A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

 

Publicity poster for A.I. Artificial Intelligence (© Steven Spielberg/DreamWorks Pictures/Amblin Entertainment/Stanley Kubrick Productions/Warner Bros Pictures – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial basis for educational/review purposes only)

My movie watch on 4 January 2024 was one of the most delightful, engrossing, and achingly poignant futuristic sci fi films that I have viewed for a very long time. Namely, A.I. Artificial Intelligence.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, released in 2001 by Warners Bros Pictures, and including collaborations with Stanley Kubrick, A.I. Artificial Intelligence is set in the 22nd Century. It stars in mesmerising form (as Spielberg's first and only choice for this role) a young Haley Joel Osment (he of "I see dead people" fame from The Sixth Sense, released 2 years previously) as robot boy David, the first in a major new android (aka Mecha) lineage – a humanoid robot that can truly love, created by computer genius Prof. Allen Hobby (William Hurt).

The movie intentionally plays out like a sci fi version of Pinocchio, having been loosely based upon a 1969 Pinocchio-inspired short story 'Supertoys Last All Summer Long', written by sci fi maestro Brian Aldiss. (Interestingly, this short story's film rights had originally been acquired by Stanley Kubrick, way back in the 1970s, but after failing to achieve success in its cinematic production he finally passed it over in 1995 to Spielberg, who began working on it in earnest following Kubrick's death in 1999, and dedicated the finished movie to him.)

For after hearing his human adoptive mother Monica Swinton (Frances O'Connor) read the famous Carlo Collodi story Pinocchio to her real-life son Martin, David blindly believes the story to be true.

Consequently, after subsequently being abandoned by his mother once jealous Martin is fully recovered fron a near-fatal ailment and causes all manner of problems for him, and accompanied by loyal and self-aware Teddy, Martin's unwanted robot teddy bear (voiced by Jack Angel), David sets out to locate the Blue Fairy. During his quest, he encounters a law-fleeing gigolo android named Joe (Jude Law, providing some much-needed lightness to this movie's sometimes almost overpowering pathos).

Joe helps David look for the Blue Fairy, whom David fervently hopes will transform him into a real boy, because he believes that his mother will then love him like she loves Martin. And indeed, after being assisted by Joe and a holographic answer engine named Dr Know (voiced by Robin Williams), David does find the Blue Fairy, after a fashion – thanks to a race of immensely-advanced Mechas known as the Specialists (one of whom is voiced by Ben Kingsley).

They discover him and Teddy frozen in ice two thousand years later, long after humans have died out during a new Ice Age (so much for global warming!), and not only successfully revive them but also recreate from David's memories an interactive version of the Blue Fairy (voiced by Meryl Streep).

Moreover, these Specialists are even able to restore David's mother to life, albeit for just a single day, after cloning her from her DNA (preserved in a strand of her hair that David had clipped back when he and Teddy had lived with her, and which Teddy had kept safe ever since). Now, during this most precious day back with his temporarily-restored mother, David enjoys with her the only birthday party he has ever known, and just as the day is ending his mother tells him that she has always loved him, thus giving him the assurance that he has always yearned for, and enabling him to be finally content. Then she slips into eternal sleep, and David, for the very first time, also falls asleep, journeying at last to the land where dreams are born.

To say that I found this closing scene moving would be the understatement of the millennium, but it also brought back some very precious memories, borne sweetly upon the haunting music score of this movie, composed by the indefatigable John Williams (who received an Oscar nomination for it). A.I. Artificial Intelligence is an enchanting film that I shall long remember, and for all the right reasons.

Tomorrow is the eleventh anniversary of my own dear mother's passing, so it seemed a very appropriate, fitting time for me to present this particular movie review of mine. God bless you, little Mom, how I wish with all my heart that you were still here with me, even if it were only for 24 hours – how I would cherish those precious hours with you, forever.

If you wish to experience a very special preview of the cinematic magic and wonder awaiting you in A.I. Artificial Intelligence, be sure to click here to watch a trailer for this movie on YouTube.

Finally: to view a complete chronological listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE, and please click HERE to view a complete fully-clickable alphabetical listing of them.

 

My mother, Mary Shuker (© Dr Karl Shuker)

 

 

MARY POPPINS RETURNS

Publicity poster for Mary Poppins Returns (© Rob Marshall/Walt Disney Pictures/Lucamar Productions/Marc Platt Productions/Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

It doesn't seem two years since this was THE Christmas movie release that everyone was flocking to see at their local cinemas here in the UK – those same cinemas that this Christmas are for the most part locked down, about to be locked down, or permanently closed down, due to an invisible yet highly inimical invader that continues to threaten so much that our species has held dear for countless ages. Let us hope that 2021 will herald an eventual end to our trials at its heinous hands – or, to be virologically precise, its spikes – and that we can finally return, with much gratitude and new appreciation, to the life and freedoms that for so very long we had all taken so very much for granted.

