2. AG

    Some Otto Preminger:

    The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell
    1955
    100 min.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muOmQepJfQo
    “Gary Cooper, Elizabeth Montgomery, Rod Steiger, and Charles Bickford in Verdammt zum Schweigen (1955)
    A dramatization of the American general and his court martial for publically complaining about High Command’s dismissal and neglect of the aerial fighting forces.”

    Advice & Consent
    1962
    130 min.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bd4nf01ALrM
    “Robert Leffingwell is the president’s nominee for Secretary of State. Prior to his approval, he must go through a Senate investigation to determine if he’s qualified. Leading the Senate committee is idealistic Senator Brig Anderson, who soon finds himself unprepared for the opposition and political dirt that’s revealed, including Leffingwell’s past affiliations with a Communist organization. When Leffingwell testifies about his political leanings, he proves his innocence. Later, however, Anderson learns that he lied under oath and asks the president to withdraw Leffingwell from consideration, especially after the young senator and his wife begins receiving blackmail threats about a skeleton in his own closet.”

    Where the Sidewalk Ends
    1950
    95 min.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIUPsKCI2Uc
    “Det. Sgt. Mark Dixon wants to be something his old man wasn’t: a guy on the right side of the law. Will Dixon’s vicious nature get the better of him?”

    The Man with the Golden Arm
    1955
    120 min.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euLdVCGe2ws
    “A junkie must face his true self to kick his drug addiction.”

    Fallen Angel
    1945
    97 min.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIHcAkeSlP0
    “A slick con man arrives in a small town looking to make some money, but soon gets more than he bargained for.”

    Reply

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