Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer:    Robert Rodat
Cast:       Tom Hanks, Tom Sizemore, Matt Damon

Following the Normandy landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.

I had seen the beginning of this film some years back. The headache inducing portrayal of Normandy landings in it is known for its realism and was shot with a budget of $12 million. Problem with the film is that after those initial 27 minutes, it just peters out. With Spielberg at helm, you expect only a feel good story despite it being set in a terrible situation. He did the same with Schindler's List but it being based on a true story kind of bails him out. 'Shaving Ryan's Privates' is a rather fictional story  inspired by a situation in WW2 where a family's eight siblings died in the war. 

I didn't expect to like this film since am not a fan of Spielberg and his shitty manipulative films which are high on production value but low on subtlety. After the half an hour bloodbath at the beginning of the film, Tom Hanks playing Tom Hanks gets orders to rescue Mr. Ryan because of the situation of his brothers being already dead. With some men under him they go to find Ryan based on hunches with some in the group questioning the logic behind the whole exercise. Along the way you get manipulative situations for the director to exhibit his 'Skills' involving a soldier who wants to rescue a child, another one who is protecting a POW, a sort of mutiny etc, all of which you have to watch cringing the whole way through only to finally find Ryan (Matt Damon) who doesn't want to go home before completing his mission of destroying a strategically located bridge. Bingo, we got a final set-piece of lengthy action sequence to give us some symmetry to the whole thing. 

Terence Malick's 'The Thin Red Line' also came out in 1998 and is the exact opposite of Saving Private Ryan. The latter dumbed down version of a war film was the box office hit predictably with the former standing the test of time. Nowadays most people recognize that Saving Private Ryan hoodwinked people into believing that it was good film based on the 'Call of Duty' opening. Still many people go on about how 'Shakespeare In Love' won the Best Picture Oscar over Saving Private Ryan but they should be complaining that Malick's effort didn't win. It is like people complaining about Forrest Gump winning over Shawshank Redemption when in reality Pulp Fiction was the best of the nominated lot.

Rating: 2.5/5

                                                                       

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers:  Brian Aldiss, Ian Watson, Steven Spielberg
Cast:      Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O'Connor, William Hurt

A highly advanced robotic boy longs to become 'real' so that he can get back to his human mother.

The film was in development from the 70s under Stanley Kubrick. Kubrick was not convinced with the CGI capabilities of the times and thought that he needed a real robot to play the role of protagonist. He then passed on the project to Steven Spielberg who decided to make the film after Kubrick's death. The thing is that the two directors in question couldn't be further apart in the kind of style and themes they usually handle and the film was inevitably going to be skeptically reviewed by the critics. Predictably it didn't do that well both commercially and critically when it came out.

So with a similar mindset I sat down to watch it but was really bowled over by it. The film is really very dark for most parts and it was like watching a horror film. Haley Joel Osment gives another wonderful performance after 'The Sixth Sense' and carries the film on his young shoulders. Spielbergian sensibilities takes over in the latter part of the film with a totally unnecessary last act. Despite that it is a wonderful film and just a shame that Kubrick didn't make it because if he had, it would almost certainly have been one of his best. It certainly wouldn't have been a PG-13 either. As it stands it is a great film slightly spoiled by its last 20 minutes. 

Film came out just before 9-11 and have the twin towers still standing 2000 years from now.

Rating: 4.5/5

Minority Report (2002)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Writers:  Scott Frank, Jon Cohen, Philip K.Dick

Cast:      Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow, Samantha Morton

In a future where a special force unit is able to arrest murderers before they commit their crimes, an officer from that unit is himself accused of a future murder.

Haven't seen a Spielberg film in a while and the film reminded me why. He does not take into account the intelligence of the viewer and spoon feeds every bit of information which makes most of  his films uninteresting. There was good potential for the film despite its glaring plot hole, but Spielberg's direction doesn't help the cause. The Indiana Jonesque stunt sequence after Cruise finds that he is accused of murder is not in sync with the overall mood of  the film.

Rating: 2.5/5