Rating: 
Summary: Had to be influenced by a fellow New Jerseyan
Review: I saw this movie when it first came out and I can't wait until it comes out on DVD. From the first opening scene I realized a New Jerseyan must have had to play a key role in it's making. 1) It shows more of what NJ is like - hi-tech companies and wooded and winding country roads with houses tucked into the woods. Unlike what most people get to see which is the area around Newark Airport and the northern sections of the NJ Turnpike. 2) Philadelpia has become a city of sex and sin and has been renamed Rouge City. 3) The ice caps have melted. Manhattan is underwater, but New Jersey is unaffected by the rise in water. I also believe the Statue of Liberty is still standing proud - since it's actually in New Jersey waters. Being a proud New Jerseyan - I'll forgive the impossibility of New Jersey being above water while New York is under water because of the melting ice caps. The imagery of the movie was incredible. The storyline was little different than what I was expecting from the trailer, but I still really enjoyed it. Hopefully when the DVD comes out - it'll have a lot of extras on it, especilly a full length commentary and behind the scenes look.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Film of the Year
Review: The pairing of Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg could be considered the cinematic equivalent of Ludwig van Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composing a symphony together.
For more than thirty years, the late Stanley Kubrick had been planning to bring Brian Aldiss' short story, Super Toys Last All Summer Long, to the screen.
Kubrick titled the story A.I., for Artificial Intelligence. In early 2000, after a two year hiatus, Steven Spielberg announced that he would tackle A.I.. Kubrick's widow and bother-in-law, producer Jan Harlan, gave to Spielberg, the ninety-page treatment that Kubrick had written with Ian Watson. Spielberg then set out to write his solo first screenplay since 1977's Close Encounters Of The Third Kind - he had co-written 1982's Poltergeist. By mid 2000, Spielberg was ready to go. He had cast Halley Joel Osment and Jude Law in the lead roles, Frances O'Connor, William Hurt and Sam Robards in supporting. Enlisted the talents of special effects masters Industrial Light & Magic. The outcome is something that words cannot completely define. A.I. begins with a family who's son has been seriously injured. The mother, Monica (O'Connor), believing that her son will one day be able to come home to her, never loses faith. The father, Henry (Robards), is more of a realists. It's due to this circumstance that leads to the company, Cybertronics - where Henry works - selecting Monica and Henry to take part in an experiment, if you will. The company - who specialise in the building of Mechas (androids built for the purpose of serving humans) - have built the first child Mecha. A Mecha with the ability to love. Henry agrees to take the 'child' into the family home, but Monica refutes.
The 'child', David (Osment), takes to his new 'family' fairly well. Though his affection is all for Monica and not for Henry.
As time goes on, Monica's affection for David grows, and she decides to 'imprint' herself on David. By speaking a variety of carefully selected words, David will begin to love. He recognises Monica as his 'mummy', and Monica now has her loving 'son'.
All is soon to change as Monica and Henry's real son miraculously recovers from his injuries.
Their real son, Martin, still very frail after his injuries, begins to worry Henry. Believing that David might pose a threat to his son and to his family, suggests that returning him to the company might be in their best interests. But Monica knows that if David is returned to Cybertronics, then he will be destroyed.
After David accidentally harms Martin, Monica decides that taking David back is the best option. But her 'motherly-love' kicks in.
She abandons David in the woods - I must stress that this is one of the films most powerful and emotional scenes. David, believing that his 'mummy' will only love him if he becomes a real boy like in the story Pinocchio, vows that he will return a real boy. The second act introduces us to one of the films most colourful characters: Gigolo Joe.
Joe is a Love-Mecha (played to perfection be Jude Law), who's purpose is to satisfy humans rather than serve them. He is framed for murder, and then has to leave town.
He is exiled to the woods were he meets David. Together, they are hounded by the Flesh Fair. The Flesh Fair is a spectators story, where humans cheer as old Mechas are destroyed. It is difficult to describe. The only way that I could is to say that it is an amalgamation of the Krakow liquidation in Schindler's List and the orgy scene in Eyes Wide Shut. It is at the Flesh Fair that David is discovered by humans, and due to his uniqueness, is allowed to go. With Joe.
