Rating: Summary: HORRIBLE - Avoid at all costs Review: If it weren't for the fact that I was on the clock while sitting in the theater watching this movie, I would have walked out. Actually, come to think of it, I would have been better off at work...Words cannot fully describe how horrible and worthless this movie is. It's a shame that so many people feel obligated to rave about it because of the big names involved in it. There's nothing deep and philosophical about it - it's just pure garbage. Hey, everyone makes mistakes, and Spielberg is no exception. As for Haley Joel Osment, he was good in The Sixth Sense and that was about it. He plays the same dopey role in every movie now, and I for one am sick of the little bugger. Heed my advice, or you too will lose 2.5 hours of your time and some of your money renting or buying AI. Don't say I and dozens of other wise men didn't warn you...
Rating: Summary: A Clockwork E.T.¿s Jurassic Odyssey of the Third Kind Review: Spielberg and Kubrick seem the unlikeliest of bedfellows, so it's all the more remarkable that their lovechild should be such a pleasing one. Perhaps Spielberg took his inspiration from his own Jurassic Park, where extinct animals were resurrected from found DNA crossed with frog's? Here, two years after his death, we have a new Stanley Kubrick film, assembled from 15 years worth of development material crossed with Spielberg's own take on the story. As an exercise, it is incredible. Although he never shot a frame of it, A.I. feels like no one's work so much as Kubrick's... well, except perhaps Steven Spielberg's. It's a bizarre hybrid; structured like Kubrick, looking like Kubrick but with the showmanship and doe-eyed sentiment of the other guy. Of course, it doesn't always work. For all his insight into Kubrick's vision, Spielberg occasionally seems to be following the recipe. You just know that Kubrick would have made the 'Flesh Fair' sequence central, made it something unforgettably nasty, tattooed it on to our brains. Spielberg doesn't seem to know what to do with it, and squanders it showing off what the boys from ILM can do with computers these days. Consequently, it's where the film sags. But, my God, does he make up for it. See A.I. and try to forget the submerged Manhattan, the ferris wheel collapsing underwater, the approach to the frozen future-Earth, the performance of Haley Joel Osment, the sense of quiet despair that humanity is getting it wrong and will ultimately get it wrong. It's impossible to look at the Manhattan section without referencing the atrocities of September 11, and while everyone involved with A.I. may have felt uncomfortable about the year of release, the bad timing actually helps the film. We now live in a world where it's much easier to imagine the human race bringing about its own extinction. A.I. foretells it beautifully.
Rating: Summary: Really creepy and manipulative. Review: This is a retelling of Pinnochio that has great special effects and disturbing emotions. Rather than heartwarming and human, this film is rife with sadness and despair. I'm not advocating a happy ending; the pessimism that comes through the scmaltz is really the issue. Watch it when you're far away from depressants and you might just come away unscathed.
Rating: Summary: At last managed to see it... Review: Good movie. All what it said about the ending is right, although it is also intersting - how this robot, who developed intelligence and emotions, would live forever with the burden of being sole carrier of the humankind memory? Osment was amazing, I hope he'll continue to amaze us the same way. He seems to be intelligent enough not to succumb to the usual early celebrity vices. To everyone who liked the idea of the movie (as opposed to its realization) I strongly recommend the works of Stanislav Lem. He developed the problem of interaction of humans and theyr future artificially intelligent creations to the very high level, and many of the images in A.I. seem to have jumped from his books, such as Flesh Fair from Return From The Stars and the scene of the row of hanging David copies and piles of spare parts - from Peace On Earth (same as Matrix, btw, which seem to be directly copied from Lem's The Futurological Congress).
Rating: Summary: "touching the soul" Review: THAT's Steven Spielberg's devine gift - he KNOWS how to touch your soul. [Sure it sounds mushy, but try to see this one through innocent eyes wide open]. Forget about the Sci-fi hoopla - the effects are great, unusual, etc. etc. etc. BUT it's the artificial boy's journey - a close cousin to Tim Burton's 'Edward Scissorhands', also about love and acceptance. Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law and Frances O'Connortake you through this journey with great sensitivity - so where are the awards?
