Sam Rockwell

...is not entirely alone. His companion is a computer named Gerty, whose creepy kinship with HAL 9000 from "2001: A Space Odyssey" feels even more sinister because Gerty speaks in the sardonic deadpan of Kevin Spacey. And back on Earth a wife...

In this article: Moon, Claustrophobia, HAL 9000, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and J. J. Abrams

...of 2001: A Space Odyssey's HAL 9000 - begins to behave suspiciously. Sam Rockwell delivers a tour de force performance as helium miner Sam Bell in Moon. This simmering psychological stew eventually comes to a roiling boil when Sam...

In this article: Moon, J.J. Abrams, Moon, Helium, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Apollo 11, and Space Odyssey

...menace - "You don't seem like yourself today. Sam, it might help you to talk about it" - despite the yellow smiley-face icon on the monitor that changes to a frown when he's showing concern. Adding to the uneasy mood is the haunting score...

In this article: Moon, Sony Pictures Classics, Kevin Spacey, Clint Mansell, and Derivative

...is a robot named Gerty, whose voice is provided by Kevin Spacey. Gerty's prime directive is to take care of Sam, though he's something of a company man as well. Spacey's voice and inflections are perfect, and clearly modeled on HAL...

In this article: Moon, Kevin Spacey, HAL 9000, Kaya Scodelario, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and David Bowie

...hearing things - a girl down the corridor, a disembodied voice, or that guy in the rec room jumping rope. A guy who looks just like Sam. Inspired by the '70s science fiction of Outland and Silent Running - and certainly by Kubrick's 2001: A...

In this article: Moon, David Bowie, Legal age, Helium, HAL 9000, and Ziggy Stardust

...he receives one their pre-recorded messages. This also means that his only interactive communication has been with the ship's computer, GERTY, who comes on like an even creepier cousin of Hal 9000. Sardonically voiced by Kevin Spacey, it has a...

In this article: Moon, Kevin Spacey, Stanley Kubrick, Claustrophobia, and Moonage Daydream

...second act. Either way, one can't describe Rockwell's performance without acknowledging his dual portrayal of Sam 1 and Sam 2, each an unaware clone of the original Sam Bell, an astronaut "harvesting" energy on the moon. When Sam 1, mere...

In this article: Moon, Alien, Moon, Derivative, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Solaris, Sci-fi films, and Space Odyssey