TOP 10 SHOTS from "A.I. Artificial Intelligence"

In searching for a film to tackle cinematically for this week's segment, I kept running into road blocks. Seeing as "The Hunger Games" is arriving to much anticipation this weekend, it felt necessary to find something that ties into it, which is easier said than done. At first my mind went immediately to "Winter's Bone", also from Lionsgate and also starring Jennifer Lawrence. But once I got into it, I realized that the film isn't visually all that intriguing. As impressive a film as it is, it gets of by the grit of Debra Granik's teeth and the performances from John Hawkes and Jennifer Lawrence. More of the latter actor in my book. Lawrence's performance is undeniably tough, but sadly overrated.

Moving on from there, I went to Gary Ross' prior filmography for inspiration. No vein in my body wants to see "Seabiscuit" ever again. That film has caused me too much grief already. I do, however, have a compulsion to revisiting "Pleasantville" at some point, either for this segment or not. If nothing else, I remember the film being quietly arousing. With Ross out of the way, I looked briefly at cinematographer Tom Stern, but most of his experience comes from dreary and repetitive work on Clint Eastwood's body of work. No luck there, and I leave everyone involved in the film in the dust.

What A Piece of Work is "A.I."

It came upon me, completely by accident, that this weekend celebrates the 10th anniversary of Steven Spielberg's 2001 science-fiction feature A.I. Artificial Intelligence. As the years have come and gone, many have talked about the film's numerous merits and pitfalls, and I admit to trepidation of my own. To this day, I still can't quite embrace what Spielberg and the late great Stanley Kubrick have come together to create, but that's not to say that I can't appreciate it. An earnest supporter of creative and outstanding science-fiction, as evidenced by my constant backing of Fringe, A.I. still maintains a sort of heightened excitement for me.

What pushes me back is the central discomfort of the fusion of robot and child, as the two have time and time again proved a lethal combination. I fear to reference recent science-fiction short Blinky, as it still is fighting its way into my nightmares. To that affect, A.I. is something of a sweet refresher, but still greatly disturbing. In the first forty minutes of the film, David, played by Haley Joel Osment, is as stale, creepy, and uncomfortable a child as possible. In truth, that's by complete intention. The real standout is the eighty minutes that follow, and the journey David undergoes.

There is quite a bit of this film that is kind of ridiculous and over-the-top, but doesn't that usually come of even the best science-fiction? The world painted in the film is a deeply cynical one, and while many would like to contribute that as Kubrick's last brilliant move, much of that came from Spielberg. At the turn of the millennium, Spielberg was at the top of his game. He contains a near seamless array of science-fiction ideas, whilst most films buckle under the rules of their own sci-fi concept. I may never be able to embrace this as a work of true genius, but I am able to acknowledge it. Janusz Kaminski's beautiful cinematography help aid Spielberg in his most expressionistic and ambitious of works.