I haven't felt this emotionally raped by a film since "The Phantom Menace". I knew that there was something wrong with this film when I
heard that Stanley Kubrick was involved, but I figured I'd give it a
chance when seeing Speilberg's name next to his. Boy was I wrong. This
movie is supposed to be a futuristic fairy tale; the retelling of
Pinocchio from the respective of a robot child who longs to be human and
earn the respect of his adoptive mother. WARNING: This is not E.T.
Sunday, 30 December 2012
Friday, 28 December 2012
Thursday, 27 December 2012
Artificial intelligence movie cast and crew
Directed by
Steven Spielberg
Haley Joel Osment
Frances O'Connor
Sam Robards
Jake Thomas
Jude Law
William Hurt
Ken Leung
Clark Gregg
Kevin Sussman
Tom Gallop
Eugene Osment
April Grace
Matt Winston
Sabrina Grdevich
Steven Spielberg
Haley Joel Osment
Frances O'Connor
Jake Thomas
Jude Law
William Hurt
Ken Leung
Clark Gregg
Kevin Sussman
Tom Gallop
Eugene Osment
April Grace
Matt Winston
Sabrina Grdevich
Artificial intelligence movie overview
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence is a haunting, heartfelt science fiction drama that offers movie fans a marriage made in 24-frames per second heaven: the visionary eye of the late Stanley Kubrick with the directorial (and also in this case, screenwriting) magic of Steven Spielberg. The result is 2001:Pinocchio's Odyssey, a stunning work of filmmaking highly uncommon for this or any summer movie season.
Based on three short stories from Supertoys Last All Summer Long, by Brian Aldiss, A.I. is the story of an android in the guise of an 11-year old boy named David (Haley Joel Osment). David is the cybergenic creation by Professor Hobby (William Hurt) as a possible solution for couples who are childless (Earth's natural resources have eroded to the point where population control is strictly enforced). The couple that receives David, Henry and Monica Swinton (Sam Robards and Frances O' Connor) already have a child, but he is terminally ill and currently is in cryogenic suspension.
At first, Monica is understandably creeped out by the presence of David, but over time begins to accept him. David begins to refer to her as "Mommy" and she starts to care for him the way she would her real son, Martin (Jake Thomas). However, just as this familial relationship is beginning to bloom, Martin comes out of his coma and re-enters the family scene. As with any child having to deal with a new "sibling" in the house, there is a great deal of animosity aimed at David, which leads to a few unfortunate accidents that nearly kill Martin.
With their real son back with them, Henry decides to "discard" David by having Monica leaving him in the woods to fend for himself (Standard Spielberg trademark: Dad is a dick). Using the story of Pinocchio (which Monica read to Marin and him) as a blueprint of sorts, David, accompanied by his supertoy, a talking, walking bear named Teddy, begins a journey to find the magical "Blue Fairy" in the hopes of becoming a human boy so he may be loved in return the same way he loves his mother.
Having two filmmakers as vastly different as Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick working on the same project together is both an exciting and scary prospect: if they find a common creative vibe, the film will be a stunner. If not, it could be a schizophrenic disaster that would send a lot of film geeks (myself at the front of the line) into serious cinematic depression.
Thankfully, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence's final result is one that doesn't resemble the latter and comes very damn close to the former. Spielberg, working from a 90-page outline of notes that Kubrick wrote as a treatment for the movie, has done a remarkable job in balancing Kubrick's pessimism with his optimism without having one overcrowd the other. The bleak, cold inhuman future, where the androids seem to possess more emotion than their creators, is pure Kubrick, while David's long journey to find unequivocal love and acceptance is trademark Spielberg.
Yet, Spielberg's directing here is not the warm and fuzzy style of E.T. It is more genteel and relaxed, giving the script (which he adapted) a chance to come to life without being overshadowed by camera tricks and visual effects (although those are here as well, thanks to the excellent cinematography by Janusz Kaminski and the stunning visual effects by Industrial Light and Magic). At 146 minutes, the film does run about ten minutes too long (the Flesh Fair and Doctor Know sequences should have been trimmed down), but the length is not enough to take away from what is accomplished here.
Last fall, when I was reviewing a perfectly dreadful movie called Pay It Forward, I stated Haley Joel Osment might have been a one-trick pony in terms of his acting (in short, his performance in that film was less than impressive). After seeing this film however, I am very happy to report that I was wrong. Dead wrong. As David, Osment gives his best performance to date. He's completely believable and his performance is very heartfelt, making it easy to empathize with him on his quest. This is award-worthy acting.
