Rating: Summary: "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" Review: A.I. Artificial Intelligence (PG-13) ****/5 Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, Brendan Gleeson, William Hurt. Directed by: Steven Spielberg. Synopsis: When a young android boy is left by his family he begins his journey home. Special Features: 2-Disc set: Documentary, Interviews, Behind the Scenes Featurettes, Stan Winston Studio Visit, Trailers, Storyboards, Photos. Review: In this hit and miss sci-fi drama a young android (Osment) is sent to a family whose son is dying. They are a little unsure at first, but grow to love him. However paradise is lost when their son miraculously gets well. Instead of sending him for destruction they leave him in the woods. He, his teddy bear, and a gigolo robot (Law) head out to find a blue fairy to make him a real boy, and to return home. This story is long, depressing, but beautiful. Osment, Law, Hurt, and everyone else act their hearts out. Fantastic performances abound, and Spielberg is on top of the directing game as usual. Overall this film is art, but it is extremely painful to watch. As for the DVD? Loaded, if you liked the film then you're set.
Rating: Summary: One of the great films Review: I've seen this a few times now and the voice-over is definately the weakest link. Spielberg does not seem able to do poetry, nor will he allow us a poignant moment without intruding cap in hand. The ending of this film is like attending a funeral of a much loved relative only for the funeral director to have arranged for the flowers to be delivered by an absailing SWAT team, conveniently landing on top of the coffin during the sermon. Anyone who has seen Spielberg's 'Minority Report' will not find this scenario entirely outside the bounds of possibility. Subtlety is not Steven's Forte. May I call you Steven? Oh. Also, the various 'buff' references to Kubrick's movies are in questionable taste, turning potential art into kitsch. The main flaw in this messy but compelling drama is the question of how David became the unique and enduring memory of the human race when we clearly saw dozens of other David's about to be shipped off to customers. Presumably as these would be delivered to dry land they would have had an even greater chance of surviving the big freeze than David. Mr Spielberg, I claim my fave poonds. Toss in a super toy while your at it too, please.
Rating: Summary: High Mythos Review: Artificial Intelligence is not the warm fuzzy family fare early trailers would have led its audience to expect. It is not merely the retelling of Pinocchio, although comparisons to Pinocchio are inevitable. Neither is it merely the postmodern fantasy of a director of the surreal.Artificial Intelligence is a Siddartha-esque journey film, a story of a quest for identity and the meaning of life, and to a lesser degree, the documentary of some of the more important symbols of our cultural understanding of those questions. The film's design and cinematographics draw from the dark and beautiful tradition of Blade Runner, while the semiotics put comparisons to The Fisher King in mind. Was it good? If you are the kind of person who likes to read Joseph Campbell and rummage for meaning in the junkyard of contemporary film, you'll love this movie. Otherwise, you'll be fascinated or repulsed depending on your personal aesthetic. Either way, it's worth seeing at least once, even if you're not going to include it in your dissertation.
Rating: Summary: INDESCRIBABLE Review: This film has "INDESCRIBABLE" written all over it. That means I truly cannot tell you in words how personally this movie affected me and how emotional it was. The acting was at it's utmost superb point. Haley-Joel Osment is a show stealer and the feeling is tremendous that he gives you. He makes you believe exactly what the film is trying to do, make a robot who can truly love. He feels like a robot but at the same time feels real. It's weird, but it's true and worked out perfectly. THe skill that went into this acting and directing of Spielberg could never be topped. Following the storyboards and story by Kubrick, Spielberg wrote his own screenplay that turned out wonderful. The film drew tears from my eyes and was one of the most emotional films I have ever seen. John Williams score is beautiful and heartwarming and has mixes of fear and mellowness and sadness, truly a wonderful mix. This is another classic example of a film done by Spielberg where the visual effects look tremendously real and are set-up to make you believe they are real sets. It's all the way he trickily sets up the shots, that's where his perfection comes. The ending to this movie is a mix of eternal happiness for the characters yet sadness for the audience, and it left me in buckets of tears (I mean that truly). It's a great film and anyone who dares to show their disrespect for it has serious problems.