David tells Joe of his plan to become a real boy. He must find the Blue Fairy, and then his 'mummy' will love him.
Their journey takes them to Rouge City. A neon-soaked Las Vegas gone mad. Joe suggests that to find the Blue Fairy, they must ask Dr. Know (voiced by Robin Williams). Dr. Know's answers take them to Manhattan. Submerged by the melting of the ice-caps, this is a flawless vision of a drowned utopia. From here, David's journey will take him to the ends of the earth. And to an ending that will baffle, infuriate, and inspire. Like all Stanley Kubrick films, A.I. is filled with coldness. It would have been interesting to have seen Kubrick's version. The character of David for instance, is not real, so how can we invest our emotions in something that is not real? Osment's performance for a start. He is a revelation from start to finish. Giving the kind a performance, that for a child actor, seems almost impossible. Jude Law hold the screen with Osment in a way that none of the other actors can. O'Connor is very affecting, but because all of her scenes involve Osment, it becomes very difficult for her to hold the screen.
That said, this is a Spielberg film through and through. From the breathtaking visual effects to the over sentimental ending.
A.I. is the finest example to date of using special effects in film. One of the films most stunning effects happen in the first five minuets. Actors run around with their faces halved in two and jaws slashed open. Key moments that must be seen to be believed are David after eating the spinach and the afore-mentioned submerged Manhattan. To round things up; A.I. refuses to be rushed. It takes its time and tells one of the most mesmerising, and original stories to come out of Hollywood in a long time.
In many years to come, A.I. will follow in the footsteps of Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey: it will become a classic. As of now, it is merely a modern masterpiece.
Rating: 
Summary: One of Spielberg's most disappointing films
Review: A.I. has almost everything you would expect from a Spielberg film: an excellent and intruiging story, good acting(I heard the voices of Robin Williams and Chris Rock in A.I.), good characters, some humor, John Williams' good music, remarkable action sequences, and best of all, a couple scenes that show you something that disturbs you, but makes you think(like the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, the Holocaust scenes from Schindler's List, and the slavery in Amistad). I am a huge fan of Spielberg's films, but not this one. A.I. is mssing something very important: a good conclusion. I'm not the first person to criticize the ending, but I'm going to do it anyway because it single-handedly brought A.I. down. A.I. was an excellent film until the last fifteen minutes. I am used to Spielberg's endings being normal, but not too predictable. At the end of A.I., I was thinking "What the!?" I felt cheated.
Rating:
Summary: Artificial Love
Review: This movie has many mixed reviews from different audiences. But truly, it is an insult to call A.I. a remake of pinnochio, that obvious comparison was used to emphasize the story, not to be a basis. This movie was more than amazing, it captures you and sweeps you away on an emotional rollercoaster. This scenematic masterpiece(completly in my opinion of course) epitomizes the true essence of Love. It was a 'Looking Glass' for all of humanity. A.I. shows us what it is to be human, our incredible emotions, our deepest fears. Stanley Kubric had a wonderful way of throwing the most shocking images in your face just for his own amusement, and many people loved him for that. Going into the theater, their high expectations of that led them to unfairly judge this movie. Spielberg as a director,has a way of touching your heart and tantalizing your imagination. In my person opinion, they make a wonderful team ! Although I must admit, I was looking for, "In loving memory of Stanley" at the end, but sadly did not see it. Besides that, this movie shows us all the intense power of love, how it drives us all, and how it leads us to our utter madness. You see its a simple formula, the more love you feel, the more pain you experience when it doesnt go as planned. The character 'David', although artificial, was a shining example of this. Which was evidence enough that his love was real. The controversy over this is that anything non-human(or religously:not made in gods image,or by his own hand) is incapable of love or other basic emotions. I think Kubric played his part in throwing that twist in our faces, showing us how self-absorbed, and full of pride we can be at times. As for the ending, well yes it was unexpected, but if you understood it, it worked out perfectly. I have to admit, the alien thing threw me for a loop, but still its the message that counts. One: Life is fleeting and impermanent, and things aren't always going to go as planned. Two: Love,the most powerful force, flows through all of creation. and Three: The most important lesson that most people lost in the ending. Love is eternal, space and time have no hold on it. In the end, David got what he wanted, and he dreamed, proving to all of us, that he was real, and his love so powerful and equally real, that it surpassed all of time, and even our life, on our planet. Go see A.I., look at it in this light and I promise you will enjoy it.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Superb!
