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A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Widescreen Special Edition)

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Widescreen Special Edition)

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Futuristic Fairy Tale
Review: A.I. ends up being much more inventive than you might expect. The atmosphere isn't like that of your average science fiction movie, it's more like a bizarre fairy tale. In fact, though it doesn't follow it exactly, many parts of this movie mirror the story of Pinnochio (Collodi version). For example, David is locked up to destroy in front of an audience, and Pinnochio is locked up and forced to dance in front of an audience. Teddy, of course, is like the talking cricket.

The fairy tale portion of this story is surreal and very scary, in a bizarre, convoluted way. For instance, David's companion, Joe, is an escaped "sex robot." Yes, obviously if people were to create robots, they would get them to do more than just mop floors.

A good point is David's relationship with his "mother." Many people have dismissed it as being corny. Perhaps it was a bit rushed, but in general I found it fairly believable. His mother's reactions to the robot replacing her son were first resentment, then attachment when her mothering instincts took over. I can't think of a more realistic set of reactions.

The ending was just weird. The entire movie was depressing, and the ending, though technically a happy one, was no light at the end of the tunnel. The entire message of the movie was pleasant, though: All David needed was love. But the underlying message does nothing to alleviate the movie's depressing feel.

On an end note, one thing about the far-future setting in the end doesn't make sense. They show humans as having evolved nearly beyond recognition--and only a thousand or two years later. Sure. The people at the beginning of the movie look just like today's humans, they even wear the same fashions. Five thousand year old Egyptian paintings show people that look pretty much the way they do today. Evolution doesn't ever happen that quickly, except maybe in fruit flies.

Anyways, good movie.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Average At Best
Review: Spielberg and Kubrick have brought us so many fantasic films that we want to forget the ones that failed to amuse us. A.I., in partial, is one of those films. This film is full of great things, but they are overwhelmed by the many detriments you can find within it as well. Here's what I thought:

Good:

1.) Haley Joel Osment wasn't nominated for an Oscar for this? He was definitely the highlight of the film, and brought so much to the movie, which would otherwise have been a major flop. This kid definitely has the potential to do something in this business. Simply outstanding.

2.) The plot was very inventive. It made you think into the future, wondering what it would really be like. In a way, I think it will be like what we see here, and it's a bit frightening.

3.) The special effects were gorgeous, but too much at times. They take over in the film, just like we've seen in the past, but they're still something to be in awe of.

Bad:

1.) Other than Osment, the rest of the characters were flat. Even Jude Law was not properly developed, and he was one of the largest supporting characters in the film. You could care less what happened to David's family, along with the majority of the others.

2.) At nearly two and a half hours long, A.I. is a bore at times. The film has next to no action, and we spend most of the film wandering around. The first hour drags on for nearly two, it feels.

3.) The aliens were a bit too "Close Encounter"-ish for me.

So there you have it. A.I. is an okay movie, one I sat through once and would probably not sit through again. I might rent it sometime in the future, but it'll take me a day to struggle through most of it. I see why this film flopped at the box office, and if Spielberg decided to cut out forty-five minutes of nonsense here and there, we may have had a tight, concise film. But again, his artistic vision got the best of him, much like in his 1991 film "Hook".

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Give Credit where Credit is Due
Review: What happened to all you fools that said Spielberg lost his touch!

AI was quite simply one of the best movies of 2001. From the amazing special effects to the superb acting (Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Francis O'Connor), this movie has something for everybody. The plot is interesting too.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This is the kind of movie you'll either love or hate....Why?
Review: This movie, was amazing, in my eyes. Its quite simple why too, I'm a VERY emotional person and this movie had so much emotion, very complex emotions. It was amazing. It just amazes me how anyone can capture such an emotional complex role which was and is "David". But Haley Jole Osment Did. Its funny cause you wouldn't think a child could capture that raw and complex emotion, he does, and it just leaves me in awe. Actually I think very few actors could successfully do this role including adults, in think an adult would do worse.

I think the true reason why most people don't like this movie is due to the fact that they may not grasp let alone understand the emotionas in this movie, the emotions are the foundation. They don't understand David's need for love, he was created to love and be loved in return, but he could not have it no matter how much he tried to keep it and get it, so he tries to become a real boy. It just is bringing me to tears right now, its so sad yet so true. Being turned away from the one thing you need and want the most from one person. Its truely terrible, BTW I'm 17yrs.

