There's a monolith that seeks to influence, the evolution of the simian confluence, teaching apes how to compete, how to kill to get their meat, all leading to, a lunar revolution. On the moon, another block has been discovered, the apes now have the means to open wings and smother, it's to Jupiter they go, what they'll find nobody knows, but it doesn't seem to fill primates with dread. To protect they have a powerful A. I., it misses nothing, and nothing passes by, everything will not be fine, if you rely on an airline, as it watches with satanic, evil eye. At Jupiter, Darwin gets dispatched, down kaleidoscopic, psychedelic hatch, death brings birth and birth brings earth, a giant foetus wants to berth, I'm not sure hominins will make much of a match.

A perpetually engrossing film that offers more conundrums than conclusions, your interpretations uniquely your own, but the scale, cinematography and concepts are truly out of this world.

Count me as one of the philistines who is too simple-minded to appreciate this so-called masterpiece. Actually, I have a degree in media studies and a great interest in science, science fiction and anything thought-provoking (the technical term is "need for cognition"). But I am just baffled by this film and why it is so esteemed. It is simply slow, empty and lifeless. When absolutely nothing is happening on screen, am I supposed to feel or think something profound? Even when my professor explicitly explained to me why this film is so great, I still cannot convince myself that it is so.

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY is without a doubt the 'ultimate' space movie. Films like STAR WARS or ALIEN wouldn't exist without this, the first film to realistically portray what space travel is actually like. Yes, the film is incredibly slow, long, and extreme arty, but it's also a masterpiece and quite possibly Stanley Kubrick's greatest directorial effort.

After a lengthy introduction that quite wonderfully shows off man's pre-history (and includes THAT famous jump cut), we're transported to the interior of a spaceship, where protagonist Dave (Keir Dullea) must contend with the machinations of his computer, HAL 9000. Everything that happens takes place very s-l-o-w-l-y, but this was intentional and I don't think there's any better way of getting across just how elongated being in space really is.

HAL 9000 dominates the film and is my favourite computer creation in cinema; the most tragic too, I think. Dullea underacts to the best of his ability and is all the better for it, and of course Kubrick's direction is masterful, with incredible attention to detail. Yes, things get extremely psychedelic and trippy for the last half-hour's light show, but then it was the 1960s and you wouldn't expect otherwise. Great stuff indeed!