Good Afternoon Charles,
Interesting piece. It reminded of a button I once possessed from Omni Magazine back in the day that I obtained from a trade show. In black letters on a silver round background, it read "The meek shall inherit the Earth. But the rest of us will go to the Stars."

I like Herzog but may pass on this film.

One question. Does the film show that photo that should never have been taken, let alone published for all the world to see?

@2 I would be very surprised if he showed such a picture, considering Herzog's sensitivity in Grisley Man.

Technology will very soon give birth to AI of such sophistication that it will indeed seem Godlike in comparison to us meatbags. However, I don't think it will act, in any way, God-like.

http://waitbutwhy.com/2015/01/artificial…

I love Herzog, but I feel some of his recent films venture a bit too close to "cute" territory. This seems related to his use of voice over, which has become a sort of parody of itself.

Compare the scene with the monks, and his narration, to the (final? I can't recall) scene of the trees in Land of Silence and Darkness. That shot did not need any narration, the imagery was so powerful.

So why does he need to say anything about the monks on their phones, in this new one? It reminds me of the scene with the runaway penguin, in his Antarctica film, where he provides a cute commentary and asks vaguely philosophical questions. I am not sure why but it seems he has lost faith in the power and ambiguity of the footage itself.

All that said, he is wonderful.

I you want a recent, very heavy Herzog documentary, I highly recommend Into the Abyss. Cute it is not. It's actually pretty devastating in parts.

@6, yes, I've been meaning to see that... I think I am sort of dreading it.

A monks are providing the Internet with what it desires the most: targeting information.