Rating: Summary: Ridiculous Review: The much-anticipated hybridization of an idea by the late Stanley Kubrick as actualized by Spielberg starts out as a noble failure and ends up a disgraceful mess. With it, Kubrick has made his first terrible movie since passing away two years ago. The final result is too schmaltzy for Stanley and too depressing for Steven. The plot concerns little David (Haley Joel Osment), a mechanical boy programmed to love his adoptive parents unconditionally. The film is wrong to expect our sympathy for David, since his feelings are nothing more than pieces of programmed information; this is where A.I. makes its first wrong step, but things get worse. (Oh, do they ever.) It's all an indulgent orgy of spectacle, as one set piece is heaped onto yet another like so many syrupy pancakes, proving that Spielberg should stay wrapped up in the past (a la SCHINDLER and PRIVATE RYAN) rather than venturing out into the future. I confess that I don't really understand A.I., but I don't want an explanation because then I would have to like it, and making fun of it is so much more enjoyable.
Rating: Summary: Love it? Hate it? I hated it! Review: One of the other reviewers noted that you will either love or hate this film. They were absolutely correct. I hated it. True, it will raise interesting questions, but who ever wrote the screenplay has never experienced parenthood. First, there is a line in the movie that asks "imagine having a child that will stay a child forever." No parent would want that. Part of the thrill of being a parent is watching the child develop. There are also a couple of incidents where parents jump to a conclusion about something, I am trying to not give too much of the story away. Again this shows that the screenwriter knew nothing about parenting. The first thing a parent learns is that when something happens you ask a child to explain. They never do this. If they had there wouldn't have been a story. It is like a bad "I Love Lucy" script where there is an obvious and easy resolution to the problem, but you don't do it because you need to have a story. This is one of the MOST depressing films I have ever seen. I typically don't walk out of movies, but this one was SO rediculous that I would have if my wife hadn't prevented me. By the way, she hated it as wel
Rating: Summary: Barely Watchable Review: This is a very disappointing film. I expected a lot more than I received. A lot of the film a fast forwarded through. The acting on the part of the Mom and Dad and even the real son was somewhat less than good. However, the AI boy and the Mecca (Gigalo Joe) and the Teddy Bear was outstanding. The actual story was real good. a different take on androids and society. This is a film that can be watched, but don't expect it to be something that you will want to repeat...
Rating: Summary: The worst movie ever made! Review: This movie A.I. was a total waste of time and a total waste of money both for the people that saw this movie and for the people that made it. Maybe I can save some of you your money. This movie A.I. is way too long at 2 1/2 hours and never gets a plot going. The story keeps changing drastically and you get lost and confused very easily that you might have to watch it hundreds of times to understand. Steven Spielberg should move on from science fiction because obviously this is not a genre that he is familar with! A huge dissapointment. 2 1/2 hours of worthless tiring garbage that belongs in the trash. So save yourself the money and your time. Get something better than A.I.!!!
Rating: Summary: This film tugs at the heart strings Review: Steven Spielberg outdone himself with this one. I started out viewing it with no preconcieved notions about the film. When I finished, I found that the film stayed with me. It is an excellent story that has many surprises. I recommend that everyone see it and try to understand the underlying message (don't want to give the story away).
Rating: Summary: Love it? Hate it? Either way it'll affect you=) Review: I'll keep this as simple as possible (I'm usually long winded/keyboard happy and forget you don't want a book to read while deciding whether to buy this movie or not): In short, I rented A.I. and, naturally, watched it. Cried at several intervals (usually don't -everyone says that, I know). Ended on a very thought-provoking twist. I immediately started the movie over to watch once again. Watched it the next night. Returned it; promptly bought it. All the while never imagined it would generate such split reviews from 'the people'. I've been to many review sites: IMDb.com, the Guardian reviews, the user comments from Amazon; and so on. One thing I've noticed is that people either passionately loved this movies or passionately hated it -with very little in between. I think the master design of the director was to cause an affect, knowing full well that it would strike a chord with all; positive, as well as, negative. I think to some its just not within them to relate to the circumstance Kubrick and Spielberg conjurred -so they say they hated it. At the same time, those who can stretch their imagination and feelings to envelope a robotic child programmed with the ability to love; these are the ones that will just LOVE this film. Direction was superb toward very talented -gifted- actors: Haley J. Osment(esp.), Jude Law, and even Frances O'connor made me BELIEVE. John Williams touching score still makes me misty-eyed. Thank you for your time. Skot
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