Rating: Summary: Brilliant - Magical - Thought Provoking - Beautiful - Sad Review: Artificial Intelligence is most importantly NOT an appropriate children's movie. It's a very serious social commentary, and is also most profound, and very frightening, relative to the birth of the contemporary technology of today. This absolutely amazing film, was all but ignored by the Motion Picture Acadamey Of Arts & Sciences. The only two nominations that it received were for best film score & special effects. I still can not believe that it did not only pick up even one Acadamey Award, The special effects one, that it lost to: Lord of The Rings. But was ultimately panned by the Acadamey & the film community. This film was so extraordinarily profound, it was not only deserving of receiving nominations for stellar acting performances, but of equal importance and recognition, was more than deserving of being nominated for, and also winning, Best Film of The Year. Haley Joel Osmet, as "David" along with Jude Law, as "Gigilo Joe" both added flawless performances to this truly amazing Spielberg Film, entrusted to him wisely by the Kubrick Estate. This is a must see film, for those who appreciate, deep thought provoking, true works of film art. Despite the fact that this film has the very real ability to provoke disturbing thoughts, on social issues and thinking. That aspect in itself, is what makes this film so very profound and important. It is the perfect mix of fantasy, a potentially real future reality, and incorporates the innocence and horror of a child, with it's important cross reference to the story of Pinocchio. To those who complain about it being too complex, My response is simply that it was meant to be complex. This film is not light material, by any standard. It is as deep, as deep can possibly be. I believe that because most perceived this film to simply be a sci-fi story, with it's main character being a child, that the original expectations of most going to see it, and watch it, was about to throw them into a most strange and unexpected place, that they never expected to be landing in. With great regret, for the time being, this film was, and will remain to be a sleeper. Though I also believe, that, in the not too distant future, this film will be recognized for what it truly was meant to be. That being, one of the most Important, Brilliant, and also, most thought provoking films, of the contemporary time that it was made for and in. If you have not yet seen this film, and you are the type of individual who is inspired by Rare Films of Great Depth and Social Commentary, do yourself a big favor, and purchase a copy of this really Amazing, Wonderfully Spun Body of Art on Film. It will become one of the most Important films, that you have ever had the ability to feast your eyes upon. Film making does not get any better than: Artificial Intelligence.
Rating: Summary: One of Spielberg's best films Review: Originally a Stanley Kubrick project, A.I Artificial Intelligence is a wonderfully-crafted masterpiece. Steven Spielberg's translation of Kubrick's vision is the most astounding film I saw in 2001 (The release date is a nice homage to Kubrick's 2001 A Space Odyssey (1968). A film that has to be seen 2 or 3 times to uncover all the hidden gems, A.I is a spectacular journey into the future, where robots (or "mechas" as they are said in the film) are human-like in their daily lives and can do things that surpass what any human could ever do. And this brings us to Jude Law as the love mecha Gigolo Joe. His excellent performance was shamefully overlooked at the Academy Awards, as was Haley Joel Osment as David. John William's music in the film is one of his best scores, as it furthers the emotional pull of the story. The CGI in the film is seamlessly intercut with live action and creates a fantastic visionary feel to the film, reminisant of Blade Runner (1982). The most impressive creation in the film however, is the supertoy "Teddy". Like the story of Pinnochio, from which the main storyline is based, Teddy is David's "adviser" and him and Gigolo Joe set off on a journey of discovery as David tries to find the mystical "blue fairy" who can make robots into real boys. The three sections to the film are very different, going from the suburban home of David's parents to the shocking "flesh fair" where robots are destroyed on stage in front of audiences. Then to Rouge City where the Kubrickian side of the film is in full bore, as we are greeted by a city composed of garish neon lights adorning a spectacular world of sex and depravity. The jumps from these very different worlds is sometimes unsettling, and may not sit well with some people. And the extended ending seems over-wrought, but on the whole, it is a masterful excercise in film making at it's finest.
Rating: Summary: Don't waste your money! Review: I just had to take a moment to warn everyone on this ridiculously stupid movie! The commercials bill it as a fun tale of a family whose "robot" son becomes a feeling, loving, human-like child. Yet, this part of the story only lasted for about 1/3 of the movie. Next thing we know, the child is tossed out and goes on an adventure. At this point, I was thinking the movie might still be going somewhere. Unfortunately, it just dragged on with non-sensical, drawn out reasoning. Still, I had hope. Then, after the boy prayed to a statue until he became frozen for hundreds of years, I lost all hope. Even so, I watched. But, when they brought out the aliens I laughed my head off. When one of them sat down with the boy to give him a very long, pointed, philosophical view of the universe, world and the meaning of life- I laughed even harder and shut it off. Unfortunately, they continued to try to mix drama, with science fiction, with fairy tale, with esoterical overtones... in which none of them were followed through. None of them panned out or resolved. It was clear that this movie's entire purpose was to lead the viewers up to this new-age sermon on life and our existance. Yet, they sure took the long way around to get to their point!
Rating: Summary: Save your money and your time. Review: This is one of the worst movies I have ever seen. I am not too upset about wasting [money] on the DVD, as the video and sound quality were excellent. I do feel like I wasted precious time by watching it. My fiancee and I were overjoyed when the little robot boy finally found his Mommy - not because it was dramatic or tear-jerking, but because we knew the movie would soon be over. This movie [is not good]!
Rating: Summary: AI: Only the First Title Applies Review: Artificial: Yes. Intelligent: Hardly! I was highly disappointed in this movie. Although the lead character, (David), was a wonderful actor, the character himself never really developed. I found nothing to care about in this robotic boy. I had more compassion and sentiment for Gigolo Joe and Teddy than for any of the other characters. The script was contrived, leading nowhere. The emotions, of the characters, were not engaging. In short, there was little to love about this film, BR>Avoid this film, unless you are having trouble falling asleep!
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