Review: This is a review, but also it is a response to those critizing the ending. I've read how people think the ending was lacking, by simply not having a fantastical ending in which the boy-machine turns into a real human being. Um, duh, this movie is set in a world that is fictional, but still retains the basic principals of life. It is not a fantasy story with magic pixies, and spirits flying around. So think about it. Were you really expecting the boy-machine to find a blue fairy. No, of course not, it was complete ignorance on the boy's idealistic pursuit. But through technology, and technology only, is the boy-machine able to actually "find" the blue fairy, and no I'm sorry to say that plastic and metal, the boy-machine's basic components, do not have the ability to magically turn into flesh and blood. This is reality, not fantasy! In some instances I do have to agree that the movie became slow in some instances, but I thought that even when I started to become lax, I simply was sucked in by the unparalleling storyline.
Furthermore, Mr. Chippy, you talk about how the know-it-all man was kind of foolish looking. Well come on, please, this movie was partly lacking because it had hardly any humoring quality to it. So, basically, you think that Spielberg should have given the preconceived notion that Mr. Who was a complete goofball, as portrayed somewhat in the movie. Yea, that would really give you the impression that he knew everything, huh! I thought that using Robin William's voice to provide an almost laughable quality to Mr. Who was a wonderful implication to the movie's atmosphere. It gives us the sense that not everything in the future here it so synthetic and unfeeling. But perhaps your idea of Mr. Who being a grandmaster, god-like being, towering over the boy-machine with a booming voice and fire covering his body would be more effective to someone like you.
But really you must watch this movie and simply think about what is happening at the present time in the movie, without putting so much emphasis on what the ending will be. The climax sensation should not occur until you know it is almost the end, not half-way through a movie, because then you simply forget about the rest of the movie until the ending, when everything is summarized. Spielberg, Kubrick, you guys rock! I only pray that you can surpass this film as well! My most humbling regards.
Rating:
Summary: A VERY touching film.
Review: Although many people will pass this film off as another si-fi, futuristic film, I found it to be so, so much more. I found in the story of an ageless robot boy, so much more than that. This film makes you wonder about our, as human beings' most pure emotion, that of love. Our need for love, and it's pure purpose in our lives, and why we long for it so desperatly. A.I. also made me think, if an iceage, and the end of the human race looms in the future, What is our trueist purpose? We will all die in the future, we all know that, but what does anything matter if you think about it. What is the purpose of our very existance on this planet, since the planet will be destroyed by the sun in 5,000,000,000 years. This movie is the story of our quest for love. It is not only the human quest for love, since David is not human. But every creature that has, does, or ever will live wants and deserves to be wanted and loved. That is the pure message of this film. Above all, I found this to be a truely touching film, and if you have a heart inside you, be prepared to cry in the end! A wonderful film!
Rating:
Summary: Spielbergian "Emotion" Undercut By Chilling View
Review: It's been more than a month since I saw A.I. and I still can't get it out of my head. I understand why so many people really distrust Spielberg and his reputation for schmaltz, indeed, I was one of them. But the emotion in A.I. is so heavily undercut by the combination of Kubrik's and Aldiss's chilling view that the 'emotion' seems more like an overwrought kabuki play than cinematic realism. The fact that David's 'love is real but he is not' means that what we're seeing is NOT REAL ' it's a simulation of love, intelligence and so on. Combined with this bizarre and welcome conceptual leap into the unknown, the film looks and sounds gorgeous. I didn't pick up on the robot/alien thing at the end but, even with the double-talk pseudo-scientific explanations, the images of a frozen New York were so startling and so brilliantly executed that I believe this will be a sci-fi movie milestone. Go see it.
