Rated PG, so your kids can listen to this chat, even though they probably shouldn’t watch the movie itself.
We began our talk about A.I. at the ending of the movie because the last 15 or 20 minutes have always been controversial. Didn’t it already have the most poetic ending possible before wishes started coming true? We debate that hot topic. Merging the visions of Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick was always going to be an odd mix, but you might be surprised to learn which of them brought the negative and which of them brought the positive to this story. What shouldn’t be surprising is that Haley Joel Osment is terrific in one of the best performances by any child in any movie. He managed to top his great work in The Sixth Sense with this beautifully crafted evolution of a robot who becomes a real boy…or as close to it as a robot can. Spielberg’s fairy tale about a mecha Pinocchio is gorgeous to look at and to listen to, even if it’s episodic and a mite too long. Maybe more than a mite. So let a teddy bear and a gigolo tag along on a quest for your mother’s love as the 396th Ellises’ Analysis rattles on about Artificial Intelligence.
Well, Actually: Spielberg had 6 movies on the AFI’s 1998 and 2007 Top 100 Lists (we overlooked Raiders Of The Lost Ark).
Sparkplug Coffee might not be GOOD for androids, robots or mechanical people, but nobody can prove it’s BAD for them either. Check out Sparkplug’s site and keep in mind that they will pony up a 20% discount if you use our promo code (“top100project”) at checkout.
Tweeting? Don’t mind if we (sometimes) do: @moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis
Ryan also has a sports movie podcast on Scoring At The Movies
LINKS:
2001 Academy Award winners & nominees
Links to: Pinocchio and 2001: A Space Odyssey and E.T. and Toy Story and Minority Report
Previously on The Ellises’ Analysis: The Fly
June 21st on The Ellises’ Analysis: Donnie Darko
T100P 