I think everything in this story fits perfectly, the pinochio storyline is perfect for its emotional foundation. But it is SO MUCH MORE then a science fiction take on Pinochio. I wish everyone could appeciate this, but there is good chance you wont, and it makes me sad. You may think the movies to long, but I think its perfect, instead of leaving you hanging it let's you know everything. And that makes it worth watching, and as someone else said; its best if you can watch it without being interupted, so you can think about it, because this is defienetely a thinking movie. So if you hate using your emotions and brains, forget it. This is a movie I think few can truely appreciate, most teens will find it boring(though I am one I love it)and even the majority of adults wont understand it. I know because I know both adults and teens that have seen it.

So if you're willing to explore your emotions open up your mind and think a little, I think you will enjoy this movie alot. Otherwise, well I'm sorry for you. Either way it'll still be the most emotionally intense movie to date. And my favorite, for this is the kind of thing I've searched for for a long time.

God Bless ~Amy

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Speilberg= Artificial Intellect
Review: What happens when you take the worlds most over-rated artist and have him try his very best to create the work of a genius? You get this absolute piece of crap that we call Artificial Intelligence. Stanley Kubrick created the idea for the film, and the idea is not a bad one. The main problem is that Speilberg decided to write it. Now, Steven Speilberg is not an intellectual at all which would be a requirement of the writer if this movie were to successfully present itself. Also, it seems that instead of following his own thoughts for the film, Speilberg must have said to himself, "Hmmmmm. I better try to be like Stanley and so i'll make this movie as dark as I can with a few touches of my E.T. type sweetness."
Problems with this:
A. There is so much more to Stanley Kubrick's art than just "darkness."
B. Speilberg couldn't make a good dark movie if his life depended on it. (and I mean Clockwork Orange/Taxi Driver type dark i.e. Schindler's List isn't included. I say this not wanting you assuming that I didn't like Schindler's because I liked it very much.) Speilberg is a good director, but he isn't infallible, especially as a writer it seems.
C. His love is real.....he is not. Sound's like a cute movie does it not? Oh the childish, heart-warming joy that comes from watching Haley Joel Osment violently decapitating himself. (See the movie to understand what i said, or better yet don't see it and cheat yourself out of a fun-loving family film......NOT!)

The final result of A.I. is a three hour long movie that is so annoying you that the amazing visual spectacles arent even enough to stop you from at the very least wanting to leave the theater/burn the DVD. The jumps from intensely creepy to teary-eyed-teddy-bear cuteness are simply too much for anyone who is of a sound mind to take. The first 45 minutes of the movie are so unbelievably fake that its painful to watch. My favorite example of this is when the robot kid eats spaghetti in a funny but not comical way, the parents laught at him, and then they give eachother this look like, "maybe we should keep him after all." Give me a freakin' break.

For all you people who loved this movie, go ahead and love it. But realize that you are a slave to the few words that read, "A Steven Spielberg film." I say this because I feel that the only reason one might have for enjoying this movie is if they have some twisted blind obsession with Speilberg.

The one star I gave this movie is shared by Stanley Kubrick and Jude Law. For his few on screen moments, Jude Law did what he could to save this movie, but it was ultimately all in vain, and Kubrick had the right intentions with this futuristic Pinochio tale and, sadly, he died before he could see it through to the end.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Kind of drones but Interesting and fun - like this review!
Review: I thought AI described a world where everything good that existed was no longer 'real'. His mother (not just the 'aliens') was a robot at the end, too. He was just fooling himself, or couldn't tell reality, because he wasn't real himself. Had he become a real boy, I don't think so. Just satisfied after searching, but he was probably programmed to know better.

People thought A.I. had a stupid, happy ending, I think it was sad. You see his mother never changed in life she was cold and cruel to the very end (before the underwater ship). She did not come back to reunite with him, another robot did, which is why she could not remember. A completely bitter misanthropic ending, yet in an ignorant way he is satisfied. It's technology making our dreams come 'true', only they can never really be 'true' - Look at 'Gigolo Joe' for instance, he has no point, other than to remind people of that. AI DOES NOT HAVE A HAPPY ENDING, MY FRIENDS! Just because it looked like her doesn't mean it's her. It's like Kafka's Metamorphesis book, a man wakes up one day and just is a giant cockroach, no reason, he just is. His sister takes care of him, but she soon becomes tired of caring for her brother, the monster. She throws him out. Many people thought the metamorphesis was about the man who turns into a giant cockroach, but it was actually about his sister, who changes from a loving character into a cold one, towards the same person for nothing of his doing. It's bitter, despite the soundtrack, the smiles, etc. and no one has realized it.

all the human are stereotyped as being 'bad'. From the brother he has, to his mother, to the people at the 'flesh fair', to the guy at the beginning who feels a need to 'test' the sex robots, etc. Then compare with 'Gigolo Joe' and 'David', good people, who aren't really people, because good people don't exist anymore in the world. Gigolo Joe only exists in the film to show this. It's a film noir nightmare parable. Maybe the robots realized this, and decided to kill them off.

