Rating: Summary: Gigalo Joe Review: "Whattayaknow?" says Jude Law. Great performances all around in this movie, especially from Haley Joel Osment. Haley got some flack for this movie, as did Spielberg. It's not for everybody. However, if you are a fan of the old-school SF, this movie is for you. The 2 DVD-set has a lot of interesting special features, making it a worthy addition to any collection.
Rating: Summary: A brilliant film. Review: I thought this film to be fascinating. I am not a fan of sci-fi films, and though there is a lot of it here, this is a drama, an intimate film set in a fantastical world. Luckily Spielberg did a good job with the screenplay -you can see Kubrick's touch there- and the movie turned out to be unlike anything I had seen and truly beautiful and strange. And Jude Law as Gigolo Joe is great. Hey Joe, what do yo know... .
Rating: Summary: I think some moviegoers think too much... Review: ..while some don't think enough. If I had to rely on the opinions of movie critics, both pro and amateur, I don't think I would have ever bought this movie, and that would have been a huge mistake on my part. I loved this movie, and without divulging too much for those who are still on the fence trying to decide to watch it or not, I'll tell why:1) I got it that the mecha boy took fairy tales to be the truth, that he could relate to the Pinocchio character, and that in his eyes the Blue Fairy in the book could solve his problems for him. 2) I got it that the one thing that meant more to him than becoming a real boy was being loved by the only mother he ever knew. 3) I was so engrossed start to finish that I didn't realize over two hours had gone by when the credits began to roll. 4) I was happy for a movie with no blood, only a brief suggestion of sex, and no guns. 5) I got it that the screenwriter wasn't trying to solve all the world's problems with one movie. It was about the boy, and the goal he wanted to reach by the end of the script. 6) Young Haley Osment is going to go down as one of the best child actors in history. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him make me believe he really was a robot. As an amateur writer, I have to say that I think it took one heck of an imagination to come up with a story like this. I was impressed with the visuals, even the more poignant ones showing an underwater Manhattan, complete with now-nonexistent Twin Towers. I hadn't been this engrossed by a sci-fi movie since the original Close Encounters of the Third Kind in '78, and I've always thought 2001: A Space Odyssey was pure torture. So, frankly, I'm happy to have been unaware of Kubrick's influence while watching the movie, and even happier to learn that his influence was minimal. Sometimes, you can be too much of a brainiac about a movie. Sometimes, you just have to turn the brain off and let your heart and your eyes enjoy the movie. I did, and I don't regret it. Well done.
Rating: Summary: wonderful Review: I don't watch allot of movies (have other interests) and, when I do, I don't delve much into the meaning of it (I'm not a scholar or a pro film critic). From the very begining, this movie captured me with it's etherial/sci-fi mood and gripped my attention until the beautiful end. It has a good story, fine acting, and is well directed and produced. If you find this doesn't stir you, you're jaded - give Hollywood a rest.
Rating: Summary: Superb film Review: After watching A.I. I spent a long time thinking about what I had just experienced. Only a few films have ever left me thinking so much about life. Some people believe that if you want realism in a movie then just watch a documentary, not a movie. I disagree. Movies are a perfect forum for thought and discussion. A.I. is worth several viewings and will eventually be considered an absolute masterpiece. I already do.
Rating: Summary: Absolutely Great story Review: A really great fairy tale. Spielberg can tell a great story. I was captivated from start to finish. Don't focus on the techno stuff, it's almost a distraction, just enjoy it like a bed time story. Wonderful
Rating: Summary: A Hollow and Dour Pinocchio Review: A.I. is one of those movies that makes you wonder who is making the decisions in Hollywood. After all, just imagine the pitch: "Give me a hundred million dollars to remake Disney's Pinocchio as an emotionally hollow, live-action nightmare that offers lots of high-minded questions about existence but no tangible answers." Noteworthy mostly because of the collaboration between Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg, the movie struggles on nearly all levels except the most blandly technical, though even the production design looks recycled, a strange combination of Blade Runner and Batman and Robin, with a dash of Spielberg's standard Coca Cola/McDonalds/The Gap sensibilities thrown in. The story is more or less Pinocchio, except the wooden boy is mechanical and the adventure is just plain depressing. The Sixth Sense's Haley Joel Osmont rehashes his performance from that film, this time as a robot, David, starved for his rather unappealing adoptive mother's affection while questing to understand the meaning of life. You want to like this film because of the immediacy of its characters' pathos, but even with sincere performances from Osmont and Jude Law (and a robot teddy bear that, ironically, is more interesting than either of their characters), Spielberg never manages to harness anything meaningful or uplifting in what is essentially a bloated fairy tale. The finality of the film's conclusion is particularly cynical. One might argue nihilism is the point of A.I., but then one must ask the more important question: why bother? I'd also invite Spielberg to get out more--his constant film reiterations of the U.S., present and projected future, as a for-whites-only nation dotted by the occasional racial minority is neither accurate nor particularly endearing. Even the irony of a scene that mocks six-pack America's obsession with professional wrestling and demolition derby (and a large portion of the audience for his movies) is lost in a film that rather spookily suggests about a quarter of our population will all but disappear. In many ways, that's a more interesting conflict to resolve than anything in this movie.