As Gigolo Joe, the male android who befriends David and accompanies him on his journey, Jude Law turns in an energetic and spirited performance. As for the other players, Frances O'Connor is good as Monica, David's "Mommy" (the scenes she shares with Osment though is where she really shines), while William Hurt has a nice, albeit small, turn as Professor Hobby. Ben Kingsley adds a nice layer to the film as a narrator that opens and closes the story.
Spielberg has brought along his usual crew to handle the behind the scenes work and once again, they do not disappoint. John Williams delivers a nice, subtle score (although I am pretty sure he did write the songs performed by Ministry), while Michael Kahn's editing is, big surprise, first rate. Along with aforementioned Kaminski and ILM's work, a huge round of applause should also go out to production designer Rick Carter and effects geniuses Stan Winston and Michael Lantieri (and of course, Industrial Light and Magic) for bringing to visual life a future world quite realistically.
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence is a movie unlike any other that we have seen in quite some time. It's a haunting, emotional, almost poetic journey that will fascinate as many viewers as it frustrates. You may feel a little scared about our future after seeing it. You may also wipe away a tear or two away in the process. You may find it a depressing, lumbering, boring mess that you thought would never end.
Either way, you won't soon forget the movie. Pro or con, images and themes will creep back into your mind and make you think and rethink a lot of things. This is not your typical Hollywood summertime movie and because of it's dark nature, definitely not a film for the entire family. It is, however, the best film I have seen so far this year and it is definitely the best science fiction film I have seen in years.
Based on three short stories from Supertoys Last All Summer Long, by Brian Aldiss, A.I. is the story of an android in the guise of an 11-year old boy named David (Haley Joel Osment). David is the cybergenic creation by Professor Hobby (William Hurt) as a possible solution for couples who are childless (Earth's natural resources have eroded to the point where population control is strictly enforced). The couple that receives David, Henry and Monica Swinton (Sam Robards and Frances O' Connor) already have a child, but he is terminally ill and currently is in cryogenic suspension.
At first, Monica is understandably creeped out by the presence of David, but over time begins to accept him. David begins to refer to her as "Mommy" and she starts to care for him the way she would her real son, Martin (Jake Thomas). However, just as this familial relationship is beginning to bloom, Martin comes out of his coma and re-enters the family scene. As with any child having to deal with a new "sibling" in the house, there is a great deal of animosity aimed at David, which leads to a few unfortunate accidents that nearly kill Martin.
With their real son back with them, Henry decides to "discard" David by having Monica leaving him in the woods to fend for himself (Standard Spielberg trademark: Dad is a dick). Using the story of Pinocchio (which Monica read to Marin and him) as a blueprint of sorts, David, accompanied by his supertoy, a talking, walking bear named Teddy, begins a journey to find the magical "Blue Fairy" in the hopes of becoming a human boy so he may be loved in return the same way he loves his mother.
Having two filmmakers as vastly different as Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick working on the same project together is both an exciting and scary prospect: if they find a common creative vibe, the film will be a stunner. If not, it could be a schizophrenic disaster that would send a lot of film geeks (myself at the front of the line) into serious cinematic depression.
Thankfully, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence's final result is one that doesn't resemble the latter and comes very damn close to the former. Spielberg, working from a 90-page outline of notes that Kubrick wrote as a treatment for the movie, has done a remarkable job in balancing Kubrick's pessimism with his optimism without having one overcrowd the other. The bleak, cold inhuman future, where the androids seem to possess more emotion than their creators, is pure Kubrick, while David's long journey to find unequivocal love and acceptance is trademark Spielberg.
Yet, Spielberg's directing here is not the warm and fuzzy style of E.T. It is more genteel and relaxed, giving the script (which he adapted) a chance to come to life without being overshadowed by camera tricks and visual effects (although those are here as well, thanks to the excellent cinematography by Janusz Kaminski and the stunning visual effects by Industrial Light and Magic). At 146 minutes, the film does run about ten minutes too long (the Flesh Fair and Doctor Know sequences should have been trimmed down), but the length is not enough to take away from what is accomplished here.
Last fall, when I was reviewing a perfectly dreadful movie called Pay It Forward, I stated Haley Joel Osment might have been a one-trick pony in terms of his acting (in short, his performance in that film was less than impressive). After seeing this film however, I am very happy to report that I was wrong. Dead wrong. As David, Osment gives his best performance to date. He's completely believable and his performance is very heartfelt, making it easy to empathize with him on his quest. This is award-worthy acting.