I love all of Kubrick's work and I love some of Spielberg's, though Kubrick was gone, you can still see his influence.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Darn...
Review: The first twenty minutes of this movie made me wonder why the reviews had been so horrible when it came out. Then I saw the next two hours.

Argh...

There are certain elements put forth by Plato thousands of years ago about how good plays (and by extension, movies) should be structured. A.I. broke most of these rules.

1.) "No character or action is superfluous." In A.I. wonderful interesting intriguing characters are introduced then immediately removed form the movie. Why offer David a nannybot then have her distroyed at a flesh fair? What happened to the scientist who tried to buy David out of slavery? Why did David's creator finally meet him, give him hope for a new family only to NEVER BE SEEN AGAIN WITHOUT EXPLANATION AS TO WHERE HE WENT?!?!??! Why show David repeat "Please make me a real boy" about a billion times in four interminable minutes (it was like the end of "Poltergeist III" after that girl died and the director had to do something to cover up her obvious not-coming-to-work-ever-again so charatcers ran around for 20 minutes yelling "Carol Ann!" without ANY other dialogue!)??

2.) "Brevity of time and place." Whereas in a quest there hero can roam about for some time and finally get to his destination, a 2000 year jump forward in time in the last twenty minues was unnecessary and added more confusion to an already murky plot.

3.) "Reasonably assume the audience knows something and can infer the rest." What the heck happened to the humans and why was there an Ice Age? How did the supermachines evolve? Why was it necessary to radically alter the entire world in order to have a happy ending? Why not have a sad ending?

4.) "All conflicts must be resolved." Whatever happened to Joe? He was charged with murder we assume but whatever became of that? I guess the impending Ice Age made follow-through unnecessary. Shouldn't David have had the chance to confront his family (particularly his jealous brother) with the knowledge he gained from his quest? I mean, that is the point, ins't it? A hero learns something mere mortals don't, then return to make life better for norms. The leftover brotherly angst was more distressing than anything.

5.) "Unity of plot." Yeah, there were like three different stories going on here, and I think I like the cynical, existentially burdened one better than the over-the-top, deus-ex-machina, We're-a-superior-being-so-step-back-enjoy-the-light-show-while-we-solve-everything, Speilberg-esque ending (Don't get me wrong: it worked in ET and Close Encounters and even in The Color Purple after a fashion, but not here).