Rating: Summary: What a horrible movie! You'll pray for it to end... Review: Despite this movie's fantastic effects and stunning visuals, this movie is absolutely horrible. Following the doomed life of a boy robot, this story continues inexorably towards an unsatisfactory ending. Indeed, there were several points in the movie where I was begging for the credits to roll. There are some particularly disturbing and heart-wrenching scenes, but even these moments are not enough to make the movie worthwhile.
Rating: Summary: I was so ready to give it 1 star when... Review: AI is a film which confused me. Not because of its meandering plot, lack of logic in places and confusing cuts. Because I simply couldn't decide whether I loved it or hated it. Throughout the whole film, I was viewing it cynically. I had been told it was bad - and it came across that way - cliched, with a dull plot and terrible terrible scriptwriting. And after all let's face it, the plot of the film is ridiculous. But then just as the film ended as I was ready to give it 1 star, suddenly it hit me, and I was in floods of tears. I really don't know what came over me, but the film somehow connected with me in some way and I finally gave up trying to resist it at the end. Realising that everything that is borrowed or cliched about this film just serves to turn it into a film that encompasses everything that's been great about past films. I think this film reminded me of my childhood in some way, whether it was because of what happened in the film or just because as futuristic and sci-fi as this film is, ultimately its a fantasy story like they used to make them, about hopes and dreams and trying to fulfill them. It doesn't try to pander to the wants of modern cinemagoers who judge films of how realistic or groundbreaking they are, but instead uses the old fashioned traditions of make-believe. At the risk of sounding corny, its about a journey. And I realised that in fact this film is magical, beautiful. Becuase as cliched and corny as it is, it feels like an epic - like one of the originals. View one of the older films that do the same - whether it be Wizard of Oz, 2001 or ET, and you see that they to use the same tried-out language and they too are naive and in a way cheesy. But its allowing ourselves to believe these cheesy situations that creates the childlike magic of a film like AI. And so this film truly does encompass everything. While its far from flawless, its a wonderful film which evokes such a sense of nostalgia in me, and feels so much like a good old-fashioned fantasy film, that I can't give it any less than the full 5 stars. This film will join the films I mentioned: Wizard of Oz and ET, as films that I will want to show to my children as an example of what cinema used to do: creating a magical world of beautiful dreams coming true, however improbable it might seem to a critical eye.
Rating: Summary: Could Make the Unstable Turn Suicidal Review: This has to be the worst movie ever made, and certainly the worst movie I've ever seen. This is the kind of movie that will make one want to throwselves into an open grave; it's really that bad. It's been nearly two years since I went to see it on a hot, rainy day, and I still regret those 2+ agonizing hours of my life I wasted sitting there watching this. One thing that I can say about this movie without hesitation is that it could very well change your view on life; I don't care how you think about life-this movie will darken your view of life as a whole definitely a little if not a lot. In it, you see Haley Joel Osment trying to find his "mother" and a way to turn into a "real boy". MAKE ME A REAL BOY! Near the end, you'll be screaming at the top of your lungs, "Make him a real boy already!" One thing must be said though, Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law were excellent in this picture, and certainly robbed at the Oscars. That still doesn't make up for AI as a movie. Throughout the darkness, disgustingness, and greyness of this horribly depressing film, the only thing that will keep you watching is the hope of a happy ending. THERE IS NO HAPPY ENDING! I wish I'd listened to the reviews I read in the newspaper. For once, the critics really were right about something.
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