Throughout his life, Walt Disney was well known for vehemently refusing to produce sequels to any of his classic movies, and by and large his reluctance to do so has been fully vindicated. Many such sequels have been produced by the Disney Studio since Walt's passing in December 1966, but ALMOST without exception they have been only pale shadows and empty imitations of their timeless originals.

Note, however, that I stress the word 'almost' – because after deciding to wait out Christmas 2018 due to the huge demand to see it, on 11 January 2019 I was finally fortunate enough to view on the big screen a glorious, truly exceptional exception to that trend. In fact, to quote a very appropriate aphorism - it was practically perfect in every way.

I refer, of course, to Mary Poppins Returns, directed by Rob Marshall, with Emily Blunt taking on the title role of P.L. Travers's magical nanny originally played so memorably by Julie Andrews over 55 years ago now, way back in 1964, but executing it with entirely comparable panache and verve. Instead of Bert the friendly chimney-sweep and pavement artist played by one of the world's greatest comedians but worst Cockney speakers Dick Van Dyke, we now have Jack the lamplighter, played by American actor Lin-Manuel Miranda, also famous as the creator and star of the hit musical Hamilton.

And not only actors and actresses but time too has moved on in Cherry Tree Lane, because the Banks children, Jane and Michael, are all grown up now. Moreover, Michael (Ben Whishaw) is recently widowed, and despite the best attempts of his caring sister Jane (Emily Mortimer) to help him, he is seriously struggling to look after his three children and keep their home from the clutches of the bank, which in the form of corrupt chairman William 'Weatherall' Wilkins (Colin Firth) is only too eager to repossess it during the Great Slump. Consequently, when Mary Poppins makes her very unexpected but most welcome return into the lives of Michael and Jane, and informs them that she is here to look after the children, don't necessarily assume that the children she is alluding to are those of Michael...

Although it is technically a sequel, Mary Poppins Returns is much more of a homage to the original classic. For although the storylines in the two films are different, many of the original's most beloved musical/animated set pieces are reimagined in the new film, in the form of a series of very entertaining pastiches, containing new songs by Marc Shaiman (music) and Scott Whittman (lyrics) that I feel hold their own even against the immortal classics penned by the Sherman Brothers (Richard and Robert) for the original.

So: instead of 'Chim Chim Cher-ee' and dancing chimney-sweeps, we have 'Trip A Little Light Fantastic' and dancing lamplighters. Instead of Mary and Bert dancing with cartoon penguins and other animals in 'Jolly Holiday', we have Mary and Jack dancing with cartoon penguins and other animals in 'The Royal Doulton Music Hall'. Instead of 'I Love To Laugh' while floating beneath the ceiling, we have 'Turning Turtle' while inside a shop where everything is upside-down. And instead of the comforting 'Stay Awake' lullaby and the affecting 'Feed the Birds', we have those two different but equally atmospheric scenes and songs deftly blended to inspire those containing the deeply moving song 'The Place Where Lost Things Go' (which was nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar at the 2019 Academy Awards ceremony, one of four Oscars for which Mary Poppins Returns was nominated). However, these new scenes and songs stand on their own merits too; they are far more than merely derivatives of their original inspirations.

Last but certainly not least, very substantial support for this movie's afore-mentioned main stars is provided by the eminent likes of Meryl Streep (as Topsy, Mary Poppins's decidedly eccentric East European cousin), Angela Lansbury (the Balloon Lady, serving as a counterpart of sorts to the original movie's Bird Woman), Julie Walters (Ellen, the Banks family's longstanding – and long-suffering – housekeeper, played in the original by Hermione Baddeley), Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame (as Bert the pavement artist and chimney sweep, played in the original by Dick Van Dyke), and a returning, extraordinarily sprightly 93-year-old Dick Van Dyke himself no less, this time playing Mr Dawes Jr, the retired but still all-powerful (and desktop-dancing!) bank supremo who puts a very decisive stop to his nasty nephew Weatherall's nefarious schemes against the beleaguered Michael and family. There is also a brief cameo from Karen Dotrice, who played Jane as a child in the original.

Filling the screen with vibrant colour, a splendiferous mix of traditional but first-rate 2-D and current state-of-the-art CGI special effects, instantly hummable songs, breathtaking dance sequences, and a veritable galaxy of big-name stars, Mary Poppins Returns is in my opinion one of the best and most enchanting Disney films of all time - and bearing in mind this studio's glittering catalogue of all-time classics, that is no mean feat.

In other words, Mary Poppins Returns is an absolute joy in every sense, as well as for everyone who still retains the magic of childhood and the power of dreams in their heart – something that we all need more than ever right now, to see us through our current troubled times. So please click here to view a dazzling official trailer for this delightful movie, and allow yourself to be transported into the wonderful world of imagination that Walt Disney Studios' incomparable output has so profoundly and positively influenced for almost a century. Long may it continue to do so.

And to view a complete listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE!

