Home :: DVD :: Action & Adventure :: Science Fiction  

Animal Action
Blackmail, Murder & Mayhem
Blaxploitation
Classics
Comic Action
Crime
Cult Classics
Disaster Films
Espionage
Futuristic
General
Hong Kong Action
Jungle Action
Kids & Teens
Martial Arts
Military & War
Romantic Adventure
Science Fiction

Sea Adventure
Series & Sequels
Superheroes
Swashbucklers
Television
Thrillers
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Full Screen Special Edition)

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Full Screen Special Edition)

List Price: $12.99
Your Price: $9.09
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 .. 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 .. 121 >>

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: At least cut the last 30 minutes
Review: What a neat premise this movie came up with at the beginning: show us what turns life can take if a machine becomes truly intelligent and able to bear emotions.

But then the movie almost immediately starts to stomp on its own feet. Our hero, David, the first of the new robot generation able to handle emotions, is apparently not the first. Otherwise his predecessors would not be able to fear death, develop cynism beyond their limited programming or forget their programming at all. Best example here the lovebot "Gigolo Joe," who tries to go undercover when he finds a dead woman in his apartment and later befriends David - all this goes far beyond "programmed reactions" as explained in the movie (why would the manufacturer program these into a lovebot at all?). Oh, and if you wonder how much thicker the plotline became due to "Gigolo Joe" imagine his role being deleted and try to think hard if he delivered anything useful.

(Ok, I will *not* argue about the question why David gets shortfused when he eats spinach but can fall into a pool and nothing happens or why with all the elaborate technology to mimic humans none of the bots blink.)

Then we see David getting left by his mother (or the person he was programmed to love) and his endless quest to find the "Blue Fairy" from "Pinocchio" who he thinks can make him a real boy and win him the love of his mother. Did I say endless? Yes, because all of us past age 8 know that this quest will be futile. You may feel sorry for David, but you will also feel like watching an accident happen and you can do nothing about it.

But then enter Mr. Spielberg. When you watch the last 30 minutes of the movie you will know what I mean. You can almost tell where Kubrick's notes ended for sure and where Spielberg took what he described as "his own intellectual freedom." At this point you will feel like watching "E.T." and "2001" at the same time - on an LSD trip. Spielberg tried so hard to reach the heights of Kubrick (and had Williams throw in some "2001"-like tunes for the final) it is almost pitiful how he ruins his own ambitions with his pink popcorn attitude to sooth the viewer. Spielberg just can't let us go without a pat on the shoulder and a reassuring "everything will be fine!"

How swell would everything have been, if the movie ended right there with David staring and begging and Teddy eternally sitting with him. Audiences would have left the theaters wondering "are we aware of what a responsibility we are getting ourselves into there?" I would have even forgotten about the above mentioned implausibility of the emotional reactions the earlier robots had, which most likely were delivered to pull us onto the sides of the robots.

Which brings me to the one character I liked the best and felt genuinely sorry for: patient, enduring and quiet Teddy.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent movie...a half and hour too long...
Review: The premise behind this film is thought-provoking, sincere and brutally honest, as are the actors. Haley Joel Osmont and Jude Law stand out as two superb actors able to carry out their roles with perfection. The mix of Speilberg's directing and Kubrik's genius is evident in the format and dark style of AI. The special effects are phenomenal -particularly the "mechas" and New York City after the flood and the freeze. I found myself drawn to the complexities of human emotion, as well as the evils that may plague humankind.
AI is able to provide us, in 2002, a rare and realistic glimpse into the future. As skeptical as some of us may feel about this statement, I believe that given the technology and power, society will eventually lead itself into this path of robotic engineering, cryogenics, and the "Flesh Fairs", which is a step away from the current mindless program "Junkyard Wars".
Apart from being about half and hour too long and a little too sappy for my taste, AI is an intelligent film that was released about 100 years too soon. This film is not suitalble for the Hollywood obsessed masses whose idea of a good movie is "The Fast and the Furious". It is only for those who are able to understand and appreciate science fiction at its best.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Almost a Masterpiece
Review: This is a Kubrick film for the first two hours and a Spielberg film for the last half hour. Unfortunately, mixing the two is like mixing absolute grain alcohol with bubble-gum flavored soda pop: the combined product doesn't sit well on the stomach. I am a huge Kubrick fan and found much of this film to be extraordinary. Kubrick's best work (Paths of Glory, Dr. Strangelove, 2001 A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange) has an icy clarity that is both disturbing and mesmerizing. The scene in this film where "mommy" abandons the mecha-child is particularly disturbing, especially if you are a parent. If this story were followed to its logical conclusion (which would have included editing out the last 30 minutes), it would probably rank among the great films of all time. Spielberg clearly has talent (Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan). Unfortunately, he always feels compelled to add a syrupy, cornball element to his work. I'm not certain if he listens to focus groups that tell him that "American audiences always need a happy ending", or if this type of ending is just a reflection of his own artistic vision. I do know that it does not work here. Aside from the disastrous "Close encounters with E.T." ending, there are other "Spielberg touches" to the film which tend to blunt the sharp edges which I believe Kubrick intended and would have included. Here are a few examples: 1)When instructed to remove her clothing by the professor (William Hurt) at the beginning of the film, the young female mecha should have removed ALL her clothing. She need not be shown nude (a shot from the back up would suffice). Such a scene would drive home the point that she is a machine, incapable of embarrassment. 2)As pointed out by a previous reviewer, The Flesh Fair Scene should have been a bit more intense 3) Spielberg turns the "Dr.Know" character into a disney-esque animated smurf. Kubrick would have (rightly) done something more creepy with this character. Despite these problems, the film is visually beautiful. The scenes of a partially submerged New York City are particularly haunting. The performances are also very good, despite the defective script. I therefore believe that this film, though flawed, is still worth renting, which is why I gave it four stars.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Ouch!!!
Review: I rented this movie with very low expectations after reading the reviews. They were wrong. This movie left me stunned and unable to sleep afterward. It is not for those looking for a cheap thrill and a bag of popcorn. The story will will grab your heart and confound your senses. If you want an "experience" instead of the usual fodder from Hollywood, this is the movie for you. Definitely worth the admission or purchase. Will become part of my collection.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Please Don't Watch
Review: This is probably the worst movie I have ever seen. It's amazing to me how anyone could stay awake for the entire film. Please do yourself a favor and pass on this one. There are so many other things one could do with 2 hours than watch this movie.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Pinocchio 2...
Review: "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" (2001)

