VividSimon Simply Perfect

Executscan Expected more

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Prismark10 Robot & Frank stars Frank Langella as a former burglar now living alone and suffering from Alzheimer. His son James Marsden makes regular long round trips to visit him. He buys him a robot to look after him and frankly so he can pop down less often.Frank is a bit of a rebel, he still does petty shoplifting and we also learn he did long stretches of a prison time. Still his resentment for the robot soon turns to affection when he realises that he can use the robot to plan his next big burglary job against a man who humiliated him.Frank has befriended a local librarian Susan Sarandon, who seems to be new to the town and seems to be attracted to Frank's rebellious streak. Frank's daughter Liv Tyler also pops down to see him but she resents the robot helper but that is because she spends so little time with Frank and feels guilty about it.The film is set in a near future setting with automation gathering pace. It is also a mini heist film as Frank comes alive planning the burglary job and figuring that his robot helper is invaluable.The film is also about memory, as Frank is invigorated, the Robot knows it has the incriminating evidence of the burglary on its hard drive as the cops close in.There is a twist in the film concerning Frank's relationship with Sarandon but I am not sure Alzheimer and it effects on long term memory works in the way it is depicted here.Robot & Frank is a small scale but charming film with a stellar performance from Langella. I have known for years his reputation as a Shakespearean stage actor but he has been rather wasted in celluloid. Here he gives a subtle performance and is matched by other actors as well as the robot.

Di Bobi You'd think they had literally no funding to begin with, if they're willingly going with such a cheap, lousy-looking children's halloween costume-grade "robot" suit. When I heard Honda's ASIMO was the inspiration for the robot, I figured it wouldn't be too difficult or expensive to build a similarly-looking costume and put a child or a short person in it. I guess they've decided to go with the most fake, cheapest excuse for a robot suit ever, and you instantly know there's a person inside by the natural way that they move, and by how flimsy and cheap the suit is.You'd think they'd care about how their second main character looks. The acting isn't bad in any way, but when it comes to plot, it's long, boring, and sad. And not sad in a touching way, just forcefully sad to evoke an emotion in the viewers and trick them into thinking that they're watching something decent.I ended up not finishing watching it because it's moving at a ridiculously slow pace, while bringing nothing interesting to the plot. They've really been desperate to stretch the concept of "a dementia-riddled old person who has a robot he didn't want" over a whole movie.Not worth the watch.

Thomas Drufke Robot films are difficult to pull off. You have to create a story around robot(s) and presumably quite a few humans that feels fluid and natural. With Robot & Frank, the relationship between the two of them wasn't the problem. In fact, I think the best parts of the film were the two bickering or bantering back and forth. Well, I guess it was mostly just Frank doing the bickering, but still. I enjoyed the dynamic and their arc together, I just felt like the story around them and the characters they interact with wasn't appealing.Frank, played by Frank Langella, is an aging lonely man who doesn't really want anything to do with people who try and help him with his dementia. His son, played by James Marsden, buys him a robot who is supposed to help around the house. Of course, at first Frank is opposed to the idea but soon grows to enjoy the robot's company. He then decides to convince the robot to accompany him on a series of cat burglaries as he was once a convicted criminal. This was the side of the film that I just didn't buy into. It's a new and interesting take on the sci-fi genre, but I thought the execution was poor. I liked the development of Frank and his love interest's relationship, played by Susan Sarandon, was far more interesting and satisfying than what the robberies had to offer. I think if the film focused more on the trio of the robot, Frank, and her, the film would have resonated much more with me. Plus, I never really saw the need of having either of his two kids even in the film. Liv Tyler seemed like she didn't know what to do with her character and the lines she was given.So in all, Robot & Frank proved to be a disappointing film that had the potential to be great. Characters and story arcs ended up being unnecessary in an otherwise sweet tale of a man dealing with dementia. Hopefully Jake Schreier can pick it up for this summer's Paper Towns.+Langella +Early scenes with Robot -Third act left turn needed more build up -Liv Tyler felt out of place -Crime aspect wasn't appealing5.8/10

bob the moo In the near future, robots are affordable as domestic help and it is one of these that aging Frank finds himself with when his son Hunter decides he needs more permanent caring for. Although his memory is fading and he occasionally loses himself, Frank remembers who he used to be – which was a burglar. With Robot keen to set schedules and activities for Frank, Frank helps by suggesting lock-picking, casing potential places for robbery and so on, thus drawing the automation into his unlikely world of crime.This is a nice but very light film throughout, and it is an odd one because I both enjoyed it for what it did while also wishing it had put a bit more work in to make itself something even better. There is a nice sense of aging (a process Hollywood films are rarely comfortable with) and it is connected to a charming if unconvincing story of minor robberies and companionship; it all works well for 90 minutes and I enjoyed the interplay between the two title characters as they go. Ultimately the messages and characters are quite touching but it is all a bit too tidy and safe in many ways – it is good to have the themes there, but it could have done with a bit more rough edges, a bit more heart and improvements in the general material.The cast certainly deserved it. Langella gets the best of the material and he works very well in his character, bringing an air of pathos to it which I enjoyed and also giving out grumpy charm with ease. Sarsgaard's voice works well as there is enough character to suggest personality but not so much that you forget it is a robot. Marsden, Tyler, Sarandon and Sisto all provide solid support but with no clear reason why so many famous names and faces signed up for this specific film – they do feel a bit distracting by virtue of who they all are.Overall it is still a pleasing and entertaining film with a bit of heart in there too; it is just a bit too slight at the end of the day and I would have liked it to have mixed the charm and humor with something a bit rougher around the edges and with more of a challenge to the viewer than the gentle accepting nod that we arrived at.