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The online film magazine Combustible Celluloid offers new movie reviews, DVD reviews, film reviews, actor interviews, actress interviews, director interviews, film books and all things cinema related for the thoughtful and passionate. Online for ten years! Over 3000 reviews!

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Robot Stories (2004)

Rating: 3 Stars (out of 4)

Touching the Droid

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Robot Stories on DVD

The creepy and intriguing Robot Stories tells four "Twilight Zone"-like tales of robots interacting with humans in various ways. The first segment (starring Tamlyn Tomita) has a couple preparing to adopt a child by practicing with a robot-baby. The second (and best) has a mother trying to revive her comatose child by restoring his childhood "Micronauts"-like toys. The third follows a lifelike worker robot (played by writer/director Greg Pak) in an actual workplace and the fourth looks at what happens in a world when your brain can be digitally copied and stored in a computer after you die. The film's greatest strength is that it keeps up a consistent tone though all four stories -- not an easy thing to do with compilation films. Robot Stories originally screened at the 2003 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.

Starring: Tamlyn Tomita, James Saito, Wai Ching Ho, Cindy Cheung, Greg Pak, Bill Coelius, Julienne Hanzelka Kim, Sab Shimono, Elsa Davis, Vivian Bang
Written by: Greg Pak
Directed by: Greg Pak
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 85 minutes
Date: April 16, 2003