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Tamlyn Tomita, James Saito, Wai Ching Ho, Cindy Cheung, Greg Pak ... see more see more... , Bill Coelius , Julienne Hanzelka Kim , Sab Shimono , Eisa Davis , Glenn Kubota , Ron Domingo , Olivia Oguma , Tim Kang , Vin Knight , Gina Quintos , Karen Tse Lee , Norma Fire , Karen Tsen Lee

Greg Pak directs Robot Stories, a feature film made up of four separate vignettes set in the near future. In "My Robot Baby," Maria (Tamlyn Tomita) and Roy (James Saito) must take care of a robot baby... read more read more... before they can adopt a real one. In "The Robot Fixer," a car accident puts Wilson in a coma. His mother, Bernice Chin (Wai Ching Ho), tries to connect with him by repairing his old collection of toy robots. Her obsessive quest to find missing robot parts is observed by her daughter Grace (Cindy Cheung). In "Machine Love," a Sprout G9 iPerson (Greg Pak) is introduced to an office environment. In "Clay," sculptor John Lee (Sab Shimono) refuses to get scanned, which would merge his memory with a collective consciousness. He struggles to maintain his humanity against the judgement of his son Tommy (Ron Domingo) and wife Helen (Eisa Davis). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

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46% liked it

1,307 ratings

Critics

72% liked it

43 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.

Directed by: Greg Pak

Release Date: February 13, 2004

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DVD Release Date: February 15, 2005

Stats: 60 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (60)

  • paulsandberg
    January 18, 2011
    paulsandberg
    Robot Stories is an indie film that apparently had a budget of about five dollars. As the title indicates, there are four short stories, dealing with artificial intelligence in one form or another.

    There is very little heavy lifting on display here; no deep sci-fi ala Philip ... read moreK. Dick or even pondering the ethics of Robotic Code, or, except for the last tale, any pondering of morality or the soul, as one gets with Asimov. Belying the title, these series of stories are concerned more with simple human elements, and really, robotics, or AI have very little to do with it.

    For example: the first story, entitled Robot Baby, deals with parenting more than anything. A young, successful career couple decides to have a child - only in this future scenario the couple must first tend and nurture a robot baby. There is a nice twist at the end of this story, which makes the viewing viable, but really, without the twist the story is very "been there, seen that".

    The second story is so very "so what" that I'm not even going to give it a second thought, while the third has only a "cute" factor going for it, along with one of two decent performance in the film (oddly by the writer/director himself - hmmm, perhaps the entire project was merely a way for him to show off his robotic shtick).

    The fourth story has a bit of gravitas to it, containing the other bright performance, in a tale dealing with questions of the soul and the definition of humanity. Here there is a bit of artistry in the filmmaking, but otherwise the stories are all very straight forward, and the direction and cinematography echo that.

    Overall, nothing to write home about, or even truly recommend.
  • gator681
    April 14, 2006
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]"Robot Stories" is a collection of four short films written and directed by Greg Pak.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]1. My Robot Baby: Marcia(Tamlyn Tomita) and Roy(James Saito) are a young couple seeking to adopt a baby but first... read more they are given a robot baby in order to discern what kind of parents they would make.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]2. The Robot Fixer: a mother(Wai Ching Ho) seeks to reach through to her comatose son through his old toys.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]3. Machine Love: an android, Archie(Greg Pak), is employed at a company as a computer programmer.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]4. Clay: John Lee(Sab Shimono), a sculptor, learns he is dying and must now decide whether or not he wants his brain digitally scanned for posterity.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]All four stories are touching and poignant tales about the human condition. It helps that they all emphasize character over technology.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]Note: Greg Pak is also a very good comic book writer.[/font]
  • robotbling
    December 4, 2011
    robotbling
    Rather than making one really good short film, director Greg Pak decided to film all four of his robot-themed short stories and compile them into one film.

    The first story, My Robot Baby, follows a couple as they take home a robot baby to show they are responsible enough to ha... read morendle a real one. It's not a bad concept for a robot-themed film, and is a plausible scenario that will be familiar to anyone who had to take care of an egg for a sex ed class. As it turns out, the robot baby looks quite a bit like a football-sized egg with cardboard eyes stuck onto it. Despite the cheesy props the story does contain some interesting ideas, like when the robot's "mother" reprograms the bot so that it automatically takes care of itself. Unfortunately the concept was better explored and in much greater detail in Steven Spielberg's A.I., and it quickly dissolves into a silly suspense film when the baby robot runs amok late at night.

    The second story, The Robot Fixer, isn't really about robots at all. A distraught mother is visiting her comatose son, who has been hit by a car. While cleaning up his apartment, she and her daughter find his collection of robot toys. The mother decides to complete her son's collection in a symbolic bid to put her son back together. By the time this one was over I was ready to stop watching this turd, so I did.

    This review is a repost from my website: www.plasticpals.com
  • bomber4lyf3
    October 29, 2011
    bomber4lyf3
    A collection of 4 short stories all revolving around robots (as the title implies). The stories have a kind of Twilight Zone feel to them but none are very good. My favorite was the third story, a tale of two robots who seek love. Definitely not the most original story but it was... read more interesting.

    Each story is about the length of a TV Show minus the commercials.

    Acting: 6/10
    Story: 6/10
    Originalality: 7/10
    Soundtrack: 4/10
    Characters: 4/10
    Overall Rating: 5.4/10

View All Robot Stories Reviews

Critic Reviews

Colin Covert
January 6, 2005
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Robot Stories doesn't advance the boundaries of imaginative fiction. It's The Twilight Zone reimagined by Lifetime TV. Full Review

Geoff Pevere
December 3, 2004
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

Although uneven and tentative, Robot Stories is sufficiently thoughtful, provocative and original to make you wonder what Greg Pak might do with access to better parts. Full Review

Nancy Churnin
May 13, 2004
Nancy Churnin, Dallas Morning News

Mr. Pak accomplishes the rare feat of making the viewer think and wonder as he sheds light on little corners of the heart. Full Review

Steven Rea
April 30, 2004
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

These are tales from the heart -- pulsing to a high-tech beat.

Peter Hartlaub
April 16, 2004
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

Robot Stories is a both a throwback and, hopefully, a sign of things to come. Full Review

Manohla Dargis
March 12, 2004
Manohla Dargis, Los Angeles Times

There's no pleasure in giving new directors bad reviews and it's especially unpleasant when what's wrong with their work isn't a clumsy performance or two, a sagging second act or a repugnant worldvie... Full Review

Frank Scheck
March 1, 2004
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter

Impressive if modest debut effort.

Wesley Morris
February 27, 2004
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

The work of a feeling thinker who understands how to communicate sincerity without giving you a headache, a cavity, or a lecture. Full Review

Mark Jenkins
February 20, 2004
Mark Jenkins, Washington Post

Slight and unsurprising.

Scott Brown
February 19, 2004
Scott Brown, Entertainment Weekly

The collection can be summed up in four words I never thought I'd see together: science-fiction chamber music. Full Review

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