Darn. And the first twenty minutes were so great.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: So Misunderstood
Review: I think people have terribly misunderstood this film. This is not a film meant to be totally realistic. Watch it from start to finish, it's a fairy tale, it's a modern Pinocchio. The audience who wants something based totally in reality need not watch this movie. A.I. is a fairy tale at heart. At the same time it is a dark and disturbing fairy tale that tried to point at our society and say "look what can become of us." It's a fairy tale with a point and worth a good look.
A.I. is wondefully made and acted from start to finish. Sit down and enjoy this story of the journey to be loved, which in a way is what everyone wants. Steven Spielberg boldly took this movie and came out with a masterpiece. He created a dark but beautiful film well made from acting to the photography. Everything about A.I. is first rate. Set aside the realism of current movies and watch a fairy tale; be drawn into a futuristic world where anything can happen.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Spielberg's unforgetable film.
Review: Now I realize that this film is not going to be to everyones taste. I suppose that it will fall under the category of "Cult Film", yet in my opinion, "A.I. ­ Artificial Intelligence" is one of the greatest science fiction films of the last ten years. In time it may very well be placed within the top twenty greatest Science Fiction films ever.If you want something that is thoughtful, imaginative, daring and unique for a film. This film is a MUST SEE!Its a shame that the public wasn1t very receptive to this film last Summer, because they missed out on one of the better ones from 2001. Why? For a great many reasons. I wont go into more discussion over the fact that "A.I." was the posthumous collaboration between Spielberg and Kubrick. A lot of space has already been written covering this fact.Many complained about the ending and the disjointed structure of "A.I.", yet if you give the film a chance and pay attention from the first frame, the film does tie together and make sense. Frankly, the ending is one of the things that make it so strong. The film itself ties in well with Kubricks sensibility of Mode Shifting, in this respect "A.I." is similar to "2001".The films look at the mysticism of Fairy Tales is something that Kubrick must have wanted to address. "A.I." is a parable about many issues, from parenthood and paternal instincts, to Religion, to hatred of people or things we don1t understand, to ecological issues, To questions about scientific ethics, Above all, "A.I." is about the simplest of all things, its message, its warning is be very careful, take care of the families that you create. It does have a challenging undercurrent of ideas, moments that are disturbing throughout viewing the film. From the Flesh Fair sequence, to Rouge City, to the underwater New York skyline and the Excavation site ending.Jude Law and Francis O Connor do a wonderful job, yet it1s Haley Joel Osment who carries this film with an Astounding performance. I have been a fan of his since "The Sixth Sense", yet he outdoes himself in the role of David. The rest of the cast fills out the film nicely, William Hurt, Sam Robards, Brendan Gleason, Jake Thomas, as well as voiceover cameos by Robin Williams, Meryl Streep, Ben Kingsley, and Chris Rock. Technically the film is nearly flawless, with a great production design, Januez Kaminsky1s cinemaphotography, some great robot designs by Stan Winston, including Teddy. The visual effects by I.L.M. are seamless and probably, in my opinion, some of the best work by George Lucas' company in awhile. No offense to Star Wars fans, but the effects in "Phantom Menace" pales in comparison to "A.I.". John Williams score is one of the highlights of the film and one of his best since "Close Encounters".The films ambition is something that isnt seen enough, it isnt much of a surprise that it had such a polarizing reaction with the viewing public last summer. The film was Kubricks concept, with Spielberg as its interpreter. After all, most of Stanley Kubricks films polarized the public upon their first theatrical release. Many still dont understand "2001:A Space Odyssey."I should mention the DVD does a great job with the layout and progression of the documentary features. My only mild complaint is the omission of a director commentary.Can anyone really say that last summer1s remake of "Planet Of The Apes" will be something that will still be talked about, remembered and seen, twenty years from now?Can anyone really say that this years Oscar nominee "A Beautiful Mind" will be remembered in twenty years? (No offense intended to Apes fans or fans of Ron Howards film.) I'm not really sure about that, Perhaps, Perhaps not. Yet I think "A.I." will only grow in statue over time. That it will age better over time than its contemporaries. Much in the same way that Terry Gilliam1s "Brazil" or Ridley Scott1s "Blade Runner" are now seen in a very different light."A.I." is better with each successive viewing, get this film!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Love for a Mother Never Dies
Review: This movie is such a special treat. Many did not like it. I did, and I enjoyed the visual display, sifting through scenes to catch a "Kubrick" moment. It is obvious Spielberg, who was supposed to collaborate on this project with the late Stanley Kubrick, left in many of his trademark touches. Yes, it IS about robots and really spectacular effects, but, the real underlying message here is love. "David" the A.I. robot designed after the creator's dead son(his image) is as human as any natural child. The difference between him and the usual Mecha(regular robots) is that David feels Love. He comes to be the charismatic "replacement child" for a young couple who's son seems terminally ill. Martin, the son is never expected to wake from a coma-like state. David is a prototype used to give a grieving parent like Monica a chance at love again. The young "boy" rapidly becomes part of his new family. However, to his horror and chance he eventually finds himself left on a roadside because his Mommy must rid herself of him. Martin revived, returned home and a few coincidences and accidents later David is unwanted.

The next chapter of this story has a really interesting "Blade Runner" feel to it. David is determined to make himself a real boy. Monica once read him the story of "Pinnochio" and David believes, now abandoned, that he must search and find the blue fairy so he will be real and his Mommy, Monica will love him again. David's search takes him to many places, meeting frightening and sometimes helpful people. His pal in crime happens to be an old-model "love" robot played by Jude Law, a very tongue-in-cheek, sexy, washed-up mechanical ladies' man. Together they must escape capture and many human enemies to help David find his fairy tale "blue fairy".

The beginning, middle, and end of this movie are very different from one another. They seem like different movies all tied together with ease and many heart-warming moments. The ending was bizarre, but having seen this movie twice, I decided it was more thought-provoking than unrelated. Performances by Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law were beyond remarkable. This was no surprise to me. The movie is packaged with two discs...one, being the movie. The other disc having an abundance of fabulous cast, movie, and special effects extras. It is definately worth watching. As for the movie in whole, I give it five starts. I love a flick that can force me to feel many emotions in an hour or two...The hallmark of a job well done...


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