 

FLORENCE FOSTER JENKINS

Publicity poster for Florence Foster Jenkins (© Stephen Frears/Pathé/BBC Films/Qwerty Films/20^th Century Fox/Pathé Distribution – reproduced here on a strictly non-commercial Fair Use basis for educational/review purposes only)

Seeing that it is now exactly 2 years to the day since I originally watched this wonderful biopic and then wrote a mini-review of it [5 August 2018], today seems as appropriate a time as any to revive and expand that mini-review as a Shuker In MovieLand review. So here it is.

Call me an old fogey, but today very few movies move me - the vast majority are simply too brash, too crude, too knowing, too gritty, too cynical for my taste. However, the thoroughly charming tragi-comedy that I've just watched tonight [5 August 2018] on television is none of those things. Furthermore, it is made even more extraordinary, often poignant, and extremely touching by virtue of the fact that it is based upon fact, telling the true story of one of the world's most remarkable singers - Florence Foster Jenkins (1868-1944), whose name is also the title of this wonderful, highly-acclaimed biographical film, directed by Stephen Frears and released in 2016.

Played magnificently by Meryl Streep (who received an Oscar nomination for this role), Florence was an elderly NYC heiress and socialite who had long ago inherited colossal wealth (and, tragically, syphilis too) from her callous first husband, but used his money not only to generously fund all manner of classical music functions and festivals in New York but also to pay for singing lessons for herself and to retain talented if hitherto-unknown pianist Cosmé McMoon (played brilliantly by Simon Helberg) to accompany her at her subsequent concerts.

Florence was possessed of great zeal and determination to succeed as an operatic soprano singer, but unfortunately – SPOILER ALERT!! – she was tone deaf, which is the film's bittersweet crux.

I call her life story a tragi-comedy because that is precisely what it is, combining these two diametrically opposite scenarios to spellbinding yet also very tender, enthralling effect. The comedy is derived from the hilarious reality of just how ear-splittingly atrocious a singer Florence was (some of her excruciating recordings can be heard on YouTube, including one that is actually accompanied by rare film footage of her – click here to view and listen to it). The tragedy comes from the soul-wrenching irony that almost until the very end of her life she was blissfully oblivious of this – which was due to the kindness of her many friends and most especially to her very supportive, encouraging second husband, Sinclair Bayfield (played very gallantly throughout by Hugh Grant in a BAFTA and Golden Globe-nominated performance), who were happy to turn in every sense a deaf ear to her musical shortcomings on account of her own very genuine and extremely kind-hearted nature, always willing to help them emotionally and financially.

Unfortunately, by always being shielded from ever knowing the truth about her musical failings, Florence finally decided very boldly, at the age of 76, to hire nothing less than New York's peerless Carnegie Hall for a special one-night performance by her, on 25 October 1944, in order to honour the American troops fighting in WW2 and, once again demonstrating her warm, generous spirit, giving away a thousand free tickets to soldiers on leave so that they could attend. Happily, however, once the soldiers were appraised of the truth regarding Florence's singing and were thus 'in' on the joke, they applauded her thunderously just like her friends had always done, and she returned home afterwards in absolute triumph. The next day, moreover, all of the main newspapers contained glowing reviews of her concert; bearing in mind, however, that, unknown yet again to Florence, their music critics were all friends with Sinclair, this was hardly surprising.

All but Earl Wilson, the New York Post's music critic, that is. Never having been won over by Sinclair's charm, or bribes, Wilson became the equivalent of the little boy in Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale 'The Emperor's New Clothes', not adhering to the fantasy line spun by everyone else but instead telling it just as it was, in an excoriating review that vitriolically denounced Florence as the worst singer in the world. Despite Sinclair's attempts to prevent Florence from knowing about it, she finally discovered and read Wilson's review, and was utterly devastated, collapsing onto the floor. The house of cards collapsed, the mirage was blown away, the castle in the air plummeted to the ground, Florence finally knew the truth - and only a month later, she passed away.

The shock and humiliation, coupled with the stress of performing at Carnegie Hall at her advanced age, plus the underlying, ever-present weakness of her constitution caused by living with syphilis for 50 years after unsuspectingly contracting the debilitating disease from her first husband on her wedding night, when she was an innocent 18-year-old virgin - it had all been too much.

Yet in spite of everything, what had kept Florence alive throughout those five decades of ill-health had been her indomitable determination to make music her life - and make it her life she truly did. Even after finally learning the grim reality of her singing talent's non-existence, she gained comfort from the undeniable fact that although people had stated that she couldn't sing, she had sung, and in so doing had made her dreams come true - a lesson for us all.

I cannot recommend this inspirational movie highly enough – watch it and celebrate as I did a human spirit undiminished and unconquered by the limitations imposed by life – and here is an official trailer to tempt and tantalise you with the joy, the delights, and the destiny encapsulated in the extraordinary story of an exceptional lady, Florence Foster Jenkins.

And to view a complete listing of all of my Shuker In MovieLand blog's other film reviews and articles (each one instantly accessible via a direct clickable link), please click HERE!