As Gigolo Joe, the male android who befriends David and accompanies him on his journey, Jude Law turns in an energetic and spirited performance. As for the other players, Frances O'Connor is good as Monica, David's "Mommy" (the scenes she shares with Osment though is where she really shines), while William Hurt has a nice, albeit small, turn as Professor Hobby. Ben Kingsley adds a nice layer to the film as a narrator that opens and closes the story.
Spielberg has brought along his usual crew to handle the behind the scenes work and once again, they do not disappoint. John Williams delivers a nice, subtle score (although I am pretty sure he did write the songs performed by Ministry), while Michael Kahn's editing is, big surprise, first rate. Along with aforementioned Kaminski and ILM's work, a huge round of applause should also go out to production designer Rick Carter and effects geniuses Stan Winston and Michael Lantieri (and of course, Industrial Light and Magic) for bringing to visual life a future world quite realistically.
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence is a movie unlike any other that we have seen in quite some time. It's a haunting, emotional, almost poetic journey that will fascinate as many viewers as it frustrates. You may feel a little scared about our future after seeing it. You may also wipe away a tear or two away in the process. You may find it a depressing, lumbering, boring mess that you thought would never end.
Either way, you won't soon forget the movie. Pro or con, images and themes will creep back into your mind and make you think and rethink a lot of things. This is not your typical Hollywood summertime movie and because of it's dark nature, definitely not a film for the entire family. It is, however, the best film I have seen so far this year and it is definitely the best science fiction film I have seen in years.
Artificial intelligence movie review
I haven't felt this emotionally raped by a film since "The Phantom Menace". I knew that there was something wrong with this film when I heard that Stanley Kubrick was involved, but I figured I'd give it a chance when seeing Speilberg's name next to his. Boy was I wrong. This movie is supposed to be a futuristic fairy tale; the retelling of Pinocchio from the respective of a robot child who longs to be human and earn the respect of his adoptive mother. WARNING: This is not E.T.
The story, which is narrated in parts by Sir Ben Kingsley, begins in the late 21st century, where the oft foretold global warming has melted the ice caps and submerged all major coastal cities. This has led to the displacement of millions people and resources. To mitigate these problems strict limits on population have been imposed. People must wait a long time to receive permits to have children--(hey, not a bad idea now). However, there is still a need for mundane tasks to be done but since population is tightly controlled, most of it is done by robots, who are called "mecha", short for mechanical. They serve as nannies, gardeners,domestic workers, and coital companions. The CEO of a robot manufacturing company decides to fill the need and the market for "orga"; short for organic (humans) who aren't permitted to have children by devising a child android that is capable of feeling love.
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The prototype of this machine is David, who is given to an employee of the company whose own child is in cryogenic storage because of some mystery illness that is beyond the current science. Henry Swinton (Sam Robards) brings home David (Haley Joel Osment) to his wife Monica (Frances O'Connor) who reluctantly agrees to the trial period and is cautioned against "imprinting" David unless and until she is sure that she wants to keep him. After becoming attached to the charming little mechabot, Monica imprints on David and they become a happy little virtual family. Then the couple receives a phone call.
This is where in my opinion the fairy tale ends, and the nightmare begins with A.I.. The Swintons learn that their biological child, Martin, has awaken from his coma, is now in remission, and is able to come home. Sibling rivalry and jealousy between the two begins immediately. Actually, it is Martin who is the source of animosity, and in my opinion should have stayed frozen as he proceeds to torment and get David into trouble. Poor David, whose only purpose is to earn Monica's love unwittingly falls victim to his resentment, as David is the perfect child, and Martin is somewhat of a burden to his parents. After a series of events orchestrated by Martin, the couple decides to return David to the manufacturer (some hell of a warranty). Knowing that he will be destroyed, Monica leaves David and his mecha supertoy, Teddy in the woods to escape destruction. As they wander in the woods the little bots run across other disenfranchised mecha who are trying to evade capture and eventual destruction by the humans who have come to hate mecha and have shocking demolition derbies to destroy them. After capture, David meets Gigolo Joe, a literal sex machine, played by Jude Law. After narrowly escaping destruction, the two become inseparable and begin on a journey to find the Blue Fairy of Pinocchio lore in the hopes that David will become a real boy, earn his mother's love, and return home to the Swintons.
