SOME OF YOU MIGHT REMEMBER, I have a love/hate relationship with technology. When the devices are working properly, they can be terrific; but when they aren’t, they are such a pain. Driving to the office today, I was listening to a dance mix through my wireless speaker. Suddenly, the music cut off; I looked at my device and tapped pause. Just when I did it, the speaker turned off which is something it has never done. I decided to turn off my IPOD, wait several seconds before turning it back on, then turned on the wireless speaker. Everything was fine, like nothing had happened. It is stuff like this that drives me crazy. I cannot tell you how many times I have had IT personnel in my office because of an issue I was having with my computer and they will say, “I have never seen that before.” At first, I thought it was me, that I was doing something wrong; but, I was doing the same thing that my co-workers were doing, yet getting a different response. This is one of the reasons I never buy a new electronic device when it first becomes available. I already have a sense of mistrust; I do not want to get something that might reveal a couple of bugs from its initial use in the general population.      MY MISTRUST SURPRISES ME CONSIDERING HOW much I loved robotic things when I was younger. The first robot I remember seeing was the one in the original film, “The Day the Earth Stood Still.” I loved that robot because of how protective it was of the space alien. Then came Robby the Robot, Rosie from “The Jetsons” and the one from the television series, “Lost in Space.” I thought it would be cool to have a robot as a family member. Someone you could play with, who always would be your protector. And yet, I find myself at this place in time where a simple conversation with a neighbor in the building elevator produces an advertisement on my social media of an item the two of us were talking about. Who says our devices are not listening to us? With every friend who has a personal assistant device in their home, I have always had a moment on the telephone where the device has interrupted our conversation because it thought they were being addressed by my friend. And yet, I have gotten used to asking Siri for directions or setting a reminder for me. But that is the extent of my usage; I am not comfortable doing anything more involved. And, if you think I am a bit paranoid, then watch what takes place in this horror thriller.      AFTER LOSING BOTH OF HER PARENTS, in a horrific automobile accident, a young girl finds comfort with a gift given to her by her aunt. It is a new generation interactive toy that is nearly lifelike. Its main objective is to protect the girl, which it soon learns to do at any cost. With Allison Williams (Get Out, Peter Pan Live!) as Gemma, Violet McGraw (Black Widow, Separation) as Cady, Ronny Chieng (Crazy Rich Asians, Godzilla vs. Kong) as David, Brian Jordan Alvarez (A Spy Movie, Stuck) as Cole and Jenna Davis (Raven’s Home-TV, A Girl Named Jo-TV) as the voice of M3gan; this movie was fun. I know that sounds odd since it is listed as a horror film; but I must tell you, it was a smart production that knew exactly how to put a slight twist on the predictable. There were some humorous moments in the dialog and song choices that were a surprise to me. I appreciated the story and thought Allison and Violet were well suited to each other. There were several scenes of blood and violence that gratefully were not too graphic. Of course, I felt a connection to the story line, due to the one aspect of having a protector. Overall, this was an enjoyable movie watching experience.

3 stars