Rating: 
Summary: Exellent Well made Movie until you get to the end
Review: This Movie could have been one of the greatest science fiction films of all time. The two great directors Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick did an exellent job on their ideas. The film was made wonderfully. It had good acting by pretty much everyone. There was good character development. There was a dramatic story line which kept you waiting for more. It very very good cinematogrophy. It had a very well done soundtrack by John Williams. And the whole movie was well directed. It is a futuristic retelling of Pinochio with a science fiction twist. However two things are not good in the movie. The first thing is the way Dr. Who looks. He looks a bit silly for te way he was talked about in a poetic way by Jude Law. And the final thing which I think every movie lover would agree with. The ending was stupid. It was like the whole movie is leading up to this finale which no one could expect and when we see it we raise our eyebrows. I do not want to tell you the ending but I think that Spielberg should have ended the film when David the robot jumps in the water from the New York building. Once you see the film you will agree with me. Spielberg is a great Director and he should have realized that the ending he had lined up was bad.
Rating:
Summary: A genuine Masterpiece!!!!!
Review: This movie proves that cinema still deserves to be considered as an expression of art, and this is possible because of the talented artists involved in this project. The key to understand why this movie is so good, lies in the fact that we have Stanley Kubrick's vision in a Steven Spielberg movie, this is so great, I always thought that certain movies had so much potential, but the director's point of view was the wrong one. This is why I think the best way sometimes would be to work in a team. I know this is not possible, but in A.I. we get the closest thing to that, we can see Kubrick's dark and interesting point of view of humanity mixed with Spielberg's technical perfection plus his "common sense". (I always thought that Kubrick, as a genious artist, sometimes abused too much of his audiences, while Spielberg ussually seems to be a more "down to earth" director.) OK, that was the cinematic and technical comment, the scrypt and story are really interesting, and of course this is the most important thing in a movie. I believe A.I. is a story based on the search for happiness and the purpose of one's existance, wich reminds me of some japanese animation series, where these topics are touched in a very interesting way. It is a movie that will make you think, laugh (at some scenes) and cry, it is a movie about humanity. (and it's a very good one). Haley Joel Osment is a great actor, I think he shows what a real actor must do, "David" is so different to "Cole" (Sixth Sense") that you can see he is really acting in these movies, he should get some award for this work. Also Jude Law made a very good job in this movie, and the music score is amazing, but the main stars in this movie are Haley Joel Osment (playing an unforgettable "David"), Spielberg (for making such a perfect work with some help from Kubrick's style) and the story itself. I would like to see this scrypt winning the oscar. This movie is a true masterpiece and it must be a part of your DVD collection.
Rating:
Summary: More good than bad...
Review: I think it's quite okay to tell a popular story in a new way. Responding to an earlier review, there's nothing wrong with Spielberg and Kubrick (giving him posthumous credit) for re-creating Pinocchio. By twisting the original around and relating it to our own time, it gives us things to think about that we might not have before considered. Personally, I believe this movie had a lot going for it. You have the outstanding performances of both Osment and Law (and if they don't give that kid an Oscar soon, I'm going to verbally throttle the whole Academy). You have this odd mesh of the harsh future of Kubrick with the epic drama of Spielberg which, while not always working in sync, yet manages to spin the mind. True, the movie does take up more time than it should and drags a bit for those wanting more adventure and less thought, but for those willing to speculate on the ideas the movie brings up, its length is just fine. I saw this flick twice in the theater, and didn't regret it either time. On a personal note, I have to mention the fantastic job by John Williams. If anybody ever made a Spielberg film work, it's him. Anyway, I do recommend this film. If you can sift through its shortcomings to reach the real meat in the ideas it represents, then it makes for great inspiration.
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