.jpg)
This part of the film goes on way too long. They spend a good 1/3 of the movie searching for the Blue Fairy and go to the most absurd measures to find her. This is where the Speilberg ends and the Kubrick begins. Unfortunately, the whole concept get way out of hand and the final part of the film is set 2,500 years later where a new generation of alien-like mecha find David whose journey has taken him to the depths of the ocean (that isn't the only thing about the film that gets deep). This is the part where I began to writhe in pain, as the film attempts to end several times but alas is as resilient as the Energizer Bunny. Finally, and thankfully, the movie ends. kinda.
The problem I have with it is that he movie truly lacked a human touch. Like The Phantom Menace, the special effects and computer graphics were stunning but overshadowed the human element. All of the human characters were flat and one-dimensional. I presumed A.I. would stun or stir you with the combination of Pinocchio and Frankenstein storylines. But all it does is make you nauseous.
However, in speaking with several other movie goers/reviewers, who just happen to be parents themselves, I have gotten a rather different message about A.I. It seems that those who have children view this movie from a different perspective. Since I don't have any of those little parasitic beasts, I guess that I just don't or even can't understand. Regardless my opinion of Artificial Intelligence is that the film is too much artificial, and has far too little intelligence.
The story, which is narrated in parts by Sir Ben Kingsley, begins in the late 21st century, where the oft foretold global warming has melted the ice caps and submerged all major coastal cities. This has led to the displacement of millions people and resources. To mitigate these problems strict limits on population have been imposed. People must wait a long time to receive permits to have children--(hey, not a bad idea now). However, there is still a need for mundane tasks to be done but since population is tightly controlled, most of it is done by robots, who are called "mecha", short for mechanical. They serve as nannies, gardeners,domestic workers, and coital companions. The CEO of a robot manufacturing company decides to fill the need and the market for "orga"; short for organic (humans) who aren't permitted to have children by devising a child android that is capable of feeling love.
The prototype of this machine is David, who is given to an employee of the company whose own child is in cryogenic storage because of some mystery illness that is beyond the current science. Henry Swinton (Sam Robards) brings home David (Haley Joel Osment) to his wife Monica (Frances O'Connor) who reluctantly agrees to the trial period and is cautioned against "imprinting" David unless and until she is sure that she wants to keep him. After becoming attached to the charming little mechabot, Monica imprints on David and they become a happy little virtual family. Then the couple receives a phone call.
This is where in my opinion the fairy tale ends, and the nightmare begins with A.I.. The Swintons learn that their biological child, Martin, has awaken from his coma, is now in remission, and is able to come home. Sibling rivalry and jealousy between the two begins immediately. Actually, it is Martin who is the source of animosity, and in my opinion should have stayed frozen as he proceeds to torment and get David into trouble. Poor David, whose only purpose is to earn Monica's love unwittingly falls victim to his resentment, as David is the perfect child, and Martin is somewhat of a burden to his parents. After a series of events orchestrated by Martin, the couple decides to return David to the manufacturer (some hell of a warranty). Knowing that he will be destroyed, Monica leaves David and his mecha supertoy, Teddy in the woods to escape destruction. As they wander in the woods the little bots run across other disenfranchised mecha who are trying to evade capture and eventual destruction by the humans who have come to hate mecha and have shocking demolition derbies to destroy them. After capture, David meets Gigolo Joe, a literal sex machine, played by Jude Law. After narrowly escaping destruction, the two become inseparable and begin on a journey to find the Blue Fairy of Pinocchio lore in the hopes that David will become a real boy, earn his mother's love, and return home to the Swintons.
This part of the film goes on way too long. They spend a good 1/3 of the movie searching for the Blue Fairy and go to the most absurd measures to find her. This is where the Speilberg ends and the Kubrick begins. Unfortunately, the whole concept get way out of hand and the final part of the film is set 2,500 years later where a new generation of alien-like mecha find David whose journey has taken him to the depths of the ocean (that isn't the only thing about the film that gets deep). This is the part where I began to writhe in pain, as the film attempts to end several times but alas is as resilient as the Energizer Bunny. Finally, and thankfully, the movie ends. kinda.
The problem I have with it is that he movie truly lacked a human touch. Like The Phantom Menace, the special effects and computer graphics were stunning but overshadowed the human element. All of the human characters were flat and one-dimensional. I presumed A.I. would stun or stir you with the combination of Pinocchio and Frankenstein storylines. But all it does is make you nauseous.
However, in speaking with several other movie goers/reviewers, who just happen to be parents themselves, I have gotten a rather different message about A.I. It seems that those who have children view this movie from a different perspective. Since I don't have any of those little parasitic beasts, I guess that I just don't or even can't understand. Regardless my opinion of Artificial Intelligence is that the film is too much artificial, and has far too little intelligence.
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