I think we all know that carrying on Stanley Kubrick's dream idea is going to be a challenge.... Fortunately Speilberg pulls off a great directing job, but I just get the feeling that Kubrick would not be very happy with this movie.

Lets start with the bad things. The whole script and story is like "Pinocchio 2: And No, It's Not By Disney! It's by Steven Speilberg! ...Let's see why, shall we? Haley Joel Osment plays a robot that wants to be a real boy! There is actually a blue fairy in this film. I actually heard a few people sighing every time Haley muttered "I wish I was a real boy." Steven, we've seen this story don't before, and much better!

... The Flesh Fair was so incredibly ...[stupid] that I found myself having to grab onto the chair without rolling into the aisles with laughter. Rouge City, meant to be like a robot's version of Las Vegas, is really horrid to look at. The people and things Gigolo Joe (Jude Law) and David (Osment) encounter in this nicely designed but blindly bright and entirely unbelievable are really just dumb. Especially that professor that pops out of a computer. Does the script actually try to be this stupid?

The thing that most audiences have complained about with A.I. Artificial Intelligence is the ending. I couldn't agree more with those who walked out with frustrated looks on their face. The whole concept of the ending is empty and dumb, I found it very hard to take seriously. The movie finishes on a very anti-climatic note and I couldn't thought up 20 better places where the movie could've finished.

Luckily, there are some good points that save A.I. Artificial Intelligence from being completely and utterly disastrous. The acting is spectacular. Haley Joel Osment is actually better in this movie than he was in The Sixth Sense. He deserves a Best Actor trophy this year. Frances O'Connor, who grows on me more with each movie, gives a career-best as the confused and bewildered mother. O'Connor is amazing subtle and sympathetic in this movie and all the great parts of the movie have her in it. I was disappointed with Jude Law's performance. Although he was a very good robot, his character was boring and his performance didn't provide any real screen presence or interest.

The visuals and makeup in this movie are better than any robot movie I have ever seen. Rogue City does look terribly stupid and that is where the visuals go wrong, but throughout the rest of the movie the effects were quite stunning. The makeup on the robots was very original and detailed.... As much as I really wanted to like A.I. Artificial Intelligence, to me it came off as one of the stupidest films of the year, with some sequences that just make you think - "Mr. Kubrick, Sir...was this really your idea?"

MY GRADE: C-

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A waste of time and money
Review: I love movies from art films that no one has heard of to blockbuster hits and I really wish I had not taken time out of my life to watch this movie. The acting was fine, the special effects were decent but not enough to make me appreciate this film. Yes, the movie's theme, "What is real?" gives you something to think about but I didn't need two and a half hours to come up with the answer. The plot did not flow and the ending was pathetic. While some people felt that the closing scenes of David and his mother were heatwarming, I felt it was fake and unsatisfying.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great sci-fi
Review: If, like me, you judge how good a movie is by how much you think about it for days after, then this is one of the best movies i have ever seen. obviously, the special effects are good and all that, but the raw emotion is the real centerpiece of the film. I found myself at times having to remind myself that it was just a movie. I am in wonder at how this movie was so completely ignored by the oscars. to many people without children, teenagers, etc, the impact of this movie is undoubtably lessened. If you're a parent, however....

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Review: I just saw this movie and it is compelling and heartfelt. I thought Haley Joel did a supurb job. I not sure why anyone who has ever seen as Kubrick movie thought that some of the scenes would not be disturbing... I do agree that it was a bit disjointed, but I think it helps the plot, not takes away from it. David's "life" is disjointed... he is made to love only who he imprints on, then just like life, the one he loves the most turns on him ans sets him free into the world. A world filled with humans... who for some reason created all of these "Mecha" but never found a place in thier hearts for them, so you enter a technopunk slaughter house for Mecha. I think the concept is quite profound and telling... this is the truth about humanity.

Look at our world today, how could you not feel what this movies is trying to say?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Most wouldn't know a masterpiece if it hit em in the head
Review: I just watched this movie with my 11 year old daughter. She and I both cried(especially her). I am beyond words. I understand why this wasn't a major hit with it's length( almost 2.5 hours ) and uneven storyline but that's what's so hard about telling a masterpiece.. They have to cram it into 2.5 hours and it just isn't long enough. This should have been a 4 hour movie with an intermission at the half way point. Anyway all the other 4-5 star reviewers nailed it.. unbelievable graphics, Hally Joel Osmont put a better performance than he did in The Sixth Sense and didn't an oscar nom for this one.. shame. Highly recommend this movie.


<< 1 .. 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 .. 121 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates