A.I. Artificial Intelligence Review

As the months on the calendar continue to fall off far too rapidly and the years start to sound more like a science fiction setting rather than the present, the year 2001 starts to remind me less of the Kubrick masterpiece and more of a time long since passed. While I recall the memories of things that will be impossible to forget, like the surreal day in September in which America was attacked, very little of what I personally experienced back then will register in my mind ever again. I was 17 years old and the days I lived then all blur together in a mess of underage alcohol consumption and raging hormones, but oddly enough I have carried a hatred for a specific film with me for over thirteen years now: A.I. Artificial Intelligence.

The strange part is, I could no longer even remember why I hated it so much. I had seen it with friends when it opened in June of 2001, and I recall walking in with expectations of a grand, wildly imaginative science fiction masterpiece, and walking out bitching about the ending and the way it was "too long" and "boring". All these years later and I still found myself scoffing at the film when I would see it receive praise, and it occurred to me that I have forgiven people I actually had reason to dislike back then in recent years. I have transformed from a turd teenager to a 30 year old man with a 7 year old daughter since my one and only viewing of A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Wasn't it about time I gave the film a second chance?

While still not a masterpiece, A.I. Artificial Intelligence is certainly grand and wildly imaginative and I feel a bit of shame for holding such an odd grudge for 13 years when I could have been revisiting it and discovering the reasons to embrace it instead. The original vision of this film came from the master himself Stanley Kubrick all the way back in the 1970's, but he simply could not get the project off the ground, having issues with the quality of special effects available to him. Kubrick felt that they would not be worthy to create the child android character of David appear human enough, which is mandatory for the narrative. It wasn't until 1995 when Kubrick decided to hand the project off to good friend Steven Spielberg, and even then nothing moved forward until Kubrick passed away in 1999. 

While Kubrick never got the chance to see his finished vision finally put to celluloid, I now believe he would have been proud of what Spielberg achieved. I was blown away by how strong the visuals of the film stand up in 2014, which seems like a silly statement when referring to a film only released 13 years ago, but the progression of the quality of effects available continues to unfold rapidly and yet A.I. feels as if it could be put into cinemas today and no one would ever know the difference. The performances of Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law are hauntingly on point for the android roles they are playing, and the Pinocchio inspired story is constantly compelling and heartbreaking, which is ironic because while I shed tears for the pain of David, in truth David is feeling no pain. He has no heart, he has no soul, and yet I wanted nothing more than for him to find the blue fairy and become a real boy. If Kubrick picked Spielberg because he felt he was the correct choice to make the audience connect so deeply with something not human, much the way we did with an alien in E.T., than he certainly got it right. While the film may suffer from a small amount of flaws, the depth of how I connected to it on an emotional level was not one of them.

Speaking of those flaws, only one thing I recall feeling way back in 2001 still registered with me this time around and that is with the pacing. I don't know what it is exactly, but I was totally invested in the first and second acts of the film, but by the third act which takes place in a far distant future I felt myself fading away from the work a bit. A.I Artificial Intelligence went from a riveting, joyous ride to a bit of a lean back in my seat and check the clock to see how much more was left experience, and I cannot be certain whether this is truly the fault of the film or if I should be taking issue with myself as the viewer. I suppose a third viewing will be what makes or breaks this issue with my drifting away during the final thirty or so minutes.

Also, while it only comprises of about seven seconds of screen time, there is a sequence where Chris Rock does a voice cameo and it really feels out of place. I don't understand creative decisions like this, because it really wasn't amusing and it certainly didn't add anything to the film and yet it was a jarring reminder that I was indeed just watching a movie. I prefer to let the experience overtake me, when I lose sight of what is fact and what is fiction and instead just get swept away in the story, but little things like celebrity cameos meant for nothing more than a giggle or a talking point don't sit right. 

As a massive fan of the science fiction genre, I will not be quickly moving A.I. Artificial Intelligence to the top of any all time lists, but I certainly regret not finding time for a second viewing sooner and recognizing how silly my hatred was. For the most part this is a masterfully handled film with depth and passion seeping out of every pore. If you are like me with this or any other highly regarded picture, carrying with you the negative energy of a bad cinematic experience for years, I suggest you sit down with an open mind and give it a second chance. I'm thrilled I did.

4/5

Genius Directors - Stanley Kubrick

Despite being a fan (to say the least) of Stanley Kubrick and his films, I didn't quite grasp the level of brilliance he achieved during his career until I visited his IMDB page recently and really soaked in the list of his work. The man was essentially a masterpiece machine, and what impresses me even more is that he wasn't a one trick pony who mastered a genre and stuck with it.

In 1957 he released the devastating film Paths of Glory, an anti-war story of a troop of soldiers who refuse to follow through with a suicidal attack and are thus charged with the war crime of cowardice, a potential sentence of death at the hands of their own country they trusted with their lives. In 1960 Kubrick was at the helm of the historical epic Spartacus, a film twice as long as Paths of Glory and far grander in scope. In 1964 the world was lucky enough to witness the absolutely brilliant anti-war satirical comedy Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, which I consider to be one of the greatest comedies ever released.

His next film after Dr. Strangelove is considered by many to be not only the greatest science fiction film of all time, but perhaps the greatest period. 2001: A Space Odyssey is without a doubt my favorite work of Kubrick and sits comfortably in my top ten films of all time, an abstract and polarizing cinematic behemoth that is designed to confound and challenge the audience, and it succeeds as even after double digit viewings I can merely present my hypothesis on the meaning of the film rather than absolutes.

Skip ahead all the way to 1980 when one of the truly iconic horror classics was released, The Shining, a film that not only scares the shit out of viewers but also has left a lasting legacy on pop culture and anyone who has allowed the haunting imagery to linger in their minds. Next was Full Metal Jacket in 1987, another Kubrick anti-war classic that plays in two jarringly different acts, the first at boot camp as we witness the mental breakdown of Leonard Lawrence, more famously known by the nickname Gomer Pyle, and the second act allows us to witness the awfulness of the Vietnam war. Full Metal Jacket is a wonderful movie as a whole, but the first act at boot camp and the final scene of the film are the two aspects that will forever stay with me.

Finally, twelve years later in 1999, sadly Kubrick's final and most misunderstood masterpiece was released, Eyes Wide Shut, a film that literally gave me nightmares after seeing it. If you sit down to watch Eyes Wide Shut because you are looking for nudity and the infamous orgy scene, don't bother. Sure, those aspects are indeed there, but if your main goal is to be aroused by the experience you are sure to be disappointed, as the narrative of this film is instead a giant advertisement for the positives of monogamy, a slice of cinema that left me feeling anything but sexy.

Amazingly, all these films I mentioned and I didn't even cover Barry Lyndon or A Clockwork Orange, considered to be two of the finer films ever released. That is how brilliant the filmography of Stanley Kubrick.

Ranking his work is a tall order, but here is my attempt to do so:

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Eyes Wide Shut
3. The Shining
4. Full Metal Jacket
5. Dr. Strangelove
6. Paths of Glory
7. Barry Lyndon
8. A Clockwork Orange
9. Spartacus

Not listed are those I have (sadly) never seen, his first feature from 1953 titled Fear and Desire, the 1955 film The Killer's Kiss, The Killing from 1956 and Lolita from 1962. A part of me feels ashamed to still have these four films to experience before I can truly understand everything the man accomplished, but the other part of me is thrilled to have Kubrick work left to discover.

Eyes Wide Shut Review

This was not my first viewing of Eyes Wide Shut but it nevertheless felt like an eye opening experience. After I finished the film very early this morning, I headed off to bed to get some sleep. With the window open next to me, I was sure I heard an ominous noise outside and I jumped to my feet to take a look. Nothing. Silence. I tried to convince myself that there was nothing to worry about, yet as I laid there I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched. I was certain that someone was out there, residing calmly in the darkness, waiting for me to drift off into vulnerability.

Once I finally did, I had a pretty vivid and disturbing nightmare regarding the safety of my loves one. I woke in a panic in the middle of the night, reminding myself that reality was still as mundane as our suburban slumber. It was merely a dream. Is it possible that these images that haunted my subconscious happened on this night, after this film coincidentally? Absolutely. I have no proof otherwise. Personally though, I believe I was soaked in the atmosphere Kubrick created. I believe I absorbed the paranoia of Dr. Bill Harford (Tom Cruise).

When this film was released in 1999, I recall it being touted as something that would be endlessly sexy, a dream come true for my hormonal 15 year old self. At the time I didn't appreciate what it really meant to be a Kubrick film, but had I known I wouldn't have believed the hype that this picture was meant to sexually arouse the audience. The irony of a work that features numerous nude women, prostitutes and an orgy is that in the end, it feels like a giant advertisement for the benefits of monogamy.

While not sexy, Eyes Wide Shut is without a doubt one of the creepiest films I have ever seen. I am seldom impressed by the horror genre, and such films rarely keep me up at night or make me consider the possibility that someone is watching me, but the hypnotic world created by Kubrick along with the simplistic yet utterly perfect musical score had my nerves fried, my stomach unsettled and my skin crawling, especially during the infamous mansion sequence.

I recall this film being deemed a lesser Kubrick upon its release, which was also the final work of the genius auteur. Perhaps a victim of a marketing campaign that wanted to focus on a beautiful real life couple doing sexy things together on camera, it seems as if those that entered the cinema initially had their perversions disappointed and thus couldn't connect to what was actually presented. Not only do I disagree with anything about Eyes Wide Shut being lesser, it very well might be one of the finest efforts from a man who seemingly crafted masterpieces with ease.

I doubt anyone was actually watching me last night as I attempted to count sheep. It seems absurd to even consider such a thing, but what proves the power of this work is that I still feel like I can't be sure. It may take quite a few more viewings to fully appreciate the density of this film, and perhaps every time I will lose a bit of a sleep that night. I am willing to embrace the nightmares.


5/5